Leaders spoke about deal to allow some Chinese EVs into Canada at lower tariff rate. Prime Minister Mark Carney may not have a bilateral meeting planned yet with U.S. President Donald Trump, but a hot microphone caught them talking about trade at the G7 leaders’ summit in Évian-les-Bains, France. Carney can be seen on camera, leaning in to talk to...
Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc said talks with his American counterpart on a critical continental trade pact are not a "one-way conversation" as the United States continues to signal it will not rubber-stamp an extension. LeBlanc and Chief Trade Negotiator Janice Charette met with United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on the sidelines of the G7 in France on Tuesday...
Ontario Premier Doug Ford shrugged off a recent poll suggesting his popularity has dipped as “fake” Tuesday, claiming he and his PC Party would win a fourth “massive majority” if an election were held today. “I don’t like boasting and bragging, but if an election was held today – we’re at 41 per cent – we’d win a massive majority...
‘I was becoming a tool to justify some of the things the government is doing, which I find to be unjustifiable,’ Canada’s former environment minister Steven Guilbeault says on leaving the Liberals — in an exclusive interview with The Narwhal
Conservative MP Corey Tochor introduced new legislation on Tuesday to legalize prescribing psychedelics like psilocybin (colloquially known as magic mushrooms), which researchers and patients say can effectively treat some mental health disorders. Under Canada's federal drug laws, psilocybin is a controlled substance and possession, production and distribution are illegal without authorization.
Canada’s federal polling shows a stable Liberal lead, with support at 42.7% compared with 30.7% for the Conservatives. Other parties remain at lower levels of support. Preferences for prime minister follow a similar pattern. Mark Carney is the most selected first choice at 48.6%, while Pierre Poilievre stands at 24.1%, with others trailing.
The latest Federal Tracker from Liaison Strategies shows the Liberal Party, led by Prime Minister Mark Carney, holding a 9-point lead over Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives. The Liberals stand at 41% among decided and leaning voters, followed by the Conservatives at 32%, the NDP at 14%, and the Bloc Québécois at 6%. The Green Party, People’s Party, and Other parties are...
The reviews have not been kind. “A disaster.” A “catastrophe.” The “worst strategic blunder the U.S. has made post-World War II.” Garry Kasparov, the former world chess champion and trenchant geopolitical observer, perhaps said it best: “Trump said he demanded unconditional surrender, we just didn’t know he meant America’s.” What they are describing, of course, is the Trump-Iran “deal,” or...
Mark Carney says there’s “no big drama” in the fact that the Trump administration has taken a $6.4-billion bridge hostage as part of its campaign to have its way with Canada. In this, at least, the prime minister is wrong. The troubled saga of the Gordie Howe International Bridge is a real-life drama. The question is: what type?
Justice Minister Sean Fraser says he will take time over the summer to review the work of a committee tasked with determining whether Canada is ready to allow people with mental illness access to medically assisted dying. Committee co-chair Marcus Powlowski said last week the report would be presented to Parliament on Wednesday to ensure it's in the government's hands...
The Conservatives are accusing the federal government of trying to ram through a bill to help police and spies after the Liberals warned they would take steps to speed up committee scrutiny of the legislation. The Liberals say the bill will ensure law enforcement agencies have the legal tools to prevent and investigate modern crime while respecting the Charter of...
Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon’s recent acknowledgment that new legislation may be needed to accelerate approvals for major projects is an admission of long-standing failure. Canada’s regulatory system for infrastructure and resource development has become slow, uncertain, and politicized. While Ottawa now speaks of one or two year approval windows and continues expanding entities like the Major Projects Office, deeper...
For a guy who spent much of his career talking and writing about climate policy, Mark Carney has been conspicuously quiet on the subject ever since becoming prime minister. Part of that, I’m sure, is a desire to avoid the mistakes made by the last guy who had his job. And part of it is an understandable need to prioritize...
In less than two weeks Alberta is expected to deliver to the federal government a solid proposal for a pipeline to the northwest coast of B.C. But so far there is no private sector partner willing to come forward to pay for it. This is definitely a fly in the ointment of a proposal that Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has...
The Carney government shut down a committee study Monday on a financial bill that includes sweeping changes to Canada’s pesticides law by allowing cabinet to overrule any pesticide ban the health minister imposes for being too toxic to the environment. The Liberals blame the Conservatives for filibustering the committee — which they have. But the Grits are impatient, want to...
The Conservative party wants you to picture lineups around the block for Canada’s overwhelmed food banks. To help, they’ve used AI to generate a false scene. Rather than appreciate the helpful visuals, we should make clear: This sucks.
As the October Alberta referendum looms closer, politicians representing the province are discovering the joys of needle threading. The most vivid example was Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s June 8th Calgary speech, in which the Alberta born-and-raised, more recently Alberta-elected MP, presented an argument to the province’s separatists for remaining in Canada. “The answer therefore for Albertans is not to pull...
The lesson is the welfare-vs-warfare debate is an irrelevancy and western societies need to be more resilient in an age of rising threats
How is Ottawa to manage the relationship with our closest neighbour and most important trading partner? There are essentially three options for dealing with the rogue president currently in the White House.
“Fake it ‘til you make it.” The motto that’s most popular among young entrepreneurs trying to bootstrap their way to success is also, apparently, the strategy being deployed by the Alberta government in its ongoing attempt to get a new oil pipeline to the West Coast. As Minister of Indigenous Relations Rajan Sawhney let slip a few days ago, her...
It's not even close. It's not even close to being close. We wait for them to make a move, do something, try to win the hearts and minds of the undecided, answer the actual questions on people's minds. Heaven knows the separatists have the attention of Canada now. Newshounds can tell you how every single day story-hungry editors want the...
In a world riven with strife, with democracy and dignity under daily assault in the United States by its president, and with global hegemons rejecting the sovereignty of nations, Canadians should take careful stock of what we have and who we are. Canada is blessed with vast geography, abundant natural resources and an educated and diverse population. We have the...
There are times when you feel the ground shift because something genuinely historic is underway. That was my reaction Monday morning watching Louise Arbour installed as Canada’s 31st Governor General. It was a defining, quintessentially Canadian experience, not just for the pageantry, the 21-gun salute, or the high ceremony of passing the torch. What made it remarkable was the passage...
The people leading Canada’s trade talks are not as worried as you might think about Donald Trump’s latest threats to end North American free trade. It was somewhat jarring, this week, to take in the calm demeanour projected by chief trade negotiator Janice Charette, at an automotive conference, and lead cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc, and ambassador Mark Wiseman at a...
It was a slow week on the separatism front, but then, at the last minute, Albertans got something new to be confused about. The government announced Friday it's creating a panel — because that's what it does — to assess the costs of separation. This was expected after Premier Danielle Smith went on about $400-billion costs, big prices for our...
Quebec’s federalists face a crucial and highly consequential choice ahead of the next provincial election, to be held Oct. 5. Faced with the prospect of a Parti Québécois (PQ) victory under the leadership of Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, flanked by a nationalist Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) and a separatist Québec Solidaire, Quebec could soon be plunged into a third referendum on...
When I wrote about Jonathan Haidt’s book “The Anxious Generation” two years ago, I was struck by the thought experiment he uses as an opening. Imagine, he wrote, if a tech lord proposed sending your teenage daughter to join the first human settlement on Mars. She’s eager to go — all my friends will be there! — but it turns...
Poilievre needs more people to like the sound of his voice. To hear him say things that make them feel confident and hopeful, not depressed. To reveal some self-awareness.
This fall’s referendum on secession in Alberta – well, not on secession, but on whether to have a referendum on secession – promises another chance to observe a familiar phenomenon: federalists “fighting for Canada” on separatist terms. There has been no shortage of volunteers to play Captain Canada in the campaign to come, notably Danielle Smith, the Premier, and Pierre...
Prime Minister Mark Carney has confronted two critical but unrelated challenges with performative techniques that have been greeted with understandable skepticism by the two target audiences. In both cases — the need to build infrastructure to transport oil to tidewater and on to overseas markets and the failure to counter the worst antisemitism since the Second World War — Carney...
Pete Hoekstra is not quite in the super league of undiplomatic diplomats. Before he was British foreign minister, Boris Johnson once offended the entire nation of Papua New Guinea by linking it to cannibalism. But the current U.S. ambassador can claim the rare accomplishment of uniting Canadians coast to coast in their animosity toward him.
Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette has given her governing Quebec party a pulse with a mix of seriousness outside the province and calculated wedge politics at home.
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Tuesday that Canada will impose new sanctions against Russia as its war in Ukraine continues. Carney made the announcement during a meeting at the G7 summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The package will target 162 individuals, entities and vessels — all assets of the Russian war machine.
Canada and Italy have entered talks for Canada's purchase of M-346 advanced jet trainer aircraft. The announcement was made after a meeting between Prime Minister Mark Carney and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains. The jets are designed and produced by Leonardo, one of Italy's largest aerospace companies.
Outgoing Liberal MP Nate Erskine-Smith is considering running for Toronto city council, and has discussed the possibility with Mayor Olivia Chow. Erskine-Smith has represented the federal riding of Beaches-East York since 2015, but is stepping down when Parliament rises this week. He announced his resignation in May after narrowly losing the nomination for the Ontario Liberals in an upcoming byelection...
NGOs have pushed for sanctions on group that helps expand Israeli settlements. An organization that works with the Israeli government to help with the expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank was on a draft list of entities Ottawa was set to sanction, CBC News has learned. Two sources with knowledge of the matter told CBC News the World...
Prime Minister Mark Carney will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France today, shortly after the leaders hold a working session about building peace for Ukraine. The meeting with Zelenskyy is one of at least five bilateral meetings Carney will have today, including with the leaders of Italy, the United Arab Emirates...
Ottawa might scrap the position of special envoy to Africa, despite House of Commons and Senate committees calling on the government to give the role a higher priority and more resources to capitalize on a projected economic boom on the continent. "Every time I speak about Africa, it's like talking into a vacuum because I feel like people's eyes are...
The British Columbia government is looking at building two new hydroelectric dams, including a fourth dam for the Peace River where the Site C project generated opposition and cost overruns. The so-called Site E project would have a capacity of up to 750 megawatts, while a project near Bute Inlet northeast of Powell River would be bigger at 900 megawatts...
Thousands granted citizenship certificates after change late last year. The federal government has suddenly suspended a number of Canadian citizenship certificates issued to people around the world who became eligible for citizenship late last year. In a notice emailed Saturday to an unknown number of people who successfully applied for and obtained citizenship certificates based on having a Canadian ancestor...
Canada stands ready to help restore shipping in the Strait of Hormuz if an announced breakthrough in talks between Iran and the U.S. comes to fruition, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Monday, ahead of the G7 leaders' summit in the French Alps. Carney arrived for the summit mid-day Monday, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump announced an agreement had...
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says the art of dealing with U.S. President Donald Trump is to stop panicking every time a new tariff is threatened. Smith, speaking at the New North America summit, says negotiators need to recognize that Trump, as a businessman, has many options. "He always had a plan A, a plan B and plan C, all of...
Montreal-based Marconi Technologies has become the first Canadian company to land a contract under the SAFE agreement Canada signed with the European Union. Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled the news today at the G7 Leaders' Summit in Evian, France. The Prime Minister's Office says Marconi won a contract worth more than $10 million to supply tactical radios made in Canada...
With the deadline for Canada, the United States and Mexico to either renew or review their trilateral trade deal just two weeks away, Canadian Ambassador to the U.S. Mark Wiseman is urging people not to stress. “Everybody take a deep breath, relax, it’s all going to be OK,” he said Monday during a fireside chat with BMO Financial Group CEO...
The federal government says it is cracking down on what it calls a "low volume" of asylum claims made by foreigners arriving in Newfoundland and Labrador from a nearby territory of France. Saint Pierre and Miquelon, an archipelago 19 kilometres off the coast of Newfoundland, is served by frequent ferry service. On June 4, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada announced...
The federal government will introduce two major bills in the last days of the Parliamentary sitting, focusing on privacy and ensuring First Nations have access to clean drinking water. The Liberal government has given notice it will bring forward a long-promised update to Canada's private-sector privacy law. The bill is expected to include protections for children's data as well as...
Prime Minister Mark Carney reads his briefing notes and is willing to engage and have a 'thoughtful conversation' with caucus members on any issue they like, says Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith.
Industry Minister Mélanie Joly says she will be meeting with four Chinese companies that are considering building electric vehicles in Canada when she visits China this week in an effort to attract investment to this country’s auto sector. The four companies – BYD, Chery, Geely and Shanghai Launch Automotive Technology – have been examining possible investments in Canada, Ms. Joly...
If Alberta were to gain independence, it should take a closer look at the potential possibility of a future with the United States, says former Conservative MP Rob Anders. Four more former Conservative MPs are backing the province’s potential separation from Canada and one wants Albertans to consider closer ties with the United States, arguing that the province should pursue...
The war was never popular with Canadians but the economic impacts are now driving a desire to see it come to an end. As rumours about potential resolution to the war that has been going on for more than three months, Canadians want to see a quick end to it. In our latest Spark Insights polling (June 7-12, 4462 adults...
Canadian Identity and Culture Minister Marc Miller insists the federal government will not capitulate to the U.S. administration and back down on the legislation he says is aimed at protecting children from the potential harms of the internet. “Kids just aren’t on the bargaining table. Hard stop,” Miller told CTV Question Period host Vassy Kapelos in an interview airing Sunday...
The United States and Iran have reached an agreement to end the war and open the Strait of Hormuz, offering relief to the global economy more than three months since fighting began. Details of the deal were not immediately available. Key mediator Pakistan said the signing will be Friday in Switzerland. Key issues like Iran’s nuclear program are expected to...
The man behind a billboard urging Albertans to “Choose Alberta” says the Town of Taber has ordered it to be removed, setting off a debate over political expression as the province heads towards an October vote on separation. Cory Morgan the organizer of Pathway to Independence, a registered third-party advertiser, said the town sent a letter to the billboard operator...
Parti Québécois leader raised questions on Friday over the Quebec Liberal Party's funding. The leader of the Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ), Charles Milliard, is putting the leader of the Parti Québécois on notice over comments Paul St-Pierre Plamondon made linking the PLQ to organized crime on the last day of the legislature before the fall elections. On Friday, Plamondon used...
The United States will play a role in a new world order where no one institution or country will have all the answers, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Sunday. "What one can't do at this point in a rapidly shifting world order is to rely on one set of institutions, one grouping, one country to provide the answers," he said...
86% give the government a passing grade; while 14% would mark it an F. Our latest Spark Advocacy nationwide polling wrapped up late this week, with a large sample of 4462 adults across Canada. Here’s what we find as Parliament gets ready to rise for the summer. Overall satisfaction with the “way in which the federal government is handling its...
The people of County Mayo, found on the west coast of Ireland, greeted Prime Minister Mark Carney with open arms on Sunday. Businesses hung Canadian flags outside their buildings, and groups of people held up signs on the side of the road as Carney made his way into town from the airport. Some restaurants even invented names for their food...
David Eby wants mandatory reporting for concerning AI chatbot interactions. B.C. Premier David Eby says the federal government's newly introduced online harms bill "is a miss" when it comes to addressing AI chatbots because it doesn't require tech companies to report users' concerning interactions to police. "These companies have to have a bright line test imposed on them by the...
A Senate bill originally introduced nearly four years ago is calling on the federal government to produce a framework for fetal alcohol spectrum disorder emphasizing improved and early diagnosis. This can be the difference between “night and day” for families, says one former Senator with lived experience. A last-minute change in the Senate Social Affairs Committee schedule means that former...
Ontario's premier appears to be dropping his more aggressive anti-Trump rhetoric ahead of CUSMA talks. Doug Ford appears to be throttling back on aggressive anti-Trump rhetoric with key trade talks looming with the United States, stepping up a charm offensive aimed at politicians and lobby groups in the mercurial president’s orbit. Earlier this week, Ford wrapped the first of three...
The people of County Mayo, found on the west coast of Ireland, greeted Prime Minister Mark Carney with open arms on Sunday. Businesses hung Canadian flags outside their buildings, and groups of people held up signs on the side of the road as Carney made his way into town from the airport. Carney is continuing his Irish pilgrimage, visiting his...
Prime Minister Mark Carney says the "strands" of a new world order could be woven at the G7 summit next week. Carney made the remarks during a discussion at Trinity College Dublin while on a six-day trip to Europe. In January, the prime minister delivered a speech in Davos calling on middle powers to band together in the face of...
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told President Donald Trump last year that he was the "greatest friend Israel ever had in the White House."
SACRAMENTO, Calif (AP) -- California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat and longtime political rival of Republican President Donald Trump, said Monday the president ordered the Justice Department to investigate him and his wife.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- By the time Justin Gaethje pummeled his bloodied foe to a pulp and celebrated a championship win with a backflip off the top of the wire-mesh cage, then shook hands with President Donald Trump -- and even fist-bumped Melania -- this much about his company's future was clear to the ultimate boss of UFC.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- The United States and Iran reached an initial agreement Monday that would extend their shaky ceasefire and lead to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, but significant challenges remain to ending the war, including whether Israel will continue its offensive in Lebanon.
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Tuesday that Canada will impose new sanctions against Russia as its war in Ukraine continues. Carney made the announcement during a meeting at the G7 summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The package will target 162 individuals, entities and vessels — all assets of the Russian war machine.
Prime Minister Mark Carney will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France today, shortly after the leaders hold a working session about building peace for Ukraine. The meeting with Zelenskyy is one of at least five bilateral meetings Carney will have today, including with the leaders of Italy, the United Arab Emirates...
Ottawa might scrap the position of special envoy to Africa, despite House of Commons and Senate committees calling on the government to give the role a higher priority and more resources to capitalize on a projected economic boom on the continent. "Every time I speak about Africa, it's like talking into a vacuum because I feel like people's eyes are...
Industry Minister Mélanie Joly says she will be meeting with four Chinese companies that are considering building electric vehicles in Canada when she visits China this week in an effort to attract investment to this country’s auto sector. The four companies – BYD, Chery, Geely and Shanghai Launch Automotive Technology – have been examining possible investments in Canada, Ms. Joly...
The United States and Iran have reached an agreement to end the war and open the Strait of Hormuz, offering relief to the global economy more than three months since fighting began. Details of the deal were not immediately available. Key mediator Pakistan said the signing will be Friday in Switzerland. Key issues like Iran’s nuclear program are expected to...
On June 12th, the American artificial intelligence company Anthropic —maker of the Claude AI assistant— issued an extraordinary statement, whose opening paragraph reads as follows: “The US government, citing national security authorities, has issued an export control directive to suspend all access to Fable 5 and Mythos 5 by any foreign national, whether inside or outside the United States, including...
Canada and Australia cannot afford to be passive actors in the increasingly turbulent world of resource geopolitics.
A collection of SubStack publishing within Canadian public affairs.
Secrecy surrounding cabinet documents is so absolute in Canada that critics look to theology and astrophysics for metaphors to describe it. Federal cabinet records in Canada are treated as “sacred artefacts to be shrouded in mystery for decades, hidden in a black hole beyond the contemplation of judges, commissioners, or citizens.”
In 2007, Roger Martin, then dean of the Rotman School of Management at University of Toronto, wrote a book called The Opposable Mind. It argued that the most successful leaders tend to be “integrative thinkers,” by which he meant they tackled problems holistically rather than breaking them down into component parts. Instead of seeking trade-offs, they are at ease with...
“Despite the ongoing conflict between Hezbollah and Israel which has resulted in thousands of deaths and injuries…Lebanon moved forward with the ban on antipersonnel landmines,” said the Ottawa-based group Mines Action Canada in a statement, celebrating the new addition.
What's with the Conservatives using AI-created Canadians in their latest ad campaign? Plus, in this final Raj-Russo Conversation before the summer break, Althia and Rob suggest what each of the main parties needs to do over the holidays. Also, the G7 meets; will it accomplish anything?
David Herle, Scott Reid, Jordan Leichnitz, and Kory Teneycke provide insights on the latest in Canadian politics.
Despite Canada’s contributions to space technology and science, it lags behind other G7 nations in rocket launching capabilities. But that’s now changing – with federal investment and private business teaming up to eventually send spacecraft into orbit. It signals a growing political and economic interest in Canada.
A deal is a deal, but what kind of deal was this? Did Donald Trump accomplish anything in his nearly four-month war with Iran? Dr. Janice Stein is here for her regular Monday conversation. Also, a political resignation in Britain is considered a warning not just for that country but for all NATO countries -- it's time to prepare for...
