In, out and just hanging on: A tumultuous year in politics for Justin Trudeau, Mark Carney and Pierre Poilievre
By the time you read this it is entirely possible that everything has changed. It’s been that kind of year.
Alex Ballingall
While National Newswatch does not keep an archive of external articles for longer than 6 months, we do keep all articles written by contributors who post directly to our site. Here you will find all of the contributed and linked external articles from Alex Ballingall.
Conservative MP told Mark Carney about his planned resignation before announcing it, sources say
Conservative MP Matt Jeneroux spoke by phone with Prime Minister Mark Carney and told him he was vacating his seat before publicly announcing a bombshell resignation that cast further doubt on Pierre Poilievre’s grip on the Tory caucus, according to two sources with knowledge of the situation. The Carney-Jeneroux phone call came at the height of a political drama that...
Senior Tory accuses Liberals of fuelling ‘harassment’ of Conservative MPs amid floor-crossing rumours
Conservative MPs facing questions about party loyalty are enduring unfair “harassment” fuelled by rumours and Liberal attempts to earn a majority in the House of Commons through convincing opposition members to defect to the government, a senior Tory claims. In an interview with the Star, Conservative whip Chris Warkentin bemoaned how MPs in his caucus are being repeatedly asked whether...
‘Pressure will mount in the coming days’ for Pierre Poilievre as signs of discontent emerge within the party following his RCMP claims
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre denied Wednesday that he recently suggested former prime minister Justin Trudeau should be jailed, but defended his claim that leadership of Canada’s national police force is “despicable” for allegedly covering up for the Liberal government. His comments come as signs of discontent inside the party emerged in the fallout of those claims, even as several Conservative...
Mark Carney’s austerity budget raising fears gender equality programs will end
Advocates and community groups are raising fears that federal funding for gender equality is on Prime Minister Mark Carney’s chopping block, with signs of approaching “austerity” and a shift in priorities from the Justin Trudeau era, when outspoken feminism was a core part of the government’s image.
Former environment minister fears Mark Carney’s climate plan won’t lower emissions
Former Liberal environment minister Catherine McKenna is casting doubt on attempts to strike a “grand bargain” between the federal government and the fossil fuel industry, as she stresses the importance of Canada’s greenhouse emissions targets under the international Paris Agreement that Prime Minister Mark Carney has recently downplayed. In an interview with the Star to mark the release of her...
Pierre Poilievre’s political exile is expected to end within days. Then the real fight begins
The safest assumption in Canadian politics right now is that Pierre Poilievre is going to win Monday’s federal byelection in Battle River—Crowfoot. In interviews this week with Conservative insiders, in most every pundit’s analysis, and in the strategizing of politicos of all stripes, it’s taken as a given: the Tory leader will be back in the House of Commons for...
Stephen Harper slams Donald Trump’s ‘comprehensive protectionism’ as trade deal deadline approaches
With trade talks lumbering on, and questions about what type of deal Canada might get with Donald Trump after the European Union agreed to keep American tariffs, Stephen Harper believes an attitude is taking root in the United States. And he thinks it’s wrong.
What if killing Canada’s digital tax is just the beginning for Donald Trump?
Call it a prudent climbdown, a show of weakness, or an unavoidable concession. There are several ways to look at Prime Minister Mark Carney’s 11th-hour decision to cancel the federal government’s Digital Services Tax last weekend. But what if it’s also a tangible example of exactly what Carney warned would happen?
Canada’s top soldier says we should buy additional U.S. F-35 fighter jets and stick with America
Canada’s top soldier says the military should keep buying at least some additional F-35 fighter jets from the United States, which she said will remain a key partner as Prime Minister Mark Carney pursues deeper defence ties with the European Union. Gen. Jennie Carignan, the chief of the defence staff, said Monday that the F-35 jet comes with many advantages...
Mark Carney’s government reviewing suggested changes to infrastructure bill
The Liberal government is reviewing a series of changes to add oversight and restrain some — but not all — of the extraordinary powers created under its controversial legislation to fast-track major development projects. The proposed law, Bill C-5, has sparked warnings of Indigenous resistance in the coming weeks, along with condemnation from environmental groups, and some reservations within the...
Insiders say Mark Carney could compromise on emissions cap
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government might weaken or cancel the incoming oil and gas emissions cap if a group of fossil fuel companies builds a planned $16.5 billion carbon capture megaproject for Alberta’s oilsands, three federal government sources told the Star. Hailed under former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s leadership as a marquee plank of the Liberal government’s climate action plan...
Government adviser slams Mark Carney for promoting ‘decarbonized’ oil pipelines
The co-chair of the federal government’s climate action advisory group is slamming Prime Minister Mark Carney for using fossil fuel “marketing speak” at Monday’s summit with provincial leaders, when he endorsed the idea of building new pipelines for “decarbonized” oil.
‘Secret’ memo reveals how Canada’s refusal to join missile system in 2005 hurt our reputation
A “secret” memo from the Department of National Defence last year said Canada’s 2005 decision not to join the U.S. ballistic missile defence system harmed the country’s reputation as a security partner and could make it harder to participate in the AUKUS military collaboration between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. The memo also raised Canada’s long-standing failure...
Mark Carney’s chief of staff considering running to be Toronto’s mayor, insiders say
Four sources close to Mendicino confirmed Friday that he is eyeing a mayoral bid to replace incumbent Olivia Chow in next year’s municipal election. Marco Mendicino, the former Liberal cabinet member and chief of staff to Prime Minister Mark Carney, is considering a run for mayor of Toronto, multiple sources say. Four sources close to Mendicino confirmed Friday that he...
Election campaign has made crime ‘top of mind’ for Carney government
The PM is placing a heavy emphasis on cracking down on crime after some Liberals say the issue cost them GTA seats in last month’s election.
‘There’s a “Hunger Games” aspect to it’: Liberal insiders brace for Mark Carney’s cabinet appointments
With a successful election and a high-stakes trip to Washington behind him, Prime Minister Mark Carney is grappling with a tangle of considerations and big decisions as he launches his first governing mandate for Canada’s incoming minority Parliament.
‘It’s an unmitigated disaster’: Conservative insiders debate Pierre Poilievre’s future as leader after election defeat
There are plenty of questions the party will need to address including how he can lead the party from outside Parliament. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is not the prime minister. As of Tuesday morning, he was not even an MP. At the nexus of those two outcomes, which just months ago would have been nearly unthinkable, is a maelstrom of...
Mark Carney ridicules Pierre Poilievre’s budget plan: ‘These numbers are a joke’
Liberal Leader Mark Carney says there is a realistic chance his economic plan could eliminate the federal budget deficit within five years, but that he refrained from putting the claim on paper because it is irresponsible to make assumptions about growth during U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade crisis.
Pierre Poilievre offers voters change — with a big side order of righteous grievance
The Conservative leader’s plain sense of righteous grievance will help determine whether his lifelong project as a career politician leads to the Prime Minister’s Office, or to the ignominy of an electoral defeat.
Poilievre stands by B.C. candidate after Indigenous leaders urge Conservatives to drop him over ‘horrific’ online posts
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is defending one of his candidates in British Columbia who was accused of making “horrific and offensive” comments on social media about the harms perpetrated against Indigenous Peoples in Canada. At a campaign stop in Osoyoos, B.C., Poilievre rejected calls from Indigenous leaders and others for the Conservatives to drop Aaron Gunn, a documentary filmmaker running...
Pierre Poilievre holds investments in Brookfield — the same company he attacks Mark Carney over
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre holds personal investments that include the same company his party has repeatedly criticized in its attacks on Liberal Leader Mark Carney, his campaign revealed. In the opening days of the federal election, Poilievre and the Conservatives have hammered Carney over his former role as chair of Brookfield Asset Management, a major part of the global investment...
Why Pierre Poilievre has suddenly gone silent on defunding the CBC
Pierre Poilievre wants you to know: if he’s prime minister, taxes will get axed. Red tape will get slashed. Crime will get smacked down. But there is another long-standing Poilievre priority that the party has not highlighted in the same way over the opening stretch of the campaign this week.
Mark Carney’s corporate connections are under attack in the Canadian election campaign. Here’s what we know
In the opening days of the federal election campaign, one thing has united the Conservatives and New Democrats in their opposition to Liberal leader Mark Carney: that he was chairman of a massive investment firm called Brookfield Asset Management. Carney’s corporate and banking pedigree is an asset in itself, Liberals argue, since it highlights his experience and economic credentials at...
Mark Carney claps back at Donald Trump’s claim he changed Canada’s political landscape
Canadians will decide their next government, Carney said at a Friday news conference, adding any trade talks will only come after the U.S. president shows respect for Canada’s sovereignty.
Pierre Poilievre blasted over pledge to fast-track Ring of Fire permits
The grand chief of a group of northern Ontario First Nations is blasting Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre over his promise to fast-track approvals and pump money into the Ring of Fire mineral region. Poilievre made the pre-campaign pledge Wednesday in Sudbury, promising to green light all federal assessments for the area within six months if his Conservatives form the next...
Mark Carney risks getting ‘hammered’ for prickly response to questions about his finances, experts say
Pressure over Mark Carney’s personal finances isn’t going away. At this point, he might be making it worse.
Trouble awaits the next Liberal leader. Here’s what they’ll be up against — and when they could face an election
Call it the end of the beginning. When Liberals choose their next leader on Sunday, Canadian politics will enter a new era. The long denouement of Justin Trudeau’s prime ministership — which started, officially, when he announced his resignation on Jan. 6 — will give way to the opening act of whatever comes next.
Negative feelings about Pierre Poilievre pushing some voters toward Liberals, poll suggests
Worsening feelings for Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre are helping push Canadian voters towards the federal Liberal party, a new poll suggests. In an online survey published Wednesday, Pollara Strategic Insights found that 34 per cent of respondents were more open to voting for the governing Liberals by mid-February than at the end of last year.
Mark Carney’s been branded a ‘globalist’ — and he’s just fine with that. Inside the world of the man who could be Canada’s next prime minister
Can Carney’s vision save his party from losing power after almost 10 years in office? Not long after the Iron Curtain fell, Mark Carney found himself in the goalie crease of a Soviet-era hockey arena, taking professional-calibre shots from a cadre of Russian speedsters. It was January 1993, and the young Canadian was in net for the Oxford Blues. The...
‘Terrible judgment’: Liberals slam obstacles to voting in leadership race
Liberal supporters, former MPs, and one leadership campaign say problems with the party’s voter verification process could prevent people from casting their ballots in the race to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The party is using Canada Post’s Identity+ app or visits to post offices to verify that registered Liberals are Canadian citizens who can vote in the leadership race...
Trudeau government to announce high-speed rail plans from Toronto to Quebec City: sources
The federal government is set to announce plans on Wednesday for a high-speed rail line from Toronto to Quebec City, the Star has learned. Two sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the anticipated project will be unveiled in Montreal, where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Transport Minister Anita Anand were slated to make an announcement Wednesday.
Is Mark Carney the frontrunner for the Liberal leadership? Conservatives are acting like he is
The federal Conservatives are amping up criticism of Mark Carney, the Liberal leadership contender they appear to assume will replace Justin Trudeau as their chief opponent in the next federal election. The criticism comes as the party stages a “Canada First” rally in Ottawa on Saturday, aimed at pitching Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre as the best answer to U.S. President...
Mark Carney won’t rule out calling early election if he wins leadership, as NDP memo warns candidates to prepare
Liberal leadership contender Mark Carney is not ruling out calling a general election if he wins the party’s leadership and replaces Justin Trudeau as prime minister on March 9. At a press conference in Vancouver on Thursday, the former Bank of Canada and Bank of England governor said he “will do” what is best for the country as it faces...
Liberal leadership hopefuls are turning away from some of Justin Trudeau’s policies. Here’s what they say they’ll actually support
Defence spending is hot. The consumer carbon price is not. And at least two “czars” are on offer to help solve the nation’s problems. With little over a month left before Liberals choose Canada’s next prime minister, the candidates to replace Justin Trudeau are starting to fill out their policy visions. There is broad agreement on issues like the desire...
Mark Carney outlines vision for protecting Canada against American ‘aggression’ and spurring the economy
Decrying American “aggression” towards Canadian prosperity, Liberal leadership candidate Mark Carney outlined his vision Wednesday to spur economic growth and protect the country in an uncertain world where Canada can no longer rely on its partnership with the United States. It was the latest sign of how U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threats and talk of annexing Canada have taken...
Canada is gearing up to counterattack Trump’s tariff threat, Justin Trudeau says. ‘Everything is on the table.’
Canada would not immediately match any U.S. tariffs with “dollar for dollar” penalties on American products coming into Canada — an approach that Ontario Premier Doug Ford views as not “proportional” or strong enough to counter Donald Trump’s threats, the Star has learned. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told premiers “everything is on the table” as he met them behind closed...
Stephen Harper has ‘a real problem’ with Donald Trump’s claims about Canada
The former prime minister described Trump’s recent statements as incorrect and out-of-sync with the longstanding friendship between Canada and the United States. Former prime minister Stephen Harper says he has “a real problem” with some of Donald Trump’s recent statements about Canada, describing them as incorrect and out-of-sync with the long-standing friendship between this country and the United States...
More Liberal MPs eyeing Justin Trudeau’s job as party prepares to set contest rules
The field of potential candidates to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader is growing, ahead of a key caucus meeting Wednesday where Liberals MPs are expected to debate the rules and shape of the coming contest. According to a source familiar with her thinking, Burlington MP Karina Gould, the current House leader, is actively considering a leadership race...
Mark Carney calls dozens of Liberal MPs as he considers leadership bid
Former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney is seriously thinking about running for the Liberal leadership if Justin Trudeau resigns, a source close to him says, as the government grapples with uncertainty over the prime minister’s future in the face of the threat of American tariffs and a snap federal election. The leadership development comes after the heads of the...
‘There’s chaos at the centre’: Business leaders, MPs push Trudeau to decide on his future
Pressure is mounting on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to finally decide whether to resign or cling on, with some Liberal MPs urging him to quickly make up his mind, and one major business group raising concerns about “chaos” at the centre of Canadian political power. The uncertainty over who will lead the country into the new year comes barely three...
Inside Chrystia Freeland’s surprising resignation — and the fallout that has Justin Trudeau fighting for his political life
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is fighting once again for his political life, behind closed doors. At an emergency meeting Monday evening — called after Chrystia Freeland, Trudeau’s now former top deputy and one-time “minister of everything” quit as finance minister — the prime minister came face to face with Freeland along with an angry and bewildered caucus before he planned...
Poilievre’s Conservatives say they would adopt Trudeau government’s military spending plan
The opposition Conservatives say they will maintain defence budget increases planned under the current Liberal government if they take power, without making equivalent cuts under their proposed “dollar-for-dollar” spending cap.
Trudeau government’s carbon price has had ‘minimal’ effect on inflation and food costs, study concludes
Carbon pricing — including the Liberal government’s carbon levy-and-rebate scheme — had a small impact on the rate of inflation over the past five years, when the climate policy was responsible for a “small fraction” of the surge in consumer prices, according to a new study. Published Thursday, the report from University of Calgary economists Trevor Tombe and Jennifer Winter...
Donald Trump claims Canada is ripping the U.S. off. Here’s a reality check
In Donald Trump’s world, it’s all rather straightforward. If a country — like, say, Canada — exports more to the United States than it imports from America, the U.S. is getting ripped off. It’s called a trade deficit. And Trump doesn’t like it.
Liberal MP says he was threatened with ‘consequences’ for opposing $250 cheque proposal
A Liberal MP said he was threatened with unspecified “consequences” if he votes against the government’s proposed $250 cheques, an affordability measure that continues to face an uncertain path through the House of Commons. Hamilton MP Chad Collins said earlier this week that he would vote against the government’s cash rebates because they leave out seniors and people with disabilities...
Justin Trudeau’s top security adviser warned of RCMP’s struggles to meet demand as threats rise against politicians
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s top national security adviser warned earlier this year that the RCMP’s personal protective service was facing “unsustainable pressure” amid a surge of threats against public figures, a government document shows.
160,000 Ontario kids will get a chance to eat for free under new school food program
The new funding is set to be unveiled Friday, when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to announce that Ontario is the third province to sign on to its emerging National School Food Program. Ontario is set to get more than $108 million from the federal government to expand existing school food programs and start feeding an extra 160,000 kids...
Give us housing money before Pierre Poilievre can block it, GTA mayors tell Trudeau government
Several GTA mayors say they support a new request from Mississauga for the federal government to provide all funds in a major housing program now, as the Liberals ring the alarm over Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s plan to scrap the initiative to help pay for his proposed tax cut to boost home construction.
Another Tory MP wants Liberal housing money that Pierre Poilievre has pledged to cut
Federal Housing Minister Sean Fraser is exposing another Opposition Conservative MP who has voiced a desire for federal money from a program the party promises to cut, as the Liberals and Tories dashed off duelling letters over housing policy to mayors and premiers across the country.
Justin Trudeau rejected ‘strong call’ to quit too quickly, Liberal MP charges
One of the dissenting Liberal MPs calling for Justin Trudeau to resign is expressing disappointment over how quickly the prime minister trumpeted his intention to stay on after this week’s high stakes caucus meeting over his leadership.
‘Code Red’ petition from Liberals urges secret ballot on Justin Trudeau’s leadership
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was all smiles as he walked into a Liberal caucus meeting Wednesday morning, where dissidents in his own ranks were prepared to challenge his leadership while his supporters harshly condemned the damaging show of disunity. At the same time, a grassroots petition describing an “existential crisis” in the Liberal party was demanding an urgent secret ballot...
Behind the scenes, anxious Liberals wonder if Justin Trudeau has a plan for re-election: ‘The status quo is leading us to obliteration’
With no new campaign director, no new ad campaign rollout, no major cabinet shuffle, and no change at the top amid grim polling data for Justin Trudeau’s Liberals, anxiety and dread amongst MPs and insiders about their electoral prospects has ramped up, sources tell the Star. Most MPs head out Friday — some fled Ottawa earlier — into a Thanksgiving...
Liberal MP says he shouldn’t be silenced in the House of Commons for linking Conservatives to Vladimir Putin
A Liberal MP from Toronto says he has been unfairly blocked from speaking in the House of Commons for seven months since he refused to apologize after declaring that a pro-Russian “Putin wing” had “taken over” Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative party. The federal Tories have expressed outrage over the claim they dismiss as a lie, but Yvan Baker argues he shouldn’t...
Documents reveal why Trudeau government needs to speed up NORAD modernization, expert says
The federal government is off to a slow start on its 20-year plan to improve Canada’s contribution to the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) that it shares with the United States, new documents show. Tabled in Parliament last week in response to a written question from Conservative MP Bob Zimmer, the documents detail how much money was spent over...
‘He’s been wasting his time:’ Liberal MPs slam Doug Ford’s stand on bike lanes
Premier Doug Ford’s push to limit the construction of bike lanes in Ontario municipalities is facing criticism from some Liberal cabinet ministers and MPs. Liberal MP Yasir Naqvi, a former Ontario attorney general, told the Star on Wednesday the controversial plan was an “unacceptable” distraction from a premier who “doesn’t want to do his job.”
Justin Trudeau’s Liberals reverse course and will allow fundraising in private homes, source says
In an effort to catch up to the Conservatives’ dominant fundraising machine ahead of the next federal election, Justin Trudeau’s Liberals plan to resume holding fundraisers in private homes. A party source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed to the Star that the Liberals have ditched a policy adopted in 2017 to only hold political fundraisers in public spaces...
Justin Trudeau will let the Conservatives try to topple his minority government next week: sources
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau could see his government fall next week after the Liberals offered the Conservative Official Opposition the first chance at presenting a motion of non-confidence in the House of Commons, despite the Liberals’ loss Monday of a key Montreal-area seat, the Star has learned.
Justin Trudeau and Pierre Poilievre spar as Parliament returns and one party leader says an election is not far off
One of the first things many MPs saw when they returned to Parliament Hill on Monday was a large, flapping “F—k Trudeau” flag. As if they needed a reminder about the mood in Canadian politics. The flag, one of several, was raised at the familiar anti-establishment demonstration that is often stationed on the sidewalk in front of West Block, where...
‘I’m not going anywhere’: Justin Trudeau says he won’t resign if Liberals lose Montreal byelection
A combative Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday he’s not going to resign as Liberal leader if his party loses a high-stakes Montreal byelection on Monday, the same day his minority government is slated to return to Parliament without the NDP promising to prop it up. In an interview on the Montreal radio station CJAD 800, Trudeau said he will...