Sep 11 2023 — Theophilos Argitis — Financial Post — While Pierre Poilievre probably wasn’t giving them much thought this weekend during his Conservative Party’s policy convention in Quebec City, G20 leaders were also meeting 11,000 kilometres away in New Delhi to deliberate on some of the world’s biggest challenges.
Aug 30 2023 — Joe Oliver — Financial Post — Anita Anand and Chrystia Freeland recently drew public attention to their contrasting personas and political positioning. Anand, now President of the Treasury Board, was ousted as Minister of National Defence, supposedly for advocating too strenuously to fund the cash-strapped military and for excessive self-promotion. Clearly undeterred, she was quick out of the gate of her […]
Aug 28 2023 — Theophilos Argitis — Financial Post — The sharp escalation of global bond yields in recent weeks raises the prospect we may be in the middle of a structural shift to a world of permanently higher borrowing costs. If true, it would represent a fresh blow to Canadian government finances that only reinforces the need for much more careful budget management from […]
Aug 20 2023 — Theophilos Argitis — Financial Post — Ahead of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet shuffle last month, there was — for a brief Ottawa minute — speculation the government shakeup would include the departure of Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, who also serves as the country’s finance minister.
Jul 13 2023 — Theophilos Argitis — Financial Post — Indebted Canadians should continue to brace themselves. Credibility is hard to earn but easy to lose. After losing quite a bit of it over the past year, the Bank of Canada is working hard to get it back. Governor Tiff Macklem’s decision on July 12 to raise interest rates once again, and leave the door […]
Jun 29 2023 — Joe Oliver — Financial Post — Sir John A. Macdonald called the Senate “a place of sober second thought,” which may have reflected his appreciation for at least occasional sobriety. But Bill S-243, the “Climate-Aligned Finance Act,” is the antithesis of thoughtful reconsideration. Its declared purpose is to regulate investment practices so as to reduce the risks both that financial institutions […]
May 29 2023 — Theo Argitis and Robert Asselin — Financial Post — The unexpected pick up in Canadian inflation last month — even if it turns out to be a blip — is a fresh reminder that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government is facing a more perilous economic policy landscape going forward, with difficult trade-offs on the horizon.
May 8 2023 — Theophilos Argitis — Financial Post — It would be an exaggeration to say that Canadian business and policymakers are teeming with confidence the country will hit its ambitious climate transition targets. In Ottawa and certainly among stakeholders, skeptics outnumber optimists. As Royal Bank of Canada said more politely in a report released on May 4: hitting our goals will “require greater […]
Apr 21 2023 — Financial Post — Former federal industry minister Navdeep Bains is joining Rogers Communications Inc. as chief corporate affairs officer, the telecom company announced April 20, one of a number of executive and board level changes unveiled as Rogers moves to integrate the operations of newly acquired Shaw Communications Inc.
Apr 20 2023 — Joe Oliver — Financial Post — The recently averted international banking crisis renewed a call to increase government bank deposit insurance, even though Canada has a very sound banking system. We did not mirror the recent failures of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) (US$209 billion in assets) and Signature Bank (US$110 billion), which spread to Switzerland with the collapse of Credit Suisse […]
Apr 9 2023 — Theophilos Argitis — Financial Post — Though not always seen as his forte, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau does often take big swings on economic narrative, and he did exactly that at a keynote speech this week in Toronto. Speaking to the U.S.-Canada Summit — a conference organized by Bank of Montreal and Eurasia Group — Trudeau took the opportunity to outline […]
Apr 4 2023 — Joe Oliver — Financial Post — Chrystia Freeland was channelling her inner Edith Piaf in last week’s federal budget, which could have been entitled “Non, je ne regrette rien.” For those less than a certain age, that was a 1960 hit and signature song of the legendary French chanteuse.
Mar 27 2023 — Theophilos Argitis — Financial Post — Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s third budget since taking the job more than two years ago will easily be her most challenging. Since Freeland last updated Canadians on the nation’s finances in November, the economic outlook has deteriorated slightly, particularly the picture for next year. Interest rate hikes take some time to ripple through the economy, […]
Mar 16 2023 — Joe Oliver — Financial Post — Late Friday afternoon, the traditional slot for bad news, Trans Mountain Corporation (TMC) announced its pipeline expansion costs have ballooned to an eye-watering $30.9 billion, 44 per cent more that its year-ago estimate of $21.4 billion, which was up from its previous guesstimate of $12.6 billion, which was more than quadruple its first pie-in-the-sky projection […]
Feb 28 2023 — Joe Oliver — Financial Post — Most Western democracies, but especially Canada, passionately advocate climate policies that are weakening their collective ability to compete with an aggressive and antagonistic communist China. The green agenda helps China several ways: It saps the West’s economic prosperity and undermines its energy independence, while bolstering China’s economy and strengthening its national security, thereby advancing President […]