National Newswatch

Canadian diplomacy needs to find its way back from the wilderness

Sep 11 2023 — Louise Blais — Among Canadian foreign-policy watchers, it has become a cliché to say that Canada has lost influence on the world stage. So much so that this reality, which should otherwise be shocking and distressing, has been instead quietly accepted as a fact, even inside “Fort Pearson” (a.k.a. Global Affairs Canada headquarters). How did we get here? […]

Governments more ambitious than Canadians on electrification

Jul 5 2023 — Monica Gattinger and Nik Nanos — Canadians care about climate change but are deeply concerned about energy affordability as the country pushes to expand electricity use. Many governments across Canada promote electrification as their main strategy to pursue greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. This makes good sense. Canada has a very clean grid. Eighty-three per cent of electricity produced is already […]

‘Winner-take-all’ politics threatens Canadian democracy

Jun 9 2023 — Lori Turnbull — During the COVID-19 emergency, our governing institutions – including Parliament, cabinet, federalism and the public service – were more responsive than they typically are. As a result, public trust was high. Once the pandemic hit in earnest, a new cabinet committee was formed to co-ordinate the federal government’s response. The Canada Emergency Response Benefit Act […]

How federalism failed Canadian cities during COVID-19

Jun 7 2023 — Kennedy Stewart — COVID-19 was a tough stress test for Canada’s federal system of government. Our largest cities continue to suffer significant pandemic-related economic and social damage, in part due to provincial governments sweeping constitutional responsibilities they wish to avoid onto municipalities. These “creatures of the province” have become rugs provinces use to hide their problems. COVID-19 lifted […]

How to mandate clean heat in our buildings

Jun 5 2023 — — Decarbonizing buildings is a necessary step to achieve net-zero emissions. Countries that take climate change seriously are introducing clean-heating requirements. Stand-alone fossil fuel heating systems will no longer be installed as early as 2024 in Germany and 2026 in the Netherlands. In Canada, the federal government has for decades ratcheted up the requirements for the […]

Is anybody ready to act on policing problems in Canada?

Jun 2 2023 — Michael Kempa — Two reports dropped within six weeks of each other revealed deep systemic failures in Canadian policing that go back half a century. The report of the Public Order Emergency Commission (POEC) provides the framework for bringing Canada’s long-ailing policing system back from its collapse under the weight of the 2022 occupation of Ottawa. It should […]

Is one region favoured by Ottawa?

May 23 2023 — — Discussions of how Canadians view their federation inevitably zero in on regional differences. Western Canadians are alienated, Quebecers are nationalist, Atlantic Canadians feel overlooked and Ontarians are more or less oblivious. The terms we use to describe these different outlooks – discontent, anger, resentment – may vary. But the unit of analysis remains constant: region. […]

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