National Newswatch

Behind Trudeau’s standoff with Big Tech

Aug 14 2023 — — Canada’s Liberal government picked a fight with two U.S. tech giants by passing legislation forcing Meta and Google to pay news publishers for content. But the battle hasn’t gone quite as expected. Now, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says big Silicon Valley firms want to make an example out of his country as Meta, fronted by […]

Reno 911! The math on 24 Sussex

Aug 1 2023 — Nick Taylor-Vaisey — Does anybody really know how much it would cost to renovate the official residence where prime ministers used to live? Rats and all? A low-profile heritage development group with a strong desire to save 24 Sussex Drive has doubts about the numbers at the heart of the public debate. Historic Ottawa Development Inc (HODI) — […]

Chrystia Freeland shares her biggest fear for Ukraine

Jul 21 2023 — Nick Taylor-Vaisey — Chrystia Freeland is not worried about Ukrainian resolve. She’s worried about the rest of the West. Freeland, Canada’s deputy prime minister and at times a key global player in the multilateral sanctions campaign against Russia, was asked at the Aspen Security Forum on Friday what concerns her most about the war on Ukraine.

Stoltenberg to Canada: Pony up

Jul 6 2023 — Nick Taylor-Vaisey — It’s five sleeps until NATO leaders gather for a high-stakes summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. Canada will face persistent, awkward questions about failing to spend the alliance’s targeted 2 percent of GDP on defense. It’s getting more awkward by the day. BEN WALLACE, the U.K.’s defense secretary, was the most recent ally to jab Ottawa for […]

Field notes from D.C.

Jul 4 2023 — — When POLITICO Ottawa headed south to Rosslyn, Virginia, for a company confab, we were lightheartedly ribbed around town for bringing Canada’s wildfire smoke along with us. The haze was so bad at one point last week that the Washington monument was nearly completely obscured in the view from our headquarters overlooking the Capitol. Yet Canadian […]

Canada’s closer: How Trudeau’s pitchman is outplaying America

Jul 3 2023 — Zi-Ann Lum — At the Paris Air Show, under the piercing roars of fighter jet demos, Canada’s silver-haired, Canali-clad industry minister sells one executive after another on an unexpected pitch: Amid global disorder, boring is best for business. “When everything is high risk, you go to Canada and it’s very stable and predictable. It’s very attractive,” said François-Philippe […]

Is Justin Trudeau ready for the fight?

May 4 2023 — — The answer will be debated in backrooms, bars and the convention floor as the Liberal party faithful gather in Ottawa. Four thousand Liberals have two things top of mind as they huddle here for their biennial convention: Pierre Poilievre and the next election. The Conservative is a feisty and unifying force who wants to be […]

How smaller nations can sway global conversation

Apr 27 2023 — Nick Taylor-Vaisey — Steve Verheul, the legendary Canadian negotiator, is on a mission to transform international trade policy. Few bureaucrats in Ottawa can claim a global network that rivals Verheul’s Rolodex of policymakers, business leaders, lobbyists and fellow deal-makers. He’s launched a second act outside of government.

Does Trudeau’s top aide have an exit strategy?

Apr 14 2023 — Maura Forrest — The most powerful woman in Canadian politics is up against her biggest challenge yet. Katie Telford helped mastermind Justin Trudeau’s landslide victory in 2015, vaulting a Liberal prime minister into office and ending a near-decade of Conservative government. She has steered the Canadian leader through two more wins, a global pandemic, nail-biting NAFTA negotiations and […]

338Canada: What happened to Wexit?

Feb 15 2023 — Philippe J. Fournier — Remember Wexit? The movement from Western Canada — well, mostly Alberta and Saskatchewan — was primed to fight Ottawa on everything from pipelines to provincial autonomy, backed by threats it would exit Confederation in the wake of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s reelection in 2019.

Erin O’Toole: One year later

Feb 2 2023 — — Today, a year after his ouster, we publish an exclusive interview with former Tory leader ERIN O’TOOLE. Three-hundred and sixty-five days have passed since the worst one of ERIN O’TOOLE’s political career. On his last day as Conservative leader, 73 members of his caucus voted to give him the boot. Only 45 supported him. With […]

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