Our neighbours' benign indifference to Canadian affairs seems to have ended as the MAGAsphere takes notice. New Democrat MP Leah Gazan probably thought she was communicating only with a small and like-minded group of Canadian NDP supporters when she rolled out a lengthy acronym during a news conference in Ottawa earlier this month. In fact, she had wandered into the...
Canada is at a crossroads. In the coming days and weeks, the federal government will decide whether the country compromises its climate commitments or embraces a more sustainable path towards a greener future. Last November, Prime Minister Mark Carney signed a memorandum of understanding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith that promised to “unlock and grow” oil and gas production, renewable...
Former Alberta premier Jason Kenney warned that while he believes the province’s secessionist movement isn’t likely to succeed, national unity could soon face a serious stress test if frustration with Ottawa drives more people to reject federalism. Onstage at The Globe and Mail’s Intersect 2026 conference in Toronto on Wednesday, Mr. Kenney described Quebec’s five-decade-long sovereignty debate as a “sterile...
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is set to deliver an update today on a provincewide referendum scheduled for the fall.?? Smith announced in February she will put nine questions to Albertans in October, including proposals to restrict social services from some immigrants. Since last April's federal election, the province has also been embroiled in a heated debate over Alberta separating from...
Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab is under fire from immigration lawyers for conducting an interview where she discussed forthcoming policy with a social-media influencer who also runs platforms for foreign nationals hoping to settle or study in Canada. Ms. Metlege Diab earlier this month conducted a 30-minute interview with Max Medyk about immigration policy, including about a soon-to be announced...
A new Pollara survey finds 56% of Canadians heard about Pierre Poilievre’s appearance on “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast, including 11% who say they listened to the full interview. Among those who heard the podcast, twice as many say it improved (33%) rather than worsened (16%) how they feel about Poilievre. Our report also provides a first look at how...
Opinion on Canada’s New! Liberal! Majority! Government! has tended to divide into two camps. On one hand are those, mostly to be found on the Conservative end of things, who denounce the process by which the Liberals attained their majority – five opposition MPs, crossing the floor one after the other, like baby ducks – as illegitimate, even undemocratic. Canadians...
Jim Balsillie said Canada was ‘hijacked’ last time around and is likely to be further disadvantaged in the pending negotiations
Kathleen Wynne, Ontario's first female premier, remembers meeting a businessman who shook hands with the male staffer standing next to her and addressed him as "premier." It's hard to shake the notion among the public of what a premier looks like, Wynne, premier between 2013 and 2018, said in a recent interview. "A five-foot-four-woman is not who people think of...
Canadian Identity Minister Marc Miller’s recent comments about the CRTC have renewed questions regarding political interference with the independent regulator. After Cable Public Affairs Channel Inc. (CPAC) announced it was cutting two original programs — PrimeTime Politics and L’Essentiel — Miller (Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Sœurs, Que.) posted a statement on social media saying he was “thinking of the employees affected by layoffs”...
Canada is at a crossroads. In the coming days and weeks, the federal government will decide whether the country compromises its climate commitments or embraces a more sustainable path towards a greener future.
Its natural gas reserves have the potential to enrich its people and power the world. Let’s get some shovels in the ground
For one shining moment in Washington on Wednesday, a Democratic senator stared down Donald Trump’s administration with some words that many Canadians have been wanting to hurl in the president’s direction. It was during a Senate subcommittee hearing when U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick — the same one who said “they suck” when referring to Canada last week — was...
Prime Minister Mark Carney wants us to believe the rupture with the United States will be long-lasting, maybe here to stay. He suggested it again in his weekend video posted on YouTube. “Some ... believe that we should wait in the hope that the United States will return to normal,” he said. “But hope isn’t a plan and nostalgia is...
While campaigning for the presidency in Portland, in 1932, Franklin Roosevelt told a crowd “my friends, judge me by the enemies I’ve made.”. In a 2015 Presidential debate, Anderson Cooper asked the candidates which enemy they were most proud of making. There’s a deep history of politics about picking your enemies as deliberately as you choose your friends.
“Thank you for your time,” Prime Minister Mark Carney said at the close of his recent direct-to-you vlog, titled Forward Guidance. “I know it’s precious.” That’s nice. He told Canadians he is going to want to talk with them again, but promised to do so sparingly. “I know you have busy lives and you don’t need busy lives from me,”...
If you’re confused about where Canada stands heading into negotiations with the U.S. on the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade, it’s likely because Prime Minister Mark Carney keeps moving the goalposts.
Former prime minister Brian Mulroney once levelled the bizarre charge that the first thing then NDP leader Ed Broadbent would do if elected to replace him would be to nationalize high-end menswear retailer Harry Rosen. It was a personal shot at Broadbent, who was renowned for his ill-fitting brown tweed jackets, but also a reminder to voters that elements within...
The “gravy plane” mess lasted only a few days. But it sent a message. If Doug Ford hears that message, the Ontario Premier will soon retire. The public learned last week that the provincial government had acquired a preowned Bombardier Challenger 650 jet aircraft. On Sunday, in the wake of opposition howls, the Premier announced the government would sell the...
It seems odd to even suggest this right now, but … what if the plane was a good idea? Seriously. What if a private jet for the use of the premier and other key officials was actually worth considering?
The recent Liberal policy convention I attended in Montreal was more about convening than policy: the corridors of the Palais des Congrès were packed with 4,500 delegates networking away, while the policy sessions were sparsely attended. One session did impress me for its participants. It was the session on “Building Canada Strong,” featuring Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne, Industry Minister Mélanie...
Well, the Iranian case is up for debate, but there’s no question your commander in chief effected “regime change” here in Canada. After last week’s special elections, Mark Carney, the prime minister whose elevation Donald Trump helped bring about, has at last secured a parliamentary majority for Canada’s Liberal Party.
When a prime minister takes to YouTube for a 10-minute address to the nation, a perfectly reasonable question is: what’s the emergency? So when Mark Carney released a video on the weekend, titled “Forward Guidance,” there was a natural temptation to look for what alarms he was trying to raise.
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Sunday video was a masterclass in crisis communications. He reminded Canadians of his credentials managing tough times. He described the urgent challenges Canada faces. He explained what he is doing to tackle them. He promised not to “sugarcoat” anything. He appealed to Canadians’ patriotism. And he promised to keep us posted: bookmark this YouTube channel for...
In 2016, I appointed three of the five people on the Electoral Boundaries Commission. A year later, their final report hit my desk. I was disappointed. Very disappointed. Two strong NDP seats, held by my finance minister and my attorney-general, were made into one. The urban Medicine Hat seat occupied by the then-NDP speaker of the House was cut in...
It’s a mere six months until Albertans decide whether they want to separate from the rest of Canada. And yet there is no apparent all-inclusive campaign for those of us who want to vote No.
Was the timing of Mark Carney’s feel-good “fireside chat” video released Sunday mere coincidence, landing as it did the day before concerning inflation numbers? Or was it a deliberate calculation to point out that Canadian fur traders were all over the northern plains before the Americans had left St. Louis, a day ahead of confirmation that consumers are now paying...
FOR ALL OF MY adult life, I’ve been a Liberal believing in the defence of rights, the constraining of power, an equitable society, and an independent foreign policy. It’s been a narrative that many Canadians have strongly believed and supported.
The instant Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles blasted out the words “gravy plane,” it became obvious that the private jet purchased by Ontario Premier Doug Ford was not long for this province. It wasn’t simply that the act of spending $28.9-million of taxpayers’ money on a private aircraft for the Premier’s office was hideously off-brand, though that was a major...
The old Pierre Poilievre is back. After watching Mark Carney’s Liberals secure a majority government with a clean sweep in last Monday’s three byelections and with rumours of more floor crossers in the offing, the Conservative Party of Canada leader has decided to abandon his kinder and gentler personality reboot in favour of his more familiar brand of populist petulance...
Hungary has only 9.5 million people, but its election result is resonating across the democratic world. The resounding defeat of Viktor Orbán and his party Fidesz on April 12 brought an end to 16 years of governance by a prime minister who had established himself as a global icon of the populist far-right, the model to follow, the archetype of...
Let’s be clear: there is nothing improper about a government gaining a majority in Parliament between elections. Some have suggested otherwise, as if something outside the rules has taken place. It hasn’t. Canada operates under a Westminster parliamentary system. Voters don’t cast ballots for a Prime Minister. We don’t vote for or against a majority government. We vote for a...
Congratulations to Prime Minister Mark Carney and the Liberals on securing their majority. Now, please, please, pick a fighter jet already. No one can stop you! This isn’t the first time I’ve made this exact plea in these very pages. It was just last September that I begged the prime minister to get around to picking a jet to replace...
The Conservative Party of Canada launched two new ads recently, backed by what the party says is a million-dollar-plus media buy across television, radio, connected TV and digital platforms. They will be running through the end of June. The ads are well produced. One features Pierre Poilievre speaking of a country that stands on its own feet and bows before...
Nearly one year after the election that validated Mark Carney’s instincts about pursuing a career in elected politics, the principal casualty of that choice, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, finds himself in a peculiar position. Poilievre, whose party lost that election from a starting lead of 20 points, who lost his own seat, and who has witnessed a mini stampede of...
For someone relatively new to elected politics, Mark Carney has developed a habit of leaning into his pre-political past. When Carney unfurled his middle-power response to the geopolitical upheaval fronted by Donald Trump’s weaponized presidency, he didn’t do it at the Canadian Club, the United Nations, or Chatham House. He delivered his code-cracking economic GPS from the annual gathering of...
Roughly one year after the federal election, all cabinet ministers have mandatory conflict of interest disclosures publicly available — except for one.
Prime Minister Mark Carney is dismissing criticism from his Conservative rival on the Liberal government’s handling of trade talks with the U.S. as a new report suggests that Americans are demanding concessions before restarting negotiations. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre told reporters on Tuesday the prime minister needs to stop “showboating” and outline his plan for a trade negotiations with the...
Alberta is looking at three options for a new oil pipeline to ship 1 million barrels a day through northern British Columbia, according to people familiar with the matter, as Canadian officials make plans to sharply increase energy exports to Asia. The provincial government and Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government are also closing in on an agreement on industrial carbon...
Liberal House leader Steven MacKinnon rejected a call from the Conservatives to leave three key House committees under the control of opposition parties as the Liberals move to take greater control over Parliament. MacKinnon told reporters Wednesday morning he will move a motion to change the rules governing the House of Commons to ensure the Liberals have the most votes...
Grit MP Nate Erskine Smith says he intends to resign 'shortly' after the provincial nomination for Scarborough Southwest, Ont., is called on May 9 as NDP Leader Avi Lewis passes on the impending Beaches–East York vacancy for his own entrance to the House.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer says there is a gap between the Canada and U.S. administrations’ trade philosophies. Greer made the comments at a U.S. House Ways and Means Committee hearing on U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade agenda on Wednesday. “They’ve done this, but overall they’ve indicated that they want to be trading more, they want to have more trade...
The Ontario government has sold a $28.9 million private jet back to Bombardier, less than a week after its sale spurred public outcry. Premier Doug Ford made the announcement at an unrelated event Wednesday. "We sold the plane for the same price, right back to Bombardier and said 'OK, you take it back.,'" Ford said.
Canada will not make any more concessions to the United States ahead of negotiations on the continental trade pact, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday as he insisted Washington will not be allowed to dictate the terms of the talks. Carney was responding to a Radio-Canada report citing officials who said the Americans are imposing an "entry fee" on trade...
After a new report put a spotlight on popular YouTube videos with unclear origin promoting Alberta separatism, an independence leader said he's unconcerned about foreign interference influencing a possible upcoming separation referendum. Mitch Sylvestre, the CEO of the Alberta Prosperity Project, said claims of foreign interference in the Alberta independence debate are “overblown." He was responding to a new report...
The U.S. does not dictate the terms of free trade with Canada, Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters Wednesday morning. Responding to questions about ongoing Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement negotiations with the Americans, Carney said the Canadian delegation is aware of what the U.S. “would call trade irritants,” and that “we have some on our side as well.”
Trump administration demanding concessions before formally launching CUSMA talks, sources tell Radio-Canada. The Trump administration is demanding what amounts to an "entry fee" from Canada to engage in trade talks toward a revised Canada-United States-Mexico Free Trade Agreement (CUSMA), four sources told Radio-Canada. "The Americans are setting conditions before negotiations begin," said one high-ranking individual familiar with the matter. Three...
Piling his shopping bags into his vehicle's trunk outside a Houston grocery store last week, Texan Herman Moreno said he doesn't think Canada has any kind of trading relationship with Texas at all. "Canada better straighten up, bro," he said. "If they want their money, they better straighten up." Canada is actually the Lone Star State's second-largest trading partner. Many...
The last Conservative leader to be ousted by his party says he's advised his replacement to forget the floor crossings and social media trends as speculation heats up over Pierre Poilievre's future at the party's helm. "My advice to him has always been to put the country first and look at the long term," Erin O'Toole said in an interview...
An energy and climate policy-focused think tank is urging Prime Minister Mark Carney to deliver results on a slate of “critical” issues related to the federal government’s memorandum of understanding with Alberta, namely the industrial carbon pricing system. “This is the most important element of the (memorandum of understanding, or MOU),” wrote Chris Severson-Baker, the executive director of the Alberta-based...
Takeoff distance for Bombardier 650 Challenger at full capacity longer than most runways in province. The $28.9-million private jet the Ontario government purchased — and Premier Doug Ford has now committed to sell — would only have been able to fly in and out of about 10 per cent of recognized airports in the province, according to a CBC News...
Was it Prime Minister Mark Carney or was it AI? That’s a question thousands of Canadians who receive a letter back from Canada’s prime minister may be asking in the not-too-distant future as the government contemplates a plan to replace some of the people who handle his correspondence with new technology like artificial intelligence. In its most recent departmental planning...
A controversial motion to send recently proposed changes to Alberta's electoral maps back to the drawing board has passed in the legislature, leading the Opposition NDP to accuse Premier Danielle Smith's United Conservatives of undermining democracy. "What we're seeing before us is something that's never been tried before by any Canadian Parliament, by any Canadian legislature," NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi...
Liberal House leader Steven MacKinnon is defending the government's move to seize greater control over the parliamentary agenda. MacKinnon indicated Tuesday the government will soon move a motion to change the rules governing House of Commons procedures to ensure the Liberals have the most votes on committees. MacKinnon says MPs from the governing party should hold a majority on House...
Agreement sets July 1 as day countries can signal intention to exit pact, but it still remains in place. Canada's chief trade negotiator says the July 1 date to review the North American trade pact shouldn't be viewed as a hard deadline — noting that some trade points won't be entirely hashed out by that date. "There's a lot of...
Prime Minister Mark Carney has unveiled a new Canada-U.S. advisory council ahead of a formal CUSMA review process this summer. The council is made up of some members from the previous council while adding former Conservative leader Erin O’Toole, former Conservative cabinet minister Lisa Raitt, former premiers P.J. Akeeagok and Jean Charest, as well as former Canadian High Commissioner to...
Despite accusing the United States of weaponizing the deep integration of its economy with Canada’s, Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc says he “absolutely” wants the trilateral trade deal including Mexico to remain intact. “We’ve become overly dependent on one trading partner who has turned around, as the prime minister has also said, and weaponized that very dependency or integration against...
Carney says there's been a 'rupture' in Canada-U.S. relationship, while Poilievre wants to draw closer. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre launched a pointed attack on the Liberal government's handling of the Canada-U.S. file Tuesday, saying the results so far have fallen well short of the mark and the prime minister is "losing" the trade war. Speaking to reporters after Prime Minister...
The Liberals are moving to take control of House of Commons committees now that they've secured a majority government. House leader Steven MacKinnon says in a social media post that the Liberals will seek to change the standing orders, the rules that govern the Commons, to ensure they have the most votes on committees. Majority governments traditionally hold a majority...
Members of Parliament voted today to approve the appointment of Annette Ryan as Canada's next Parliamentary Budget Officer. MPs approved her appointment in a 164 to 153 vote, with Bloc Quebecois and Conservatives voting against her nomination. Ryan, a longtime public servant and the current deputy director at Canada's financial intelligence agency, Fintrac, was named as cabinet's pick to lead...
Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne will appear before the House ethics committee to answer questions about his connection to the Alto high-speed rail project. The Liberal members of the committee dragged out debate for hours over whether Champagne and the ethics commissioner would be called in for questioning. The minister recused himself from decisions about the high-speed rail project last September...
CPAC, the Canadian service that provides direct coverage of political events, says declining revenues have led it to cancel two flagship programs. It says in a release it has cancelled PrimeTime Politics and L'Essentiel. The release cited "accelerating revenue decline," an uncertain broadcasting landscape and delays in modernizing the broadcast system.
A new poll suggests the proposed Alto high-speed railway is both the most-supported and the most-opposed item on the federal government's list of major projects. Probe Research surveyed 1,300 Canadians earlier this month and found 61 per cent of respondents supported the project, while 19 per cent opposed it to some degree. The poll cannot be assigned a margin of...
Ontario Premier Doug Ford once again defended his government’s decision to purchase a $28.9 million private jet Tuesday, saying it’s “embarrassing” a province the size of Ontario doesn’t have one. But he stopped short of saying he’d reconsider his decision to sell it in the wake of public backlash over the purchase. “Honestly folks, it’s a no brainer. It’s kind...
Federal politicians are dismissing U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's disparaging comments about Canada's negotiating position heading into major trade talks with the U.S. and Mexico. Lutnick said Friday it would be a bad strategy for Canada to try to wait out the U.S. to reach a better deal later on, adding, "They suck." Dominic LeBlanc, the minister responsible for Canada-U.S...
Flagged as a “potential covert influence operation” in a new report, those behind the network are tough to trace. The mispronunciation of Regina — as in, the capital of Saskatchewan — was a clue. Then there was the reference to B.C. MLA Dallas Brodie, a woman, as a “he.” These slip-ups helped lead researchers at the Media Ecosystem Observatory (MEO)...
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Senate took the first steps in a new effort to reopen the Department of Homeland Security early Thursday, voting to adopt a budget plan that would fund ICE and Border Patrol over Democratic objections and sending it to the House.
A Republican senator juggling three roles -- lawmaker, doctor and political candidate seeking reelection -- walked a fine line on Wednesday as he questioned Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime anti-vaccine activist who has moved to dramatically roll back the nation's childhood vaccine recommendations.
NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. health officials stopped the publication of a study on whether the COVID-19 vaccine was keeping adults from becoming sick enough to have to go to the hospital.
Bill Cassidy's roles as a lawmaker, a doctor and a political candidate will collide on Wednesday as he questions Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in two high-stakes Senate hearings.
Ottawa has announced an increase in the number of direct flights permitted to bring passengers and cargo to and from China. Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon says there will be "an incremental increase" in flights between the countries in response to Prime Minister Mark Carney's outreach visit to Beijing in January. Canadian and Chinese airlines will be allowed to boost the...
The strait will not be fully reopened “until America allows full freedom of navigation for vessels traveling from Iran,” Iranian military officials indicated. Iranian military officials said Saturday that conditions in the Strait of Hormuz have reverted to "strict control," citing the continued U.S. blockade of its ports, just one day after declaring the waterway “completely open.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney told world leaders today Canada welcomes the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. The Prime Minister's Office says Carney took part virtually in a meeting with dozens of world leaders to talk about securing the strait.
Strait will remain completely open for rest of ceasefire, Iran's foreign minister says. Iran's foreign minister announced Friday that passage for all commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz is completely open following a ceasefire agreement reached in Lebanon yesterday, but President Donald Trump said the U.S. naval blockade on Iran will remain in place until a deal with Tehran...
Canada’s finance minister plans to discuss Anthropic PBC’s Mythos model when he meets with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent this week.
Canada’s long-standing openness helped build one of the world’s most respected immigration systems. However, the intellectual establishment’s push for ever-expanding “inclusivity” has driven that openness beyond what many Canadians consider reasonable.
A comparison of two separate surveys conducted during the 2021 and 2025 election years shows a misalignment between the positions of election candidates and those of their constituents on the division of powers in Canada. While the views of candidates and voters were relatively close on this issue in 2021, the gap widened in 2025. The percentage of voters who...
A collection of SubStack publishing within Canadian public affairs.
I nearly drove off the road when I heard Pope Leo’s powerful message on the radio this week.
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s office wants to bust up a monopoly. I think I’m the target. Let me explain. The Privy Council Office (PCO), home of the prime minister and cabinet, has been flooded with complaints about its failures to comply with the Access to Information Act.
Canadian troops may be only days away from deploying to the Middle East to aid the U.S.’s and Israel’s war on Iran. The latest indication is a joint statement expressing concern about Iran’s restriction of oil tankers through the narrow Strait of Hormuz signed by Prime Minister Mark Carney and NATO allies late in the week.
Mark Carney and Pierre Poilievre take their rivalry off the Hill and onto YouTube. Nick Taylor-Vaisey and Mickey Djuric explore what it means when the House of Commons stops being the main event: The Carney government has a hushed approach to trade talks. What the silence signals, and how long it can hold: And finally, Canada is the only G...
Robotics and drones are now leading the charge in modern warfare, reshaping battlefields in Ukraine and on the Strait of Hormuz. The Canadian military, with renewed funding and targets, is focusing on developing drones – and defence companies want to be part of production and investment.
NDP Leader Avi Lewis is pushing Carney's newly-elected majority government to enact legislation that would ban surveillance pricing. This would mean businesses would not be allowed to use your personal data like search history to change their pricing. It comes less than a month after he was elected as the leader of the Federal NDP, and alongside another idea to...
YouTube is now the pre-eminent TV channel for those watching television . And now it also stars the latest attempts by both Mark Carney and Pierre Poilievre to try to influence Canadians. What's behind their dueling videos? Also Doug Ford's jet -- here today gone tomorrow. Could there be more to this story? Althia Raj and Rob Russo are here...
