Liberal government would make the broadcaster's funding statutory. Liberal Leader Mark Carney said on Friday that his government would provide an initial $150-million annual funding increase to CBC and Radio-Canada as part of a new mandate for the public broadcaster. "When we compare ourselves to the U.K., France or Germany, we see that our public broadcaster is underfunded," Carney said...
Even in a warehouse full of battery-powered buses, Carney’s speech proved to be the furthest thing from electric. Liberal Leader Mark Carney strolled into an election campaign event on Monday past a ghostly figure. In a hallway near the main entrance of a Toronto-area trades college, a newspaper front page is framed on the wall. It features a photo of...
The federal Liberals now have a 10-point advantage over the Conservatives on Day 13 of the federal election campaign, while Mark Carney has opened up a 20-point lead over Pierre Poilievre when it comes to Canadians’ preferences for prime minister. A three-day rolling sample by Nanos Research ending April 3 has the Liberals at 46 per cent over the Conservatives...
In the early days of the federal election, almost everywhere Conservative Party of Canada Leader Pierre Poilievre has appeared, so too has his wife Anaida. Whether embracing on a Newfoundland wharf, serving beer or ice cream to patrons at local establishments, or sharing a kiss on campaign rally stages in front of thousands, Ana, as her husband and most contemporaries...
Andrew Lawton was a member of the “clandestine” group chat used to coordinate convoy messaging on social media. One of Pierre Poilievre’s high-profile Conservative candidates was a member of a secret group chat used by Freedom Convoy leaders and their lawyers to coordinate messages on social media with right-wing alternative media personalities and far-right social media influencers.
A new poll by Liaison Strategies for the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada (NEPMCC), the industry association representing Canada’s non-official language newspapers, TV, radio, and online news media, finds the Liberals leading with 46% (+1) to the Conservatives 38% (+1)
The political multiplier between Liberal ballot support and preference for the Liberal leader as prime minister continues. Currently for every one-point advantage the Liberals have in the ballot box over the Conservatives, Carney has a two-point advantage over Poilievre on the preferred prime minister tracking As a comparison, when asked who people would prefer as PM the 10-point, Liberal ballot...
The analysis in this report is based on results of a survey conducted from Tuesday, April 1st to Thursday, April 3rd, 2025, among a sample of 1665 adults, 18 years of age or older, living in Canada. The survey was conducted using text message invite to complete an online survey. The survey is intended to represent the voting population in...
To add to our interesting content about the federal election campaign, Spark and Northstar Public Affairs recruited a unique panel of people who have worked in political campaigns in Canada. Each week, we’ll survey them online to see what they think is happening. This is our first synopsis, based on a survey completed March 26-27. Read More
Liberal government would make the broadcaster's funding statutory. Liberal Leader Mark Carney said on Friday that his government would provide an initial $150-million annual funding increase to CBC and Radio-Canada as part of a new mandate for the public broadcaster. "When we compare ourselves to the U.K., France or Germany, we see that our public broadcaster is underfunded," Carney said...
Andrew Lawton was a member of the “clandestine” group chat used to coordinate convoy messaging on social media. One of Pierre Poilievre’s high-profile Conservative candidates was a member of a secret group chat used by Freedom Convoy leaders and their lawyers to coordinate messages on social media with right-wing alternative media personalities and far-right social media influencers.
Loyola said in the 2009 video taken at an anti-NATO protest that Hamas and Hezbollah, both listed terrorist organizations in Canada, should be lionized, not condemned
The federal Liberals now have a 10-point advantage over the Conservatives on Day 13 of the federal election campaign, while Mark Carney has opened up a 20-point lead over Pierre Poilievre when it comes to Canadians’ preferences for prime minister. A three-day rolling sample by Nanos Research ending April 3 has the Liberals at 46 per cent over the Conservatives...
Even in a warehouse full of battery-powered buses, Carney’s speech proved to be the furthest thing from electric. Liberal Leader Mark Carney strolled into an election campaign event on Monday past a ghostly figure. In a hallway near the main entrance of a Toronto-area trades college, a newspaper front page is framed on the wall. It features a photo of...
Researchers say tariffs and a new Liberal leader have undermined Conservative efforts. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre stepped up to a podium at a campaign stop in Saint John, New Brunswick, Monday wearing a western-style blue shirt, pumped his fist in the air and asked, “Who’s ready to get building?”
It is nearly impossible to win a federal election unless you are able to attract two key constituencies of “swing voters” — blue collar workers and new Canadians.This formula has been the key to the Liberals’ success and the Conservatives’ failure in the last three federal elections and has reshaped how all parties campaign.
Liberal fortunes today are clearly in the hands of their leader Mark Carney - For every one point ballot box advantage today is a two point advantage on the preferred PM tracking.
Pity poor Pierre Poilievre.You study your whole life for an exam only to find out at the last minute that the subject has changed and that your fellow student, your rival for class president from next door, is a subject matter expert. Talk about rotten luck.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre caused a bit of a stir online this week when he gave a shoutout to the enfeebled ovaries (and low-motile sperm) of this great nation when addressing millennials’ struggle to enter the housing market. “We will not forget,” he said, during a campaign stop in New Brunswick, “that young 36-year-old couple whose biological clock is running...
Liberal government would make the broadcaster's funding statutory. Liberal Leader Mark Carney said on Friday that his government would provide an initial $150-million annual funding increase to CBC and Radio-Canada as part of a new mandate for the public broadcaster. "When we compare ourselves to the U.K., France or Germany, we see that our public broadcaster is underfunded," Carney said...
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre announced today that he will take the GST off the sale of new Canadian-made cars, after Trump announced unjustified tariffs on Canada’s auto sector. This will boost the sale of new Canadian-made cars, supporting our auto industry and protecting workers’ jobs. Poilievre will also create the ‘Keep Canadians Working Fund,’ a targeted, temporary loan and credit...
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh today unveiled Canada Victory Bonds and a suite of commitments to protect Canadian workers, rebuild critical infrastructure, and ensure working and middle-class families don’t bear the cost of Donald Trump’s reckless trade war. “Trump’s tariffs are a direct attack on Canadian jobs and workers,” said Singh. “Every day, more families are worrying about their paycheques, their...
– In the face of President Trump’s tariffs, the Liberal Party of Canada today announced its plan to protect farmers, ranchers, and agrifood workers and strengthen Canada’s food sector in Quebec and across Canada. “Canada’s dairy sector is off the table in any negotiations with President Trump,” said Mark Carney, Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. “From defending supply...
In response to Donald Trump’s reckless trade war and the devastating tariffs, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh announced a plan to protect workers, safeguard jobs, protect health care and ensure Canadian families don’t bear the brunt of these attacks. Singh emphasized that the NDP will fight to protect everyday people from paying the cost of Trump’s trade war while building a...
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre announced today he will axe the automatic annual tax increases on alcohol that the Mark Carney Liberals hiked again today. Conservatives will bring the tax rate back down to 2017 levels so Canadians pay less and businesses earn more. On April 1, Mark Carney and the Liberals hiked the alcohol tax on Canadians, following the...
In late June 1939, the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Information produced three posters to boost domestic morale and focus the public anxiety about the war around them and the anticipated coming invasion.One poster read “Freedom is In Peril / Defend It With All Your Might.” A second poster read “Your Courage, Your Cheerfulness, Your Resolution Will Bring Us Victory.”
It is nearly impossible to win a federal election unless you are able to attract two key constituencies of “swing voters” — blue collar workers and new Canadians.This formula has been the key to the Liberals’ success and the Conservatives’ failure in the last three federal elections and has reshaped how all parties campaign.
Historian and journalist Mark Bourrie writes, “This book is about how Canada made its own version of Donald Trump, albeit with fewer guns and less rioting, but with lots of trucks and lies.” Around the world extreme right-wing leaders are coming to power, authoritarians who offer “easy and simple answers to complicated questions.” Aggressive people see an opportunity, and COVID...
Liberal fortunes today are clearly in the hands of their leader Mark Carney - For every one point ballot box advantage today is a two point advantage on the preferred PM tracking.
Pity poor Pierre Poilievre.You study your whole life for an exam only to find out at the last minute that the subject has changed and that your fellow student, your rival for class president from next door, is a subject matter expert. Talk about rotten luck.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre caused a bit of a stir online this week when he gave a shoutout to the enfeebled ovaries (and low-motile sperm) of this great nation when addressing millennials’ struggle to enter the housing market. “We will not forget,” he said, during a campaign stop in New Brunswick, “that young 36-year-old couple whose biological clock is running...
When the truckers’ convoy rolled into Ottawa in a cacophonous cloud of diesel smoke in January 2022, Canada’s Conservative Party was led by Erin O’Toole, a mild-mannered centrist who had been trying to keep his party moderate enough to appeal to voters in Ontario suburbs. The arrival of thousands of horn-honking anti-vaccine protesters scrambled the opinion environment in the Conservative...
Canada didn’t emerge totally unscathed from Donald Trump’s shock-and-awe day of sweeping tariffs this week, but the general agreement in this country is that it could have been a lot worse.
If only women voted, Mark Carney would be on track for the biggest landslide in Canadian history
At a rally Tuesday in Hamilton, Pierre Poilievre joked about the great day when a U-Haul rolls up Front Street “with a wonderful family in it to move into their wonderful new home in the headquarters of the CBC.” The next day in Montmagny, down the Saint Lawrence from Quebec City, he promised that he would “préserver les services de”...
The latest national tracking survey shows a lift in support for the Liberal Party, now leading with 46% of voter backing. The Conservatives follow at 37%, while the New Democrats trail at a tracking low of 9%, dipping from 11% in earlier tracking. Over the initial five days of data collection, the Liberals have experienced a notable rise, climbing from...
A deeply flawed argument has slipped into the national election conversation.It goes like this: there isn’t much policy difference between front-runners Mark Carney and Pierre Poilievre, so it really comes down to who can best handle Donald Trump.
Has anyone considered just getting him another game show? Think about it: guaranteed audience; breathless anticipation of the next plot twist; a stage on which he can play the smiting hand of God or magnanimous benefactor, depending on his whim; a teaser campaign in the week before the big reveal; even a team in charge of set dressing and extras...
Yesterday’s announcement from U.S. President Donald Trump that Canada would be excluded from his sweeping new round of reciprocal tariffs appears, at first glance, to be a welcome reprieve for Canadian industry. But the reality is more complicated. While we’ve dodged the latest bullet, previously announced tariffs—particularly on autos, steel, and aluminum—remain a threat. Politically, the question becomes: does this...
Because of the vastness of Canada’s territory, the differing interests of its various regions, the abundance of competing economic and social interests, and the weakened state of democratic instruments for reconciling conflicting interests, national unity will be a perpetual challenge for whomever we choose to form our national government.
The broad-based 'Liberation Day' exemption for Canada is good news but the crisis facing our economy remains dire
The headline in Tuesday’s Journal de Montréal said it all: “Sondage Léger: les Québécois passent l’éponge sur la mauvaise semaine de Carney, toujours solidement en tête”. En anglais: a Léger poll was showing that Quebec voters had “wiped the slate clean” on Mark Carney’s bumpy launch in the province, where he’s now surfing a 20-point lead. Even in an age...
The civil war drums are now beating loudly in the Conservative Party. It kicked off last week, and was inflated by a number of stories speaking to the apparent disconnect between the Conservative campaign and where Canadians actually are—worried about United States President Donald Trump. For now, I’ll resist piling on as there are nearly four weeks to go in...
The idea of Alberta leaving Canada is increasingly not being written off as raving lunacy
In this second week of the federal campaign, the question on many people’s minds is why the Liberals—under their new leader and Prime Minister, Mark Carney—seem poised for re‑election. Our latest polling suggests they’re currently the favourites to clinch another victory. But beyond public sentiment, we also have some more advanced analytical tools that help to paint a clearer picture...
The upcoming federal election is looking more and more like a two-party fight with Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberals and Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives duking it out. Polls are showing the Liberals are ahead and the Conservatives are flailing because their campaign is not as focused on protecting Canada from U.S. President Donald Trump.
Across Canada, most guns seized in crimes and more than half of firearms used in homicides were legally obtained in this country. However, the majority of illegal handguns used in crimes in large urban areas like Toronto are smuggled from the United States. These guns are not just a major threat to public safety, they are killing Canadians. This is...
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre needs to be clear with Canadians about what Charter rights he is prepared to defend, or whether he believes — as he recently suggested — that the protection of Canadians’ constitutional rights should be left to the provinces. Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Poilievre was asked whether he would intervene in a Supreme Court challenge against...
The economy shed 33,000 jobs in March, the biggest loss since January 2022, while the unemployment rate ticked higher, Statistics Canada said Friday.The agency said the unemployment rate for March rose to 6.7 per cent compared with 6.6 per cent in February.
Loyola said in the 2009 video taken at an anti-NATO protest that Hamas and Hezbollah, both listed terrorist organizations in Canada, should be lionized, not condemned
Researchers say tariffs and a new Liberal leader have undermined Conservative efforts. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre stepped up to a podium at a campaign stop in Saint John, New Brunswick, Monday wearing a western-style blue shirt, pumped his fist in the air and asked, “Who’s ready to get building?”
When Premier Wab Kinew met federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh at the legislature in Winnipeg on Tuesday night, the cameras captured a Manitoba-friendly greeting, but not a public endorsement for Singh's national campaign. That doesn't mean, however, that Kinew's party doesn't support Singh's team. When CBC News asked Elmwood–Transcona candidate Leila Dance at Singh's event the next morning whether she's...
As U.S. President Donald Trump’s 25 per cent tariff on global auto imports takes effect, Canada’s industry minister says she has received assurances auto companies in this country won’t move their business elsewhere. Speaking to CTV News chief political correspondent Vassy Kapelos in an interview on CTV’s Power Play Thursday, Anita Anand says she spoke to auto companies, and “every...
Canadians breathed a sigh of relief as the country was spared from United States President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariff announcement, but it is cold comfort with auto tariffs being enacted as the list of American levies imposed on Canada continues to grow.
B.C. Premier David Eby says he wants to be able to bring in more immigrants from the United States to help bolster the local economy.He made the comment while speaking to reporters Thursday, when he was asked a question about S&P and Moody's downgrading British Columbia's credit rating on April 2, citing the province's ballooning deficit.
'I find it extremely troubling that a candidate for any party could make such blatantly racist comments.'A former vice-president of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) wants the Conservative Party to drop its candidate in his riding over posts on social media that show "denial of residential school impacts."
"Freedom Convoy" organizers Tamara Lich and Chris Barber have been found guilty of mischief for their roles in the 2022 Freedom Convoy mass protest in Ottawa. Lich and Barber were key figures and organizers of the 2022 "Freedom Convoy" protest that saw hundreds of vehicles and thousands of people occupy downtown Ottawa, saying they would stay until COVID-9 public health...
Former Reform leader wrote that a Liberal vote is 'a vote for the breakup of Canada as we know it.' Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre promoted national unity and downplayed former Reform leader Preston Manning's argument that a vote for Mark Carney's Liberals is a vote for Western secession during a campaign stop Thursday.
Across the world from the trade barbs issued in the White House rose garden, Canada’s auto industry is striking deals in Germany’s biergartens.
Liberal Leader Mark Carney said Thursday U.S. President Donald Trump's move to levy tariffs on virtually every country will "rupture the global economy," torpedo economic growth and prompt devastating consequences for workers and businesses in this country and around the world.Carney said Trump's tariffs against Canadian goods are "unjustified, unwarranted and misguided," and the country must hit back.
Canada is imposing counter-tariffs that will match U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on vehicles while trying to incentivize automakers to stay put and promising more aid for auto workers, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday. Carney said Canada will respond by matching the U.S. approach, with 25 per cent tariffs on all vehicles imported from the United States that are...
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says a government led by him will issue "Victory Bonds" to raise the money needed to strengthen the Canadian economy through the trade war with the United States. The plan would see the federal government offer five- and 10-year bonds that Canadians can buy through a payroll deduction. The NDP is promising that none of the...
A huge gender gap challenge for Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives among B.C. voters. Lukewarm support for all major party leaders on how well they connect with regular people. And an NDP leader fighting for his political life in Burnaby. Andrew Enns, an executive vice-president at the polling firm Leger, discusses new survey results with Harold Munro, editor in chief of The...
The federal Liberals have increased their lead to nine points over the Conservatives on Day 12 of the federal election campaign.A three-day rolling sample by Nanos Research ending April 2 has Mark Carney’s Liberals at 46 per cent, leading Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives, who are at 37 per cent.
A new poll suggests the Liberals are widening the gap in three key provinces, all expected battlegrounds to form the next federal government.A Leger/Postmedia poll, released Wednesday, suggests that nationwide the Liberals sit at 44 per cent and the Conservatives at 38 per cent in support, a gap of six points and consistent with the previous week’s numbers.
Activists organized, sold memberships for nomination races that never happened in Calgary McKnight, Skyview. Several federal Conservative activists in northeast Calgary are criticizing their party after they'd organized and sold memberships for a year or longer in hopes of running in the election, only to watch the party appoint other candidates at the last minute in two key ridings. There...
The Windsor Assembly Plant will be down with workers off the job for two weeks starting Monday, Unifor Local 444 announced Wednesday evening.The plant will be down the weeks of April 7 and 14 — and in a social media post, the union warned more changes to the schedule are "expected in the coming weeks."
Liberal Leader Mark Carney is back on the road today after making a detour to Ottawa for meetings about U.S. President Donald Trump's latest tariffs.
A long-awaited tariff announcement from U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday spurred confusion and concern in Canada's automotive capital. The president, in a lengthy Rose Garden address at the White House, provided some relief to Canada by leaving it out of a list of nations facing new reciprocal tariffs from the U.S. But the Trump administration is maintaining previously announced...
In a small factory in Granby, Que., south of Montreal, workers are preparing steel-reinforced concrete panels to be shipped to construction sites.These prefabricated components can come with insulation, windows, doors and even a Juliet balcony."I call it 'ready-to-wear' for construction," said Virginie Brouillard, vice-president of Avac Beton, which was founded by her family four decades ago.
With the federal election less than a month away, the Conservative Party has dropped a fourth candidate in just two days – this time over alleged social media activity. Late Wednesday, the party confirmed to CTV News that Don Patel will no longer be running to represent the party in the riding of Etobicoke North and shared a screenshot of...
Ontario’ s premier said he’s “very, very grateful” that Canada has been spared from new U.S. import tariffs. During a Wednesday evening appearance on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis, Doug Ford said his focus going forward is on “building relationships” and “always communicating” with the U.S. administration. “That’s what we’ve done, at least myself with (U.S. Commerce) Secretary...
Prime Minister Mark Carney said Donald Trump's tariff regime will "fundamentally change the global trading system" after the U.S. president exempted Canada from his so-called "liberation day" tariff list unveiled on Wednesday. "In a crisis, it's important to come together and it's essential to act with purpose and with force, and that's what we will do," Carney said in Ottawa...
Our government created the Citizens’ Services portfolio in 2023 to champion service delivery excellence and to improve government efficiency. This State of Service report was drafted to communicate how we are accomplishing this mandate and to update Canadians on some of our biggest programs, including the Passport Program, the Canadian Dental Care Plan, Employment Insurance, Benefits Delivery Modernization and the...
Asian shares slid further Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs sent shudders through financial markets at a level of shock unseen since the COVID-19 pummeled world markets in 2020.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump said Thursday that Elon Musk would likely leave his administration in "a few months," the clearest sign that his most powerful and disruptive adviser will be wrapping up his work inside the government.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump has fired several White House National Security Council officials after he was urged by far-right activist Laura Loomer to purge staffers she deemed insufficiently loyal to his "Make America Great Again" agenda, several people familiar with the matter said Thursday.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Senate passed a resolution Wednesday night that would thwart President Donald Trump's ability to impose tariffs on Canada, delivering him a rare rebuke just hours after the president unveiled sweeping plans to clamp down on international trade.
Shares slid further in Europe and Asia and U.S. futures also fell Friday as investors counted the potential costs of U.S. President Donald Trump's latest set of tariffs, even as China retaliated by announcing it will impose a 34% tariff on imports of all U.S. products beginning April 10.
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen strode out of a French court as the chief judge on Monday barred her from seeking public office after she was found guilty of embezzling EU funds. The judge hasn’t yet said how long Le Pen will be ineligible for running for public office -- a decision that could derail the far-right leader’s career...
A state of emergency has been declared in six regions and states in Myanmar after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake whose epicenter was near the country’s second largest city. State-run MRTV television said the military-run government’s proclamation includes the capital Naypyitaw and Mandalay, after the earthquake and a strong aftershock hit midday. Myanmar is in the midst of a civil war...
NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of major automakers slumped following President Donald Trump's announcement that he will place 25% tariffs on auto imports.
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) -- European sales of Tesla electric vehicles tumbled 49% in the first two months of the year compared with a year earlier even as overall sales of EVs grew, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association.
Canada-India relations sharply deteriorated in September 2023 when former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau linked the murder of Canadian Khalistani activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar to Indian state agents. The crisis deepened in October 2024 when Ottawa accused Indian diplomats of being complicit in criminal activities, including intimidation, extortion, and murder. New Delhi rejected these claims, labelling Canada a “safe haven” for...
Canada is at a crossroads. The issues confronting Canada in 2025 go beyond mere setbacks and can more accurately be called crises. Unless they are resolved quickly, we face a deep and potentially permanent loss of our national standard of living and quality of life. We hereby introduce the “Canada at the Crossroads” series of reports from the Macdonald-Laurier Institute...
Within three months of taking office, U.S. President Donald Trump has given his greatest adversary, Beijing, what it always desired—the dismantling of U.S.-based civil society groups that supported human rights in China. With a stroke of his presidential pen, Donald Trump froze funding for Radio Free Asia, Voice of America, the National Endowment for Democracy, and the Woodrow Wilson International...
A collection of SubStack publishing within Canadian public affairs.
The 10 men who have governed the Bank of Canada since its inception in 1934 have been taciturn types, studiously avoiding the mud-holes of public controversy. Central banks trade in trust, and must project immutability and stability.That’s why it was so unusual in 2012 to hear Mark Carney, then governor of the Bank, apologize to Canadians for screwing up.
Peter Larkin launched King’s fund with $25,000 of his own cash, deposited Sept. 22, 1925 at the Old Colony Trust Co.’s main branch in Boston, the same firm used by Salada Tea for its U.S. operations. Likely he reasoned that a foreign account would reduce the risk of discovery.
Now that the election is called, time to riff from that part of my bio that says “campaign manager” and offer up regular assessments and analysis on what I think is going on. Check this space regularly for my campaign updates. You can judge my content for its value and biases on its own. But for the record, let me...
At Issue this week: Canada dodges Trump’s latest wave of global tariffs, but with some sectors already reeling, can it be considered a win? How the U.S. president’s moves are shifting the federal election campaign. And controversial candidates get booted off the ballot. Rosemary Barton hosts Chantal Hébert, Andrew Coyne and Althia Raj.
Canada may have dodged the worst of Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs, but it didn’t emerge unscathed. U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed that he is going ahead with a 25 per cent tariff on "all foreign-made" automobiles – a devastating blow for the Canadian auto sector, plunging it into uncertainty. Aaron Wherry, a senior writer with the CBC’s parliamentary bureau, joins...
Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens talks about the impact of auto tariffs on his city as plants begin to shutdown. Canadian Labour Congress President Bea Bruske discusses the impact of tariffs and plant closures on Canadian workers. Business Council of Canada President Goldy Hyder gives his thoughts on what Canada needs to do to respond to tariffs and grow the economy.
