While National Newswatch does not keep an archive of external articles for longer than 6 months, we do keep all articles written by contributors who post directly to our site. Here you will find all of the contributed and linked external articles from Mark Ramzy.
The Canadian government is considering the use of artificial intelligence to save time creating influential assessment profile reports of offenders as they go to federal prisons, and is running a small-scale trial to test it, the Star has learned.
The Department of National Defence kept secret how much it paid for a contract with the controversial American tech company Palantir, according to newly released documents that show the deal was worth $30 million more than the government disclosed to Parliament last year. It’s the latest in an expanding picture of how the Canadian military uses and pays the U.S...
The RCMP wants one more Black Hawk helicopter to help it patrol the Canada-U.S. border — but the federal government’s own regulations are preventing one of its suppliers from bringing another one into the country. Canada’s federal police force is currently chartering three Black Hawks and has said it wants a fourth, according to court filings and parliamentary testimony reviewed...
The Carney government is trying to weaken transparency rules for political fundraisers, raising concerns about secretive cash-for-access events. In a move framed as a security measure, election law reforms proposed by the government would reverse Trudeau-era requirements for Canadian political parties to give advance notice of fundraising events and make their locations public afterward.
On a debate stage in Vancouver last month, Heather McPherson tried to narrow the choice facing New Democrats in the weakened party’s leadership race. “We are New Democrats, and we all believe in fairness, in equity, in looking out for your neighbour,” McPherson, the only MP in the race, said to party faithful. “So this race isn’t about debating those...
Shock, frustration and dejection swept over New Democrats on Wednesday after MP Lori Idlout abandoned the party to join Mark Carney’s Liberals, putting them on the cusp of forming a majority government. The Nunavut MP’s defection, which came just weeks ahead of the selection of a new NDP leader, left party members stunned and in deep reflection about the New...
Some New Democrats are worried the party could be wiped out in Quebec as its only MP in the province signals a possible exit, sources say. With Montreal-area MP Alexandre Boulerice “seriously” considering a jump to provincial politics, Quebec New Democrats fear they may not be able to hold on to the Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie seat he’s held since 2011, according...
The Toronto police force has refused to help the Carney government with its looming gun buyback program, Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree revealed Monday, as the Liberals prepare to rely on mobile collection units across Ontario for the plan. In an interview with the Star following a weekend launch of the national program, Anandasangaree, a Scarborough MP, said the Toronto...
A majority of Canadians support the creation of a major new oil pipeline from Alberta to the coast of British Columbia, but not without caveats, a new poll suggests. The Abacus Data poll, shared exclusively with the Star, shows 62 per cent support for such a pipeline, with majority approval in every province. That’s compared to just 18 per cent...
Federal NDP leadership hopeful Rob Ashton is slamming his opponent Avi Lewis as divisive and accusing him of “undermining” provincial New Democrat governments in the first major sign of tensions in the race. The attack, an echo of previous NDP quarrels over oil and gas development, comes weeks before a crucial membership sign up deadline and was brushed off by...
The NDP wants the Carney government to change the law to give it more resources, arguing that would make Parliament work better as the Liberals struggle to advance their agenda through a divided House of Commons. Speaking to reporters Wednesday, interim NDP leader Don Davies urged the Liberals to rethink proposing legislation that would lower the 12-seat threshold for official...
Mark Carney said there would be sacrifices. But more than a week after the prime minister revealed his highly-anticipated first budget, questions remain about what exactly those sacrifices will be and how they will come to fruition — and it might take some time before Canadians find out.
The NDP is considering how to fast-track its campaign readiness in the case of a snap election, sources say, as its MPs weigh a budget vote that could trigger the fall of the Carney government. The NDP is weighing how to fast-track its campaign readiness in the case of a snap election, sources say, as its MPs weigh a budget...
Mark Carney’s minority Liberals survived a second budget-related confidence vote on Friday, the day after easily defeating an earlier Conservative attempt to reject the budget as the Pierre Poilievre-led party grappled with another looming caucus departure from their ranks. The House of Commons voted 307 to 30 to defeat a Bloc Québécois motion that called on MPs to reject a...
A new report suggests Mark Carney’s promised spending cuts could come from the expiry of billions in Trudeau-era programs, as it remains unclear how the Liberal government will pass its upcoming budget next week and avoid plunging the country into a sudden election.
Federal NDP leadership candidate Avi Lewis is among a group of Jewish academics slamming one of Canada’s biggest pro-Israel Jewish groups as anti-Palestinian in a new report released Tuesday. The report, authored by six members of the Jewish Faculty Network, is based on an examination of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs’ (CIJA) public statements and social media posts...
Yves Engler, an author who has written several books criticizing Canadian and Western foreign policy, said he has already raised the money for his leadership bid.
The Canadian government is no longer planning to donate any weapons from the gun buyback program to Ukraine, saying the plan “was not a practical or effective way” to support the country’s defence against Russia. The Trudeau government had pledged to work with the Ukrainian military to identify which banned guns could support the country’s war effort, but Public Safety...
Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree says he made “misguided” comments after a leaked audio recording reviewed by the Star reveals him claiming Mark Carney’s government is forging ahead with the Trudeau-era gun ban and buyback program because of electoral pressures from Quebec, despite stringent opposition from provinces, police and gun owners across the rest of the country. It was one...
Edmonton MP Heather McPherson and Vancouver activist Avi Lewis are gearing up to launch NDP leadership bids, the Star has learned, as the party’s high-stakes race to replace Jagmeet Singh gets set to begin next week. Edmonton MP Heather McPherson and Vancouver activist Avi Lewis are gearing up to launch NDP leadership bids, the Star has learned, as the party’s...
Canada’s gun buyback scheme is in the “final stages” of design and will be completed “no later” than the end of 2026, Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said Monday, as he warned hesitant provinces and law enforcement agencies it’s their obligation to implement the law. In an interview with the Star, Anandasangaree confirmed an October 2025 amnesty deadline will have...
An imminent delay, a lack of updates from Ottawa, and Mark Carney’s attempts to keep premiers happy, vow to drastically cut spending, and emphasis on border security, are raising questions about what happens next with the key component of the federal government’s gun control plan.
The Liberal government is weighing the criminalization of displaying terror and hate symbols, a potentially precedent-setting move in Canada that has prompted concerns about civil liberties. It’s not yet clear if a possible ban would focus on specific symbols, like the swastika, or if it would broadly cover any symbols related to designated terror groups. And no final decision has...
Federally funded institutions and Crown corporations like the CBC and Via Rail are expected to propose their own cuts under the Liberal government’s sweeping efforts to find $25 billion in annual savings from the federal budget in the next three years, the Star has confirmed. That means very little appears to be off the table under Prime Minister Mark Carney’s...
The New Democratic Party will have a new leader by the end of March next year, the Star has learned, setting up a contest to decide the future of the left-wing political force that was crippled in April’s federal election. In a closed-door meeting Thursday, the NDP’s federal council agreed on a six-month race starting in September with a $100,00...
On the heels of a devastating election campaign, the New Democratic Party’s road to recovery is off to a tense start as party insiders and grassroots activists tilt behind the scenes over the party’s next big challenge: Who will replace Jagmeet Singh? Potential high-profile candidates have signalled a lack of interest and the process of even deciding how to orchestrate...
Prime Minister Mark Carney is on a mission to “build, baby, build.” And he wants to do it fast. It’s a goal that was central to the Liberal leader’s pitch in an election campaign dominated by U.S. President Donald Trump’s economic aggression towards Canada.
The PM is placing a heavy emphasis on cracking down on crime after some Liberals say the issue cost them GTA seats in last month’s election.
Toronto MP and former housing minister Nate Erskine-Smith says “it’s impossible not to feel disrespected” after Prime Minister Mark Carney removed him from cabinet. “I ran again because of the opportunity to make an even bigger difference around the cabinet table and to help fix the housing crisis,” the Beaches—East York MP said in a post on X. “The way...
Former NDP MP Charlie Angus says the party ran an “absolutely disastrous campaign” that “missed the moment” and focused too much on leader Jagmeet Singh, as more New Democrats leave the door open to leadership bids. The scathing assessment — from a prominent New Democrat who placed second in the 2017 leadership race that catapulted Singh to the party’s top...
Facing a possible collapse of the NDP, Jagmeet Singh insists he has no regrets. The NDP leader stood by his decision not to plunge the country into an early election last fall while support for Justin Trudeau’s Liberals plummeted, telling the Star’s editorial board he “couldn’t stomach” the idea of causing Pierre Poilievre’s seizure of power, and that he made...
More than a third of Francophones in Canada think Mark Carney’s French is not good enough to be prime minister, suggests a new poll by Abacus Data shared exclusively with the Star. The new poll comes as the high-stakes federal leaders debates inch closer, and as Carney’s French-speaking skills remain a topic of discussion throughout the election campaign where all...
Poilievre told reporters in Winnipeg he would not contest Quebec’s language law, Bill 96, should a challenge of it reach the Supreme Court of Canada, in contrast with Carney, who said this week a Liberal government would support a challenge of the law. Pierre Poilievre would not contest Quebec’s controversial French-language law in a Supreme Court challenge if the Conservatives...
In the opening days of the federal election campaign, one thing has united the Conservatives and New Democrats in their opposition to Liberal leader Mark Carney: that he was chairman of a massive investment firm called Brookfield Asset Management. Carney’s corporate and banking pedigree is an asset in itself, Liberals argue, since it highlights his experience and economic credentials at...
Mark Carney has chosen Toronto MP and former public safety Minister Marco Mendicino as his first chief of staff. Mendicino will serve on an interim basis, two sources close to the Carney camp told the Star. Carney, who was selected Liberal leader Sunday, needed to find someone with a security clearance and sought to choose a person who knew caucus...
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is ramping up his attacks on Liberal leadership candidate Mark Carney, painting him as a corporate-friendly politician who will slash public services just like Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.
The federal government is set to announce plans on Wednesday for a high-speed rail line from Toronto to Quebec City, the Star has learned. Two sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the anticipated project will be unveiled in Montreal, where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Transport Minister Anita Anand were slated to make an announcement Wednesday.
Liberal leadership contender Mark Carney is not ruling out calling a general election if he wins the party’s leadership and replaces Justin Trudeau as prime minister on March 9. At a press conference in Vancouver on Thursday, the former Bank of Canada and Bank of England governor said he “will do” what is best for the country as it faces...
Donald Trump’s return to the White House on Monday has already proven to be a thorn in the side of Canadian officials, but his second presidency brings additional baggage for Canada: Elon Musk. The close adviser to Trump, owner of the social media platform X and richest man on Earth has a new-found interest in Canada, a ratio of five...
Will Justin Trudeau resign? It’s the question on many minds after Chrystia Freeland, Trudeau’s right-hand minister, delivered a stunning blow to the unpopular Liberal government with a surprise resignation this week that shocked markets, drew the attention of U.S. president-elect Donald Trump, and turned debate over the prime minister’s future into the biggest story in the country...
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is fighting once again for his political life, behind closed doors. At an emergency meeting Monday evening — called after Chrystia Freeland, Trudeau’s now former top deputy and one-time “minister of everything” quit as finance minister — the prime minister came face to face with Freeland along with an angry and bewildered caucus before he planned...
It’s set to bring in billions of dollars the federal government is keen to have. But Ottawa must first fend off a resistant United States before it can collect. The Trudeau government’s digital services tax — to be paid by the world’s digital giants operating in Canada — kicks in this year. However, a trade challenge from the U.S. and...
A Liberal MP’s claim that pro-Khalistan “extremists” may have infiltrated Canadian politics and law enforcement agencies parrots the lines of an Indian government accused of threatening and killing Canadians, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said Monday. But backbencher Chandra Arya fired back, accusing Singh of refusing to acknowledge the presence of “violent Khalistani extremism” in Canada and saying he has “zero...
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May is urging U.S. counterpart Jill Stein to end her presidential campaign and endorse Kamala Harris to help prevent a Donald Trump victory. May told the Star on Friday that a second Trump presidency would present a catastrophic threat to climate policy, women’s rights, democracy and world peace, as she broke from Canadian political convention by...
The family of Canada’s first ever Hindu MP is among community members “outraged” after a long-running national Diwali event hosted by a Conservative MP on Parliament Hill was abruptly cancelled. Now, community members are questioning if there are links between the event’s sudden cancellation and the diplomatic tensions between Canada and India, and fear they are being unfairly connected to...
A third-party group run by former NDP and Liberal staffers has launched an advertising campaign against Pierre Poilievre, in an attempt to go “dollar for dollar” with the Conservatives on ad spending. The campaign comes as the prospect of a snap election grows and as Liberals gripe over what they see as slow and inadequate attempts to contrast the Conservative...
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was all smiles as he walked into a Liberal caucus meeting Wednesday morning, where dissidents in his own ranks were prepared to challenge his leadership while his supporters harshly condemned the damaging show of disunity. At the same time, a grassroots petition describing an “existential crisis” in the Liberal party was demanding an urgent secret ballot...
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says he wants provinces to overhaul their disability assistance programs so that disabled Canadians don’t see working income clawed back from provincial benefits, and he could put billions in federal transfers at stake to make it happen.
Federal Liberals and New Democrats blasted Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre Wednesday, saying his statement that Israel should proactively strike Iran’s nuclear facilities is disastrous foreign policy that would contravene international law and quash hope for peace in the Middle East. Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly told reporters Wednesday that Poilievre’s proposed pre-emptive strikes would trigger a broader war, and suggested...
He’s railed against mainstream media he says is “bought-and-paid-for” by the Trudeau government. He routinely bickers with a parliamentary press gallery he accuses of being biased. But on a warm June evening at his Stornoway residence in Ottawa, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre was on a media charm offensive.
Premier Doug Ford’s push to limit the construction of bike lanes in Ontario municipalities is facing criticism from some Liberal cabinet ministers and MPs. Liberal MP Yasir Naqvi, a former Ontario attorney general, told the Star on Wednesday the controversial plan was an “unacceptable” distraction from a premier who “doesn’t want to do his job.”
An incumbent facing tough questions. A governing partner who exited an alliance with him. And everyone’s firebrand rival. The stakes are getting higher for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the NDP’s Jagmeet Singh, and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre at the start of this fall’s parliamentary session, as an election campaign could now be triggered any time under a minority Liberal government...
The Conservatives and Liberals are sparring over an accusation from a Liberal minister that a nickname Pierre Poilievre uses to ridicule NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is racist. Emergency Preparedness Minister Harjit Singh Sajjan told the Star in a statement Wednesday that the Conservative leader’s use of “Sellout Singh” to refer to the New Democrat leader is “absolutely offensive” and “racist”...
The Trudeau government will launch a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign in the year ahead of the next election to promote its carbon pricing plan and the rebates it gives to Canadians, the Star has learned. Environment and Climate Change Canada is planning a $7-million “climate literacy and action” advertising campaign that would focus on how “carbon pricing reduces emissions and benefits...
Trailing in the polls and suddenly facing the prospect of an early federal election, many Liberals say there is a welcome chance for renewal now that the governing party’s national campaign director is leaving his post. Jeremy Broadhurst, a veteran strategist who was set to quarterback the Liberals’ election campaign after serving as a top adviser in Prime Minister Justin...
It was once the driver of Canada’s nascent clean-technology industry, supported by Liberal and Conservatives alike. Publicly funded but arms-length from government bureaucracy since 2001, Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) was a lifeline to entrepreneurs desperate to find money for their clean-tech innovations.
The Canadian government is being accused of backpedaling on its promise to suspend arms exports to Israel after the U.S. government announced a plan to sell made-in-Canada explosive mortar cartridges to the Israeli government. Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken approved a sale to Israel of 50,400 explosive mortar cartridges worth roughly $83 million. The cartridges are expected...
A member of the board that oversees the Green Party’s finances left a message for top party brass when she recently resigned: Get your house in order before it’s too late. When Miranda Woodland stepped down from the board of the Green Party of Canada Fund earlier this month, she accused the party in a letter obtained by the Star...
Elizabeth May considered stepping down as leader of the Green Party to make way for former deputy leader Jonathan Pedneault to be appointed as her successor before Pedneault ultimately quit last month, the Star has learned. It was one of several options discussed at a private meeting of the party’s federal council the night before Pedneault resigned and left the...
Donald Trump versus Kamala Harris. Two very different presidential hopefuls are clashing in a contest with big stakes. Any shift in policy from Ottawa’s biggest ally and most important trading partner will impact Canadians — regardless of who wins the race for the White House in November.