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.
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.
A new federal public transit fund is expected to inject some much needed funding to the TTC, including to replace the aging Line 2 Subway cars. But in the bigger picture, critics worry the $3 billion fund will have little impact without money to support transit operations too.
After more than a decade of working in conflict zones, dodging bullets and documenting war crimes, Jonathan Pedneault decided he would make a foray into Canadian politics, running with Elizabeth May in 2022 on a ticket to co-lead and revive the federal Green Party. The Greens had just survived a rocky period that culminated with the controversial ouster of Annamie...
Some Green Party members are calling for a new leadership election a year and a half after long-time Green MP Elizabeth May returned to power as party leader on a mandate to co-lead with activist Jonathan Pedneault. Although the pair campaigned on a co-leadership bid, the party’s constitution does not allow co-leaders, and there is debate about whether changing the...
The federal government is going over Premier Doug Ford’s head and promising to send $357 million in affordable housing funding directly to regions and municipalities, arguing Ontario has failed to show how it plans to meet the targets set out by the federal government.
As NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says his party is “undecided” on supporting the federal budget, some disability advocates are hoping the New Democrats can leverage their position in Parliament to force changes to the newly announced Canada Disability Benefit.
The federal government is frustrated by difficulties in getting banks to adopt its preferred name for carbon price rebates as the next round of payments starts to land in Canadians’ bank accounts, a senior official told the Star. The rebates are a key part of the Liberal government’s controversial carbon pricing scheme. They’re meant to offset increased costs of heat...
Under fire, the federal New Democrats said Friday they continue to support a consumer carbon levy, a day after Leader Jagmeet Singh suggested his party is looking at alternatives. “New Democrats have not changed our position on the consumer carbon price. What we have done is commit to building a climate plan to make big polluters pay, bring down costs...
The federal New Democrats no longer believe a consumer carbon price is necessary to fight climate change, Jagmeet Singh suggested Thursday. The new position, which appears to break with the NDP’s previous support for the policy, was outlined in a speech Singh delivered at the Broadbent Institute’s annual policy conference in Ottawa on Thursday. In it, he distanced his party...
The federal government hasn't decided how it will refund more than $3.6 billion in carbon price revenue to businesses and Indigenous groups, after promising for more than five years to return all proceeds to the jurisdictions where they are raised. Those waiting for the money feel they are entitled to speedier refunds as they bear the brunt of Prime Minister...
It might be the two provincial parks, the ski resort and the 278 square kilometres of rivers, hills and agricultural land. Or the fact it has more cell-service dead zones than public transit options or hospitals. To Mayor John Creelman, however, the constant debate over whether to pave the roads of Mono, Ont. or keep them gravel is the biggest...
It has been a season of political discontent for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's carbon price scheme. And now his government's most contentious climate policy risks having its credibility gutted in an escalating feud with Saskatchewan — a fight that is challenging the bedrock principle of the rule of law. If that sounds dramatic, that's because it is.
Flush with cash after a record-breaking fundraising year, Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives are vastly outspending Justin Trudeau's Liberals on advertising, Meta data shows. But Liberal insiders say they have no plans to go on an advertising offensive until the country is closer to an election.
The federal government is considering a rebrand of the rebate program for its carbon pricing system in an attempt to tackle what it calls confusion and misconceptions about the scheme, the Star has learned. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberals have admitted they are losing the communications battle over carbon pricing in the face of a campaign from Pierre Poilievre and...
It's been just over 40 years since Sheila Copps was first elected as a Liberal MP and quickly made a name for herself as a thick-skinned rookie who could exchange heckles and insults with parliamentary veterans across the aisle. Back then, the future cabinet minister was a member of the infamous "Rat Pack," a group of raucous Liberal MPs who...
Canadians think Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre would handle another Donald Trump U.S. presidency better than Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, a new poll suggests. Thirty-seven per cent of respondents to the latest national survey from Abacus Data for the Star said Poilievre would be better able to deal with Trump — if he won the U.S. presidential election in 2024 —...