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 Spencer Van Dyk.
While Canada and the U.S. remain embroiled in an extended trade war, U.S. President Donald Trump suffered a huge domestic blow Tuesday, as the Democrats swept the midterm elections, taking control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives. The vote saw several long-held Republican states flip to the Democrats in a major rebuke of the president and his...
Following this week’s Canada-EU Summit in Montreal, International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu insists the gathering will bear fruit. But, on the question of how much so-called associate membership with the bloc could cost Canada, the minister wouldn’t say, insisting instead there’s an “opportunity cost” of not pursuing deeper integration with Europe. Prime Minister Mark Carney hosted European Commission President Ursula...
Ahead of the upcoming Canada-EU Summit in Montreal, European officials say the exact details of an agreement will not be finalized this week, but that they’re hoping to hammer out those details of Canada’s “associate membership” in the 27-member bloc to make an official announcement next year. The officials made the comments in a background briefing to reporters ahead of...
Amid reporting by CTV News that trade talks between Canada and the U.S. are gaining momentum, Prime Minister Mark Carney said the Trump administration is “coming closer to our position.” Carney made the comments during a question-and-answer period with reporters after a meeting between First Nation leaders and First Ministers in Ottawa on Monday. Carney also said, however, he can’t...
Canada’s parliamentary budget officer is raising concerns over Canada’s debt levels, with the federal government set to table its budget in a little over a week. The PBO released her latest economic forecast on Tuesday, which is projecting slower growth in the country’s real GDP forecast, and laying the blame at the feet of the U.S. tariff war on Canada...
As U.S. officials accuse Canada of interfering in American elections, Prime Minister Mark Carney says he spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump Wednesday morning, and added when asked specifically that they discussed “issues around trade.” With the highly consequential U.S. midterm elections fast approaching and amid a protracted trade war between the two countries, Canada has yet to reach a...
Prime Minister Mark Carney says the federal and provincial governments should work together to get immigration down to sustainable levels before Alberta takes steps to do so on its own. Albertans cast their ballots on a slate of referendum questions Monday, and while the question around separation drew the most attention, there were nine others that cover a range of...
Chief of the defence staff Gen. Jennie Carignan says it is her “intention” to publicly release the findings of a board of inquiry into the deadly fire at the Canadian Forces Base in Wainwright, Alta.
The federal government’s only cabinet’s minister from Alberta, Eleanor Olszewski, is signalling an openness on Ottawa’s behalf to engage in discussions with the province on enhanced autonomy over immigration levels. Albertans will cast their ballots on a slate of referendum questions Monday, and while the question around separation is drawing the most attention, there are nine others that cover a...
One of the most recognizable names in Canadian politics — who served as the prime minister’s top deputy for nearly a decade before playing a pivotal role in his political downfall — is telling all in a new book. Chrystia Freeland’s 416-page book, titled “Unreliable Boyfriend,” describes itself as “part memoir, part polemic, and part blueprint for Globalization 2.0,” giving...
Former Alberta premier Jason Kenney is calling on Albertans to vote in next week’s referendum on separation in large numbers, and to deliver a decisive result for the federalist side. “I’m concerned about turnout, because the lower the turnout, the better for the separatist side,” Kenney told CTV Question Period host Vassy Kapelos in an interview airing Sunday. “If turnout...
Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson is promising the new Pacific Link oil pipeline to the West Coast will get built, regardless of potential future market shifts and geopolitical changes. On Thursday, Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced the Pacific Link pipeline will be the first officially designated national interest project under the Building Canada...
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul says his country wants more liquified natural gas (LNG). In an interview with CTV Question Period airing Sunday, he told host Vassy Kapelos that “of course” there’s a market for more Canadian LNG in Europe. “We do have to diversify, not only because this Russian war against Ukraine, but also with regard to the situation...
Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon won’t guarantee the cost to fly won’t go up for travellers if the federal government follows through on its plan to privatize Canada’s four largest airports but does promise an improved experience and partial regulation. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the federal government is seeking private investment to run Canada’s four major airports: Toronto-Pearson...
Yoshua Bengio, one of the “godfathers” of artificial intelligence, says there’s an urgent need for the world to “wake up” to the existential risks posed by AI technology, and urge governments to act. “The whole world is waking up to something that sounded like science fiction to most people,” said Bengio, the founder and scientific director of the Montreal Institute...
As alarm grows across Europe about growing Russian aggression towards NATO countries, Canada’s ambassador-designate to the European Union says Canada is right to be concerned because of its stake in the continent’s defence and security. “Canada is an ally through NATO and increasingly working with the European Union, and obviously we have a strong stake in this as well,” Jonathan...
Amid criticism from Conservatives over his appointment to chairperson of the federal agency responsible for attracting foreign investment to Canada, Dominic Barton says he felt “compelled” to help the prime minister ahead of his investment summit. “I’m volunteering for this, I don’t need to do it,” Barton said in an exclusive interview on CTV Power Play with Vassy Kapelos airing...
Amid comments from U.S. President Donald Trump over the weekend that his administration could reach a trade deal with Canada “fairly soon,” Prime Minister Mark Carney says he still has hope. In an interview with Bloomberg on Monday, when asked for an update on negotiations with the U.S., Carney reiterated what he has said several times in recent weeks: that...
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith insists the upcoming referendum in her province — with a question on the possibility of separation from Canada — will not impede her ability to pitch investors at the prime minister’s upcoming summit. Mark Carney’s two-day inaugural Canada Investment Summit is being pitched as a way to court $1 trillion in investment over the next five...
Prime Minister Mark Carney is calling on U.S. officials to quit the online attacks and take trade discussions more seriously, amid broken-down talks and increased acrimony between the two countries. Carney made the comments in Ottawa on Tuesday when answering reporters’ questions following a trio of byelection victories Monday night. “And when the Americans stop doing memes, stop throwing shade...
Former federal Conservative cabinet minister and Alberta premier Jason Kenney is throwing cold water on the possibility of a party leadership run, as Conservative MPs privately question Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s future at the helm. Asked in an interview on The Graham Richardson Show on Friday whether he would run to replace Poilievre is the opportunity arose, Kenney said: “No.”...
The federal government is replacing its counter-tariffs on seafood with 50 per cent levies on a series of other American goods, according to Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne’s office. “This decision was made in the interest of strengthening Canada’s sectors and our tariff response — and to better match the American tariffs dollar for dollar, rate for rate,” Champagne’s press secretary...
From makeup to smartphones to kitchen appliances, the federal government is laying out its plan to hit the U.S. with dollar-for-dollar counter-tariffs that will impact around 700 different American products, while also announcing supports for Canadian workers and businesses, such as temporary changes to employment insurance. The tariffs will be imposed on $27.6 billion worth of U.S. imports with tariffs...
After years of delays, the European Union has once again pushed back a new travel requirement. The European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS) — a new travel authorization for visa-exempt travellers to 30 European countries — no longer has an official launch date, according to the latest update. “The European Union has pushed back the previous late-2026 launch and...
Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc is headed to Washington, D.C., this week for meetings, a spokesperson for his office tells CTV News. He’ll be joined by Canada’s chief trade negotiator to the United States, Janice Charette. The trip comes amid new tensions in the nearly 18-month trade war, with U.S. President Donald Trump threatening another slate of tariffs last week...
Canadians are evenly split on whether they believe the proposed Alto high-speed rail project should be a government priority, according to the latest data from Nanos Research, commissioned by CTV News. The multi-billion-dollar infrastructure project would connect Quebec City to Toronto and promises to cut travel times between those cities in half. The federal government recently concluded its 100-day public...
Prime Minister Mark Carney says he doesn’t expect any resolution Wednesday to the ongoing talks about whether to renew or review the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement. “We’re expecting a constructive exchange,” Carney told reporters in Kuujjuaq, Que. on Tuesday ahead of an Inuit–Crown Partnership Committee meeting. “I wouldn’t expect any drama tomorrow. I’m not looking for my pen.”...
Hunter Biden says the ball is in Canada’s court when it comes to the state of the country’s relationship with the United States going forward. Former U.S. president Joe Biden’s son is back in the spotlight, but this time, for his sometimes-brutal honesty and no-holds-barred social media presence, including social media posts about Canada.
Asked what she believes is the primary threat Canada faces moving forward, the country’s top soldier is pointing to missiles developed with new technology coming from Russia. “The threat to our continent is mostly related to the new missile technologies and the new vehicles of delivery that Russia is developing,” Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jennie Carignan told CTV...
With little more than a week before the July 1 deadline to either renew or review the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement, U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra says officials are nowhere near the finish line. “We’re not anywhere close to announcing any type of a framework or an interim agreement,” Hoekstra told CTV News chief political correspondent Vassy Kapelos in a wide-ranging...
Promising to “unlock (Canada’s) full potential as an energy superpower,” the federal government unveiled its new Nuclear Energy Strategy on Monday. The 23-page strategy is structured around four pillars: enabling new builds, being a supplier and exporter of choice, expanding uranium production and nuclear fuel opportunities, and developing new nuclear innovations. The Liberal government signalled earlier this year that the...
Government House leader Steven MacKinnon is defending the prime minister’s commitment to parliamentary procedure, as Conservatives highlight Mark Carney’s lack of attendance during question period in the House of Commons this year. On Tuesday, Conservative MPs held a press conference on Parliament Hill to present a cake marking Carney’s 100 missed question periods. According to the Conservatives, of the 10...
Longtime Conservative MP Cathay Wagantall will be stepping down at the end of August, fast-tracking her leave from Parliament after she announced last summer she wouldn’t run in the next election. “Although my intent when I first announced my plans to step down as the MP for Yorkton-Melville was to continue to represent the wonderful people of our riding until...
With the deadline for Canada, the United States and Mexico to either renew or review their trilateral trade deal just two weeks away, Canadian Ambassador to the U.S. Mark Wiseman is urging people not to stress. “Everybody take a deep breath, relax, it’s all going to be OK,” he said Monday during a fireside chat with BMO Financial Group CEO...
Canadian Identity and Culture Minister Marc Miller insists the federal government will not capitulate to the U.S. administration and back down on the legislation he says is aimed at protecting children from the potential harms of the internet. “Kids just aren’t on the bargaining table. Hard stop,” Miller told CTV Question Period host Vassy Kapelos in an interview airing Sunday...
A WestJet spokesperson says the company “strongly opposes” the federal government’s offer to dole out loans to airlines, amid the still-ongoing conflict in the Middle East and resulting closure of the Strait of Hormuz causing a spike in fuel prices. “The government faces a choice: continue with costly and market distorting subsidies or build a sustainable future for Canadian aviation,”...
Former prime minister Jean Chretien says while he’s “not too worried” about the independence movement in Alberta and fall referendum with a question on separation, he would caution officials against being too complacent with the issue. Chretien spoke with CTV News senior political correspondent Mike Le Couteur ahead of the installation of Canada’s 31st Governor General Louise Arbour — who...
Liberal Caucus Chair James Maloney is vehemently denying the prime minister has a caucus management problem, pushing back on reporting from this week citing unnamed Liberal MPs accusing Mark Carney of being dismissive of the concerns they were raising, and yelling. Several MPs told the Toronto Star this week that Carney has a penchant for lashing out at caucus members...
In a letter to his counterparts in the United States and Mexico, Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc says he wants to renew the countries’ trilateral trade deal for another 16 years and opt out of an annual review process. “This agreement is highly beneficial to each of our countries and to the integrated North American economy,” LeBlanc wrote in a...
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson joked there may be a place for Canada in the European Union to join “like-minded” nations as “the most Nordic country in the world outside the Nordics.” “European Union is obviously a matter of geography, you can hear that from the name,” Kristersson told CTV Question Period host Vassy Kapelos when asked for his opinion...
Former Canadian ambassador to the United States, Kirsten Hillman doesn’t think CUSMA is going anywhere, despite the fast-approaching deadline to review the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement and the rhetoric employed by Trump administration trade officials. “I personally do not believe that the agreement will go away, and (the U.S. trade representative) has said that,” Hillman told CTV Question Period host Vassy Kapelos...
The federal government is putting new border measures in place to prevent Ebola cases from spreading to Canada, as the number of cases continues to rise in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and South Sudan. Starting this week, people travelling from the affected regions will have to self-isolate for 21 days. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is...
The federal Liberal climate caucus will meet Monday night, amid reporting several of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s MPs are concerned he’s backsliding on environmental commitments, sources tell CTV News. Sources also say Canadian Climate Institute president Rick Smith will attend the meeting to speak with MPs. The meeting comes amid reporting from Radio-Canada that more than a dozen MPs sent...
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith promises that if the remain side of October’s referendum wins, she will “listen to the will of the people,” and not hold another later referendum on independence. < is this a quote? Smith announced this week that a question on independence will be added to the already-set Oct. 19 referendum in Alberta. It will not, however...
Conservative MP and parliamentary foreign affairs committee vice-chair, Michael Chong says China is attempting to “move the goal posts” by trying to prevent Canadian officials from visiting Taiwan. Chong, who is also the Conservative foreign affairs critic, is in Taiwan this week to meet with Taiwanese officials, including Lai Ching-te, president of the Republic of China Taiwan. Several delegations of...
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she’s open to a southern route — or one that runs along the Trans Mountain Expansion Project — for a potential pipeline that would transport oil from her province to the West Coast. Smith and Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Friday they’ve reached a deal on an industrial carbon price, a critical piece of their...
Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to announce the federal government’s long-delayed clean electricity strategy on Thursday, according to senior federal sources. The strategy -- dubbed the National Electricity Agenda -- will lay out a plan to double Canada’s electricity grid capacity by 2050, sources say, amounting to the biggest buildout of the national grid in Canada’s history. The plan...
Despite losing a nomination contest to run for the Ontario Liberals over the weekend, federal Liberal MP Nate Erskine-Smith says he plans to follow through on his plan to resign his seat in the House of Commons before MPs rise for the summer. “I am going to resign my seat by the end of the parliamentary session to ensure that...
Former Alberta premier Jason Kenney says he believes he should pursue legal options to hit back at the members of a separatist group who shared his personal information online. “Personally, I’m tired of being a punching bag for that crowd, and I think there needs to be consequences,” Kenney told CTV Question Period host Vassy Kapelos in an interview airing...
Prime Minister Mark Carney says he isn’t in any rush to make a decision on access to medical assistance in dying for people whose sole condition is mental illness, after reports the federal government is prepared to table legislation to pause the expansion based on committee recommendation. Eligible Canadians have had access to MAID since 2016, with amendments made to...
Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon says the potential pipeline expansion project U.S. President Donald Trump approved last week is a positive sign of “cross-border communication” and co-operation, after more than a year of tension stemming from the trade war. Last week, Trump signed an order authorizing the Bridger Pipeline Expansion, a proposed project that would revive portions of the cancelled Keystone...
Canada is sending more military aid to Ukraine as it continues to defend itself against Russia. Prime Minister Mark Carney made the announcement at the European Political Community summit in Yerevan, Armenia, on Monday, saying Canada will contribute about $270 million toward critical military capabilities, drawn from NATO’s prioritized list of needs for Ukraine. The funding adds to more than...
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis says Canada likely won’t gain much by waiting on the November midterms to ramp up trade negotiations with the U.S. administration, because it’s unlikely Congress will be able to put enough pressure on the president to make a difference. As the July 1 deadline to review the trilateral trade deal between Canada, the United States and...
On the eve of his first spring economic update, Prime Minister Mark Carney insists his government is focused on “doing more than one thing at one time” to increase affordability for Canadians. Carney made the comments in Ottawa Monday, speaking to reporters following his announcement that his government is creating Canada’s first national sovereign wealth fund. A sovereign wealth fund...
Former Conservative leader Erin O’Toole is cautioning the prime minister that despite the need to diversify trade, China is not a substitute for the United States. O’Toole has been tapped to join Prime Minister Mark Carney’s 24-member Canada-U.S. Advisory Committee, unveiled this week as a formal review of the countries’ trilateral trade deal with Mexico fast approaches. More than a...
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...
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...
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...
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is again urging the prime minister to sign a tariff-free trade deal with the United States, following a video by Mark Carney Sunday calling Canada’s former strength, built on its bond with America, a “weakness” that must be corrected. In his own video released on Monday — paralleled with Carney’s address, seeing both leaders sitting in...
