German defence minister, army chief point to a narrow timeline. They're not alone. Boris Pistorius doesn't look like a man prone to alarmism. Germany's defence minister is frank and plain-spoken, but also deliberate with his words and intention. When he talks about Russia, the future of the West and the possibility of another European war, the message however becomes stark...
Prime Minister Mark Carney has landed in Paris, where he is set to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron ahead of the G7 summit next week. A government official briefing reporters before the trip framed the meeting as Canada passing the G7 presidency baton to France and said the leaders likely will discuss how to advance a strategic partnership between...
The Liberal government has announced a national food security strategy aimed at giving Canadians more access to locally produced fruit, vegetables and other fresh items at lower prices. The plan outlined Thursday is intended to change the way food is bought, sold, transported and distributed in Canada to better support farmers, small independent players and consumers. The government says the...
ATB report points to tariffs, Iran war and separatism as possible risks. Alberta’s economy is staying the course despite uncertain tariff policies from the United States and the impact of the U.S and Israel-Iran war on global oil supply, according to a new report released Thursday. “Moving fast in the slow lane: Alberta’s economy in 2026 and 2027” is the...
Finance Minister Francois-Phillippe Champagne says he "followed all the rules" to make sure he wasn't in a conflict of interest related to the Alto high-speed rail project. The minister testified at the parliamentary ethics committee Thursday after months of scrutiny from the federal Conservatives over his involvement in the proposed $90-billion high-speed rail project between Toronto and Quebec City. Champagne...
Political discontent may be growing across the country, but this quarter’s premier approval ratings show a clear concentration of trouble among three of the country’s most prominent leaders. In Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario, Danielle Smith, David Eby and Doug Ford all fall to personal lows, each facing a different mix of governing fatigue, economic pressure and controversy at home...
Prime Minister Mark Carney says the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge was delayed at the request of the United States -- but the issue is separate from negotiations on a critical continental trade pact. "At the request of the United States, we agreed to delay the opening and take the necessary time to resolve outstanding issues, a few...
Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon’s recent acknowledgment that new legislation may be needed to accelerate approvals for major projects is an admission of long-standing failure. Canada’s regulatory system for infrastructure and resource development has become slow, uncertain, and politicized. While Ottawa now speaks of one or two year approval windows and continues expanding entities like the Major Projects Office, deeper...
When I wrote about Jonathan Haidt’s book “The Anxious Generation” two years ago, I was struck by the thought experiment he uses as an opening. Imagine, he wrote, if a tech lord proposed sending your teenage daughter to join the first human settlement on Mars. She’s eager to go — all my friends will be there! — but it turns...
Poilievre needs more people to like the sound of his voice. To hear him say things that make them feel confident and hopeful, not depressed. To reveal some self-awareness.
This fall’s referendum on secession in Alberta – well, not on secession, but on whether to have a referendum on secession – promises another chance to observe a familiar phenomenon: federalists “fighting for Canada” on separatist terms. There has been no shortage of volunteers to play Captain Canada in the campaign to come, notably Danielle Smith, the Premier, and Pierre...
Prime Minister Mark Carney has confronted two critical but unrelated challenges with performative techniques that have been greeted with understandable skepticism by the two target audiences. In both cases — the need to build infrastructure to transport oil to tidewater and on to overseas markets and the failure to counter the worst antisemitism since the Second World War — Carney...
Pete Hoekstra is not quite in the super league of undiplomatic diplomats. Before he was British foreign minister, Boris Johnson once offended the entire nation of Papua New Guinea by linking it to cannibalism. But the current U.S. ambassador can claim the rare accomplishment of uniting Canadians coast to coast in their animosity toward him.
Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette has given her governing Quebec party a pulse with a mix of seriousness outside the province and calculated wedge politics at home.
The daily question period in the House of Commons generally subtracts from the sum of human knowledge, and Tuesday’s episode was an absolute belter in terms of confusing anyone watching. It kicked off with Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre calling the “phantom” high-speed railway between Quebec City and Toronto “a boondoggle.” This from the Conservative party that has called on the...
Even though they have a mammoth money lead on the Democrats, fundraisers for U.S. President Donald Trump never let up. Their solicitations come at a relentless pace, like corn being popped. I have a sense of it because I strangely got on the Republicans’ mailing list as a MAGA supporter and potential donor. My inbox is bombarded several times a...
At the Pride flag raising on Parliament Hill on Tuesday, local activists and onlookers mingled with staffers, MPs and senators in the hot sun while waiting for Prime Minister Mark Carney to arrive. A group of Conservative MPs were present, including out lesbian MP Melissa Lantsman, though none would dare be photographed on stage at the end of the event...
One of Ontario’s biggest and most reliable automakers is warning Canadians not to take its presence here for granted. “Companies don’t automatically keep building vehicles in the same country just because it’s always been that way,” Honda Canada president Dave Jamieson told an industry summit convened by the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association in Vaughan this week.
There is zero chance, absolutely none, that separatist leaders will kick Premier Danielle Smith out of office and take over the United Conservative Party. That's how they talk, of course. They're going after the premier because they don't like her referendum question and her embrace of federalism, Alberta style. In the last column, I tried to explain the movement against...
There’s a lineup of imperfect candidates who could make the case for Canada ahead of Alberta’s referendum-to-have-a-referendum on sovereignty in the fall. There’s Prime Minister Mark Carney, of course, the most prominent federalist in the country and one who happened to spend the majority of his childhood and adolescence in Alberta. But Mr. Carney is Albertan in the same way...
Today was the day when Donald Trump issued the inevitable pronouncement that he’d prefer not to renew the Canada-US-Mexico (CUSMA) agreement at all. While only time will tell how much of that statement was posturing, it raises the question of how Team Canada will approach this new phase in the evolution of the deal. This time last year, many observers...
The Irish political pilgrimage — or world-leader “roots tour” as an adaptation of the ancestral tourism that fuels so much Blarney-Stone kissing — is a classic of personal diplomacy pioneered by President John F. Kennedy. “If this nation had achieved its present political and economic stature a century or so ago,” Kennedy said in his speech to the Oireachtas Éireann...
The UCP is cooked if separatists take control. Well aware of the threat, Premier Danielle Smith's forces are quietly acting against UCP rebels who want to kick her out of office. It's happening in battles for riding nominations as well as party board elections at the UCP convention Nov. 27 to 29. This is heating up fast. Smith simply can't...
In recent days, both the Toronto Star and The Globe and Mail have written pieces on some limited degree of dissension in the federal Liberal caucus around how Prime Minister Mark Carney allegedly interacts with his team members. The Star story talked about how the prime minister apparently yells, and wants solutions not problems brought forward by his MPs. While...
Fears of artificial intelligence tend to fall into two camps. On one hand, there is widespread anxiety that we are allowing AI to develop too fast, too far, beyond our ability to prevent or mitigate its potential harms. These range from the threat to privacy, to the problems of telling what is real or human from AI-generated fakery, to the...
When Avi Lewis was elected leader of the New Democratic Party just over two months ago, he issued a boast that was almost Trumpian in its braggadocio. "Canada, mark your calendar. The NDP comeback starts now," he said. But it turns out, he was right. A Liaison Strategies poll released on Monday had NDP support at 15 per cent, with...
Canada’s new governor-general, Louise Arbour sums up Canadian pride this way: “We don’t think we are perfect, but we believe we’re pretty well on the way there.” Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, meanwhile, chose the very day of Arbour’s installation to lay out what’s standing in the way of perfection — namely, the federal government.
Sixty-five years ago, on a state visit to Ottawa, President John F Kennedy planted a tree on the grounds of Rideau Hall, the Governor General’s residence. What should have been an anodyne ritual turned into a nightmare for him. The President injured his back so severely that it made the front page of the New York Times, affected his performance...
In an event with as much prescribed formality as the installation of Louise Arbour as Governor-General, it was the tiny moments of humanity and individual expression that spoke most loudly of how she sees her role and the country she’s now serving in a new way. Guests at the ceremony in the Senate on Monday morning included two former prime...
As Ottawa pushes to get “more” economic benefits from its multibillion-dollar F-35 fighter jets procurement, such as more domestic jobs created, the aircraft’s American manufacturer Lockheed Martin isn’t giving any indication if it’s willing to offer anything “more,” saying opportunities already exist in a global partnership program of which Canada is a member. Prime Minister Mark Carney (Nepean, Ont.) ordered...
The Canadian government gave notice Thursday it’s introducing new legislation to stop the import of goods made with forced labour as the U.S. threatens new tariffs on foreign trading partners. Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand on Thursday told the House of Commons that within days, the government will be tabling “an Act respecting the prohibition of the importation of goods...
Alberta's government has filed its appeal of a judge's decision to throw out a petition looking to force a vote on the province quitting Canada. Premier Danielle Smith criticized the ruling last month, calling it "anti-democratic," and promised to appeal. Court of King's Bench Justice Shaina Leonard found the referendum petition shouldn't have been issued under provincial law and that...
Political discontent may be growing across the country, but this quarter’s premier approval ratings show a clear concentration of trouble among three of the country’s most prominent leaders. In Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario, Danielle Smith, David Eby and Doug Ford all fall to personal lows, each facing a different mix of governing fatigue, economic pressure and controversy at home...
Prime Minister Mark Carney took part in a video call involving Group of Seven countries and China today to address global economic imbalances. A spokesperson for the Prime Minister's Office confirmed Carney took part in the meeting led by French President Emmanuel Macron. The government of France says priorities for the G7 Leaders' Summit next week will include reducing global...
The United States' top diplomat in Canada says that when U.S. President Donald Trump says the U.S. doesn't need anything from its northern neighbour, he's actually looking for ways to collaborate. "When the president says we don't need this from Canada, or there's nothing we need, America has a tremendous amount of things where we have a need," U.S. Ambassador...
A Conservative MP who helps shape Canada’s AI and auto policy owns stock in the American software company Palantir and carmaker Tesla. An August 2025 ethics disclosure indicates that Ontario MP Michael Guglielmin owns at least $10,000 of stock in Palantir, which a member of his own party has criticized for its data gathering practices.
One day after President Donald Trump declared the United States doesn’t need anything from Canada, his ambassador in Ottawa offered a notable exception: potash. Canada is the world’s top exporter of the essential fertilizer used to maximize crop production — and it’s one commodity U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra said the United States needs as the fate of free...
PM has said strategy would strengthen domestic food production, improve access to affordable food. While the grocery rebates hitting lower-income bank accounts this month offer short-term relief for high prices, Mark Carney's government is set to release a new plan on Thursday for fixing some of the root causes behind the spike in food prices. When the prime minister announced...
A Toronto police officer has died after being shot during an investigation believed to be tied to the United States, said U.S. ambassador Pete Hoekstra. Toronto police said the officer was shot after an exchange of gunfire with a suspect in the northwest end of the city Thursday morning.
The opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge has been delayed as the relationship between Canada and the United States continues to be upended by U.S. President Donald Trump. The interim chief executive of the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority said Thursday that Canada and the U.S. have agreed to a delay as the two countries attempt to "resolve any outstanding issues."...
Despite agreeing to a “common set of principles” for a safer and more secure digital space for minors, leaders of G7 countries are unlikely to come to a consensus on government regulations against online harms, according to senior government officials. The background briefing was given to reporters ahead of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s trip to Ireland and France later this...
U.S. President Donald Trump is again saying the American economy does not need anything from Canada or Mexico and he is "not looking to renew" the continental trade pact. Trump made the comments in the Oval Office Wednesday when asked about the July 1 deadline to renew the Canada-U.S.-Mexico agreement on trade, known in Canada as CUSMA. If the deadline...
Trump administration's refusal to share could lead to a missing link for NATO. Canada's planned purchase of the Saab GlobalEye surveillance jet faces significant political and technical hurdles if the aircraft is going to be fully integrated into NORAD. Much of the success or failure of the effort will depend on convincing the Trump administration and the Pentagon to share...
As countries including Canada move toward social media bans in an attempt to keep youths safe online, tech companies are in a tug of war over who should be the gatekeepers. Executives from Snapchat and Meta, the owner of Instagram, Facebook and Threads, have argued it should be app stores rather than platforms charged with verifying the ages of users...
The federal privacy commissioner says sexual deepfakes created by Elon Musk's Grok AI chatbot violated Canada's privacy law. The watchdog says Grok's AI image generation tool was launched without adequate safeguards and didn't properly consider harms to privacy. The commissioner launched an investigation in January to examine the proliferation of sexualized deepfakes created by Grok and shared on the X...
'It's a G6 in all but name,' says international affairs expert. One year after hosting the G7 summit in Alberta, Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to rejoin world leaders — including U.S. President Donald Trump — for their first meeting since the start of the U.S.-Israeli offensive in Iran. Carney will attend the G7 leaders' summit in Évian-les-Bains, France...
The Liberal government’s new online safety legislation would force social media platforms to block access for kids under 16. Social media platforms will be able to obtain an exemption if they have put in place sufficient safeguards. Platforms that offer adult content would not be able to obtain that exemption. The bill covers adult content services that focus on user-shared...
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro slammed the barrage of “disrespectful” comments he said U.S. President Donald Trump has lobbed at Canada as he met with Ontario Premier Doug Ford Wednesday and signed a partnership agreement on trade. “I know that many Canadians, to many of them the United States does not feel very welcoming right now. I get that, given the...
Chrystia Freeland is returning to her writing roots with a new book named after a quip she made about the United States on an American talk show. "Unreliable Boyfriend: An Insider's View of Dealing with a Chaotic Superpower, Plutocrats, and Other Complicated People" will be published in October. Its title is a reference to a comment she made on "Real...
Moscow is calling Canada a "warmonger" for signing a drone-production deal with Ukraine and is vowing to publish the address of a Canadian company working with Kyiv. Two weeks ago, Ottawa announced a corporate partnership between Canadian and Ukrainian drone makers that could see drones made in Canada deployed to Ukraine's front line.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says Quebec MP Bernard Genereux is in hospital after suffering a heart problem earlier today. Poilievre told MPs in the House of Commons an ambulance was called to the Quebec Conservative caucus meeting this morning. He says Genereux, 64, is in relatively stable condition.
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says that based on the data he’s seen to date, this country’s economy is weak but “it is not clearly in recession.” “There’s been a lot of volatility, month to month, quarter to quarter, but when you look through the bumps, I mean the economy hasn’t really grown in the last year, but it...
Canada and Turkey have agreed to restart initial discussions on a free-trade agreement. Global Affairs Canada says the decision reflects the ambition of both countries to unlock the full potential of their commercial partnership. A news release from the department says International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu and his Turkish counterpart also have agreed to explore opportunities in renewable and nuclear...
'If it takes a little longer, it'll take a little longer,' Carney says of Trump-delayed border crossing. Prime Minister Mark Carney says the Gordie Howe bridge connecting Ontario and Michigan might not open at the end of the week as he initially said, but insisted "there's no big drama." "Everyone is working hard to make sure the bridge is open...
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem doesn't think the economy is in a recession, but he does acknowledge some recent weakness — something other economists argue should give the central bank more leeway to keep its key interest rate steady for the rest of the year.
Prime Minister Mark Carney chaired a virtual meeting with the premiers Wednesday afternoon as his government prepared for major trade talks with the U.S. and Mexico. A statement from the Prime Minister's Office said Carney updated the premiers on the status of engagement with the Trump administration on the future of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade, better known as CUSMA...
A former top Canadian government official who has clashed often with President Donald Trump is writing a book about her country's tense relationship with the United States. Simon & Schuster announced Wednesday that "Unreliable Boyfriend," by former Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, comes out Oct. 13. "This is a book about power, democracy, and the choices countries make when the...
The White House had voiced complaints about Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s Washington reception with Ross Perot Jr., board chair at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, before it was abruptly cancelled, according to two American industry sources. The reception, which was scheduled for Monday, was one of the most high-profile events that Mr. Ford was set to attend during his two-day...
Conservative and Bloc Québécois MPs will be alongside agricultural producers and citizen groups from Quebec and Ontario to oppose Alto's high-speed rail project. The demonstration is expected to rally hundreds of people on Parliament Hill around noon. A press release from l'Union des producteurs agricoles, a trade union representing agricultural workers in Quebec, said the protest aims to raise awareness...
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Independents have grown increasingly unhappy with President Donald Trump during his second term, a new AP-NORC polling analysis finds, particularly those without a college degree.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump said Thursday that he plans to nominate Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and a former Securities and Exchange Commission chairman, as director of national intelligence.
President Donald Trump said Thursday he has called off new military strikes on Iran, hours after threatening to escalate the war.
Even though they have a mammoth money lead on the Democrats, fundraisers for U.S. President Donald Trump never let up. Their solicitations come at a relentless pace, like corn being popped. I have a sense of it because I strangely got on the Republicans’ mailing list as a MAGA supporter and potential donor. My inbox is bombarded several times a...
Prime Minister Mark Carney has landed in Paris, where he is set to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron ahead of the G7 summit next week. A government official briefing reporters before the trip framed the meeting as Canada passing the G7 presidency baton to France and said the leaders likely will discuss how to advance a strategic partnership between...
Prime Minister Mark Carney says the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge was delayed at the request of the United States -- but the issue is separate from negotiations on a critical continental trade pact. "At the request of the United States, we agreed to delay the opening and take the necessary time to resolve outstanding issues, a few...
Despite agreeing to a “common set of principles” for a safer and more secure digital space for minors, leaders of G7 countries are unlikely to come to a consensus on government regulations against online harms, according to senior government officials. The background briefing was given to reporters ahead of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s trip to Ireland and France later this...
'It's a G6 in all but name,' says international affairs expert. One year after hosting the G7 summit in Alberta, Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to rejoin world leaders — including U.S. President Donald Trump — for their first meeting since the start of the U.S.-Israeli offensive in Iran. Carney will attend the G7 leaders' summit in Évian-les-Bains, France...
Moscow is calling Canada a "warmonger" for signing a drone-production deal with Ukraine and is vowing to publish the address of a Canadian company working with Kyiv. Two weeks ago, Ottawa announced a corporate partnership between Canadian and Ukrainian drone makers that could see drones made in Canada deployed to Ukraine's front line.
Canada and Australia cannot afford to be passive actors in the increasingly turbulent world of resource geopolitics.
A collection of SubStack publishing within Canadian public affairs.
Secrecy surrounding cabinet documents is so absolute in Canada that critics look to theology and astrophysics for metaphors to describe it. Federal cabinet records in Canada are treated as “sacred artefacts to be shrouded in mystery for decades, hidden in a black hole beyond the contemplation of judges, commissioners, or citizens.”
In 2007, Roger Martin, then dean of the Rotman School of Management at University of Toronto, wrote a book called The Opposable Mind. It argued that the most successful leaders tend to be “integrative thinkers,” by which he meant they tackled problems holistically rather than breaking them down into component parts. Instead of seeking trade-offs, they are at ease with...
“Despite the ongoing conflict between Hezbollah and Israel which has resulted in thousands of deaths and injuries…Lebanon moved forward with the ban on antipersonnel landmines,” said the Ottawa-based group Mines Action Canada in a statement, celebrating the new addition.
At Issue this week: Canada grapples with more Trump threats to free trade, and a delay in opening the new Gordie Howe bridge. The Liberals move against social media but not everyone's on board. And Pierre Poilievre pitches Albertans on staying in Canada.
Pierre Poilievre skips the governor general's installation and heads to Calgary with a new pitch: project hope, not project fear. Nick Taylor-Vaisey and Mickey Djuric break down his bid to talk Alberta separatists out of leaving, and what it means for a Conservative leader who spent years calling Canada broken. Plus, Justin Trudeau works a red carpet with Katy Perry...
More polls are showing some softening support for Mark Carney and the Liberals, while the NDP moves into double-digits. But the trend line isn’t conclusive — except when it comes to the Conservatives, who have shown little life in the polls with one new survey putting the party at a level not seen since before Pierre Poilievre became party leader...
Canada has introduced new legislation that puts big tech social platforms on notice: change your platforms to make them safer for kids, or children under the age of 16 will be banned from using them.
