Experts are calling for the government to introduce a national, enforceable framework to guide data centre development in Canada, and to make federal funding to build or expand centres conditional.
The health minister’s office says steps are being taken to address Canada’s drug shortages and to strengthen its drug capacity, but the Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences Sciences Sector Task Force’s report says Ottawa’s pharmaceutical policies have eroded domestic and foreign direct investment, exacerbated by global trade dynamics and pricing policy rebalancing.
In 2024, the federal budget set aside $1.5-billion for a national pharmacare program, but under Prime Minister Mark Carney, the top priorities have significantly changed and experts say they don’t expect it to become a reality in this Parliament.
‘The Donner Prize exists to connect serious policy thinking with the public conversations that shape how Canada is governed, and this year’s shortlist arrives at a moment when that mission has rarely felt more pressing,’ says Gregory Belton, chair of the Donner Canadian Foundation.
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May says she supports the call, saying that horse exports ‘should be banned. It’s an issue of basic compassion and humanity.’
Pollster Angus Reid says the prime minister is getting ‘top marks’ for his international performance, while Nik Nanos says people like Mark Carney, but he cannot erase Liberal fatigue as the party marks more than 10 years in power.
Now that U.S. President Donald Trump has ‘decided to weaponize the interdependence’ between Canada and the U.S. ‘as a means of compromising our sovereignty,’ John Manley says that the focus should be on bringing Canadians along as Prime Minister Mark Carney makes difficult decisions.
The world is watching U.S. President Donald Trump as he puts America on a collision course with democratically elected European governments and the European Union, says Canada’s former UN ambassador Bob Rae.
Ian Brodie says he believes Conservative Party members will likely support Pierre Poilievre’s continued leadership since it’s likely too soon to replace him. But he says Poilievre is going to have to give people an idea of how he plans to actually win the next election.
The Canadian government has been relatively silent about the strategy, with ministers only weighing in when asked by reporters.
New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt nabbed second-most-popular premier in the December Angus Reid poll, followed by Saskatchewan’s Scott Moe. Quebec Premier François Legault was back of the pack with a 25-per-cent approval rating.
The potential impact of these projects is up for debate as many are located in individual provinces or territories, and were previously approved by those jurisdictions. Meanwhile, the federal government wants to accelerate the construction of the Alto High-Speed Rail, Canada’s first high-speed railway from Toronto to Quebec City.
And Abacus Data pollster David Coletto says he’s also finding high anxiety among Canadians. ‘There’s not a lot of optimism out there.’
As U.S. President Donald Trump upends decades of progress in the world, it also creates an opportunity for Canada to show global leadership, says politicos. But Canada also needs to be united.
In beefing up cybersecurity, Bill C-8 ‘does not authorize warrantless access to Canadians’ personal data,’ says Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree.
Guy Gellatly, chief economic adviser at Statistics Canada, said it’s ‘too early’ to determine whether Canada is approaching a recession, but it’s had a ‘very, very weak second quarter with big declines in trade and business development.’ However, there hasn’t been sustained declines.