Canada is highly respected, but it seems many Albertans and Quebecers don’t care, and prefer to gamble with our country’s future in a time of crisis.
As we face the accelerating climate crisis, the imperative to move away from fossil fuels is urgent, but so too are nature-based climate solutions. It’s not ‘either-or.’ We need ‘both—and’ and, as quickly as possible.
A movement openly questioning the legitimacy of Confederation is being normalized as part of democratic discourse, while First Nations asserting their treaty rights are portrayed as procedural obstacles standing in the way of the people’s will.
Mary Simon changed the world for Indigenous youth who for the first time saw ‘one of us’ take on such a role and succeed. No more airtime on languages. Instead, let’s highlight how this Governor General raised the profile of Indigenous success and contribution, and about mental health. And even though she will be leaving the job, reconciliation continues.
If a similar proportion of women in the city of Ottawa were missing or murdered over the past 20 years—let’s say 700—it would be a crisis. That’s close to the proportion compared to the overall Indigenous population. But Indigenous women?
Liberal Party members deserved a party. Convention speeches are always a bit of hyperbole. But don’t allow your celebration and a majority government get in the way of reconciliation. If you are truly allies for Indigenous Peoples, one of your jobs is to ensure the party demands that accurate history is reflected.
As he nears retirement from the daily grind, you can’t talk about Bob Fife and not talk about passion.
Right now, both Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith and Conservative MP Jamil Jivani stand on uncertain ground, either by design or over estimation of their political skill.
If you are the government offering this dosh, there is a better-than-average chance you might collect some new supporters or reinforce existing ones.
It’s unlikely that the Air Force’s pilot shortage will be rectified by the 2030s, and the global security situation will allow Canada the luxury of standing up another Snowbird squadron for the express purpose of astonishing onlookers at airshows.
The current plan for upgrades and refurbishment of the Leopard 2 tanks is aimed at ensuring ‘platform viability until 2035’—that means their replacement should have been put on a fast track at least five years ago.
The problem of aged-out planes is not the only challenge for the future of the famed Air Demonstration Squadron as we await the minister’s May 19 announcement.
Changes to environmental legislation is the kind of under-the-radar political discussion that will not likely make front page news. But it is the kind of change that could alienate women who tend to focus more on environmental and health concerns.
Nathaniel Erskine-Smith has worn a target on his back for the last several months. Now a new frontrunner will be under attack and the Ford team is already working hard to build attack ads against whomever wins the race.
There is a record number of 53 MPs from minority backgrounds in the Commons, representing 15.7 per cent of the total number of seats. That percentage is still below the 26.3 percentage of visible minorities in the general population. But the increase in the last election was outstanding.
As the prime minister often says, we must deal with the world as it is, not as we wish it to be. But when it comes to Mark Carney’s calculated capitulation on climate, it simply sounds defeatist—and irresponsible.
It is expansive, lasting programs—like national child care, dental care, comprehensive pharmacare, and a much improved medicare—that provide most material benefit to the most people. Yet, those programs the Carney Liberals appear ready to let wither before they have even had a chance to flourish.
Voters are fed up with performative politics in this moment of global and economic disruption. So, out with the Bibles-as-props, dog whistles, personal slurs and red-faced rants; in with respectful, fact-based debate, and intelligent compromise.
Will we simply hope that our raw materials will sustain our prosperity? Or do we need to become aggressively proactive in building a new knowledge-based economy? The latter will take much greater effort than has been deployed so far.
In particular, we need to invest in innovation and build a new generation of large Canadian firms that have scale and scope for global success, with high-paying jobs for workers and wealth generation to sustain and improve public services.
Boosting skilled trades is critical to many of the Carney government’s plans to reinvent our economy. Carney has said that, by 2033, Canada will need more than 1.4 million new trades workers ‘to build homes, expand transit and develop energy infrastructure across the country.’
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Rachel Notley’s watching Danielle Smith make bold deals with the federal Liberal government to help develop Alberta’s energy sector, the same sort of deals Notley tried but failed to make. But she was just the victim of cold political calculations.
The NDP’s massive loss in last year’s election might prove to be a blessing. Now, with nothing left to defend, the NDP can go on the attack.
In case you missed it, the former federal Conservative leader recently told the media that Pierre Poilievre needs to ‘moderate’ his political views. That counsel might seem totally reasonable. So why do I think it’s bad? There are many reasons.
British Columbia Premier David Eby has expressed concerns about Mark Carney’s chummy relationship with Danielle Smith. Carney appears to be treating Alberta’s demands and desires with special attention, particularly the desire for a new pipeline.
For Donald Trump, burdened with a sluggish economy, an unpopular war, and polling numbers lower than the morale at the Pentagon, the goal is trade deals that will ease his problems back home. That’s why he took every billionaire business dude he could find along on the trip. For Xi Jinping, the calculus is different.
Every Canadian knows that the country needs a deal with our most important trading partner. But when does negotiating with Donald Trump equal surrendering to him?
Even before the United States and Israel attacked Iran, it was at least two years of hard work away from a working nuclear weapon.
There are many other factors to blame for fewer people having kids: housing affordability, unrealistic expectations promoted by online influencers, even the growing scarcity of entry-level jobs. But the most persuasive is phones, phones, phones.
Any American commitment to defend Taiwan from China’s aggression died years ago when Russia began its invasion of Ukraine and the U.S. did not come to its defence. But that doesn’t mean the island is doomed.
The federal Liberals have taken the position that an Alberta-to-B.C.-coast oil line has to have a private sector proponent. So far, none has stepped up.
The feds would be wrong to think that taking action to address Albertans’ claims they are mistreated by Ottawa would make much, if any, difference among separatists.
A long-term bid to renew the country’s economic promise costs money, and it’s not going to happen without first laying serious financial groundwork.
FIFA and Canadian governments have priced out regular people from this tournament in the middle of an affordability crisis.
Carney’s Liberals have left a lot to be defined through the undemocratic regulatory process. The plan is to be vague when shoving it down our throats via Parliament.
From asbestos to pests, to not having enough space, at what point is the Government of Canada liable for the health and safety of its workers?
Canada is highly respected, but it seems many Albertans and Quebecers don’t care, and prefer to gamble with our country’s future in a time of crisis.
If Quebec fails to bring the defence bank to Montreal, it’ll have no one to blame but itself.
Without an accurate count, small towns could fail to meet criteria for services or even viability as a municipality.
In Universal: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured World, Alex Neve looks into why we should be fighting to preserve our universal human rights. ‘In a world permeated with crises many of which come right to our front door, that surely must mean going further, even when it takes us beyond our comfort zone.’
American mainstream politics may be offering little hope, but prayers and non-violence in the streets in great numbers offer signs of promise. I do think that’s what I witnessed at Central Park and in Times Square.
The rule of international law in Palestine today—or on the 49th parallel tomorrow.
Economic issues might come back to the fore. I know a great many Conservatives who remain deeply frustrated that they are polling so badly as a party, despite polling so well on issues that matter dearly to millions of voters. This might give them some hope.
So far, there’s been a lot more talk than action, and, for a guy who campaigned on rebuilding this country so it could confront existential threats to our sovereignty, more speed would be better. I suspect even the prime minister would agree.
It’s time for Canada to pick a jet—or a mix of jets—and get it done. Our pilots deserve it, and given the state of the world, the country may need it. Carney has a majority now. He can essentially do what he wants. I hope this is near the top of his list.
A Pollara poll from April had support for Alberta separatism at 27 per cent, the highest level recorded in five years of tracking. A recent CBC News poll showed that 57 per cent of UCP members would vote for Alberta to separate from Canada. This means Smith is dependent on separatists to remain leader.
Pope Leo is giving lessons on the immorality of modern warfare. Mark Carney should pay attention.
Mark Carney, who revealed himself as a man of conscience on his way to the Prime Minister’s Office, now needs to push back against the militarists demanding never-ending increases in defence spending and start pushing the UN’s agenda for peace.
Access to crucial viral Ebola data has been denied for more than 12 years.
Nobody in Ottawa wants to guarantee records would be released in a timely fashion, let alone that historic records will be quickly declassified.
We are headed further down the golden-brick road to more privacy invasions drawn from giant personal metadata pools by both government and corporate surveillance teams.
As affordability issues continue to dominate the minds of Canadians, now is not the time for a victory lap.
It is often easier to turf a leader than unite as a movement, fight for shared values, and work through differences behind closed doors.
Failure to effectively thread the needle between the international agenda and challenges here at home could see the same downward spiral that originally set the stage for Mark Carney’s political rise.
This bill would modernize and protect Canada’s electoral processes by introducing new ways of combatting threats of foreign interference, disinformation, dark money, ballot manipulation, and the misuse of personal data. It’s not perfect. But it’s a worthwhile first step that parliamentarians should support.
There’s very little—if anything—stopping the new NDP leader from making it the Avi Lewis Party and infusing it with the values and priorities that he holds dear, just as former prime minister Justin Trudeau rebuilt the Liberal Party in his own image.
The bottom line is that, even in the current moment of significant disruption and uncertainty in the world and in Canada’s relationship with the United States, our political parties are still not seeking opportunities to work together for the sake of the public.
Leadership is in Avi Lewis’ family’s DNA, but leadership requires taking risks. Contesting Beaches-East York might seem risky, but there are really no downsides. Diefenbaker and Douglas proved it. Lewis’ grandfather discovered it after losing his first attempt at getting elected to Parliament in 1940. Lewis should go for it.
In that riding, the Bloc Québécois vote increased by eight percentage points and the Liberal vote increased by 10, while the Conservative and NDP votes declined by 15 and two percentage points, respectively. Turnout was 50 per cent, unusually high for a byelection.
A breaking point with the U.S. can no longer be waved off. If Canada’s wagon were hitched to the EU’s horse, it would be a major player in the organization, its fourth largest economy. The theory behind the EU—an integrated entity of sovereign democratic states—is consistent with Carney’s vision as articulated at Davos.
The prime minister’s New York visit signals a push for industrial acceleration. But too often, social policy debates collapse into a single question: how does this improve our competitiveness?
A movement openly questioning the legitimacy of Confederation is being normalized as part of democratic discourse, while First Nations asserting their treaty rights are portrayed as procedural obstacles standing in the way of the people’s will.
The choice of governor general reflects a broader shift toward institutional discipline and away from standard political signalling.
