Trudeau is so out of touch as to believe Canadians can be convinced their budgets will balance themselves with a two-month GST holiday and $250. Pictured: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Photo Credit: Justin Trudeau/X.  For many Canadian households, this Christmas season may be the toughest – economically speaking – that they have ever had to […]

The American leadership has a harsh perspective of the Trudeau Liberals. Pictured: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President-Elect Donald Trump. Photo Credit: Justin Trudeau/X.  Reviewing the political rhetoric from Ottawa’s governing Liberals and the national punditry in the wake of President-Elect Donald Trump’s sensational electoral results south of the border, a few quotes come to […]

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith baldly stated, “I’m pissed – I’m absolutely angry.” Pictured: Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault. Photo Credit: Steven Guilbeault/X.  The seismic political movement felt south of the border this week with the election of Donald J. Trump as president fixated Canadians’ attention to the point that most people missed an […]

The Trudeau government appears to be following the WHO’s instructions to its member countries in preparation for the next pandemic. Photo Credit: iStock.  Lost in the political mayhem on Parliament Hill, unbeknownst to Canadians, the Trudeau government has advanced a piece of legislation. An Act respecting pandemic prevention and preparedness (Bill C-293), which will establish […]

In the face of mounting criticisms, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau remains defiant. Pictured: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Photo Credit: Justin Trudeau/X.  The international news organization The Economist rarely publishes Canadian news – a fact that needs to be fully appreciated in order to understand the magnitude of the following statements. In its current weekly edition, […]

It is as if the Trudeau Liberals believe they are able to suspend reality – and maintain Canadians’ trust and confidence. Pictured: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Photo Credit: Justin Trudeau/X.  There was a tragicomical moment at the Justice Hogue inquiry on foreign interference this week when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau jumped the shark with his […]

As of Thursday noon, the Canadian government has not taken action in response to the chants. Pictured: Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly. Photo Credit: Mélanie Joly/X.  At a pro-Palestinian protest on the steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery on Monday, a rallying cry rang out, “Death to Canada.”  In Vancouver: chants of “We are Hezbollah, […]

Based on existing figures, defence spending will amount to no more than 1.4 per cent of GDP in 2030. Photo Credit: iStock.  The state of the Canadian Forces has been in the headline news since July, when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attended the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) meetings and was embarrassed into making […]

A regular reader of the Niagara Independent who contacted me insisted that Canadians need to better understand how devastating the Liberals carbon tax is to our way of life. Photo Credit: iStock.  On Tuesday morning in the House of Commons, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre delivered a fiery appeal for support of a motion of non-confidence […]

Canadians were treated to an eventful week as MPs returned to Ottawa. Pictured: Bloc Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet. Photo Credit: Yves-Francois Blanchet/X.  This first week that MPs were back on Parliament Hill proved as volatile as pundits and politicos thought it would be. It began with surprising by-election results. The week included bombshell revelations about Ottawa’s […]

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau vows he is staying to do combat in the next federal election. Pictured: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Photo Credit: Justin Trudeau/X. For Canadians not mesmerized by the ongoing political soap opera south of the border, this week proved very entertaining in Canada’s national political theatre. Political leaders were jostling with one […]

  Sept. 10 will mark 100 days since the publishing of the NSICOP report. It has been one hundred days of subversive silence. Pictured: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Photo Credit: Justin Trudeau/X.  It was on Monday, June 3 that Canadians learned that their parliamentarians were colluding in quid pro quo relationships with foreign governments and […]

Eleven more Trudeau government failures. Pictured: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Photo Credit: Justin Trudeau/X.  Here is the current state of 11 Trudeau government programs that indicate nothing less than mismanagement, sheer incompetence, or calculated deceit – or a combination thereof.  TREES: In 2019 the Liberals promised to plant two billion trees by 2030. It took […]

It appears with the Trudeau government Canadians will never know of the ties that bind us to China and the undue influence applied by the CCP. Pictured: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Photo Credit: Justin Trudeau/X.  The greatest impact on the policies of the Trudeau government, unquestionably, has been the Liberals’ personal and business relationships with […]

It appears with the Trudeau government Canadians will never know of the ties that bind us to China and the undue influence applied by the CCP. Pictured: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Photo Credit: Justin Trudeau/X.  The greatest impact on the policies of the Trudeau government, unquestionably, has been the Liberals’ personal and business relationships with […]

In the past nine years, perhaps no policy has proven to be as harmful for the Canadian society and its economy than the Trudeau government’s immigration policy. Pictured: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Photo Credit: Justin Trudeau/X.  Conventional wisdom suggests that governments defeat themselves. There is a shelf life of every administration because sooner or later […]

When a country can no longer guarantee it has dutifully guarded against the threat of terrorism, it becomes a threat itself. Pictured: Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc. Photo Credit: Dominic LeBlanc/X.  It is unnerving to hear that two individuals were arrested this week for plotting a terrorist act in Toronto. This news comes as Canadians […]

Truly, in the Trudeau Liberals’ Canada, Hersh’s question has become a central one: “Is there anything more dangerous than an ideologue who doesn’t know he’s wrong?” Pictured: Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault. Photo Credit: Steven Guilbeault/X.   Seymour Hersh, the American Pulitzer Prize investigative journalist, observed, “Is there anything more dangerous than an ideologue who doesn’t know […]

Canadians are all too familiar now with the reports which forecasts Canada to be the country with the worst performing economy and the weakest growth in living standards through to 2060. Pictured: Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland. Photo Credit: Chrystia Freeland/X.  The Bank of Canada’s announcement this week shaving a quarter per cent off the country’s […]

Treason. Immigration. Housing. These are real-time Canadian crises that we must not allow to be trumped. Pictured: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Photo Credit: Justin Trudeau/X.  The all-consuming “breaking new” chaos that has resulted from the assassination attempt of former president Donald Trump this past weekend and the ongoing coverage surrounding the intrigue of the would-be […]

It was a chasten Canadian delegation that departed the Washington summit, having been so sternly schooled on commitment. Pictured: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. Photo Credit: Justin Trudeau/X.    The 2024 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit this week was a serious and frank affair reflecting the world’s mounting […]

Much like an onion, there are layers to this story that if you peel them back, they will bring tears to your eyes. Pictured: Emergency Preparedness Minister Harjit Sajjan. Photo Credit: Harjit Sajjan/X.  There has been another scandal in the nation’s capital, this one involving Canada’s defence minister and his orders to the Canadian Forces […]

The oil and gas sector pumps billions and billions of dollars into the country’s economy – enriching Canadians’ standard of living. Pictured: Alberta Minister of Environmental and Protected Areas Rebecca Schulz. Photo Credit: Rebecca Schulz/X.  One of the last acts of the Trudeau government before recessing for the summer parliamentary break was to ensure its […]

We R Conservative is a grassroots group that networks tens of thousands of conservative-minded individuals across the country. Pictured: Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and Heather Forsyth. Photo Credit: Heather Forsyth/X.  We R CONSERVATIVE (WRC) is a federal registered non-profit political advocacy organization whose mission is raising awareness of the misdeeds of the governing Liberals and […]

  On autonomy, Premier Danielle Smith reasons that what is good for Quebec should also be good for Alberta. Pictured: Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. Photo Credit: Danielle Smith/X.  As a progressive ideologue whose government is single-mindedly pursing a globalist’s climate policy agenda, even at the expense of Canada’s resource industries’ competitiveness and the country’s prosperity, […]

Longtime Ottawa observers marvel at the Trudeau government’s ability to carry on in the face of multiple scandals and flagrant breaches of public trust. Pictured: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Photo Credit: Justin Trudeau/X.  There were reports released of parliamentarians that are knowingly collaborating with foreign governments, Liberal-friendly companies being routinely contracted hundreds of millions of […]

The Liberals’ immigration plan comes with an untold cost. Pictured: Immigration Minister Marc Miller. Photo Credit: Marc Miller/X.  Canada’s Immigration Minister, Marc Miller, has commanded center stage in Ottawa over the past few weeks making a rash of new policy announcements. The changes being made to Canada’s immigration system will make it easier for newcomers […]

Mere days before the Canadian delegation leaves for Geneva, there has been no official word on the government’s position and its intention with respect to signing the treaty. Pictured: Health Minister Mark Holland. Photo Credit: Mark Holland/X.  Beginning Monday the international community gathers in Geneva, Switzerland at the 77th World Health Assembly, where the member […]

Canada is in a sorry state after eight-and-a-half years of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Pictured: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Photo Credit: Justin Trudeau/X. Here are 24 facts for 2024 that reflect the state of the country, that is Canada after eight-and-a-half years of Justin Trudeau as Prime Minister. 15. Bankruptcies Up: Business insolvencies are spiking […]

Canada is in a sorry state after eight-and-a-half years of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Pictured: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Photo Credit: Justin Trudeau/X. Here are 24 facts for 2024 that reflect the state of the country, that is Canada after eight-and-a-half years of Justin Trudeau as Prime Minister. 1. Trillion-Plus Dollar National Debt: In 2015 […]

The Liberals took to the airwaves and social media Tuesday and Wednesday to denounce Conservatives as “conspiracy theorists.” Pictured: House Speaker Greg Fergus. Photo Credit: Parliament of Canada.  Exchanges in Parliament’s main theatre, the House of Commons, devolved this week into a mayhem more suited for under a circus big top. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau […]

It is time for Canadians to pay attention to what our government officials are signing onto at the WHO treaty negotiations through the coming weeks. Pictured: Former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Photo Credit: Gordon Brown/X.  Canadians can be excused for not knowing about the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Pandemic Treaty. Seldom is it mentioned […]

Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives may soon assume office to assess how to make the most of what is left of the country’s scorched earth. Pictured: Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland. Photo Credit: Chrystia Freeland/X.  A scorched earth approach refers to an intent to deliberately destroy everything as one retreats, so that your advancing opponent is […]

The hollow promises found within the latest defence document will not reassure Canada’s allies, certainly do not deter our adversaries, and they should not comfort Canadians. Pictured: National Defence Minister Bill Blair. Photo Credit: Bill Blair/X. One of the most important duties of any federal government is to provide adequate national defence for the protection […]

The backbench MP now makes three-and-a-half times more than the average Canadian. Cabinet ministers make more than five times, and the Prime Minister eight times that of the average Canadian. Pictured: NDP leader Jagmeet Singh with Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew. Photo Credit: Jagmeet Singh/X.  The recent news from Ottawa regarding the pay raises and the […]

Today, Canada’s productivity is now at the very bottom of the G7 Nations. Photo Credit: iStock. Recently published economic statistics and analysis have disclosed that the country’s current economy and the future prosperity of Canadians are not promising. The latest dire assessment came this week when Carolyn Rogers, the number two official at the Bank […]

  The Trudeau government will continue with its charade that it is reducing emissions, and their carbon pricing rebate is benefiting Canadian families. Photo Credit: PMO.   Canadians are mere weeks away from the federal government once again hiking the carbon tax on gas pump prices and home heating fuel. The debate on the need […]

This week, Canadians were treated to Canada’s own version of “March Madness,” the political frenzy created when 39 federal cabinet ministers fan out over the country to conduct more than 100 press conferences – with many re-announcements of federal funding. Pictured: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland. Photo Credit: PMO/Adam Scotti.   […]

What was once only suspected and labeled as a racism-fueled conspiracy theory by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has now become “most probable” given the facts and admissions made public this past week. Pictured: The Government of Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Photo Credit: Metro/Winnipeg Architecture Foundation. Canadians are now learning about the gain-of-function […]

  The federal government must step up to provide its fair share of money to resuscitate Canada’s public health care system. The provinces must make best use of the money to increase Canadians’ access to primary care and to ensure family physicians are given the respect they deserve at the centre of the health care […]

The political backrooms of the Liberals and NDPs are currently negotiating these measures behind closed doors. Their intent is to introduce electoral reform legislation this year to be implemented for the upcoming election – and, plainly, to allow for new campaign tactics that may improve their parties’ fortunes. Pictured: NDP leader Jagmeet Singh. Photo Credit: […]

Canadian historians often cite Sir John A. Macdonald’s government as being the country’s most scandalous administration. However, the current Liberal administration may be rewriting the history books in this regard. Photo Credit: Getty Images/Andrej Ivanov.    “This is probably some of the worst financial record-keeping that I’ve seen… Overall, this audit shows a glaring disregard […]

This scribe has long held that Justin Trudeau will take the opportunity of Feb. 29, 2024, to repeat his father’s exit from the Prime Minister’s Office. Not one to pass by the theatrical drama of the leap year date, Justin Trudeau will want to recast his spot and his family’s name in Canadian political history. […]

Still, the defiant way Trudeau and his ministers lashed out at the Conservatives this week suggests there is no moving the Liberals on providing carbon tax relief to financially stressed Canadians. As this debate in Ottawa unfolds, Canadians must simply brace themselves for more carbon tax increases on April 1. Photo Credit: Ryan Remiorz.    […]

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is regularly feted by the WEF as a vanguard global leader of progressive initiatives. And the Trudeau government is seen as a favourite of Klaus Schwab, who boasted at a Harvard interview in 2017 that he has “penetrated” many of Trudeau’s cabinet ministers. Pictured: Klaus Schwab. Photo Credit: EPA/Salvatore Di Nolfi.  […]

After eight years of the Trudeau Liberal government managing the Canadian economy, Canadians are in the throes of a cost-of-living crisis. While this crisis is being felt by citizens in countries around the world, the Trudeau government’s policies are exacerbating the tight financial situation most Canadians find themselves in. Pictured are Prime Minister Justin Trudeau […]

There is a pervasive worry about the unaffordable cost of living. The bromides offered by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the governing Liberals provide no relief for individuals and families challenged with the basics of life: putting food on the table and a roof over their heads. Photo Credit: Chris Wattle/Reuters. Canadians enter this year […]

Through 2024 Canadians are sure to hear countless fighting words from both Poilievre and Trudeau in anticipation of their forthcoming election contest – a date that is seemingly set for a full 21 months from now. Until then, it will be constant mudslinging to see what sticks. Pictured is Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and official […]

From concerns about Chinese Communist Party influence to record-breaking immigration numbers and Canadians’ declining standard of living, the past year has left a significant impact, prompting a mix of sentiments as the nation prepares to bid farewell to 2023. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld  As the New Year’s countdown draws near, let us consider […]

Canada’s global reputation takes a hit as critics point to Trudeau’s leadership, citing diplomatic missteps and wavering foreign policy decisions that have left the nation’s international standing in disarray. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick   Canada has seemingly become a personification of its Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau. It is insufferably egotistical with its virtual […]

Examining Trudeau’s natural resources policy sparks controversy over alleged alignment with global climate mandates and its impact on industries. Photo Credit: Reuters/Carlos Osorio   To understand the Trudeau government’s natural resources development approach, one must first know that Justin Trudeau and a core group of his ministers and senior staff are champions of an evolving […]

An Angus Reid poll reveals growing disillusionment among Canadians towards parliamentary proceedings, with 54% viewing MPs’ work as ‘posturing’ and 46% deeming it ‘useless’. The Trudeau government faces accusations of eroding accountability within Parliament and weakening the country’s sovereignty over its eight-year tenure. Photo credit: Reuters/Patrick Doyle   Through eight years, the governing Liberals have […]

Allegations against Trudeau’s government sparked a re-examination of the foundation of legal independence and impartiality in Canada. Photo credit: Getty Images/Andrej Ivanov Justice in a post-national state is at the behest of the country’s Leader. Not that the country’s legal system has yet devolved into a totalitarian chokehold on justice, but unquestionably, in the last […]

As Justin Trudeau’s eight-year tenure draws scrutiny, the stark reality emerges – a legacy marred by fiscal missteps and burgeoning debt that threatens the future of Canadians. Photo: The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld   Perhaps there is no greater harm done by Justin Trudeau and his eight years as Prime Minister than robbing future generations of […]

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faces mounting public discontent as poll numbers plummet and international controversies escalate, triggering widespread calls for his resignation ahead of the next election. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld   Another miserable, embarrassing week for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.  There was another poll, this one by Leger, that shows two […]

Gudie Hutchings, Liberal Minister for Rural Economic Development, comments surrounding Trudeau’s carbon tax reversal sparks controversy and questions about priorities. Photo Credit: Twitter/ctvqp   If anything, the events of the past two weeks have revealed the Liberals’ carbon tax is a political ploy and not a tool to fight climate change as they claim it […]

Immigration Minister Marc Miller announces Canada’s new immigration targets, keeping them at a historic high for the next three years. Photo Credit: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick   Immigration Minister Marc Miller was centre stage in Ottawa this week announcing the government’s new immigration targets for the next three years. Miller’s revelation was that the new […]

Concerns rise as inquiry on foreign influence lingers amid growing CCP-Canada tensions. Photo Credit: Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press   “China’s goal is not to replicate the crude imperialism of the European, or even the American, type, but to create vassal states — subordinate countries that rule themselves but are expected to kowtow on command.”  – Joel […]

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld   In an open letter to Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland this week, the Business Council of Canada took the extraordinary step to make a public plea to the federal government to resist making any new spending promises or dole out additional funding in the fall […]

This proved to be a week of many revelations for Canadians, prompting many to question the character of our country and its citizenry. Pictured: Pro-Palestinian protestors take to the streets of Montreal on Oct. 8, 2023, mere hours after Hamas launched its initial assault on Israel. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Graham Hughes   The world […]

Top of mind for many Canadians this holiday weekend will certainly be the abysmal state of the economy and the soaring cost of living. Photo credit: Getty Images/GMVozd   Elianna Lev, reporter for Yahoo Canada News, caused quite a stir this week when she wrote a news article on the Toronto-based grocery chain Longo’s selling […]

All the numbers you need to know to understand the average Canadian’s financial plight during these trying times. Photo credit: Pexels/Mikhail Nilov   As Canadians enter the holiday weekend, many are financially stressed and worried about what the fall will bring for their household. To put the lot of a working Canadian into proper perspective, […]

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (left) and former cabinet minister Catherine McKenna (right) were both out front of the Liberals’ recent offensive using ingenuine arguments that were deliberately confusing the facts and misinforming Canadians. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Justin Tang and Reuters/Chris Wattie   With each new opinion poll revealing PM Justin Trudeau and his government […]

The stories the legacy media won’t cover, like how investment is steering clear of Canada, or how Trudeau’s approach to law and order is increasing violent crime from coast to coast. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Nathan Denette   Canadians can be forgiven if they missed the latest news about the country’s state of economic and […]

Over the past several months, finance minister Chrystia Freeland’s refrain in regard to the economy has been: “The reality is that Canada is a fantastic country and Canada is doing really well.” However, her bravado and confidence in her government’s fiscal prowess is not a true reflection of Canadians’ nightmarish reality. Photo credit: Twitter/Chrystia Freeland […]

Thanks in no small part to the polices of the current government, led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, all is not well on Canada’s economic front. Photo credit: PMO/Adam Scotti   Now eight years into his tenure as Prime Minister, it has become abundantly clear that Justin Trudeau’s promise of […]

Prime Minister Trudeau at Toronto’s 2019 Pride parade. Photo credit: PMO/Adam Scotti   Somehow, someway in the past few years, the proper respect for individuals making personal choices about sex has become a debate about what sexual conversations can be had with preadolescent children without their parents’ knowledge. Our “forward thinking” Canadian society has become […]

Still from the movie, which stars Jim Caviezel (pictured) as Tim Ballard, a man haunted by the horrors he has witnessed in his job investigating human-trafficking. Photo credit: Angel Studios   It is a summer scorcher: Sound of Freedom. One doesn’t have a pulse if unmoved by this “must-see” film. The movie deals with the […]

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland back in January 2018. Photo credit: Associated Press/Markus Schreiber   Although it is not openly explained to Canadians, the Trudeau government is diligently introducing policies and programs authored by the World Economic Forum (WEF). The WEF global initiatives are championed in Canada by […]

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland talks about the Liberal government’s one-time grocery rebate payment in Toronto, July 5, 2023. Note the ‘Making Life More Affordable’ podium sign. Photo credit: Twitter/Chrystia Freeland   With much of central Canada under a heat warning this week, many of us are now feeling the heat of the summer. However, it […]

Since taking power in 2015, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his allies have systematically sought to, at best, minimize and, at worst, expunge everything that makes Canada a unique and laudable nation. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Graham Hughes   Many Canadians now appreciate the full context of Justin Trudeau’s comment back in 2015, when he […]

Government of Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Photo credit: Metro/Winnipeg Architecture Foundation   There are multiple ways the country’s independence has been potentially compromised by Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) undue influence. Below is part two in a pair of articles counting down ten critical issues, which taken together establish a case for why Canadians […]

Below is a countdown of five critical issues in a series of 10 which, taken together, establish a case for why Canadians must demand a thorough investigation of the relationship between the Trudeau government and the CCP. Photo credit: The Canadian Press   A week has passed since the PM’s special rapporteur David Johnston exited […]

When it comes to dealing with the issues of CCP influence in Canada, there is no ambiguity in the Conservatives policy approach. This is a marked difference to the political powerplays that the Liberals are currently orchestrating on Parliament Hill. Pictured is Conservative foreign affairs critic Michael Chong. Photo credit: Reuters/Chris Wattie   Earlier this […]

Together, the NDP leader (pictured) and hand-picked special rapporteur continue to allow PM Trudeau to stay in power, get away with everything he gets away with, and ultimately deny the Canadian people what they’re owed: answers. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Justin Tang   It has been another incredible week in the Nation’s Capital with many […]

Earlier this week, Johnston, former Governor General, current family friend of the Trudeaus, released his preliminary rapporteur report on Beijing’s interference into Canada’s internal affairs. Photo credit: CBC   Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s special rapporteur David Johnston issued his preliminary report this week and concluded that there is no need for a formal public inquiry […]

The federal strike is but the latest symptom of the rot brought about by the Trudeau Liberals’ particular flavour of progressive politics. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick   This week 155,000 federal public servants went out on strike for unrealistic wage increases and to further feather their nest of entitlements. For the many Canadians […]

From the PM telling struggling Canadians to rack up debt on their credit cards to Public Service Alliance of Canada union members demanding outrageous salary hikes, like many of cartoonist Gary Larson’s offerings, much of what we are witnessing in Ottawa these days is “out there” and confounds common sense. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Peter […]

The extravagance, arrogance, and disregard for basic ethics among Trudeau and his inner circle seem to only strengthen with the passing of the seasons. They know it, many Canadians know it, and yet nothing ever changes. No one is held accountable, and the Liberal elites continue to hold onto and abuse the power provided to […]

Many of Canada’s top economic experts and business leaders seem to agree: the 2023 budget might prove to be this government’s worst attempt at providing the country with a fiscal and economic plan. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Justin Tang   Federal finance minister Chrystia Freeland delivered the 2023 Federal Budget this week. Some refer to […]

At no time in the recent history of our country has a budget been so important. Pictured is finance minister Chrystia Freeland. Photo credit: Twitter/Chrystia Freeland   Next Tuesday, March 28, federal finance minister Chrystia Freeland will rise in the House of Commons to deliver the 2023 Federal Budget. At no time in the recent […]

Earlier this month, the WHO reaffirmed its schedule for securing a global agreement that would reconstitute the international body and give it considerably more power and authority in the case of another global health crisis. Photo credit: AFP/Fabrice Coffrini   The World Health Organization (WHO) is currently in the process of redefining the role it […]

A review of the latest happenings and commentary. Photo credit: Global News   “This is a full-blown national security crisis. The ruling Liberals want us to pretend it’s not happening. The prime minister is obviously hiding something.” – Terry Glavin, China’s “Magic Weapon” Hits Canadian Targets Regarding the current national scandal, not much more has […]

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Hangzhou, China, September 2016. Photo credit: Reuters   To continue with the sordid details now becoming public about the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) ties with the Trudeau Liberals, this past week’s revelations had their intrigue. What is now becoming […]

As recently released CSIS documents reveal, the CCP went to great lengths to influence the outcome of Canada’s two latest federal elections. While the major revelation makes top headlines across the country, the Prime Minister continues to play it off as a non-issue. Photo credit: Reuters/Jason Lee   The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) covertly influenced […]

PM Justin Trudeau addresses nursing students at Algonquin College, Feb. 10, 2023. As evidenced by his answer to a student at the event, Trudeau simply doesn’t appreciate the severe financial strain and anxiety many Canadians are currently experiencing. Photo credit: Algonquin College   Increasingly our senior-most members of parliament in Ottawa are proving they are […]

There’s no question that more and more immigrants are entering Canada through varying streams and schemes, legal or not. The federal government has been transparent in communicating its desire to significantly increase the number of new people coming into the country. However, it hasn’t been transparent in revealing what, exactly, that number really is. Pictured […]

With Parliament returning Monday, the PM has resumed his role at centre stage. But what lies ahead for one of Canada’s finest political performers remains an enigma. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld    Should I stay or should I go now? Should I stay or should I go now? If I go, there will […]

With MPs set to return to work Monday, the following piece offers an overview of recent news on the federal front vacationing parliamentarians – and indeed some Canadians – may have missed. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld    MPs return to Ottawa on Monday from a six-week Christmas recess. Much has occurred in the […]

The World Economic Forum (WEF) held its 2023 general meeting this past week. Several of Canada’s most influential public officials and corporate actors were in Davos, Switzerland for the festivities. Among those in attendance was, of course, WEF trustee and Deputy Prime Minister of Canada Chrystia Freeland. Photo credit: Bloomberg   This week thousands of […]

Prime minister appears more than content to push buttons in the lead-up to May 29. Photo credit: Reuters/Christine Muschi   It is becoming increasingly evident that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the federal Liberals have initiated a political powerplay to impact Alberta’s spring election. The PM and his ministers started 2023 making comments that are […]

 A handful of media personalities and public figures like Rex Murphy (left) and Jordan Peterson (right) swim upstream from the country’s current leadership and subsidized talking heads – for this, they are often ridiculed as “out of touch”, or worse, by those who (try to) control the mainstream narrative. Photo credit: The Globe and Mail/Deborah […]

Will the Trudeau government continue to expand MAiD eligibility?   With New Year’s Eve upon us, let’s consider three significant federal government issues that should be of utmost concern to Canadians in 2023: 1) the country’s federal-provincial constitutional wrangling, 2) Canada’s euthanasia laws, and 3) Central Bank Digital. These issues may not dominate the Ottawa […]

Little Johnny, like so many Canadians young and old, has a lot of asks this year, given the current state of the country. Photo credit: Getty Images   Johnny Canuck climbed up onto the knee of Santa Claus to ask him for a few Christmas wishes for the Canuck family. Johnny noticed the weeks leading […]

This is the second half of a two-part series on the country’s oil and gas sector. Part one focused on how Canadian exports can help a world currently desperate for what we have to offer. Part two below focuses on the industry’s present impact and unrealized potential at a domestic level, and how the federal […]

The world is currently in desperate need of the kind of clean, ethical oil and gas Canada is more than capable of supplying in abundance – if only the federal government got out of the way. Photo credit: The Canadian Press via Global News   “It is easy to dodge our responsibilities, but we cannot […]

The Liberals’ excess and imprudence is making the country and its citizens increasingly poorer. Photo credit: PMO/Adam Scotti   The enabling legislation for the government’s Fall Economic Statement was before the House of Commons Finance Committee this week. On Monday finance minister Chrystia Freeland waxed on about the government’s new programs and increased spending in […]

And Canadians, by way of the ArriveCAN app, may just have been the guinea pigs. Pictured is the G20’s 2022 health ministers meeting. Note the theme, “strengthening global health architecture”. Photo credit: AFP/Sonny Tumbelaka   Last week in Bali the G20 nations agreed to continue establishing vaccine passports and introducing a global digital health ID […]

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gets “scolded” by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Bali, Indonesia, Nov. 16, 2022. Photo credit: PMO/Adam Scotti   The exchange between Canadian PM Justin Trudeau and Chinese President Xi Jinping that was recorded Wednesday by the media pool at the G20 summit in Bali has […]

The provinces’ respective health ministers (pictured) gathered earlier this week to once again ask the federal government for an increase to the Canada Health Transfer. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck    With the health ministers’ meetings in Vancouver this week, Canadians were once again treated to the gag made familiar by Charles Schulz’s beloved […]

The Trudeau government appears to be finally, just maybe getting the memo: the U.S. is Canada’s greatest ally. Pictured U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visits with Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly in Ottawa last week. Photo credit: Twitter/Antony Blinken   Last week U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken found his way to Ottawa to […]

From a near-$400,000 hotel bill, to menstrual products in men’s washrooms, to the PM’s assertion that the Ukraine conflict is “absolutely accelerating” Canada’s energy transition, things in our Nation’s Capital continue to get beyond silly.    It is challenging to know exactly how to describe the absurdities unfolding and taken as acceptable and “a new […]

There’s plenty more going on than just the Emergencies Act public inquiry. Photo credit: CNS/Art Babych   The Nation’s Capital is the scene of an unprecedented public inquiry into the Trudeau government’s invocation of the Emergency Act, which has monopolized national news coverage and seized Canadians’ attention. However, there are many other disconcerting issues that […]

Three recent stories out of Ottawa, including the revelation that ArriveCan cost Canadians over $54 million, underscore an imperative for greater transparency regarding federal government expenditures. Photo credit: The Niagara Independent    Canada is now ladened with a considerable debt load. The sorry state of federal finances dates back to the early years of the […]

And nor should it be, given the untold millions it receives from partisan government actors. Photo credit: CBC   Canada’s mainstream media (a.k.a. legacy media) outlets are floundering with an existential question of journalistic independence as they are accepting increasing amounts of government subsidies. With this obvious conflict of interest, Canadians are losing trust in […]

With Pierre Poilievre now firmly in the Conservative saddle, the race for Canada’s next prime minister has become considerably more spectator-friendly. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Darren Calabrese   Political pundits and much of the national press corps will often resort to jockular descriptions of politicians’ debates and activities. Whether it is covering the pugilists’ blow […]

There is a consensus view from a chorus of financial experts that unbridled government spending will, despite the prime minister’s assurances, only stoke the inflationary flame. Photo credit: Reuters/Patrick Doyle and Carlos Osorio    Parliament resumed this week and on the first day back the government introduced two pieces of legislation to signal its focus […]

While issues related to Canada’s economy will almost certainly take centre stage when parliamentarians return to Ottawa next week, it’s vital MPs pursue the facts pertaining to Canada’s virus research, Uyghurs’ human rights abuses, and our country’s promise to Afghan refugees. Pictured an Afghan child sleeps on the cargo floor of a C-17 Globemaster III, […]

Don’t believe the hype. Nothing coming out of the federal government’s cabinet retreat in B.C. will actually address the myriad economic issues Canada as a country and Canadians more generally are facing. Pictured Canada’s Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland addresses reporters in Vancouver. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck   Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau […]

From Omar Alghabra to Melanie Joly (pictured), Trudeau’s incompetent cabinet should have Canadians seriously worried about the country’s future. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Justin Tang   Unfortunately, every summer must come to an end. Labour Day Weekend marks the beginning of a transition when we all must begin to focus again on reality. Therefore, the […]

From Trudeau’s tightly regulated tour with Olaf Scholz (pictured) to the government’s move toward a new digital identity program, the Liberals keep delivering the summer hits every Canadian should be both mystified by and concerned about.    Herein are more “summertime snippets,” presented with the requisite warning to read no further if you wish to […]

In case you missed it, the federal government under Justin Trudeau continues to blow through your tax dollars to enlarge bureaucracy, fund foreign entities, and take on ineffectual initiatives, all while ensuring the budget doesn’t get balanced and life for everyday Canadians remains unaffordable. Read at your own risk. Photo credit: The Canadian Press   […]

          The irony was not lost to many Canadians (and even mainstream media) that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was jetting across the country to deliver his dire warnings about climate change and how Canadians must do their part. The PM, his Minister of Environment Steven Guilbeault and a cadre of Liberal […]

Vancouver General Hospital. Photo credit: Shutterstock/Josef Hanus   On July 15, a B.C. Court of Appeal delivered a decision that tightens the country’s Gordian Knot: our revered public health care system. The court’s decision rejected user-paid medical care, even if the patient must wait an unreasonable and potentially harmful amount of time for care. For […]

It has become abundantly clear that the Canadian government’s excess of missteps and mismanagement of everything from basic service delivery to foreign affairs is coming from the top down. Photo credit: Reuters/Jennifer Gauthier    With a growing number of inconveniences and increased financial stresses in daily living, there are more Canadians realizing our federal government’s […]

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and then-Minister of International Trade Chrystia Freeland in 2016. In recent years, this photo has been used for a meme that, as described below, accurately sums up Ottawa’s fiscal mismanagement. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld   There is a political meme circulating these days of PM Justin Trudeau and Deputy […]

 From Sir John A. Macdonald to the most minor characters from Canada’s past, no one appears safe from the woke’s attempts to erase and revise reality. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Graham Hughes   When reflecting on Canadian history these days it seems to be, at best, an exercise of self-flagellation and, at worst, the expunging […]

At every opportunity, the Trudeau Liberals are enabling the woke to further divide Canadians and create an unbridgeable chasm between progressive and conservative-minded people. Pictured: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau takes a knee for George Floyd during a rally in Ottawa, June 5, 2020. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick     This week the National Post […]

Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick   From his earliest revelations about wanting to transform this country into a post-national state, PM Justin Trudeau and his enablers have been on a mission to hollow out the idea of Canada. There is to be no core identity, no proud history, no mainstream traditions, no sense of […]

From online censorship, to expansion of assisted suicide, to the prolonged abandonment of our Afghan allies, the Trudeau Liberals – in partnership with the NDP – appear content to roll-out and maintain bad policy after bad policy, hoping no one will notice. Photo credit: Shutterstock/Art Babych   An increasing number of op-eds being written conclude […]

Photo credit: Bloomberg/David Kawai    There is a growing number of experts and financial analysts who are summarizing that the Trudeau government’s green agenda is costing Canadians dearly. Their conclusions paint a dire economic picture for Canadians.  PM Justin Trudeau’s “bold” international climate change commitments to achieve a “net-zero emissions economy” by 2050 will come […]

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with his British counterpart Boris Johnson at 10 Downing Street in London, Mar. 7, 2022. Photo credit: Twitter/Justin Trudeau    There is a Hans Christian Andersen folktale entitled The Emperor’s New Clothes about a foolhardy leader who parades through town to everyone’s embarrassment. Much like the Canadian Prime Minister’s public […]

The two appear to be in lockstep, and it’s no wonder. According to the World Economic Forum’s founder and executive chairman Klaus Schwab (pictured), “more than half” of Trudeau’s cabinet ministers were indoctrinated in the organization’s Young Global Leaders program. Photo credit: EPA/Salvatore Di Nolfi   MP Colin Carrie rose in the House of Commons […]

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and key cabinet members invoke the Emergencies Act, Feb. 14, 2022. The unprecedented move allowed the government to freeze Canadians’ bank accounts, amongst other things, if suspected of having supported the Freedom Convoy. Photo credit: Reuters/Blair Gable    The most troubling aspect of the Trudeau government’s unprecedented action to invoke the […]

 Hardly bringing the trucker protest to a swift and peaceful conclusion, Trudeau’s recent invocation of the Emergencies Act has only created more cause for concern. Photo credit: Patrick Doyle/Reuters   A week ago, Canadian career diplomat and former Ambassador to the U.S. Derek Burney stated, “The political paralysis in Ottawa is mind-boggling. Protesting truckers deserve […]

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland delivers the federal budget as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau looks it over in the House of Commons, Apr. 19, 2021. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick   It has become all too commonplace in Ottawa for governing politicians and federal bureaucrats to purposefully obfuscate and prolong public disclosure of government expenditures […]

O’Toole is gone, Trudeau divides, and the truckers are here to stay. Photo credit:  The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld    It was a fast and furious week in our nation’s capital. With Parliament Hill besieged by the Freedom Convoy protest, the actions of the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Official Opposition in the past […]

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in responding to this outpouring of support for the truckers, was quick to dismiss the truckers and their supporters as “small fringe minority” holding “unacceptable views” that do not represent the “views of Canadians.” Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Justin Tang   “A propogandist’s purpose is to make one set of people […]

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (left) and Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault at COP26 in Glasgow, Nov. 2, 2021. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick    The federal government has Canada (a.k.a. the Great White North) in fervid pursuit to meet international climate change commitments and to achieve a “net-zero emissions economy” by […]

Canada’s prime minister answers questions about Quebec’s Bill 21 at a press conference in Ottawa, Dec. 13, 2021. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Justin Tang   In a Hill Times front page story this week EKOS Research pollster Frank Graves mused that Canadians’ view of their prospects entering a new year was “unsurprisingly quite dark.” He […]

Overwhelmed and underfunded, one might say that the system itself is on life-support. Photo credit: HealthCareCAN   The COVID pandemic has exposed a growing crisis in Canada’s public health care system. Although the delivery of health services is a provincial responsibility, the country’s public health model was designed to be jointly funded by federal and […]

Michael Kovrig embraces his wife Vina Nadjibulla after arriving at Pearson International Airport in September. The release of Kovrig and Michael Spavor following 1,000 days of imprisonment in China was easily one of the most consequential federal news stories of 2021. Photo credit: Cpl. Justin Dreimanis/DND-MDN Canada   With the country’s mounting health and economic […]

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Chris Young   We all know the holiday classic “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas”. The conniving malcontent creature muses in the opening scene: “I must stop Christmas from coming… but how? I mean – in what way?” Then the Grinch devises a dastardly plan and heads out […]

The Trudeau government’s lack of fiscal discipline, spurred on in no small part by Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland (pictured), contributed to the OECD’s recent projection that Canada will be the worst performing economy of its 38 members through the next three decades. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Justin Tang   This week, Canadians got a […]

Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland during question period in the House of Commons, Nov. 30, 2021. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick   Recently released data informs Canadians that “Justinflation” is here for a while – and a new report this week reveals just how much more financial pain will be […]

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during question period in the House of Commons on Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2021. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick   Recall Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s candid admission on the election campaign hustings, “When I think about the biggest, most important economic policy that this government, if re-elected, would move forward, […]

Liberal MP Anthony Rota is ceremonially escorted by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Conservative leader Erin O’Toole to the speaker’s chair after being elected Speaker of the House of Commons, Monday, Nov. 22, 2021. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld   Parliament Hill is abuzz this week with the sights and sounds of Members of […]

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau flanked by his newly appointed Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault at COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, Nov. 2, 2021. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick    Prime Minister Justin Trudeau used his two minutes on the world stage at the United Nations Climate Change Summit (COP26) to urge other […]

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivers a short address at COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, Nov. 1, 2021. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick    For two weeks the world has been absorbed with the rhetoric and grand announcements from the planeloads of global elites and environmental experts all conferring at the United Nations Climate Change Summit […]

Canada’s newly anointed climate czar Steven Guilbeault after his 2001 arrest as a Greenpeace climate activist.   Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s selection of Steven Guilbeault as Minister of Environment and Climate Change has sent a clear signal that his government holds environmental objectives above all else. Guilbeault, the self-proclaimed “climate activist,” is now holding all […]

Banners advertising the upcoming COP26 Climate Change Conference line the streets of Glasgow. Trudeau and his Canadian delegation are currently on route to participate in the summit and tout Canada’s many alleged environment achievements. But should the world really be celebrating Canada’s environmental record under Trudeau? Photo credit: Time Magazine   For the next two […]

Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau shakes hands with Chairman Mao Zedong while on an official visit to China, Oct. 13, 1973. Photo credit: The Canadian Press   In the past month there have been headlines in Europe about the Communist China government’s extensive, undue influence on Canada. The French government’s Institut de Recherche Stratégique de […]

Justin Trudeau – comfortably on stage, beneath the spotlight – gestures to supporters following his Sept. 20, 2021 election victory. Photo credit: AFP/The Economist   There is really no other way to describe Ottawa these days but as a theatre of the absurd. At centre-stage we have our dramatic PM Justin Trudeau continuously performing – […]

 U.S. President Joe Biden holds a virtual press conference on the AUKUS pact with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison (left) and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson (right) at the White House in Washington, D.C., Sept. 15, 2021. Photo credit: AFP/Brendan Smialowski   A significant new global alliance – involving our country’s traditionally closest allies – […]

Minister of Canadian Heritage Steven Guilbeault speaking in the House of Commons, Nov. 3, 2020. Past commentators have dubbed Guilbeault Trudeau’s “Chief Internet Censor” and “Censorship Czar” for introducing the various pieces of legislation discussed below. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld    The Liberal campaign platform contained pledges to act within 100 days of […]

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Canada’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice David Lametti. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick   It was just days after Canadians voted and, remarkably, three news stories surfaced that shone new light on past clandestine activities of the Trudeau government. Within a single week there were headlines about the-behind-the-scenes […]

With wife Sophie, a newly re-elected Justin Trudeau gives his victory speech in Montreal following the 2021 federal election – an election that ended up a near-mirror image of its predecessor from 2019. Photo credit: EPA-EFE/Eric Bolte   Political pundits referenced titles of popular movies and TV shows in an attempt to make sense of […]

Left to right: Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet, Green Party leader Annamie Paul, Liberal leader Justin Trudeau, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh and Conservative leader Erin O’Toole at the English-language leaders’ debate (sans Maxime Bernier) in Gatineau, Quebec, Sept. 9. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld   Justin Trudeau’s “vanity election” is coming to an end. […]

Liberal leader Justin Trudeau reveals his party’s 2021 election platform at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Sept. 1, 2021. Photo credit: Reuters/Carlos Osorio   Like all politicians, Justin Trudeau reveals more about what he is thinking when he breaks away from his prepared notes and teleprompter and speaks directly to a reporter’s question or citizen’s […]

Trudeau puts on a mask after speaking at press conference in Ottawa, November 6, 2020. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld In a gushing self-congratulatory press statement released the last week of July, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau exclaimed that the federal government’s hard work has kept Canadians healthy and safe throughout the pandemic. He lauded […]

Harper speaks to podcast host Joe Lonsdale, July 27, 2021. Photo credit: YouTube/American Optimist Former Prime Minister Stephen Harper made CBC headline news regarding a wide-ranging podcast interview he did earlier in July in Texas for an American production.   During a busy news week, when the federal government announced further extensions and an expansion of […]

President of China Xi Jinping shakes hands with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the G20 summit in Hangzhou, China, September 2016. Photo credit: Reuters In Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s first appearance on the international stage, he blurted out, “We’re back.” This exclamation was to suggest Canada was about to resume its traditional roles with its […]

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau with then-newly minted Minister of Environment and Climate Change Catherine McKenna, November 4, 2015. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick The globalists and environmental activists in the government of Justin Trudeau have been methodically deconstructing Canada’s natural resources sector and establishing a state-interventionist economy. PM Trudeau himself is intent on redesigning […]

Justin Trudeau’s flagrant disrespect for Parliament and Canada’s parliamentary traditions is purposefully creating a constitutional fog in the country. His government’s repeated abuses of power are undermining the authority of our parliamentary institutions, eroding the very foundation of the country’s democratic principles and practices.

The Trudeau government’s scandalous record with respect to our country’s courts and rule of law has greatly undermined both the independence and impartiality of the Canadian judiciary.

From day one, Justin Trudeau has had designs to evolve Canada into a post-national state. On November 10, 2015, when Trudeau was sworn in as prime minister, he said to a New York Times interviewer that he envisioned a new kind of state: “There is no core identity, no mainstream in Canada.” Canada was to be remodeled into his utopian vision: “There are shared values – openness, respect, compassion, willingness to work hard, to be there for each other, to search for equality and justice.”

Oh Canada, is there anything left of our country and its history for us to celebrate? Does it not seem that, in reading news headlines, Canadians’ new national sport is self-flagellation?

It is increasingly evident that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Communist China gambit has Canadians paying dearly for his naivety.

Calgary-based TC Energy Corp announced this week that it is terminating the Keystone XL pipeline project. Gone is the promise of the daily export of 830,000 barrels of Canadian crude. Gone are the tens of thousands of direct and indirect jobs, the billions of dollars in taxes, and decades of prosperity for Albertan communities. After a 13 year odyssey of regulations and government doublespeak, the company is absorbing its loses, closing its doors, and walking away.

This week Statistics Canada reported that the country registered its first quarterly surplus in 13 years as a direct result of surging commodity exports. Canada posted a $1.2 billion surplus in trade in the first three months of 2021 based primarily on $6.8 billion of energy exports of oil and natural gas – alongside forestry products and aircraft exports to the U.S.

In the House of Commons this week MPs debated second reading of Bill C-30, the legislation that will enact the Trudeau government’s 2021 federal budget. When Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland delivered her budget address last month, she explained that the Liberals’ expenditures through the next five years would deliver Canadians from the pandemic crisis. In response, critics of the government’s fiscal plan cited irresponsible levels of spending that are sure to impact generations of Canadians for decades to come.

The Province of Quebec’s expressions of self-interests have once again exploded onto the federal political scene. Premier Francois Legault pronounced his intention to rewrite certain sections of the Canadian Constitution to ramrod new French language rights and assert La Belle Province as a sovereign “nation” – notwithstanding any criticisms from the anglophone minorities in Quebec or Canadians outside of the province.

One cannot look at the news from Ottawa these days without wondering whether our Canadian ship of state is adrift – and rudderless. Is there anyone manning the bridge and steering the Trudeau government? Here are a few scandalous items to consider when attempting to answer this question.

Diane Francis, opinion columnist for the Financial Post, pulled no punches this week when she stated the “pandemic failure is Trudeau’s biggest scandal yet.” Francis takes the Trudeau government to task for the country’s shortage of vaccines. However, the mismanagement of the supply of vaccines is but one of the costly mistakes made by the federal government that has placed Canadians in such a difficult situation.

This week’s federal budget has been characterized as “the calling card for “spendoholics” – a political document that has money for everybody and everything – except for what Canadians desperately need, a long-term federal commitment to improving our country’s public health care system.

If this were a game of baseball, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would not get to first base with his government’s approach to establishing a responsible – and sustainable – environment policy. There has been a slew of recent government reports and business statistics that reveal the Liberals’ Green Plan will cost Canadians in a number of significant ways.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau explains the carbon tax thus: “The principle is straightforward: a carbon price establishes how much businesses and households need to pay for their pollution. The higher the price, the greater the incentive to pollute less, conserve energy and invest in low-carbon solutions.”

Since the Trudeau government introduced its carbon tax, Canada has repeatedly failed to meet its carbon emissions targets.

The federal government once again hiked the carbon tax on April 1st as per its publicized schedule of annual tax increases. Recall this time last year, during the height of the pandemic crisis, Canada made international headlines as the only country that was hiking taxes while the global economy was shut down.

What caused Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to do such an abrupt about-face? One week he was stating repeatedly that the government would not deliver a budget in March or April and then, the very next Monday, his finance minister announces the budget date for mid-April.

This week Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland rose in the House of Commons to inform Canadians that April 19 would be the date of her much-awaited federal budget address.

Decisions about the federal government’s Arctic policy are long overdue. With recent activities in the Arctic by Russia and China, it has become critical that there be discussions about development in the north and the defense of North America. Further to this, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan appears to be vacillating on Canada’s participation in renewing and updating North America’s early warning defence system.

Canadians commemorated the one year anniversary of the global coronavirus pandemic this week. Monday marked a year since the country recorded its first death as a result of COVID-19, the virus that has contributed to 22,000 Canadian deaths. As we reflect on our annus horribilis it is hard not to conclude that our federal government […]

To Canadians, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he does not want an election, yet to his Liberal campaign team he confides “it looks like” there will be a Spring vote.

“The Government’s gun legislation will not reduce gun crimes,” states MP Tony Baldinelli. The Niagara Falls MP is not alone in this frank assessment as the Liberals’ latest firearms legislation introduced last week has been roundly criticized from victim rights groups to gun owners, from police associations to city mayors.

Canada-China relations dominated the news in the Nation’s Capital this week – more accurately, Canada’s many questionable dealings with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The fact is the governing Liberal Party has multiple tight relationships with the CCP and this factors into all matters between the two countries.

In Ottawa she is referred to as the “Minister of Everything.” As Deputy PM, Chrystia Freeland is at the very centre of all policy decisions in the Trudeau Government. She is responsible for Canada’s fiscal policies and its economic recovery from the pandemic. As Canada’s Finance Minister she is scheduled to deliver a federal budget in the coming weeks.

“Our government has put a price on pollution across the country, a carbon price. We fought the 2019 election on that decision, and we were re-elected. We really believe we do have a national mandate to move forward.”

Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, made this comment while participating as a panelist discussing “Implementing Stakeholder Capitalism” at the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) annual Davos summit.

This week marked the one year anniversary of the first COVID-19 case diagnosed in Canada. Through the year, Canada recorded more than 750,000 cases and Canadians mourned over 19,000 deaths. As countries around the world now rush to vaccinate their citizens, Canada has no vaccines.

Heather Forsyth, former provincial minister in Alberta, summed up the country’s current dire predicament: “Let’s stick to the facts. We are in the middle of a global pandemic and we have NO vaccines. That’s all that needs to be said.”

Yet, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and a host of ministers have spent a week attempting to obfuscate the details about the country’s vaccine supply and the scheduled delivery of vaccines to Canada. The official government story has evolved quickly over the past few days.

Canada will welcome a record number of immigrants in 2021 – perhaps the largest number in our country’s history. Since 2015 the Trudeau Government has implemented the most aggressive immigration program since the years preceding the First World War. In the last three years almost a million immigrants entered the country and in the next three years more than 1.2 million immigrants will find their way to Canada.

The Trudeau Liberals’ “budgets balance themselves” approach to government equates to increased taxes for Canadians. Since first elected in 2015 there has not been one year that the Trudeau Government has not increased taxes in some way. With this Government’s unbridled spending before the pandemic and its excessive spending through 2020, Canadians are harnessed with the prospects of increased taxes for years to come.

In his year-end messages, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau coyly suggested on a number of occasions, “We might have an election.” Then he quickly adds that he personally is “not eager” to have one. Despite his stated reluctance the PM says the Liberals are battle-ready. It is an ill-kept secret that he has held Party caucus meetings to place his MPs and candidates on standby for an election call in early 2021.

With apologies to Charles Dickins and the wondrous legacy of The Christmas Carol, here is a modern day story of the spirit Jacob Marley, who last evening visited a weary Canadian — a cynical soul who has lost all hope for his Nation and its promise. As Marley successfully illuminated the crevices of Ebenezer Scrooge’s heart of stone, he appears this Christmas Eve to forewarn our Canadian (let’s call him Canuck) that there needs to be a spiritual reawakening to appreciate and ensure all that is possible for Canada. Marley tells Canuck he is to be visited by three apparitions…

It is a fact that the Canadian government is the only government in the world to raise taxes during the pandemic. On April 1, as Canadians were coping with the evolving crises of COVID-19, the federal government applied an increase to the carbon tax rate. Now Canadians have learned that the government has planned to clobber us with further tax hikes that will raise costs on gas pump prices, home fuel, and on all food and consumer goods that are transported – essentially everything.

In no particular order, here are the remaining “Top Ten” federal political stories that mattered the most to Canadians in 2020.

At an Ottawa press conference on Friday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled more of the government’s green agenda by providing details of a schedule of carbon tax hikes. Then on Saturday, PM Trudeau proclaimed to an international audience at a United Nations conference that Canadians are committed to ambitious emission targets and to paying for the U.N.’s international climate activities.

The House of Commons will rise this week for the MPs’ holiday recess. This is an appropriate time to look back at what was an extraordinary year, and select the most significant news stories from the Nation’s Capital. In no particular order, here are “the top ten” federal political stories that, argumentatively, mattered the most to Canadians in 2020.

On Monday, Federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland presented Canadians with a Christmas present, the Government’s economic statement entitled “Supporting Canadians and Fighting COVID-19.”

The 237-page document was wonderfully wrapped in recycled, biodegradable paper, sealed with red tape and ribbons, and adorned with an oversized crimson bow. With her usual exuberance, Freeland explained she would provide details of the gift’s contents sometime in the future – and in so many words alluded to the idea that, in such troubled times, Canadians should be thankful for such a thoughtfully wrapped gift.

This week it was reported that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was fooled by a prank caller pretending to be Greta Thunberg, who wished to discuss climate change and exchange insights with Trudeau on global environmental issues. The call turned out to be an embarrassing ruse. Perhaps though it was karma for the PM, who has been bluffing Canadians for years on matters of the environment.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has now openly referred to his federal government’s post-COVID-19 economic policies as complying with “The Great Reset,” the title of a document first published in 2016 by the World Economic Forum (WEF). Our Canadian PM is focused on using the uncertain times created by the pandemic to “Build Back Better” and reshape our country’s economic and social make-up.

The final votes in the U.S. election have yet to be re-counted and a globalists’ green agenda has been vaulted to priority status by president-elect Joe Biden. In the first exchange between Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Biden, the leaders underlined the fight against climate change as their foremost concern. Biden’s repeated pledge this week to take up the fight against climate change has bolstered the Trudeau Government’s designs for its green initiatives.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s recent garble on the issue of free speech would have gone unnoticed had it not been for his public shaming by Quebec Premier Francois Legault. Quite unintentionally, the PM raised a number of questions about the fundamental right to our freedom of expression. And through the incident, Trudeau may well have reconfirmed his understanding of this right.

For months Canadians have had an insatiable fascination with the United States election. Canucks have been mesmerized by the political slugfest and media circus of the drawn out presidential race. Today there is an equal amount of marvel and shock with the vote results. In reflecting on what just happened south of the border, here are some key take-aways Canadians may wish to reflect on about our two nations.

Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam released the annual report of the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) this week providing statistics on fatalities directly attributed to COVID-19, and on the fatalities and addictions consequential to the country’s management of the virus crisis. The report also features a clarion call for structural change to Canadian society that would have greater authority transferred to public health officials.

Though no date has been announced, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland is to provide Canadians with a fall economic update in the coming weeks. Don Drummond, Senior Fellow at C.D. Howe Institute and former chief economist for TD Bank, is hoping that Freeland’s financial statement will prompt a national debate over the country’s economic and fiscal future.

Drummond believes the pandemic, and government response to the crises, have amplified the economic, social, and health vulnerability of many Canadians. He observes, “We are now at a crossroads… We have been locked into a path of mediocre productivity and real income gains for far too long.” Drummond warns Canadians that it is time to take stock.

In the 2002 Steven Spielberg movie Catch Me If You Can, the lead character Frank, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, successfully performs a string of cons worth millions of dollars. Frank is masterfully manipulative, having his way with people with his impeccable charm and easy-going personality. In the end (spoiler alert) Frank succumbs to hubris — being ego-centric and over-confident — and is caught when his deceptive ways become predictable.

This Hollywood flick is apropos of the drama being played out in Ottawa with PM Justin Trudeau, his family, the Kielburger brothers and a host of supporting actors. Though the ending is still to be written, there is a growing fascination around whether the government’s botched WE Charity handout may yet be the scandal that entraps the Prime Minister.

Next week the Trudeau Government will set a record for having gone the longest in Canadian Parliamentary history without presenting a federal budget (on Friday it will be 316 days).

When asked just after the Throne Speech whether there would be a budget before the fiscal year-end March 31, 2021, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland simply dismissed the question. It appears neither PM Justin Trudeau nor Minister Freeland wish to account for the money spent or the new taxes that will be levied by this Government.

One week after the Trudeau Government’s Throne Speech ignored the economic distress of the oil and gas (and agriculture) industries of western Canada, United States President Donald Trump heralded a new era for Canadian and American natural resource exports.

The U.S. President issued a presidential permit for the development of a $22 billion (Cdn.) Alaska-Alberta rail line that will link Albertan oil sands and prairie resources to Alaskan deep-sea ports. The Alaska to Alberta Railway (A2A Rail) announcement is a godsend for western Canadians, promising new economic growth and prosperity where there has been little hope with PM Justin Trudeau’s design for a decarbonized nation.

Wednesday, with pomp and ceremony, Governor General Julie Payette presented the Trudeau Government’s Speech from the Throne. The GG took 55 minutes to pedantically work her way through the 17-page regal address to set out the government’s plan to manage our current health and economic crises.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and a cadre of his senior ministers have not missed an opportunity in the past three months to forecast the launch of the Liberals’ Green Energy Plan. With the pretext of jump-starting the national economy in the wake of the pandemic’s fallout, the Liberals are telling Canadians they are ready to “build back better” with a bold, progressive environmental agenda. Their new national Green Energy Plan is expected to be one of the cornerstones placed in the Government’s Throne Speech next week. So, here is background on the genesis and core elements of this plan.

Proroguing Parliament was a diversionary political tactic to turn the page on a scandal-laden script that had Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his government on the defense. Heralding a bold Throne Speech that is to propel our country into a new progressive direction is another diversion designed to capture media headlines and take Canadians’ attention away from the current mess the PM and his PMO operatives find themselves in. This is the age-old bait-and-switch game that, when successfully executed, will produce a new political narrative and leave the prickly questions of corruption and ineptitude unanswered.

Here are ten issues that PM Trudeau hopes and trusts Canadians will soon forget when enchanted by the exciting promises presented in his Throne Speech.

In a CBC interview this week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, “We are asking Canadians to embark on an entirely different direction as a government. We are going to rebuild the Canadian economy in a way that was better than before.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has revealed to Canadians that when the shuttered Parliament reopens on September 23 his government will deliver a Throne Speech to introduce “a bold, new progressive agenda” designed to restructure the country’s social safety net and address climate change. The Trudeau government is ready to bring in sweeping changes to Canada’s social welfare framework, revamping unemployment insurance, expanding health programs, and bolstering all forms of social assistance.

Canada’s drama-teacher-turned-Prime-Minister provided plenty of theatrics this week by first switching Finance Ministers and then bringing the curtain down on Parliament. With his performance, Justin Trudeau succeeded in consolidating power in his Prime Minister’s Office and placing trusted globalists in the government’s finance and economic portfolios.

This has been a pivotal week for advancing the Trudeau Liberals’ Green Agenda.

Though he was hiding away at an undisclosed summer holiday rental on Georgian Bay, this week proved particularly bad for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as a steady stream of stories emerged relating to multiple scandals that threaten to swamp the Government’s agenda.

If rumours come to be true, federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau will soon fall on his sword as the fall-guy for the Prime Minister and his Liberal insiders who are all caught up with the government’s WE ethics scandal.

You could be a roughneck 100 kms outside of Fort McMurray, a Wet’suwet’en Nation member employed by Coastal GasLink, or even a backbench Liberal MP representing your Maritime constituents – and in all cases the forces that are driving Canadian policy decisions and impacting your life are obscured to you.

What is unknown to many is the influence of billionaire George Soros.

The United Nations (U.N.) representative of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea made news headlines last August when he critically assessed the actions of George Soros and his Open Society Institute. Anatolio Ndong Mba was furious at a Soros-sponsored Amnesty International report to the U.N., “It’s known that George Soros is a billionaire, financial speculator, and a criminal with obvious geostrategic and imperialist interests who has been dedicating his life to support imperialist movements…” Mba cited a list of Soros’ “destructive interventions” in different countries as being “endless” and he concluded his rant stating, “The children of this Nation cannot be moved as pieces on the global chess board where the criminal George Soros is playing.”

What are George Soros’ core philosophical beliefs; what are the man’s mental constructs that motivate and drive him? What is Soros’ view of the world and his role within the global community? To address these questions is to begin to better understand Soros and the influence he wields.

Who exactly is George Soros? Is he a billionaire investor and philanthropist or a Machiavellian globalist bent on creating discord? Soros’ multi-million dollar donations to political causes has had direct influence on the outcomes of political battles and on elections around the world, including in Canada. So, what are the beliefs, aspirations, and goals of this man?

It has been referred to as Canadians’ “second war” – what will be our collective efforts to survive the ensuing national economic crisis brought about by government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. The federal and provincial governments have been spending seemingly limitless amounts of money to support individuals and businesses through a staged shutdown of the economy. Today, as the shutters are being removed across the country, Canadians are left to assess the costs.

Back in October 2015, the newly-elected Justin Trudeau’s seemingly obtuse comments on the country he was about to lead are now understood as a foreshadowing of his debasement of “Canada” as Canadians once knew it. In the now infamous New York Times Magazine interview, Canada’s new PM declared “There is no core identity, no mainstream in Canada” and he speculated that the country could become the “first postnational state.” At the time nobody thought the advance of postnationalism would be a governing imperative. Now nearly five years later, Canadians have come to recognize it as the hallmark of Justin Trudeau’s time in office.

Canada’s federal Parliament has sat for a mere 40 days in almost 12 months. This week MPs suspended the House of Commons and they will not be back in Ottawa to debate the business of the Nation until September 21st (that is if an election has not been called). Given Canadians’ apparent lack of interest for what is happening in Ottawa, the question one must ask is, “Who really cares about what is happening to Parliament?” Yet, Canadians need to take note of its emasculated Parliament, for to paraphrase celebrated poet and Harvard professor Archibald MacLeish: we must use it or risk losing it.

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and as Canadians brace for the impending economic crisis, concerns about Canadian companies being sold to foreign investors at fire-sale prices are sounding alarm bells in Ottawa. The greatest concern is the possibility of aggressive takeover bids from Chinese companies with ties to the country’s communist government. From Hope Bay gold mine to Huawei’s bid for Canada’s 5G network, there seems to be a growing wariness with Canadian-Chinese business relations.

On June 21st we will know whether “Canada is back” sitting in one of the two available seats at the United Nations Security Council table. Since the Liberal Government was first elected in 2015, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has coveted this seat on the Security Council and set about on a costly campaign to have our country back at the table. Trudeau has inserted himself into the bid – trekking across the African continent in February and more recently participating in UN video conferences – doubling down on what appears to be an obsessive, personal mission that critics observe is more style than substance.

Gerald Butts has resurfaced in Ottawa as a member of the Task Force for a Resilient Recovery. This is a group that has tasked itself to review the Resilient Recovery Framework document, and then report into the federal government a recovery plan to support Canada’s 2030 and 2050 climate goals. The Task Force’s primary goal is to develop “actionable recommendations on how governments can help get Canadians back to work while also building a low-carbon and resilient economy.”

The understated announcement of the “Task Force for a Resilient Recovery” went largely undetected by national media and political pundits. Though the Ottawa grapevine was abuzz with the mention of Gerald Butts’s resurfacing, there was no commentary beyond recognizing his membership on the Task Force. The possibilities that this man’s return to counsel the Prime Minister and the Liberals’ backroom as they prepare for the impending election battle went wholly unconsidered.

A budget deficit of $252 billion this year and a national debt of more than $1 trillion? But then, who is counting?

Two weeks ago the Parliamentary Budget Officer Report was issued and it projected that, given the combined impact of the pandemic and the collapse of world oil prices, Canada will have a budgetary deficit of $252.1 billion this year. The country’s GDP (the value of all goods and services produced) will fall by 12 per cent for the fiscal year. This will result in federal tax revenues falling by $60 billion, while the government’s program spending will increase by $168 billion.

In responding to the unfolding crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the glare of the spotlight on Canada-China relations has illuminated the Liberal Party’s affairs with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). What Canadians are witnessing is that our country’s relations with China are as much about political and business ties as they are about Canada’s foreign policy position.

The last column explored three current irritants in Canada-China diplomacy: the prolonged captivity of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, China sending back two chartered planes without their payload of medical supplies, and the sudden political arrests of human rights activists in Hong Kong. Canada’s relations with China are tense with a great many more contentious issues, including the Meng Wanzhou trial, the overdue decision regarding Huawei’s 5G network, the canola trade dispute, and the multiple queries about China’s influence over the World Health Organization (WHO) and what impact that had on the spread of the coronavirus.

First came the open letter to the world signed by more than one hundred senior political figures and China experts describing the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) subversive role in allowing the coronavirus to spread beyond Wuhan. That letter called out CCP authorities for silencing Chinese doctors, physically removing conscientious Chinese citizens who dared criticize the government, and executing a covert campaign of misinformation about the severity and spread of the coronavirus.

Canadian lawyer Irwin Cotler was at the centre of this week’s international media maelstrom that openly criticized the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for allowing the coronavirus to become a global pandemic. This is the same man whose distinguished 16-year career as Montreal MP culminated in being named Justice Minister by then PM Paul Martin. Today Cotler is Founder and Chair of Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights and a respected elder statesman for the Liberal Party of Canada.

In one of his daily addresses to the Nation, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded to questions about the country’s economic wellbeing by stating that his government had always kept a “rainy day fund” of money in case of a federal emergency. The PM told Canadians to be reassured that, though “it’s raining,” the country’s economy is in a strong position to outlast this storm.

Trudeau’s rain analogy was a direct swipe at a Globe and Mail lead editorial that was critical of the Liberal government’s fiscal mismanagement through good economic times. The editorial began: “One of the many things we’ve learned from the pandemic crisis is the importance of saving for a rainy day. Canada has failed for many years to do so. Now it’s pouring outside, and both governments and individuals will struggle to cope.”

This week the federal government raised its carbon tax 50 percent on gas prices and home fuel. Imposing this tax increase at a time when Canadians are facing an unprecedented pandemic crisis and an untold economic challenge was a conscious, deliberate decision made by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Cabinet.

Partisan politics at any time is ugly, but during a national crisis partisan politics can be detestable. With the Liberal Government’s attempted end-run around Parliament this week, Canadians saw the very worst kind of political power-play. It was a calculated maneuver to sidestep Canada’s foremost democratic institution and ensconce the Prime Minister and his Cabinet with unassailable powers through an extended period of time. Even for former PM Jean Chretien advisor Warren Kinsella, it was daringly Machiavellian: “You cannot use a national emergency as a pretext to turn a Parliamentary minority into a de facto majority with no opposition. It is unethical and fundamentally wrong. It squanders, in 10 minutes, whatever goodwill Justin Trudeau had built up over 10 days.”

Canadians had been hearing for days from their political leaders, “we have your back,” “we’re all in this together,” and “nobody will be left behind.” Then on Wednesday the federal government stepped forward to announce a support bundle of $82 billion to ease the angst Canadians are now beginning to experience as a result of the global coronavirus pandemic.

Finance Minister Bill Morneau offered up a sweeping $27 billion aid package to support families and businesses from economic fallout of the spread of the coronavirus. In addition, Morneau provided $55 billion in tax deferrals and low-interest loans designed to lessen the shock of the plummeting stock market and to stabilize a wobbly economy.

Our history documents that Canada was founded on the development of its natural resources. Canadians today enjoy their standard of living as a direct result of wealth generated by the development of our country’s natural resources. The Nation’s mining, oil and gas, forestry and agriculture sectors have provided us with good jobs, a stable economy, and a wondrous promise of an enduring national prosperity. Given Canada’s illustrious past, it is remarkable that in five short years, under one federal administration, that our promise would be forsaken, perhaps irreversibly broken.

Former Timiskaming MP John MacDougall remembers the overwhelming feeling of relief on February 29, 1984, the day when PM Trudeau took his walk in the snow.

Sitting in the House of Commons chamber, the rookie MP representing an immense northern Ontario riding stretching from Lake Temagami to Moosonee, sensed Canada was teetering on a precipice – and from his vantage point, MacDougall worried that Pierre Trudeau was nonchalantly (perhaps intentionally) pushing the country over the edge. On that February 29th, he along with many Canadians were relieved to learn Trudeau was choosing to leave politics and walk away from the mess he had created.

“This is a serious existential crisis for this country.”

Harrie Vredenburg, Professor of Global Energy at the University of Calgary’s School of Business, assesses the state of Canadian politics and summarizes by calling it an “existential crisis.” What else might any Canadian think in reflecting on the events of the past week: Teck Resources walking away from its Alberta mine, the Wet’suwet’en territory standoff over the Coastal GasLink pipeline unresolved, an escalation of demonstrations and blockades that have halted trains and businesses across the country, and a Prime Minister and federal government demonstrating time and again their reluctance to restore order.

St Catharines MP Chris Bittle was one of a handful of Liberal backbenchers caught feeding names into the Justice Minister’s office.

From a Federal Government that has brought us the Jody Wilson-Raybould scandal, and from a Prime Minister and PMO that has on multiple occasions breached ethical standards and parliamentary rules, Canadians are now being informed of Liberal backroom machinations that, yet again, undermine the independence of the country’s justice system. The latest violation of Canada’s Madame Justice has been exposed this week by the investigative research of Globe and Mail’s parliamentary affairs reporter Daniel Leblanc.

In the last few weeks the federal government has stepped into a lively tango with Albertans over the fate of the natural resource development project Teck Frontier. The conflicting messages coming from Liberal Cabinet members – and the Prime Minister himself – have drawn into question (again) the government’s ability to manage the country’s resource sectors. When a Canadian mining company spends a decade and a billion dollars to successfully secure approval for a mine site from an arduous federal-provincial approval process, only to have its future hang in the balance of a federal cabinet meeting, what does this say about resource development opportunity in the country?

Many Canadians feel the federal government should not be in the business of doling out corporate welfare cheques. From an economic standpoint, it is most often money down the drain. Yet the Trudeau Government continues to shovel taxpayers’ dollars to multi-million dollar corporations. There have been numerous corporate payouts and debt write-offs in the last four years. Perhaps the most egregious example of corporate welfare is the recent payout to credit card company MasterCard – yes, that MasterCard, which recorded a net income of nearly $4 billion in 2017.

A traveller wears a mask at Pearson airport arrivals, shortly after Toronto Public Health received notification of Canada’s first presumptive confirmed case of novel coronavirus. Photo: Carlos Osorio/Reuters. During Parliament’s first week back to business, Canadian news media were not focused on the MPs’ theatre, but rather on the breaking international story of a spreading […]

Delivering continuous deficit budgets is like spinning your wheels in mud; it’s inevitable that you will eventually get stuck. That common sense is beginning to creep into the conversations about the federal Liberal deficit spending as more Canadians are starting to appreciate what it means to be sinking in a quagmire of debt.

The Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau recently provided an update of Canada’s finances in which he reported the government’s projected deficit is $26.6 billion for this 2019-20 fiscal year – a total of almost $7 billion more than originally planned for in his budget of last March. Finance Minister Morneau went on to project next year’s deficit would be even higher. He pegged a budget deficit of $28.1 billion for 2020-21, but that is not accounting for several costly campaign promises – and the spending orgy the Liberals are expected to make in advance of the next election.

Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau forewarned Canadians this week about the Liberals’ first budget of this minority Parliament. It will be a budget that will focus on the environment and climate change. It is to trumpet policies aimed at curbing energy consumption and planning for future climate emergencies. In launching the government’s pre-budget consultations, the Finance Minister framed the government’s priority saying, “We think that we have a mandate, together with other parties, in government to move forward on issues around environment and climate change.”

In questions after his announcement, Morneau stated, “We will be thinking of other ways to change energy consumption habits, and change our carbon intensity.” Yet in subsequent interviews the Finance Ministers has left little doubt that the primary carbon-reducing initiative in the upcoming budget will be adjustments to the federal carbon tax rates.

There are a few key MPs whose performances in the 43rd Parliament will have a direct impact on their respective Party’s fortunes in the next election. Last week five Liberal MPs were highlighted and this week, let’s consider five MPs from the Opposition benches.

Parliament resumed this week, however it will not be until the last week of January, after a Christmas break, that MPs will actually get down to their substantive business in the House of Commons. With the realities of the new minority parliament, all elected representatives will be functioning with the pressure that they are but one vote away from the next federal election.

As mentioned in last week’s column, National Post columnist John Ivison punted aside the list of newly appointed cabinet ministers with his insightful commentary “Who’s in Trudeau’s cabinet? It doesn’t matter, political power lies elsewhere.” Ivison observed that nothing really has changed as a result of the election because Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “has surrounded himself with advisors of like mind and experience who act like a political praetorian guard.” With the Trudeau’s old guard again ensconced in the Prime Minister’s Office one cannot expect that there will be a change of direction with his second Government.

With all the traditional pomp and ceremony, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau this week announced his Cabinet to guide the minority government in the 43rd Parliament. The PM has increased the number of ministers on his front bench to three dozen. A great many of these ministers were members in Trudeau’s pre-election Cabinet, and eleven ministers maintain the same portfolios. And yet, there were a few noteworthy appointments in this executive council that provide Canadians with a hint of what can be expected in the months ahead.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.  The federal parliament convenes on Dec. 5 and there is great trepidation across the country as the next act in “The Great Canadian Standoff” is about to begin. With the divisiveness of the federal election campaign still on everyone’s mind, the “sunny ways” of the central-Canadian-backed […]

It is perhaps our country’s dirtiest secret – the export of Canadian and American coal through the Port of Vancouver.

Operating in the very heartland of Canada’s green movement, what is occurring at this B.C. coast port is criminal by any environmental standard. And what is so startling about this secret, getting dirtier year-over-year, is that it is being supported by both the federal Liberal and provincial NDP Governments. Given the vilification of the prairies’ oil and gas industry by these same self-proclaimed environmental stewards, the silence surrounding the Port of Vancouver’s coal exports shouts out Canadians’ very own definition of hypocrisy.

On election night, Bloc Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet repeated a message he had asserted throughout the campaign that he obstinately opposes the construction of any new pipeline from Western Canada. For months Blanchet has been crowing that the Bloc helped cancel the Energy East pipeline and they are the only Party to stand against new pipelines on Quebec soil. Whether it is political doublespeak or intentional deception, this rhetoric in no way reflects the reality in La Belle Province.

For politicos and pundits, inspecting and dissecting the results of a vote provides endless hours of amusement. Canada’s 43rd general election results have not disappointed – and in fact they have produced a few political firsts.

Consider this political first. The Trudeau Liberals will form government with the lowest share of popular vote in Canadian history. The Liberals recorded 33 percent of the vote and one needs to go back to the country’s confederation to find anything comparable. The last and only time a party formed government with less than 35 percent of the national popular vote was Sir John A. Macdonald in 1867 with 34.8 percent.

As Canadians brace themselves for Monday’s vote results, we have learned a great deal about ourselves through this federal election campaign. Canadian politics is dirtier and more divisive than in the past; yet, the campaign has exposed (for good and bad) the warring visions of our country’s economy. On one side there are the political parties representing a progressive viewpoint: globalists who are working towards a post-national state with no borders, driven to underwrite U.N. missions and causes, and prepared to make grand promises regardless of financial costs. On the other side there are those espousing a nationalist perspective with a focus on Canadian interests, fostering a set of traditional values, and managing a bridled fiscal plan to live within one’s means.

It remains to be seen whether the country’s economy and pocketbook issues will be the determining ballot box question this election. Judging from the little attention the mainstream media (and the Party Leaders) have paid to the country’s economy, it is unlikely voters will consider Canada’s economic future when casting their vote. That being said, what happens Oct. 21 could determine the economic fate of the country for decades to come.

So, what of Canada’s economic future? Here are three factors requiring a greater discussion before the vote: the country’s fiscal plan, taxes, and growing the economy.

Climate change (a.k.a. global warming) is one of the key issues on the federal campaign trail — and three of the major parties are posturing to frame it as the 2019 ballot box question. For four years the Liberals have attempted to sensitize Canadians to “paying for pollution” with a carbon tax that will reportedly reduce carbon emissions. Recently Green Leader Elizabeth May captured the attention of a segment of Canadians with her claim that the country must act immediately lest the world be lost in an inferno.

Can any discussion about immigration and refugees take place in Canada today without the person who raises the topic being labelled a racist, bigoted, white-privileged, or anti-immigrant? There is a recent Ipsos poll revealing that one in seven Canadians consider immigration concerns as one of the key issues when determining their vote on Oct. 21. Yet, our public discourse, prone to political correctness as it is, has muted Party Leaders on the election trail to debating the facts of Canada’s immigration and refugee policies.

In that Ipsos poll, of those saying immigration is a top concern, there were two specific issues cited: one in two (49 percent) Canadians thought Canada accepts too many newcomers, and one in three Canadians (31 percent) worry about the increase in asylum seekers crossing the border.

American publication Time Magazine first broke the story with a shocking photo of Justin Trudeau in blackface wearing a turban, with one of his hands placed across a woman’s chest. This photo was published in a 2000-01 yearbook of the West Point Grey Academy, a private school in Vancouver, taken at an “Arabian Nights” themed gala. It was obtained by the American magazine from a Vancouver businessman who thought it should be made public.

Later Wednesday evening, Globe and Mail reporter Robert Fife tweeted out another photo with Trudeau in blackface from his Jean Brebeuf high school year book. Then Thursday morning, Global News released a video of Justin Trudeau in blackface and his body darkened, jumping up and down with his tongue out. And, it now appears, other photos are being released…

The dark clouds of the SNC-Lavalin scandal rolled in once again, the day the Prime Minister officially called the federal election. Canadians were informed by Globe & Mail headlines that the government was thwarting the efforts of the police to investigate wrong doings of the Prime Minister’s Office. So, on the launch day of the campaign, Canadians were prompted to query the infallibility of Canada’s democratic institutions and the country’s rule of law. Are Justin Trudeau and his PMO insiders above the law?

On the eve of the call of the Canadian federal election, here is a snapshot of polling numbers and trends on voter intention, compiled on Labour Day from available public opinion data.

Liberals enjoy a lead based on support in Ontario and Quebec

Politicking through the summer barbecue season made the election race even tighter between the Trudeau Liberals and Scheer Conservatives. Most national polls show a dead heat between the two parties. The five-point lead the Conservatives held on Canada Day has evaporated. Popular support for the NDP has dipped and support for the other parties remained steady.

In 2015 the Liberals successful election campaign was energized with the images of Justin Trudeau. Indeed, many unknown Liberal candidates rode the Leaders’ popularity to victory and to their seat in Ottawa. But this is 2019 and today the image of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau prompts more grimaces and frowns than it does smiles.

A slew of national opinion polls report that the Canadian electorate is divided between the Liberal and Conservative parties. However, the same polling suggests there is a growing consensus of distrust in and dislike for Trudeau.

Can Canadians trust their media regarding its coverage of national politics? Based on a string of events over the past few months this is a legitimate and worrying question.

Consider the latest federal budget where the government set forth a fund of $600 million to be paid to selected Canadian newsrooms. At the same time, the government selected “an independent panel” to dole out its largesse, which includes the journalists’ union Unifor. Conservative MP and former newsman Peter Kent was very troubled that the governing Liberals would potentially undermine the freedom of the press: “Getting involved in this sort of direct subsidy to what is supposed to be an independent estate. From top to bottom it smells. It’s simply unacceptable.” National Post columnist Andrew Coyne perhaps put it best stating the government cheques will “irrevocably politicize the press.”

It was an explosive spectacle this week when Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion made public his findings on the conduct of the Prime Minister and his Office respecting their obstruction of justice in the SNC Lavalin scandal. It was as if all of Ottawa was caught up in some WWE SmackDown extravaganza. Though the core issue may be a question of ethical leadership and a non-partisan judiciary, it was raw politics that overshadowed every public statement on the Commissioner’s work.

The Ethics Commissioner report found the Prime Minister violated Canadian law by attempting to influence the former Justice Minister and Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould. The PM and his Office exerted continuous pressure on the former minister to advance a deferred prosecution agreement for Quebec-based engineering firm SNC-Lavalin. The Commissioner concluded: “The evidence showed there were many ways in which Mr. Trudeau, either directly or through the actions of those under his direction, sought to influence the attorney general.”

The Fraser Institute published its annual tax study recently and it shows the tax burden on Canadians has risen again through the past year.

It is a fact in our country that an average family will spend more on their taxes than any other single expense. Given that the rise in taxes has outpaced income increases through the last decade, it is possible that the cost of living and rising taxes will become a topic of debate, if not the ballot box issue in the 2019 federal election.

As surmised in the February 22, 2019 Niagara Independent column, “There’s much more to this Gerald Butts story.” And it now appears, perhaps, the puppet master never truly left the Liberal Party’s backrooms.

Liberal Party “insiders” recently leaked that the former PMO Principal Secretary and Justin Trudeau’s best friend Gerald Butts is back and ensconced on the PM’s campaign team in an attempt to guide the Liberals to victory in the October federal election. Butts has returned as a senior political strategist and it is learned he has been advising the Liberal campaign for several weeks.

Perhaps this news item did not register beyond Ottawa’s political corridors and the national press corps, but to those in the epicenter of national politics Professor Amir Attaran caused quite a stir this week.

On Saturday, Liberal-friendly polling firm Abacus Data released a new poll stating the “tight race between Conservatives and Liberals continues as voter fluidity remains high.” Abacus numbers report that if an election were held tomorrow, 33% would vote Conservative, 32% Liberal, 16% NDP, and 11% Green. Abacus declares “it’s a toss-up.”

Over the next three and a half months leading up to the election, this column will periodically review the polling numbers and voter intention trends by way of a snapshot. This particular snapshot has been taken with the available public opinion statistics and data compiled on Canada Day. It is a reflection of Canadians’ thoughts as MPs recess from their parliamentary session and launch themselves onto the campaign barbeque circuit.

In Canada it is now common practice for media, polling firms and political pundits to cover an election campaign much like a caller announces a horse race. Election coverage often features the “leading horses” and which pony/Party is “making the move.” With the Election Campaign Snapshot, the objective will be to dig a little deeper to provide some context to the mainstream media headlines.

The Liberal Government has passed Bill C-69, which revamps the federal environmental assessment process for major resource projects, and Bill C-48, which places a moratorium on oil tanker activity along the BC coast. Western Canadians and industry leaders have forewarned that these Bills will bury the oil and gas industry in a regulatory quagmire and kill investment in resource development projects. Even more worrisome than this is the thought that these new laws have spurred raw, regional tensions that could result in the busting apart of Canada itself.

The universal reaction from the Canadian oil and gas industry is that these two Bills combined will damage investor confidence in future resource development, which in turn will weaken the broader Canadian economy. The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) proclaimed the new regulations “make an already complex system more complicated while ultimately raising uncertainty and the potential for litigation.” Tim McMillan, CAPP president and CEO observed: “The impacts of a flawed Bill C-69 go well beyond hurting Canada’s oil and natural gas industry. Every Canadian will be hurt by driving investment out of the country and preventing important nation-building projects from being developed.”

In the dying days of this 42nd Parliament of Canada, the Trudeau Government has passed two major pieces of legislation that could possibly sound the death knell for Canadian resource development. Liberals hail their new measures as a major step towards a greener country. Critics view these measures as the final step to closing down Canada’s oil and gas industries.

In the legislative whirlwind of the final days of this spring Session, Parliament passed two controversial initiatives that the Government identified as priority: 1) Bill C-69 revamps the federal environmental assessment process for major resource projects; and 2) Bill C-48 places a moratorium on oil tanker activity along the BC coast.

Niagara Falls MP Rob Nicholson will not seek reelection in October.  Having recently announced he will not seek re-election this October, Niagara Falls MP Rob Nicholson sat down with me in his Ottawa office to discuss his views of the Canadian Parliament. This is the second of two columns from that interview.  As you leave […]

Rob Nicholson is the longest serving MP in the Conservative caucus, having first been elected 35 years ago in the 1984 federal election – and serving a total of 24 years in the Parliament of Canada. Mr. Nicholson has served under three Prime Ministers and the veteran parliamentarian has held cabinet positions of Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of National Defence, Minister of Justice and the Attorney General and the Government House Leader.

Fellow Niagara parliamentarian MP Dean Allison describes his longtime friend: “Rob is someone everyone respects in caucus – everybody respects in the House. He is always approachable and gives such great advice. What I admire most is he always takes the high road and is always calm and reasonable in the House. I had someone new in politics say to me that they wanted to be like Rob as a MP because of his approach to his job, his work ethic and how he treated people. The endearing respect for the man is a testament to Rob’s character. This guy is going to be missed.”

The final report of the National Inquiry Into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) was made public this week. Though this report is a voluminous 1,200 pages, filled with heart-wrenching personal accounts, and includes 231 recommendations for government, lawyers and police, it appears it may be summed up (or dismissed) with one word: genocide.

It took more than three years, dozens of community meetings across Canada, testimony from more than 2,000 Canadians, and a four hour ceremony unveiling the final report; and, it is remarkably insulting to think it took all of this to be wholly eclipsed by a single, unnecessarily controversial word.

Catherine McKenna, Canada’s Environment and Climate Change Minister, had a Twitter moment this week. She tweeted out a candid video of herself – then deleted it. Most Canadians will likely never know about her moment because it has gone unreported and Ottawa’s political pundits have been silent about it. This Minister, who has made a career of using her social media platforms to ridicule her political opponents, has slipped away from her Twitter faux pas with nary a mention.

Catherine McKenna’s tweet is a remarkable subject in Canadian politics for what it tells us about the Minister and, most disturbingly, what it tells us about the national press corps and its apparent partisan double standard with what (and who) it chooses to pursue.

What will “freedom of the press” mean in his country if two media-related initiatives recently announcement by the Trudeau government be implemented? Originally introduced in the federal budget, this week the government has provided details of how they will fund the news rooms of our major newspapers. Also this week, the Trudeau government provided further ideas on how and what they intend to censor in social media in the run up to the election.

The federal budget set forth a fund of $600 million to be paid to selected Canadian newspapers. From Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s first mention of this bailout it has been criticized as potentially undermining the freedom of the press and, possibly as Andrew Coyne has forewarned, it will “irrevocably politicize the press.” Conservative MP and former newsman Peter Kent flatly stated the government should not be “getting involved in this sort of direct subsidy to what is supposed to be an independent estate.” Kent says, “From top to bottom it smells. It’s simply unacceptable.”

Now what? For years Vice-Admiral Mark Norman was stuck in a legal quagmire that sullied his reputation, dishonouring his career and character. It appears that the same cast of political operatives who brought us the SNC-Lavalin scandal undermined our Canadian legal process. They consulted with Crown prosecutors and stonewalled Norman’s defence lawyers. Then, at the eleventh hour, as the courtroom showdown was about to commence, the Crown prosecutors walked and the charges were stayed against the Vice-Admiral. So, what does this ordeal mean for Canada’s (supposedly independent?) justice system?

“After Norman, we need to ask what’s happening to our country” muses Jocelyn Bamford, Toronto-area business executive and founder of the Coalition of Concerned Manufacturers and Businesses of Canada. In an erudite commentary, Bamford says that the Norman case is a “most disturbing scandal” as Canadians are left with too many unanswered questions about the investigation, the prosecutors’ tactics, and the PMO involvement. There are also intriguing questions about Liberal MP Andrew Leslie, a former military officer who recently announced he would not run again – and then that he would testify in defence of Norman. Bamford’s core questions surround the Prime Minister, recently retired Minister Scott Brison and a number of PM Trudeau’s senior most PMO advisors (including former Chief Gerald Butts who resigned over the SNC Lavlin scandal). Bamford exclaims, “Is it just me, or does the whole thing suggest to others that we are becoming something of a banana republic?”

The headlines were damaging to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Government: “Norman case collapses” and “Mark Norman’s Vindication.” However, this week’s negative media coverage for the federal Liberals pales with what might have been if this intriguing court case had proceeded. Imagine if Canadians were entertained with weeks of headlines suggesting wrong doing by the Prime Minister and his closest advisors during the Fall election campaign.

On one level it is a straight forward turn of events. The Crown made a charge of breach of trust against an individual when he allegedly leaked confidential contract documents. In preparing for the court case, the Crown factored it did not have the evidence necessary to get a successful prosecution, so it withdrew the charges.

Having just walked down the aisle a week prior, newlywed Elizabeth May reentered the House of Commons this week with a new spring in her step. The Green Party Leader is now looking to the October federal vote with renewed hope that her lengthy courtship with the Canadian public will finally be blessed – that she will be joined with Parliamentary benchmates to advance the Green Party fortunes.

Elizabeth May has been the Green Party of Canada leader for 13 years, and elected as the MP for BC riding Saanich-Gulf Islands for the last eight years. She has seen and experienced a great deal at the helm of this fledgling political movement. Yet, the recent electoral success of the PEI Green Party has reinvigorated this lone national Green crusader with a promise that the impending federal campaign could result in a breakthrough for her Party.

It is a group that politicians like to promote as the focus of their attention, the targeted benefactors of their support initiatives. Yet, Canada’s middle class is not only decreasing in numbers, it is managing worse than past generations. This reality may cause trouble for any political Party posturing as “champions of the middle class” in the coming election campaign.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has published an analysis that reveals the middle class is shrinking – squeezed primarily by high housing and education costs, and displaced by automation. The report defines middle class as 75-to-200 per cent of the median income in each nation. For Canada, that means a person living alone would have an income of about $29,432 to $78,485. In the 36 OECD countries, the portion of citizens considered middle class fell in the last 30 years to 61 per cent from 64 per cent. In Canada, middle-class shrinkage was sharper than the OECD average.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was having great fun addressing his supporters at the Liberal Party of Canada convention in Mississauga last weekend. The PM was mocking his opponent, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, suggesting he and Ontario Premier Doug Ford were populist rubes dangerously appealing to the lowest common denominator of the Canadian public.

In his campaign-like speech, the PM revealed the Liberals’ electioneering tact to galvanize their support: dish out a hefty dose of “fear and smear” and label the opponent as “populists,” “climate change deniers,” and “tolerant of alt-right, white nationalists.” In his bid to be re-elected, Justin Trudeau is going toxic. His provocation suggests Canadians should brace for an election campaign of divisive debates and coarser, uncompromising public discourse.

On April 1 the Trudeau government implemented its carbon tax that imposes a $20 tax on every tonne of carbon emissions from any fossil fuel. This tax is scheduled to increase by $10 per year until 2022, when it peaks at $50 a tonne. Environment and Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna heralded the new “price on pollution” with the claim the Liberals’ plan will reduce Canadians’ dependence on fossil fuel and lessen Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Opponents to the government’s carbon tax have described it as nothing more than a harmful knock on Canadians who need to drive, adding an immediate 4.4 cents per litre at the pump with an additional 7 cents per litre within the next two years. (Ironically, this week the Provincial NDP Government in BC announced it is seeking some type of relief from the BC carbon taxes as Metro Vancouver gas prices climbed to $1.64.9 cents per litre due to their federal-provincial agreement.) For Canadians heating their homes, the federal carbon tax is expected in 2022 to increase the cost of annual home fuel bills by $235. This carbon tax will not just impact individuals, but all businesses and public institutions. For example, Ontario hospitals must plan for a $27 million tax hit by 2022 because of the new price on carbon.

She was argumentatively the most able of all Trudeau cabinet ministers. Yet the remarkable drama that unfolded between the Prime Minister and his former Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould has overshadowed the devastating loss that has occurred to the Government (and now the Liberal Caucus) as a result of casting out Jane Philpott.

Jane Philpott is a learned, principled individual, an accomplished professional and community minded citizen with interests in promoting medical education in Africa. She is not a life-long, card-carrying Liberal Party member. However, she entered the political arena captivated by an energetic Party Leader who stated he was going to do politics differently and that, as a feminist, he was going to ensure females would be at the centre of his government’s decision-making. So, Jane stepped away from her responsibilities at the Markham-Stouffville Hospital to run under the Liberal banner in the riding of Markham-Stouffville.

Last week, the Government of Quebec heralded a budget with a $2.5 billion surplus and featuring increased spending in health care and education. On the other end of our country, Albertans entered into an election campaign feeling agitated about the treatment they are experiencing from the federal government and central Canada. This is the latest in the tale of two regions – and one needs not look too hard to discover the disturbing set of facts that underpin our Canadian paradox.

The 2019-20 Quebec budget highlighted an increased surplus of $2.5 billion from $1.65 billion over last year. On the strength of their books, the Quebec Government is planning for total increased spending of $16.1 billion through 2023-24. In this next year, there is a five per cent increase in spending in health care. There is also a five per cent increase in education budgets, delivered with a 17 per cent reduction overall in school property taxes.

It was described in many different ways. The Liberals characterized their fourth federal budget delivered this past Tuesday as a “pre-election budget designed to ease Canadians’ anxieties.” Political commentators, however, upon learning of its contents, described it as “the predicted pre-election spendathon”; “a testament to the pleasures of endless growth”; and, “a blunt political statement and a dare to their Conservative opponents to cut Liberal spending on social programs.”

The 460-page budget tome is entitled Investing in the Middle Class, but it could be more properly named, “Spending for the Middle Class.” Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s 2019 budget includes $22.8 billion in new spending divided into more than 100 new measures to be spent over the next five years. There is new spending to support first time home buyers, the purchase of electric cars, and broadband services to rural Canada. There are new tax credits for further education and skills training and more money for new indigenous programs. The Liberals are also hiring more bureaucrats and establishing an office to look at a new national prescription drug plan – a promise they will elaborate on, on the campaign hustings.

Finance Minister Bill Morneau will be delivering his fourth federal government budget next Wednesday, March 19. Given the news that the government ran a budgetary surplus of $300 million through the first nine months of the fiscal year, many financial analysts and political pundits are expecting the Finance Minister to increase federal spending – yet again.

Avery Shenfeld, chief economist for CIBC, forecasts in a Canadian Press interview: “I’m expecting cheques to go out somewhere. Remember that in the last election the party that won was the one party not promising to balance the budget… The recent sluggishness of the economy is just one more reason to expect a budget that sends out some goodies.”

While Canadians bear witness to all of the sordid details of the Jody Wilson-Raybould / Gerald Butts / Justin Trudeau / SNC-Lavalin scandal (a.k.a. LavScam), our federal government is lurching from one crisis to another without any clear direction. With the scandal, there are many other issues unfolding unchecked in the nation’s capital.

Canada’s economy is tanking. Statistics Canada reports that the country’s economy has come to a halt in the final three months of 2018, and the data is actually much worse than anyone has reported. The economy grew by just 0.1 per cent in the fourth quarter, the worst quarterly performance in two and a half years. The slowdown has extended well beyond the energy sector. In this quarter, consumption spending grew at the slowest pace in almost four years. Housing prices fell by the most in a decade. Business investment has dropped sharply and domestic demand posted its largest decline since 2015. This has impacted both consumer and business confidence. Bloomberg reports non-residential capital spending is down and residential investment has contracted for a second straight quarter with its biggest drop since 2009. Canadians declaring bankruptcy is up 15 per cent in the last half of 2018. Exports dropped. Imports declined. The loonie has nose-dived. In summary, the economy is a mess.

The resignation of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Principal Secretary Gerald Butts has sent shockwaves through the corridors of power in Ottawa. Tendered in the quiet of a long weekend, Butt’s departure from the PMO is recognized as the signal most remarkable event since the 2015 election itself.

His critics have likened Gerald Butts to some shadowy Rasputin or Svengali figure; politicos from all sides agree that he is a busy Wizard of Oz operating the controls behind the doors of the PMO. Butts relationship to the Prime Minister is characterized as puppet master Edgar Bergen to Charlie McCarthy – or Jim Hensen to the Muppets. To state he is close to the Prime Minister and the central architect of this government’s agenda is an understatement.

A week is a long time in politics. For Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) staff this past week probably felt like an eternity.

The alleged interference of the PMO with the Canadian judiciary process and the surfacing backstories of how PM Trudeau and his staff pressured the Justice Minister have rocked the corridors of power. The allegation is that the PM wanted his Justice Minister to direct federal prosecutors to make a “deferred prosecution agreement” so that multinational engineering firm SNC-Lavalin could avoid trial on $130 million bribery and fraud charges in relation to contracts in Libya. In short, the PM wanted the Justice Minister to deal a “get out of jail free” card to the Quebec firm.

Here is an excerpt from Ottawa’s Hansard, an official verbatim record of what was said in the House of Commons on Tuesday, February 5th. Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre was in a heated exchange with the Prime Minister about taxes imposed on Canadians. Poilievre questions:

“The Prime Minister says that people who take the bus are too rich and therefore should lose their transit tax credit. Soccer moms and hockey dads, the Prime Minister says are too rich, so he takes away their children’s fitness tax credit. At the same time, he forces these same working-class families to pay for his taxpayer-funded nannies. Will the Prime Minister put aside the hypocritical class warfare and tell us the true cost of his tax increases that he would bring in if he got re-elected?”

This week MPs returned to Ottawa and to the last Parliamentary Session before the fall federal election. All eyes were on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer as they traded barbs. The Leaders were practicing new lines, sure to be folded into campaign stump speeches crafted to grab Canadians’ attention and secure their votes.

Through the spring, MPs will be in Ottawa a total of 14 weeks, only 69 legislative days. In that short time, the Government will want to check off some important initiatives: the new environmental assessment process for resource projects, hand gun legislation, and the Finance Minister will look to pass a pre-election budget. At the forefront of the House of Commons agenda, however, will be the spirited exchanges between our national political leaders. Canadians can expect increasingly heated rhetoric and partisan attacks.

This week there was a stark news item from a well-respected financial firm that Canadians must brace for harder economic times. Jim Mylonas of BCA Research Inc. alerted Canadians that the country’s economy is teetering and this year will likely tip into a recession. What is disconcerting is that Canadians are being told to prepare for a recession even though the North American economy is healthy and poised to grow through the year. What’s more is this foreboding warning comes from a learned market analyst, a global macro strategist in a Montreal firm that has been forecasting markets and economies for 70 years.

Bloomberg News found the BCAB Research statement striking: “Canada’s economy may soon endure something it hasn’t faced in 68 years: A recession without the U.S. in the same boat.” In a Bloomberg interview, Mylonas explained that Canadians’ incredibly high household debt combined with rising interest rates will push the country’s economy into recession. That will occur even when, south of the border, the American economy is expanding.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet shuffle on Monday contained a surprise with his appointing of Nova Scotia MP Bernadette Jordan as Minister of Rural Economic Development. This new cabinet portfolio is to create and advance a rural-development strategy. The PMO’s news release stated that the new minister will work with municipalities, provinces, territories, and Indigenous partners to meet the “unique and diverse infrastructure needs of rural communities.”

Bernadette Jordan is relatively unknown outside of Atlantic Canada. Jordan is a first-term MP representing the Nova Scotia riding of South Shore-St. Margarets. Before her time in Ottawa, she worked in the community newspaper industry and was a fundraiser for a local Health Services Foundation in the small maritime town of Bridgewater. With her fellow Atlantic Liberal MPs, Jordan was selected to serve as Chair of the Atlantic Liberal Caucus.

To provide Canadians with a snap shot of our financial health as we head into the New Year, the Canadian public policy thinktank Fraser Institute published a sober assessment of the country’s current economic affairs. The key take-away from the Institute’s review is that Canada’s economy is underperforming and Canadians are just beginning to feel the impact. Although Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s Fall Economic Statement provided us with a reassuring review of our county’s economic prospects, the fact is the Canadian economy expanded by a mere 2.1 per cent in the past year. That is nearly a full percentage point below the United States at 3.0 per cent. As it is, Canada is an unattractive economy; a point of fact – foreign investment in Canada is down 55 per cent over the past five years.

Come the New Year, all eyes will be on Ottawa as Canadians bear witness to a parade of politicians and pollsters, all positioning and pontificating in advance of the October 21, 2019 federal election vote. We can expect dramatic headlines covering the spin and counter-spin of not only the politicians vying for your vote, but also pollsters and pundits who will be commenting on the rhetoric and “the horserace” itself.

Expect conflicting polls feeding opposing commentary. For example, two polls taken a year prior to the fall 2019 vote heralded opposite forecasts. Sun Media trumpeted the federal Conservatives would win a majority government. Meanwhile, CBC reported to Canadians that the national polls are in Trudeau’s favour.

What has the Canadian Government committed to in signing the UN Global Compact for Migration? The document reads that “member states and partners will thus hold each other more accountable on their promises to deliver results for refugees and their hosts.” As detailed in last week’s column, these promises include immediately taking steps to resettle 1.4 million refugees and migrants to willing host countries, promoting the “whole-of-society” benefits of mass migration, and “sensitizing and educating” media that are critical of the UN migration initiative.

Andrew Scheer, Conservative Leader, has been vocal in his criticism of the Compact signing, suggesting it is yet another step towards Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s “post-nation”, globalist vision of a world with no borders and no meaningful citizenship. Scheer has argued, in and outside the House of Commons, that Canada must be in control of its immigration policy and its borders – not a faceless UN bureaucracy who cannot be held accountable by the Canadian people. Scheer asserts, “Canadians, and Canadians alone, should make decisions on who comes in our country and under what circumstances.”

The longer title to the “UN Global Compact” document is the United Nations Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. Canada’s Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen will sign this international document on Canada’s behalf on December 11 in Marrakech, Morocco.

Though most Canadians have heard little or nothing of this international initiative, the Canadian government has played a leading role in advancing the UN’s “cooperative framework.” Our country’s diplomats are at the forefront of discussions designed to resettle 1.4 million refugees and migrants to willing host countries, presumably those countries who sign onto the UN Global Compact.

The debate in Ottawa revolves around what the signing of this document commits the Canadian Government to regarding its current and future immigrant policies. Is the UN Global Compact a political statement of humanitarian principles for refugees and migrants? Or is it a UN blueprint for the development of international migration policies?

For months leading up to the Liberals’ fall economic statement, Finance Minister Bill Morneau indicated his statement would respond to the recent U.S. corporate tax cuts that had eliminated any tax advantages for Canadian businesses and investors. Morneau stated he could not reduce corporate tax rates for Canadians, as they would cost the government too much, but he would have measures to address the newfound disadvantages experienced by the Canadian business community.

On Nov. 21, the finance minister brought forward his plan offering $17.6 billion of new investment incentives over six years to the country’s business community – something that he concedes will commit the federal government to an indefinite number of deficit budgets.

MP Pierre Polievre, Conservative finance critic, was quick to criticize the Liberal government’s embrace of long-term deficit financing. “Not only did they break their promise, not only will they fail to balance the budget, as they said, but they now admit that under their plan the budget will never be balanced… in other words, they are putting our future in a reckless state of danger by spending our tomorrow on their today.”

In his fall economic statement, federal finance minister Bill Morneau mused: “We could have ignored the concerns of business leaders, decided not to make the investments and the changes that are part of the fall economic statement, and we would have had a lower deficit as a result. To do so would be neither a rational response, nor a responsible one.”

Minister Morneau summed up his address with the observation, “Because our economy is doing well, we also have the fiscal room to follow through on the commitments we made”; which, in essence, was offering some reassurances to Canadian businesses and to taxpayers that the Liberal government has a firm handle on the country’s finances.

The finance minister announced $17.6 billion of new spending over the next six years to boost Canadian business investment and economic activity. In response to the attractive tax cuts south of the border, the minister’s statement highlighted $16 billion of tax breaks for business. The biggest portion of this commitment is the $14.4 billion earmarked to allow businesses to write off some types of machinery and equipment more quickly.

Parliament Hill is seized with pipeline politics. Our country’s oil and gas sector is pitted against Ottawa’s bureaucracy. Western Canadians are feeling betrayed and victimized by Prime Minister Trudeau. It’s déjà vu all over again!

This drama is unfolding in the Senate of Canada where a piece of legislation is being hotly debated on the floor of the Upper House. Bill C-69, the Impact Assessment Act, will establish new federal government environmental assessment processes for the development of all major resources projects in Canada. Minister of Environment and Climate Change Catherine McKenna claims it will restore public trust and provide greater transparency in government approval processes, for it ensures greater public input, greater participation by Indigenous peoples, and it is intended to ensure decisions will be informed by scientific evidence.

Recent government announcements and news reports have provided Canadians with an accounting of how much our Canadian governments are in debt. The current federal government, spending hundreds of billions of dollars, seemingly pays no heed to the size of their annual deficits. Add the sum of all provincial governments’ deficit budgets and one soon realizes that our governments are burying us in a deep, dank financial hole; from which no Canadian alive today will likely climb out. The reported numbers are startling.

In Ottawa, the federal government recorded a shortfall of $19 billion for the last fiscal year, repeating the deficit amount of the previous year. The government reports its federal spending continues to rise and is now $332 billion – $332,000,000,000 – the highest amount of government spending ever recorded.

Interest rates are rising and many Canadians will begin to feel the pain. Last week the Bank of Canada hiked its key lending rate and major lending institutions followed suit, raising prime interest rates. This is the fifth time since the summer of 2017 that rates have risen and the Bank of Canada has indicated they are about to become more aggressive in 2019 and 2020. Some financial analysts point to recent comments made by Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz to forecast the rate could climb as high as 3.5 percent.

What does that mean for an average household? Over the past 15 months, the Bank of Canada’s interest rate hikes have added an average of $2,500 in costs for Canadian households. Should the rate go as high as 3.5 percent, the costs would double again. If this were to occur, financial surveys indicate that one in two Canadians’ ability to service their existing debts will be directly affected. Half of Canadian households.

As of Wednesday this week, Canadians can possess and share up to 30 grams of legal cannabis. We can legally buy it and we can grow up to four pot plants per residence for personal use.

Reaction by our national leaders has been rather mellow. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reassured Canadians the country is ready for this drug, admitting he has regularly enjoyed it through the years. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh stated his greatest concern is how fast the federal government can expunge Canadians’ criminal records for pot possession.

Canadians have been reassured by Vancouver police chief Adam Palmer, who is president of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police. Chief Palmer stated emphatically, “I’m here to tell Canadians that police are ready.” (At the same time, he admitted enforcing new laws around legal weed will be “a work in progress.”) 

Tuesday morning the CBC ran a headline story: “’Yay!’: How the Canadians won the argument that opened the door to a NAFTA deal” reporting a confident Prime Minister Justin Trudeau saying, “There was [on Saturday] a sense things were falling into place.” In most news reports this week Canadians have been reassured that PM Trudeau and Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland (dubbed “the warrior princess”) were victorious in wrestling U.S. President Donald Trump to concede to Canadian terms on an improved NAFTA deal.

That is the Canadian story. But, how is this 11th hour deal being received south of the border? (Warning: Americans have a remarkably different take.)

In December, U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled a tax plan that effectively cuts America’s top corporate tax rate from 35 per cent to 20 per cent and allows companies to immediately deduct from their tax bills the full cost of capital spending. Proponents of the tax package predict this will boost business investment in the United States and encourage U.S. companies to repatriate money they previously held abroad.

In a recently released economic report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Canadians are warned that the American tax plan will siphon 650,000 jobs from Canada over the next 10 years as businesses shift their activity south of the border.

Aurora-Oak Ridges-Richmond Hill MP Leona Alleslev surprised everyone on the first day of the Fall Session of Parliament, rising in her place on the government backbenches to announce that she will “cross the floor” to join the Conservative party caucus.

It is remarkable that a MP would leave a government caucus to sit with an opposition caucus. However, what is most startling is what this rookie MP had to say about her Liberal colleagues’ abilities to manage the affairs of the country. Her assessment of the state of Canada was both focused and sobering.

“We find ourselves in a time of unprecedented global instability. We see fundamental shifts in the global economy, while trade relationships, international agreements and defence structures are under threat.

This week, the Liberal Caucus met in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan while the NDP Caucus hunkered down in Surrey BC. News out of both federal caucuses revealed that the MPs have been given their election scripts to begin their long march towards the 2019 vote.

The two caucuses met with a backdrop of contentious Canadian news items dominating the national conscience. Canadians are pre-occupied with the faltering NAFTA negotiations, the fate of the recently nationalized TransMountain pipeline project, the strong provincial opposition that has risen against Ottawa’s planned carbon tax plan, and the seemingly lack of controlling the flow of irregular migrants crossing our Canadian borders.

Headline news from the Nation’s Capital through the summer focused on the fate of NAFTA and the evolving asylum seekers-border issues. A vast majority of Canadians enjoying their summer escapes likely missed any other federal news. Here are six news items (in no particular order) from the month of August that should not pass unnoticed for those interested in the developing stories of our federal government.

When Members of Parliament recess for the summer, they don’t don shorts and sandals to hit a beach like quick-change artists; but instead, the first step they take is to meet their local constituency staff and schedule “the summer break.”

The 2018 summer plans of Niagara West MP Dean Allison are a good example of what our elected representatives organize for themselves when they are not in the Nation’s Capital.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shuffled his cabinet yesterday, bringing five new ministers to the table and creating a new portfolio for border security, an issue that has become a political vulnerability for the government over the past months.

Political analysts view this shuffle as a political move in advance of the 2019 election. There are additional ministers from Ontario and Quebec, where the Liberals need to maintain and, if possible, grow their seat count. David Moscrop, a political scientist at Simon Fraser University explains “The shuffle gives Trudeau an opportunity to put his best players on the pitch before the campaign.”

To recap the last six weeks: on June 1st, the U.S. imposed hefty levies on Canadian steel and aluminum imports, in response to China, South Korea and Vietnam dumping these products into our country. On July 1st, Canada retaliated by placing tariffs worth a total of $16.6 billion on U.S. goods from ketchup and candles to shaving products and insecticides.

In turn, the U.S. is suing Canada at the World Trade Organization stating that the retaliatory tariffs are “completely without justification.” President Donald Trump has also publicly stated he is considering putting a further 25-per-cent levy on all cars and trucks imported to the U.S.

Not all are supportive of the Trudeau Government’s trade negotiation tactics with the United States.

With Canada’s national election only 16 months away, it is now anticipated that the fate of the trade agreement with our southern neighbor will be a central campaign issue. Lawrence Solomon, policy director for Toronto-based Probe International, suggests Trudeau is using the trade talks to position for a tough re-election year by creating a boogeyman and a crisis: “NAFTA necessarily thus becomes not an economic exercise but a political one.”

In Ottawa, there are two prevailing threads of thought on what has become the never-ending saga of the Canada-U.S. Trade Talks. One is rallying behind Prime Minister Trudeau and supporting the Liberal Government’s attempt to reason with an unpredictable U.S. President. The second is highly critical, suggesting that the Liberals are purposely sabotaging the negotiations for their own domestic political gains. The next three columns will review the political gamesmanship between Canada and the U.S. and assess what all the public posturing may mean for the outcome of the trade talks – and for the 2019 federal election.

For months, Ottawa’s political networks and national press corps have been wholly focused on U.S. President Donald Trump and his every utterance on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Canadians are anxious. Given the magnitude of trade between our two countries, NAFTA has a large impact on our country’s economic growth and maintaining our standard of living.

As Parliament recessed for the summer, news leaked out that the Trudeau Government quietly renewed the current federal equalization formula for provinces through the year 2024.

In the 584-pages of 2018 budget documentation, Finance Minister Bill Morneau had buried a provision that extended the existing equalization formula, providing no formal notices to provinces or the public. With the passage of the omnibus budget legislation, stealthily, Morneau unilaterally assured the renewal of the federal-provincial equalization arrangement — to the huge benefit of Quebec, and over the vocal protests of Newfoundland and Labrador, and the western provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta.

On Parliament Hill, time stood stand, or rather any sense of time was lost in the surreal tension of Wednesday, May 2. Members of Parliament were shocked. News travelled in whispers of disbelief. And then there was an oppressive sadness that enveloped the Nation’s Capital and left anguished MPs groping for words, as we all do when faced with a close friend’s passing.

Wednesday morning, Gordon Brown – Gordie to everyone who knew him – had started his day playing hockey with friends at the Ottawa Morning Hockey League. The MP made it to his Hill office and sometime shortly before 10 o’clock he had a heart attack. Paramedics performed emergency resuscitation efforts en route to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The rights of parliamentarians to oversee government spending dates back to 1215 and the signing of the Magna Carta. Since that agreement between the King of England and Lord Barons, parliamentarians have voted on the details of how a government will spend the tax dollars raised from the people of the land. In Canada, expenditure estimates for each of the government’s departments are tabled in parliament so MPs can question the respective ministers on their spending plans.

There are only two weeks left in the House of Commons calendar before Members of Parliament break for their summer recess. Although they may soon be spared the cut and thrust of Parliamentary debates, there will be little relief as MPs are sure to feel the heat – both literally and figuratively.

The recent national polls from Nanos Research and Angus Reid have the Conservatives overtaking the governing Liberals in popular support; the Reid results show the Conservatives with a comfortable 10 percentage point lead (40% – 30%) in popular vote. Yet, what is most unsettling for Liberal MPs is the pollsters’ regional breakdowns that reveal the Liberals would be wiped out west of Quebec. PM Justin Trudeau could lose more than half his Ontario MPs and the Liberals would be annihilated in the western provinces.