Ever wonder how glamorous the life of a daily newspaper columnist is?
Well, here’s how I spent my Friday morning. First, I did a deep dive into government workforce statistics from the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (via the Canadian Taxpayers Federation). Then I swam around in the luxurious pools of the federal government’s Main Spending Estimates. And finally, I bathed in an RBC Economics analysis of first-quarter GDP numbers.
“Nationalism was a strange new word. Patriotism was derivative, racial cleavage was deep, culture was regional, provincial animosities savage, and the idea of unity ephemeral”. The writer goes on to say, “There are few Canadians yet who care deeply about it; most provincial politicians indeed, are ‘either indifferent or hostile’” to the project.
On Friday, Elon Musk held a news conference with Donald Trump in the Oval Office to mark his last day heading up DOGE. I wonder if we could convince Musk to come north to establish the Canadian Department of Government Efficiency. It’s clear we need it.
Canada rethinks military spending as Trump turns up the pressure
OTTAWA — Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne is signaling a bold shift in Canadian defense spending — one where the military is a national priority.
“We need to rebuild our armed forces. We need to rebuild infrastructure. We need to build new defense systems, but we need to do that where we support Canadian industry, Canadian workers and Canadian autonomy,” Champagne told POLITICO in a wide-ranging interview in his 18th-floor corner office.
A federal watchdog agency says an active overseas clandestine spy service operation was abruptly halted by a top adviser to former prime minister Justin Trudeau, a decision it says needlessly put CSIS officers in danger.
In a report released Thursday, the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency, or NSIRA, said it had investigated a 2022 Canadian Security Intelligence Service operation that was suspended before later being authorized to proceed.
I’m guessing Beijing or some other ne’er do well nation got in touch with Junior.
With the pomp of the opening ceremonies behind us, Canada’s 45th Parliament is finally getting to work. A new government is in place, complete with a new minister of Agriculture, a throne speech, and a single, somewhat generic mandate letter.
Yet, for the agri-food sector, it all feels underwhelming.
I like King Charles. I visited him at Windsor Castle recently as Mrs. Miller picked up a gong. The castle has been beautifully restored. It is full of treasures, looted from the Empire. There were no refreshments, only a porcelain water bowl for the service dog of one of the honorees.
The King was charming, looking a little the worse for wear, perhaps. He graciously laughed at Mrs. M’s joke. He’s a thoughtful guy. A little odd, which is no bad thing. But he seems to have gone completely nuts on his trip to Canada this week, where he opened Parliament with the most modern of empty gestures.
One of the realities politicians don’t like to talk about is that turning Canada into a green energy superpower — as Prime Minister Mark Carney has promised — means eliminating the rights of communities directly affected by energy-related projects to have a say in them.
Often with disastrous results.
For Yao Zhang, the news came as a shock.
Sexually explicit, deepfake images of her were circulating widely online — an attack that Ottawa blamed on the Chinese government.
It wasn’t the first time Zhang had been targeted by China. Shortly after the Quebec-based accountant-turned-influencer travelled to Taiwan in January 2024 to support its independence, China’s national police paid a visit to her aunt in Chifeng, in mainland China.
Sigh …
What a sight to behold. Chinese billionaire Ruby Liu celebrates in Mandarin as she picks apart the carcass of Hudson's Bay— Canada’s oldest company.
Canada is COOKED my friends. pic.twitter.com/rzKdYND31o
— Cosmin Dzsurdzsa (@cosminDZS) May 28, 2025
Canada sees surge in temporary foreign workers applying to escape abusive employers
The number of temporary foreign workers applying for open work permits to escape abusive employers has jumped more than 800 per cent year over year in Ontario, a surge advocates say highlights a growing crisis of abuse as immigration cuts and economic uncertainty deepen migrant workers’ vulnerability.
To address exploitation, the federal government in 2019 introduced the Vulnerable Worker Open Work Permit, allowing temporary foreign workers — whose status in Canada is tied to a single employer — to leave abusive jobs and apply for an open permit.
To qualify for one of these permits, migrant workers must show evidence of abuse.
You just know this push came from the lawyers.
Bank of Canada research shows that the federal Liberals’ decision to allow one million foreign students into the country had a “significant” impact in some employment sectors and cost Canadians job and wages.
The latest study confirmed a 2022 employment department report that foreign labour led to Canadian workers being replaced, per Blacklock’s Reporter.
Politics is not a zero-sum game where one person’s win is automatically another’s loss. An economy is not a conserved system, so, in theory, it is possible that a government could reduce taxes, increase spending and balance budgets (if, for example, revenues rise).
But it is a theory that is as rare in real life as white peacocks.
The federal government will take “immediate and decisive action” to rebuild Canada’s military, Defence Minister David McGuinty told an audience of military contractors at a trade show in Ottawa Wednesday morning.
He described the government’s sense of urgency by citing the speed at which Canada built up its navy at the start of the Second World War. McGuinty also warned that countries around the world are adjusting quickly to a changing global threat environment.
Canada is no longer the world-leading developed country it once was.
We still talk like one, and identify as one. But when you look at how long it takes to build a subway, what it costs to add a housing unit, or how little economic progress we’ve made per person over the last decade, the truth is obvious: we are in decline. The systems that once delivered rising prosperity no longer function in practice—they now produce delay, contradiction, and paralysis.
Canadians deserve an immigration system that serves the national interest. This is exactly what we once had when most Canadians agreed with the economic and cultural arguments in favour of immigration.
For a long time, Canada avoided the sort of backlash seen in many places abroad. But the economic argument for immigration has collapsed during a time of stagnant wages, housing shortages and high youth unemployment. Likewise, cultural arguments about diversity and multiculturalism have given way to doubts about our ability to integrate newcomers.
