If you have been wondering what meaning to attach to that irritating phrase the Carney Liberals use to describe themselves, “Canada’s New Government” – which was irritating enough when it was first employed, under Stephen Harper, when it was actually a new government – wonder no longer. As this Spring Economic Update makes abundantly clear, it means nothing whatever. Or next to nothing.
Coyne sounds near sane!
Pic from reader DA
Canada’s health minister says she is considering legislation aimed at permanently prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to people born after 2008.
Minister Marjorie Michel was asked by reporters during a press scrum on Parliament Hill whether Canada was contemplating legislation similar to a recently proposed bill in the United Kingdom that seeks to curb cigarette and vape use among youth.
Endorsed by Al Capone and Native Indians.
They never learn.
h/t Mauser
On April 17, Prime Minister Mark Carney celebrated the anniversary of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and declared that “it is up to us all to protect the values of freedom and equality enshrined in the Charter.”
Unfortunately, despite the fact that he has attempted to associate his Liberal government with the edifice of human rights in Canada, it is evident that Mark Carney has merely paid a glib lip service to Canada’s Charter and the fundamental human rights of all Canadians.
Federal governments have for decades failed to reduce Canada’s dependence on U.S. trade, according to a new report, suggesting that Prime Minister Mark Carney faces an overwhelmingly steep climb in his effort to pivot the country away from its southern neighbour.
In a new report, the Fraser Institute studied the last 50 years of Canada’s trade diversification efforts, which included the signing of 16 free trade agreements with non-U.S. countries between 1988 and 2020. For all that work, however, Canada hardly increased its exports to non-U.S. trade partners, particularly in the last 25 years. Meanwhile, China — seemingly the sole benefactor from Canada’s diversification push — has gobbled up virtually all of what was diverted away from the U.S. in recent decades, the report found.
One of the key figures in patriating Canada’s constitution and bringing the Charter of Rights and Freedoms into being says the Carney government is out of line. Former Newfoundland Premier Brian Peckford, the last living elected official who helped seal the deal, says in asking the Supreme Court to alter the Notwithstanding Clause, the Carney government is acting unconstitutionally.
Rather than pay down the federal government’s debt, Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced a $25-billion sovereign wealth fund (SWF), the Canada Strong Fund, which will join with private interests to invest in nation-building projects. It could grow even larger by selling a “retail investment product” to any Canadians who for some reason want to hold shares in politically-directed projects like high-speed rail, mining critical minerals and expanding the Port of Churchill.
The deadline of July 1 for the mandatory joint review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is fast approaching. United States (US) protectionism is leading the Western world down a more transactional path, one where old economic partnerships are being redefined. This shift is causing a great deal of anxiety for Canadians as the future of trade remains uncertain.
Brookfield Corporation has not filed a single lobbying communication report with the federal government since Mark Carney was sworn in as Prime Minister on March 14, 2025.
Brookfield Asset Management has never filed one. Not a single Monthly Communication Report in the entire history of the federal lobbying registry.
h/t Mauser
On Tuesday, the federal government released its spring fiscal update, revealing a whopping budget deficit this year and continued high deficits in years to come. Despite promising a “very different approach” from his predecessor, Prime Minister Mark Carney continues to dig a deeper hole, particularly for younger generations of Canadians.
To quickly recap, the Trudeau government borrowed historically-large amounts of money to fuel its voracious spending habits. As a result, federal per-person spending and debt reached the highest levels in Canadian history (adjusted for inflation) while the government ran nine consecutive budget deficits. In other words, Trudeau created a fiscal mess.
Congratulations, Canada! On Monday, our nation joined an exclusive club: countries with sovereign wealth funds. Norway, Kuwait and other resource-rich nations have long tapped royalties and budget surpluses to fund investment vehicles: in this era of geopolitical uncertainty and an erratic neighbour, Prime Minister Mark Carney thinks it’s time Canada does the same.
While Prime Minister Mark Carney plans to double Canada’s non-U.S. exports to $600 billion annually in 10 years, a new study by the Fraser Institute suggests it’s probably unachievable.
In other words, the prime minister’s target may be an aspirational one, rather than real.
Until recently, the only CBC television program I would watch was “Still Standing,” hosted by comedian Jonny Harris. The show tackled the many examples across Canada of business failures and how their host communities had tried to recover — and are still standing. Communities like the one I live in, Nipigon, which in 2007 lost the Multiply Forest Products plywood mill to fire. A devastating event that came on the heels of the permanent shutdown of the Norampac container board mill in nearby Red Rock the year before. Two small towns on the north shore of Lake Superior were hit hard by the sudden closure of their primary industries within a year of one another.
In early 2022, when I was president-elect of the CMA, I had a phone conversation with Tom, one of my oldest friends, about the trucker protests in Ottawa. At the time, I was focused on what patients and colleagues were living through. He was focused on the threat to rights and freedoms. The conversation became existential. Accusations were made. He hung up. We did not speak properly again for years.
The thing about the new Canadian “sovereign wealth fund” (SWF) announced on Monday by Prime Minister Mark Carney is that, judging by what we know so far, it’ll be pretty much the opposite of what he’s comparing it to.
The prime minister cited Norway as a leading example of a country with a successful SWF — and so it is.
The Norwegian Government Pension Fund — Global, to use its full name, has been fantastically successful. Since it was founded in 1990 it’s grown to a staggering $2.2 trillion U.S., or just over $3 trillion Canadian.
The takeaway from Mark Carney’s announcement of a new Sovereign Wealth Fund for Canada might just be that big government is back. Of course, this being Canada, big government never really left.
Even under supposedly conservative governments, we see tax dollars being “invested” in the economy, picking winners and losers and doing what the private sector should but won’t do.
