Indigenous leaders put Carney's dreams on notice
Will Prime Minister Mark Carney’s national infrastructure dreams be kiboshed by Canada’s First Nations? That’s the question hanging over Ottawa this week — and if Carney’s not careful, the answer could well be yes.
Carney has no choice but to listen to Danielle Smith
On the eve of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s critical trip to Washington to meet U.S. President Donald Trump, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith stole the spotlight and turned it firmly on herself. In a twenty-minute “address to Albertans,” she aired grievances against the federal Liberal government, from carbon taxes to Justin Trudeau’s infamous “no more pipelines bill,” C-69. Smith also presented a list of demands, from resource corridor development to greater provincial control over energy and immigration. And she pledged to hold a referendum on Alberta independence should “enough” citizens demand one — while insisting multiple times that she doesn’t support secession herself.
A National unity crisis is brewing
If you thought the past Parliament was dysfunctional, buckle up for 2025.
Mark Carney has pulled off a rare political feat: winning a fourth consecutive mandate for the Liberal party, despite not even holding a seat when he became leader. At the same time, the leaders of the NDP and Conservatives, Jagmeet Singh and Pierre Poilievre, both lost their ridings, meaning they won’t sit in the House, and Singh has announced he will resign.
But while Carney smiled for the cameras, and promised to “work with everyone,” behind the scenes, he must have been grimacing. Because what he’s really won is a poisoned chalice, which will make “standing up for Canada” a Herculean task.
Carney should be careful. We all know what happens to Trudeau's friends
As if former Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney’s resume wasn’t long enough, he has added a new title: Special Advisor to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. On Monday, Trudeau appointed him as Chair of a Leader’s Task Force on Economic Growth, to “develop new ideas for the next phase of Canada’s strategy for near-and longer-term economic growth and productivity.” Carney will hold “meetings and events to hear ideas from Canadians in the weeks and months ahead” including “foremost experts in the business community, labour movement, Indigenous economic leadership, innovators, and more.” He will then report on these to the leader and Liberal Party Platform Committee.