Canada's deficit could top $90 Billion this year

Canada's C.D. Howe Institute expects federal deficits to average $78 Billion over the next four years, more than double what the parliamentary budget officer forecast before the spring election. 

 Federal deficit could average $78B over 4 years, think tank warns | CityNews Toronto |  Craig Lord, The Canadian Press, and Cormac MacSweeney:

July 3, 2025 - "The C.D. Howe Institute predicts Ottawa’s recently announced spending plans — which include a much bigger defence budget — will drive its deficits markedly higher in the coming years. In a new analysis released today, the think tank says it expects Canada’s deficit to top $92 billion this fiscal year, given Prime Minister Mark Carney’s plan to meet NATO’s defence spending target of two per cent of GDP.

"C.D. Howe says it expects deficit growth to slow after that but predicts deficits will still average around $78 billion annually over four years, more than double the level forecast by the parliamentary budget officer before the spring federal election. The Liberal government did not publish a spring budget this year and has said it will instead push the planned fiscal update to the fall.

"In addition to ramping up defence spending, Prime Minister Carney’s Liberals recently pushed forward legislation to accelerate major project development and delivered a one-percentage-point cut to the lowest income tax rate.

"The C.D. Howe Institute accuses Ottawa of making costly commitments without showing the numbers to Canadians."

Read more: https://toronto.citynews.ca/2025/07/03/canada-federal-deficit-budget-spending-cuts/

BIG BUCKS LOST: Federal deficit numbers keep soaring with no end in relief | Toronto Sun | July 4, 2025:

Federal deficit projected to soar to $92B this year: 'Unfair to pass these burdens on,' C.D. Howe Institute says | National Post | Simon Tuck: 

July 4, 2025 - ""If this fiscal year’s deficit turns out to be as hefty as projected, it would be the second-largest deficit in Canadian history, topped only by the $327.7 billion shortfall from the pandemic year of 2020-21....

"Based on the most current and largely optimistic variables, the report says, federal deficits will remain above $71 billion during each of the following three years and in the fiscal year 2028-29 will be greater than three times what the government itself forecast in its most recent federal budget. But more likely, the report says, it will likely be a bit worse than that because the report’s authors say that they’re skeptical that all of the government’s plans to increase revenue through promised higher fines, penalties and savings will actually occur.... 

"But the most recent federal budget was now well over a year ago. The government took the highly unusual step this year of waiting until the fall to release its annual budget, more than half-way through the fiscal year.... The C.D. Howe report criticizes the government’s decision to wait until the fiscal year is more than half over before releasing its budget 'Delaying a budget until the fiscal year is more than half over is never good, but Canada’s current high-spending trajectory makes this delay especially bad.'

"Ottawa is making costly commitments, the report explains, without showing key numbers to the public such as how much more tax it expects to gather, the extent of its new spending and what the increased debt will mean for interest payments.... C.D. Howe suggests that the Liberal government eliminate or forgo some of its costly platform promises, make deeper cuts in its operating spending, substitute some revenue from less harmful taxation such as the GST, and cut federal transfers to provinces and territories."

Read more: https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/with-deficit-projected-to-soar-to-92-billion-it-is-unfair-to-pass-these-burdens-on-c-d-howe-institute-says

King opens Parliament – Canadians don't care

In an historic first, King Charles III flew to Ottawa this week to open Canada's new Parliament and read the Throne Speech. More than four out of five Canadians polled said they didn't care. 

Royally Indifferent: 83 per cent of Canadians say they ‘don’t care’ that King Charles will deliver throne speech | Angus Reid Institute: (news release):

May 26, 2025 – "While Prime Minister Mark Carney’s now-accepted invitation to King Charles to read the throne speech opening Canada’s 45th parliament may have been politically intended to leave U.S. President Donald Trump gobsmacked, Canadians themselves are raising little more than an arched eyebrow at the visit. A new public opinion poll from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute shows a whopping 83 per cent of Canadians say they are 'indifferent' or 'don’t care' about the monarch’s historic visit, where Charles will read the throne speech – which will outline the Carney government’s priorities for the upcoming parliamentary session....

"This week’s official visit to Canada by King Charles III represents a mixture of realpolitik, the unprecedented and the ordinary. It is Charles’ 20th visit to Canada, but his first as monarch. The occasion also marks the first time in 47 years that the sovereign has read a Canadian speech from the throne.   

"As to the motivations of the invitation to His Majesty, political symbolism appears to trump (pun intended) domestic desire.... Prime Minister Mark Carney has leaned heavily into invoking U.S. President Donald Trump’s infatuation with the British (and Canadian) royal family.... Domestically however, Canadians are less enchanted by the pomp, circumstance and mysticism of the crown and its accoutrements. Views of individual royals, along with the monarchy, have been steadily declining over time in this country.... 

"More Canadians say it’s a 'good thing' (37%) rather than a 'bad thing' (23%) that the king is opening parliament. It should be noted however, that a plurality (40%) say they 'aren’t sure' quite what to make of the whole endeavour.... 

"It’s rare that four-in-five Canadians agree on anything. But they are largely united in their ambivalence towards the king’s visit to Canada to open parliament. Apathy appears to rule even among those who see positives in Charles’ visit. A majority of those who describe the fact the King is delivering the throne speech as a 'good thing' also describe themselves as indifferent to the proceedings....

"The Angus Reid Institute conducted an online survey from May 20-23, 2025, among a randomized sample of 1,685 Canadian adults who are members of Angus Reid Forum. The sample was weighted to be representative of adults nationwide according to region, gender, age, household income, and education, based on the Canadian census. For comparison purposes only, a probability sample of this size would carry a margin of error of +/- 2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20."

Read more: https://angusreid.org/king-charles-throne-speech-canada/

Carney bypasses Parliament to spend $70 Billion

Since taking power, Prime Minister Mark Carney has authorized more than $70 billion in spending without parliamentary approval, by using "special warrants" normally reserved for emergencies.  

Carney is already steamrolling basic constraints on power | National Post | Tristin Hopper:

May 16, 2025 - "Only two months into the job, Prime Minister Mark Carney is already steamrolling through the usual checks by which a Canadian government is supposed to spend and manage taxpayer money. During the federal election, Carney greenlit a record $70 billion without Parliamentary approval. And now, even before the House of Commons has reconvened, his government has signalled its intentions not to publish a budget. With both actions, the new Liberal government has neutered one of the reasons Canada has a Parliament in the first place: To review and manage the disbursement of money....

Mark Carney at World Economic Forum, Davos, 2010. 

Photo by WEF. CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons.

"During his brief tenure, Carney has already used his executive authority to request two disbursements of money outside the federal government’s usual spending channels. On April 1, Carney was granted an order-in-council releasing $40.3 billion in emergency funds. The second, granted on May 2, was for $33.1 billion.

"The orders alone are not unprecedented: There’s long been a provision for the Governor General to release emergency funds to keep the lights on during a federal election. It’s called a 'special warrant'; an emergency dispensation of money 'urgently required for the public good.'

"Where Carney took the provision into uncharted territory is in the sheer scale of money, $73.4 billion, that he released via special warrants without the figures being approved by the House of Commons. In the snap election of 2011, by contrast, it only took $24.5 billion in special warrants to keep the federal government operational. The 2008 election required no special warrants.... 

"On the issue of a federal budget, Carney is also not violating any written rules in refusing to produce one. He’ll simply be breaking with more than a century of Parliamentary precedent in tabling multi-billion-dollar appropriations bills before the House of Commons with few specifics as to his government’s wider fiscal plans.

"It’s been more than five months since the federal government has actually approved funding the way it’s supposed to: Via an itemized 'money bill' that is approved in a vote by the House of Commons. The last one, for $21.6 billion, was passed on Dec. 10.... The Dec. 10 appropriations bill ... only covers four months of government spending.... There have been periods in Canadian history where the country has gone more than a year without a federal budget. But there were always extenuating circumstances. The most obvious being the failure to table a federal budget in 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the midst of the Second World War, similarly, the feds went a then-record 482 days between budget presentations.

"But what hasn’t really happened before is a government refusing to table a budget in the immediate aftermath of a contentious federal election resulting in a hung parliament.... Conservative MP Mike Lake noted that the Tories had a budget ready only five weeks after their victory in the 2011 general election. Wrote Lake, 'it is entirely unacceptable for this new Carney Liberal government not to present a budget at this time of fiscal chaos caused by the previous Liberal government.'"

Read more: https://nationalpost.com/opinion/carney-is-already-steamrolling-basic-constraints-on-power

Mark Carney's winning campaign speech

Mark Carney's winning campaign speech (satire by Donald Bosch): 

"We are in a crisis, a crisis, a terrible crisis.  It's all Donald Trump's fault.  

Mark Carney at World Economic Forum, Davos, 2010. 

Photo by WEF. CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons.

"We bear no responsibility for anything that happened in the last 10 years. 

"It was Donald Trump who did not balance our budget.  

"It was Donald Trump who created inflation.  

"It was Donald Trump who increased crime in Canada. 

"It was Donald Trump who made food unaffordable and houses too. 

"It was Donald Trump who increased the number of government employees. 

"It was all Donald Trump's fault.  

"Now, stop complaining about not being able to afford your rent, complain about Donald Trump instead, and make sure you Vote Liberal."

Looking into Mark Carney's Values

          What Mark Carney ultimately wants, Peter Foster concluded in 2021 after reading Carney's
          manifesto Value(s), is "a technocratic dictatorship justified by climate alarmism"

Peter Foster: Mark Carney, man of destiny, wants to revolutionize society. It won't be pleasant | National Post | Peter Foster:

June 5, 2021 (updated January 16, 2025) - "In his book Value(s): Building a Better World for All, Mark Carney, former governor both of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, claims that western society is morally rotten, and that it has been corrupted by capitalism, which has brought about a 'climate emergency' that threatens life on earth. This, he claims, requires rigid controls on personal freedom, industry and corporate funding....

Mark Carney at World Economic Forum, Davos, 2010. 

Photo by WEF. CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons.

"Since the advent of the COVID pandemic, Carney has been front and centre in the promotion of a political agenda known as the 'Great Reset,' or the 'Green New Deal,' or 'Building Back Better.' All are predicated on the claim that COVID, and its disruption of the global economy, provides a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity not just to regulate climate, but to frame a more fair, more diverse, more inclusive, more safe and more woke world.

"Carney draws inspiration from, among others, Marx, Engels and Lenin, but the agenda he promotes differs from Marxism in two key respects. 

• First, the private sector is not to be expropriated but made a 'partner' in reshaping the economy and society. 
• Second, it does not make a promise to make the lives of ordinary people better, but worse. Carney’s Brave New World will be one of severely constrained choice, less flying, less meat, more inconvenience and more poverty: 'Assets will be stranded, used gasoline powered cars will be unsaleable, inefficient properties will be unrentable,' he promises.

"The agenda’s objectives are in fact already being enforced, not primarily by legislation but by the application of non-governmental — that is, non-democratic — pressure on the corporate sector via the ever-expanding dictates of ESG (environmental, social and corporate governance) and by 'sustainable finance,' which is designed to starve non-compliant companies of funds, thus rendering them, as Carney puts it, 'climate roadkill'.... Carney’s Agenda is promoted by the United Nations and other international bureaucracies and a vast and ever-growing array of non-governmental organizations and fora, especially the World Economic Forum (WEF), where Carney is a trustee. Also, perhaps most surprisingly, by its corporate victims. No one wants to become climate roadkill....

"Despite his thorough castigation of market society, Carney somehow also believes this 'corroded' society is clamouring to make great personal sacrifices for draconian climate actions and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Carney has been a prime pusher of 'net-zero,' the notion that climate-related human emissions must be entirely eradicated, buried or offset by 2050 if the world is to avoid climate Armageddon. He claims that net-zero is 'highly valued by society.' In reality, the vast mass of people have no clue what it entails; when Carney talks about this version of 'society,' he is talking about a small, radical element of it.....

"Carney is a classic example of what Friedrich Hayek called the “fatal conceit” of constructivist rationalism: the belief that the largely spontaneous institutions of the market order should be rejected in favour of more deliberately planned arrangements. Carney is undoubtedly an intelligent man, but Hayek stressed that the thing that intelligent people tend most to overestimate is the power of intelligence — particularly if they happen to be socialists. 

"Carney is also of the class that philosopher Karl Popper described as 'enemies' of an 'open society.' Popper noted that social upheavals tend to bring forth prophets who claim to understand the forces shaping the future, and promise salvation if they are given absolute power. Such was Plato’s model.... Similarly, Marx’s communism was a response to the turmoil of the Industrial Revolution....

"What Carney ultimately wants ... is a technocratic dictatorship justified by climate alarmism..... [A]ccording to Carney 'political technology' is needed to 'build a broad consensus around the right goals.' No question of debating the goals, or the science, just building a consensus to support them.... The threat is too great to permit any argument."

Read more: https://nationalpost.com/opinion/peter-foster-mark-carney-man-of-destiny-arises-to-revolutionize-society-it-wont-be-pleasant

Read Mark Carney's Value(s): https://archive.org/details/values-building-a-better-world-for-all-mark-carney/mode/1up?view=theater

Carney denies meeting with pro-CCP lobby group

Mark Carney has denounced reporting that alleges he met with a pro-Chinese-government lobbying group, claiming that he has "never heard of this group." 

Carney snaps at reporter over questions about China | Yahoo News | Brian Lilley:

April 10, 2025 - "China is an issue that won’t leave Liberal Leader Mark Carney alone and it’s clearly getting to him. On Thursday, he snapped at a reporter and disparaged a major daily newspaper for their coverage of his campaign and connections with China. 'Well, I’m sorry, but you can’t believe everything you read in The Globe and Mail,' Carney said. His remarks were nasty in tone, he was snarky.... 

"On Thursday, The Globe and Mail reported that Carney had met with executives from the Jiangsu Commerce Council of Canada [JCCC]. The JCCC is a Toronto-based group founded more than twenty years ago to ostensibly foster ties between China and Canada, but it is widely viewed as a front group for China’s United Front Work Department. The UFWD works on behalf of the Chinese government in Beijing to, among other things, spy on and exert influence over the Chinese diaspora in places like Canada....

“'I’ve never heard of this group, okay? Never heard of this group. Certainly didn’t have a setup meeting with this group, full stop. So check your sources before you write things like that,' Carney said. Moments later, Steven Chase, one of the Globe reporters who wrote the original story, posted photos of Carney smiling and shaking hands with two different executives from the JCCC....

"For the past two weeks, Carney and the Liberals have been dogged with bad stories relating to China and being too close to Beijing. Last week it was his candidate Paul Chiang encouraging people to kidnap Conservative candidate Joe Tay and hand him over to the Chinese Consulate in Toronto in exchange for a bounty. It took Carney four days to drop Chiang and replace him with Peter Yuen, who is now being accused of being associated with the JCCC and other pro-Beijing Chinese groups in Toronto.

"And ... this week the federal government’s Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections (SITE) Task Force, revealed a coordinated effort by the Chinese government to boost Mark Carney’s appeal to Chinese Canadian voters. This included what was described as 'large spikes of coordinated inauthentic behaviour' where articles positive about Carney from Beijing-aligned media outlets were boosted on the WeChat social media platform by accounts and influencers with ties to the Chinese government. The goal, to boost Mark Carney in the eyes of Chinese Canadian voters. Basically, China is trying to persuade Chinese Canadians to vote Liberal.

"This came after the same tactics were used during the Liberal leadership campaign to attack and disparage Carney’s main rival, Chrystia Freeland. Beijing is clearly still interfering in Canada’s elections and Beijing clearly favours Mark Carney and the Liberals."
Read more: https://ca.news.yahoo.com/lilley-carney-snaps-reporter-over-184820491.html

Carney not meeting with JCCC members, Photo from JCCC website (now deleted). Courtesy X.

UPDATED: Pro-Beijing group deletes post claiming it had 'in-depth meeting' with Carney | Western Standard | Jarryd Jäger:

April 10, 2025 - "Mark Carney has refuted claims that he met with the Jiangsu Commerce Council of Canada. The pro-Beijing group has since, at the behest of the Liberal Party, deleted its post claiming high-ranking representatives had an 'in-depth meeting' with him....

"'The web post referenced in the Globe and Mail article is inaccurate, as is the suggestion that Mr. Carney had any such in-depth discussion,' a Liberal Party spokesperson said in a statement after the story went viral. 'We have reached out to the organization correcting the record and asked that they remove such claims immediately.' As of Thursday evening, the URL that had led to the story instead resulted in a 404 error."
Read more: https://www.westernstandard.news/news/carney-says-he-never-heard-of-pro-beijing-group-that-claimed-they-had-in-depth-meeting/63938

Carney shows 'arrogance' in response to allegations of Chinese influence | Rebel News | April 11, 2025:

Liberal MP drops out of election race

Liberal MP Paul Chiang, who called for bounty hunters to hand over a Conservative candidate to the Chinese government, has withdrawn his candidacy after Prime Minister Mark Carney refused to remove him. 

'PERSON OF INTEGRITY': Carney defends Liberal who wanted to turn in Conservative candidate to CCP | Western Standard | Jen Hodgson:

March 31, 2025 - "Prime Minister Mark Carney on Monday morning vehemently defended Liberal MP Paul Chiang, who called for a Conservative candidate to be handed over to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). A total of 13 Hong Kong-Canadian advocacy groups have demanded Carney remove Chiang from running in the federal election, citing the danger of endorsing a CCP bounty on a Canadian.... [Don Valley North] Conservative candidate Joe Tay ... is wanted by Hong Kong authorities, under the power of Beijing, for running a pro-democracy YouTube channel in Canada....

"'The comments were deeply offensive, terrible,' said Carney. 'This is a terrible lapse of judgment by Mr. Chiang. He has apologized for those comments.... This is a regrettable situation. However, he will continue with his campaign.... He's made those apologies, he's made them directly to the individual concerned, he's made them directly to me, he has my confidence,' said Carney. 'I view this as a teachable moment.'"
Read more: https://www.westernstandard.news/news/person-of-integrity-carney-defends-liberal-who-wanted-to-turn-in-conservative-candidate-to-ccp/63581

Mark Carney won’t fire controversial candidate Paul Chiang | CBC News: The National | March 31, 2025:

Liberal candidate Paul Chiang 'standing aside' following backlash | Western Standard | Jarryd Jäger:

April 1, 2025 - "Paul Chiang has announced that he will no longer be running as the Liberal candidate for Markham-Unionville. The now-former MP's move comes following backlash over his decision to encourage people to turn Conservative candidate Joe Tay in to the Chinese Communist Party....

"Chiang wrote in a statement posted to X.... [that[ 'this is a uniquely important election with so much at stake for Canadians,' and that 'as the Prime Minister and Team Canada work to stand up to President Trump and protect our economy, I do not want there to be distractions in this critical moment. That's why I'm standing aside as our 2025 candidate in our community of Markham-Unionville.'"
Read more: https://www.westernstandard.news/news/breaking-liberal-candidate-paul-chiang-standing-aside-following-backlash/63622

Chiang's statement on X | March 31, 2025, 11:55 pm:

Liberal MP wanted Conservative handed over to Chinese Communist regime

A Liberal MP is under fire after suggesting on Chinese-language media that a Conservative candidate be handed over to the Chinese Communist government for a $1 million HKD bounty. 

Liberal MP calls for Conservative candidate to be handed over to China | Toronto Sun | Brian Lilley: 

March 29, 2025 - "The Conservatives are calling on Liberal Leader Mark Carney to fire one of his candidates.... 'Yesterday, it came to light that Mark Carney’s Liberal candidate, Paul Chiang, called for a Conservative candidate to be turned over to the authoritarian regime in Beijing in return for a bounty offered by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP),' Conservative MP Michael Chong said in a statement.

Liberal MP Paul Chiang. CBC

"Chiang is the Liberal MP for Markham-Unionville and is still the Liberal candidate. While Chiang has issued an apology, Chong says it’s not enough. He wants Mark Carney, who has so far been silent on this, to fire Chiang....

"According to a statement issued by the Toronto Association for Democracy in China [TADC], Chiang was speaking with several Chinese-language media outlets in Toronto in January. He raised the issue of Joe Tay, the Conservative candidate in Don Valley North. 

"Tay has been an activist for democracy in China, including Hong Kong where he was born. That resulted in a $1 million Hong Kong Dollar bounty [$183,915 CAD] being placed on his head, a bounty Chiang encouraged people to take advantage of by turning Tay over to Chinese officials.

"'To everyone here, you can claim the one-million-dollar bounty if you bring him to Toronto’s Chinese Consulate,' Chiang said according to TADC. Chiang never denied the claims of his statement – instead, he issued an apology late Thursday.

"'The comments I made were deplorable and a complete lapse in judgment on the seriousness of the matter. As a former police officer, I should have known better. I sincerely apologize and deeply regret my comments,' Chiang said."

"The Liberals have been under fire for being too close [to] the Chinese Communist Party and the dictators in Beijing for years. Evidence presented at the recent foreign interference inquiry showed that in the 2019 and 2021 elections, China actively tried to ensure the Liberals held power. Then-prime minister Justin Trudeau and his team, many of whom helped Mark Carney win the Liberal leadership, refused to act even after being warned about specific candidates ahead of the 2019 election....

"Carney himself has deep ties to China ... including increasing the business that Brookfield Asset Management did in China. Until he entered politics, Carney oversaw Brookfield as chair of the board and head of transition investing. In November 2024, he helped secure a loan of more than $275 billion USD for Brookfield from a Chinese state-owned bank."

Read more: https://torontosun.com/news/national/federal_elections/liberal-mp-calls-for-conservative-to-be-handed-over-to-china

Liberals revoke MP Chandra Arya's nomination

10-year Liberal MP Chandra Arya, who was barred from running for the party leadership in January, has had his party nomination revoked just days before the expected election call. 

Liberals revoke Chandra Arya's nomination, after removing him from leadership race | CBC News | Canadian Press: 

Chandra Arya in 2017. Photo courtesy 

Presidential Office Building, Taiwan.

CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons.

March 21, 2025 - "Chandra Arya, a Liberal backbench MP whose short-lived bid to replace Justin Trudeau as leader was cut short by the party, says he has been dropped as the candidate for the Ottawa riding of Nepean. The 62-year-old has represented the riding since 2015.

"National campaign director Andrew Bevan informed Arya of the decision in a letter Thursday, just days before an expected election call. The move to remove him comes almost two months after the party also told Arya it would not accept him as a candidate for the party leadership.

"Arya had already been nominated, but the letter says new information obtained by the party's 'green light committee' led the campaign co-chair to recommend that his 'status as a candidate' be revoked. Bevan does not include any details about the new information.... The party also refused to provide any information when it rejected Arya's candidacy for the leadership race in January.

"The decision opens an Ottawa seat as an option for Prime Minister Mark Carney, who has thus far not declared which riding he intends to run in.... 

"Carney is widely expected to visit Rideau Hall to launch the election on Sunday, for a vote on either April 28 or May 5."

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/liberal-chandra-arya-dropped-nepean-1.7489486

CP NewsAlert: Carney to run in Ottawa riding of Nepean | Yahoo News | Nick Murray, Canadian Press:

March 22, 2025 - Mark Carney will seek election as a Liberal MP in the House of Commons in the Ottawa riding of Nepean. The Canadian Press has confirmed the move with two Liberal party sources.... More coming."

Read more: https://ca.news.yahoo.com/just-hours-left-pm-carney-100016187.html

Mark Carney kicks out Liberal MP to steal their seat! | National Telegraph | March 23, 2025:

Canada's carbon tax still an election issue

Canada's carbon tax is still an election issue. While new Prime Minister Mark Carney has zero-rated the consumer carbon tax, at least for the election campaign, he insists the industrial carbon tax is still necessary and plans to increase it; while Conservative leader Poilievre is still committed to ending both taxes. 

LILLEY: PM Carney has it all wrong with industrial carbon tax | Toronto Sun | Brian Lilley: 

March 17, 2025 - "While Conservative Leader Poilievre was promising to scrap the industrial carbon tax, Prime Minister Carney was defending it as a necessity on his trip to Europe. On Friday, Carney and his just sworn-in government passed an order-in-council to reduce the rate of the consumer carbon tax to zero come April 1 [see video]. The industrial carbon tax remains in place, though, and will increase by nearly 20% on that same day.

"Standing in a steel plant in L’Original, Ont., about an hour east of Ottawa, Poilievre said that increasing the carbon tax on businesses at a time like this will kill off jobs.... Poilievre said that if elected Prime Minister, he would repeal the entire carbon tax while offering incentives for companies to reduce emissions. 'While the Liberals tax businesses who use energy, Conservatives will cut taxes and boost incentives for those who bring down emissions. Carrot, not stick,' Poilievre said.

"Speaking in London after a meeting with British PM Keir Starmer, Carney who has spent the past few days boasting about dropping the consumer carbon tax, said it was vital that there be a carbon tax on industry. Hang on a minute, until five minutes ago, the policy of the Liberal Party and a policy advocated by Carney was that a consumer carbon tax was vital....

"Carney said increasing the carbon tax on industries, like steel plants, is an economic opportunity that will create jobs. 'We have an enormous opportunity here in Canada. The United Kingdom has an enormous opportunity. France has an enormous opportunity. Europe has an enormous opportunity to leapfrog over American companies. They’re trying to turn back the clock and look inwards. We’re going to take that opportunity,' he said. Of course, if the polls change again and the Liberals are less popular, Carney’s answer and policy could change.... 

"While in London, Carney said that Poilievre couldn’t have the kinds of meetings he had on Monday, but Poilievre said that meetings on their own don’t produce jobs and economic opportunity.

“France signed a natural gas supply agreement with Qatar. We could be selling that gas,” Poilievre said while pointing out the Liberals have refused to approve LNG export terminals. We know they need our gas. Japan, Greece, Germany, France, and other countries, Ukraine, have all asked for our natural gas. But the radical net zero keep it in the ground ideology that has guided the Carney Trudeau Liberals for 10 years and caused the lost decade has prevented us from doing it,' Poilievre said.

"Carney did not get a deal to sell Canada natural gas when he was in Paris. In fact, he got photo ops and not much more. The British Prime Minister wouldn’t even hold a joint press conference with Carney.... 

"The biggest achievement Carney had on his European trip was showing arrogance and disdain when journalists asked about his significant investment and asset portfolio, now in a blind trust, and what potential conflicts of interest there might be. Carney lectured both Stephanie Levitz of the Globe and Mail and Rosemary Barton of CBC for daring to ask questions. He came off as arrogant and condescending to two of the people who will be covering him during the just-about-to-be-called election campaign. It wasn’t a good look for Carney and it wasn’t a good trip."

Read more: https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/lilley-pm-carney-has-it-all-wrong-with-industrial-carbon-tax

Lilley Unleashed: Carney's big carbon tax lie to Canadians | Toronto Sun | March 17, 2025:

Mark Carney leaves behind a record of failure

Far from being the rock star that his resume proclaims, Mark Carney is a self-regarding technocrat who has left a trail of failure and destruction in his wake.

Canada is about to discover Mark Carney is the man with the reverse Midas touch | The Telegraph | Matthew Lynn:

March 10, 2025 - "As Mark Carney succeeds Justin Trudeau as Prime Minister of Canada, he has made much of his credentials as a 'rock star' central banker and of his undoubtedly impressive collection of other grand-sounding jobs. There is just one snag. As it turns out, it takes only a cursory glance at his record to work out that Carney’s reputation is completely overblown.... 

CarletonU, Carney in 2020. Wikimedia Commons.

"If politics was simply a matter of CVs, then Carney would be ... one of the most qualified men ever to take charge of one of the West’s major democracies. A Goldman Sachs banker by training, he served as Governor of the Bank of Canada, before being persuaded by George Osborne to become the first foreigner to run the Bank of England. 

"Since then, he has distinguished himself as the leader of the Net Zero Banking Alliance, as a UN Climate Change Envoy, as chairman of the asset manager Brookfield, and of the financial news giant Bloomberg. He was, according to Osborne when he appointed him, 'the outstanding central banker of his generation'. 

"But the truth is rather less glamorous. Over eight years at the Bank of England, Carney was at best an indifferent Governor, and, at worse, a disappointing failure. Despite his huge salary of more than £600,000 a year, more than any of his predecessors had been paid, he seemed to have little feel for the role. The City quickly nick-named him 'the unreliable boyfriend' for his constant changes of direction on interest rates. 

"He printed too much money in the wake of the financial crisis, and then repeated the mistake all over again in the wake of the referendum on leaving the EU.... At the same time, regulatory standards were allowed to slide, and the City started to lose its role as one of the major global financial centres.... By the time he left office, Carney had created a mess which his successors have struggled to clear up.... Inflation spiked up to a peak of 11.1 per cent in the UK ... largely because the Bank had printed too much money.

"The years Carney spent running the Bank were characterised by stagnant growth, stalled living standards, and declining productivity, and while there are many explanations for that, the 'rock star Governor' clearly did nothing to improve the performance of the British economy. Even worse, he politicised the role, taking sides on the Brexit debate as one of the main authors of the ludicrously over-blown 'Project Fear' when it would have been far better to remain neutral, and then using his authority to endorse Rachel Reeves as Chancellor ... (a decision he surely regrets, since even many Labour MP’s now concede privately that Reeves has proved hopelessly out of her depth). Time and again, Carney has proved himself a man of high intelligence, but remarkably poor judgement.

"It has not gone much better since he left the Bank. Over the last year, his Climate Alliance has started falling apart. Created in the wake of the COP26 conference in Glasgow, it was designed to mobilise the power of private capital to pour hundreds of billions of dollars into accelerating the shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy. Yet in January this year, the Financial Times described the Alliance as 'unravelling' as a series of major banks including JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Citibank pulled out. 

"Carney is the epitome of a remote, globalised, technocratic elite. He is very good at self-promotion, at collecting trophy jobs, and of course [at] negotiating fabulously generous salaries and expenses for himself along the way. He is just not very good at delivering.

"Canada is facing a perilous moment in its history.... President Trump has turned on his northern neighbour, imposing steep tariffs on the country that threaten to wreck its economy.... GDP per capita has now been falling for six consecutive quarters.... It will take vision, courage and determination to overcome those challenges, and to steer a new course for the country. 

"Instead, Canada is going to get a self-regarding technocrat who may have plenty of connections but has left behind a trail of wreckage in every major job he has ever held. Carney may get a short term boost in the polls as he takes office, and may even win the general election later this year. Sure, PM will look good [on] the CV. But Canada will pay a high price for feeding his ego."

Read more: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/03/10/canada-is-about-to-discover-mark-carney-is-a-failure/

US, Canadian banks leaving UN Net Zero alliance

This year six major U.S. banks, and four of the Big Five Canadian banks, have announced plans to leave the UN-sponsored Net-Zero Banking Alliance. 

Banks quit Carney’s net zero alliance. Giving up net zero ideology should be next | Financial Post | Gina Pappano:

January 28, 2025 - "In November, InvestNow, the not-for-profit of which I’m executive director, submitted shareholder proposals to Canada’s Big Five banks asking them to exit both the Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) and the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) ... two interrelated, UN-sponsored, and Mark Carney-led organizations whose members pledge to align their lending, investment and other activities with decarbonization goals, including achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. As I wrote in these pages in December, 'Canadian banks should not pursue political or ideological goals at the expense of fiduciary ones. And they shouldn’t shun oil and gas.'

"Well, fast forward to January.... Six of the biggest U.S. banks have all announced they’re leaving the NZBA and four of the Big Five Canadian banks — BMO, CIBC,  Scotiabank and TD — have followed suit. Also, in perhaps the biggest defection of all, BlackRock has left the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative (NZAMI) — the asset management arm of the GFANZ. It is ironic that in the week Mark Carney announced his run for Liberal party leader, his most cherished project collapsed.

"Why have these banks fled the net zero alliances en masse? In the U.S., at least, it likely has to do with the new administration having indicated an interest in investigating ESG (environmental, social and governance) lending and investing practices as potentially constituting a fraud against shareholders and the economy.

"The U.S. banks have also been accused of collusion by the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee, on the grounds that their net zero policies, including divestment from oil, gas, and coal, have contributed to the big rise in energy prices since 2020. The committee found 'substantial evidence that a climate cartel of financial institutions' had engaged in 'anticompetitive collusion' by demanding that companies 'disclose, reduce and enforce' their net zero climate commitments....

"Both the American and Canadian banks have stressed that leaving NZBA won’t affect their net zero commitments or their determination to help achieve a 'net zero global economy,' which means drastically reducing oil and gas production and consumption over a very short period....

"Canadian banks should take what is happening in the U.S. as a warning. Maintaining their singular focus on decarbonization to achieve net zero leaves them open to charges of collusion, too. The real-world effect of their favoured policy is to eliminate oil and gas, one of Canada’s most productive and prosperity-creating sectors. Its elimination would be bad for bank shareholders and customers, industry in general, the economy and our entire country. Their continuing down this ideological path, which runs contrary to the interest of shareholders and the public alike, should prompt further investigation.

"InvestNow applauds the banks in both countries for exiting the net zero alliances as a first step towards moving past the madness of 'Net Zero by 2050.' But the fact that they remain committed to decarbonization, to net zero, and to the effective end of our natural resource sector demonstrates that our work is not done. Our banks need to ditch ideology and get back to serving the people of Canada and their interests."

Read more: https://financialpost.com/opinion/opinion-banks-quit-carneys-net-zero-alliance-zero-ideology

Canadian Banks ABANDON Carney’s Net Zero UN Plan in SHOCKING Move | The Elev8 Podcast | January 18, 2025:

Trudeau and Carney spread a conspiracy theory

First Justin Trudeau, and now Mark Carney, are pandering to the most unhinged elements of their base by spreading a baseless allegation against Pierre Poilievre.

Mark Carney, the conspiracy theory prime minister | National Post | Carson Jerema:

March 10, 2025 - "Mark Carney isn’t even prime minister yet, and he is already debasing the highest office in the land by giving oxygen to conspiracy theories. During his speech after winning the Liberal leadership on Sunday, he all but accused Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of being a national security threat, nodding to baseless allegations that have fermented online for months. Carney must have felt quite clever as he uttered: 'And now — and now — in the face of President Trump’s threats, Pierre Poilievre still — still — refuses to get his security clearance.' The soon-to-be sworn in prime minister didn’t offer any context or explanation or reasons why this matters. It is a line that the Liberals are increasingly using to imply that Poilievre somehow has something to hide....

"Poilievre has declined to receive a security briefing, which would require passing a clearance, but it has nothing to do with Donald Trump.... It is in relation to Chinese interference in Canadian elections, a reality that current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spent months dismissing as a non-problem, despite the fact there was evidence such interference was done to benefit the Liberal party. 

"When the scope of Chinese meddling in elections became widely reported in late 2022 and early 2023, Poilievre said he would decline security briefings that would detail top secret intelligence reports ... because receiving such briefings would have circumscribed what Poilievre could say about Chinese interference.... Poilievre believed, reasonably I would say, that any briefing offered would be used as a way for the government to get him to stop criticizing it over its lax attitude to election security. It is an argument that has been repeatedly endorsed by former NDP and Official Opposition leader Tom Mulcair. 'I think Poilievre was wise not to tie his hands,' he said last year.... 

"[W]hen this issue first emerged, in spring 2023, Poilievre hadn’t even been offered a briefing, so it was an entirely moot point. That didn’t, however, stop then-Liberal House Leader Mark Holland from attacking Poilievre on the matter, something which he later apologized for. Also, during this time, the most unhinged elements of Liberal party supporters were trading in wilder and more extreme allegations.... The suggestion quickly became that not only did Poilievre have something to hide, but that he was somehow involved in a vast global conspiracy, theories that grew increasingly dark. This is the constituency that Carney and other Liberals are nodding to. 

"On the weekend, Trudeau released a video attacking the Conservative leader, titled 'Why Won’t Pierre Poilievre Get His Security Clearance?' [see below]. In it, a grave sounding Trudeau talks about election interference, as if he takes it very seriously. 'Our intelligence agencies have confirmed this,' he says. 'But for some reason Poilievre refuses to listen to them.'

"Observing Liberals speak as if they are genuinely concerned about Chinese election interference is amusing. When the allegations first came to light, Liberals dismissed them as racially motivated, and accused Conservatives of using 'Trump-type tactics' for simply asking questions. MP Greg Fergus, who is now speaker of the House, suggested that media outlets reporting on the issue were the ones truly committing foreign interference.

"The argument that Poilievre isn’t receiving security clearance because he has something to hide was further debunked in January when it was revealed that CSIS had offered the Conservative leader a briefing without having to go through a clearance. He again refused because after receiving the briefing Poilievre would still 'be legally prevented from speaking with anyone other than legal counsel about the briefing,' a Conservative spokesman told CBC.

"Even so, the twisting of the truth continues as Liberals keep trying to leave the impression that Poilievre is some sort of existential threat to the country, without providing any evidence whatsoever. As deranged and as conspiracy theory inflected it is to make these allegations against Poilievre, there is a certain logic to it for the Liberals. It nods to the party’s fiercest, and most ridiculous, supporters online, while possibly s[o]wing doubt among centrist voters. Political usefulness aside, it is highly disreputable, especially coming from the man who will in short order become prime minister."

Read more: https://nationalpost.com/opinion/carson-jerema-mark-carney-the-conspiracy-theory-prime-minister

Why Won’t Pierre Poilievre Get His Security Clearance? | Justin Trudeau | March 8, 2025:

Trump, Carney both bad for Canada's economy

Trump's plans to restructure the U.S.A.'s economy will hurt Canada's. So will Mark Carney's carbon tax plans. 

Carney a threat to our economy, just like Trump | Toronto Sun | Brian Lilley:

February 23, 2025 - "As a country, we simply aren’t ready for what is coming from Washington. I’m not talking about the tariffs.... I’m talking about Trump’s changes to the American economy. 

"On Saturday, Trump was speaking to his most enthusiastic supporters at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland.... Once again, he made them a promise that should make every American excited.... 'To further, turbo charge our economy, we’ve launched the most aggressive deregulation program in any nation’s history, and we’re also going to be seeking the largest tax cuts in American history,' Trump said. 'We brought them down, as you know, from close to 40% down to 21% now we’re bringing them down to 15% if you make your product in the United States of America'.... 

"There are so many things in that brief snippet of Trump’s speech that should worry Canadian business and political leaders.... In Canada, we have a high regulatory burden and our biggest trading partner and competitor for investment is about to have a much lower burden. That will make Canada less attractive to investment and to executives making decisions on where to expand or locate plants. 

"The same on taxes. Right now, the effective corporate tax in Canada is 15% — the same level Trump wants to lower his rate to. For more than a century, Canadian industrial policy has sought to ensure a lower rate on corporate taxes as a way to attract investment and jobs. For the most part it has worked, but with an equal corporate tax rate, a reduced regulatory burden and the possibility of tariffs, the United States becomes more attractive ... unless we also change and radically alter our economic rules. 

"Sadly, we are about to get a new prime minister who doesn’t see that as the way forward. A few weeks ago in Halifax, Liberal leadership hopeful Mark Carney announced that he would get rid of the consumer carbon tax but then said he’d make up the difference by increasing the industrial carbon tax....Twice he mentioned steel companies as an example of the kind of big polluter he wants to pay for his program. 

"Steel companies create jobs, unlike Carney, and are already paying massively on the carbon tax. Take Algoma Steel in Sault Ste. Marie, which in the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2024, paid $24.6 million in carbon taxes on a net income of $105 million. Since then, the carbon tax already went up by 23% last April 1 and this coming April 1, it will see another increase of 19%.... [W]ere Algoma to produce the same amount of steel that they did in fiscal year 2023-24, they would be paying nearly $36 million annually in carbon taxes.... Algoma ... would likely shut down in the face of Trump’s changes and Carney’s foolish policy. Other players in the industry, like ArcelorMittal, which owns Dofasco, would likely just move production to their various American plants....

"Carney mocks the idea put forward by Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre that we need to axe the tax, but that is exactly what we will need to do. In the face of tariffs, but just as much in the face of Donald Trump’s remaking of the American economy, we will have no choice. 

"Actually, we will have a choice: We can stay with the status quo and sink into a recession and persistent economic decline, or we can start to rebuild our economy to compete and that includes not putting unnecessary costs on businesses and industry that will only chase away jobs and investment. Poilievre understands that; he gets that to compete in this new economic order being created by Trump that we need to unleash our own economy, diversify trade, and embrace Canada’s natural resource-based industries."

Read more: https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/carney-a-threat-to-our-economy-just-like-trump

LILLEY UNLEASHED: Carney’s bizarre plan to replace carbon with something worse | Toronto Sun | February 4, 2025:

Ruby Dhalla booted from Liberal leadership race

First it was Chandra Arya. Now Ruby Dhalla has also been disqualified from the Liberal Party of Canada leadership race. 

Ruby Dhalla kicked out of Liberal leadership race after 'extremely serious' violations: party | CBC News | Catharine Tunney & David Cochrane:

February 21, 2025 - "A Liberal Party of Canada committee voted unanimously on Friday to disqualify former MP Ruby Dhalla from the race to be the next leader. Azam Ishmael, the party's national director, said in a statement that the Liberal leadership vote committee determined she made 10 violations, some involving the party's leadership and expense rules.... A source, speaking on the condition they not be named, said Dhalla was also accused of failing to disclose the involvement of a non-Canadian citizen in her campaign, which the party alleges would amount to foreign interference if it happened during an election period.

Ruby Dhalla in 2012. Wikimedia Commons.

"Dhalla learned about her official disqualification live on television. After the initial story went up citing a source, Dhalla went on live with CBC's Power & Politics to defend herself. Just as the segment began, the Liberal Party sent out official word.... 

"'It is very alarming and very shocking,' she said. 'I think it speaks to the state of the Liberal Party of Canada that a candidate who is running to become leader of the party and running to be prime minister of our country is finding out she is being disqualified on air from an email that the media outlet that she is interviewing with has received.'

"Dhalla called the allegations against her 'fabricated, fictitious and fake' meant to 'complete Mark Carney's coronation' as leader. 'They did not want anyone challenging the front-runner, the blue-eyed boy, Mark Carney,' she said. 'I will not allow the Liberal Party of Canada or anyone, for that matter, to smear my name or to smear the name of the thousands of volunteers in our campaign'....

"The probe came after Elections Canada published the donation data it received from the candidates up until Feb. 9. The data showed 12 donations under a tab called 'Statement of Contributions returned to Contributors or Remitted to the Chief Electoral Officer.' Of the 12 names on the list, three pairs share the same last name and postal code. All 12 are recorded as donating $1,750, the maximum amount permissible by law....

"Under Canadian election law, couples are allowed to make separate donations using the same credit card. On Thursday, Dhalla campaign spokesperson Jacy Lafontaine said that 'six couples donated using the same credit card' and the party did not provide the required attestation forms at the time of donation

"Dhalla billed herself as a true outsider in the race to replace Prime Minster Justin Trudeau and pitched policies that broke with current Liberal doctrine.Among them are promises to deport illegal immigrants and impose life sentences for possession of hard drugs. Dhalla has also called for an 'economic czar' to identify waste and overspending and a new "health czar" to review the health-care system. She had met the party's steep entry fee of $350,000, a requirement to gain a spot in the official debates next week.

"Last month, Nepean MP Chandra Arya said he had been informed by the party that he wasn't permitted to run. The remaining candidates are former MP Frank Baylis, former central banker Mark Carney, former finance minister Chrystia Freeland and former House leader Karina Gould."

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/ruby-dhalla-liberal-leadership-1.7465430

Liberal Party Scandal: Ruby Dhalla Breaks Her Silence | Mario Saves Canada | February 25, 2025:

Chandra Arya kicked out of Liberal leadership race

Ontario Liberal MP Chandra Arya has announced, and a Liberal Party of Canada spokesman has confirmed, that he will not be allowed to run for Liberal leader. No reason was given. 

Arya says Liberals won't let him seek leadership, questions 'legitimacy of the next prime minister' | National Post | Sarah Ritchie:

January 26, 2025 - "One of the seven Liberal leadership hopefuls says the party is not allowing him to run.... Ontario member of Parliament Chandra Arya said the Liberal party informed him he’s out of the running to be its next leader. Arya, who was the first to announce his candidacy to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, said he is waiting on official communication from the Liberals and is considering his next steps.... 

Chandra Arya in 2017. Photo courtesy 

Presidential Office Building, Taiwan.

CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons.

“'This decision raises significant questions about the legitimacy of the leadership race and, by extension, the legitimacy of the next prime minister of Canada,' Arya said in a social media statement on Sunday. He did not elaborate on his concerns or provide reasons the party gave for declining his candidacy.

"Liberal party spokesman Parker Lund confirmed Arya would not be a candidate, citing a section of the national leadership rules that state a prospective candidate can be disqualified if they are found to be 'manifestly unfit for the office' of leader.... Lund did not say what specifically led to Arya being removed from the race.

"Arya was one of seven people who submitted paperwork and a refundable $50,000 deposit last week to enter the race.... Former finance minister Chrystia Freeland and former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney ... former Government House leader Karina Gould, MP Jaime Battiste and former MPs Ruby Dhalla and Frank Baylis have also submitted the paperwork to enter the race. The party has up to 10 days to approve the candidates.... 

"Arya made headlines early on in the race for saying he does not speak French and suggesting in an interview with the CBC that he didn’t think it was important to Quebecers that the prime minister speak the language."

Read more: https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/arya-liberal-leadership-out

Speak French, understand Quebec or don’t run for party leadership, some Liberals say | National Post | Antoine Trépanier & Stephanie Taylor: 

January 10, 2025 - "'Quebecers, like all Canadians, at the end of the day, they want to see the work to be done. It is not that whether you’re polished in French and English,' said Arya in an interview. 'What is important for Canadians is their prosperity, not for the current generation alone, but for the future generation. That is the thing that Quebecers and all Canadians look forward, and that’s what I’m going to deliver,' added the Ottawa MP....

"With several potential candidates still considering launching a leadership bid, bilingualism has emerged as one of the main criteria for entering the race."

Read more: https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/french-quebec-liberal-leadership

The coming of Kamala Carney

Social media has embraced Mark Carney for Liberal leader (and Prime Minister of Canada) with a fervor that recalls the boomlet for Kamala Harris last summer. But his victory is by no means assured.

by George J. Dance 

"May you live in interesting times," goes the ancient Chinese curse. Canadian politics has certainly got a lot more interesting this month.

Mark Carney at World Economic Forum, Davos, 2010. 

Photo by WEF. CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons.

Ten days ago I made a prediction that Trudeau would exploit the threat of Trump tariffs to stay on as Liberal leader and prime minister. In my opinion Trudeau is far too much the narcissist to voluntarily give up power. As well, I believed leadership candidate Mark Carney's claims that he was an "outsider" to the federal government, and thought the Liberal insiders would close ranks to stop him.

However ,while it is still way too early to say, and I am for now sticking with it, that part of my prediction appears to be wrong. It looks like Carney's path to the Prime Minister's office will be much easier than I had thought.

How did I go wrong? For one thing, I thought that Carney and Trudeau would be rivals, if not enemies. It turns out, though, that Carney has been on Team Trudeau for some time, serving as Justin's Special Adviser and Chair of the Liberal Task Force on Economic Growth since last September. I still find it inconceivable that Trudeau voluntarily give up power, but it is possible that he is being forced out, due to his abysmal polling numbers and/or pressure from Carney's colleagues in the United Nations (where Carney is Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance) or the World Economic Forum (where he is an Agenda Contributor and a Foundation Board member). 

Social media has embraced Carney with a fervor  that recalls the boomlet for Kamala Harris last summer. But his coronation is not a sure thing. For one thing, he has not even been officially approved as a candidate yet - no one has. Until the party announces an official list, there is no way of knowing even who will be on the ballot. 

The other announced candidates so far are all Members of Parliament (MPs): two of Trudeau's cabinet ministers and an assortment of his backbenchers. With Carney the perceived front runner, it is easy to imagine these MPs forming an ABC (anyone but Carney) alliance and depriving him of the win, just like what happened to Michael Ignatieff in his first run for the Liberal leadership. While Ignatieff did eventually win the leadership, his political fortunes never recovered after that loss; as leader, he was unable to unite the party, and he ended up leading the Liberals to a third-place finish in the next election. 

There is also the complication that, while the Liberals are charging the candidates $350,000 each to run, they are making party membership free. Until January 23, anyone can sign up and vote on the next Prime Minister; if I remember correctly, you don't even have to be a citizen. That seems like a play for a high number of votes, but it also looks like a call for every crank and right-wing troll to join the party. In such a milieu, who knows who will eventually emerge as the winner?   

There is even an outside chance that the race does not end with a clear winner, and has to be rescheduled. If so, that brings me back to my original scenario, with Justin Trudeau leading the party in one final campaign. 

We will just have to wait and see. I for one intend to keep a close eye on the Liberal race. 

We indeed live in interesting times.

Carney launches campaign with independent media ban

Mark Carney kicked off his leadership campaign with a press conference from which independent media were excluded. 

Carney bans independent media from campaign launch | True North | Quinn Patrick, True North Wire:

January 16, 2025 - "'You’re not welcome here,' was the message Liberal leadership candidate Mark Carney’s campaign team had for independent media journalists who tried to attend his launch in Edmonton, Alberta. 

Courtesy X.

"The former Bank of Canada and Bank of England Governor met with supporters to announce his leadership bid on Thursday.... While the event welcomed legacy media journalists, independent reporters were told they were not welcome and barred from entry.

"Police refused entry to True North’s Isaac Lamoureux after he arrived at the venue to cover Carney’s official campaign announcement. Other independent journalists including The Western Standard’s James Snell, The Counter Signal’s Keean Bexte and freelance reporter Mocha Bezirgan were also denied access.

"Police told Lamoureux he was not allowed to enter the premises after contacting event organizers who refused True North entry. Shortly thereafter, Lamoureux was asked to leave after organizers told police that he was 'not welcome.'  

"Bexte, who is an accredited journalist with the Alberta legislature, recorded a video of the incident."

Read more: https://tnc.news/2025/01/16/carney-bans-independent-media-campaign-launch/