logo
Braid: Ontario's Doug Ford buckles up for Stampede — and for Alberta's future

Braid: Ontario's Doug Ford buckles up for Stampede — and for Alberta's future

Calgary Herald20 hours ago
Premier Danielle Smith gave Ontario Premier Doug Ford a Stampede belt buckle.
Article content
With cameras rolling, the Progressive Conservative premier took off his belt and installed the buckle.
Article content
Article content
It's quite a show when Canada's top retail politicians get together.
Article content
But there's more than show biz going on here. We're watching a complete realignment of regional alliances and priorities.
Article content
Article content
Ford is all-in for a west-east oil pipeline. Ontario and Alberta officials talked seriously Monday of a new line to an Ontario port on James Bay.
Article content
Article content
In return for this enthusiastic backing, Smith promises her government will buy Ontario-made cars.
Article content
Manitoba NDP Premier Wab Kinew is open to a resource corridor and oil pipeline to Churchill or Port Nelson, on Hudson Bay.
Article content
There is now a bloc of four provinces, from Alberta to Ontario, whose premiers who want a pipeline that will finally get western energy to Europe.
Article content
Article content
There's never been anything quite like this friendly focus on Prairie concerns, even under the relatively benign PC Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.
Article content
Article content
Ford said: 'For far too long, for 10 years under prime minister Trudeau, they were treated terribly, the West was treated terribly.
Article content
'We've got to start showing respect,' he added, especially toward Saskatchewan and Alberta.
Article content
The strongest opposition to this new agenda anywhere in Canada might be within Prime Minister Mark Carney's own Liberal government.
Article content
Ex-environment Minister Steven Guilbeault is still there; so is Chrystia Freeland, Anita Anand, and many others who ardently pushed every element of Trudeau's anti-resource agenda.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Toronto saw lowest rent growth of all major Canadian cities in 2024: report
Toronto saw lowest rent growth of all major Canadian cities in 2024: report

CTV News

time19 minutes ago

  • CTV News

Toronto saw lowest rent growth of all major Canadian cities in 2024: report

Condominiums and the CN Tower are shown along the Toronto skyline on Tuesday, April 25, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston Toronto saw the lowest rent growth among all major urban centres across the country in 2024 due, in part, to rising vacancy rates in the city, a new report has found. Released by the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation on Tuesday, the Fall 2024 Rental Market Report showed that for purpose-built rental apartments in the city, rent rose by 2.4 per cent annually in 2024 for a two-bedroom unit, down from 8.7 per cent a year earlier. 'Toronto had the lowest rent growth among major (Census Metropolitan Areas). This is the result of rising vacancy rates and a low turnover rate, which declined further in 2024. For occupied units under rent control, landlords had limited ability to raise rents beyond the provincial guideline,' it read. 'Moreover, with a record increase in the supply of rental apartment condominiums, landlords in the purpose-built sector prioritized keeping existing tenants by taking a more cautious approach to rent increases.' According to the report, the vacancy rate for purpose-built rentals in Toronto rose to 2.3 per cent in 2024, slightly higher than the 10-year historical average. 'An elevated number of condominium projects were completed in the City of Toronto over the past year, with 45% of their units rented out,' it noted. 'This led to a significant influx of condominium rentals in the area, providing much greater choice to renters. Faced with more competition, new purpose-built rental units remained vacant for longer, according to local market intelligence.' In and around Toronto's downtown core, there was an average annual rent reduction of about one per cent for condo apartments, the report said. Vacancy rates were also higher in suburban areas of the GTA, including Durham, York, Peel, and Halton regions. According to the report, those areas saw a 3.3 per cent vacancy rate for purpose-built rentals as 'supply outpaced growth in demand.' The report states that vacancy rates are expected to rise in most major markets in 2025. 'Sluggish job markets and decelerating migration are creating challenging environments for landlords and property managers,' it said. According to the report, while the slower rent growth in Toronto represents 'a modest improvement in rental affordability following years of erosion,' affordability challenges persist in the city. For more affordable units, turnover reached a 'new low,' as existing tenants face a 28 to 43 per cent premium to rent a vacant unit at the market rate, the report notes. 'Supply remained scarce for low-income renters, with a vacancy rate of only 0.4% for the least expensive units,' the report said.

Immigration grew six times faster over past decade: Study
Immigration grew six times faster over past decade: Study

Toronto Sun

time31 minutes ago

  • Toronto Sun

Immigration grew six times faster over past decade: Study

Fraser Institute study blamed unchecked Trudeau-era immigration policies for recent spike in unsustainable immigration International arrivals at Toronto's Pearson airport. Photo by Jack Boland / Toronto Sun OTTAWA — Canada's immigration levels grew six times faster over the past decade than it did from the turn of the century, says a new Fraser Institute study. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account The numbers, which include temporary foreign workers and international students, are contained in a new report entitled Canada's Changing Immigration Patterns, 2000–2024. 'Immigration, after 2000 and especially after 2015, is characterized by substantial increases in the absolute number of immigrants admitted, as well the share admitted as temporary foreign workers and international students,' authors Jock Finlayson and Steven Globerman wrote in the study. Between 2000 and 2014, annual immigration in Canada was around 618,000 people, but between 2016 and 2024 — excluding the pandemic-impacted 2020 — immigration more than doubled to around 1.4 million annually. These increasing numbers can be directly attributed to changes in government policy, the study points out — specifically mentioning 2014's International Mobility Program (IMP), which allowed employers to fill gaps in lower-paying jobs with temporary foreign workers. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'A key development shaping immigration policy under the Liberal government of former prime minister Justin Trudeau was the work done by the Advisory Council on Economic Growth, appointed in early 2016, ' the study states, adding the Trudeau government welcomed their recommendations enthusiastically. The council called for stark increases in permanent immigration to Canada, increasing from 300,000 per year in 2016 to 450,000 in 2021 — as well as increasing the share of economic migrants admitted into Canada. 'At the same time, Ottawa stepped away from providing meaningful policy and administrative oversight of the burgeoning international education 'industry,'' the study continued. 'Thanks to this hands-off approach, Canadian universities, colleges, and technical and language schools ramped up enrollment of international students, essentially without limit.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Unchecked immigration and international student enrollments greatly contributed to Canada's cost-of-living and housing crisis, with foreign students snapping up the limited number of housing rentals and part-time jobs in many cities. Foreign students not fortunate enough to find housing ended up in shelters and even living rough on the streets, relying on social services and food banks to support their studies. As the pandemic response began ramping down in 2021, demand for workers prompted employers and lobbyists to push for even easier measures to hire foreign workers, particularly those in hard-hit industries like hospitality, retail and leisure. Rules limiting employment hours for international students were also loosened, allowing them to work up to 40 hours per weeks. At the same time, the federal government used international students with Canadian credentials and so-called 'temporary' foreign workers with Canadian experience to meet its aggressive permanent immigration targets. 'In fact, more than half a million holders of a temporary visa transitioned to permanent residency status between 2021 and the end of 2023, representing one third of total admissions over that period,' the study stated. bpassifiume@ X: @bryanpassifiume Canada Canada Toronto Blue Jays Canada Sunshine Girls

Post-Singh soul searching: NDP launches summerlong ‘review and renewal' process
Post-Singh soul searching: NDP launches summerlong ‘review and renewal' process

CTV News

time31 minutes ago

  • CTV News

Post-Singh soul searching: NDP launches summerlong ‘review and renewal' process

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is joined by NDP MP Don Davies, right, and Canadian Labour Congress's Siobhan Vipond, as he speaks at a news conference in the Foyer of the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang Ten weeks after a disastrous election outcome that saw the federal New Democrats lose most of their seats, the party is launching a 'review and renewal process' before triggering its next leadership race. The post-defeat soul searching is slated to last all summer long, with consultations stretching into the fall, aimed at reflecting on the 2025 campaign to 'help shape a path forward for the party to continue delivering real relief for Canadians.' Former NDP candidate and Ottawa lawyer Emilie Taman has been appointed to facilitate this process. 'Our party has both an opportunity and a responsibility to reflect on its work — to critically assess the 2025 election campaign so we can build on what was successful and better understand what wasn't, with the goal of coming back stronger and better for the next campaign,' Taman said in a statement. According to the party, Taman will orchestrate 'guided discussions' with riding associations and campaign teams, as well as 'listening sessions' with former candidates and the party's equity and executive bodies. There will also be a series of 'one-on-one meetings' with current and past MPs, stakeholders, and key campaign staff that inform this review. The party is inviting members to share their feedback by email, or through an online survey, before Sept. 19. That input will inform a written report the NDP promises to share with New Democrats before the end of 2025. 'This is a unique moment in our party's history,' Taman said. 'I look forward to hearing from everyone who cares deeply about the future of the NDP.' No timeline for new leader After repeatedly asserting national polling wasn't fully capturing the party's regional support, and downplaying concerns about an NDP collapse while on the campaign trail, Jagmeet Singh announced his resignation on election night. In the aftermath of Singh losing his seat and the NDP losing official party status, several top campaign officials, including national campaign lead Jennifer Howard, have stepped down. Interim leader Don Davies — one of seven NDP MPs re-elected to the House of Commons — has since focused his rebuilding efforts on reconnecting with working people. With this review now set to play out for months, the timing for a leadership race to name Singh's permanent successor remains up in the air. Last week, NDP spokesperson Nina Amrov said those rules will be made public once they're set but wouldn't commit to a timeline. 'We look forward to a dynamic race with an exchange of ideas between candidates and party members about the NDP's path forward,' she said in an email.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store