Letters to the editor, May 21: ‘As predictable as the sunrise: an early elimination of the Leafs … and the election of another Liberal government'
Re 'Separate out' (Letters, May 16): So now we have Preston Manning, still with matches in hand, suggesting that the forest fire he's tried to light can best be contained with Danielle Smith's referendum backfire strategy.
Here's hoping that strategy backfires.
Steve Pedretti Toronto
I was pleased to read the sensible comments regarding Alberta separation by Jason Kenney and ATCO CEO Nancy Southern; much less so those of Preston Manning, who attempts a firefighting metaphor to justify Danielle Smith's words and actions.
But firefighters would never deliberately make it easier for a fire to start in the first place. They would have no hesitation in saying that, after all, their goal is to put it out.
Jamie Syer Mountain View County, Alta.
A letter-writer from Saskatchewan asks if he is an 'owner' of Alberta. I say yes, and so is every other Canadian.
Canada financed Alberta's development and connected it to the rest of the world, importing people and exporting its bountiful resources. All Canadians, through their elected representatives, would have to agree to any change to Alberta's status as a province within the federation.
Until then, nobody's going anywhere.
Jeremy Klein Ottawa
Re 'Canada Post receives strike notice, workers set to walk out on Friday' (Report on Business, May 20): Here we go again, another strike that seems to ignore the seriousness and causes of the situation Canada Post faces going forward.
Times, technologies and business models change all the time, and neither Canada Post nor the Canadian Union of Postal Workers have dealt with the problem in a timely fashion. I think the reality is that we do not need home delivery, and we probably don't need deliveries more than twice a week.
Shift and work flexibility are likely required, along with a timeline to either adapt successfully or wind up the business. We cannot afford the current system.
Richard Dean Sidney, B.C.
Re 'Mark Carney's bulky and performative cabinet' (May 14): What is considered 'performative' seems to be the 'identity politics' of 'reinstituted ministers responsible for women and gender equality, seniors, children and youth.'
As the term 'performative' is defined as something 'not sincere but intended to impress someone, prove something is true,' might the trade- and commerce-heavy cabinet also demonstrate the current desperate desire to exhibit a new concept of 'economy-signalling?'
Chester Fedoruk Toronto
Re 'The new math – the Carney math – of the new government" (Report on Business, May 16): The new cabinet is referred to as 'bloated' because there are 28 ministers and 10 junior ministers.
Does it matter what we call them? If there weren't 'junior ministers,' would there not have to be 'senior associate assistants' or some such?
If Mark Carney had named only 20 ministers, would that be 'lean?' Doesn't the same work still have to get done?
This debate reminds me of the old story about the guy buying a pizza: When the cook asks if he wants it cut into eight pieces, the fellow says, 'Oh, I'm not that hungry. Better cut it in four.'
Bob Rafuse Beaconsfield, Que.
Yes, it looks like the old Ford Model T, same as before. But let's give Canadians an opportunity to open up the hood for themselves: There is a brand new engine inside.
Let newly elected Mark Carney, with experience in crisis management, select the people he feels he needs.
Robert Marcucci Toronto
I recall some years ago visiting the British cabinet war rooms under Whitehall in London.
The war cabinet had five chairs at the table. Just saying.
A.S. Brown Kingston
As predictable as the sunrise: An early elimination of the Leafs from playoff contention, with solemn promises of big changes to come, and the election of another Liberal government – with solemn promises of big changes to come.
Even with a change of 'coaches' and the optimistic prospect of renewal, many of us pretend it will be different. But I can see it coming a mile away: the myopic focus on individual stats, or the convening of a comically wonky cabinet.
I am now inured to the idea of such predictable mediocrity deriving from two groups who never seem to manage to equal the sum of their component parts. We might be fooled yet again, but I think the certainty of knowing the ultimate inadequacy of both teams makes the eventual failure oddly reassuring.
Dave McClurg Calgary
Re 'After another Leafs playoff failure, let The Core Four era end' (Sports, May 20): I am not upset that the Leafs lost Game 7, it's that I am disappointed at how they played.
Laurie Kochen Toronto
I don't pretend to be a hockey mastermind, but I have wondered for several years why the Leafs haven't gotten rid of one or more of the Core Four. In spite of the brilliance of each player separately, their collective radiance hasn't jelled.
I was around the last time the Leafs won the Stanley Cup in 1967. It was a disappointing moment for a young Habs fan to watch the great George Armstrong hoist the vessel and parade it around the arena.
Things have changed hundreds of times since then, but the definition of failure remains doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. The Leafs should jettison that 'wisdom' and trade or buy out a couple of the Core Four.
A move like that would cause the entire bench to give its collective head a hard wake-up shake.
Nancy Marley-Clarke Cochrane, Alta.
My late dad George adored the Buds. Family first, the Leafs a close second.
Growing up in the 1950s, George's father was an academic type who couldn't understand the infatuation with the Leafs. So, logically, his father thought it would be good to take him to a game to see for himself it wasn't anything special.
I'm glad my Dad didn't see fans throwing jerseys at Game 7. Frustration sure, but that's just disrespectful to all involved. Shame on them.
Squeezing the sticks, melting under pressure: Yes, but that is a common thing and only the eventual champion can say they overcame these natural tendencies. I believe the Leafs will get there sometime soon, and it will be sweet.
Can't wait. Love to the Leafs, love to Dad.
Roger Wright Tokyo
With the Leafs eliminated yet again, have they announced the date that ticket prices will be hiked for next season?
Ian Campbell Toronto
Letters to the Editor should be exclusive to The Globe and Mail. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. Keep letters to 150 words or fewer. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. To submit a letter by e-mail, click here: letters@globeandmail.com
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Trump trade war: Alcohol sales dropped after provinces pulled U.S. products
An employee removes American wines from an SAQ liquor store in Montreal on Tuesday, March 4, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi Alcohol sales are down this year in Canada amid persisting economic uncertainty and a collapse in imports of beer, wine and spirits from the U.S. As U.S. President Donald Trump's global trade war marches on, provincial boycotts of American alcohol have begun to reflect in sales figures -- all amid a third financial crisis in five years for Canadian consumers. The available data show declining sales for alcohol of all kinds this year, compared to the same time in 2024 — down more than $100 million across six provinces in the last quarter alone. 'The consumer is just feeling very fragile,' said CJ Hélie, president of Beer Canada, a trade association for beer makers, in a Thursday interview. 'People are just pulling back on discretionary spending, and we're seeing that big-time. Real softness in the market.' With provincial retailers halting American alcohol purchases and pulling bottles from shelves earlier this year, Statistics Canada (StatCan) data show that in April, roughly $3 million in U.S. wine entered the country, down 94 per cent from $54 million for the same month in 2024. 'We are deeply concerned that U.S. tariffs on imported spirits from Canada and Mexico will significantly harm all three countries and lead to a cycle of retaliatory tariffs that negatively impacts our shared industry,' reads a joint statement from North American spirits industry groups on the eve of the trade war in February. 'Our industries have thrived due to the level playing field established across our borders.' While U.S. beer imports have seen a less pronounced decline, they also make up a fairly small portion of the Canadian market. 'In some cases for generations, some of these iconic American brands have been made in Canada,' Hélie told 'Your Bud Lights, your Michelobs, your Pabsts … they're made in Canada, almost all from Canadian grains, in our plants.' Beer Canada noted in a February release that of all the beer consumed nationwide last year, 88 per cent was made in Canadian breweries. Hélie says that for beer, the trade war's impacts have been most pronounced in the manufacturing process, where aluminum tariffs threaten to make it far more expensive to produce the billions of cans filled at plants each year. '[Brewers] saw this coming; they stockpiled as much as they could,' he said. 'We haven't seen that price spike yet, into the price of beer into the marketplace. But if you're thinking Labour Day, this isn't resolved … it's going to be catastrophic for lots of brewers.' Meanwhile, Canada has historically been the world's number-one buyer of American wines, accounting for roughly a third of the U.S. export market last year. But for the month of April 2025, data compiled by the American Association of Wine Economists shows that figure fell to just four per cent, following the steepest decrease in purchases among America's top 15 buyers. On the other end of the transaction, American wines accounted for one in every five bottles (20 per cent) purchased at Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) stores in early 2024, but by the same time this year, that proportion had dropped to 15 per cent, losing the U.S. its top spot for import sales. 'Wine firms here in the U.S. thought that a tariff on (imported) goods, including wine from Canada, would be a boon, but it has turned out the other way around,' said Karl Storchmann, executive director of the American Association of Wine Economists, in an interview with BNN Bloomberg last week. 'Canada pulled the plug.' Sales down across Canada Early numbers show declining alcohol sales across provincial retailers. Shortfalls in the opening months of 2025 range from roughly a tenth of a percentage point in New Brunswick, to eight per cent in Newfoundland and Labrador. In Quebec, the liquor control board attributed a recent trend toward lower sales including a $90-million drop last fiscal year at government and specialized network stores to 'changes in customers' shopping habits.' The latest numbers come from the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024-25, which varies by province, but generally ran from January to March, this year. Of the six provinces with available data, Nova Scotia was the only jurisdiction showing increasing sales, though the province's board notes that the total volume sold is still down nearly two per cent between last year and the year before that. Since March, the province says it has held roughly $14 million in U.S. products in storage, rather than selling it, and that sales for products made in Nova Scotia have grown nearly 14 per cent in that time. The Yukon Liquor Corporation told CTV News that U.S. imports made up 3.6 per cent of net sales in the territory between January and May of this year, down from 5.4 per cent for all of 2024. And in British Columbia, where Premier David Eby described his March order to pull U.S. products as a response to "escalating threats from south of the border," wholesale net sales of American alcohol are down three per cent for whisky, 23 per cent for wine and nearly 60 per cent for beer. Meanwhile, according to an emailed statement from the province's Liquor Distribution Branch, this April and May have seen 'increased customer interest and demand for products made in Canada.' While U.S. alcohol remains available under some circumstances, and imports have resumed in parts of the country, a 25 per cent tariff remains in effect on wine, spirits and beer crossing into Canada. The trade war isn't the only factor in decreasing alcohol sales. StatCan notes that, on a per-litre basis, they've been on the decline for years, even before Trump's return to the White House. Between the 2019-20 and 2023-24 fiscal years, alcohol sales revenue only grew by around two per cent annually, on average, even as prices per-bottle have risen, the agency notes. By volume, sales fell 3.8 per cent last year, in what a March release from StatCan called a "historic" drop. 'This was the largest volume decline ever recorded since Statistics Canada began tracking alcohol sales in 1949,' it read. To Hélie, recent declines are a sign that consumers have been reacting to years of economic challenges, from a massive drop in out-of-home dining amid COVID-19 restrictions, to the inflationary spike that followed as customers returned to restaurant tables — what he calls 'menu shock.' 'I'm going to go (from) $80 to $95 (for a night out), but that $95 meant I also had to cut out either the dessert, or the coffee, or the extra beer,' he said. 'We've seen that in the numbers, for sure.' With files from BNN Bloomberg's Jordan Fleguel
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Canada's liquefied natural gas touted — and doubted — as a green ‘transition' fuel
The LNG Canada industrial energy project is seen under construction in Kitimat, B.C., on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck CALGARY — Canada's first liquefied natural gas cargoes will soon arrive on Asian shores, a milestone touted — and doubted — as a boon for global emissions-cutting efforts. 'Cleaner energy around the world is what I think about when I think about LNG,' Shell Canada country chair Stastia West said in an onstage interview at the Global Energy Show in Calgary earlier this month. Shell and four Asian companies are partners in LNG Canada in Kitimat, B.C., the first facility to export Canadian gas across the Pacific in an ultra-chilled liquid state using specialized tankers. A handful of other projects are either under construction or in development on the B.C. coast. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith told the energy show that Canadian oil and gas exports can be an 'antidote' to the current geopolitical chaos. 'And it comes with an added benefit: lower global emissions. By moving more natural gas, we can also help countries transition away from higher emitting fuels, such as coal.' Smith cited a recent Fraser Institute study that suggested if Canada were to double its natural gas production, export the additional supply to Asia and displace coal there, it would lead to an annual emissions cut of up to 630 million tonnes annually. 'That's almost 90 per cent of Canada's total greenhouse gas emissions each year,' Smith said. The authors of the Fraser Institute study, released in May, argued that Canada's ability to reduce emissions elsewhere should be factored into its climate policy. 'It is important to recognize that GHG emissions are global and are not confined by borders,' wrote Elmira Aliakbari and Julio Mejía. 'Instead of focusing on reducing domestic GHG emissions in Canada by implementing various policies that hinder economic growth, governments must shift their focus toward global GHG reductions and help the country cut emissions worldwide by expanding its LNG exports.' Some experts see a murkier picture. Most credible estimates suggest that if liquefied natural gas were to indeed displace coal abroad, there would be some emissions reductions, said Kent Fellows, assistant professor of economics with the University of Calgary's School of Public Policy. But the magnitude is debatable. 'Will all of our natural gas exports be displacing coal? Absolutely not. Will a portion of them be displacing coal? Probably, and it's really hard to know exactly what that number is,' he said. Fellows said there's a good chance Canadian supplies would supplant other sources of gas from Russia, Eurasia and the Middle East, perhaps making it a wash emissions-wise. He said the Canadian gas could actually be worse from an emissions standpoint, depending on how the competing supply moves. LNG is more energy intensive than pipeline shipment because the gas needs to be liquefied and moved on a ship. In China, every type of energy is in demand. So instead of displacing coal, LNG would likely just be added to the mix, Fellows added. 'Anyone who's thinking about this as one or the other is thinking about it wrong,' Fellows said. A senior analyst with Investors for Paris Compliance, which aims to hold Canadian publicly traded companies to their net-zero promises, said he doubts a country like India would see the economic case for replacing domestically produced coal with imported Canadian gas. 'Even at the lowest price of gas, it's still multiple times the price,' said Michael Sambasivam. 'You'd need some massive system to provide subsidies to developing countries to be replacing their coal with a fuel that isn't even really proven to be much greener.' And even in that case, 'it's not as if they can just flip a switch and take it in,' he added. 'There's a lot of infrastructure that needs to be built to take in LNG as well as to use it. You have to build import terminals. You have to refit your power terminals.' What LNG would be competing head-to-head with, Sambasivam said, is renewable energy. If there were any emissions reductions abroad as a result of the coal-to-gas switch, Sambasivam said he doesn't see why a Canadian company should get the credit. 'Both parties are going to want to claim the emissions savings and you can't claim those double savings,' he said. There's also a 'jarring' double-standard at play, he said, as industry players have long railed against environmental reviews that factor in emissions from the production and combustion of the oil and gas a pipeline carries, saying only the negligible emissions from running the infrastructure itself should be considered. Devyani Singh, an investigative researcher at who ran for the Greens in last year's B.C. election, said arguments that LNG is a green fuel are undermined by the climate impacts of producing, liquefying and shipping it. A major component of natural gas is methane, a greenhouse gas about 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a 20-year time frame, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Methane that leaks from tanks, pipelines and wells has been a major issue that industry, government and environmental groups have been working to tackle. 'Have we actually accounted for all the leakage along the whole pipeline? Have we accounted for the actual under-reporting of methane emissions happening in B.C. and Canada?' asked Singh. Even if LNG does have an edge over coal, thinking about it as a 'transition' or 'bridge' fuel at this juncture is a problem, she said. 'The time for transition fuels is over,' she said. 'Let's just be honest — we are in a climate crisis where the time for transition fuels was over a decade ago.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 29, 2025. Lauren Krugel, The Canadian Press
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Interest in ‘elbows up' merchandise waning ahead of Canada Day, businesses say
Stephanie Tomlin stands for a portrait in her workspace where she prints Canadian-themed apparel, in Toronto, Friday, June 20, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston When Rachael Coe decided to launch an 'elbows up' merchandise line at her store in Yarmouth, N.S., in March, she said it was an immediate bestseller. Within a week, Coe said her Timeless Memories shop had already made 400 sales. By the end of the first month, she had sold 2,500 products ranging from T-shirts to hoodies to car decals. Demand for items bearing Canada's rallying cry against U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs and annexation threats was so high that Coe launched a website to keep up with the surge. 'It was a response from all over Canada,' she said. 'We reached every single province then we started covering worldwide. Our 'elbows up' merch went everywhere.' Many Canadian businesses hopped on the patriotic trend that also saw Ontario Premier Doug Ford wearing a 'Canada is not for sale' ball cap ahead of a January meeting with Canada's premiers and prime minister. But Coe's sales started slowing down by May. And despite a slight boost ahead of Canada Day, she said the 'elbows up' line is now selling at similar rates to the classic red-and-white merchandise she sells every year around this time. Although business owners say they are selling more Canada-themed products this year leading up to July 1, many have also noted a decline in 'elbows up' merchandise sales. The rallying cry, initially embraced as a grassroots movement at the height of cross-border trade tensions and Trump's musings about making Canada the 51st state, has shifted to a more generic expression of Canadian pride amid continued tensions, retailers and experts say. Others note that the phrase 'elbows up' has increasingly been used in a partisan context, contributing to the marketing shift. Stephanie Tomlin, Toronto-based owner of the online business Shop Love Collective, said she saw an explosion in 'elbows up' merchandise sales in March, selling as many as 10 or 15 products per day. Similarly, her sales began to stagnate in May. Leading up to Canada Day, she said she's selling 'quite a bit more' merchandise compared with previous years, but that's due to interest in Canada-themed products across the board. 'I think the climate in Canada is a little bit more settled after the election and that … we feel like we will never be the 51st state,' Tomlin said, adding that Canadian patriotism is becoming less combative as annexation talks have died down. Howard Ramos, a professor of sociology at Western University, said 'elbows up' became 'more partisan than it used to be' when Prime Minister Mark Carney embraced the phrase in his election campaign ads in late March. 'It's just added to how the expression is dying down as a pan-Canadian claim,' he said. 'Now you see on social media, especially from Conservative handles, the use of 'elbows up' in a sarcastic way to criticize Mark Carney or Liberal policies.' Negative online comments about the 'elbows up' movement have discouraged Coe from promoting her products on Facebook. But when she's interacting with customers in her Yarmouth shop, she said the phrase isn't as divisive. 'It's not a political term, and it simply means that you're defending your country, and everyone should be defending our country, just like you would defend (against) a goal in hockey,' Coe said. Danielle McDonagh, owner of Vernon, B.C.-based Rowantree Clothing, said she stopped promoting her 'elbows up' merchandise on a large scale when she noticed the phrase being interpreted as an 'anti-Conservative' and 'boomer' movement. For McDonagh, increased concern about the political climate in the United States has also chipped away at the lightheartedness of the 'elbows up' movement. 'I think some of the levity is gone for me,' she said. While sales of her 'elbows up' products have dropped by about 90 per cent since hitting 1,000 in the first month, she said she continues to promote the merchandise in small batches at local markets in Vernon. Business owners say their customers continue to prioritize supporting the Canadian economy, as they are routinely answering questions about where their products are manufactured. And the push to buy Canadian isn't just coming from this side of the border. Coe said many American tourists arriving by ferry from Maine visit her shop in search of Canadian merchandise. '(Tourists) want to support us just as much as Canadians want to support us,' Coe said. McDonagh said her business sees similar interest from Americans. 'I'm shipping a lot of Canada-centric merchandise to the States, which I just love,' McDonagh said. 'People chat with me on my site and say … we're supporting you." This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 25, 2025. Natasha Baldin, The Canadian Press
