Latest news with #TimHouston
CBC
10 hours ago
- Business
- CBC
Ford praises Carney after late-night fireside chats at Muskoka cottage
Social Sharing It may not be the sunny ways government, but some premiers certainly seem to be feeling sunny about the future. And that's despite troubled trade negotiations with the United States and the worsening effects of that country's tariffs on Canadian businesses. Still, provincial premiers have nary seemed so cheerful about their own relationships to each other — and the federal government. "First off, isn't it great? Like, these are such important relationships for Canadians and we're all kind of binding together and spending time together," said Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston in response to a question about what has been achieved in the three meetings premiers have so far held together since Mark Carney became prime minister. Premiers typically get together about once a year, and even more rarely with the prime minister present. Houston was speaking in Huntsville, Ont., where Ontario Premier Doug Ford has been hosting this year's premiers' meeting, which Carney attended on Tuesday. Both Houston and Ford — two conservative leaders — heaped praise on Carney in news conferences at the cottage country gathering. Houston listed the passage of Bill C-5, Carney's internal trade and major projects legislation aimed at creating "one Canadian economy," as one of the accomplishments achieved thanks in part to better relations with and between Canadian first ministers. But perhaps most notable was Ford's near soliloquy about the night Carney spent at his cottage. WATCH | 'He's humble, he listens,' says Ford of Carney: Ford says Carney stayed over at his Muskoka cottage Monday night 3 hours ago Ontario Premier Doug Ford, speaking to reporters at the end of Day 2 of the first ministers' meeting in Huntsville, Ont., says he and the prime minister were up past midnight 'chatting by the fireplace, solving the world's problems.' Just as Ford was preparing to wrap up a news conference held with Quebec Premier François Legault, a reporter shouted a question about Carney's dinner invitation to Ford's Muskoka home on Monday. "Full disclosure, the prime minister stayed up at my place," Ford said. "We had dinner, we were up 'til 12:30 at night, chattin' in front of the fireplace, solving all the world's problems." Legault, seemingly amused, leaned into the microphone to interrupt Ford: "A very nice, small chalet," he said. "Yeah, yeah I have a little shack up — down the street, there," Ford said. 'The most humble person you'd ever want to meet' Undeterred, he continued. "The prime minister is the most humble person you'd ever want to meet," Ford said. The Ontario premier went on to list Carney's roles at Goldman Sachs, Brookfield, Bloomberg and as governor of the Bank of Canada and Bank of England. Ford said he'd never heard the prime minister name drop any of them, perhaps a surprising feat given how much Carney's resumé featured in the federal election. "I'd hand the keys of a business over to the prime minister," Ford said. "He has his hands full because of the last 10 years of what has happened in our country…. He doesn't need to be doing this, I can assure you that. But he's given it everything he possibly can." Legault could be heard chuckling as he followed Ford off the stage. It's not the first time Ford and Houston showed Carney their support in direct or indirect ways. During the federal election, Ford was critical of Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's campaign. And less than a week before election day, on the eve of Poilievre's visit to Nova Scotia, Houston released a campaign-style video on social media, prompting some to wonder whether he was eyeing Poilievre's job. The two Progressive Conservative premiers have sought to distinguish themselves from the federal Conservatives, but such transparent support for the Liberal leader is relatively new. "I actually have tremendous confidence in the prime minister, and the team that is representing us as Canadians, to look at all of the factors and the moving parts, and come up to the best deal for Canadians," Houston said. Ford has said he supports dollar-for-dollar tariffs, while Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith have said the impact of tariffs on U.S. consumers should be enough to force President Donald Trump to change his approach. What all the premiers do agree on is that they don't want to force a trade deal with the U.S. at all costs. If there is no deal that can benefit Canada, they want to focus on internal trade, "national interest projects" and diversifying trade with other countries. "It's still government in many ways. But I will say that the urgency is felt and I'm personally, as a Canadian, incredibly optimistic about the future of this country," Houston said.
CBC
15 hours ago
- Politics
- CBC
N.S. premier says he's not 'focused on the date' of U.S. trade deadline
Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston said Tuesday that it's 'really important for us to get the best deal for Canadians,' and that he's 'confident' in the abilities of the prime minister.
CTV News
2 days ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Nova Scotia premier misses Halifax Pride parade for second consecutive year
Revellers participate in the annual Halifax Pride parade in Halifax on Saturday, July 23, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese HALIFAX — Nova Scotia's premier was absent from this weekend's Halifax Pride parade, marking the second year in a row he has missed the largest LGBTQ+ celebration in Atlantic Canada. Fiona Kerr, executive director of Halifax Pride, says the Progressive Conservatives did not participate in the parade because they were late to register and float spots had filled up. Catherine Klimek, a spokesperson for Premier Tim Houston's office, says the PC Party was on the wait-list for Saturday's parade, but she did not immediately answer when asked if he had tried to join another group's float. Houston says he missed last year's Pride parade because the RCMP had warned of potential disruptions from protesters. The last time Houston marched in the parade was in 2022, and the event was cancelled in 2023. Nova Scotia's NDP and Liberal parties each participated with a parade float this weekend, leaving the Progressive Conservatives as the only major political party not represented. Klimek says the premier spent his Saturday at an annual stock car race in Antigonish, N.S. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 21, 2025.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Nova Scotia vowed to stop spending in the U.S. Here's how that's going
As U.S. President Donald Trump released his latest threat of a 35 per cent tariff on Canadian goods starting Aug. 1, Premier Tim Houston issued a statement calling the announcement from the White House "childish bullying" and said provincial procurement measures will stay in place. In February the province said it would "limit access" to provincial procurement for American businesses. Last week the province made data available to CBC News showing a breakdown of public tenders since last November by the winning vendor's location. Out of 1,226 tenders awarded between Nov. 1, 2024, and June 19, 2025, 966 of them — or about 79 per cent — went to companies that said they were based in Nova Scotia. Twelve per cent, or 146 tenders, went to Ontario companies. Companies based in the United States were awarded 21 tenders — just under two per cent. One tender was awarded to a company based in Berlin. Contracts include hospital food, pump track Of the 21 contracts that went to suppliers based in the U.S., the largest was for just over $1 million to Sara Lee Frozen Bakery of Illinois, to supply food for health-care facilities starting in April 2025. That contract was procured by a group purchasing body that works for hospitals across Canada. Some other examples of public tenders that went to American companies included $539,000 to a Colorado firm to provide short-term rental compliance and monitoring services to the Department of Municipal Affairs and Housing, and a Halifax contract worth $535,000 for a Missouri company to design and build a pump track for cycling in Bedford. In April, the province told CBC it had backed away from 11 contracts worth about $130,000. However, Premier Tim Houston defended sticking with an American company that was awarded a $70-million contract to work on the Macdonald bridge spanning Halifax harbour, saying there is no local option to do the work. MORE TOP STORIES Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Nova Scotia vowed to stop spending in the U.S. Here's how that's going
As U.S. President Donald Trump released his latest threat of a 35 per cent tariff on Canadian goods starting Aug. 1, Premier Tim Houston issued a statement calling the announcement from the White House "childish bullying" and said provincial procurement measures will stay in place. In February the province said it would "limit access" to provincial procurement for American businesses. Last week the province made data available to CBC News showing a breakdown of public tenders since last November by the winning vendor's location. Out of 1,226 tenders awarded between Nov. 1, 2024, and June 19, 2025, 966 of them — or about 79 per cent — went to companies that said they were based in Nova Scotia. Twelve per cent, or 146 tenders, went to Ontario companies. Companies based in the United States were awarded 21 tenders — just under two per cent. One tender was awarded to a company based in Berlin. Contracts include hospital food, pump track Of the 21 contracts that went to suppliers based in the U.S., the largest was for just over $1 million to Sara Lee Frozen Bakery of Illinois, to supply food for health-care facilities starting in April 2025. That contract was procured by a group purchasing body that works for hospitals across Canada. Some other examples of public tenders that went to American companies included $539,000 to a Colorado firm to provide short-term rental compliance and monitoring services to the Department of Municipal Affairs and Housing, and a Halifax contract worth $535,000 for a Missouri company to design and build a pump track for cycling in Bedford. In April, the province told CBC it had backed away from 11 contracts worth about $130,000. However, Premier Tim Houston defended sticking with an American company that was awarded a $70-million contract to work on the Macdonald bridge spanning Halifax harbour, saying there is no local option to do the work. MORE TOP STORIES
