Latest news with #Trudeau
CTV News
6 hours ago
- Business
- CTV News
Expert says Canadians ready for increase in military funding
University of Calgary political science associate professor Jean-Christophe Boucher speaks with Alberta Primetime host Michael Higgins about Canada's commitment to increased defence spending. This interview has been edited for clarity and length. Michael Higgins: This is being described as the biggest increase for Canada since the Second World War. How would you describe this as a turning point for the Canadian Armed Forces? Jean-Christophe Boucher: It's long overdue. For several years now, experts and even allies have suggested that Canada's defence spending was too low for the kind of commitments we wanted to make in the world. The Trudeau government increased those budgets a little bit, but now this is a major inflection point where we're moving into an environment where there's going to be a lot of dollars put on defense spending, a lot new platforms, a lot of transformation in the forces and how we think about defense policy in Canada. I think this is a significant increase. MH: Obviously the military is at the centre of this, but how far do you see this extra funding extending? Where could all of these dollars end up going? JCB: The Government of Canada said they're going to spend 3.5 per cent on defence spending and 1.5 per cent on capital spending associated with national security. There hasn't been a lot of detail on what that 3.5 per cent has been for. A suggestion, for example, was that we would fold the Coast Guard into that funding — the Americans do this. So, there's some moving budget lines between Excel spreadsheet columns. I don't think some of it will not be new money, but there's indications that we're going to start to increase funding for platforms or for different kinds of things, maybe new submarines. There are also conversations in Ottawa about cloud sovereignty, AI sovereignty, and that would be part of the funding. So there's a lot of new things that we want to do in the defence environment that will be part of that funding. MH: But it could extend beyond defense, though, could it not? JCB: Absolutely. So maybe we won't really see this, but right now in Ottawa, everything that touches foreign policy is on the draft block. The Carney government right now wants to push a new foreign policy document, which hasn't been done since the (Paul) Martin years, so that's 20 years ago. There's also a new national security document that's coming in. So although the 3.5 per cent on defence is really kind of the first big announcement on defence policy, we're going to see investment on national security conceived largely in borders, infrastructures, A.I. All across the board, all departments that touch national security or international security in a certain fashion will see their spending increase. That means public safety and a lot of other actors in that ecosystem. So we're going to see a massive change in foreign policy, in our posture and how we're doing things, but also a lot of new money into those capabilities. My sense is that, in the next couple of years, we'll see a much more competent Canada, but also a more assertive one. MH: How do you see Canadians responding to such an expansive change? JCB: For a long time, the common wisdom was that Canadians didn't like defence spending. What I find interesting is that at the University of Calgary, we have had a seven-year look at public opinion on national defence, and what we've seen consistently for the last five years is that Canadians are ready to spend more on defence. In fact, when we're asking Canadians, 'Would you be willing to increase defence spending a lot more?' People would say yes, even more in Quebec than elsewhere. I think when we're looking into this, it also is tied to how Canadians are perceiving the international system. The last couple of years we've seen actors like Russia, like China, like Iran, a lot more aggressive in international space and challenging Western rule-based order. We're seeing right now the United States is less willing to sustain that environment, and somehow Canada now is stuck in an environment where it has to fend for itself. So Canadians have been responding to this, and we've seen this in the polls. I'm not seeing a lot of opposition to that spending. I think most Canadians are ready for that. MH: Does the rest of the world, friend or foe, respond in kind with military buildup to match NATO? What kind of global defence or threat environment could all of this create? JCB: Everywhere in the world there's increased defence spending, not just in Russia or in China, but also amongst NATO allies. Some of the neighbours of Russia for example, Poland or the Baltic states are spending almost four per cent of their GDP on defence. It makes sense because they're bordering Russia, but even in Germany, and France and Japan. Everywhere in the world, people are increasing their spending. It's important for Canada too, because when we go abroad and when we try to co-operate and collaborate with these actors, the first question is always, 'Canada's here. What can you do?' If we have no money or no capabilities, then our capacity to shape these relationships is limited. People are saying, 'Canada is nice, but they can't commit anything'. Whereas now, because our capabilities will increase and because our allies will also increase their capabilities, it means that we'll have a more assertive Western alliance. It also means that we're going to be able to move away from a U.S.-centric environment into a much more multilateral world. MH: The military obviously has a significant presence in our province, CFB Edmonton, Camp Wainwright — maybe most notably Fort Wayne Cold Lake, Canada's busiest fighter base. What is this NATO commitment going to mean for military installations in Alberta? JCB: A couple of things. There are indications that salaries within the Armed Forces will grow. I think that's good news. There's a lot of indications that those didn't match Canadian wages. There's also a lot of these installations and capabilities that are still lagging behind, or they need to be improved, so I think we're going to see spending all across the board, not just on defence or bases but also in our industry. When we listen to the Carney government, they're talking about A.I. cloud computing, they're talking about all sorts of investment in all areas of our defence industry from satellites to bullets and ammunition. So all across the spectrum, across the defence industry, we're going to see a lot of investment into those environments and some trickle down right into our province.
Toronto Sun
6 hours ago
- Business
- Toronto Sun
OPINION: Shakedown attempt by Canada Post underscores need for privatization
Canada Post distribution centre Lléo Blanchette on Friday May 23, 2025. Canada Post averted a nation wide strike on Friday as union employees implemented work to rule pressure tactic. Photo by Pierre Obendrauf / Montreal Gazette For the second time in just six months, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) is threatening strike action. As Canadians know all too well, postal strikes can be highly disruptive, given that the federal government provides Canada Post with a near-monopoly on letter mail across the country. CUPW is well aware of this and uses that to its advantage in negotiations. While CUPW has the right to ask for whatever it wants, Canadians should finally be freed from this albatross. 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 In January, the Trudeau government loaned Canada Post a whopping $1.034 billion to help 'maintain its solvency and continue operating.' Since 2018, Canada Post has lost more than $4.6 billion and according to its latest financial update, it lost more than $100 million in the first quarter of 2025 alone. Canadians are on the hook for these losses because the federal government owns Canada Post. Salaries and other employee costs comprise more than 6% of Canada Post's expenses and CUPW and Canada Post management both know they can simply pass any losses on to Canadians. Consequently, there's less incentive for management to control the bottom line or make reasonable budget requests when negotiating with the government. But, if the government privatizes Canada Post, it will impose a proper constraint on costs that doesn't currently exist. This is only fair given there's no compelling reason why Canadians should underwrite the inflation of salaries in a money-losing Crown corporation. 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. Of course, government ownership of Canada Post is archaic. When the organization was founded more than 250 years ago, the world was quite different. In today's age of Amazon, a plethora of delivery services exist coast-to-coast that serve Canadian consumers. Other countries, including the Netherlands, Austria and Germany, long ago privatized their postal services. The result was increased competition, which in turn reduced prices and improved quality. Alongside privatization, the federal government should also eliminate Canada Post's near-monopoly status on letter mail. This policy is purportedly meant to ensure universal service. But, in reality, it prohibits other potential service providers from entering the letter-delivery market (including in remote areas that may experience less Canada Post service post-privatization), deprives Canadians of choice and, crucially, reduces the incentive for Canada Post to improve its service. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Simply put, the federal government should focus on its core responsibilities and delivering mail is clearly not one of them. Given Canada Post's latest attempted shakedown of Canadians, it's never been clearer that it's time for Canada Post to go the way of Air Canada, de Havilland and CN Rail. Once upon a time, the federal government owned all three of these entities, until it became clear there was no reason for the government to own an airline, build planes or deliver goods by train. Why is letter mail any different? Canadians deserve better. Alex Whalen and Jake Fuss are research directors at the Fraser Institute Sports Money News MLB Toronto Maple Leafs Editorial Cartoons
Globe and Mail
6 hours ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
How much longer will Ottawa keep blundering on tech policy?
Michael Geist holds the Canada Research Chair in internet and e-commerce law at the University of Ottawa's faculty of law. After years of dismissing the warnings of likely retaliation, the Canadian government caved to U.S. pressure earlier this week as it cancelled the digital services tax. Faced with the U.S. suspension of trade negotiations, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced that the government would rescind the legislation that created it. The government was in a no-win situation: stick with the DST but face the prospect of higher tariffs, or embarrassingly drop it (and lose the projected $7.2-billion in revenue over five years) before the U.S. would agree to restart negotiations. Given the importance of a broad-based trade deal with the U.S., cancelling the DST is understandable, even if it exposes Canada's weakness in the sprint toward a final trade agreement. But more troubling is what might be characterized as a different Canadian DST: digital strategy trouble. If the digital tax debacle sounds familiar, it is because the Canadian government's misreading of the tech sector has become a recurring problem. Time and again, government leaders talk tough when proposing digital policy, practically dare companies and foreign governments to push back, and then frantically seek an exit strategy when they do. That was certainly the case with the trio of internet laws that formed the foundation of Canadian digital policy under the Trudeau-led government. The internet streaming bill, touted as an update of Canada's broadcasting laws, first became mired in controversy over regulation of user content, and later bogged down in the courts when, as promised, internet streaming companies challenged the law. Years after its introduction, the law has generated no new revenues and it could become a future target for Trump trade threats. Robyn Urback: The digital services tax was bad policy, but killing it now makes us look terribly weak Soon after, the Online News Act sparked heated opposition from the two targets – Meta Platforms Inc. and Google Inc. The government dismissed the risk of the companies blocking news links in response to the legislation, yet two years after the bill became law, news links are still blocked on Facebook and Instagram and the government was forced to revamp its legislation through regulation to get Google on board. Most recently, the government ignored the critics who warned that it was overreaching with its online harms legislation. Sure enough, the bill never even made it to committee for further study as even the government's late concession to carve out controversial Criminal Code and Human Rights Act provisions proved too little too late. Ottawa pressed to split online harms bill to fast-track its passage Beyond those laws, the government's AI legislation found little support, leading Evan Solomon, the new Minister of AI and Digital Innovation, to acknowledge that it had 'overindexed' on regulation. In other words, dismissing the concerns of AI companies created new risks of reduced investment and a declining role for Canada in the AI space. Unfortunately, there are signals that this troubling strategy will continue. The Bill C-2 lawful access provisions create significant new costs and scope in surveillance requirements that may leave Canadian and foreign companies in legal quagmires where they cannot comply with both Canadian and U.S. laws. The opposition to the bill is likely to mount in the fall until the government tries to find a way out. Further, last week the government released a joint statement with the European Union that says Canada and the EU will 'align our frameworks and standards in the regulatory field, to make online platforms safer and more inclusive, to develop trustworthy AI systems and to establish interoperable digital identities and digital credentials to facilitate interactions between our citizens and our businesses.' This suggests more of the same moves by governments on online harms, AI regulation and speech regulation. The government has too often viewed the tech sector primarily as a source of revenue for policy projects – 'make web giants pay' – while overestimating the attractiveness of the Canadian market and underestimating the risks of costly regulation. There is an obvious need for smart tech regulation, starting with doing a better job of protecting the things that matter – Canadians' privacy, data sovereignty and marketplace fairness through robust competition laws. But the strategic blunders that culminated in the embarrassing decision to cave on the DST must lead to internal acknowledgment of a failed approach. When even your marquee policy for collecting revenues from the world's leading tech companies crashes, it is time to admit that Canada desperately needs a tech regulation reset.
Toronto Sun
a day ago
- Politics
- Toronto Sun
GUNTER: What to make of a spike in national pride this Canada Day
Donald Trump is a huge reason for the shift toward more patriotic feelings Edmontonians take in Canada Day celebrations at the Alberta Legislature, Monday July 1, 2024. Photo by David Bloom / Postmedia We Canadians are prouder to be Canadian this Canada Day than we were last July 1. 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 Thanks, Donald Trump, and your repeated boorish taunts about Canada becoming the 51st state. But thanks, too, to Justin Trudeau for leaving the P.M.'s job. The former prime minister was not proud of Canada for what it was. He called the country 'genocidal' and 'colonial.' And he offered a very weak defence against mobs that tore down statues of prominent historical figures like John A. Macdonald and Queen Victoria, or burned historic churches. Trudeau seemed to apologize for everything that had ever been done by the federal government before he became PM (And nothing while he was prime minister.) His constant apologies undermined public faith in the nation. So the recent surge in pride in the country may have as much to do with Trudeau leaving and taking his disappointment with him, as it does with Trump coming in and disparaging our independence. 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. An extensive new survey by Abacus Data shows that 68 per cent of Canadians are proud of this country. That's not a staggering increase since 2024 – just two per cent. And the Abacus survey doesn't include a detailed regional breakdown, so there is no way of knowing how Albertans feel, in particular. But I, a passionately proud Albertan, can tell you how I feel. While I am prouder of Canada this year than I was last, I cannot say for sure that I would never vote to leave. I would say the chances of me voting for separation are less than 50/50. And the odds depend entirely on central Canada finally accepting the West as a full and equal part of Confederation. However, I have spent nearly all of my adult life arguing for a fairer deal for Alberta and the West only to have central Canadians dismiss our grievances and scoff at us for feeling unjustly treated. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Like lots of Albertans, I have also watched as the self-same central Canadians have fallen all over themselves attempting to appease Quebec and its grievances – and squeezing us for the money to pay for it. It may sound weird, but having said all that about my reservations with Confederation, I too feel prouder of Canada this year. And it's because of Trump's sneering, bullying, recurrent mocking about 51st-state status. The one thing I can say for sure this year, that I would not have said last year, is that if Alberta were ever to go its own way, I've soured on our province becoming the next star in the American flag. Trump has blown the allure of that option. But what makes Canadians so proud of this country on our national day? This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Abacus says we are most proud of 'our natural beauty and the environment.' Sixty-five per cent of respondents cited Canada's lakes, rivers, mountains, forests and (at least for me) bald-headed prairie. Not only do we have a lot of land (the second-largest landmass in the world), but much of it is stunningly beautiful. And most of us live a relatively short time from a gorgeous, tranquil, inspiring site – or several. The second reason for our national pride (62 per cent) is our belief that this is a 'peaceful and safe society.' We are in danger of losing that with rising crime and societal divisions over world events, but for now, that is a key factor. Then comes universal health care at 60 per cent. This shouldn't be true. It's the product of decades of indoctrination. There are plenty of single-payer systems around the world that are as good or better than ours. But we do have tens of thousands of dedicated health professionals who provide superb care, of whom we should be genuinely proud. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Other reasons cited in the survey 'being distinct from the United States' (56 per cent), tolerance and inclusivity (56 per cent), 'sense of community' (43 per cent), human rights, Indigenous culture and the arts. Whatever your reason, be proud to be Canadian. Happy Canada Day! Read More Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don't miss the news you need to know — add and to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here. You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun. Toronto Maple Leafs Ontario Music Toronto Maple Leafs Toronto Blue Jays
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Business Standard
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
India-Canada trade deal gets a second wind as diplomatic ties improve
Both countries have agreed to resume talks for an interim trade agreement in a volatile global scenario as part of their effort to reset diplomatic relations following a bitter fallout under Trudeau Shreya Nandi Delhi Listen to This Article After an acrimonious fallout late last year, India and Canada are tentatively trying to reset diplomatic relations, following the establishment of a new government in the north American nation, with the resumption of talks for an interim trade agreement. The new push comes after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Canadian counterpart Mike Carney met on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Alberta, where they also agreed to restart senior ministerial as well as working-level engagements across various domains to 'rebuild trust' and 'bring momentum' to the relationship. Both leaders have also decided to designate new high commissioners
