Politics

Amidst the noise coming from the U.S. on tariffs and border security, the Ontario government announced a new program that will look to beef up security along the border with its southern neighbour. “Ontario has been calling on the federal government to step up and address safety and security concerns at the border. We need to see words turned into visible action,” Premier Doug Ford stated.“In the meantime, Ontario is stepping up with Operation Deterrence to crack down on illegal border crossings and illegal guns and drugs.”The province says that it launched Operation Deterrence in early December, with provincial police using 200 officers who are focusing their efforts on disrupting illegal activity at the Canada-U.S. border.That focus has included fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, remotely...

U.S. president-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday said he’s considering using “economic force” to merge Canada with the United States, arguing “we don’t need anything they have” to trade and repeating his desire for Canada to become a U.S. state. Trump, in a wide-ranging press conference from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida with less than two weeks before he takes office, also said he wants NATO members to spend at least five per cent of their GDP on defence, more than double the current two-per cent target.His comments were the latest in recent threats against longstanding U.S. allies, renewing questions and concerns about plans to use trade as a cudgel, and went beyond similar comments he has made about making Canada a part of the U.S.Trump told reporters he wouldn’t rule out using military ...

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s decision to prorogue Parliament raises questions about how Ottawa can respond to the incoming Trump administration without the option of using legislation — but the government says it still has several powers at its disposal. The prorogation means all legislative activity is suspended until March 24, and any bills that haven’t yet received royal assent die and will need to be reintroduced in the next session. That includes proposed new spending like the $1.3 billion announced last month in the federal government’s new border security plan.The plan was intended to address concerns raised by incoming U.S. president-elect Donald Trump, who has vowed to impose damaging 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian imports while pushing Ottawa to clamp down on cross-border...

The federal government has provided clarity on how proposed changes to capital gains taxes will work after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau prorogued Parliament without passing legislation to put the new tax rules into law. Back in the 2024 budget last spring, the Liberals introduced plans to raise the inclusion rate — how much of the proceeds from an asset’s sale are subject to tax — to two-thirds, up from 50 per cent, on all capital gains earned over $250,000 annually. That inclusion rate would also rise to two-thirds for all gains made by corporations and many trusts.The changes were set to affect all capital gains realized after June 25, 2024. Capital gains can result from the sale of an asset like a stock or a secondary property such as a cottage, but Canadians’ primary residences remain...

The U.S.-Canada alliance is stronger because of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, U.S. President Joe Biden said in a statement a day after Trudeau announced he will be resigning. “Over the last decade, Prime Minister Trudeau has led with commitment, optimism, and strategic vision. The U.S.-Canada alliance is stronger because of him. The American and Canadian people are safer because of him. And the world is better off because of him,” Biden said in a statement Tuesday morning.Biden said he was “proud” to call Trudeau his friend and would be “forever grateful for his partnership and leadership.” 2:05 Who will be the next Liberal leader after Trudeau resigns? ...

Justin Trudeau’s decision to step down and prorogue Parliament will keep his government from implementing its proposed changes to capital gains for now, but Canadians might not be off the hook with tax collectors just yet. The changes would raise the portion of capital gains on which companies pay tax to two-thirds from one-half. The policy would also apply to individuals with capital gains earnings above $250,000.The changes were announced in the government’s April budget, and subsequently introduced as a notice of ways and means motion. Those changes did not pass due to the gridlock in Parliament over Conservative demands for documents related to alleged misspending in the government’s green technology fund.Proroguing clears the parliamentary order paper, meaning bills and motions would ...

After nearly 12 years at the helm of the Liberal Party of Canada, Justin Trudeau says he will step down from the party’s top job once a new leader is chosen. But who comes next? And how will the party select a new leader?Outside his residence in Ottawa, Trudeau told reporters of his intention to step down following months of mounting pressure.“I intend to resign as party leader, as prime minister, after the party selects its next leader through a robust nationwide competitive process,” Trudeau said.Trudeau said he informed the Liberal party president on Sunday evening.“Last night, I asked the president of the Liberal Party to begin that process. This country deserves a real choice in the next election, and it has become clear to me that if I’m having to fight internal battles, I cannot be ...

After months of turmoil within his party, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced he was stepping down as leader of the Liberal party on Monday morning. “This country deserves a real choice in the next election, and it has become clear to me that if I’m having to fight internal battles, I cannot be the best option in that election,” Trudeau said during the announcement.Trudeau’s meteoric rise to power began in the riding of Papineau in 2008, when the former schoolteacher was elected MP of the district.Five years later, he was leading the Liberal party, which was in shambles following a 2011 election and saw them fall behind the NDP in seat numbers in the House of Commons.Then in 2015, he followed in his father’s footsteps as he became the second-youngest prime minister in Canadian history....

Justin Trudeau often seemed most comfortable when he was playing the role of the underdog and overcoming expectations. Throughout his career he’s been dismissed as a lightweight, first by members of his own party, then by a Conservative regime that sneered at his eligibility to lead the country, and by his opposition critics ever since.His greatest electoral success — taking the Liberals from a third-place rump to a commanding majority government in 2015 — is emblematic. His critics claimed he was “just not ready,” made cracks about his hair or flashy socks, and watched in disbelief as Canadians disagreed.There was a sense after that election that Trudeau and his closest handlers had a handle on the Canadian zeitgeist, that he was a leader who was not isolated from the public but happy to ...

Descrease article font size Increase article font size Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s decision to prorogue Parliament for nearly three months will not impact the public inquiry into foreign interference, which is still due to submit its final report by the end of January, a spokesperson said Monday. Trudeau said Monday he was proroguing Parliament until March 24 to allow for the Liberal party to hold a leadership contest, and that he will resign as leader and prime minister after a successor is chosen.The move suspends all legislative business and committee activity in the House of Commons and the Senate, but the government will continue to function — as will independent offices like the Foreign Interference Commission.“The prorogation of Par...