Politics

The Ontario government says it hasn’t made any decisions about removing Crown Royal from the shelves of the province’s liquor stores, despite a dramatic display of dissatisfaction from Premier Doug Ford. On Tuesday, Ford ended a news conference by pouring out a bottle of the Canadian whisky, after its parent company, Diageo, announced it would shutter a plant in Amherstburg, Ont.“They’re hurting the people that work at Crown Royal,” Ford said.“So, you know something? A message to the CEO in France: You hurt my people. I’m going to hurt you. You’re going to feel the pain in February when these people don’t have a paycheque.”As calls mounted for the premier to back his actions with concrete policy proposals, the Ford government said it wouldn’t be removing Crown Royal from the shelves of the...

The countrywide push for major projects won’t happen without First Nations at the table, the Assembly of First Nations warned government and industry Wednesday, as its annual summer gathering began in Winnipeg. “We can all agree on this, that progress cannot come at the cost of our rights, our treaties or our responsibilities to the land,” Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Kyra Wilson said.“Anything that we do in this country will not be at the expense of our lands, our waters and our resources. For generations, decisions have been made without us, while the impacts fall on our nations and our families.”The assembly is expected to focus heavily on the federal government’s major projects legislation, as it’s the first time all chiefs have gathered since the bill passed in June.The law...

By Craig Lord and Catherine Morrison The Canadian Press Posted September 3, 2025 3:50 pm 1 min read Descrease article font size Increase article font size Prime Minister Mark Carney has appointed Jason Jacques to a six-month term as the interim parliamentary budget officer. Jacques is already the office’s director general of economic and fiscal analysis. He officially starts his brief term on Wednesday.The parliamentary budget officer is an agent of Parliament who provides independent economic and financial analysis to the Senate and House of Commons.Jacques is steeped in public sector experience, with stints at the Privy Coun...

Descrease article font size Increase article font size Prime Minister Mark Carney and his cabinet ministers will begin their two-day retreat in Toronto on Wednesday ahead of Parliament’s return in two weeks. The Liberal cabinet is expected to focus on the government’s strategy for navigating the ongoing trade war started by U.S. President Donald Trump, which is set to continue to dominate the fall political and economic agenda.In a statement, Carney’s office referred to the two-day retreat as a “Cabinet Planning Forum” and added that it would be “focused on building a stronger economy.”The retreat and the return of Parliament come as Carney is ramping up plans for building more homes through a new government agency and also getting the new off...

Alberta’s education minister is directing school boards to pause a government order to remove books with explicit sexual content from libraries. Demetrios Nicolaides, in an email to school divisions and officials Tuesday, said they should pause any development or distribution of lists of books that are to be removed, “including removing materials containing depictions of explicit sexual content.”He said the pause is in effect until further notice and that more information would be provided to school officials “as soon as possible.”Nicolaides’ office didn’t immediately respond to questions about the pause.The government’s move came after a draft list from Edmonton Public Schools of books to be removed from libraries was leaked online last week. ...

By Morgan Lowrie The Canadian Press Posted September 2, 2025 11:30 am Updated September 2, 2025 2:01 pm 1 min read Descrease article font size Increase article font size Quebec Premier François Legault says he only learned about cost overruns at the province’s auto insurance board in February 2025. Legault is testifying at a public inquiry examining how the online platform known as SAAQclic cost at least $500 million more than planned.The premier says it’s “not normal” he wasn’t told about the situa...

Ontario Premier Doug Ford dumped out a bottle of Crown Royal Tuesday in protest of the whisky maker’s decision to shutter its bottling facility in the province. Ford called out Diageo over the shuttering of its Amherstburg, Ont., plant; Diageo said last week it was shifting some operations to the U.S. to improve its North American supply chain.Bottling at the Amherstburg facility intended for the U.S. market would be shifting stateside, while bottling for Canadian consumers would move to its Valleyfield, Que., location.The Ontario facility will close in February 2026, forcing almost 200 people to lose their jobs.At an unrelated press conference on Tuesday, Ford was asked about the move, which he described as “hurting Ontario residents.”“They’re hurting the people that work at Crown Royal,”...

Descrease article font size Increase article font size The New Democratic Party formally launched the race to elect its next federal leader, the party said in a statement Tuesday. Party members will elect the next federal leader from March 27 to 29, 2026. The result of the race will be announced at the party’s Winnipeg convention on March 29, 2026.To be able to vote in the leadership race, new NDP members must be registered before Jan. 28, 2026. Candidates in the leadership race must register on the ballot by Jan. 31. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. “This leadership...

Starting Monday, athletes who wish to play in a female-only sports league may now be asked if they were recorded as female at birth. The province will block transgender athletes from Alberta who are 12 and older from competing in female amateur sports.It’s one of a suite of changes surrounding transgender health, education, and sport introduced last year by Premier Danielle Smith’s United Conservative Party government.The policy directs organizations such as school divisions and sports leagues to create and implement regulations that align with the province’s requirements.In a statement, Edmonton Public Schools says it will send home a confirmation form for student athletes who wish to participate in a competitive female-only sport. Get daily National news ...

Most of Canada’s retaliatory tariffs against the United States came down on Monday, in keeping with Prime Minister Mark Carney’s announcement last month. Carney announced that many of Canada’s tariffs on its biggest trading partner, on goods that comply with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico (CUSMA) trade agreement, will come down starting Sept. 1.He said this was after he and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to “intensify” stalled trade talks.In February, Trump signed an executive order to levy broad-based, sweeping tariffs on Canada. The Canadian government responded immediately with then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announcing counter-tariffs against Washington.“Few other countries followed suit” in imposing tariffs on the U.S., Carney said.Carney said Canada’s move was to “match’ U.S. tariffs,...