Politics

Canadians are feeling record low levels of economic optimism and satisfaction in public services like housing and health care, a new analysis of Gallup polling suggests, presenting major challenges for whichever party forms government after the federal election. Tuesday’s report, presented as a series of “tests” for Canada’s next prime minister, compiled nearly two decades of data collected annually from the pollster’s surveys of long-term issues in over 100 countries.While the most recent polling was conducted months before U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff policies caused further economic uncertainty, the report suggests declines in Canadian attitudes toward the economy and U.S. leadership have been persistent for years.It also suggests the economic concerns highlighted in more recent...

With U.S. President Donald Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day” of tariff implementation fast approaching, Senate Democrats are putting Republican support for some of those plans to the test by forcing a vote to nullify the emergency declaration that underpins the tariffs on Canada. Republicans have watched with some unease as the president’s attempts to remake global trade have sent the stock market downward, but they have so far stood by Trump’s on-again-off-again threats to levy taxes on imported goods.Even as the resolution from Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia offered them a potential off-ramp to the tariffs levied on Canadian imports, Republican leaders were trying to keep senators in line by focusing on fentanyl that comes into the U.S. over its northern border. It was yet anothe...

Canadians will receive the last carbon rebate later this month as the federal consumer carbon price comes to an end Tuesday. The final Canada Carbon Rebate (CCR) payments will roll out starting April 22 to Canadians in eight provinces: Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island and Saskatchewan.“There will be no further quarterly CCR payments after the April payment,” the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) says on its website.The CRA is advising Canadians to file their 2024 income tax and benefit return electronically no later than Wednesday to get the payment in April.“If you file after that, you will receive your final payment once your 2024 return is assessed,” the agency states.The Canada Carbon Rebate is a quarterly tax-free paymen...

John Davidson has difficulty remembering the last time Wayne Gretzky visited his childhood home across the street in this small city a couple hours’ drive southwest of Toronto. The modest home with a one-car garage in a quiet residential neighborhood remains in the family, but the Great One’s visits have been fewer and farther between, especially since his beloved father Walter died in 2021. The backyard ice rink where Gretzky developed his generational talent has since been replaced by a pool.Now 85, Davidson still chases away the occasional curiosity seeker, a far cry from the days when busloads of children would pull up, or the time Wayne and his wife Janet showed up with an entourage, three limousines strong. The retired steelworker then lowered his hand to his knee to indicate how lon...

Markham-Unionville Liberal candidate Paul Chiang says he’s stepping aside in the federal election following his comments that a political opponent should be turned over to Chinese officials in return for a bounty, as the RCMP confirmed Monday evening they’re looking into the matter. Chiang announced his exit late Monday night on social platform X, saying as the prime minister and Team Canada work to stand up to U.S. President Donald Trump and protect the economy, “he doesn’t want there to be distractions.”Please see my statement below. pic.twitter.com/12P50tir4X— Paul Chiang (@PaulChiangMU) April 1, 2025 Story continues below advertisement The Liberal incumbent made the remarks about Conservative candidate Joe Tay three months ago at a press conference with Ch...

By Staff The Associated Press Posted April 1, 2025 7:50 am 2 min read Descrease article font size Increase article font size A top European Union official warned the U.S. on Tuesday that the world’s biggest trade bloc “holds a lot of cards” when it comes to dealing with the Trump administration’s new tariffs and has a good plan to retaliate if forced to. U.S. President Donald Trump has promised to roll out taxes on imports from other countries on Wednesday. He says they will free the U.S. from reliance on foreign goods.He’s vowed to impose “reciprocal” tariffs to match the duties that other countries charge on U.S. products, d...

U.S. President Donald Trump’s long-promised “reciprocal” tariffs are set to be unveiled Wednesday, adding further uncertainty to the Canadian economy and global trade with the U.S. Many unknowns remain on the new policy, which Trump has taken to calling “Liberation Day” for the U.S., including what rates the tariffs will be at and whether Canada could see some relief.Trump and his administration also appear to have different views on how broad the policy will be. He told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday that “all countries” will face the new tariffs — at least at first — after his top economic adviser Kevin Hassett suggested earlier this month they would focus on 10 to 15 countries with the worst trade imbalances.A new set of tariffs would further rattle Canadian industries that re...

Former Liberal MP Han Dong will not seek re-election after he says the party told him that they’d be running another candidate. Dong, the independent member for Don Valley North, says he’s “disappointed” that he won’t be running in the upcoming contest, but said he didn’t want to split the vote in the safely Liberal riding to give the party its best shot at winning.Dong stepped away from the Liberal caucus on March 22, 2023, after Global News, citing unnamed national security sources, published alleged details about his interactions with the Chinese consulate in Toronto. Dong reportedly had discussions with his party about returning to caucus since June 2023.“As many of you know, I had no choice but to leave the Liberal caucus about two years ago to try and clear my name in response to fal...

A world-renowned Canadian doctor says her talk at New York University (NYU) was cancelled for being anti-government. Dr. Joanne Liu, an associate professor at McGill and the Université de Montréal, a pediatric emergency medicine physician at Sainte-Justine hospital and who formerly served as the international president of Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), told Global News she was left stunned after her scheduled lecture at NYU was abruptly cancelled by the university last week.She said her lecture was going to discuss humanitarian aid in a time of crises as well as the challenges aid workers have faced in Gaza and other war zones.Her presentation was also going to address the recent cuts to foreign aid, notably USAID, by President Trump‘s administration.“[I was told] that...

As the second week of the federal campaign gets underway, the Liberals and NDP were touting housing promises from the campaign trail while Conservatives focused on plans for an energy corridor. Liberal Leader Mark Carney says his government would double Canada’s rate of residential construction housing over the next decade to nearly 500,000 new homes per year.The plan announced Monday would create a new federal housing entity that the Liberals say would oversee affordable housing construction, speed up construction and provide financing to homebuilders.Carney said the new agency, Build Canada Homes, would act as a developer to build affordable housing at scale, including housing on public lands, and would develop and manage projects.He said the “lean, mission-driven organization” would pro...