Claims of a clean, green energy future based on an electrified natural gas industry must not go unchallenged
VANCOUVER—In late August, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau travelled to Vancouver to announce that the federal government had agreed to financially support a new hydroelectric transmission line project in British Columbia’s remote northeast region. In a memorandum of understanding signed with the provincial government, the federal government committed $83.6-million to the project, which will cover nearly […]
Canada’s energy narrative needs an urgent reboot
WATERLOO, ONT.—The positive contribution to Canada’s economic well-being by the fossil fuels resource sector—oil, coal, gas—is well-recognized, a matter of record and fully accepted by Canadians. Primarily Alberta and Saskatchewan, but also British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia have been in the vanguard, bringing technological innovation and business acumen to deliver jobs, prosperity, […]
Energy Policy Briefing
Winding down of the carbon century will be a test for all Canadians
OTTAWA—It’s hard to make history go backwards. One need only review the United Kingdom’s experience in trying to untangle itself from nearly 50 years in the European Union. Swayed by visions of Britain’s past glories, xenophobia, and insecurity about being left behind in a changing world, a narrow majority of voters came down in favour […]
Trudeau’s real job now: sparking national action on a post-carbon future
OTTAWA—Apparently Doug Ford didn’t really mean it when he said in the summer that he would let voters in the federal election decide whether he would continue with Ontario’s costly, and likely futile, legal offensive against Ottawa’s carbon levy. Ford, who was shut out of the less-than-stellar federal Conservative campaign, sounded a bit more co-operative […]
Congratulations, we played ourselves
OTTAWA—We got played. The Liberals talked a big game this past election, insisting that “[if] you want progressive action, you need a progressive government, not a progressive opposition.” They reminded us at every turn that cuts to social services, like we saw in Ontario, would surely follow if the electorate foolishly supported a Conservative government […]
Did Justin Trudeau really wreck Alberta’s economy?
Western alienation has dominated much of the political discussion following the Oct. 21 federal election that brought the Liberals back to power with a minority government without a single seat in Alberta or Saskatchewan. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau acknowledged it in his election night victory speech, and reporters grilled him about it in his first […]
Change is happening, and Kenney and Moe can’t escape this reality
TORONTO—The election results were barely in before cries of Western alienation were hitting the airwaves. The premiers of Alberta and Saskatchewan, Jason Kenney and Scott Moe, had used the election to wage all-out war against the Trudeau Liberals and, in a narrow sense, they won, capturing all but one seat in the two provinces for […]
Transition teams must be prepared for ‘unpredictable outcomes’ in minority situation, say former senior bureaucrats
Former senior bureaucrats say they hope Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer’s transition team is “already plugged into the Privy Council Office,” and that both the Liberal and Conservative transition teams should be “prepared for unpredictable outcomes” at this point in the campaign. According to CBC’s poll tracker, updated on Oct. 14, the Conservatives were in the […]
What’s your issue? Taxes, climate change, health care top leaders’ campaign pitches this election
With less than a week to go until Oct. 21, there’s been plenty of lamenting over the issues that aren’t being talked about this campaign. So, what have the leaders spent their time spotlighting? And what issues have media definitively brought to the fore? The Hill Times took a look at the issues raised by or with […]
