Friday, December 19, 2025

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Friday, December 19, 2025 | Latest Paper

Canada & The 21st Century

Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | December 15, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump, left, pictured with Prime Minister Mark Carney on May 6, 2025, at the White House, has had Canada in his sights since assuming office last January. But if Canada is not to become the 51st U.S. state, then it must at least become, for him, a vassal state, subservient to U.S. interests, writes David Crane. Photograph courtesy of White House photographer Gabriel B. Kotico
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | December 15, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | December 15, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump, left, pictured with Prime Minister Mark Carney on May 6, 2025, at the White House, has had Canada in his sights since assuming office last January. But if Canada is not to become the 51st U.S. state, then it must at least become, for him, a vassal state, subservient to U.S. interests, writes David Crane. Photograph courtesy of White House photographer Gabriel B. Kotico
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | December 8, 2025
Defence Minister David McGuinty, pictured third from left with Canada's Chief of Defence Jennie Carignan, right, is one of the ministers in charge of bolstering Canada’s defence capabilities. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | December 8, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | December 8, 2025
Defence Minister David McGuinty, pictured third from left with Canada's Chief of Defence Jennie Carignan, right, is one of the ministers in charge of bolstering Canada’s defence capabilities. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | December 1, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney has also made commitments to Britain, the European Union, various European countries including France, Germany, Poland and Sweden, Mexico, Korea, India, Indonesia, and other ASEAN nations, Brazil, and China.  The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | December 1, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | December 1, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney has also made commitments to Britain, the European Union, various European countries including France, Germany, Poland and Sweden, Mexico, Korea, India, Indonesia, and other ASEAN nations, Brazil, and China.  The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | November 24, 2025
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne speaks to reporters in the House of Commons foyer after the vote on the 2025 federal budget passes on Nov. 17. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | November 24, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | November 24, 2025
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne speaks to reporters in the House of Commons foyer after the vote on the 2025 federal budget passes on Nov. 17. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | November 17, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney, right, and Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne prepare to present the 2025 budget in the House of Commons on Nov. 4. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | November 17, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | November 17, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney, right, and Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne prepare to present the 2025 budget in the House of Commons on Nov. 4. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | November 10, 2025
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne, pictured inside the media budget lockup in the John G. Diefenbaker Building on Sussex Drive in Ottawa before holding his press conference on the budget on Nov. 4, 2025. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | November 10, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | November 10, 2025
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne, pictured inside the media budget lockup in the John G. Diefenbaker Building on Sussex Drive in Ottawa before holding his press conference on the budget on Nov. 4, 2025. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | November 3, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney, second right, pictured on Oct. 7, 2025, with U.S. President Donald Trump, right, and other top Canadian and American politicians and officials in the Oval Office in Washington, D.C. Photograph courtesy of the White House
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | November 3, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | November 3, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney, second right, pictured on Oct. 7, 2025, with U.S. President Donald Trump, right, and other top Canadian and American politicians and officials in the Oval Office in Washington, D.C. Photograph courtesy of the White House
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | October 27, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney's biggest challenge is to win Canadians' trust, to convince them that he's on the right track, and that he's pursuing a short-term-pain-for-long-term-gain strategy that is in Canada’s best interests, David Crane writes. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | October 27, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | October 27, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney's biggest challenge is to win Canadians' trust, to convince them that he's on the right track, and that he's pursuing a short-term-pain-for-long-term-gain strategy that is in Canada’s best interests, David Crane writes. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | October 20, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney. While Canada has potential, the World Intellectual Property Organization's 2025 Global Innovation Report says it lags badly on high-tech exports, creative outputs from the business sector, industrial designs, trade marks, and other forms of intellectual property, writes David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | October 20, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | October 20, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney. While Canada has potential, the World Intellectual Property Organization's 2025 Global Innovation Report says it lags badly on high-tech exports, creative outputs from the business sector, industrial designs, trade marks, and other forms of intellectual property, writes David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | October 13, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney, left, and U.S. President Donald Trump at the West Wing entrance of the White House on May 6, 2025. Photograph courtesy of White House photographer Daniel Torok
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | October 13, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | October 13, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney, left, and U.S. President Donald Trump at the West Wing entrance of the White House on May 6, 2025. Photograph courtesy of White House photographer Daniel Torok
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | October 6, 2025
The September Economic and Fiscal Outlook Report from Jason Jaques, pictured, the interim parliamentary budget officer, with its dire warning of unsustainable federal spending, deficits, and debt, should not be treated lightly. But it should not be taken as a call for an austerity budget next month, writes David Crane.   The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | October 6, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | October 6, 2025
The September Economic and Fiscal Outlook Report from Jason Jaques, pictured, the interim parliamentary budget officer, with its dire warning of unsustainable federal spending, deficits, and debt, should not be treated lightly. But it should not be taken as a call for an austerity budget next month, writes David Crane.   The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | September 29, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney, right, and Indonesian President Prabowo Sugianto signed a trade agreement between the two countries in Ottawa on Sept. 24, 2025. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | September 29, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | September 29, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney, right, and Indonesian President Prabowo Sugianto signed a trade agreement between the two countries in Ottawa on Sept. 24, 2025. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | September 18, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney heads into the Prime Minister's Office in Ottawa on Aug. 6, 2025. The seven government priorities listed in Carney's mandate letter to his cabinet ministers are worthwhile, yet insufficient. They fail to address Canada’s terrible productivity performance, writes David Crane.   The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | September 18, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | September 18, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney heads into the Prime Minister's Office in Ottawa on Aug. 6, 2025. The seven government priorities listed in Carney's mandate letter to his cabinet ministers are worthwhile, yet insufficient. They fail to address Canada’s terrible productivity performance, writes David Crane.   The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | September 15, 2025
Housing and Infrastructure Minister Gregor Robertson, the former mayor of Vancouver, arrives for the Liberal caucus meeting in the West Block on June 11, 2025. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | September 15, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | September 15, 2025
Housing and Infrastructure Minister Gregor Robertson, the former mayor of Vancouver, arrives for the Liberal caucus meeting in the West Block on June 11, 2025. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | September 8, 2025
Energy Minister Tim Hodgson was recently in Germany touting Canada's LNG potential to prospective buyers, but David Crane writes that this government needs to be more realistic about that potential. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | September 8, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | September 8, 2025
Energy Minister Tim Hodgson was recently in Germany touting Canada's LNG potential to prospective buyers, but David Crane writes that this government needs to be more realistic about that potential. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | September 1, 2025
Mark Carney
On Aug. 22, Prime Minister Mark Carney promised in a statement that his government will soon announce a “comprehensive” industrial strategy that “protects Canadian jobs, boosts Canadian competitiveness, buys Canadian goods, and diversifies Canadian exports.” The Hill Times photograph by Sam Garcia
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | September 1, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | September 1, 2025
Mark Carney
On Aug. 22, Prime Minister Mark Carney promised in a statement that his government will soon announce a “comprehensive” industrial strategy that “protects Canadian jobs, boosts Canadian competitiveness, buys Canadian goods, and diversifies Canadian exports.” The Hill Times photograph by Sam Garcia
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | August 25, 2025
Mark Carney
Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke of Canada's lagging productivity in 2010 when he was governor of the Bank of Canada. Now as prime minister, it's up to him and his government to provide the answers, writes David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | August 25, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | August 25, 2025
Mark Carney
Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke of Canada's lagging productivity in 2010 when he was governor of the Bank of Canada. Now as prime minister, it's up to him and his government to provide the answers, writes David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | August 20, 2025
Mark Carney
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first budget has to focus on growth, but it also faces constraints since it must respond to the fallout from U.S. protectionism, writes David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | August 20, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | August 20, 2025
Mark Carney
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first budget has to focus on growth, but it also faces constraints since it must respond to the fallout from U.S. protectionism, writes David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | August 11, 2025
Mark Carney
Prime Minister Mark Carney scrums with reporters before the Prime Minister’s First Nations summit on Bill C-5 in Gatineau, Que., on July 17, 2025. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | August 11, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | August 11, 2025
Mark Carney
Prime Minister Mark Carney scrums with reporters before the Prime Minister’s First Nations summit on Bill C-5 in Gatineau, Que., on July 17, 2025. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | August 4, 2025
Who is going to address the shortcomings in innovation policy, including access to capital, if our Industry Minister Mélanie Joly is preoccupied with saving the steel, aluminum, and auto industries, asks David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | August 4, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | August 4, 2025
Who is going to address the shortcomings in innovation policy, including access to capital, if our Industry Minister Mélanie Joly is preoccupied with saving the steel, aluminum, and auto industries, asks David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | July 28, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney scrums with reporters before the Prime Minister’s First Nations summit on Bill C-5 in Gatineau, Que. on July 17, 2025. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Prime Minister Mark Carney, pictured July 17, 2025, in Gatineau, Que. The credibility of the upcoming budget will be test number one for the building an economy for the future. Implementation will be test number two. Success is urgent. And some early deliverables are vital for ongoing public support. It’s all about our future, writes David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | July 28, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | July 28, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney scrums with reporters before the Prime Minister’s First Nations summit on Bill C-5 in Gatineau, Que. on July 17, 2025. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Prime Minister Mark Carney, pictured July 17, 2025, in Gatineau, Que. The credibility of the upcoming budget will be test number one for the building an economy for the future. Implementation will be test number two. Success is urgent. And some early deliverables are vital for ongoing public support. It’s all about our future, writes David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | July 21, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney gives opening remarks at the Prime Minister’s First Nations Summit on Bill C-5 at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Que., on July 17, 2025. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | July 21, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | July 21, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney gives opening remarks at the Prime Minister’s First Nations Summit on Bill C-5 at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Que., on July 17, 2025. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | July 14, 2025
In comments to the House of Commons on June 18, Transport Minister Chrystia Freeland seemed to imply that the ferries could have been purchased from a Canadian company, yet no Canadian shipyard responded when BC Ferries sought proposals last year, David Crane writes. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | July 14, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | July 14, 2025
In comments to the House of Commons on June 18, Transport Minister Chrystia Freeland seemed to imply that the ferries could have been purchased from a Canadian company, yet no Canadian shipyard responded when BC Ferries sought proposals last year, David Crane writes. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | July 7, 2025
Mark Carney
Prime Minister Mark Carney, left, meets with U.S. President Donald Trump in the White House's Oval Office on May 6, 2025. Photograph courtesy of Flickr/The White House (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok)
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | July 7, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | July 7, 2025
Mark Carney
Prime Minister Mark Carney, left, meets with U.S. President Donald Trump in the White House's Oval Office on May 6, 2025. Photograph courtesy of Flickr/The White House (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok)
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | June 27, 2025
Mark Carney
Prime Minister Mark Carney, left, and Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne at a press conference in the West Block on June 19, 2025. The challenge for the Carney government is to get Canada's banks and other financial institutions to think beyond pipelines to new sources of economic growth that are based on ideas, writes David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | June 27, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | June 27, 2025
Mark Carney
Prime Minister Mark Carney, left, and Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne at a press conference in the West Block on June 19, 2025. The challenge for the Carney government is to get Canada's banks and other financial institutions to think beyond pipelines to new sources of economic growth that are based on ideas, writes David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | June 23, 2025
European Council President Antonio Costa, front left, Japan’s PM Shigeru Ishiba, Italy’s PM Giorgia Meloni, France’s President Emmanuel Macron, Canada’s PM Mark Carney, U.S. President Donald Trump, U.K. PM Keir Starmer, Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, on June 16, 2025. Photograph courtesy of the Government of Canada
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | June 23, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | June 23, 2025
European Council President Antonio Costa, front left, Japan’s PM Shigeru Ishiba, Italy’s PM Giorgia Meloni, France’s President Emmanuel Macron, Canada’s PM Mark Carney, U.S. President Donald Trump, U.K. PM Keir Starmer, Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, on June 16, 2025. Photograph courtesy of the Government of Canada
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | June 16, 2025
Xi Jinping
China's President Xi Jinping, pictured, was not invited to the G7 Leaders' Summit in Alberta, but Canada is making it quite clear that China has an important and positive role to play if our country is going to be economically less dependent on the United States, writes David Crane. Photograph courtesy of Commons Wikimedia
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | June 16, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | June 16, 2025
Xi Jinping
China's President Xi Jinping, pictured, was not invited to the G7 Leaders' Summit in Alberta, but Canada is making it quite clear that China has an important and positive role to play if our country is going to be economically less dependent on the United States, writes David Crane. Photograph courtesy of Commons Wikimedia
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | February 25, 2019
Finance Minister Bill Morneau will present his fourth budget on Tuesday, March 19. It will be a pre-election budget, so will include a long and boastful list of accomplishments, but it will also be a budget where there is little room for new spending as deficit worries are looming, writes David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | February 25, 2019
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | February 25, 2019
Finance Minister Bill Morneau will present his fourth budget on Tuesday, March 19. It will be a pre-election budget, so will include a long and boastful list of accomplishments, but it will also be a budget where there is little room for new spending as deficit worries are looming, writes David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | February 11, 2019
Small Business Minister Mary Ng once again declared that small businesses 'are the backbone of our nation’s economy,' but small businesses, while important, are not the backbone of the economy, no matter how many times politicians say they are, says David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | February 11, 2019
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | February 11, 2019
Small Business Minister Mary Ng once again declared that small businesses 'are the backbone of our nation’s economy,' but small businesses, while important, are not the backbone of the economy, no matter how many times politicians say they are, says David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | February 4, 2019
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, pictured last month in Ottawa. How do we succeed in a world where our traditional natural resources are less important and our ability to compete in a digital economy is much more important, asks David Crane. The Hill Times photograph Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | February 4, 2019
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | February 4, 2019
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, pictured last month in Ottawa. How do we succeed in a world where our traditional natural resources are less important and our ability to compete in a digital economy is much more important, asks David Crane. The Hill Times photograph Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | January 21, 2019
Improving lives for women and children is non-controversial, but Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland’s dispute with Saudi Arabia over its treatment of women has had economic and political consequences. The Hill Times photograph bty Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | January 21, 2019
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | January 21, 2019
Improving lives for women and children is non-controversial, but Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland’s dispute with Saudi Arabia over its treatment of women has had economic and political consequences. The Hill Times photograph bty Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | January 14, 2019
U.S. President Donald J. Trump and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, pictured on Nov. 30, 2018, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, at the USMCA signing ceremony. The U.S. goal is to isolate China and hamper China’s bid to advance its capabilities in advanced technologies such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, aviation and aerospace, clean energy and biosciences, curbing China’s potential as a globally influential superpower. In this game of great power politics, the U.S. is putting intense pressure on traditional U.S. allies, including Canada, to support U.S. polices designed to hurt China. What will Canada do? Photograph courtesy: Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | January 14, 2019
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | January 14, 2019
U.S. President Donald J. Trump and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, pictured on Nov. 30, 2018, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, at the USMCA signing ceremony. The U.S. goal is to isolate China and hamper China’s bid to advance its capabilities in advanced technologies such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, aviation and aerospace, clean energy and biosciences, curbing China’s potential as a globally influential superpower. In this game of great power politics, the U.S. is putting intense pressure on traditional U.S. allies, including Canada, to support U.S. polices designed to hurt China. What will Canada do? Photograph courtesy: Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead