Tuesday, September 16, 2025

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Tuesday, September 16, 2025 | Latest Paper

Canada & The 21st Century

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 | June 9, 2025
Mark Carney
Prime Minister Mark Carney, pictured May 25, 2025, addressing the Liberal caucus on the Hill. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | June 9, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | June 9, 2025
Mark Carney
Prime Minister Mark Carney, pictured May 25, 2025, addressing the Liberal caucus on the Hill. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | June 2, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney
If we want to keep our country, we cannot afford yet another failure. Prime Minister Mark Carney's government has to deliver a plan that will achieve success this time. Action not just words. And with much urgency, writes David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | June 2, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | June 2, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney
If we want to keep our country, we cannot afford yet another failure. Prime Minister Mark Carney's government has to deliver a plan that will achieve success this time. Action not just words. And with much urgency, writes David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | May 26, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump, left, meets with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney 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 | May 26, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | May 26, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump, left, meets with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney 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 | May 19, 2025
François-Philippe Champagne
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said there will be a fall economic statement, but no federal budget before the summer, which is being slammed by the opposition parties. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | May 19, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | May 19, 2025
François-Philippe Champagne
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said there will be a fall economic statement, but no federal budget before the summer, which is being slammed by the opposition parties. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | May 12, 2025
Mark Carney
Prime Minister Mark Carney said that economy would become the strongest 'in the G7.' No matter the outcome of Canada-U.S. negotiations, this new economy matters even more, writes David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | May 12, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | May 12, 2025
Mark Carney
Prime Minister Mark Carney said that economy would become the strongest 'in the G7.' No matter the outcome of Canada-U.S. negotiations, this new economy matters even more, writes David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | May 5, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney and his cabinet will face a mind-boggling agenda far beyond the typical demands facing a new government, writes David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | May 5, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | May 5, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney and his cabinet will face a mind-boggling agenda far beyond the typical demands facing a new government, writes David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | April 24, 2025
A person walks past the Queen’s Gate on April 23, 2025.
A person walks past the Queen’s Gate on April 23, 2025. Canada proclaims to be a world leader in AI, but Stanford University’s AI index ranking countries on various key indicators does not rank Canada in the top 10 AI nations, writes David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | April 24, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | April 24, 2025
A person walks past the Queen’s Gate on April 23, 2025.
A person walks past the Queen’s Gate on April 23, 2025. Canada proclaims to be a world leader in AI, but Stanford University’s AI index ranking countries on various key indicators does not rank Canada in the top 10 AI nations, writes David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | April 18, 2025
This is our new world and, in it, we will face intense pressures to find out where we best fit. Can we build a Canada much less dependent on the oil and gas and auto industries? There’s a good chance we will have to, and there's no time to waste, writes David Crane. Image courtesy of Pixabay
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | April 18, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | April 18, 2025
This is our new world and, in it, we will face intense pressures to find out where we best fit. Can we build a Canada much less dependent on the oil and gas and auto industries? There’s a good chance we will have to, and there's no time to waste, writes David Crane. Image courtesy of Pixabay
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | April 14, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump, centre, Prime Minister Mark Carney, top left, and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre. Trump's trade war has forced Canada to rethink its economic position in the world, but David Crane says Canada's political leaders are missing the mark with talk of accelerating oil and gas projects and critical minerals. The Hill Times photographs by Andrew Meade, Wikimedia Commons, and Pixabay, and illustration courtesy of Joey Sabourin
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | April 14, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | April 14, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump, centre, Prime Minister Mark Carney, top left, and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre. Trump's trade war has forced Canada to rethink its economic position in the world, but David Crane says Canada's political leaders are missing the mark with talk of accelerating oil and gas projects and critical minerals. The Hill Times photographs by Andrew Meade, Wikimedia Commons, and Pixabay, and illustration courtesy of Joey Sabourin
Prime Minister Mark Carney, left, and United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade and courtesy Wikimedia Commons
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | April 3, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney, left, and United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade and courtesy Wikimedia Commons
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | March 31, 2025
Pro-pipeline demonstrators on the Hill on Feb. 19, 2019. Even the world’s biggest petrostate, Saudi Arabia, recognizes that it can't rely on oil and gas to keep it afloat, and is busy diversifying away from its reliance on oil. We must as well, writes David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | March 31, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | March 31, 2025
Pro-pipeline demonstrators on the Hill on Feb. 19, 2019. Even the world’s biggest petrostate, Saudi Arabia, recognizes that it can't rely on oil and gas to keep it afloat, and is busy diversifying away from its reliance on oil. We must as well, writes David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | March 17, 2025
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, left, U.S. President Donald Trump, and Prime Minister Mark Carney. The Hill Times photographs by Andrew Meade, Sam Garcia, and courtesy of Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons, illustration courtesy of The Hill Times' Neena Singhal
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | March 17, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | March 17, 2025
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, left, U.S. President Donald Trump, and Prime Minister Mark Carney. The Hill Times photographs by Andrew Meade, Sam Garcia, and courtesy of Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons, illustration courtesy of The Hill Times' Neena Singhal
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | March 3, 2025
Donald Trump
U.S. President Donald Trump's 'MAGA aggression,' if implemented, would be even more destructive than the highly protectionist trade policies of the 1930s that played such a great role in extending and deepening the Great Depression, writes David Crane. Photograph courtesy of Gage Skidmore/Flickr
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | March 3, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | March 3, 2025
Donald Trump
U.S. President Donald Trump's 'MAGA aggression,' if implemented, would be even more destructive than the highly protectionist trade policies of the 1930s that played such a great role in extending and deepening the Great Depression, writes David Crane. Photograph courtesy of Gage Skidmore/Flickr
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | July 15, 2019
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | July 15, 2019
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | July 15, 2019
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | July 5, 2019
Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains, pictured in this file photograph at an event on the Hill. The Hill Times photograph by Sam Garcia
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | July 5, 2019
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | July 5, 2019
Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains, pictured in this file photograph at an event on the Hill. The Hill Times photograph by Sam Garcia
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | July 1, 2019
Perhaps no decision better illustrates today the choices facing Canada and its future competitiveness and prosperity than who gets to develop Toronto’s waterfront and benefit from the intellectual property, technology development, and scaling up of companies that the multi-billion-dollar project will generate, writes David Crane. Photograph courtesy of Flickr
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | July 1, 2019
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | July 1, 2019
Perhaps no decision better illustrates today the choices facing Canada and its future competitiveness and prosperity than who gets to develop Toronto’s waterfront and benefit from the intellectual property, technology development, and scaling up of companies that the multi-billion-dollar project will generate, writes David Crane. Photograph courtesy of Flickr
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | June 24, 2019
Andrew Scheer’s long-awaited climate plan turned out to be long on wishful thinking and short on details. In other words, a dud. What were the Conservatives thinking? Did they really believe that Canadians would take this plan seriously? The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | June 24, 2019
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | June 24, 2019
Andrew Scheer’s long-awaited climate plan turned out to be long on wishful thinking and short on details. In other words, a dud. What were the Conservatives thinking? Did they really believe that Canadians would take this plan seriously? The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | June 10, 2019
Science Minister Kirsty Duncan recently cancelled the Network of National Centres of Excellence program. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | June 10, 2019
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | June 10, 2019
Science Minister Kirsty Duncan recently cancelled the Network of National Centres of Excellence program. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | June 3, 2019
Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains, pictured in 2017 test-driving a hydrogen power-celled car with Justice Minister David Lametti on the Hill. One of the biggest weaknesses in the government’s innovation policies is the lack of serious analytical research on the nature of our innovation challenge and how best to address it, writes David Crane. The Hill Times file photograph
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | June 3, 2019
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | June 3, 2019
Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains, pictured in 2017 test-driving a hydrogen power-celled car with Justice Minister David Lametti on the Hill. One of the biggest weaknesses in the government’s innovation policies is the lack of serious analytical research on the nature of our innovation challenge and how best to address it, writes David Crane. The Hill Times file photograph
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | May 27, 2019
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, pictured speaking at the Manning Networking Conference in Ottawa in March, ignores the big challenge of boosting innovation-led productivity growth, argues David Crane, instead focusing on tired homilies on smaller government, tax cuts, and less regulation. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | May 27, 2019
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | May 27, 2019
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, pictured speaking at the Manning Networking Conference in Ottawa in March, ignores the big challenge of boosting innovation-led productivity growth, argues David Crane, instead focusing on tired homilies on smaller government, tax cuts, and less regulation. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | May 20, 2019
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | May 20, 2019
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | May 20, 2019
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | May 13, 2019
BlackBerry CEO, John Chen, right, pictured in a CNBC interview recently. This new digital world will see vast flows of data within and between all kinds of public and private organizations at a time when criminals, terrorists and state agencies are becoming increasingly sophisticated in how they disrupt systems we all depend on, writes David Crane. Screen capture image courtesy CNBC
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | May 13, 2019
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | May 13, 2019
BlackBerry CEO, John Chen, right, pictured in a CNBC interview recently. This new digital world will see vast flows of data within and between all kinds of public and private organizations at a time when criminals, terrorists and state agencies are becoming increasingly sophisticated in how they disrupt systems we all depend on, writes David Crane. Screen capture image courtesy CNBC
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | May 6, 2019
More Canadians are working than ever before—some 18.9 million in March—and the unemployment rate is down to 5.8 per cent. Yet for many Canadians there is little cause for celebration, writes David Crane. The Hill Times file photograph
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | May 6, 2019
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | May 6, 2019
More Canadians are working than ever before—some 18.9 million in March—and the unemployment rate is down to 5.8 per cent. Yet for many Canadians there is little cause for celebration, writes David Crane. The Hill Times file photograph