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Monday, December 15, 2025

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Shawn McCarthy

Shawn McCarthy is a senior counsel at Sussex Strategy and a former national business reporter covering global energy for The Globe and Mail. He's also the past president of the World Press Freedom Canada, a volunteer advocacy group based in Ottawa.

Trump’s national security strategy delivers grim message that Canadians downplay at our peril

  • The Trump doctrine essentially portrays Canada as vassal state to American 'pre-eminence' in the hemisphere. Canada, Mexico and other nations of the Americas are
Opinion | BY SHAWN MCCARTHY | December 10, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney, left, and U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., on May 6, 2025. The National Security Strategy implicitly threatens to punish countries—particularly those like Canada—that pursue decarbonization strategies in ways that Trump or his MAGA officials find contrary to American interests, writes Shawn McCarthy. Photograph courtesy of the White House/photographer Daniel Torok

Trump’s national security strategy delivers grim message that Canadians downplay at our peril

Opinion | BY SHAWN MCCARTHY | December 10, 2025
  • The Trump doctrine essentially portrays Canada as vassal state to American 'pre-eminence' in the hemisphere. Canada, Mexico and other nations of the Americas are

Trump’s national security strategy delivers grim message that Canadians downplay at our peril

Opinion | BY SHAWN MCCARTHY | December 10, 2025
  • The Trump doctrine essentially portrays Canada as vassal state to American 'pre-eminence' in the hemisphere. Canada, Mexico and other nations of the Americas are
Prime Minister Mark Carney, left, and U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., on May 6, 2025. The National Security Strategy implicitly threatens to punish countries—particularly those like Canada—that pursue decarbonization strategies in ways that Trump or his MAGA officials find contrary to American interests, writes Shawn McCarthy. Photograph courtesy of the White House/photographer Daniel Torok

Carney makes climate commitment, but can he keep it?

  • While Mark Carney’s public pledge on Paris obligations is welcome, it brings to mind the old saying about the road to hell being paid
Opinion | BY SHAWN MCCARTHY | December 1, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney's government is being pulled in myriad political challenges that may conflict with aggressive action on climate change. Stir in the fraught relations with U.S. President Donald Trump who is openly hostile to climate change policy, and, all told, these other agendas could overwhelm the government's climate agenda. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Carney makes climate commitment, but can he keep it?

Opinion | BY SHAWN MCCARTHY | December 1, 2025
  • While Mark Carney’s public pledge on Paris obligations is welcome, it brings to mind the old saying about the road to hell being paid

Carney makes climate commitment, but can he keep it?

Opinion | BY SHAWN MCCARTHY | December 1, 2025
  • While Mark Carney’s public pledge on Paris obligations is welcome, it brings to mind the old saying about the road to hell being paid
Prime Minister Mark Carney's government is being pulled in myriad political challenges that may conflict with aggressive action on climate change. Stir in the fraught relations with U.S. President Donald Trump who is openly hostile to climate change policy, and, all told, these other agendas could overwhelm the government's climate agenda. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Carney is unwilling to expend any political capital to make the case for Canadian climate leadership

  • It’s time for Mark Carney to recapture that mojo that transformed him from a grey banker to an internationally renown climate champion. Not to
Opinion | BY SHAWN MCCARTHY | November 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

Carney is unwilling to expend any political capital to make the case for Canadian climate leadership

Opinion | BY SHAWN MCCARTHY | November 13, 2025
  • It’s time for Mark Carney to recapture that mojo that transformed him from a grey banker to an internationally renown climate champion. Not to

Carney is unwilling to expend any political capital to make the case for Canadian climate leadership

Opinion | BY SHAWN MCCARTHY | November 13, 2025
  • It’s time for Mark Carney to recapture that mojo that transformed him from a grey banker to an internationally renown climate champion. Not to
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

Government must balance AI development with risk management

  • As we stand at the threshold of the AI Age, Canadian policymakers and citizens must ask: What kind of press do we want? And
Opinion | BY HEATHER BAKKEN, SHAWN MCCARTHY | November 3, 2025
Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon will soon receive a report from an advisory task force that will provide recommendations for a future AI strategy. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Government must balance AI development with risk management

Opinion | BY HEATHER BAKKEN, SHAWN MCCARTHY | November 3, 2025
  • As we stand at the threshold of the AI Age, Canadian policymakers and citizens must ask: What kind of press do we want? And

Government must balance AI development with risk management

Opinion | BY HEATHER BAKKEN, SHAWN MCCARTHY | November 3, 2025
  • As we stand at the threshold of the AI Age, Canadian policymakers and citizens must ask: What kind of press do we want? And
Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon will soon receive a report from an advisory task force that will provide recommendations for a future AI strategy. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Trans Mountain pipeline tolls could leave feds on the hook for billions in further costs

  • While approximately 70 per cent of the project's cost overruns will be borne by Trans Mountain, the remaining third—more than $9-billion—is considered 'uncapped costs'
Opinion | BY SHAWN MCCARTHY | September 22, 2025
While an oil pipeline was not on the list of 'projects of national interest' that the prime minister released on Sept. 11, Energy Minister Tim Hodgson said the government is prepared to work towards such a project. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Trans Mountain pipeline tolls could leave feds on the hook for billions in further costs

Opinion | BY SHAWN MCCARTHY | September 22, 2025
  • While approximately 70 per cent of the project's cost overruns will be borne by Trans Mountain, the remaining third—more than $9-billion—is considered 'uncapped costs'

Trans Mountain pipeline tolls could leave feds on the hook for billions in further costs

Opinion | BY SHAWN MCCARTHY | September 22, 2025
  • While approximately 70 per cent of the project's cost overruns will be borne by Trans Mountain, the remaining third—more than $9-billion—is considered 'uncapped costs'
While an oil pipeline was not on the list of 'projects of national interest' that the prime minister released on Sept. 11, Energy Minister Tim Hodgson said the government is prepared to work towards such a project. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Carney should heed his own advice from his bestselling book, Value(s)

  • Clean-energy projects—building out the grid, supporting renewable and other clean-tech investment, and financing efficiency—can deliver on affordability, growth, and sustainability goals. Carney and his key
Opinion | BY SHAWN MCCARTHY | August 18, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney at 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

Carney should heed his own advice from his bestselling book, Value(s)

Opinion | BY SHAWN MCCARTHY | August 18, 2025
  • Clean-energy projects—building out the grid, supporting renewable and other clean-tech investment, and financing efficiency—can deliver on affordability, growth, and sustainability goals. Carney and his key

Carney should heed his own advice from his bestselling book, Value(s)

Opinion | BY SHAWN MCCARTHY | August 18, 2025
  • Clean-energy projects—building out the grid, supporting renewable and other clean-tech investment, and financing efficiency—can deliver on affordability, growth, and sustainability goals. Carney and his key
Prime Minister Mark Carney at 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

Can Canada be a clean energy superpower? Not without tax credits

  • It will take enormous commitment and discipline to meet the bold promise of making Canada a clean energy superpower—traits that have not yet been
Opinion | BY SHAWN MCCARTHY | July 14, 2025
Energy Minister Tim Hodgson said in a recent speech that the climate is changing, and the Canadian economy has to be retooled to reflect that reality, but Shawn McCarthy argues that Hodgson's government has not demonstrated the same urgency around clean-economy policies that it has shown with deregulation. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Can Canada be a clean energy superpower? Not without tax credits

Opinion | BY SHAWN MCCARTHY | July 14, 2025
  • It will take enormous commitment and discipline to meet the bold promise of making Canada a clean energy superpower—traits that have not yet been

Can Canada be a clean energy superpower? Not without tax credits

Opinion | BY SHAWN MCCARTHY | July 14, 2025
  • It will take enormous commitment and discipline to meet the bold promise of making Canada a clean energy superpower—traits that have not yet been
Energy Minister Tim Hodgson said in a recent speech that the climate is changing, and the Canadian economy has to be retooled to reflect that reality, but Shawn McCarthy argues that Hodgson's government has not demonstrated the same urgency around clean-economy policies that it has shown with deregulation. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

The urgency of confronting a warming world remains

  • As Mark Carney battles Donald Trump’s trade wars and confronts western alienation, he will also have to lead Canada’s heighten effort in the energy
Opinion | BY SHAWN MCCARTHY | June 11, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney arrives for the Liberal caucus meeting in West Block on May 25, 2025. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Prime Minister Mark Carney arrives for the Liberal caucus meeting in West Block on May 25, 2025. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Prime Minister Mark Carney arrives for the Liberal caucus meeting in West Block on May 25, 2025. While climate change policy appears to have receded as a priority for the Carney government, the urgency of confronting a warming world remains, writes Shawn McCarthy. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

The urgency of confronting a warming world remains

Opinion | BY SHAWN MCCARTHY | June 11, 2025
  • As Mark Carney battles Donald Trump’s trade wars and confronts western alienation, he will also have to lead Canada’s heighten effort in the energy

The urgency of confronting a warming world remains

Opinion | BY SHAWN MCCARTHY | June 11, 2025
  • As Mark Carney battles Donald Trump’s trade wars and confronts western alienation, he will also have to lead Canada’s heighten effort in the energy
Prime Minister Mark Carney arrives for the Liberal caucus meeting in West Block on May 25, 2025. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Prime Minister Mark Carney arrives for the Liberal caucus meeting in West Block on May 25, 2025. While climate change policy appears to have receded as a priority for the Carney government, the urgency of confronting a warming world remains, writes Shawn McCarthy. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Carney wants a pipeline, but building one will be even harder than it sounds

  • The Liberal government is pushing for a 'nation-building' project to expand fossil fuel production, but the barriers are enormous.
Opinion | BY SHAWN MCCARTHY | June 2, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney arrives for the Liberal party caucus meeting in the West Block on May 25, 2025. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Carney wants a pipeline, but building one will be even harder than it sounds

Opinion | BY SHAWN MCCARTHY | June 2, 2025
  • The Liberal government is pushing for a 'nation-building' project to expand fossil fuel production, but the barriers are enormous.

Carney wants a pipeline, but building one will be even harder than it sounds

Opinion | BY SHAWN MCCARTHY | June 2, 2025
  • The Liberal government is pushing for a 'nation-building' project to expand fossil fuel production, but the barriers are enormous.
Prime Minister Mark Carney arrives for the Liberal party caucus meeting in the West Block on May 25, 2025. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Trump’s tariff barrage roils Canadian energy world

  • Donald Trump represents a poisonous addition to this country’s often-rancorous, decades-old debate over pipelines and the oil and gas industry’s environmental impacts. Any appeal
Opinion | BY SHAWN MCCARTHY | March 17, 2025
Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario, speaks with Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs Dominic LeBlanc and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly after a press conference after the First Ministers Meeting in Ottawa on Jan. 15, 2025. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario, speaks with Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs Dominic LeBlanc and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly after a press conference after the First Ministers Meeting in Ottawa on Jan. 15, 2025. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
International Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc, left, Ontario Premier Doug Ford, and Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, picture at the first ministers' meeting in Ottawa on Jan. 14, 2025. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Trump’s tariff barrage roils Canadian energy world

Opinion | BY SHAWN MCCARTHY | March 17, 2025
  • Donald Trump represents a poisonous addition to this country’s often-rancorous, decades-old debate over pipelines and the oil and gas industry’s environmental impacts. Any appeal

Trump’s tariff barrage roils Canadian energy world

Opinion | BY SHAWN MCCARTHY | March 17, 2025
  • Donald Trump represents a poisonous addition to this country’s often-rancorous, decades-old debate over pipelines and the oil and gas industry’s environmental impacts. Any appeal
Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario, speaks with Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs Dominic LeBlanc and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly after a press conference after the First Ministers Meeting in Ottawa on Jan. 15, 2025. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
International Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc, left, Ontario Premier Doug Ford, and Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, picture at the first ministers' meeting in Ottawa on Jan. 14, 2025. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Dangers to global security from climate change increase with Trump’s win

  • Regardless of their stance on setting targets and acting to curb greenhouse gas emissions, governments in Canada will have to grapple with climate change’s
Opinion | BY SHAWN MCCARTHY | November 11, 2024
Deployments of the Canadian military to deal with climate-related emergencies have tripled on an annual basis from a decade ago, writes Shawn McCarthy. Photograph courtesy of Stefan Doerr

Dangers to global security from climate change increase with Trump’s win

Opinion | BY SHAWN MCCARTHY | November 11, 2024
  • Regardless of their stance on setting targets and acting to curb greenhouse gas emissions, governments in Canada will have to grapple with climate change’s

Dangers to global security from climate change increase with Trump’s win

Opinion | BY SHAWN MCCARTHY | November 11, 2024
  • Regardless of their stance on setting targets and acting to curb greenhouse gas emissions, governments in Canada will have to grapple with climate change’s
Deployments of the Canadian military to deal with climate-related emergencies have tripled on an annual basis from a decade ago, writes Shawn McCarthy. Photograph courtesy of Stefan Doerr

Adaptation to climate change should be a non-partisan priority

  • Climate change is now upon us. We need to prepare for the inevitable consequences of our failure to head off the crisis.
Opinion | BY SHAWN MCCARTHY | October 7, 2024
While we can debate emission reduction strategies, there's no avoiding the reality that climate change is having a costly impact of households and businesses, one that will only increase over time, writes Shawn McCarthy. Photograph courtesy Marc-André Leclerc, DND Canada

Adaptation to climate change should be a non-partisan priority

Opinion | BY SHAWN MCCARTHY | October 7, 2024
  • Climate change is now upon us. We need to prepare for the inevitable consequences of our failure to head off the crisis.

Adaptation to climate change should be a non-partisan priority

Opinion | BY SHAWN MCCARTHY | October 7, 2024
  • Climate change is now upon us. We need to prepare for the inevitable consequences of our failure to head off the crisis.
While we can debate emission reduction strategies, there's no avoiding the reality that climate change is having a costly impact of households and businesses, one that will only increase over time, writes Shawn McCarthy. Photograph courtesy Marc-André Leclerc, DND Canada

Finance Canada ragging puck on crucial policies needed to drive clean-energy transition

  • Climate risk disclosures and voluntary commitments are good but won't help foster change in business-as-usual banking and investment. Chrystia Freeland could spur the action
Opinion | BY SHAWN MCCARTHY | October 25, 2023
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland at the CARICOM-Canada Summit in Ottawa on Oct. 18, 2023. Finance Canada is seen as a laggard in its effort to bolster sustainable finance in order to reduce Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions and incentivize future-friendly investment, writes Shawn McCarthy. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Finance Canada ragging puck on crucial policies needed to drive clean-energy transition

Opinion | BY SHAWN MCCARTHY | October 25, 2023
  • Climate risk disclosures and voluntary commitments are good but won't help foster change in business-as-usual banking and investment. Chrystia Freeland could spur the action

Finance Canada ragging puck on crucial policies needed to drive clean-energy transition

Opinion | BY SHAWN MCCARTHY | October 25, 2023
  • Climate risk disclosures and voluntary commitments are good but won't help foster change in business-as-usual banking and investment. Chrystia Freeland could spur the action
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland at the CARICOM-Canada Summit in Ottawa on Oct. 18, 2023. Finance Canada is seen as a laggard in its effort to bolster sustainable finance in order to reduce Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions and incentivize future-friendly investment, writes Shawn McCarthy. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

We need to live up to our climate commitments, now

  • Now is not the time to retreat. Or to think we can fully 'adapt' to the extreme ravages of climate change. Or to think that we
Opinion | BY SHAWN MCCARTHY | July 17, 2023
Environment Steven Guilbeault, pictured on the Hill. Deadly heat waves and other extreme weather events are already upon us. The adverse impacts will only grow in terms of economic activity, human health, and mortality, as well as its deleterious effects on the species that share the planet with us. Canada has to do much more. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

We need to live up to our climate commitments, now

Opinion | BY SHAWN MCCARTHY | July 17, 2023
  • Now is not the time to retreat. Or to think we can fully 'adapt' to the extreme ravages of climate change. Or to think that we

We need to live up to our climate commitments, now

Opinion | BY SHAWN MCCARTHY | July 17, 2023
  • Now is not the time to retreat. Or to think we can fully 'adapt' to the extreme ravages of climate change. Or to think that we
Environment Steven Guilbeault, pictured on the Hill. Deadly heat waves and other extreme weather events are already upon us. The adverse impacts will only grow in terms of economic activity, human health, and mortality, as well as its deleterious effects on the species that share the planet with us. Canada has to do much more. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
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