News

Feds mum on wilting conservation program funding as nature spending dips 62 per cent

NewsBY RIDDHI KACHHELA

• The funding for the Enhanced Nature Legacy Program will sunset March 31, and there's no word on its renewal. Meanwhile, the feds say a nature strategy is coming, but the 2026-27 main estimates highlight a 62 per cent drop in cash for nature conservation.

Feds mum on wilting conservation program funding as nature spending dips 62 per cent

NewsBY RIDDHI KACHHELA

• The funding for the Enhanced Nature Legacy Program will sunset March 31, and there's no word on its renewal. Meanwhile, the feds say a nature strategy is coming, but the 2026-27 main estimates highlight a 62 per cent drop in cash for nature conservation.

Carney’s deputy minister shuffle raises national security questions

NewsBY KATHRYN MAY

Feds offering ‘white glove’ treatment for laid off public servants receiving severance, says PSPC official

NewsBY MARLO GLASS

Navy commander, SecState kibosh mixed submarine fleet that experts say would be ‘more complicated’ and ‘inefficient’ to operate

NewsBY IREM KOCA

Veteran rehab contract under scrutiny as observers call on government to return the work in-house

NewsBY IREM KOCA

Feds are ‘silencing’ an agent of Parliament by leaving post vacant, says ex-budget watchdog Giroux

NewsBY IREM KOCA

The Year of Resilience: What 2026 Will Demand From Canada’s Cyber Leaders

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• BY ELEANOR WAND

Main estimates set out $502.8-billion for 2026-27 as National Defence tops voted spending

News

• BY DAVIS LEGREE

Liberals to cut CBC by $192-million in 2026-27

News

• BY STUART BENSON

‘We need guardrails’: Senators look to get ‘ahead of the curve’ on AI regulation as feds eye legislative gaps

Most Albertans don’t support separation, but referendum poses unintended, temporary consequences for Poilievre’s federal Conservatives in the province, says pollster

NewsBY AIDAN RAYNOR

• Conservatives face a 'hard choice' and should 'be worried' as the province confronts pushes for independence, says pollster Quito Maggi. 'They can just hope that there is no election between now and when the referendum takes place.'

Most Albertans don’t support separation, but referendum poses unintended, temporary consequences for Poilievre’s federal Conservatives in the province, says pollster

NewsBY AIDAN RAYNOR

• Conservatives face a 'hard choice' and should 'be worried' as the province confronts pushes for independence, says pollster Quito Maggi. 'They can just hope that there is no election between now and when the referendum takes place.'

Third parties once again main source of House workplace harassment, violence complaints in 2025

NewsBY LAURA RYCKEWAERT

Japan not expecting ‘major shift’ in Canada’s posture in the Indo-Pacific: official 

NewsBY NEIL MOSS

Urban Indigenous funding cutbacks threaten ‘backbone’ of Friendship Centre services, says Ontario federation head

NewsBY STUART BENSON

Canada’s Defence Industrial Strategy – Time to Build.

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FeatureBY CHRISTINA LEADLAY

NDP MPs Gazan, Idlout taking part in Broadbent Institute Progress Summit in Ottawa March 4-6

Podcast

‘Pace yourself for the long haul’: Jocelyne Bourgon joins The Hot Room

FeatureBY KATE MALLOY

The Hill Times’ Top 100 Best Books in 2025

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

Who’s backing the NDP leadership contenders?

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Canada’s Wildlife Is Sounding the Alarm. We Still Have Time to Act.

Some NDP leadership candidates’ policies ‘not terribly viable,’ says McPherson, who denies she’s running a centrist campaign

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

• Three-time Alberta MP Heather McPherson—whose biggest competition is considered to be self-described democratic socialist Avi Lewis—says her campaign is not centrist ‘by any stretch of the imagination.’

Some NDP leadership candidates’ policies ‘not terribly viable,’ says McPherson, who denies she’s running a centrist campaign

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

• Three-time Alberta MP Heather McPherson—whose biggest competition is considered to be self-described democratic socialist Avi Lewis—says her campaign is not centrist ‘by any stretch of the imagination.’

Canada ‘abandoning’ international law with support for U.S. strikes on Iran, say former diplomats

NewsBY NEIL MOSS

Failed asylum-seeker motion shows Conservatives ‘smelled blood in the water’ with minister, immigration as wedge issue, say politicos

NewsBY IREM KOCA

New policy adding nurse practitioners to public health-care plans will go ahead April 1

NewsBY TESSIE SANCI

Prime Minister Carney and his cabinet should rely on deputy ministers—not political staff—for fearless policy advice, say leading governance experts

NewsBY ABBAS RANA

‘A fundamental shift’: new strategy an opportunity to grow domestic industrial base, say lobbyists

NewsBY SERGIY SLIPCHENKO

‘We’re getting closer’: religious groups lobbying feds say they’re hopeful of progress on stalled Liberal anti-hate bill

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

Parliamentary Calendar

McGuinty, Anand to speak at Ottawa Conference on Security and Defence March 4-5

Podcast

‘We knew there was something coming’: how a Canadian charity has been sending aid into Ukraine

News

The Hill Times’ Top 100 Lobbyists in 2025: lobbyists prepare for ‘significant reset’ as federal election begins

News

Tracking job cuts in the federal public service

Podcast

The ‘ambitious’ Defence Industrial Strategy, with Mark Norman

‘Once you get a carveout from one province, it’s game over’: Ottawa-Alberta MOU draws advocates with economic and environment concerns

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

• On the federal lobbyists’ registry, groups that lobbied on the Ottawa-Alberta MOU include the CCLC, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, and Pathways Alliance, a consortium of Canada's largest oilsands producers, including Cenovus Energy, Imperial Oil and Suncor Energy.

‘Once you get a carveout from one province, it’s game over’: Ottawa-Alberta MOU draws advocates with economic and environment concerns

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

• On the federal lobbyists’ registry, groups that lobbied on the Ottawa-Alberta MOU include the CCLC, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, and Pathways Alliance, a consortium of Canada's largest oilsands producers, including Cenovus Energy, Imperial Oil and Suncor Energy.

Ottawa unsure how to regulate AI chatbots after Tumbler Ridge report, as Solomon says ‘all options are on the table’

NewsBY DAVIS LEGREE

Ongoing grievance over public service health-plan switch an ‘interesting’ case, says labour lawyer

NewsBY MARLO GLASS

To be shielded from nomination challenges, incumbent Liberal MPs must meet conditions by Labour Day: new rules

NewsBY ABBAS RANA

Carney should call for extradition of Indian officials linked to Nijjar killing, says ex-Liberal minister Dhaliwal

NewsBY MARLO GLASS, PETER MAZEREEUW

Sole Quebec NDP MP Boulerice says potential provincial run has ‘absolutely nothing to do with’ party’s status

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

• The NDP’s last remaining 2011 ‘Orange Wave’ Quebec MP says he is considering a provincial run with Québec Solidaire ‘more seriously now than ever.’

Sole Quebec NDP MP Boulerice says potential provincial run has ‘absolutely nothing to do with’ party’s status

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

• The NDP’s last remaining 2011 ‘Orange Wave’ Quebec MP says he is considering a provincial run with Québec Solidaire ‘more seriously now than ever.’

Liberals ride wave in federal polls as widening gender, age gaps squeeze Conservatives’ coalition

NewsBY STUART BENSON

Liberals ride wave in federal polls as widening gender, age gaps squeeze Conservatives’ coalition

NewsBY STUART BENSON

Carney’s ‘bridge’ between the EU and the Pacific Rim trade deal likely to stop short of merging blocs, say observers  

NewsBY NEIL MOSS

Carney’s ‘bridge’ between the EU and the Pacific Rim trade deal likely to stop short of merging blocs, say observers  

NewsBY NEIL MOSS

‘This is our home, so we need to be part of the solution’: Inuit-led university to strengthen Canada’s Arctic, say Senators

NewsBY JUSTIN S. CAMPBELL

‘This is our home, so we need to be part of the solution’: Inuit-led university to strengthen Canada’s Arctic, say Senators

NewsBY JUSTIN S. CAMPBELL

Politics This Morning

LeBlanc returns to Washington

Carney shuffles top public servants

Carney to address Australian parliament

Carney Down Under

COVID-19

Outspoken health advocate Joss Reimer talks about finding ‘common ground’ with government as she becomes Canada’s top doctor

‘Diseases do not recognize borders’: U.S. decision to leave WHO ignores reality of how diseases spread, says Liberal MP Powlowski

CUSMA must do more than protect trade—it must secure Canada’s life sciences future

Union raises alarm over pending Public Health Agency job cuts

Election

‘Voters have short memories’: delayed elections commissioner report puts damper on accountability, says political scientist Alex Marland

The road ahead on foreign interference

A snap election still possible, despite potential Liberal byelection wins and more rumoured floor-crossings, say some pollsters

Influence registry will deter few foreign agents without independent enforcement, say national security experts

Politics

NDP MPs Idlout, Gazan join Lewis at leadership event in Ottawa

Two fresh hires for Finance Minister Champagne

Carney’s contradictions: from Davos to New Delhi

‘Playing with fire’: Tony Manera recalls pushback during sovereignty debate

Foreign Policy

Canada can no longer pretend the U.S. is ‘safe’ for refugees

Canada’s trade ambitions rest on a food system we’re dismantling

Mark Carney’s 50 shades of grey zones

Major public service shakeup taps David Morrison to ‘elevated’ key foreign policy role in the centre

Finance and Budget

How to fix Canada’s sputtering productivity

B.C.’s Eby may not be long for the job

With global hegemony attacking the world order, what are middle powers like Canada to do?

‘Everyone should feel the hit’: ministerial offices and PMO should be cut, too, say some leading public policy experts

Lobbying

Questions loom over NDP’s voter verification process as leadership contest enters final stretch

Liberals see path forward for budget bill, but Conservatives still have ‘huge concerns’ with cabinet’s ‘regulatory sandbox’

Ottawa’s lowered lobbying registration thresholds will reshape government relations

‘Unprecedented’ 2025 for canola industry, with record-breaking economic lobbying

Legislation

It’s time to prioritize Canada’s media sovereignty and democratic resilience

Senator’s anti-non-disclosure agreement bill faces roadblocks      

Pipelines or a national power grid: what should Canada build now?

Canadians can’t afford to wait for Right to Repair legislation 

Public Service

Bringing investment banking rigour to Ottawa

Stories from the past should not help separatists

Union warns pay system may not be able to handle layoffs, early retirements 10 years after start of Phoenix problems

Cost of public servants continues to rise, though growth of bureaucracy began to slow in 2024-25: PBO

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