Canada deports more people, predominantly those rejected for refugee status

Canada deported more people last year to hit its highest annual level of removals in about a decade, overwhelmingly deporting people whose refugee claims were rejected.

By late November, Canada's removal numbers had reached their highest point since at least 2015, when the governing Liberals led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau came to power.

That's quite symbolic.
#immigration
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💸❌🏳️‍🌈 Corporate sponsors pull support from Pride Toronto amid DEI backlash

Pride Toronto says some of its major corporate sponsors have pulled support for this year’s festival as the backlash towards diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives intensifies. The festival is facing a $300,000 funding shortfall.

But wait. That's good news, right?

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🗳 PCs win as Crombie fails to earn seat in Mississauga but vows to remain leader

Doug Ford has won a third straight majority government while the NDP will again form the official opposition in Ontario.

The Liberals appear poised to regain official party status, despite Bonnie Crombie’s loss in Mississauga.
#Ontario #election
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🇺🇸 Trudeau shuts down NDP proposal to bar Trump from G7 summit

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is rejecting NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh's proposal to bar Donald Trump from attending the G7 summit taking place this spring in Canada.

I think it's easy for politicians to toss out easy and shocking things to say. We see a lot of that around the world these days. I'm not someone who thinks that's a responsible way to lead a country or even carry an important political dialogue.

#US
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🇺🇸 Trump says 25% tariff on most Canadian goods will take effect March 4

U.S. President Donald Trump says he will end a month-long pause and slap a 25 per cent tariff on most Canadian goods as of March 4, claiming he needs to take action because "drugs are still pouring into our country" despite evidence that a crackdown at the border is working.
#US
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🇷🇺✈️ Russian cargo plane seized in Toronto could soon be owned by Canada

The federal government has taken administrative steps to help gain full control over a massive Russian cargo plane parked in Toronto, which Ottawa hopes to use to generate financial support for Ukraine.

This looks like it’s the government gearing up for its forfeiture of that aircraft.

said William Pellerin, an Ottawa-based trade lawyer.

He says he expects the government “to move very quickly on this forfeiture, imminently” by seeking a court order to render the plane property of the Crown.
#Russia
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💰Alberta's $5.2B budget deficit could jump to $8.7B under worst-case tariff scenario

Alberta is forecasting it will end the next fiscal year with a $5.2 billion deficit but that could soar to $8.7 billion under a worst-case tariff scenario outlined in Thursday's provincial budget.

Alberta government officials estimate the worst scenario could result in a loss of $3.5 billion in revenue in the 2025-26 fiscal year and cost 90,000 jobs over the next three years.
#Alberta
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🇺🇸🇨🇳 Joly says Canada open to discussing U.S. proposal to match tariffs on China

Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said Friday Ottawa is willing to discuss a new request from Washington that Canada match any U.S. tariffs imposed on China to create what U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is calling “fortress North America.”
#US #China
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💊‘20 times more potent than fentanyl’: CBSA and RCMP seize packages of synthetic opioids

A Mississauga, Ont. man is being accused of trafficking a synthetic opioid that can be 20 times more potent than fentanyl after border agents intercepted shipments containing the drugs at two mail sorting centres.

A news release Friday said Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers seized multiple shipments of synthetic opioids arriving from China at the international mail and cargo processing facilities in Mississauga and Vancouver, BC.

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🇮🇪🇬🇧 Mark Carney says he's begun the process of renouncing Irish, U.K. citizenship

Liberal leadership hopeful Mark Carney says he's written to the British and Irish governments to begin the process of renouncing his citizenship in both countries, which would leave him solely with Canadian citizenship if the process is completed.

Why would he need three citizenships in the first place?

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Quebec tables bill to limit strikes

The Quebec government has tabled a new bill to limit the duration of strikes and lockouts.

Tabled today by Labour Minister Jean Boulet, the bill aims to protect services required to maintain “social, economic and environmental security,” especially of vulnerable people.

The legislation follows several lengthy labour disputes in recent years, including a teacher strike that closed 800 Quebec public schools for 22 days starting in November 2023.
#Quebec
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🇺🇸 Ford doubles down on threat to cut off energy to U.S. amid spectre of trade war

Newly re-elected Premier Doug Ford doubled down Monday on his threat to cut off electricity flowing from Ontario to several American states if the U.S. moves ahead with tariffs.

If they want to try to annihilate Ontario, I will do anything — including cutting off their energy — with a smile on my face. They need to feel the pain. They want to come at us? We've got to go back twice as hard.

#US
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🇺🇸 CBSA head says it’s unclear what more Canada can offer to the U.S. to avoid tariffs

The head of the Canada Border Services Agency says it’s not clear what more Canada could offer to the United States to once again avoid the imposition of punishing tariffs on Tuesday, even as a senior U.S. Cabinet member said Sunday that Canada has “done a reasonable job” of securing the border.
#US
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🇺🇸Trump tariffs, Canadian counter tariffs now in effect as deadline passes

With no indication that U.S. President Donald Trump has reversed course, blanket tariffs have been imposed on Canadian goods.

Trump said Monday that his long-threatened trade war is going ahead with 25 per cent levies on most Canadian goods and that they would take effect as of midnight Tuesday.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said later on Monday that a first tranche of retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods would also be going into force at the same time.
#US
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🇺🇸

While less than 1 per cent of the fentanyl intercepted at the U.S. border comes from Canada, we have worked relentlessly to address this scourge that affects Canadians and Americans alike. We implemented a $1.3 billion border plan with new choppers, boots on the ground, more co-ordination, and increased resources to stop the flow of fentanyl.

We appointed a Fentanyl Czar, listed transnational criminal cartels as terrorist organizations, launched the Joint Operational Intelligence Cell, and are establishing a Canada-U.S. Joint Strike Force on organized crime. Because of this work – in partnership with the United States – fentanyl seizures from Canada have dropped 97 per cent between December 2024 and January 2025 to a near-zero low of 0.03 pounds seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

-Trudeau

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🇬🇧🇺🇸 British nuclear weapons can protect Canada against Trump, says Freeland

Canada should seek closer ties with Britain because its nuclear weapons can help protect the country against Donald Trump, Chrystia Freeland said.

She said that US president is “clearly threatening our sovereignty” with his campaign to absorb Canada as the 51st state of America.

In order to “guarantee our security”, Ms Freeland said she would build closer security partnerships with European NATO allies and “I would be sure that France and Britain were there, who possess nuclear weapons”.
#UK #US #Freeland
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🇺🇸 Trump states that U.S. reciprocal tariffs will increase in response to Canada's retaliatory tariffs.
#US
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At 12:01 AM, President Trump stabbed America's best friend in the back. My message to the president is this. Canada will fight back... While Canadians are slow to anger and quick to forgive once provoked, we fight back, and we will fight back.

- Pierre Poilievre
#US
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🇬🇧 Trudeau meets with King Charles to discuss 'matters of importance to Canada'

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with King Charles on Monday to discuss "matters of importance to Canada and to Canadians."

What was the point of this meeting if Trudeau is about to lose his job anyway? And it doesn’t look like the government is willing to help Canada through hard times.
#UK #Trudeau
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Doug Ford threatens to stop nickel shipments to U.S.

Premier Doug Ford is threatening to stop the supply of nickel and electricity to the United States in response to 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods.

We will respond strongly and we don’t want to. On the critical minerals I will stop shipments going into the U.S. for nickel. I will shut down manufacturing because 50 per cent of the nickel you use is coming from Ontario.

Ford said the tariffs would be an “absolute disaster” for both countries and create “massive problems” for residents on either side of the border.
#US
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🛰 Ontario Premier Doug Ford cancels $100-million Starlink contract in tariff response

Ontario has cancelled its $100-million contract with Elon Musk-owned satellite internet company Starlink and will ban all United States (US)-based companies from taking part in provincial procurement as part of retaliatory measures in the North American trade war, Premier Doug Ford announced.

Ford is following through on his threats from last month, before a 30-day détente was struck between Canada and the US. Starlink, a subsidiary of Musk’s SpaceX, inked a contract with the province this past November to provide high-speed internet to 15,000 homes and businesses in rural, remote, northern communities by June 2025.

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