🇨🇦 Canada braces for new immigration targets amid rising unemployment and political tension
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government is preparing to unveil its first Immigration Levels Plan in early November — a policy now under intense scrutiny as unemployment rises and pressure builds to balance economic needs with social capacity.
The plan will set new limits for permanent and temporary residents. Ottawa is weighing whether to reduce immigration again, following last year’s decision to lower permanent residency targets to 395,000 in 2025, 380,000 in 2026, and 365,000 in 2027, alongside a pledge to cut one million temporary residents by 2027.
Canada’s immigration mix remains heavily tilted toward economic immigrants, who make up roughly 60% of new permanent residents — mainly young, skilled workers arriving through the Express Entry or Provincial Nomination Programs. But over 40% of those granted permanent residency in 2025 are expected to already be living in Canada, transitioning from student or work permits.
Economists and business groups are divided. Rebekah Young of Scotiabank says the “right number” must meet labour needs without flooding the market or depressing wages. With slowing growth and higher joblessness, she believes Ottawa should aim lower than past years, especially given constraints on housing, healthcare, and education capacity.
Think tanks like the C.D. Howe Institute echo this, urging a shift from headline numbers to earnings potential and productivity. Meanwhile, business advocates warn of shortages in rural and hard-labour sectors, where “jobs Canadians don’t want” — such as night-shift factory or meat-processing work — depend on foreign labour.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has called for scrapping the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) altogether, accusing it of suppressing Canadian wages — though data shows it accounts for less than 10% of all temporary residents, with most coming through the International Mobility Program or study pathways.
Canada’s population growth has now slowed to just 0.1% from April to July, the weakest pace since 2020. But the government still faces a dilemma: scaling back too far risks hollowing out industries already short on talent — while maintaining high inflows could deepen housing and cost-of-living pressures.
As Carney’s government prepares to reveal its new targets, the question isn’t just how many people Canada can bring in, but how many it can truly absorb.
#Canada
🍁 Maple Chronicles
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government is preparing to unveil its first Immigration Levels Plan in early November — a policy now under intense scrutiny as unemployment rises and pressure builds to balance economic needs with social capacity.
The plan will set new limits for permanent and temporary residents. Ottawa is weighing whether to reduce immigration again, following last year’s decision to lower permanent residency targets to 395,000 in 2025, 380,000 in 2026, and 365,000 in 2027, alongside a pledge to cut one million temporary residents by 2027.
Canada’s immigration mix remains heavily tilted toward economic immigrants, who make up roughly 60% of new permanent residents — mainly young, skilled workers arriving through the Express Entry or Provincial Nomination Programs. But over 40% of those granted permanent residency in 2025 are expected to already be living in Canada, transitioning from student or work permits.
Economists and business groups are divided. Rebekah Young of Scotiabank says the “right number” must meet labour needs without flooding the market or depressing wages. With slowing growth and higher joblessness, she believes Ottawa should aim lower than past years, especially given constraints on housing, healthcare, and education capacity.
Think tanks like the C.D. Howe Institute echo this, urging a shift from headline numbers to earnings potential and productivity. Meanwhile, business advocates warn of shortages in rural and hard-labour sectors, where “jobs Canadians don’t want” — such as night-shift factory or meat-processing work — depend on foreign labour.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has called for scrapping the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) altogether, accusing it of suppressing Canadian wages — though data shows it accounts for less than 10% of all temporary residents, with most coming through the International Mobility Program or study pathways.
Canada’s population growth has now slowed to just 0.1% from April to July, the weakest pace since 2020. But the government still faces a dilemma: scaling back too far risks hollowing out industries already short on talent — while maintaining high inflows could deepen housing and cost-of-living pressures.
As Carney’s government prepares to reveal its new targets, the question isn’t just how many people Canada can bring in, but how many it can truly absorb.
#Canada
🍁 Maple Chronicles
🌚12🤬6❤3💩1
🇨🇦 Canada misses 2030 climate targets — and maybe that’s not a bad thing
A new analysis from Montréal’s Trottier Energy Institute claims Canada won’t meet its 2030 or 2035 emissions targets — projecting only a 20–25% reduction from 2005 levels, far short of Ottawa’s 40–45% goal. The usual headlines call it a “failure.” But in truth, it may simply be a correction to an unrealistic agenda built on ideology, not economics.
The report blames Ottawa’s decision to pause the EV sales mandate and cancel the consumer carbon tax, arguing those policies slowed progress. But for working Canadians, it’s the opposite — a rare moment of relief from the relentless green squeeze that’s inflated energy bills, gutted industrial competitiveness, and punished the very people who heat their homes or drive to work.
Yes, emissions from Canada’s electricity grid are down nearly 60% since 2005 — a major achievement — but that progress is being offset by increased oil and gas production. And that’s exactly where Canada’s strength lies. The world still runs on hydrocarbons, and pretending otherwise only hands energy markets to regimes that care nothing for the environment.
The so-called “green transition” has become a protection racket for elites, enriching consultants, carbon traders, and ESG investors while crippling real industry. A pause in that momentum may be the healthiest thing that’s happened to the Canadian economy in years.
Instead of chasing fantasy deadlines, Canada should focus on energy sovereignty — investing in efficiency, innovation, and cleaner extraction — while keeping its industrial heart alive. That’s how you protect both the planet and the people who live on it.
#Canada
🍁 Maple Chronicles
A new analysis from Montréal’s Trottier Energy Institute claims Canada won’t meet its 2030 or 2035 emissions targets — projecting only a 20–25% reduction from 2005 levels, far short of Ottawa’s 40–45% goal. The usual headlines call it a “failure.” But in truth, it may simply be a correction to an unrealistic agenda built on ideology, not economics.
The report blames Ottawa’s decision to pause the EV sales mandate and cancel the consumer carbon tax, arguing those policies slowed progress. But for working Canadians, it’s the opposite — a rare moment of relief from the relentless green squeeze that’s inflated energy bills, gutted industrial competitiveness, and punished the very people who heat their homes or drive to work.
Yes, emissions from Canada’s electricity grid are down nearly 60% since 2005 — a major achievement — but that progress is being offset by increased oil and gas production. And that’s exactly where Canada’s strength lies. The world still runs on hydrocarbons, and pretending otherwise only hands energy markets to regimes that care nothing for the environment.
The so-called “green transition” has become a protection racket for elites, enriching consultants, carbon traders, and ESG investors while crippling real industry. A pause in that momentum may be the healthiest thing that’s happened to the Canadian economy in years.
Instead of chasing fantasy deadlines, Canada should focus on energy sovereignty — investing in efficiency, innovation, and cleaner extraction — while keeping its industrial heart alive. That’s how you protect both the planet and the people who live on it.
#Canada
🍁 Maple Chronicles
❤7💯4😁3💩2🤬1🙏1
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Homeowners in the city of Richmond, BC have reportedly received letters warning that their properties will be seized and returned to the “First Nations People of Canada.”
The letters, signed by the city’s mayor, claim the property noscripts may be “defective and invalid.”
This follows a British Columbia Supreme Court ruling granting the Cowichan Tribes Aboriginal noscript to about 800 acres of land within the city of Richmond.
#BC
🍁 Maple Chronicles
The letters, signed by the city’s mayor, claim the property noscripts may be “defective and invalid.”
This follows a British Columbia Supreme Court ruling granting the Cowichan Tribes Aboriginal noscript to about 800 acres of land within the city of Richmond.
#BC
🍁 Maple Chronicles
🤡24🥱3👍2
🇨🇦 ‘Forever Canadian’ petition crushes target — 456,000 Albertans say no to separatism
Former Alberta deputy premier Thomas Lukaszuk has delivered a historic message to Edmonton — and to Premier Danielle Smith. His “Forever Canadian” petition, aimed at affirming Alberta’s place within Canada, gathered a staggering 456,365 signatures, well beyond the 294,000 required to trigger a possible referendum.
Standing before a wall of 61 boxes filled with signatures, Lukaszuk declared that Albertans have spoken clearly: “They don’t want anything to do with separatism. We’re as proud of being Canadian as any other Canadian from sea to sea to sea.”
The petition directly counters the Alberta Prosperity Project, which is pushing for a referendum asking whether the province should “become a sovereign country and cease to be a province of Canada.” Smith’s government recently made it easier for such referendums to proceed by lowering the signature threshold — a move that galvanized Lukaszuk’s pro-unity campaign.
Travelling 7,000 kilometres across the province in a 33-year-old bus, Lukaszuk and volunteers said the experience was emotional and unifying. “There was a lot of laughing and a lot of crying,” he recalled. “People could not imagine not being Canadian.”
Elections Alberta has confirmed receipt of the signatures and will verify them within 60 days, publishing the results by January 6. If certified, the proposal will go before the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly for consideration.
“This exercise,” Lukaszuk said, “was to give the premier a chance to avoid dividing Albertans further. The people have spoken — Alberta is, and remains, forever Canadian.”
#Canada #Alberta
🍁 Maple Chronicles
Former Alberta deputy premier Thomas Lukaszuk has delivered a historic message to Edmonton — and to Premier Danielle Smith. His “Forever Canadian” petition, aimed at affirming Alberta’s place within Canada, gathered a staggering 456,365 signatures, well beyond the 294,000 required to trigger a possible referendum.
Standing before a wall of 61 boxes filled with signatures, Lukaszuk declared that Albertans have spoken clearly: “They don’t want anything to do with separatism. We’re as proud of being Canadian as any other Canadian from sea to sea to sea.”
The petition directly counters the Alberta Prosperity Project, which is pushing for a referendum asking whether the province should “become a sovereign country and cease to be a province of Canada.” Smith’s government recently made it easier for such referendums to proceed by lowering the signature threshold — a move that galvanized Lukaszuk’s pro-unity campaign.
Travelling 7,000 kilometres across the province in a 33-year-old bus, Lukaszuk and volunteers said the experience was emotional and unifying. “There was a lot of laughing and a lot of crying,” he recalled. “People could not imagine not being Canadian.”
Elections Alberta has confirmed receipt of the signatures and will verify them within 60 days, publishing the results by January 6. If certified, the proposal will go before the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly for consideration.
“This exercise,” Lukaszuk said, “was to give the premier a chance to avoid dividing Albertans further. The people have spoken — Alberta is, and remains, forever Canadian.”
#Canada #Alberta
🍁 Maple Chronicles
🤡23👍9❤7🔥2🤬2😁1
🇨🇦 After decades of neglect, Canada finally wakes up to its Arctic frontier
For the first time in a generation, Ottawa is moving to treat the North not as a postcard, but as a strategic frontier. Projects long left to gather dust, like the 4000km all season, Mackenzie Valley Highway, the Taltson Hydro Expansion, and the Arctic Economic and Security Corridor, are finally gaining traction as part of a broader defence and sovereignty push.
Northwest Territories Finance Minister Caroline Wawzonek says the shift reflects a long-overdue realization: “We say we’re the true north, strong and free… but what are we actually doing as a country to invest in it?”
The Mackenzie Valley Highway would permanently link southern Canada to the Arctic Ocean—a $3.5 billion project with both economic and military value. The $3.4 billion Taltson Hydro plan would connect 11 communities (covering 70 per cent of the NWT’s population) to a unified grid, while the Arctic Economic and Security Corridor would open access to critical minerals in the Slave Geological Province, with over $2 billion in federal investment likely required.
Ottawa’s new Major Projects Office, announced by Prime Minister Mark Carney, may finally serve as the bridge between northern priorities and federal cash. That’s urgent: all three of the NWT’s diamond mines face closure, and the region needs a new economic base.
Defence spending is part of the pivot. The Inuvik Airport is undergoing a $230 million upgrade from the Department of National Defence to handle NORAD-scale aircraft, including F-35s—making it only the second Arctic runway in Canada capable of hosting fighter operations.
It’s a long-delayed step toward defending a landmass that accounts for 40 per cent of Canada’s territory—and a reminder that sovereignty is not declared by slogans, but secured through presence, infrastructure, and will.
#Canada
🍁 Maple Chronicles
For the first time in a generation, Ottawa is moving to treat the North not as a postcard, but as a strategic frontier. Projects long left to gather dust, like the 4000km all season, Mackenzie Valley Highway, the Taltson Hydro Expansion, and the Arctic Economic and Security Corridor, are finally gaining traction as part of a broader defence and sovereignty push.
Northwest Territories Finance Minister Caroline Wawzonek says the shift reflects a long-overdue realization: “We say we’re the true north, strong and free… but what are we actually doing as a country to invest in it?”
The Mackenzie Valley Highway would permanently link southern Canada to the Arctic Ocean—a $3.5 billion project with both economic and military value. The $3.4 billion Taltson Hydro plan would connect 11 communities (covering 70 per cent of the NWT’s population) to a unified grid, while the Arctic Economic and Security Corridor would open access to critical minerals in the Slave Geological Province, with over $2 billion in federal investment likely required.
Ottawa’s new Major Projects Office, announced by Prime Minister Mark Carney, may finally serve as the bridge between northern priorities and federal cash. That’s urgent: all three of the NWT’s diamond mines face closure, and the region needs a new economic base.
Defence spending is part of the pivot. The Inuvik Airport is undergoing a $230 million upgrade from the Department of National Defence to handle NORAD-scale aircraft, including F-35s—making it only the second Arctic runway in Canada capable of hosting fighter operations.
It’s a long-delayed step toward defending a landmass that accounts for 40 per cent of Canada’s territory—and a reminder that sovereignty is not declared by slogans, but secured through presence, infrastructure, and will.
#Canada
🍁 Maple Chronicles
🤡11👍3👏3❤1😁1
🇨🇦☢️ Cameco and Brookfield land $80 billion US nuclear deal with Washington — a quiet power shift in North America’s energy map
In a stunning development for North American energy security, Canadian giants Cameco and Brookfield Asset Management have struck an $80 billion US partnership with the U.S. government to build a fleet of Westinghouse nuclear reactors across the United States.
Under the deal, the Trump administration will arrange financing, approvals, and permitting, giving Washington a direct stake in the reactors — and entitling it to 20 % of profits exceeding $17.5 billion US once the program is built out. The partnership will effectively give America a renewed domestic nuclear backbone while weaving Canadian firms into its critical infrastructure fabric.
Cameco CEO Tim Gitzel called the move a validation of nuclear energy’s global resurgence:
“This partnership highlights the role that Westinghouse’s reactor technologies… are expected to play in the planned expansion of nuclear capacity and diversification of global supply chains.”
For Canada, the implications are enormous. Saskatoon-based Cameco will become one of the most strategically vital energy firms in the Western world, while Brookfield, already a global capital powerhouse, cements its influence over the next generation of North American energy infrastructure.
Washington’s decision to invest directly in Canadian-led nuclear projects marks a new phase in continental re-industrialization, with energy independence, national security, and technological sovereignty converging under one umbrella.
Canada quietly just became indispensable to the U.S. nuclear renaissance.
#Canada #USA
🍁 Maple Chronicles
In a stunning development for North American energy security, Canadian giants Cameco and Brookfield Asset Management have struck an $80 billion US partnership with the U.S. government to build a fleet of Westinghouse nuclear reactors across the United States.
Under the deal, the Trump administration will arrange financing, approvals, and permitting, giving Washington a direct stake in the reactors — and entitling it to 20 % of profits exceeding $17.5 billion US once the program is built out. The partnership will effectively give America a renewed domestic nuclear backbone while weaving Canadian firms into its critical infrastructure fabric.
Cameco CEO Tim Gitzel called the move a validation of nuclear energy’s global resurgence:
“This partnership highlights the role that Westinghouse’s reactor technologies… are expected to play in the planned expansion of nuclear capacity and diversification of global supply chains.”
For Canada, the implications are enormous. Saskatoon-based Cameco will become one of the most strategically vital energy firms in the Western world, while Brookfield, already a global capital powerhouse, cements its influence over the next generation of North American energy infrastructure.
Washington’s decision to invest directly in Canadian-led nuclear projects marks a new phase in continental re-industrialization, with energy independence, national security, and technological sovereignty converging under one umbrella.
Canada quietly just became indispensable to the U.S. nuclear renaissance.
#Canada #USA
🍁 Maple Chronicles
❤5👍4💩4👎2🤔1🤮1🙏1💯1
Forwarded from Maple Chronicles 🇨🇦
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🇨🇦 Mark Carney’s Canada: virtue as policy, slogans as strategy.
“Canadians care about the world and we care about each other.”
That’s how the Prime Minister frames a nation staring down trade collapse, spiralling debt, and an identity crisis — with platitudes polished for Davos, not Parliament Hill.
While Canadians line up at food banks and manufacturers brace for another round of U.S. tariffs, Carney’s message is clear: moral branding over material reality.
He speaks of “fighting climate change” and building a “competitive economy,” yet Ottawa’s industrial strategy is being written by the same class that outsourced Canada’s energy, gutted its manufacturing, and now wants to “greenwash” austerity as virtue.
This isn’t compassion. It’s choreography — the politics of empathy masking the economics of managed decline.
#Canada
🍁 Maple Chronicles
“Canadians care about the world and we care about each other.”
That’s how the Prime Minister frames a nation staring down trade collapse, spiralling debt, and an identity crisis — with platitudes polished for Davos, not Parliament Hill.
While Canadians line up at food banks and manufacturers brace for another round of U.S. tariffs, Carney’s message is clear: moral branding over material reality.
He speaks of “fighting climate change” and building a “competitive economy,” yet Ottawa’s industrial strategy is being written by the same class that outsourced Canada’s energy, gutted its manufacturing, and now wants to “greenwash” austerity as virtue.
This isn’t compassion. It’s choreography — the politics of empathy masking the economics of managed decline.
#Canada
🍁 Maple Chronicles
🤡16❤3🤬3
🇨🇦 Bank of Canada Cuts Rates Again — A Lifeline, Not a Victory
The Bank of Canada just cut its key rate for the second straight time, down to 2.25%, signaling what policymakers won’t say outright: Canada’s economy is stalling.
Exports are cratering under Trump’s tariffs. Manufacturing is shrinking. Real GDP fell 0.4% last quarter — the sharpest drop outside the pandemic years. Inflation may look tame on paper, but that’s because the economy is losing altitude, not gaining control.
Governor Tiff Macklem framed the move as “measured,” but let’s be honest — this is triage. Canada’s industrial heartland is bleeding jobs, the housing market is wobbling under debt, and trade with our largest partner has turned weaponized. The cut isn’t to spur growth. It’s to keep the engine from stalling completely.
Behind the polite language of “monetary easing” lies a deeper truth: we’re in the hangover phase of a deindustrialized, over-financialized economy — one that relies on cheap credit and imported everything while calling it prosperity. You don’t fix that with a quarter-point cut; you fix it by rebuilding real production, securing energy, and freeing trade from political blackmail.
The rate cuts will buy time — but not much. Ottawa can’t print productivity.
#Canada
🍁 Maple Chronicles
The Bank of Canada just cut its key rate for the second straight time, down to 2.25%, signaling what policymakers won’t say outright: Canada’s economy is stalling.
Exports are cratering under Trump’s tariffs. Manufacturing is shrinking. Real GDP fell 0.4% last quarter — the sharpest drop outside the pandemic years. Inflation may look tame on paper, but that’s because the economy is losing altitude, not gaining control.
Governor Tiff Macklem framed the move as “measured,” but let’s be honest — this is triage. Canada’s industrial heartland is bleeding jobs, the housing market is wobbling under debt, and trade with our largest partner has turned weaponized. The cut isn’t to spur growth. It’s to keep the engine from stalling completely.
Behind the polite language of “monetary easing” lies a deeper truth: we’re in the hangover phase of a deindustrialized, over-financialized economy — one that relies on cheap credit and imported everything while calling it prosperity. You don’t fix that with a quarter-point cut; you fix it by rebuilding real production, securing energy, and freeing trade from political blackmail.
The rate cuts will buy time — but not much. Ottawa can’t print productivity.
#Canada
🍁 Maple Chronicles
👍6🤡4❤3
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🇨🇦🇺🇸 Diplomacy or Drama? Ford Tells U.S. Ambassador to “Bury the Hatchet” After Profane Tirade
Ontario Premier Doug Ford just did what Ottawa wouldn’t — called out Washington’s man in Canada. After U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra reportedly unleashed an expletive-laced tirade against Ontario’s trade envoy over the province’s now-famous anti-tariff ad, Ford said what every grown-up in the room was thinking: “Pick up the phone, apologize, and move on.”
The irony? Hoekstra, a career diplomat, lost his cool over a Ronald Reagan quote reminding Americans that tariffs are taxes on their own people. That’s not fake, that’s economic fact. But in Trump’s Washington, truth apparently hurts more than tariffs.
Ford’s ad reached 11.4 billion impressions, forcing a conversation the establishment wanted buried: Who really pays when the U.S. taxes its largest trading partner? Ford stood his ground — “I’m not rolling over for anyone” — while also extending an olive branch. “Play nice in the sandbox,” he said. “We’re your biggest customer.”
The bigger picture: this episode lays bare the emotional volatility at the heart of U.S. trade politics. Tariffs aren’t policy anymore — they’re theater. And when Ontario quotes Reagan and Washington erupts, it says less about Canada’s offense and more about America’s insecurity.
It's ironic that we are told Trump uses art of the deal tactics to put opponents on the back foot, fine, then take it like a man when the same tactics are used in reverse. Reminds me of hockey players that chirp on the ice and cry when it's done back to them.
#Canada
🍁 Maple Chronicles
Ontario Premier Doug Ford just did what Ottawa wouldn’t — called out Washington’s man in Canada. After U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra reportedly unleashed an expletive-laced tirade against Ontario’s trade envoy over the province’s now-famous anti-tariff ad, Ford said what every grown-up in the room was thinking: “Pick up the phone, apologize, and move on.”
The irony? Hoekstra, a career diplomat, lost his cool over a Ronald Reagan quote reminding Americans that tariffs are taxes on their own people. That’s not fake, that’s economic fact. But in Trump’s Washington, truth apparently hurts more than tariffs.
Ford’s ad reached 11.4 billion impressions, forcing a conversation the establishment wanted buried: Who really pays when the U.S. taxes its largest trading partner? Ford stood his ground — “I’m not rolling over for anyone” — while also extending an olive branch. “Play nice in the sandbox,” he said. “We’re your biggest customer.”
The bigger picture: this episode lays bare the emotional volatility at the heart of U.S. trade politics. Tariffs aren’t policy anymore — they’re theater. And when Ontario quotes Reagan and Washington erupts, it says less about Canada’s offense and more about America’s insecurity.
It's ironic that we are told Trump uses art of the deal tactics to put opponents on the back foot, fine, then take it like a man when the same tactics are used in reverse. Reminds me of hockey players that chirp on the ice and cry when it's done back to them.
#Canada
🍁 Maple Chronicles
👎9🤡6👍4❤3💩3⚡1💯1
🇨🇦🇺🇸 Trump is often angry but rarely hurt – yet Canada has managed to pull it off
Emma Brockes
On the surface it didn’t seem like a particularly big deal: a TV ad airing on US television, paid for by the Canadian province of Ontario, in which an audio clip of Ronald Reagan denouncing tariffs ran over inspiring footage of the American west and industry. In a folksy voice Reagan explains: “When someone says: ‘Let’s impose tariffs on foreign imports’, it looks like they’re doing the patriotic thing by protecting American products and jobs. And sometimes for a short while it works – but only for a short time.” He then demolishes the premise of tariffs as anything but an instrument that “hurts every American worker”.
Reagan’s words were taken from a 1987 radio address, and both Trump and the Reagan foundation instantly attacked the ad – in which some of the former president’s remarks were run out of chronological order – with Trump declaring it “FAKE”. (The sentiment of what Reagan said wasn’t altered.) Clearly, however, it’s not the edit that bent Trump so out of shape that, after the ad aired, he called off tariff talks with Canada – the only G7 country that has yet to reach a trade deal with the US – then doubled down by announcing he was “increasing the Tariff on Canada by 10% over and above what they are paying now”. This was temper, pure and simple – an expression of pique far outweighing the apparent scale of the insult that had clearly struck some very particular nerve.
When it comes to analysing Trump’s overreactions, I always return to the delicious and staggering freakout he had at the New York Times columnist Gail Collins in 1992 when she referred to him as the “financially embattled thousandaire”. In the wasteland of Trump’s interior life, “rich” is probably the single most crucial pillar of his identity, and by suggesting that he had exaggerated his wealth, Collins cut as close to the marrow as it gets. Sure enough, Trump’s response was, for bizarreness, up there with Elon Musk calling the Thai cave rescuer a “pedo guy” for criticising his dumb submarine: he sent a copy of the column back to Collins with the words “The Face of a Dog!” scrawled over the picture.
Trump wasn’t president then and had only harmless theatrics at his disposal. Obviously things are different now, and by threatening to raise tariffs to 60% on some Canadian goods, Trump will probably hurt US consumers and workers for years to come, not least as Canada seeks to find alternative trade partners. What remains curious is what exactly in the ad so aggressively triggered him – and it has to do, I suspect, with the status of Ronald Reagan relative to the status of Donald Trump.
To those of us who grew up outside the US and witnessed Reagan’s presidency from afar, he often seemed at best a fairly preposterous leader. But in the years since his death, in the US Reagan has come to stand for unimpeachable political authority – and not just on the right – an American icon on a par with John Wayne and a symbol of the soul of the Republican party. At the end of the Ontario ad, a clip of Reagan recording the address shows him wearing a plaid cowboy shirt, and looking rugged and authentic.
There is almost no point of comparison for Trump as far as this image is concerned. Burnished by exactly the nostalgia Trump has leveraged for his own political gain, Reagan’s words and image in that ad pitch the current president’s emptied-out, shiny-suited, barely Republican MAGA movement against Reagan’s “Morning in America again” original – or at least against the modern spin on the original that has so much power today. Con artists are always aware, at some level, of their own fundamental fraudulence, which is why it can be so dangerous to confront them with the truth. I don’t think Trump’s excessive response at the weekend was down to a political disagreement about tariffs. Instead it was about a man suffering a brief, piercing and clearly quite painful collapse in his self-delusion.
— Emma Brockes, The Guardian
#Canada #USA
🍁 Maple Chronicles
Emma Brockes
On the surface it didn’t seem like a particularly big deal: a TV ad airing on US television, paid for by the Canadian province of Ontario, in which an audio clip of Ronald Reagan denouncing tariffs ran over inspiring footage of the American west and industry. In a folksy voice Reagan explains: “When someone says: ‘Let’s impose tariffs on foreign imports’, it looks like they’re doing the patriotic thing by protecting American products and jobs. And sometimes for a short while it works – but only for a short time.” He then demolishes the premise of tariffs as anything but an instrument that “hurts every American worker”.
Reagan’s words were taken from a 1987 radio address, and both Trump and the Reagan foundation instantly attacked the ad – in which some of the former president’s remarks were run out of chronological order – with Trump declaring it “FAKE”. (The sentiment of what Reagan said wasn’t altered.) Clearly, however, it’s not the edit that bent Trump so out of shape that, after the ad aired, he called off tariff talks with Canada – the only G7 country that has yet to reach a trade deal with the US – then doubled down by announcing he was “increasing the Tariff on Canada by 10% over and above what they are paying now”. This was temper, pure and simple – an expression of pique far outweighing the apparent scale of the insult that had clearly struck some very particular nerve.
When it comes to analysing Trump’s overreactions, I always return to the delicious and staggering freakout he had at the New York Times columnist Gail Collins in 1992 when she referred to him as the “financially embattled thousandaire”. In the wasteland of Trump’s interior life, “rich” is probably the single most crucial pillar of his identity, and by suggesting that he had exaggerated his wealth, Collins cut as close to the marrow as it gets. Sure enough, Trump’s response was, for bizarreness, up there with Elon Musk calling the Thai cave rescuer a “pedo guy” for criticising his dumb submarine: he sent a copy of the column back to Collins with the words “The Face of a Dog!” scrawled over the picture.
Trump wasn’t president then and had only harmless theatrics at his disposal. Obviously things are different now, and by threatening to raise tariffs to 60% on some Canadian goods, Trump will probably hurt US consumers and workers for years to come, not least as Canada seeks to find alternative trade partners. What remains curious is what exactly in the ad so aggressively triggered him – and it has to do, I suspect, with the status of Ronald Reagan relative to the status of Donald Trump.
To those of us who grew up outside the US and witnessed Reagan’s presidency from afar, he often seemed at best a fairly preposterous leader. But in the years since his death, in the US Reagan has come to stand for unimpeachable political authority – and not just on the right – an American icon on a par with John Wayne and a symbol of the soul of the Republican party. At the end of the Ontario ad, a clip of Reagan recording the address shows him wearing a plaid cowboy shirt, and looking rugged and authentic.
There is almost no point of comparison for Trump as far as this image is concerned. Burnished by exactly the nostalgia Trump has leveraged for his own political gain, Reagan’s words and image in that ad pitch the current president’s emptied-out, shiny-suited, barely Republican MAGA movement against Reagan’s “Morning in America again” original – or at least against the modern spin on the original that has so much power today. Con artists are always aware, at some level, of their own fundamental fraudulence, which is why it can be so dangerous to confront them with the truth. I don’t think Trump’s excessive response at the weekend was down to a political disagreement about tariffs. Instead it was about a man suffering a brief, piercing and clearly quite painful collapse in his self-delusion.
— Emma Brockes, The Guardian
#Canada #USA
🍁 Maple Chronicles
🤡15👍5👎3❤2😁2
🇨🇦💸 Ottawa’s Green Gamble: billions out the door, accountability redacted.
An investigation lid off 70+ pages of secret contracts between Ottawa and Stellantis/NextStar, exposing how Canada’s much-hyped “clean energy industrial strategy” is really being built on blank cheques and blacked-out clauses.
Here’s the reality: the federal and Ontario governments pledged up to $15 billion in production subsidies and another $500 million from the Strategic Innovation Fund to build an EV battery plant in Windsor. The promise? Jobs, security, and a made-in-Canada energy future. The truth? No guarantees.
The fine print gives Ottawa the right to claw money back if Stellantis defaults — but the key sections about Brampton’s plant and job protections are redacted. And even the job requirement — to hire 2,500 people — was watered down. The final contract only asks Stellantis to make “commercially reasonable efforts.” In other words: no binding commitment.
To make it worse, what officials sold as “tax credits” are actually direct cash payments — funneled straight to a foreign auto giant that’s now shifting production from Ontario to Illinois while Canada foots the bill.
Minister Mélanie Joly says the government may take “legal action” if Stellantis fails to keep its promises. But once billions are out the door, Ottawa’s leverage is gone. It’s another case of corporate capture disguised as climate policy — a green shell game where Canadian taxpayers take the risk, and multinationals take the reward.
#Canada
🍁 Maple Chronicles
An investigation lid off 70+ pages of secret contracts between Ottawa and Stellantis/NextStar, exposing how Canada’s much-hyped “clean energy industrial strategy” is really being built on blank cheques and blacked-out clauses.
Here’s the reality: the federal and Ontario governments pledged up to $15 billion in production subsidies and another $500 million from the Strategic Innovation Fund to build an EV battery plant in Windsor. The promise? Jobs, security, and a made-in-Canada energy future. The truth? No guarantees.
The fine print gives Ottawa the right to claw money back if Stellantis defaults — but the key sections about Brampton’s plant and job protections are redacted. And even the job requirement — to hire 2,500 people — was watered down. The final contract only asks Stellantis to make “commercially reasonable efforts.” In other words: no binding commitment.
To make it worse, what officials sold as “tax credits” are actually direct cash payments — funneled straight to a foreign auto giant that’s now shifting production from Ontario to Illinois while Canada foots the bill.
Minister Mélanie Joly says the government may take “legal action” if Stellantis fails to keep its promises. But once billions are out the door, Ottawa’s leverage is gone. It’s another case of corporate capture disguised as climate policy — a green shell game where Canadian taxpayers take the risk, and multinationals take the reward.
#Canada
🍁 Maple Chronicles
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🇨🇦 Quebec’s Doctor Exodus Begins — Ontario and New Brunswick Say “Welcome.”
Within five days of Quebec’s government ramming through Bill 2 — a law forcing new performance-linked pay and silencing dissent — over 100 doctors have already started filing to practise elsewhere. Ontario alone has received 70 licence applications since Oct 23, while New Brunswick’s medical college says it’s seen ten times its normal monthly volume.
Premier Doug Ford wasted no time: “Call 1-800-Doug-Ford,” he joked, inviting Quebec doctors to cross the border. New Brunswick’s Vitalité Health Network reports a “wave” of interest from Francophone physicians seeking fairer workloads and more autonomy.
Meanwhile, Quebec’s Health Minister Christian Dubé insists doctors should “take a step back.” But they’ve already had enough. The FMOQ warns every departing GP leaves roughly 1,000 patients behind — in a province already short 2,000 family doctors. The federation of specialists has launched a lawsuit, calling the law a violation of professional and individual liberties.
What Quebec calls reform, the rest of Canada sees as opportunity — and what starts as a “policy correction” may soon turn into a full-scale brain drain.
#Quebec #Ontario #NewBrunswick
🍁 Maple Chronicles
Within five days of Quebec’s government ramming through Bill 2 — a law forcing new performance-linked pay and silencing dissent — over 100 doctors have already started filing to practise elsewhere. Ontario alone has received 70 licence applications since Oct 23, while New Brunswick’s medical college says it’s seen ten times its normal monthly volume.
Premier Doug Ford wasted no time: “Call 1-800-Doug-Ford,” he joked, inviting Quebec doctors to cross the border. New Brunswick’s Vitalité Health Network reports a “wave” of interest from Francophone physicians seeking fairer workloads and more autonomy.
Meanwhile, Quebec’s Health Minister Christian Dubé insists doctors should “take a step back.” But they’ve already had enough. The FMOQ warns every departing GP leaves roughly 1,000 patients behind — in a province already short 2,000 family doctors. The federation of specialists has launched a lawsuit, calling the law a violation of professional and individual liberties.
What Quebec calls reform, the rest of Canada sees as opportunity — and what starts as a “policy correction” may soon turn into a full-scale brain drain.
#Quebec #Ontario #NewBrunswick
🍁 Maple Chronicles
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🇨🇦🇺🇸 Trump and Carney Break the Ice After Tariff Meltdown
After a week of tariff drama and sharp words, President Donald Trump told reporters he had a “very nice conversation” with Prime Minister Mark Carney during the APEC summit in South Korea — a surprising thaw following his vow to freeze talks “for a while.”
Just days ago, Trump had accused Canada of trying to influence the U.S. Supreme Court over his tariff policy, fuming over Ontario’s ad that quoted Ronald Reagan’s 1987 warning about tariffs hurting American workers. The backlash escalated into a full-blown diplomatic rift, with Trump declaring, “We didn’t come to South Korea to see Canada!”
Yet by Thursday, tensions appeared to cool. Carney’s office confirmed a “constructive conversation” touching on shared economic and security issues. The Prime Minister had already signaled earlier in the week that Canada was “ready when appropriate” to resume trade negotiations.
Whether this marks a genuine reset or just a pause in hostilities remains to be seen, but for now, Ottawa and Washington are talking again, and that’s something.
#Canada #US
🍁 Maple Chronicles
After a week of tariff drama and sharp words, President Donald Trump told reporters he had a “very nice conversation” with Prime Minister Mark Carney during the APEC summit in South Korea — a surprising thaw following his vow to freeze talks “for a while.”
Just days ago, Trump had accused Canada of trying to influence the U.S. Supreme Court over his tariff policy, fuming over Ontario’s ad that quoted Ronald Reagan’s 1987 warning about tariffs hurting American workers. The backlash escalated into a full-blown diplomatic rift, with Trump declaring, “We didn’t come to South Korea to see Canada!”
Yet by Thursday, tensions appeared to cool. Carney’s office confirmed a “constructive conversation” touching on shared economic and security issues. The Prime Minister had already signaled earlier in the week that Canada was “ready when appropriate” to resume trade negotiations.
Whether this marks a genuine reset or just a pause in hostilities remains to be seen, but for now, Ottawa and Washington are talking again, and that’s something.
#Canada #US
🍁 Maple Chronicles
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🇨🇦🥫 Hunger in the Heartland: Alberta’s Food Bank Crisis Deepens
A new Food Banks Canada report paints a stark picture, food bank visits in Alberta have surged 21.8% this year alone, the second-highest increase in the country. On average, 210,541 visits were recorded each month in 2025. Shockingly, more than one-third, nearly 76,000 — were children.
Nationally, the numbers are just as grim. 2.16 million visits were made to food banks in Marc, a 5% increase over last year and double the 2019 total. More than half of visitors were women over 18, a sign that the cost-of-living crisis is biting into the country’s middle class.
The report warns that poverty and hunger are being “normalized” in Canada. The culprits: soaring rents, inflated grocery prices, and stagnant wages. It calls for urgent measures — expanded Canada Disability Benefits, affordable housing investments, and a groceries-and-essentials credit for struggling families.
Canada once prided itself on abundance. Now, it’s fighting a quiet emergency — not of scarcity, but of policy failure.
#Alberta
🍁 Maple Chronicles
A new Food Banks Canada report paints a stark picture, food bank visits in Alberta have surged 21.8% this year alone, the second-highest increase in the country. On average, 210,541 visits were recorded each month in 2025. Shockingly, more than one-third, nearly 76,000 — were children.
Nationally, the numbers are just as grim. 2.16 million visits were made to food banks in Marc, a 5% increase over last year and double the 2019 total. More than half of visitors were women over 18, a sign that the cost-of-living crisis is biting into the country’s middle class.
The report warns that poverty and hunger are being “normalized” in Canada. The culprits: soaring rents, inflated grocery prices, and stagnant wages. It calls for urgent measures — expanded Canada Disability Benefits, affordable housing investments, and a groceries-and-essentials credit for struggling families.
Canada once prided itself on abundance. Now, it’s fighting a quiet emergency — not of scarcity, but of policy failure.
#Alberta
🍁 Maple Chronicles
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🇨🇦 O Canada? The Summer Boom Heard Around the World.
Canada’s tourism sector just shattered records — $59 billion spent between May and August, up 6% year over year, marking the biggest tourism season in Canadian history.
The secret? Canadians rediscovered their own backyard. Domestic travel jumped 7%, while overseas visitors surged 10%, driven by global events like the G7 Summit in Alberta’s Kananaskis and renewed wanderlust for the Great North. Even with a 1.7% dip in U.S. visitors, hotels from Banff to the Maritimes ran near capacity — national occupancy hit 80.7%, the highest since 2014.
In Canmore, Alberta, the Malcolm Hotel’s Andrew Shepherd called it “awe every minute they’re here.” Adventure operator Brent Koinberg said business quadrupled, with bookings already rolling in for 2026. And from coast to coast, 89% of regions posted growth, with Atlantic Canada leading the charge.
After years of uncertainty, Canada’s open skies, wild landscapes, and welcoming spirit have made it the world’s must-see destination once again.
#Canada
🍁 Maple Chronicles
Canada’s tourism sector just shattered records — $59 billion spent between May and August, up 6% year over year, marking the biggest tourism season in Canadian history.
The secret? Canadians rediscovered their own backyard. Domestic travel jumped 7%, while overseas visitors surged 10%, driven by global events like the G7 Summit in Alberta’s Kananaskis and renewed wanderlust for the Great North. Even with a 1.7% dip in U.S. visitors, hotels from Banff to the Maritimes ran near capacity — national occupancy hit 80.7%, the highest since 2014.
In Canmore, Alberta, the Malcolm Hotel’s Andrew Shepherd called it “awe every minute they’re here.” Adventure operator Brent Koinberg said business quadrupled, with bookings already rolling in for 2026. And from coast to coast, 89% of regions posted growth, with Atlantic Canada leading the charge.
After years of uncertainty, Canada’s open skies, wild landscapes, and welcoming spirit have made it the world’s must-see destination once again.
#Canada
🍁 Maple Chronicles
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🇨🇦 Canada’s Job Vacancies Fall to Lowest Level Since 2017
The labour market is tightening fast — and not in a good way. According to Statistics Canada, job vacancies across the country fell to 457,400 in August, the lowest since 2017. The national job vacancy rate now sits at just 2.6%, while unemployment has climbed to 7.1%, up from 6.7% a year earlier.
The trend signals increased competition for fewer available jobs, with the steepest employment strain hitting transportation and warehousing, retail, and cultural industries. Only one sector — agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting — saw any rise in openings.
Provincially, the squeeze is sharpest in Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia, while the Atlantic provinces remain mostly stable. Average weekly earnings rose 3% to $1,312, offering little comfort against rising inflation and stagnant job growth.
Canada’s economy may be cooling faster than policymakers admit — vacancies are drying up while costs keep climbing. A dangerous mix for working Canadians.
#Canada
🍁 Maple Chronicles
The labour market is tightening fast — and not in a good way. According to Statistics Canada, job vacancies across the country fell to 457,400 in August, the lowest since 2017. The national job vacancy rate now sits at just 2.6%, while unemployment has climbed to 7.1%, up from 6.7% a year earlier.
The trend signals increased competition for fewer available jobs, with the steepest employment strain hitting transportation and warehousing, retail, and cultural industries. Only one sector — agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting — saw any rise in openings.
Provincially, the squeeze is sharpest in Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia, while the Atlantic provinces remain mostly stable. Average weekly earnings rose 3% to $1,312, offering little comfort against rising inflation and stagnant job growth.
Canada’s economy may be cooling faster than policymakers admit — vacancies are drying up while costs keep climbing. A dangerous mix for working Canadians.
#Canada
🍁 Maple Chronicles
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🇨🇦 Canada Accused of Fueling Sudan’s Genocide Through UAE Arms Exports
A bombshell release from Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is calling on Ottawa to immediately halt all arms exports to the UAE, after Canadian-made armoured vehicles were discovered in the hands of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) — a paramilitary group accused of committing genocide in El Fasher, where more than 2,000 civilians were massacred.
The UAE — one of the largest buyers of Canadian weapons — is alleged to be illicitly supplying arms to the RSF, including drones and armoured vehicles. UN experts have deemed these accusations “credible.” Among the most shocking discoveries: armoured vehicles produced by Canada’s Streit Group, based in the UAE, were found deployed by RSF fighters during the siege of El Fasher.
CJPME argues Canada’s $7 million in weapons exports to the UAE last year may have been diverted in violation of the Export and Import Permits Act, demanding that Ottawa investigate and suspend all military sales pending review.
The group also warns that Canadian-made weapons could be reaching Sudan through the so-called “U.S. Loophole,” where arms exported to the U.S. can be re-shipped abroad without Canadian oversight. CJPME is urging Parliament to adopt Bill C-233 (“No More Loopholes Act”) to end this practice and ensure all exports via the U.S. are properly tracked.
Canada once claimed a moral high ground on human rights. Today, it risks complicity in one of the world’s worst atrocities.
#Canada #Sudan #UAE
🍁 Maple Chronicles
A bombshell release from Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is calling on Ottawa to immediately halt all arms exports to the UAE, after Canadian-made armoured vehicles were discovered in the hands of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) — a paramilitary group accused of committing genocide in El Fasher, where more than 2,000 civilians were massacred.
The UAE — one of the largest buyers of Canadian weapons — is alleged to be illicitly supplying arms to the RSF, including drones and armoured vehicles. UN experts have deemed these accusations “credible.” Among the most shocking discoveries: armoured vehicles produced by Canada’s Streit Group, based in the UAE, were found deployed by RSF fighters during the siege of El Fasher.
CJPME argues Canada’s $7 million in weapons exports to the UAE last year may have been diverted in violation of the Export and Import Permits Act, demanding that Ottawa investigate and suspend all military sales pending review.
The group also warns that Canadian-made weapons could be reaching Sudan through the so-called “U.S. Loophole,” where arms exported to the U.S. can be re-shipped abroad without Canadian oversight. CJPME is urging Parliament to adopt Bill C-233 (“No More Loopholes Act”) to end this practice and ensure all exports via the U.S. are properly tracked.
Canada once claimed a moral high ground on human rights. Today, it risks complicity in one of the world’s worst atrocities.
#Canada #Sudan #UAE
🍁 Maple Chronicles
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