Author: Troy Patterson

If U.S. President Donald Trump imposes tariffs on Canadian goods as he’s repeatedly threated to do, experts say Canada has a strong case to challenge it under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico free trade agreement. The question, though, is how quickly any decision may come through the process — and more importantly, whether the U.S. would respect any decisions from the outcome.“A rules-based system is only as good as the willingness of the government who’s subject to it, to comply with it,” said Wendy Wagner, a partner at Gowling WLG.The free trade agreement is a nation-to-nation agreement, so there’s no one else to…

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reaffirmed Canada’s position that Ukraine “must” be included in negotiations to end Russia’s full-scale invasion during a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday, the Prime Minister’s Office said. The call was held days after the U.S. held a first round of bilateral talks with Russian officials about ending the war, and as U.S. President Donald Trump increasingly attacks Zelenskyy — rhetoric the White House has refused to walk back.“Prime Minister Trudeau reiterated that Canada will always stand in defence of Ukraine and emphasized that there can be no sustainable peace in Europe without security…

The White House said Thursday that it expects all NATO members to be spending at least two per cent of their GDP on defence by the alliance’s next summit — four months from now. The demand further ramps up pressure on allies like Canada — which has long missed the spending target and doesn’t plan to meet it for another seven years — from U.S. President Donald Trump, who is pushing for drastic defence spending increases and reducing reliance on U.S. security.“The fact that we are going to enter into a NATO summit this June with a third of our…

By The Staff The Canadian Press Posted February 20, 2025 2:37 pm Updated February 20, 2025 2:40 pm 1 min read Descrease article font size Increase article font size Prince Edward Island Premier Dennis King says he will resign as premier and leader of the Progressive Conservative party effective Friday at noon. King, 53, told reporters today that his decision is in the best interest of his family, the government and the people of P.E.I., adding that he is in good health. Get daily National news Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your…

Canada is listing seven transnational criminal organizations, including multiple drug cartels, as terrorist entities under the Criminal Code, the public safety minister announced on Thursday. The move was one of the measures the government vowed when U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to a 30-day reprieve from the imposition of sweeping tariffs earlier this month, along with last week’s appointment of a fentanyl czar.Under the designation, law enforcement such as RCMP and local police will have more authority and powers to “follow the money and to look and see how criminal cartels are using sophisticated laundering tactics.”“To rid Canada of this…

U.S. President Donald Trump has branded himself as royalty. On Wednesday, Trump was celebrating his administration’s order to halt the congestion pricing tolls in New York City, which lessen traffic and fund mass transit by making people pay to drive into Manhattan’s core.Trump likened himself to a king in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, celebrating the move to terminate federal approval of the congestion pricing program.“CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED,” Trump wrote, adding, “LONG LIVE THE KING!” A screenshot of U.S. President Donald Trump’s Truth Social post. @RealDonaldTrump /…

By The Staff The Canadian Press Posted February 20, 2025 8:41 am 1 min read Descrease article font size Increase article font size The list of potential American tariffs that could affect Canada grew Wednesday night when U.S. President Donald Trump dropped the idea of a 25 per cent levy on lumber and forest products. Speaking to the media onboard Air Force One, Trump said his administration was eyeing some time around April for the latest announced duty.Earlier this month, Trump paused until March 4 his initially planned 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian goods and a lower 10-per-cent…

By Staff The Canadian Press Posted February 19, 2025 12:45 pm Updated February 19, 2025 12:50 pm 1 min read Descrease article font size Increase article font size Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is scheduled to provide an update today on the government’s response to allegations of government interference in lucrative medical contracts. Health Minister Adriana LaGrange is also set to appear at the news conference in Calgary.The former head of Alberta Health Services alleges in a lawsuit that she was fired for probing questionable contracts pushed by government officials as high up as the premier’s office. Get daily National news…

The Nova Scotia government has introduced a $17.6-billion budget that includes major tax cuts and a reserve fund to be used if the U.S. president makes good on his threat to impose tariffs. Finance Minister John Lohr brought forward a budget Tuesday forecasting a deficit of $697.5 million for the 2025-26 fiscal year — a figure that could rise if the $200-million reserve fund needs to be used.“The threat of U.S. tariffs continues to loom over us. We don’t know what will come, but we are ready to respond,” said Lohr in his budget speech. “It is clear we are…

By Kyle Duggan The Canadian Press Posted February 18, 2025 12:53 pm 1 min read Descrease article font size Increase article font size Former central banker Mark Carney is dominating the fundraising field in the race for the federal Liberal leadership. And his main rival appears to be trailing at the back of the pack.Financial data published by Elections Canada shows Carney raised $1.9 million for his leadership bid — more than eight times the sum collected by his nearest fundraising competitor. 2:02 Liberal leadership candidate Mark Carney draws large crowd in Kelowna Trending Now Canadian woman loses both hands…