Canada Minute: Issue 86

Canada Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Canadian politics.

📅 This Week In Canada: 📅

• New US tariffs of 50% on $28 billion worth of Canadian goods took effect at 12:01 am on Saturday, after last-minute trade negotiations between Canada and the United States collapsed. Prime Minister Mark Carney suspended the talks and recalled Canada's negotiators to Ottawa, saying last-minute changes to the proposed US terms were "unfair, uneconomic", and vowed that Canada will match the new tariffs dollar for dollar. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer blamed Canada for the collapse, claiming the US had offered significant tariff reductions on steel, aluminum, autos, and lumber in exchange for concessions, and that new demands and walk-backs by Canada upended the agreement. The tariffs target goods ranging from hockey sticks and honey to essential oils and dairy products. Carney says Canada's counter-tariffs will take effect on September 8th and will target sectors including steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper, and electronics, with support measures for affected workers and businesses promised in the coming days. Ontario Premier Doug Ford backed a strong response, while Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said she was deeply disappointed and urged the federal government to restart negotiations as soon as possible.
  
  
• The federal government has published proposed regulations in the Canada Gazette to formally repeal the electric vehicle sales mandate, which would have required EVs to account for at least 20% of new auto sales this year, rising to 100% by 2035. However, the more stringent tailpipe emission standards Prime Minister Mark Carney promised as a replacement are far from ready - consultations are only set to begin this fall, and a senior government official says Ottawa is aiming to have draft regulations in place by early 2027. Carney announced in February that the new standard would cap emissions at 74 grams of carbon dioxide per mile, down from the current standard of 172 grams, which remains in effect. The government's own analysis forecasts that ending the mandate will slow EV adoption to 75% of new sales by 2035 instead of 100%. The repeal adds to a growing list of Trudeau-era climate policies the Carney government is dismantling, including the consumer carbon price and the emissions cap on oil and gas production.
  
  
• Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced last Monday that the federal government will provide $10 billion in financing toward a nearly $70-billion expansion of hydroelectric power in Labrador, which Ottawa calls the largest clean energy investment in North American history. The announcement accompanies an agreement in principle between Hydro-Québec and Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro that would replace the 1969 Churchill Falls contract, under which Newfoundland and Labrador sells almost all of the plant's output to Hydro-Québec at 0.2 cents per kilowatt hour - a price fixed decades ago and never adjusted for inflation. Under the new deal, that price would climb to 11.5 cents by 2041 and 32.6 cents by 2077, and the province would receive 760 megawatts more power than under a previous agreement rejected in 2024. The plans include upgrades to the Churchill Falls station, a new dam at Gull Island, wind projects, and new transmission lines, together generating 14,000 megawatts of renewable electricity. The federal government claims construction will support 23,000 jobs and contribute $31 billion to Canada's GDP through the early 2040s, and it will also guarantee the debt on the Gull Island project. The provinces hope to sign final agreements by the end of the year, though the Parti Québécois, which is leading polls ahead of Quebec's fall election, has vowed to tear up the deal if it wins.
  
  
• Former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau continues to receive RCMP protection, including on personal trips abroad, according to sources cited by Quebecor Media's TVA Nouvelles and Journal de Montréal. The sources say three or four officers are required for some of Trudeau's excursions, which over the past year have included Davos, Saint-Tropez, Japan, and San Francisco, as well as appearances alongside his girlfriend, American pop star Katy Perry. The RCMP would not confirm or deny whether Trudeau or any other former prime minister is under its protection, saying it does not disclose costs, staffing levels, or deployment details. When officers do accompany him, their salaries, overtime, and travel expenses come from the RCMP's taxpayer-funded budget. While Trudeau was in office, the cost of protecting him and his family reached more than $30 million annually near the end of his tenure - more than twice as much as the protection for Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin, even adjusted for inflation.
  
  
• Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling for harsher penalties for drug traffickers and an end to federally backed safe supply programs, following a visit last Friday to Kitchener's Victoria Park alongside local MP Kelly DeRidder. DeRidder, who has said she once slept on a bench in that park while battling homelessness and addiction, has introduced a private member's bill - the Offender Rehabilitation Act - that would impose tougher penalties on traffickers and make court-ordered treatment possible. The bill went to committee after passing second reading in the House of Commons on June 1st. Poilievre described harm reduction and safe supply programs as failures, saying it is not compassionate to leave people "face first on the pavement". The visit came during a week in which Region of Waterloo Public Health issued an extended community drug alert, reporting 25 suspected overdoses and three suspected drug-related deaths from August 14th to August 17th. Harm reduction advocates pushed back, arguing their services keep people alive and that the real problem is long waits for treatment.
  
  

🚨 This Week’s Action Item: 🚨