Weekly Roundup - July 17, 2026
Top Federal Stories
On Thursday, the federal government moved to speed up an expansion of Canada's largest port. The Port of Vancouver Gateway Strategy has been referred to the Major Projects Office, and initial steps have been taken to designate the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 (RBT2) as a national interest project under the Building Canada Act. The Port of Vancouver represents Canada's primary trade path to Asia. Under the Gateway Strategy, RBT2, a proposed three-berth marine container terminal, would increase the port's container capacity by 50 per cent.
This announcement builds on the $10 billion Prime Minister Mark Carney comitted earlier this month as part of a wider deal with British Columbia. That arrangement also lays the groundwork for a West Coast oil pipeline that the government-owned Trans Mountain Corp. would help construct, finance and run. Alberta's filing with the Major Projects Office pegs Roberts Bank as the endpoint of its proposed West Coast Pipeline.
Meanwhile, consultation and impact assessments were major topics this week in Ottawa. Several hundred Chiefs were in town for the Assembly of First Nations' annual gathering to discuss items including consultations on federal nation building projects. While Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson attempted to articulate the government’s position that "there is no good way to build major projects without First Nations partnership and leadership," Chiefs at the microphone challenged the government on shortened environmental and regulatory reviews. Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc responded that the “one-project-one-review" process describes coordination between Ottawa and the provinces, and does not shrink federal constitutional obligations to Indigenous peoples.
The ministers pointed to Alberta's Pathways project as partnership in action. That deal's full text surfaced Monday when Ottawa and Alberta released their memorandum of understanding with the five oil sands producers behind the carbon capture push. The fine print describes a project smaller than initially anticipated. Early ambitions ran as high as 40 megatonnes of storage annually by 2050. The revised goal is a moderate 16 megatonnes by 2045. The Pathways producers themselves are on the hook for just six megatonnes by 2035. Producers that achieve emissions reduction earn a break under Alberta's industrial carbon pricing system.
Ottawa's own contribution is a promise to develop options on operating costs, with no detail on method or amount. The pipeline and Pathways project now sit inside one political and economic agreement. Producers are expected to cut emissions and lift production. Governments, in return, offer regulatory certainty, carbon-price relief, fiscal support, and wider access to export markets. Cabinet is expected to rule on the pipeline's national interest designation in October.
Top Alberta Stories
Six weeks after Premier Danielle Smith and Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette pledged to deepen cooperation between their provinces, Alberta and Quebec announced a five-year agreement to collaborate on the use of artificial intelligence in government. The agreement includes no financial commitments, instead focusing on sharing knowledge, best practices and AI tools to improve public administration. Areas of collaboration include streamlining administrative processes, strengthening cybersecurity, supporting research and training public servants to use technologies such as Microsoft Copilot. Alberta Technology and Innovation Minister Nate Glubish said the partnership will allow both provinces to share what is working, learn from one another's experience and accelerate the responsible adoption of AI across government. The announcement comes as Alberta continues to establish itself as a national AI leader, bolstered by major private-sector investments, including Meta's planned multibillion-dollar data centre.
In health-care, the Smith Government is moving ahead with another phase of its sweeping restructuring by creating seven new health corporations under Primary Care Alberta. The new organizations will assume responsibility for regional planning, funding agreements, reporting and coordination. According to government, this move is intended to reduce administrative burdens on front-line providers and improve access to care, particularly in rural communities. The corporations align with the province's seven health corridors, first announced in late 2024 as part of a plan to replace Alberta's five health zones. Regulations establishing the corporations will take effect Sept. 1, with the organizations expected to become operational in spring 2027.
A byelection to fill the vacant Calgary-Shaw seat isn't expected to be called anytime soon. Speaking to reporters, Premier Danielle Smith said the government will wait until later this summer when Albertans are more likely to pay attention to politics. The seat has been vacant since former environment minister Rebecca Schulz resigned in May. Both parties have nominated their candidates, with the UCP choosing entrepreneur Mike Derry and the Alberta NDP selecting financial sector professional Kyle Campbell. The race will be one to watch as the parties prepare for the 2027 general election. With the exception of the NDP's narrow 2015 victory, Calgary-Shaw has traditionally been a safe conservative seat, electing a conservative MLA in every election since it was created in 1986.
Once again, Calgary is shaping up to be the province's political battleground. While attention is currently focused on the pending byelection, Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi announced this week that he plans to run in a Calgary riding in 2027, though he has yet to reveal which one. On Friday, former journalist and public-school board trustee Trisha Estabrooks shared she intends to seek the NDP nomination in Nenshi's current riding of Edmonton-Strathcona.
Top Ontario Stories
Fire season is well underway, blanketing southern Ontario and parts of the United States in a smoky haze. At a press conference Friday morning, Premier Doug Ford told reporters that roughly 191 wildfires were burning across Ontario, with 81 out of control, forcing evacuations from 10 communities, including Armstrong and the Lac La Croix, Whitesand, Gull Bay, and Lac des Mille Lacs First Nations. The Namaygoosisagagun, or Collins, First Nation north of Thunder Bay was overrun on July 14, losing more than thirty homes, a school, and community buildings as residents fled by boat. The smoke pushed Toronto’s air quality to among the worst in the world earlier in the week. In a video message, the Premier said the province “won’t spare a penny” and is doubling down with historic investments in new firefighting crews and equipment.
However, the way the province budgets for emergencies complicates that message. Ontario spent $271 million on emergency firefighting in 2025-26 but has budgeted only $150 million for 2026-27, $121 million less than the year prior. While the government notes it maintains a $1.5 billion contingency fund to cover unbudgeted costs, critics contrast the Premier’s pledge against a plan to spend little more than half of last year’s total firefighting costs.
Ontario has also asked Ottawa to guarantee aircraft and crews could be deployed in 24 hours or less, and on Thursday the province issued a formal request for federal assistance that included possible Canadian Armed Forces deployments. Federal Defence Minister David McGuinty said the Armed Forces were “on standby” to support evacuations, and Alberta has already sent firefighters and water bombers.
While trying to put out real fires, the Ford government was also dealing with a self-inflicted political firestorm this week. Queen’s Park media reported that Progressive Conservative members living within driving distance of Queen’s Park had billed taxpayers for downtown Toronto hotel stays under a “special circumstances” rule intended for situations such as a snowstorm. The New Democrats put the total at roughly $120,000 since 2023. The bill for Tourism, Culture and Gaming Minister Stan Cho came in at more than $16,000, with Brampton East MPP Hardeep Grewal at more than $27,000, Associate Small Business Minister Nina Tangri at roughly $19,000, and Associate Minister Charmaine Williams at more than $15,000. Speaking in Windsor on Thursday, Ford called the expense claims “totally unacceptable” and said the members were “paying back every single penny,” while Government House Leader Steve Clark wrote to the Speaker seeking to abolish the rule altogether.
Though he remains the MPP for Willowdale, on Friday, Cho resigned from cabinet effective immediately, with Ford saying he had “acknowledged and taken responsibility for his mistake.” Separately, Minister of Sport Neil Lumsden announced he would retire from cabinet and the legislature effective August 4. Attorney General Doug Downey will absorb both portfolios on an interim basis.
Following Caroline Mulroney’s June resignation, two more ministers leaving cabinet feeds a broader narrative about a government straining to steady itself. Perhaps in an attempt to hit the reset button, the Premier’s Office confirmed this week they had eliminated ten positions and imposed a hiring freeze, saving about $1.07 million.
All this turnover sets up a summer of electoral tests. The government must hold a byelection in Scarborough Southwest by Sept. 3, where candidates are already in the field. Lumsden’s retirement will trigger another contest in Hamilton East-Stoney Creek, while the byelection to replace Mulroney in York-Simcoe is also yet to be called. These races will serve as early signals as to the PCs’ fortunes with Ontario voters.
The New West Team is ready to guide clients through this uncertain time in Canadian politics.
