Weekly Roundup - November 7, 2025
Top Federal Stories
It was a tale of two very different Ottawas this week. For the governing Liberals, the fanfare of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first budget was matched by another moment of celebration: Nova Scotia MP Chris d’Entremont’s decision to cross the floor and join the Liberal caucus.
Meanwhile for the Conservatives, already reeling from one defection, were down a second vote as long time Edmonton MP Matt Jeneroux announced Thursday that he would be resigning, as rumours circulated that he, and potentially others, were considering crossing the floor as well.
Between the introduction of the federal budget, and talk of conservative caucus defections, we breakdown what it all means.
On Tuesday, nearly 200 days since the Liberal election victory, and a year and a half since the last federal budget, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government delivered Budget 2025. Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne presented a budget that promised to pair fiscal restraint with targeted investment. The budget seeks to balance the operating expenditures of the federal government within three years while directing new capital spending to projects that grow the economy and improve Canada’s competitiveness.
What’s key now is for the Liberals to find enough votes to pass the budget. Despite picking up a seat in Nova Scotia with d’Entromont’s floor crossing, as of Friday afternoon, the government is still short the votes necessary to pass the budget. While the Liberals have survived two confidence votes on the budget to do with amendments by opposition parties, support for the budget itself appears harder to come by. As MPs head back to their constituencies for the break week, both the Conservatives and Bloc Québécois have indicated they will vote against the government, leaving the NDP as the only option for the Liberals to court.
That puts Interim NDP Leader Don Davies in a tough spot. He had previously said that his party would not vote for a budget that took an “austerity” approach. Still, Davies says the NDP will review the budget to see if it “works for working Canadians.”
You can find our full analysis of the budget here.
With Parliament out for the constituency break, Prime Minister Carney made a stop at the Canadian Club in Toronto where he gave a speech selling his budget to Canadians. Among the items profiled was the Major Projects Office, and the work it is doing. Carney teased that the next tranche of national projects would be announced next week, while also commenting on the construction of pipelines saying, “it’s going to happen…well, something is going to happen.”
Top Alberta Stories
The federal budget addressed some of Alberta’s long-standing grievances, including its commitment to “create the circumstances whereby the oil and gas emissions cap would no longer be required.” However, Premier Smith is taking a wait and see approach and likely looking for concrete steps, not something to happen, when it comes to pipelines.
Smith was abroad during the release of Alberta’s budget, leading a trade mission to the Middle East, but in a statement to media said the province “is reserving judgment on the budget until we have concluded negotiations with the federal government on a MOU [memorandum of understanding] which we hope to have completed by mid November.”
Those talks, which both sides hope to conclude before the November 16 Grey Cup, follow a decade of disputes over federal climate policies. Premier Smith has said progress will depend on whether the Liberal government is prepared to revise or remove policies Alberta views as harmful to its energy sector. While some observers see a potential “grand bargain” emerging, others remain skeptical that the two governments can overcome their history of confrontation.
Smith returned to Canada mid-week, after attending the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC) to promote Alberta’s energy and innovation sectors and strengthen investment ties. During the visit, Smith announced the opening of Alberta’s newest international office in Abu Dhabi, located within the Canadian Embassy. The office will serve as a hub for expanding trade and investment opportunities across the Middle East and North Africa, particularly in energy, agriculture, manufacturing, and technology.
While the Premier was promoting Alberta overseas, labour unrest at home continued to increase. On Thursday, the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) announced it’s launching a constitutional challenge over the province’s use of the notwithstanding clause to end last month’s teachers’ strike. The union’s court filing argues that Bill 2, the Back to School Act, violates teachers’ Charter rights to freedom of expression and association by forcing them back to work and imposing a rejected contract. ATA president Jason Schilling called the government’s move an “abuse of power” and said the clause was used not to protect students or democracy, but “to win an argument.” The province has defended its actions, with Justice Minister Mickey Amery saying the legislation was necessary to restore stability and ensure students returned to class after three weeks of cancelled instruction.
Since the dispute started, the Alberta Government has been focusing on education and took another step today, announcing a new cabinet committee to address growing challenges in Alberta classrooms related to class size and student complexity. The 11-member Class Size and Complexity Cabinet Committee will include Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides and representatives from school boards, superintendents, and the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA). The group will review recommendations from an earlier task force that examined issues such as behavioural challenges, special learning needs, and teacher support. The government says the committee will help implement solutions to manage pressures created by rapid population growth and increased student enrolment, while ensuring teachers and schools have the tools needed to respond effectively.
As the government moves to calm tensions in the education sector, unrest is also brewing elsewhere in the public service. The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE), representing 16,000 licensed practical nurses and health care aides across the province, voted in favour of strike action, with 98 per cent supporting the move. The vote follows months of stalled negotiations with Alberta Health Services and new health agencies over wages and working conditions.
Newly elected AUPE President Sandra Azocar said members are frustrated by stagnant pay and safety concerns, though the union remains hopeful a deal can be reached before the earliest possible strike notice on November 17. Finance Minister Nate Horner countered that the union’s proposal would cost more than $2 billion, while NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi warned a strike could be catastrophic for patients and communities. Negotiations are set to resume as tensions rise across Alberta’s health sector following the recent use of the notwithstanding clause to end a teachers’ strike.
Despite the labour tensions, the province is continuing to advance its health system restructuring. A new shared services organization is being established to centralize administrative functions such as IT, finance, and human resources across the province’s health system. The initiative is intended to improve coordination and reduce duplication among agencies including Alberta Health Services, Covenant Health, and the new provincial health corporations for acute, primary, and recovery care. It’s scheduled to be fully operational by April 1, 2026.
Finally, Northern Alberta MLAs are voicing opposition to a proposed electoral boundary change that would reduce the number of ridings in the region from seven to six. Last week Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, Ric McIver released the Interim Electoral Boundaries report that recommends replacing the Lesser Slave Lake riding with a new, larger constituency called Mackenzie, citing population decline and slower growth compared to the rest of the province. Independent MLA Scott Sinclair, representing Lesser Slave Lake, called the move an “attack on democracy,” arguing that the vast geography of northern ridings already makes effective representation difficult. Other northern MLAs signed an open letter calling the proposal “unacceptable,” warning that eliminating a riding would diminish the region’s influence in the legislature despite its critical role in Alberta’s economy and resource base. The commission has said it will review feedback before finalizing its report.
Top Ontario Stories
While Ottawa is shifting to a fall budget announcement cycle, November is traditionally when governments release their Fall Economic Statements - a mid-fiscal-year update that provides revised fiscal projections, details on previously announced measures, and new spending commitments. Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy released Ontario’s Fall Economic Statement on November 6.
This year’s Fall Economic Statement reinforces Ontario’s focus on strengthening workforce resilience, interprovincial mobility, and economic competitiveness amid tariff pressures and global uncertainty. It comes in the context of economic headwinds caused by Canada-U.S. trade tensions. The FES revises projected GDP growth and housing starts downward, compared to budget projections, while projecting higher unemployment and slower wage growth through 2028. Still, Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy says the government is committed to balancing the budget by 2027.
This year’s Fall Economic Statement underscores Ontario’s emphasis on workforce resilience, interprovincial mobility, and economic competitiveness amid global uncertainty and rising trade tensions with the United States. The update reflects softer economic conditions, with revised forecasts showing slower GDP growth, fewer housing starts, and higher unemployment through 2028. Despite these headwinds, Bethlenfalvy says the government is committed to balancing the budget by 2027.
The finance minister characterised the statement as an “update, not a budget,” reflecting the fact that the FES contained little in the way of new spending commitments or legislative changes. New measures include a rebate for the provincial portion of the HST for first-time homebuyers on newly built homes valued up to $1 million; an additional $100 million for the Ontario Together Trade Fund, meant to help small and medium-sized enterprises diversify into new markets and strengthen trade resiliency; and an announcement that the province is developing two additional streams to allocate the remaining $4 billion of the Protecting Ontario Financing Program, with a focus on domestic supply chains and high-growth industries such as artificial intelligence, defence, advanced manufacturing, life sciences, and research and development in the critical minerals sector.
Doug Ford’s majority government will have no problem passing the fiscal and legislative measures outlined in the FES when the Legislature returns after the constituency week. With work on the FES now out of the way, attention will turn to the development of the 2026 Budget, with pre-budget consultations launching soon.
Upcoming Events Calendar
November 12-14, 2025: Alberta Municipalities Convention and Trade Show
November 17-20, 2025: Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA) Fall Convention and Trade Show
January 29-31, 2026: Conservative Party of Canada National Convention
March 29, 2026: Federal NDP Leadership Race Results Announcement
