Weekly Roundup - June 26, 2026
Top Federal Stories
Energy Minister Tim Hodgson rolled out the federal government's Nuclear Energy Strategy for Canada on Monday. The plan calls for 10 new large-scale reactors by 2040 and aims to double the country's electricity capacity by 2050. A Canadian-built microreactor in the works, meant to be finalized by 2035 to reach rural communities by the late 2030s. Hodgson was clear that this is about exports as much as domestic builds. Project reviews will be centralized under the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, with the aim of getting proponents a regulatory decision within two years. The strategy rests on four pillars: new builds, a bigger global supplier role, more uranium production, and innovation.
Ottawa also took its first run at designating projects of national interest under the Building Canada Act. The projects are Nunavut's Grays Bay road and port, the Mackenzie Valley highway in the Northwest Territories, and a nuclear waste repository in northwestern Ontario. Consultations come this summer, with formal designations possible in the fall. By obtaining “national interest” status, these projects swap separate departmental permits for a single conditions document. Despite the appearance of a more streamlined process, CPC critics have dismissed the announcement as a Liberal photo op, given the federal government has no say over the Arctic co-management board reviews created through land claims agreements.
Minister Hodgson capped off the week by announcing five intertie projects, the cross-border power lines that let provinces trade electricity. No new dollar figure came attached. The list covers an Alberta-B.C. boost of roughly 150 megawatts, an Alberta-Saskatchewan upgrade near Medicine Hat worth another 250, a larger Saskatchewan-Manitoba expansion of up to two gigawatts along the Regina-Winnipeg corridor, new subsea cables between P.E.I. and New Brunswick, and an 800-kilometre line tying Yukon's grid into B.C. For reference, one megawatt can power 1000 homes for a year. The logic behind this move is partly about weaning the country off the U.S. as its main electricity partner, since most provinces trade more power south than they do with each other. It also means provinces could rely on one another during periods of peak demand.
Canada, the United States, and Mexico will hold their first trilateral meeting July 1 to review CUSMA. The session is virtual for now, though that could change. July 1 is also the deadline for the three parties to decide whether to renew the pact for another 16 years, walk away, or move to an annual rolling review that could drag on for years. Canada and Mexico both want the 16-year extension. Washington has not stated its position, but President Trump repeatedly opined he is not interested in a renewal. The U.S. and Mexico have already opened formal bilateral talks, while Canada and the U.S. have not. Former White House trade adviser Kelly Ann Shaw said she expects a deal eventually, but anticipates a rockier road with Canada before formal negotiations likely begin in the fall.
Both chambers of Parliament have now risen for the summer. MPs return to their ridings for constituency work, tours, stakeholder engagement, events, and vacations before returning to Ottawa in September.
Top Alberta Stories
With Alberta's July 1 deadline to submit a proposal for a new West Coast oil pipeline is days away, and discussions continue over both the project route and the political path forward. Premier Danielle Smith confirmed the province has assessed five potential routes and that the submission will identify a single preferred option. While the pipeline has captured much of the public attention, the proposed Pathways carbon capture project is also under consideration. Under the Canada-Alberta memorandum of understanding, the two projects were made mutually dependent, with governments agreeing that construction of the pipeline cannot proceed without a trilateral agreement with industry on Pathways, and that the carbon capture project is likewise contingent on the pipeline moving ahead. The project is intended to capture and permanently store up to 16 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.
At the same time, the federal government is reportedly working to finalize a separate major projects agreement with British Columbia that could be announced as early as next week. While B.C. Premier David Eby has historically opposed another West Coast oil pipeline, he declined to comment on Alberta's proposal this week, saying his focus remains on negotiations over projects that are priorities for British Columbia.
With the Prime Minister seeking to balance an ambitious economic agenda with the environmental priorities of his caucus and competing interests of provinces, federal officials are likely working overtime to finalize both agreements while continuing negotiations with industry on Pathways, potentially considering additional financial support for the carbon capture project in an effort to secure a deal before Canada Day.
The Alberta government has released its first comprehensive cancer strategy in more than a decade, outlining a 10-year plan aimed at improving access to diagnosis, treatment and long-term care. The strategy sets ambitious targets, including having more than 90 per cent of patients receive care within provincial wait time benchmarks by 2030, reducing diagnostic wait times to four to six weeks, and cutting waits for oncology consultations by half by 2036. The plan also commits to expanding diagnostic capacity, recruiting additional cancer specialists and developing a dedicated workforce strategy. The announcement comes as Alberta faces mounting pressure on its cancer system, with only 54 per cent of the province's five highest-volume cancer surgeries meeting recommended wait times in March.
The fight over the City of Calgary's noise rules got loud this week after days of public sparring between Mayor Jeromy Farkas and Premier Smith. The controversy began when the organizers of Cowboys Music Festival launched a public campaign opposing the city's proposed restrictions, arguing they would undermine of Calgary's signature events. The dispute quickly escalated when Premier Smith and several federal Conservative MPs, including Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre, weighed in, with the province giving Calgary until June 30 to relax the bylaw or face potential intervention. Council ultimately voted to keep the new rules in place, while approving a compromise that allows an additional 30 minutes of lower-volume "cool-down" music as concertgoers leave outdoor venues. However, the debate flared up again just days later after Country Thunder Alberta cancelled its Calgary festival, citing the city's noise bylaw among the reasons. City officials rejected that explanation, saying the festival had been approved for higher permitted noise levels than last year, and that organizers had not raised concerns during the permitting process. New West Public Affairs Partners Keith McLaughlin and Matt Solberg offered their thoughts on the the pre-Stampede debate. Listen to Keith on The Hub’s Alberta Edge podcast here, and get Matt's take on the Now You Know podcast here.
Top Ontario Stories
Ford Fest, the Premier's annual summer barbecue, drew a sizable crowd to east Toronto last Friday, though the day was not without friction. A large contingent of Ontario Public Service Employees Union protesters showed up and chanted through Ford's speech. Community and social services workers have been on strike for over a month demanding retroactive pay after wage-cap legislation known as Bill 124 was struck down as unconstitutional. Implemented in 2019, Bill 124 limited salary increases for a broad swath of public sector employees. The courts have sided with several unions who argued the legislation impeded meaningful collective bargaining, finding that the law interfered with the freedom of association. Now, approximately 4,000 workers are striking with roughly 20,000 affected OPSEU members awaiting a resolution to their Bill 124 grievances.
On Tuesday, three governments came together for a significant housing announcement. Toronto will receive $1.5 billion in federal and provincial funding in exchange for cutting development charges on new homes by 40 to 60 per cent between 2026 and 2029. The money flows through the Development Charge Reduction Program, part of the broader Canada-Ontario Partnership to Build, and will support transit, water and wastewater, and road infrastructure projects already featured in the city's capital plan. Ford said the deal, combined with the province's earlier HST cut on new homes, will lower the cost of building a new home in Toronto by more than $200,000. Toronto is the first municipality to finalize a deal under the program, though it is part of a wider $8.8 billion federal-provincial commitment that will be implemented across Ontario over ten years.
In concert with the Nuclear Energy Strategy for Canada, Ottawa and Ontario announced $715 million in loan guarantees to the seven Williams Treaties First Nations east of Toronto, which will convert to an equity stake in one of four small modular reactors at Darlington. Backing is split between the Canada Indigenous Loan Guarantee program and the Building Ontario Fund, making this the first time a federal and provincial program have teamed up this way. Ontario authorized $7.7 billion for the first reactor last year, with three more planned at roughly $21 billion.
Finally, the province launched its new Ontario Workforce Priority Stream, replacing all eight former Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program pathways with three consolidated tracks covering higher-skilled workers, lower-skilled workers, and self-employed physicians. The consolidation is aimed at reducing duplication, strengthening eligibility requirements, and giving the province more flexibility to target in-demand skills as labour market conditions shift. In addition, the Ford government declined Ottawa's offer to raise the temporary foreign worker hiring cap for rural employers from 10 to 15 per cent, with Labour Minister David Piccini pointing to a youth unemployment rate exceeding 15 per cent as reason enough to hold the line. Ontario joins Alberta and Nunavut in opting out, while six provinces—B.C., Quebec, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Nova Scotia—have signed on.
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