Weekly Roundup - June 13, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney dominated the political news landscape this week with the announcement that Canada will increase defence spending and accelerate plans to achieve its NATO spending obligations while at the same time reshaping Canada’s international partnerships. The announcement signaled a pivot away from U.S. defense dependency toward home-grown capabilities and European cooperation, creating new procurement opportunities which will be all the talk in boardrooms, conferences and lunchtime panels across the country.
This week also featured active Canada-U.S. trade negotiations through private leader-to-leader communications, the government’s priority legislation advancing through Parliament, and extensive preparation in advance of the G7 summit.
Prime Minister Carney's June 9 announcement that Canada will meet NATO's 2% GDP spending target in fiscal 2025-26 represents the largest defense spending increase since World War II. The commitment includes $9.3 billion in additional spending for new submarines, aircraft, ships, armored vehicles, artillery, Arctic monitoring systems, and substantial military pay increases for Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) personnel.
What’s really piqued interest though, is the commitment to create a new defense procurement agency as well as Carney’s intention to establish BOREALIS, the Bureau of Research Engineering and Advanced Leadership in Innovation and Science, to advance research in fields such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing.
Active negotiations between PM Carney and President Trump reportedly continued throughout the week and a working document has been exchanged between Ottawa and Washington outlining potential trade deal terms. The fewer-than-five-page document includes Canada's willingness to participate in the U.S. "Golden Dome" security program, though there is little hope of deal being reached before the G7 summit.
The One Canadian Economy Act (Bill C-5) is the Carney government’s signature piece of legislation to remove federal interprovincial trade barriers and streamline approvals for "national interest" projects. With PM Carney demanding the passage of the bill before Canada Day, the House of Commons appears set to fast track debate on the bill. Thanks to a programming motion proposed by the Liberal government, the bill now has a clear pathway to pass through the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities by Wednesday, and be sent to the Senate by Friday.
Preparations for the G7 summit that starts on Sunday in Kananaskis, Alberta are in their final stages as leaders are set to descend on the picturesque mountainside community. The expanded guest list includes not only G7 leaders but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa (this year's G20 chair), South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, United Arab Emirates President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and World Bank President Ajay Banga are attending, according to the Prime Minister's Office.
Going into the summit, Prime Minister Carney will attempt to build consensus and seek agreement on three core missions: protecting communities and strengthening security, building energy security and digital transition, and securing future partnerships. How successful Carney will be – amidst unpredictable world leaders – is yet to be seen.
Top Alberta Stories
While the Legislative Assembly is on break until October, Premier Danielle Smith hasn’t exactly had time to relax. This week world leaders gathered in Calgary for the Global Energy Show where Alberta’s Premier delivered a keynote speech and participated in a fireside chat.
In the weeks since Prime Minister Carney’s election win, we’ve seen a distinct shift in the Premier’s discourse around the federal government and Wednesday was no exception. The Premier once again expressed optimism, saying she’s seen encouraging signs from the new prime minister and is willing to afford the PM some time.
Beyond re-iterating her nine demands of the federal government, Premier Smith is now talking about striking a “grand bargain” that would allow new pipelines to move ahead along with decarbonization initiatives, such as the carbon capture network proposed by the Pathways Alliance.
She’s found an unlikely ally in the NDP Premier of Manitoba, Wab Kinew, and wasn’t shy in praising him for his support for opening up the Port of Churchill to oil and gas exports. But her main focus remains on securing a new crude oil pipeline to the west coast, which has her at odds with another NDP leader. BC Premier David Eby has said there’s no proponent or concrete proposal on the table for a west coast oil pipeline. Smith was undeterred on Wednesday, saying there will be a proposal soon, and expressing confidence she’ll be able to bring Eby onside.
The Premier said she is working to entice a private proponent of a pipeline, but added a pipeline to the west coast will not happen while there is a federal tanker ban in place. Speaking to media, she softened her stance on the ban saying, “maybe we come to an agreement that if all roads lead to the port of Prince Rupert, just carve out Port of Prince Rupert so that we can continue to protect the rest of the coast. I can live with that.”
This afternoon, Alberta’s Minister of Transportation and Economic Corridors released a statement about strengthening supply chains between Alberta and the Port of Prince Rupert. In it, the Minister highlights the need for better interprovincial co-ordination, targeted infrastructure investment and regulatory certainty to unlock economic growth.
Last year the Alberta government gave a $250,000 grant to the Prince Rupert Port Authority to coordinate the Industrial Heartland to British Columbia Economic Corridor Forum. The project is focused on the highway and railway corridor between the Industrial Heartland and Prince Rupert, recognizing the Port of Prince Rupert’s importance for the export of Alberta products.
In his update Friday, the Minister said he’s looking forward to seeing recommendations from the group by the end of this year.
Top Ontario Stories
On June 12, Energy Minister Stephen Lecce unveiled "Energy for Generations" - Ontario's integrated energy plan meant to meet the province’s future energy needs, support new housing and power the most competitive economy in the G7. The $100+ billion framework fundamentally reshapes the province's energy landscape through 2050.
The plan's core commitment centers on nuclear expansion, targeting up to 17,800 MW of new nuclear capacity by 2050. This includes a proposed 10,000 MW nuclear station at Wesleyville in Port Hope and four new units at the Bruce C site. The plan also includes immediate action with nearly 3,000 MW of battery storage deployment beginning in 2025, enabling intermittent renewables to play a more reliable and integrated role in the grid.
Industry groups including the Canadian Renewable Energy Association, Organization of Canadian Nuclear Industries, the Association of Power Producers of Ontario expressed strong support, while Environmental Defence called it a risk to affordability and energy security.
Premier Ford announced he will be hosting of the Council of Federation meeting in Huntsville, July 21-23, 2025. The meeting between the premiers follows Carney’s ambitious July 1 deadline for removing federal barriers to interprovincial trade.
The Ontario Legislature entered summer recess last week, meaning no regular legislative proceedings are on the order paper until the Legislature is back in session come October 20th. However, the government continues to consult on several regulatory and legislative proposals over the summer.
Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie's June 11 Leader's Dinner raised more than $500,000 - demonstrating fundraising momentum for the third-party leader, despite her party's election loss earlier this year.
Meanwhile, Premier Ford is welcoming people to Etobicoke this evening for Ford Fest.
Upcoming Events Calendar
June 15-17, 2025: G7 Leaders’ Summit
June 16, 2025: The Drive to Double: Premier Danielle Smith & Premier Scott Moe
June 17-21, 2025: Advanced Voting – Alberta By-elections
June 23, 2025: Election Day – Alberta By-elections
July 4-13, 2025: Calgary Stampede
June 24-25, 2025: NATO Summit
