Weekly Roundup - June 20, 2025
As Parliament rose Friday evening for summer recess, MPs wrapped up a legislative session dominated by the controversial Bill C-5, the One Canadian Economy Act. The minority Liberal government’s flagship legislation to remove interprovincial trade barriers and facilitate the more rapid approval of infrastructure projects passed today, despite opposition from Indigenous leaders, environmental groups, and even some members of Mark Carney’s own caucus. At the request of the Bloc Québécois and the NDP, Speaker Francis Scarpaleggia agreed to split the omnibus legislation into separate votes, though the Liberals pushed the legislation through the House of Commons with the support of the Conservatives, sending the bill to the Senate.
Earlier this week, Canada hosted the G7 Leader’s Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, marking Prime Minister Carney's first major international diplomatic hosting role. Despite President Trump's early departure and tensions over Ukraine, the summit concluded with agreement from members on further cooperation on priorities like critical mineral supply chains, artificial intelligence, wildfires, and fighting transnational crime. For Canada’s part, Carney wants to position the country as a "supplier of choice" of critical minerals for allies and partners to reduce dependence on China, which currently controls the majority of the world’s rare earth elements production.
Trump left the summit early, amidst escalating Middle East tensions, and summit leaders failed to achieve a joint G7 statement on Ukraine, highlighting growing divisions within the alliance.
The summit also facilitated a diplomatic reset between Canada and India, with the first bilateral meeting between Carney and Prime Minister Modi since Former Prime Minister Trudeau publicly accused India of involvement in assassinations on Canadian soil. Both leaders agreed to restore diplomatic services and appoint new high commissioners, despite ongoing tensions.
Carney and Trump agreed to pursue an economic and security deal within 30 days, creating a mid-July deadline for the two countries to come to an agreement. A short working document is said to be in discussion between Ottawa and Washington. Negotiations are taking place amidst the backdrop of escalating tariffs. The Carney government announced this week that Canada will adjust its existing counter-tariffs on steel and aluminium products on July 21, to levels consistent with progress that has been made in the broader trading arrangement with the United States.
Not waiting on America, Canada is set to sign a EU-Canada Security and Defence Partnership Agreement on June 23, providing access to the €150 billion Security Action for Europe program covering crisis management, military mobility, maritime security, cyber threats, and defence industrial cooperation.
Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand outlined her reform agenda, describing Global Affairs Canada as "a department struggling to reform itself" and promising an action-oriented approach to “streamline Canada’s approach to global issues, allowing it to pursue its interests without losing sight of its values.” Anand emphasized supporting PM Carney's goal to make Canada "less dependent on the US for trade and defence," and to strengthen collaboration with "reliable trading partners and allies around the world."
Back in Ottawa, the House approved a Conservative motion calling for a lifetime procurement ban on GCStrategies. This followed an Auditor-General's report finding the company received $64.5 million with little evidence work was performed in many cases. The non-binding motion demands recovery of taxpayer funds within 100 days.
Parliament also passed Bills C-6 and C-7 that approve federal spending. Other bills that were introduced to deal with strengthening the border, addressing the “lost Canadian” citizenship issue, and a tax measures bill did not pass the House before MPs rose.
The Conservative Party confirmed Pierre Poilievre will face a mandatory leadership review at the next party convention, which is scheduled for January 29-31, 2026, in Calgary.
MP Damien Kurek officially resigned his Battle River-Crowfoot seat on June 17, clearing the path for Poilievre's return to Parliament through a byelection that could be called as early as August 4.
Top Alberta Stories
It’s all about getting out the vote as by-election day fast approaches in three Alberta ridings. Advanced polls opened on Tuesday for Edmonton-Ellerslie, Edmonton-Strathcona, and Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills residents. Monday marks election day with polls closing at 8 pm.
While it’s not much of a race to replace former Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley in Edmonton-Strathcona, Monday will mark a milestone for the party as new leader Naheed Nenshi will finally have a seat in the house.
The first test of his leadership came during the Lethbridge-West by-election where the NDP kept the seat orange with voters sending Rob Miyashiro to the legislature. With polls showing support in the former NDP stronghold of Edmonton slipping, it will be all hands on deck this weekend for both NDP and UCP campaigners as they work to get supporters in Edmonton-Ellerslie to the polls.
We’re also keeping a close eye on Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills, where United Conservative Party MLA and legislature Speaker Nathan Cooper resigned his seat to become Alberta's envoy in Washington, D.C. The UCP appointed their candidate, Tara Sawyer, who is a farmer, and business owner in the community. With separatist sentiment on the rise, Sawyer is running against the leader of the Republican Party of Alberta, Cam Davies, who is pitching voters on the benefits of leaving Canada.
While it’s unlikely Davies will win, it’s not impossible after the 1982 by-election in what-was-then the riding of Olds-Didsbury where Gordon Kesler of the Western Canada Concept Party of Alberta won with 42 per cent of the vote. He was the first, and is currently still the only, separatist party candidate to be elected to the Alberta Legislature. After Monday’s result, we’ll see if voters put some wind in the sails of separatism or start to quiet the sentiment with their choice.
Polling from May showed 51 per cent of Albertans wanted the Smith government to prepare a plan for how Alberta could become its own independent country. However, far fewer are interested in leaving the Canada Pension Plan. This week, the Alberta Government released written responses to a 2023 provincial pension plan engagement survey about replacing the CPP with an Alberta Pension Plan, and only 10 per cent of respondents signalled support. The public survey was conducted online from Sept. 21 to Dec. 10, 2023.
In a statement to media, the press secretary to finance minister Nate Horner responded to the results saying, “while recent surveys on an APP show public opinion may be shifting, we will continue to engage with Albertans on this topic through the Alberta Next panel.” The panel was announced following Mark Carney’s victory and will be chaired by Premier Smith and conduct a series of in-person and online town halls. At its conclusion the more popular ideas are likely to be put to a provincial referendum in 2026.
School is almost out for the summer, but there will be no break for the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) and the Ministry of Finance after Alberta teachers voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action. Last week, the ATA released the results of its strike vote held between June 5 and 8, with 95 per cent of those who cast a ballot, or 36,862 teachers, voting in favour of strike action.
The ATA’s most recent collective agreement expired in August 2024. Teachers are now seeking larger wage increases to counter inflation as well as more manageable workloads, including smaller class sizes and better supports to address the growing complexity of students’ needs in classrooms.
At a time when the provincial coffers are strained, the Alberta Government is also looking to secure new deals with the Alberta Union of Public Employees and Health Sciences Association of Alberta.
Top Ontario Stories
Premier Ford issued a public apology following inflammatory remarks about First Nations communities made during Bill 5 discussions the previous day. Ford’s comments, "there's going to be a point that you can't just keep coming hat in hand all the time to the government, you've got to be able to take care of yourselves." sparked immediate condemnation from Indigenous leaders, with Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak calling them racist.
Ford's apology at Queen's Park, delivered directly to Anishinabek Nation chiefs, was characterized as "sincere" by Grand Council Chief Linda Debassige. However, others, such as Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler, said the premier’s apology is inadequate, and that "if the premier is sincere with his apology, he needs to show it, not just say it."
This controversy follows previous criticism of the government’s passage of Bill 5 which grants the government unprecedented powers to create special economic zones where provincial laws and municipal bylaws can be suspended. The Ring of Fire region is one of the areas the Ford government has in mind to speed up projects, despite escalating Indigenous opposition and threats of blockades.
The more-than-a-decade-long Eglinton Crosstown fiasco appears to be reaching the end of the tunnel. Metrolinx handed operational control to the Toronto Transit Commission in mid-June, marking a significant milestone for the long-delayed project. The 19-kilometre line with 25 stops is now targeting a September 2025 opening.
The project is five years behind schedule with costs exceeding $12.8 billion, up from the original $9.1 billion budget. It has been a major thorn in the side of the Ford government, with business owners and residents along Eglinton Avenue voicing frustration with the 15-year construction period.
Ford told reporters this week that four masked suspects attempted to steal a vehicle from his Etobicoke driveway on June 17. The attempted car theft resulted in arrests and charges for possessing electronic theft devices.
New revelations from the Information and Privacy Commissioner confirmed that government staff illegally deleted records related to Greenbelt land swaps, using "opaque codewords" in communications. The NDP is demanding the RCMP expand its ongoing criminal investigation to look into the IPC’s findings.
The federal-provincial National Housing Strategy agreement, finalized in March but recently implemented, unlocked $357 million in federal funding for Ontario. Housing Minister Rob Flack was intent on resetting the relationship with his federal counterpart, and the deal resolves months of tense negotiations after Ottawa threatened to bypass the province and fund local service managers directly.
The Sir John A. Macdonald statue at Queen's Park is finally seeing the light of day again. Earlier this month boarding was removed after five years of coverage. The statue is accompanied by a new contextual plaque that reads: “though we cannot change the history we have inherited, we can shape the history we wish to leave behind."
Upcoming Events Calendar
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
July 4-13, 2025: Calgary Stampede
July 21-23, 2025: Council of the Federation Meeting
September 15, 2025: House of Commons returns
October 20, 2025: Ontario Legislature returns
October 27, 2025: Alberta Legislature returns
January 29-31, 2026: Conservative Party of Canada National Convention
