Weekly Roundup - July 18, 2025
The temperature is rising for Prime Minister Mark Carney's government and it's not just the dog days of summer turning up the heat. Carney’s government is facing mounting pressure on multiple fronts as trade war tensions escalated, Indigenous leaders voiced serious concerns about major projects legislation, and the Conservative opposition ramped up attacks on the PM's financial holdings. The approaching August 1 trade deadline is putting pressure on the government to land a deal, while pre-budget consultations are top of mind for those hoping to influence the government's ambitious economic agenda ahead of its first budget this fall.
Top Federal Stories
In Hamilton this week, Prime Minister Carney announced sweeping changes to Canada's steel trade policy. Speaking at the Walters Group steel fabrication plant on Wednesday, Carney unveiled a $1 billion support package from the Strategic Innovation Fund to help steel companies remain competitive. He also announced enhanced tariff rate quotas for countries that ship more than 100% of their 2024 volumes into Canada, as well as a new 25% tariff on Chinese steel imports, and federal procurement changes prioritizing Canadian steel.
At the same time, the Prime Minister acknowledged the fact that any deal with President Trump would almost certainly come with tariffs saying, “there is not much evidence at this moment of agreements, arrangements, or negotiations with the Americans for any country, any jurisdiction, to have a tariff-free deal.” Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre seized on the Prime Minister’s admission calling it, "another unilateral concession," while Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet is accusing Carney of making "compromises on many things so far without achieving anything."
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne and Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem spent the week in South Africa at G20 meetings, where discussions focused on restoring certainty, stability, and confidence to the global economy.
Meanwhile, the much-anticipated First Nations Major Projects Summit at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau on July 17 exposed fractures in the government's relationship with Indigenous communities. Despite Carney's promises of "wealth and prosperity for generations to come" the closed-door meetings produced mixed reviews and stark warnings from First Nations leaders about the rushed implementation of Bill C-5.
Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak had a pointed message: "until an appropriate process founded in free, prior and informed consent is established between First Nations rights holders and the Crown, the Crown's legal obligations will not be met." The British Columbia Assembly of First Nations circulated a statement putting the government "on notice" that First Nations would "exhaust every avenue necessary to ensure the federal government fully respects its own laws."
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne officially launched pre-budget consultations on July 14, promising Budget 2025 would "spend less and invest more to catalyze private capital, unleash investment, and build the strongest economy in the G7."
The budget development process occurs against competing spending pressures. The government has committed to significant new defence spending, and continued infrastructure investments through Bill C-5, while it simultaneously looks to curb spending across government. Federally funded crown agencies and corporations like the CBC and Via Rail have been tasked with proposing their own savings of up to 15 percent over the next three years.
It’s been anything but a quiet summer for Pierre Poilievre. Fresh off the heels of the spring’s election, Poilievre is deep into the campaign for the August 18 Battle River-Crowfoot by-election. Winning this by-election is his path back to Parliament after losing his Ottawa-area seat in April. The Conservative leader is once again facing off against the Longest Ballot Committee, which has organized more than 50 candidates to register for the race.
Despite not sitting as an MP, Poilievre has continued to keep up the pressure on Prime Minister Carney; this week calling for the Prime Minister to sell all the assets in his blind trust to avoid any possible conflicts of interest. Poilievre claims Carney will be “constantly distracted by his private interests” as he runs the government.
Separately, Minister of Public Safety, Gary Anandasangaree is taking heat after it emerged that while he was an MP, he supported an immigration application from a Sri Lankan whom federal officials had barred from entering Canada due to alleged affiliation with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
Top Ontario Stories
Premier Doug Ford’s efforts to fast-track and streamline major infrastructure projects is facing its first major challenge this week after nine First Nations filed a constitutional challenge in Ontario Superior Court, seeking to have both Ontario's Bill 5 and the federal Bill C-5 declared unconstitutional.
The plaintiff First Nations, made up of Alderville, Apitipi Anicinapek, Aroland, Attawapiskat, Fort Albany, Ginoogaming, Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug, Oneida Nation of the Thames and Wabauskang First Nation, are demanding $100 million in damages and immediate injunctions to prevent implementation of both bills. They claim both pieces of legislation represent a “clear and present danger” to the First Nations’ self determination rights to ways of life on their territories. The First Nations argue the laws are unconstitutional because they violate charter rights to life, liberty and security of the person, as well as equality rights.
The legal challenge is a possible roadblock to the Ford government's plan to designate the mineral-rich Ring of Fire region as a "special economic zone" under Bill 5.
Facing challenges to her leadership, Liberal Party Leader Bonnie Crombie released a four-minute video message, publicly acknowledging substantial mistakes during the February 2025 provincial election campaign, while going on the offensive by promising changes going forward. The admission comes just weeks before a leadership review scheduled for the party’s September 12-14 convention.
Crombie admitted the party opened candidate nominations too late, failed to adequately support rural and northern communities, as well as broader organizational failures. "We made some mistakes, but now we're going to fix them," she said. “We will use the learnings from this campaign to make sure the next campaign is run differently.”
The Liberal leader faces internal opposition from the "New Leaf Liberals" movement, largely associated with Liberal MP and runner-up leadership candidate Nathaniel Erskine-Smith supporters. The group is demanding Crombie’s resignation if she fails to secure 66% support in the leadership review. Despite regaining official party status with 14 seats and 30% of the popular vote, Crombie's loss of her own Mississauga East-Cooksville seat creates ongoing parliamentary limitations for the party's rebuilding efforts.
The Ontario PC Party announced their 2026 Convention will be held in Toronto from January 30 to February 1, 2026, marking the first major party gathering since Ford's third consecutive majority victory. The PC convention coincides with the federal Conservative Party convention, which is being held in Calgary from January 29 to 31. Pierre Poilievre faces a leadership review at the Conservative convention next year. Under the party rules, only delegates who attend the Calgary convention will be able to cast a ballot on whether Poilievre should remain as leader.
Last month Premier Doug Ford declared the Eglinton Crosstown LRT was on track to open this September, but outgoing interim TTC CEO Greg Percy is pouring cold water on the opening date of the perennially delayed LRT project. During a July 17 board meeting he told members, "I think September is a reach, but this fall is plausible and certainly by year-end."
Meanwhile, Premier Ford's failure to deliver mandate letters to cabinet ministers months after his March 2025 cabinet swearing-in has generated criticism. One senior government staffer described the wait as "honestly so painful," while Liberal MPP John Fraser characterized the delay as unacceptable saying, "four months in after getting re-elected with a mandate...to not actually have a plan, it's not acceptable." Mandate letters are the guiding documents for Cabinet which set out the premier’s priorities for ministers to accomplish.
Top Alberta Stories
There are officially three new MLAs in the Alberta Legislature. UCP MLA for Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills Tara Sawyer, NDP Leader and MLA for Edmonton-Strathcona Naheed Nenshi, and MLA for Edmonton-Ellerslie Gurtej Singh Brar were sworn in on Monday.
Naheed Nenshi didn’t wait until after the ceremony to lay out his agenda. In a news conference that morning, the opposition leader outlined his fiercely pro-Canada approach and announced his caucus will be hitting the road for a tour he called the Better Together Summer.
The announcement came the day before the government’s Alberta Next panel held its first town hall. The panel is chaired by Premier Smith and made its first stop in Red Deer on Tuesday, followed by a session in Edmonton on Wednesday. The conversation was lively and focused around six policies ideas, including an Alberta pension plan, provincial police force, and changes to the Canadian Constitution.
The panel’s mandate is to hear from Albertans on how the province can better protect itself from Ottawa, but during the first town hall a number of attendees expressed frustration with the online survey saying it didn’t give them the option to disagree. The government then confirmed an “other/none of the above” option had been added to the surveys on tax collection, an Alberta pension plan, as well as a provincial police force.
The next town hall will take place on August 14 in Edmonton with the in-person sessions wrapping up in Calgary on September 29. At its conclusion the more popular ideas will be put to a provincial referendum in 2026.
New West’s Shannon Greer was on West of Centre this week to unpack the panel and what it means for Alberta. You can listen to the episode here.
The Province also provided a progress report on Alberta’s Heritage Fund this week. With Edmonton’s skyline in the background, Premier Smith and Finance Minister Nate Horner told reporters the fund hit a record high of $30 billion. In February, the pair unveiled a strategy to transform the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund (HSTF) into a sovereign wealth fund, targeting a minimum growth of $250 billion by 2050.
At the core of this strategy was the establishment of the Heritage Fund Opportunities Corporation (HFOC), a new Crown corporation that will independently manage and expand the fund’s investments. Joe Lougheed, son of former Premier Peter Lougheed, is the Chair of HFOC, drawing an unspoken connection to a legacy of responsible fiscal stewardship.
Upcoming Events Calendar
July 21-23, 2025: Council of the Federation Meeting
August 14, 2025: Alberta Next panel Edmonton town hall
August 18, 2025: Battle River-Crowfoot federal by
August 26, 2025: Alberta Next panel Fort McMurray town hall
August 27, 2025: Alberta Next panel Lloydminster town hall
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
