Weekly Roundup - September 19, 2025

Top Federal Stories

The United States formally launched USMCA consultations on September 16, posting preliminary notice for 45-day public consultations with hearings scheduled for November 2025. This represents the first official step toward the mandatory joint review scheduled to take place in 2026. In response, Canada is opening its own consultations on the trade agreement. Speaking from Mexico City, Dominic LeBlanc, Minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade announced the launch of consultations saying the government is "looking for very specific suggestions from Canadian industry and Canadian workers in terms of what we might advance at the bargaining or at the review table with the United States.”

Leblanc was accompanying Prime Minister Mark Carney on his visit to Mexico. There the Prime Minister met with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, where they discussed strengthening the bilateral relationship between Canada and Mexico and signed a three-year Canada-Mexico Action Plan covering prosperity, mobility, security, and environment. The strategic economic focus emphasized trade facilitation, port connectivity, and critical minerals collaboration, with Mexican officials expressing interest in expanding Canadian ports to create dedicated Canada-Mexico trade corridors bypassing US routes.

Short of securing a “bigger deal” with the United States, LeBlanc has positioned Canada's approach around trade negotiations to secure sectoral relief for steel and aluminium, automotive, and softwood lumber. Meanwhile, U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra delivered remarks at a Halifax Chamber of Commerce event stating Washinton has hoped for a "bigger deal" than simply USMCA renegotiation, but that that such a deal was “obvious, at least to [Hoekstra]  not going to happen right now, while expressing frustration with Canadian "anti-American sentiment."

Just one week into the return of the House of Commons and Carney’s cabinet saw it’s first shakeup. On Tuesday, Chrystia Freeland stepped down as Transport Minister, becoming Canada's Special Representative for the Reconstruction of Ukraine, and indicated she would not seek re-election. Steven MacKinnon was appointed as the new Transport Minister while retaining his Government House Leader role, as LeBlanc assumed additional Internal Trade responsibilities alongside his Canada-US Trade portfolio.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister’s Office announced David Lametti's appointment as UN Ambassador, effective November 17, replacing Bob Rae. Lametti, who served as Carney's Principal Secretary since July 2025, had previously declined a diplomatic appointment to Spain in 2023. Simultaneously, Vera Alexander was appointed Ambassador to Germany, replacing the late John Horgan.

Still to come are a number of anticipated departures of high-profile Trudeau-era ministers and former ministers. Bill Blair is expected to become High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. Steven Guilbeault reportedly faces departure pressure, while Jonathan Wilkinson has been offered the EU Ambassador role in Brussels and is considering the offer. Both find themselves at odds with Carney’s new approach to the environment.

Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced Budget 2025 will be tabled November 4, which is later than he had previously indicated. This will be Carney's first budget and Champagne's first as Finance Minister, promising "generational investments in housing and infrastructure while bringing down costs for Canadians."

Ahead of the budget, Interim Parliamentary Budget Officer Jason Jacques raised significant concerns during his September 16 committee appearance, stating: "I don't know if the government currently has fiscal anchors, which of course causes the people we work with considerable concern." Jacques also noted that it is “highly unlikely” that attrition alone will be enough to meet the fiscal targets the Liberals outlined during the election, suggesting the Carney government will have to make “some sort of reduction or substantial changes in the composition of the public service.”

Back on Parliament Hill, the BC Ferries scandal continues to be a headache for the Liberals. The Globe and Mail revealed Transport Canada received six weeks' advance notice of BC Ferries' plan to purchase vessels from Chinese state-owned China Merchants Industry Weihai Shipyards. BC Ferries CEO Nicolas Jimenez sent confidential correspondence on April 29 to Deputy Transport Minister Arun Thangaraj, expressing frustration with Minister Freeland's public criticism despite providing advance notification. Freeland’s decision to weigh in on the ferry purchase appears to be a self-inflicted wound, earning the former transport minister another invitation to testify at the Transport Committee to explain herself.

Premier David Eby led a high-level BC delegation to Ottawa on September 17-18, meeting with PM Carney for a working dinner at Rideau Cottage. Discussions focused on advancing major infrastructure projects and securing federal funding for "tens of billions in additional projects" under consideration. BC has two of the five announced projects being reviewed by the Major Projects Office. Eby also criticized federal ferry funding disparities, noting BC ferry users receive $1 per person in federal subsidies compared to $300 for Eastern Canadian users.

On Friday, Justice Minister Sean Fraser tabled the Combatting Hate Act, introducing four new Criminal Code offences to address rising hate crimes across Canada. The legislation specifically criminalizes intentionally promoting hatred against identifiable groups using hate or terrorism-related symbols in public, including swastikas, SS lightning bolts, and flags associated with listed terrorist entities like Hamas, Hezbollah, or Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Fraser framed the legislation as addressing behaviour that’s “impact has reverberations through the entirety of the community. And […] tears at the seams of the social fabric of the nation." The government's response follows months of attacks on mosques, synagogues, and Jewish institutions including shootings, fires, vandalism, and harassment.

Filmmaker and activist Avi Lewis officially launched his federal NDP leadership campaign on September 19, positioning himself as the change candidate for the NDP. Lewis, grandson of former federal NDP leader David Lewis and son of former Ontario NDP leader Stephen Lewis, framed his candidacy around economic upheaval from US tariff threats and growing dissatisfaction with traditional parties. Lewis co-authored the 2015 Leap Manifesto promoting fossil fuel transition.

Edmonton Strathcona MP Heather McPherson has registered with Elections Canada as a leadership candidate but has not formally announced her campaign.

Top Alberta Stories

Alberta will soon break new ground as the first province in Canada to add a mandatory “Canadian citizenship marker” to driver’s licences and ID cards. Premier Danielle Smith mused about the addition during Alberta Next panel town halls but made it official on Monday announcing legislation will be introduced this fall to add Canadian citizenship status to Albertans’ drivers licences or ID cards.

The Province says adding the citizenship marker will make it easier for Albertans to access programs like student aid and health benefits, while strengthening election security. However, critics of the policy are questioning the motivation behind it drawing parallels to the Alberta Next panel discussion on immigration, including “the option to withhold provincial social programs to any non-citizen or non-permanent resident who does not have an Alberta-approved immigration status.”

The citizenship marker will be added to all new and renewed driver’s licences and ID cards starting in fall 2026.

The immigration conversation didn’t end there as Jobs, Economy, Trade and Immigration Minister Joseph Schow received new marching orders this week. Refreshed mandate letters are being issued as the UCP reaches the midpoint of its term. The first set were released this week with a focus on economic resilience. The letters outline updated directives for Schow, as well as Arts, Culture and Status of Women Minister Tanya Fir, Forestry and Parks Minister Todd Loewen, and Tourism and Sport Minister Andrew Boitchenko.

Minister Schow has been instructed to review Alberta’s incentive programs, strengthen ties with Ottawa and industry on defence infrastructure, and “under the Premier’s direction, use all legal means to secure more provincial control over international immigration to Alberta for the purpose of achieving a more sustainable level of immigration with a focus on economic migrants able to contribute to the growth of our economy.”

Minister Fir has been tasked with expanding Alberta Day celebrations, boosting cultural industries, and working with First Nations to repatriate artifacts, while Minister Loewen’s priorities include securing a federal agreement for wildfire management in national parks, advancing carbon sequestration through forestry, and expanding camping and recreation spaces. Finally, the newly appointed Minister of Tourism and Sport, Andrew Boitchenko has been charged with implementing the Fairness and Safety in Sport Act, developing a tourism tax fairness framework, and creating a policy for future international event bids.

The Alberta Government continued its focus on jobs this week launching WorkFirst Alberta. The new suite of employment services is backed by a record $185 million investment from Budget 2025 and is designed to connect jobseekers with training, career supports, and wraparound services like childcare – while giving employers tools to recruit and retain talent.

The announcement follows two made last week specifically targeting youth unemployment after Alberta’s job market took a hit in August, losing 14,000 jobs and pushing the unemployment rate up to 8.4 per cent - the highest level outside the pandemic since 2017, according to the latest Labour Force Survey. The province also saw underemployment climb to 9.4 per cent, the third highest in Canada.

Alberta is preparing to update its Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) system to give industry more flexibility in how they cut emissions and stay competitive. The proposed changes would allow large facilities to count direct, on-site emissions reduction investments toward their TIER compliance, rather than relying only on credits or fund contributions. Smaller facilities below the emissions threshold could opt out of TIER in 2025, reducing costs and freeing up resources for other improvements. The government says these adjustments are aimed at encouraging innovation, supporting local jobs, and ensuring Alberta remains attractive for investment while continuing to lower emissions.

Critics, however, warn that the changes could weaken Alberta’s carbon market by allowing “double counting” of emissions reductions, reduce demand for credits, and undermine the stability needed to spur large-scale clean technology projects.

Alberta’s industrial carbon pricing system, now known as TIER, was established in 2007 and was the first of its kind in North America.

With less than three weeks until a potential provincewide teachers’ strike, bargaining between the Alberta government and the Alberta Teachers’ Association has resumed. Finance Minister Nate Horner confirmed that the province has presented a new deal responding to the union’s latest proposal, while the labour board announced a complaint over bad-faith bargaining had been resolved. The government’s offer includes hiring 3,000 new teachers and a 12 per cent wage increase over four years – an offer previously rejected by teachers, who voted 95 per cent in favour of strike action. The union says students and families remain its priority as talks continue, even as both sides launch competing advertising campaigns to make their case to the public ahead of the October 6 strike deadline.

Top Ontario Stories

Premier Doug Ford isn’t letting up on the pedal in his war on speed cameras. This week he doubled down on his "tax grab" rhetoric while promising alternative traffic safety measures. Speaking at a Chapman's ice cream facility, Ford declared, "there's better ways to slow down traffic than gouge the taxpayer... God knows the government gouges people enough on their taxes and every other penny they get off them." His promise to reveal alternatives comes after threatening to force municipalities to remove cameras when the legislature returns in the fall.

The Association of Municipalities of Ontario has pushed back against Ford’s insistence to remove speed camera, writing to the Premier the organization said, "speed limits are legal requirements and enforcement of the law is not a cash grab or a tax." The Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police is also urging the premier to reconsider, saying that speed cameras are "traffic safety tools" that have been “proven to reduce speeding” particularly in school zones.

Ontario’s skills development fund training program is under auditor scrutiny. The Ford government is defending the program as the Auditor General prepares to investigate the $2.5 billion Skills Development Fund before year's end. The controversy centers on questions about political considerations in grant approvals, particularly a $11 million grant to Scale Hospitality, a Toronto restaurant company with ties to the Ford government .

Speaking of Auditor General reports, the AG is also looking into how the province’s transit agency Metrolinx selected stops on two news subway lines, the strategies and governance framework for the adoption of artificial intelligence on the Ontario Government, the government’s processes and systems to design and oversee the delivery of commercial truck driver training, examination and licensing programs, the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Program, and access to Primary Care (among others). The Auditor General typically releases an annual report in early December.

The Ontario Liberal Party plunged into its third leadership contest since 2018 when Bonnie Crombie announced her resignation on September 14 following a weak 57 per cent support result in her mandatory leadership review. While technically sufficient to remain leader, the result fell far short of the two-thirds support critics demanded and triggered an immediate succession battle.

Nate Erskine-Smith is among the early names to emerge to replace Crombie, having telegraphed his intentions in a July 2025 manifesto calling for "renewal starting at the top." The federal MP for Beaches-East York, who narrowly lost to Crombie in 2023, has positioned himself as the progressive alternative to Crombie's centrist approach. Other names floating around as potential leadership contenders include (but is not limited to) federal MP Karina Gould, who unsuccessfully ran to replace Justin Trudeau as leader of the federal Liberal Party, Former Trudeau-era Innovation, Science and Industry Minister Navdeep Bains, and Jeff Lehman, the former Barrie mayor who was "strongly considering" a run.

The Ontario NDP is meeting in Niagara Falls this weekend for their AGM. NDP Leader Marit Stiles also faces a leadership review by the party members. Compared to Crombie’s gauntlet at the Liberal AGM last weekend, Stiles is likely to have an easier go with her party’s membership. The NDP, despite losing seats and votes in this year’s provincial election, managed to win more seats than the Ontario Liberals thanks to their more efficient vote. This allowed the NDP to maintain its role as the Official Opposition at Queen’s Park, which means more money, resources, and time to hold the Ford government to account in the legislature. That said, Stiles isn’t taking a win for granted. She too has been touring the province and meeting with party members to discuss the outcome of the election. The results of the leadership review are expected to be released on Saturday.

Upcoming Events Calendar

October 20, 2025: Ontario Legislature returns
October 23, 2025: Alberta Throne Speech
October 29, 2025: Alberta Next panel Calgary town hall 
January 29-31, 2026: Conservative Party of Canada National Convention
March 29, 2026: Federal NDP Leadership Race Results Announcement