Weekly Roundup - October 3, 2025

Top Federal Stories

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Mark Carney launched the new Defence Investment Agency with an ambitious promise to consolidate and streamline Canada’s fragmented defence procurement processes. The agency, which the government says will officially begin operations in fall 2025, will be a special operating agency housed within Public Services and Procurement Canada, and will draw on expertise from PSPC, the Department of National Defence, Canadian Armed Forces, Canadian Coast Guard and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada. The agency will be led by Secretary of State (Defence Procurement) Stephen Fuhr, with day-to-day operations led by former RBC Deputy Chair Doug Guzman who was appointed CEO of the new agency.

The agency will oversee procurements valued at $100 million or more, with smaller contracts going through a different procurement process. According to Fuhr, procurement requirements will continue to come through the CAF to meet their operational requirements, but contracting authority will rest with the new investment agency.

In its initial phase, which is expected to take 8-12 months, the agency is focused on building capacity and shifting over some initial procurements such as the purchase of up to 12 new submarines from either South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean Co. or Germany’s Thyssen Krupp Marine Systems. Following the initial phase, the agency is expected to take on additional procurement responsibilities.

The agency’s mandate reflects the Carney government's efforts to marry economic and security calculus. Beyond streamlining procurement, the agency aims to leverage defence spending to drive Canadian innovation and industrial growth. The agency also aims to strengthen Canada’s strategic partnerships with international allies.

Carney’s framing of the initiative is a marked departure from his predecessor, who appeared to have little interest in tackling Canada’s beleaguered defence procurement processes. "In a dangerous and divided world, Canada's new government is ensuring the Canadian Armed Forces get the equipment they need, when they need it. In this new era, Canada's leadership is not defined by the strength of our values, but also by the value of our strength." Secretary of State Fuhr says the government wants to “make best efforts” to “leverage Canadian industry the best we can when we can to stimulate our own economy and create great jobs here in Canada.”

Industry reaction to the announcement has been mixed. With few detailed released so far, Christyn Cianfarani, CEO of the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries, noted industry “anxiety” over lack of clarity over how the forthcoming Defence Industrial Strategy, which is overseen by ISED and Canada’s defence priorities set by DND will inform the work of the new agency.

Moreover, the $100-million threshold has drawn criticism from the defence startup community, with one startup founder arguing that building a defence industrial base requires contracts in the $5 million to $20 million range for quantum computing, AI, or drone technologies.

Conservative defence critic James Bezan dismissed the initiative as "creating new, unnecessary bureaucracy” that “risks more red tape delays for desperately needed equipment projects.”

While revamping Canada’s defence procurement process, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand delivered a speech at the UN General Assembly on September 29 in which she laid out what priorities Canada might use its soft and hard power in pursuit of.

The priorities Anand articulated were a near 180-degree pivot from the Trudeau era, explicitly ranking defence and security as Canada's top foreign policy priority ahead of economic resilience, with progressive values demoted to third position.

Anand structured her remarks around three pillars. First, defence and security, emphasizing "keeping Canadians safe, strengthening our sovereignty, being good allies and partners in NATO and NORAD." She reiterated Carney's commitment to increase military spending while affirming Canada's long-term commitment to Ukraine and insisting that "Putin cannot be permitted to redraw boundaries at his will."

The second pillar, economic resilience, was a sales pitch to the world, calling for diversified trade, strengthened supply chains, and to make Canada a trusted trading partner. Anand highlighted the Canada-EU strategic defence partnership, a new trade deal with Indonesia, and expanded collaboration with Mexico, framing them as "not just trade agreements" but "bridges of resilience, engines of prosperity and commitments to the rules-based system."

Traditional priorities like democracy and pluralism, gender equality, environmental protections, appeared only in the third pillar. The positioning marks a rhetorical shift from the Trudeau-era, but also a defence of multilateralism. Without naming the Trump administration directly Anand promised that "when multilateral institutions are under threat, Canada will not turn inward." Her core message: "Canada does not retreat from duty."

The Carney-era foreign policy prioritization reflects the need to adapt to a world in which the United States’ international priorities are shifting. Carney told the Council on Foreign Relations that the international situation represents a "rupture" not a "transition," pitching Canada’s role in the world amidst the changing geopolitical landscape.

Top Alberta Stories

The Government of Alberta will act as proponent for a new oil pipeline, allocating $14 million with plans to formally submit it to the federal Major Projects Office. The project would move up to one million barrels per day to the B.C. coast, opening additional access to global markets and reducing reliance on U.S. buyers. Premier Smith has tied its success to federal reforms, including changes to the tanker moratorium, Impact Assessment Act, and oil and gas emissions cap. Central to Alberta’s strategy is Indigenous leadership and equity participation through the Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation, positioned as key to the project’s legitimacy and durability. While the province will not own or fund construction, it aims to catalyze private investment by breaking policy gridlock - an effort that could either restore investor confidence and establish Alberta as a driver of nation-building infrastructure or reinforce skepticism if federal barriers remain.
 

Alberta is on the brink of its first province-wide teachers strike in decades after union members overwhelmingly rejected a tentative deal negotiated by their leaders, with 95 per cent turnout and nearly 90 per cent voting against. Finance Minister Nate Horner responded with frustration, questioning why the Alberta Teachers’ Association proposed an agreement its members clearly did not support. The province has signaled it is prepared for a prolonged strike, offering compensation to parents while the union admits its strike fund cannot provide meaningful strike pay, leaving teachers financially vulnerable. The legislature returns October 23, allowing the government to legislate teachers back to work just as “early bird” registration closes for the UCP’s November convention in Edmonton - ironically giving angry teachers an opening to join the party, pay $169, and secure voting rights on policy, governance, and board elections. With enough organization, teachers could wield significant influence inside the party, especially as grassroots UCP members are already pushing for more democratic control over candidate selection. Unless the UCP board acts quickly to strengthen internal rules or delay the convention, it risks watching the Alberta Teachers’ Association - and potentially other unions - turn the party’s own processes into a tool for political payback. The timing is fraught: Premier Danielle Smith faces not only the strike but also looming budget cuts expected to anger other unions.

Another week – another set of mandate letters. Premier Danielle Smith is directing Alberta’s Minister of Environment and Protected Areas Rebecca Schulz, Minister of Energy and Minerals Brian Jean, Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation RJ Sigurdson, and Minister of Indigenous Relations Rajan Sawhney to “take action to unleash the potential of key industries and build prosperity” in the latest set of mandate letters. Schulz is tasked with defending Alberta’s jurisdiction from federal overreach, strengthening water management, protecting species at risk, and finalizing strategies for oil sands reclamation. Jean’s letter tasks him with charting a path to expand oil production to eight million barrels per day by 2035, securing approvals for new pipelines, streamlining project approvals, and advancing Indigenous partnerships in energy development. Sigurdson’s mandate includes introducing “Agriculture First” legislation, cutting red tape, expanding irrigation infrastructure, and promoting long-term soil health and biodiversity to support farmers, ranchers, and processors. Indigenous Relations Minister Rajan Sawhney is directed to focus on deepening partnerships with First Nations and Métis communities, advancing Indigenous equity participation in major projects, and pushing Ottawa to reform or repeal federal laws seen as harmful to Alberta’s economy. This latest round of mandate letters leaves eight ministries still awaiting updates, including Treasury Board and Finance, Primary and Preventative Health Services, Hospital and Surgical Health Services, Mental Health and Addiction, as well as Assisted Living and Social Services.

Top Ontario Stories

Ontario's Auditor General, Shelley Spence, delivered a quartet of special reports this week, ahead of the Auditor General’s annual report usually delivered in early December. The report on Ontario’s Skills Development Fund – Training Stream, pulled the curtain on a decision-making process that is usually cloaked in secrecy.

The Auditor General questioned the decisions to direct $742 million to politically connected applicants with poor, low, or medium scores through the $2.5 billion Skills Development Fund, while 670 high-ranked applications received nothing. The grant selection process was "not fair, transparent or accountable," Auditor General Shelley Spence concluded, with 388 projects receiving $479 million without any documented rationale.

The recipient list raises eyebrows. Media have reported that donors and organizations with close ties to the PC party received millions of dollars through the fund, for often low ranked projects. Meanwhile, applications with lobbyists fared remarkably well, with low and medium-ranked applications receiving $126 million.

Labour Minister David Piccini defended the program, arguing "government, who are elected by the people, ultimately have the say,” while Premier Doug Ford called it “one of the greatest programs that we’ve ever created.”

OPSEU, the union representing over 10,000 college support staff that remain on strike as public colleges project 10,000 job losses and have cut some 650 programs, has used the timing of the report to its advantage. The union has charged that the fund is being used to divert funding from public post-secondary institutions to private skills training centres.

Opposition leader Marit Stiles called it "textbook preferential treatment." Liberal parliamentary leader John Fraser said "it smells like the
Greenbelt, and it's a racket."

The AG released three additional reports this week. On childcare, the AG found Ontario created only 36,000 of its targeted 48,000 new spaces by December 2024. Families unable to find childcare tripled to 69,000 in 2023. Ontario spent its five-year federal funding allocation ($10.23 billion) in just four years and faces a $1.95-billion shortfall for 2026–27. Education Minister Paul Calandra blamed Ottawa, arguing Ontario is a more costly jurisdiction and that the Ontario government would negotiate with Ottawa to extend the program.

On home construction, the AG found the Home Construction Regulatory Authority, which licenses and regulates Ontario new home builders and sellers, approved over 99% of applicants with failing credit scores without conditions and saw its complaint backlog explode from 129 in March 2021 to 1,526 in March 2025. The AG found the current system insufficient to enable the government to monitor whether the HCRA was delivering on its mandate.

On climate, the AG found Ontario will miss its 2030 emissions reduction target by significantly more than admitted because the province overestimated reductions in every sector. The government's projection includes the ended federal carbon tax and ended EV subsidies while ignoring provincial fuel tax cuts. Environment Minister Todd McCarthy declared "targets are not outcomes,” and that the government believes in “achievable outcomes, not unrealistic objectives.”

Together, the four reports breath oxygen into the opposition parties who have struggled to gain traction against the Ford government this summer. Expect to see sparks fly in Question Period about the Skills Development Fund when the legislature returns later this month. Still, Ford’s PC government is defending from a position of strength. Ford, still early in his third majority mandate, faces weak opposition from the Ontario Liberals who are thrust into yet another leadership race, and from NDP leader Marit Stiles, who is still revamping her own leadership team after narrowly surviving her party’s leadership review.

Upcoming Events Calendar

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