Weekly Roundup - October 17, 2025
Top Federal Stories
Tensions over Stellantis leaving the country dominated Ottawa this week after the automaker announced it would shift Jeep production from Brampton to Illinois, putting roughly 3000 jobs at risk. Prime Minister Mark Carney said the move was a direct result of new U.S. tariffs and warned the company it must still meet its Canadian commitments. Industry Minister Melanie Joly echoed the message in a letter to the automaker, warning of possible legal action. Stellantis says it remains in talks with Ottawa and the province about new production plans for the site.
Major Projects Office (MPO) CEO Dawn Farrell confirmed in a meeting with the House environment committee that the MPO is currently assessing nine projects for possible designation as being of national interest under Bill C-5. Five have already been announced, with more expected to be announced by the Grey Cup. Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson said the next round of projects will help shape Canada’s economic and critical-minerals strategy. The government received more than 500 proposals overall, but only a fraction are likely to move forward.
On the Foreign Affairs file, Minister Anita Anand returned from India with a modest diplomatic breakthrough. She announced that India has agreed to restore Canada’s full cohort of diplomats, ending a year-long standoff that had left Ottawa operating with a skeleton presence in the country. Anand said the restoration was a prerequisite for reviving stalled trade talks. The meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi marked the first high-level contact between the two governments since tensions erupted in 2023.
At Canada Post, workers are back on the job after a two-week national strike, but the union, CUPW, says it will continue rotating stoppages to maintain pressure at the bargaining table. The postal service has lost more than $4 billion since 2018; in January, the feds loaned it roughly $1 billion to maintain solvency. Last month, the union announced it would begin another strike after the government announced its plan to phase out door-to-door delivery. Procurement Minister Joel Lightbound gave the postal service 45 days, as of September 15, to present a plan to restore its financial health.
MPs will return to the House on Monday following their Thanksgiving week break.
Top Alberta Stories
The province-wide teachers’ strike continues to dominate headlines following the long weekend. Talks between the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) and the province have stalled this week with no visible movement toward a deal. Finance Minister Nate Horner said the ATA’s latest proposal exceeded the government’s fiscal mandate by nearly $2 billion, insisting any agreement must align with wage settlements already reached across other public sectors. With 740,000 students impacted across the province, pressure from parents continues to intensify, and speculation that the government may legislate teachers back to work is now mainstream.
The strike followed Premier Smith to Edmonton midweek, where she delivered a keynote at the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce’s State of the Province event while teachers rallied outside Rogers Place. Inside, Smith avoided escalating the dispute and instead emphasized that the government has already offered competitive wage increases, classroom supports, and investments in new school builds.
Additionally, the Premier used the Edmonton address to shift momentum toward economic messaging, grounding much of her speech in investment attraction, intergovernmental collaboration, and long-term growth. She praised outgoing Mayor Amarjeet Sohi for his disciplined advocacy, stating “he always came with a clear one- or two-item ask, not a 10-page list,” and said she hopes to see a similar approach from the incoming city council. Notably, she also reiterated that Alberta’s working relationship with Ottawa is currently “very strong,” pointing to cooperative progress on pipelines, energy infrastructure, and regional economic priorities.
The remainder of the speech focused on competitiveness, with the Premier positioning Alberta as a North American hub for large-scale data centre investment, industrial innovation, and artificial intelligence deployment.
On the fiscal front, declining oil prices continue to stoke uncertainty, with Horner warning that if current trends hold, Alberta’s deficit could increase “by a couple billion dollars.” Still, with 42,000 new jobs reported in September, strong private sector hiring, and an active investment pipeline, the province continues to present a story of economic resilience despite global volatility.
To end off this week, the government released the long-awaited report from Judge Raymond E. Wyant who was tasked with reviewing procurement practices at Alberta Health Services. The independent review found no wrongdoing by elected officials and concluded that procurement reforms are now underway.
As Monday approaches, Albertans are gearing up for municipal elections across the province. Polling released this week shows nearly half of eligible voters in both major cities remain undecided. Among the decided, the same polling indicates Andrew Knack is pulling ahead in Edmonton, while Jeromy Farkas holds a slim lead in Calgary. With new municipal leadership coming in, education dominating headlines and economic conditions shaping provincial priorities, Albertans are bracing for a busy legislative session. All eyes and ears will be on next week’s Speech from the Throne to see what it reveals about this government’s intentions for the months ahead.
Top Ontario Stories
With the legislature returning next week, Premier Doug Ford is standing firmly behind Labour Minister David Piccini over the distribution of millions of dollars from the Skills Development Fund to unions and trade groups that endorsed the PC party during the last provincial election. The controversy centres on roughly two dozen organizations that received grants while endorsing the Ford government. Recipients include construction industry associations, manufacturing groups, and training organizations that had previously appeared alongside the premier at announcements. Opposition critics argue the lack of transparency undermines public confidence in how taxpayer money is distributed, particularly given the fund's stated purpose of addressing skills shortages in critical sectors. The government maintains that all recipients met eligibility criteria and that the funding supports legitimate workforce development programs. Premier Ford has called the fund “one of the best programs we’ve ever put together,” saying it has trained over 700,000 people in skilled trades, healthcare and manufacturing. The Ford government has not released the evaluation scores for all organizations that received money from the program, despite mounting pressure to do so.
Premier Ford and Prime Minister Mark Carney met at the Premier’s Etobicoke home on Thursday. According to both leaders, they spoke about getting major projects built, including in the Ring of Fire and large-scale nuclear facilities. The Prime Minister also touted the soon-to-be-tabled bail reform bill and sentencing laws his government plans to introduce, which provincial governments, including Ontario, have been calling for. At the same time, Premier Ford is calling for Canada to take a tougher negotiating position with the United States, saying Canada needs to “start hitting the U.S. back hard,” if a deal can’t be reached. Prime Minister Carney, for his part told reporters that “there’s a time to hit back and there’s a time to talk,” and that right now is the time for talks, saying, “we’re having intense negotiations.”
Premier Ford’s comments come after Stellantis announced that it would produce its Jeep Compass in Illinois, rather than at the Brampton Assembly Plant, throwing the future of the plant and approximately 3,000 unionized jobs into peril. In a statement, Premier Ford said he “stress[ed] his disappointment” with Stellantis’ decision to prioritize investment in the U.S. and says he will “never stop fighting for” Ontario’s auto workers.
Upcoming Events Calendar
October 20, 2025: Ontario Legislature Returns
October 20, 2025: Alberta Municipal Elections
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
