Weekly Roundup - October 24, 2025

Top Federal Stories

In a rare Wednesday evening prime-time public address Prime Minister Mark Carney delivered a pre-budget preview. The speech, which ran nearly 30 minutes, framed the upcoming November 4 budget as a response to what Carney described as a "hinge moment" in Canadian history.

Carney was direct about the challenges facing the country. The decades-long process of economic integration with the United States is over, he said, and that our relationship with the United States will never be the same. U.S. tariffs have risen to levels not seen since the Great Depression, and Canada's former strengths based on close ties to America have become vulnerabilities.

To meet the moment, the government’s up coming budget will focus on three priorities: building, taking control, and winning. To do so, Carney’s pledged to double Canada's non-U.S. exports over the next decade, which the government claims will generate $300 billion more in trade.

He also indicated the budget will introduce several new policy directions. A climate competitiveness strategy will focus on "results over objectives" and "investment over prohibition.” A new immigration plan will match immigration levels with Canada's needs and capacity. A Defence Investment Agency will ensure that more military procurement spending stays in Canada rather than flowing to the United States.

Carney signalled that the government will balance its operating deficit within three years by reducing what he called “wasteful government spending and doing more with less.” A recent 60-day red tape review identified nearly 500 ways to streamline services and reduce costs. Carney was upfront that economic transformation will take time, telling his audience that Canadians should be ready for "sacrifices".

Reaction to the speech broke along predictable lines. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who met privately with Carney hours before the speech, said his party's priorities remain unchanged: broad tax cuts and keeping the deficit under $42 billion. Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet described his six budget demands as "absolute," while NDP interim Leader Don Davies called for substantial investment in jobs, health care, and housing.

With the Liberals three votes short of a majority, Carney needs support from at least one opposition party – or a handful of defectors – to pass the budget. Liberal House leader Steve MacKinnon has already dismissed opposition demands as "ludicrous," but is “starting to worry” about opposition parties not supporting the budget. The budget is a confidence vote, and if it were to fail Canadians could face another election.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly terminated trade negotiations with Canada late Thursday night. The President lashed out at an Ontario government advertisement featuring Ronald Reagan's words on the dangers of tariffs, but the breakdown suggests deeper frustrations in the talks.

The ad, part of a $75 million campaign launched by Ontario Premier Doug Ford, uses audio from Reagan's April 1987 radio address about free trade. Reagan warns that "high tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars." The advertisement has been running on major U.S. networks.

In a series of Truth Social posts, Trump accused Canada of "fraudulently" using a "FAKE" advertisement. The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation complained that the ad used selective audio without permission and was reviewing legal options, though Ford's office countered that the commercial uses an unedited excerpt from a public domain address.

The timing of Trump's decision raises questions about the progress the two countries have made during talks. Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc recently returned from Washington after what appeared to be productive discussions. The Globe and Mail had reported Canada could be days away from a deal easing tariffs on steel and aluminum, potentially to be signed at next weekend's APEC summit where both Carney and Trump will be present.

Speaking briefly to reporters on Friday before boarding a plane for his Asia trip, Carney said Canada stands ready to resume negotiations "when the Americans are ready to have those discussions," noting that "detailed and constructive progress" had been made in recent weeks.

The collapse in talks comes at an inconvenient moment for Carney, who is travelling to Southeast Asia for ASEAN and APEC summits. Both he and Trump are scheduled to attend the APEC forum in South Korea next weekend, setting up a potential face-to-face encounter. Whether a meeting happens, and what tone it takes is an open question as Canada faces prolonged uncertainty in its most important economic relationship.

Top Alberta Stories

The Alberta legislature opened this week with a Speech from the Throne delivered by Salma Lakhani, Lieutenant Governor of Alberta. The speech is meant to outline a clear direction for the fall legislative session, and this one set an ambitious tone. In it, the government pledged to “end the landlocking” of the oilsands by advancing new pipelines to British Columbia’s northwest coast and across to Ontario, doubling oil and gas production, and positioning the province as both an energy and artificial intelligence powerhouse.

The Province also reiterated its push for greater autonomy, saying sovereignty means pursuing a new economic deal with Ottawa - not separation. Alongside plans for pipelines and economic diversification, the government committed to boosting the Heritage Fund, tightening control over immigration to prioritize economic migrants, and investing in police, schools, health system restructuring, and future passenger rail.

The theme of asserting Alberta’s jurisdiction carried directly into the government’s first legislative bill. Following the speech, Premier Danielle Smith introduced the International Agreement Act, positioning it as a safeguard to ensure international treaties affecting provincial areas - such as health, education, or natural resources - cannot take effect in Alberta without legislative approval. While the premier framed the bill as a necessary step to protect Alberta’s interests, critics argued it’s more symbolic than substantive, and a distraction from pressing challenges at home, such as the provincewide teachers’ strike.

Among those critics was Naheed Nenshi, leader of the Official Opposition, who took his seat in the Legislature for the first time on Thursday. He accused the government of failing to deliver on the priorities of Albertans, pointing specifically to the more than 750,000 students out of classrooms since early October. The strike has become one of the largest and longest of its kind in Alberta, prompting the government to announce it would introduce back-to-work legislation on Monday through Bill 2, the Back to School Act.

Premier Smith said the bill is necessary to return students to class and prevent further disruption, while teachers and their union insist, they want a negotiated agreement that addresses classroom complexity, staffing shortages, and wages. The government’s move has intensified tensions, with educators rallying at the legislature and warning that legislating them back to work without meaningful improvements risks sending them back into the same strained conditions.

As teachers are expected to be sent back to classrooms, the Alberta Public Service will also be returning to the office. This week, the Alberta government confirmed it’s ending its Interim Hybrid Work Policy and will require all provincial employees to return to the office full time by February 1, 2026. The decision mirrors actions already taken in Ontario and reflects a broader shift among governments looking to re-establish traditional workplace structures. Originally introduced during the pandemic to allow up to two remote workdays per week, the policy had been used by nearly half of Alberta’s public servants.

Top Ontario Stories

For its role in the breakdown of Canada-US trade talks, which was triggered by Ontario’s $75 million ad campaign, the province will pull its anti-tariff advertisement on Monday, but not before it airs during the first two games of the World Serries. Premier Ford defended the campaign's effectiveness, while announcing the pause, suggesting the ad’s purpose had been achieved by reaching “U.S. audiences at the highest levels.”

The legislature was back in action this week with a packed agenda. The premier came out swinging against Ticketmaster after Blue Jays World Series tickets saw their prices skyrocket on resale markets. Ford accused the platform of "gouging the people" and promised to look into legislation to crack down on ticket scalping practices.

The Ford government previously scrapped a law that would have capped ticket resale prices at 50 per cent of the ticket’s original value. In 2019 the government said the previous government’s Ticket Sales Act was unenforceable and would lead to a black market. Liberal Parliamentary Leader John Fraser and NDP Leader Marit Stiles both say they back reviving the anti-scalping rules.

The government also new legislation which aims to accelerate housing development by streamlining approvals and creating new incentives for builders. The legislation aims to streamline approvals for homes and road construction, and to limit “bad actors” from abusing the Landlord and Tenant Board system. Notably, Housing Minister Rob Flack was non-committal when asked if the province would achieve its target of building 1.5 million new homes.

Ontario's housing targets remain off track despite years of rhetoric about the need to build faster. Current projections show the province falling tens-of-thousands of units short of its 1.5 million homes by 2031 goal.

As promised, the Ford government is bringing legislation to ban the use of municipal speed enforcement cameras. Included in Ontario’s new red tape omnibus bill is a provision that would ban municipalities from using automated speed cameras. The bill would also require municipalities with existing speed cameras in school zones to install large signs with flashing lights to slow drivers down by September 2026. The province is also encouraging municipalities to implement alternative traffic-calming measures such as speed bumps, speed cushions, raised crosswalks, curb extensions and roundabouts, as well as enhanced signage and education and awareness campaigns.

Upcoming Events Calendar

November 12-14, 2025: Alberta Municipalities Convention and Trade Show
January 29-31, 2026: Conservative Party of Canada National Convention
March 29, 2026: Federal NDP Leadership Race Results Announcement