Unity isn’t built by handing out vetoes like Halloween candy. But that’s precisely what Prime Minister Mark Carney proposes for Canada: a governance structure for major projects so Balkanized, so suffocatingly fractured, that it makes the former Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth’s liberum veto look like an efficient bureaucracy (more on this below). Carney wants every Premier and…
New Prime Minister Mark Carney’s awkward debut with Canada’s press corps reveals a man unready for the rigours of political life. Accustomed to elite deference, Carney bristled at even friendly media questions, displaying arrogance, condescension, and a sense that Canada owes him. If he struggles with CBC softball, how will he handle Question Period? As…
The following is an abridgement of chapter 4 in the recently published book Financial Sovereignty for Canadians (March 2024), authored by Fergus Hodgson. It is published here with the author’s kind permission. There is a silver lining to Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s pursuit of a provincial pension system. Alberta’s potential departure from the Canada Pension…
Granting the vote to non-citizens can be a tactical electoral subterfuge disguised as “inclusion.” The idea of permanent residents voting before (or without) becoming citizens has existed for several years. But does the idea have merit? The Canadian Civil Liberties Union virtually says Canada should do it because countries like Sweden are doing it. In 2018, the Edmonton Journal published…
“You don’t care which government does what…” —Seamus O’Regan The government Justin Trudeau heads, even following the support of the New Democrats, has been in a cycle of crises to fix things they break or make worse. Most of these crises are born out of neglect and incompetence, compounded by consistent attempts to cover up…
Charisma without substance is a dangerous thing.–Kim Campbell, Canada’s first and only female prime minister. Justin Trudeau’s popularity won him power in 2015. The popularity Trudeau enjoyed has steadily declined and has vastly dissipated. In the last couple of months, a strong wave of unpopularity has forced the PM to begin grappling with his political…
The 18th prime minister of Canada, Brian Mulroney, passed away on February 29, weeks short of his 85th birthday. He is being buried today. Consequential? “One of the most consequential Prime Ministers” is the expression you may have seen about Brian Mulroney half a dozen times since yesterday. It is a formula empty of substance to…
We should not be surprised but it rarely fails that in this country the proposed solution to every problem in government and every problem in the bureaucracy seems to be to hire more bureaucrats (or spend more money, which in most cases amounts to the same thing).