Canadian political thread

[goates]

Ah, thank you for that. Didn't realize.

Having said the above, there are some direct taxes in some cases. Most of the barriers are regulatory related though.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/alcohol-industry-booze-interprovincial-trade-barriers-9.6988099

https://www.biv.com/news/retail-man...:~:text=A 10-per-cent ad,to 500 cases in 2025.

 

[Klinn]

The saga of Doug Ford's "gravy plane" takes another interesting turn. Apparently it was big enough that it would only be able to use about 10% of the airports in Ontario. A snippet from the CBC:

The $28.9-million private jet the Ontario government purchased — and Premier Doug Ford has now committed to sell — would only have been able to fly in and out of about 10 per cent of recognized airports in the province, according to a CBC News analysis.

Bombardier's technical specifications for its 650 Challenger jet show it requires a distance of 5,650 feet to take off at its maximum weight, which means it couldn't use the vast majority of airports in Ontario at full capacity, as they have runways shorter than that, according to runway dimension data from NavCanada. (Aviation industry standard is in feet, rather than metres.)

Those limitations raise questions about how the private jet would have helped the premier travel around northern Ontario — one of his justifications for needing the jet — and how the plane would have fulfilled other government uses Ford described at Queen's Park on Tuesday.

"Sending firefighters up north to fight wildfires, or if we had floods, or if we had to bring people when we evacuate First Nations communities and we had to get them down and we would do that," Ford said.

it's been pointed out that if the plane is not fully loaded it could use shorter runways, but if they were thinking about evacuations as mentioned by Doug, those sorts of trips would be fully loaded since you're trying to get as many people out as possible.

So the question becomes: exactly what criteria were used to select this larger, heavier plane? At this point it looks like it was strictly a status/image/prestige sort of purchase, not for any of the supposed reasons Doug tried to come up with after the fact.

I guess it's a good thing Doug wants to hide his official phone records from public view. They might raise even more embarrassing questions.

 

[curih]

It isn't direct duties or tariffs, but the many different sets of regulations across the country that effectively cost businesses money when they want to cross provincial boundaries. Many industries are regulated at the provincial level, so we have up to 10 different sets of regulations or laws that one has to sort through.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canadian-economy-report-imf-interprovincial-trade-9.7062567

Thanks for that. It was interesting. I kind of knew the provinces were a little more independent than US states, but not really how. Clicking through some of the included links says that certification standards from products are different. So it sounds like small provinces get really penalized for the extra effort needed to serve a small market, but it doesn't much matter for the big ones since it's inherently worth the effort.

 

[Mad Doggie]

it's been pointed out that if the plane is not fully loaded it could use shorter runways, but if they were thinking about evacuations as mentioned by Doug, those sorts of trips would be fully loaded since you're trying to get as many people out as possible.

The max range of that aircraft is 7000+km. The number of times they will be taking off at MGW is going to be very, very small.

 

[Ajar]

Former Liberal foreign minister Lloyd Axworthy wrote this on the current Liberal government's rightward shift:

https://thewalrus.ca/carneys-liberals-are-governing-like-conservatives-just-more-politely/

Take asylum. Canada once had a system based on independent hearings, a reluctance to turn people away. What we’re building now is something different: pre-screening that cuts off claims before they reach the Immigration and Refugee Board, paper-only departmental reviews, a one-year time bar that can block a full hearing regardless of how someone’s situation has changed.

It's mostly high level, but there are some specific examples. And plenty of links.

The story is pretty consistent with what we see in polling, where the Carney Liberals gained ground primarily with older demographics, people old enough to remember the Progressive Conservatives and who liked them, plus the classic strategic voters (something I've done in the past myself) who fled the NDP in droves to mitigate the risk of a Poilievre government.

Whereas the Poilievre Conservatives actually retained their support among young Canadians, despite overall losing a lot of ground.

https://thewalrus.ca/poilievre-may-be-struggling-right-now-but-the-kids-still-like-him/

Among voters aged eighteen to thirty-four—“young voters” for the purposes of this analysis—party support held firm after Trudeau’s exit and Carney’s arrival. It is the only major demographic group where the Conservatives truly weathered the massive 2025 shift in public opinion.

 

[SteveS]

To me, this is the scariest thing in Canadian politics I have seen in a long time:
UCP move reveals potential for a Smith-friendly electoral map

The UCP have rejected the recommendations of the Electoral Boundaries Commission and created a committee of UCP members to re-draw electoral boundaries in their favour. Analysts estimate the new gerrymandered map would likely swing 9 additional seats to the UCP. We're going full-tilt into US Republicanism here. I had hope that enough Albertans would be fed up with Smith's insanity in the next election but if this goes through, it could be game over. I can't believe the government even has this power. I've been watching the US system crumble under the control of bad actors but for some reason I assumed we had better safeguards here

 

[SomeHandleThatStartsWithS]

The saga of Doug Ford's "gravy plane" takes another interesting turn. Apparently it was big enough that it would only be able to use about 10% of the airports in Ontario. A snippet from the CBC:



it's been pointed out that if the plane is not fully loaded it could use shorter runways, but if they were thinking about evacuations as mentioned by Doug, those sorts of trips would be fully loaded since you're trying to get as many people out as possible.

So the question becomes: exactly what criteria were used to select this larger, heavier plane? At this point it looks like it was strictly a status/image/prestige sort of purchase, not for any of the supposed reasons Doug tried to come up with after the fact.

I guess it's a good thing Doug wants to hide his official phone records from public view. They might raise even more embarrassing questions.

Dash 7 would have been a much better option if he were trying to fly in and out of short/unprepared runways and use it for evacuations.

 

[ahmerali]

So Bombardier has smartly...

decided to buy the jet for what the province paid for it.

Clearly there will be some 'benefit' to Bombardier at a future date. Once we've forgotten aaaaaaall about this.

 

[Ajar]

To me, this is the scariest thing in Canadian politics I have seen in a long time:
UCP move reveals potential for a Smith-friendly electoral map

The UCP have rejected the recommendations of the Electoral Boundaries Commission and created a committee of UCP members to re-draw electoral boundaries in their favour. Analysts estimate the new gerrymandered map would likely swing 9 additional seats to the UCP. We're going full-tilt into US Republicanism here. I had hope that enough Albertans would be fed up with Smith's insanity in the next election but if this goes through, it could be game over. I can't believe the government even has this power. I've been watching the US system crumble under the control of bad actors but for some reason I assumed we had better safeguards here

I'd expect a legal challenge, since the Commission majority put this in writing:

We are of the view that the minority’s proposed maps violate the principle of procedural fairness, unreasonably apply the statutory considerations, and likely violate s. 3 of the Charter. Each of these concerns is outlined in more detail below.

The majority objects in the strongest terms to this unconstitutional minority report and wishes to warn the Legislature against its adoption.

Pretty staggering for the majority to say "we think this alternative proposal from a minority of Commission members is illegal."

Smith wins either way, since if she can get the gerrymandered map through, it cements her power, and if it's struck down by the courts, she can rail against federal overreach. And the path to a legal challenge can apparently be easily obstructed to delay it:

https://ablawg.ca/2026/04/13/the-mi...-law-protect-alberta-from-ucp-gerrymandering/

Thankfully, the notwithstanding clause can't be applied. The right to free and fair elections isn't one that can be set aside by government whim.

 

[Mad Doggie]

Dash 7 would have been a much better option

Except that it hasn't been manufactured in almost 40 years.

Again, the CBC article was pointing out an extreme edge case - the plane at full load has 20,000 lbs of fuel, and only 2,300 lbs of passenger. What is the takeoff distance with only 3-4k lbs of fuel, and how many airports does that cover, then how often are flights outside of those airports required?

This does feel a lot like why 24 Sussex has never been renovated. Steve Paikin had a good entry the other day on the time that Bill Davis tried to get a plane and the same kind of furor emerged.

 

[crombie]

The whole plane debacle is just a bad look all around for any government. Did Ford see all of the people down south getting theirs for useless things, and figured, 'Hey, I can sell it as helping the people and then I don't have to fly with the unwashed masses any longer!'

 

[SteveS]

I'd expect a legal challenge, since the Commission majority put this in writing:


Pretty staggering for the majority to say "we think this alternative proposal from a minority of Commission members is illegal."

Smith wins either way, since if she can get the gerrymandered map through, it cements her power, and if it's struck down by the courts, she can rail against federal overreach. And the path to a legal challenge can apparently be easily obstructed to delay it:

https://ablawg.ca/2026/04/13/the-mi...-law-protect-alberta-from-ucp-gerrymandering/

Thankfully, the notwithstanding clause can't be applied. The right to free and fair elections isn't one that can be set aside by government whim.

From your link:

So, it is very likely that this matter will only get before the court via an application for judicial review of the proposed electoral boundaries in the minority report. This will provide the Attorney General with an opportunity to construct many roadblocks for an applicant to get past: standing, justiciability, abuse of process, to name a few.

Sounds to me like they can pass their bill and drag out legal challenges well past the next election.

 

[goates]

Again, the CBC article was pointing out an extreme edge case - the plane at full load has 20,000 lbs of fuel, and only 2,300 lbs of passenger. What is the takeoff distance with only 3-4k lbs of fuel, and how many airports does that cover, then how often are flights outside of those airports required?

What about accounting for rain, snow and ice? These jets also have known limitations in icing conditions, which contributed to a recent crash.

https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media...y-exceeded-anti-ice-limit-in-challenger-crash

I'm all for a government owning an operating aircraft for flying leaders around, if it makes financial sense (how do the purchase and operating costs compare to chartered and commercial flights?) and there are solid controls in place to prevent abuse. Otherwise it will likely end up like the Alberta government fleet under Redford where they were using the aircraft for personal use. Given Ford's push to restrict or prevent people from accessing government records and hide what he's up to, it doesn't exactly give one a good impression.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmo...lse-passengers-auditor-general-says-1.2720906

Edit to add: I think there are more appropriate aircraft if one truly wants to be able to fly into almost any airport in Ontario. King Airs or a Dash 8 would be better suited, just not as sexy as a Challenger jet.

 

[Rick Rumble]

To me, this is the scariest thing in Canadian politics I have seen in a long time:
UCP move reveals potential for a Smith-friendly electoral map

The UCP have rejected the recommendations of the Electoral Boundaries Commission and created a committee of UCP members to re-draw electoral boundaries in their favour. Analysts estimate the new gerrymandered map would likely swing 9 additional seats to the UCP. We're going full-tilt into US Republicanism here. I had hope that enough Albertans would be fed up with Smith's insanity in the next election but if this goes through, it could be game over. I can't believe the government even has this power. I've been watching the US system crumble under the control of bad actors but for some reason I assumed we had better safeguards here

Quick, break the emergency glass!
In the oddest way to announce possible; the Alberta government is getting rid of the time change

It's confirmed, yet nothing on the provincial website or even a social media announcement. Gotta make that controversy out of something benign to suck oxygen out of the room for the big stuff, eh? Far as I can tell, it was "announced" via a very Smith friendly opinion columnist.

 

[Welcome to Darwin]

I guess it's a good thing Doug wants to hide his official phone records from public view. They might raise even more embarrassing questions.

Is Doug Ford even capable of feeling embarrassment?

One would think if he could (even a little bit each time) it would have killed him by now.

 

[Welcome to Darwin]

What about accounting for rain, snow and ice? These jets also have known limitations in icing conditions, which contributed to a recent crash.

Hey, if he's using it to travel to the Caribbean on vacation, icing's not a huge concern.

 

[SomeHandleThatStartsWithS]

Except that it hasn't been manufactured in almost 40 years.

Again, the CBC article was pointing out an extreme edge case - the plane at full load has 20,000 lbs of fuel, and only 2,300 lbs of passenger. What is the takeoff distance with only 3-4k lbs of fuel, and how many airports does that cover, then how often are flights outside of those airports required?

This does feel a lot like why 24 Sussex has never been renovated. Steve Paikin had a good entry the other day on the time that Bill Davis tried to get a plane and the same kind of furor emerged.

Eh, that means the 7 could be purchased even less expensively. I honestly don't know what the current equivalent of the Dash 7 is.

 

[SomeHandleThatStartsWithS]

Striking while the iron is hot, Doug Ford decided to pile on the controversies by pushing a late-night legislative session to rush through his anti-FOI law.

Ford government hold late-night session to push through omnibus budget bill

I really hate any government that uses budget bills as omnibus bills to slip things into law. Budget bills should only be for budgets.

 

[crombie]

Striking while the iron is hot, Doug Ford decided to pile on the controversies by pushing a late-night legislative session to rush through his anti-FOI law.

Ford government hold late-night session to push through omnibus budget bill

I really hate any government that uses budget bills as omnibus bills to slip things into law. Budget bills should only be for budgets.

From the story:
Ford admitting that part of the rationale is to kill a request from Global News to obtain his cellphone records.

Not even trying to keep it to the quiet inside the head voice here. In Nova Scotia they don't even have to try to slip through omnibus bills with the super majority. They just can straight up push through any legislation they want.

So far the worst of it has been the budget cuts. And nothing super-controversial that I can think of (off the top of my head). It is mainly just how rapidly they can go from 1st reading to proclamation of a statute or legislation.

 

[goates]

Eh, that means the 7 could be purchased even less expensively. I honestly don't know what the current equivalent of the Dash 7 is.

There aren't that many Dash 7s still flying, which tends to mean operating costs are higher. Something in the King Air size range, or a Dash 8 for something a bit larger, would be the better options. On the other hand, $29 million would also cover a lot of commercial and/or charter flights.

 

[SomeHandleThatStartsWithS]

Not even trying to keep it to the quiet inside the head voice here. In Nova Scotia they don't even have to try to slip through omnibus bills with the super majority. They just can straight up push through any legislation they want.

The thing is, you know this part of the law will immediately go to the courts. If you're using your private cell phone for government work, it 100% needs to have the records available. I can also pretty much guarantee that there are incriminating records between him and his developer buddies.

I'd also be interested to see records for patterns of calls from, say, his far-right "influencer" daughter and her wedding, developers, as well as the removal of the speed cameras.

 

[Ajar]

Some solid investigative reporting: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/alberta-separatist-youtube-channels-netherlands-9.7174719

Unfortunately, this kind of content is only going to get easier to create, and platforms have no incentive to take it down because it generates ad revenue and they can claim they're being apolitical by leaving it up, despite this being quite literally citizens of one country agitating to break up another country.

 

[keltorak]

If you're using your private cell phone for government work, it 100% needs to have the records available.

It is (well, can be), at least at the Federal level. I keep reminding my staff never to use their personal phone for work or work phone for personal stuff. Not that they do, but the reminder that you absolutely do not want your personal life to be open to ATIPs can't hurt.

 

[SomeHandleThatStartsWithS]

Meanwhile, Pierre Poilievre continues to campaign as if he were in a federal election. He's demanding that all taxes on fuel be removed, not suspended, and has a big ass fuel delivery truck driving around with no tax on gas slapped all over the tanker.

 

[Zang]

Meanwhile, Pierre Poilievre continues to campaign as if he were in a federal election. He's demanding that all taxes on fuel be removed, not suspended, and has a big ass fuel delivery truck driving around with no tax on gas slapped all over the tanker.

All while demanding the deficit be kept below a 31b or whatever. How's that gonna work if you cut taxes again?

 

[bjn]

All while demanding the deficit be kept below a 31b or whatever. How's that gonna work if you cut taxes again?

By starving the poor and the sick obviously.

 

[TheGnome]

By starving the poor and the sick obviously.

...and cutting spending on useless things like health care, education, environmental protection, labour standards, etc., not to mention investment in public infrastructure, science, or perennial conservative targets like the arts or the CBC.

 

[spacekobra]

My "always conservative" dad hates Pierre to the point where he called me about that truck taking up space near his house. The fact that he managed to convince my dad who's never swayed his vote his whole life to switch speaks enough volumes of the direction Pierre is taking things.

That said, the talking out of both ends trick, does it actually work or is it just resonating with people who are too stubborn to change their vote? Or maybe they're worried about egg on their face? I'm not sure anymore.

 

[Bardon]

Background: I come from a staunch PC family, from as far back as the 1920's when my Great Grandfather was briefly PM of Canada.
In our family, the only option was to vote PC. Of course, it helped keep any of us from voting for the Liberals as since P.E Trudeau got into power, every adult member of our family was given a full audit by the CRA every year. So there was at least a bit of a reason why "Anyone but the Liberals" was pretty much the family motto.

Before my father passed, in one of his lucid moments he said "I've voted PC all my life but bedamned if I'll vote for that jackass Poilievre or anyone who supports him".

This tells you how badly Poilievre has fucked things up.

Edit: fixed wrong word

 

[SomeHandleThatStartsWithS]

My "always conservative" dad hates Pierre to the point where he called me about that truck taking up space near his house. The fact that he managed to convince my dad who's never swayed his vote his whole life to switch speaks enough volumes of the direction Pierre is taking things.

That said, the talking out of both ends trick, does it actually work or is it just resonating with people who are too stubborn to change their vote? Or maybe they're worried about egg on their face? I'm not sure anymore.

I think it's a combination of "my family has always voted PC*" and people, for lack of better wording, brainwashed into 'fuck Trudeau Carney script. I rarely venture off CBC radio, barring the Blue Jays broadcasts and some Sirius stuff while doing long drives, but the talk radio airwaves are awash with right-leaning to far-right-leaning rhetoric. Then there's the pollution from the US and lingering drivel from the anti-vax nutjobs and convoy.

*The Progressive Conservative party has been dead for decades now.

 

[SomeHandleThatStartsWithS]

Let's not forget that all of this campaigning that Poilievre is doing is being paid for by the Canadian Government and taxpayers. I'd be gobsmacked if the CPC is funding it.

It also smacks of a leader and party that has no real counter-proposals to what the sitting government is doing.