Canada – Times Contrarian

As the U.S. turns on its allies, Canadians look toward joining Europe

4-21-26

European Union leaders' summit in Brussels in December, 2018. Recent polls show a majority of Canadians would support joining the EU. POOL/The Associated Press

By Steven Chase The idea keeps coming back. A French politician mused about it in Berlin last month. A Finnish leader visiting Ottawa this April didn’t dismiss it out of hand. Fresh polls show a majority of Canadians would support…

Pint of beer, side of ‘edutainment’: Why Toronto’s young professionals are flocking to academic lectures at the pub

3-10-26

Professor Michael Inzlicht, of the University of Toronto and the Rotman School of Management, engages with attendees during his lecture on AI and empathy. Steve Russell Toronto Star

By Samantha Fink Special to the Star From the science of empathy to Jane Austen, talks at events like Brains & Barstools are selling out as adults embrace a social way to learn. At 6:45 p.m. on a Wednesday, downtown…

Canadian Airlines Cancel Flights as Cuba Runs Out of Jet Fuel

2-11-26

Jose Marti International Airport in Havana last year. Credit: Yamil Lage/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

By Frances Robles The Trump administration’s crackdown on oil shipments to Cuba is beginning to wreak havoc on the Caribbean island’s travel industry. Disruptions to Cuba’s travel industry began this week after the government notified airlines that it would run…

Carney reaches ‘landmark’ tariff-quota deal with China on EVs, canola

1-16-26

Prime Minister Mark Carney, fourth right, meets with President of China Xi Jinping, fourth left, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

By The Canadian Press BEIJING -- The Liberal government has reached a deal with Beijing to slash tariffs on a set number of Chinese electric vehicles in exchange for China dropping duties on agriculture products, Prime Minister Mark Carney said…

Five things that shook Canadian politics in 2025

12-22-25

U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Prime Minister Mark Carney in the Oval Office of the White House on Oct. 7, 2025, in Washington. Evan Vucci/AP

By Susan Delacourt National Columnist Opinion If the theme of 2025 in Canadian politics was to expect the unexpected, the ways in which the political world turned upside down will reverberate into 2026. Everyone will have their own surprise developments…

Toronto’s early November snowfall breaks decades-old weather records

11-11-25

A person crosses the street in a spring snow storm in downtown Toronto, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston

By Phil Tsekouras Toronto got an early blast of winter on Sunday to start November, and broke a pair of decades-old weather records in the process. Environment Canada said 9.8 centimetres of snow fell in Toronto on Nov. 9, with…

Carney breaks silence on Jimmy Lai, says jailed Hong Kong publisher should be freed

10-19-25

Jimmy Lai poses during an interview in Hong Kong, in June, 2020. ANTHONY WALLACE/Getty Images

By SMarie Woolf & Laura Stone Prime Minister Mark Carney has broken his silence on jailed Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai, saying he supports his release on humanitarian grounds and also because he believes in freedom of the press. Mr.…

Canadian Car Visits To U.S. Plummet 34% In August—8th Consecutive Month Of Steep Declines

9-10-25

A 34% drop in Canadian visitors by car in August underscores a successful travel boycott of U.S. destinations. getty

By Suzanne Rowan Kelleher A Canadian boycott of U.S. travel continued through August—anchoring an enormous economic loss for American tourism this year as visitors from around the world choose not to travel to the states amid President Trump’s aggressive tariffs…

The Canadian Company Staffing ‘Alligator Alcatraz’

8-9-25

Workers install a sign reading ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ at the entrance to a new migrant detention facility in Florida on July 3, 2025. Photo by Rebecca Blackwell, the Associated Press.

Rachel Gilmore / Yesterday /T he Tyee Carney’s government awarded GardaWorld millions in contracts and isn’t ruling out more. A Canadian company is providing the muscle for a new Florida detention centre dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” — and the Canadian government…

Canada airdrops aid into Gaza as Netanyahu defies mounting ceasefire pressure

8-5-25

Palestinians rush to collect humanitarian aid airdropped by parachutes into Zawaida in the central Gaza Strip on Monday. Abdel Kareem Hana/The Associated Press

By Mark MacKinnon and Kristy Kirkup A Canadian military aircraft joined the airlift of humanitarian assistance into Gaza for the first time on Monday, an international effort that resulted in a desperate scramble on the ground that saw hundreds of…

Carney condemns Israel for failing to prevent humanitarian crisis in Gaza

7-25-25

The prime minister’s statement is the latest sign of rising international alarm over the starvation and deaths of civilians in the besieged Palestinian territory. Chris Young The Canadian Press

By Alex Ballingall Deputy Ottawa Bureau Chief The prime minister’s statement is the latest sign of rising international alarm over the starvation and deaths of civilians in the besieged Palestinian territory. OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney is condemning Israel…

Carney says getting best possible deal with U.S. more important than Aug. 1 deadline

7-23-25

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks to the media during the 2025 summer meetings of Canada’s Premiers at Deerhurst Resort in Huntsville, Ont., on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press)

The Canadian Press “They’re complex negotiations and we’ll use all the time that’s necessary,” he told reporters after meeting with premiers at the Council of the Federation gathering in Huntsville, Ont. Prime Minister Mark Carney downplayed the importance of a…

Mark Carney is the reincarnation of the Chrétien Liberals. That’s not a bad thing

7-14-25

Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks with reporters on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday, June 30, 2025. Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press file photo

By Justin Ling Contributing Columnist In 1993, Liberal party leader Jean Chrétien had dinner with four top Canadian academics. Over dessert, one asked a blunt question: If you win, what do you actually want to do? “I have three priorities,”…

CANADA UNITED

8-23-26

When Our Friend and Neighbor Declares War on You

I’m Canadian. I grew up believing that the United States was our closest friend, our biggest trading partner and our closest cultural neighbor. We shared music, movies, television, ideas and an enormous border that somehow never seemed to matter very much.

Today Canada’s prime minister declared that Canada is at war with the United States. Not a shooting war, but a trade war, a war over sovereignty and, increasingly, a fight over what kind of country Canada is allowed to be.

Mark Carney put it bluntly after walking away from negotiations with President Trump’s administration. “You’re at war when you’re attacked, and we got attacked,” he said.

That is a remarkable thing for a Canadian prime minister to say about America. It is also a remarkable thing for an American president to have made necessary. The United States has imposed new tariffs of as much as 50 percent on Canadian goods, while demanding concessions that reach far beyond the price of lumber, steel or automobiles. According to The New York Times, American negotiators pressed Canada over its policies supporting Canadian and French-language culture, including streaming, publishing, film and French labeling.

That should concern Americans as much as Canadians. Whether the United States can use its economic power to tell a smaller neighbor what it is allowed to protect, produce and preserve.

Canada has spent generations building a country that is distinctly Canadian. It has its own music, its own films, its own languages and its own culture. It will not become another version of America simply because it shares a border

America is damaging Herself. The United States has enormous economic power, the world's greatest universities, technology companies, entertainment industry and financial institutions. All extraordinarily successful because people around the world wanted to buy what Americans made.

For generations, countries trusted the United States to be a reliable trading partner. Businesses built factories and supply chains based upon that assumption. Consumers benefited from an enormous integrated North American economy.

The country itself let this happen. Now it’s up to the country. Why has so much changed? The USA voted for a felon to run the country. Maybe that was it.

Carney says Canada will accelerate its effort to diversify its economy and reduce its dependence on the United States. That may be painful in the short term, but it could ultimately make Canada stronger.

This sad day for Canada is a much more ominous one for the United States.

Neil

A View From The Maple Tree...

8-11-26

8/11/26 By Steffi Fillingham When Mark Carney became Prime Minister of Canada on March 14, 2025, he didn’t just take on the task of leading the government of this vast and varied nation; he inherited the monstrous job of balancing…

O Canada

7-21-26

By Robert Reich What can we say? Friends, Trump on Monday signed orders to impose a 50 percent tariff on a wide range of Canadian imports. The White House claims the tariffs are a “punishment” for Canadian discrimination against American…

Canadian town officially recognizes trees as living beings with rights: ‘Our biggest ally’

6-23-26

By Owen Scott The move was inspired by Quebec filmmaker André Desrocher who said ‘a tree is like a human being’ A Canadian town has officially recognized trees as living beings with their own rights, with the mayor dubbing them…

9 Killed and 25 Injured in Shootings
at School and Home in Canada

2-11-26

By Kristjan Lautens - Staff Reporter By Francesca RegaladoVjosa Isai and Yan Zhuang Canada was reeling on Wednesday, a day after a shooter killed nine people and injured 25 others in a remote town in northeastern British Columbia, the third-deadliest…

Buck Martinez announces retirement
from Blue Jays broadcast booth

2-7-26

Buck Martinez was on the call for more than 4,000 Jays games over his career. Richard Lautens/Toronto Star file photo

By Kristjan Lautens, Staff Reporter The former catcher began calling games regularly in 1987. Legendary commentator Buck Martinez announced he is retiring on Friday, after calling more than 4,000 Blue Jays games over his career. “After the World Series, my…

CANADA IS GREAT
“Principled and pragmatic: Canada’s path” Prime Minister Carney addresses the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting

1-21-26

Prime Minister Carney January 20, 2026Davos, Switzerland Thank you, Larry. It’s a pleasure – and a duty – to be with you at this turning point for Canada and for the world. Today, I’ll talk about the rupture in the…

We conservatives need to
take a stand against one of our own

10-19-25

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith holds a press conference on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, on October 7, 2025. Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press

By Mark Johnson, Contributor Opinion “We must vigilantly stand on guard within our own borders for human rights and fundamental freedoms, which are our proud heritage … We cannot take for granted the continuance and maintenance of those rights and…

A View From The Maple Tree...
October 13

10-18-25

10/13/25 By Steffi Fillingham Last week I spent most of my time up in the maple tree, reading a remarkable book called ‘Hostage’. It was written by Eli Sharabi, a man who spent 491 days in Hamas’ captivity after being…

Canada finally faces a basic question:
how do we defend ourselves?

8-22-25

‘The good news is that Canada’s new reality is far from unique.’ Photograph: Adrian Wyld/AP

By Stephen Marche For centuries, Canada hasn’t needed to prioritize its military. But the US transformation calls for a Finland-style approach The second Trump administration has been worse than Canada’s worst nightmare. The largest military force in the history of…

THE CANADA DESK – Health Canada

6-14-26

Catherine O’Hara, Martin Short and more on how a house on Avenue Road spawned a generation of comedy greats

4-19-26

By Paul Myers Special to the Star Over the years, 1063 Avenue Rd. would become the home and social hub of various people associated with “Godspell,” the Second City Theatre, “SCTV” and “Saturday Night Live.” In 1972, two recent graduates…

Why do Americans hate each other
while Canadians love each other?

3-10-26

By Robert Reich Could it have something to do with our politics? With the sociopath in the Oval? Friends. A survey released last Thursday by the Pew Research Center finds that 53 percent of American adults describe the morality and…

Tumbler Ridge school shooting: ‘The nation mourns with you,’ says Mark Carney after Canada attack
British Columbia school shooting 'one of the worst' in Canada's history, officials say – video

2-11-26

By Lucy Campbell 'The nation mourns with you,' an emotional Carney tells victims' families As he arrived at Parliament Hill in Ottawa a short while ago, Mark Carney was visibly emotional as he told reporters it was a “very difficult…

Grateful Dead legend Bobby Weir dies at age of 78

1-12-26

Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group/TNS

By Jim Harrington The Mercury News The Bay Area rock legend, a founding Dead member and pillar of the jam band community, was 78. SAN JOSE, Calif. — Bobby Weir, a founding member of the Grateful Dead and one of…

Frank Gehry, the Toronto-born architect known for his bold and dynamic structures, dies at 96

12-7-25

Frank Gehry, who was born in Toronto, was one of the most influential architects of his generation. Lionel Bonaventure AFP/Getty Images

By Joshua Chong - Arts Critic & Reporter His notable projects include a new extension to the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. Frank Gehry, the Canadian-American architect whose dynamic buildings defied convention, cementing him as one…

Next round of major projects to be named Thursday, Carney says

11-11-25

Prime Minister Mark Carney says he'll announced more projects set to be fast-tracked at an event Thursday in Prince Rupert, B.C. JUNG YEON-JE/AFP/Getty Images

By Mark Rendell & Brent Jang The federal government will announce the next round of projects on the Major Projects Office list on Thursday in Prince Rupert, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Monday. The office was established over the summer…

I’m a former senior aide to Stephen Harper. Pierre Poilievre is dismantling the principled, trustworthy Conservative Party we tried to build

10-19-25

Former prime minister Stephen Harper, right, and Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre raise hands at a rally during a campaign stop in Edmonton in April 7. JASON FRANSON THE CANADIAN PRESS

By Dimitri Soudas Contributor OPINION The Conservative Party that was shaped by the nation-building of Sir John A. Macdonald, the moral conviction of John Diefenbaker, the bold ambition of Brian Mulroney, and the steady discipline of Stephen Harper is far…

Canadians steer clear of US as travel from north falls for seventh month

8-12-25

A passenger looks out the window as an Air Canada airplane takes off from Newark Liberty international airport in 2023. Photograph: Gary Hershorn/Getty Images

By Olivia Bowden in Toronto Numbers of return road and air trips continue to fall after trade policy row and threats to annex country Travel to the US by Canadian residents has continued to drop significantly for the seventh month…

Powwow special to honour children with disabilities made them all winners

8-7-25

Emory Rabbitskin, centre, poses with parents Tina and Eugene at the Big River First Nation powwow held on July 24. (Darla Ponace/CBC)

By Darla Ponace 'It was so beautiful,' mother of disabled child says Tina Rabbitskin and her husband Eugene wanted to create an event where everyone could feel like a winner. Inspired by their 11-year-old son Emory Zane Rabbitskin, who was…

THE CANADA DESK – CA – MEX

7-29-25

Shooting of bear that swam to Canadian island frustrates First Nations

7-17-25

A grizzly bear on a British Columbia shoreline. Photograph: Steven Fines/Alamy

By Olivia Bowden Indigenous groups had offered to rehome grizzly nicknamed Tex who was killed without authorization The journey of Tex, a young grizzly bear that gripped public attention in Canada after swimming to a populated island near Vancouver, came…

A crossparty bond formed in crisis

7-14-25

Prime Minister Mark Carney and Ontario Premier Doug Ford have a “real strong relationship,” a senior federal Liberal said. The rookie prime minister has turned to the experienced premier for political guidance.

BY ROBERT BENZIE QUEEN'S PARK BUREAU CHIEF Political alliance between Carney and Ford has been strengthened by Trump's tariff threats Forged by crisis, tempered by opportunity and steeled by circumstance, it is the most important political alliance in the country.…

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