Silicon Investor - The Great Canadian Reset

[Maple MAGA ] [youtube video]

Maple MAGA — 3/27/2025 7:01:05 AM

[Maple MAGA ] Canadian Manufacturing Heads South... [graphic]

Maple MAGA — 3/27/2025 7:00:13 AM

Canadian Manufacturing Heads South...

[Maple MAGA ] 'Holy smokes': Huge log believed to be 50 million years old unearthed at N.W.T. ...

Maple MAGA — 3/26/2025 2:42:29 PM

'Holy smokes': Huge log believed to be 50 million years old unearthed at N.W.T. mine

Diavik says it's talking about what to do with its wood specimens as it approaches closure

Liny Lamberink · CBC News · Posted: Mar 26, 2025 2:00 AM CST | Last Updated: 11 hours ago

Diavik diamond mine says the 136-kilogram log of a redwood tree, believed to be 50 million years old, was found 240 metres below ground on Feb. 20. (Diavik Diamond Mine/Facebook)

A log of wood believed to be 50 million years old has been hauled up from below ground at Diavik diamond mine in the N.W.T. — a find that researchers say is remarkable but not uncommon.

In a post about the discovery on Facebook last week, the mine described it as a 136-kilogram (300-pound) log from a redwood tree that it found 240 metres below ground. In an email, a Diavik spokesperson said it was discovered on Feb. 20 during regular mining at the A21 pit while miners were scooping kimberlite ore.

Diavik is located in the tundra on Lac de Gras about 300 kilometres northeast of Yellowknife.

"The kimberlite rock from which the wood was recovered has been dated to approximately 50 million years old using accepted age-dating techniques," they said. "Consequently, the materials encapsulated within the kimberlite rock, including this wood, are understood to be of the same age."

The spokesperson said pieces of wood are regularly recovered from Diavik's kimberlite pipes but this one is notable because of its size. They said that when wood is found in kimberlite, work is paused so that it can be safely removed.

"This discovery is significant, as it offers a rare glimpse into the distant past, enriching our understanding of the ancient environment. It also highlights how mining operations can contribute to scientific research and knowledge," the spokesperson wrote.

Wood from a metasequoia tree found at Diavik at the Prince of Wales Heritage Centre in Yellowknife. 'The 55-million-year-old wood is only slightly charred and could still burn' reads its label. (Liny Lamberink/CBC)

They didn't say exactly what would happen with the discovery, but did say that Diavik "retains" wood that it's found, has previously sent pieces for study and that it would be "discussing the future handling of such specimens" as the mine approaches closure.

The Prince of Wales Heritage Centre — the museum and archives for the N.W.T. government — already has a piece of 55-million-year-old wood from a metasequoia tree found at Diavik on display, and another from the neighbouring Ekati diamond mine believed to be 52 million years old within its stored collection.

An online record for the log from Ekati says that the metasequoia was a common swamp plant at the time and that when a kimberlite volcano erupted, the remains of the tree collapsed into the top and was encased in the kimberlite rock. "It is real wood, not mineralized or petrified," the entry reads.

A spokesperson for the territory's Department of Education, Culture and Employment said Tuesday the museum hadn't spoken to Diavik about its recent find.

Alberto Reyes on the other hand, an associate professor in the department of earth and atmospheric sciences at the University of Alberta, said he's reached out to Diavik — and is interested in getting a sample of the tree.

"It's a really remarkable find," he said. "I've seen those kinds of things before but also, holy smokes that is a huge log."

Reyes, a co-author on a recent paper about evidence of palm trees in the N.W.T. 48 million years ago, said he was interested to find out what setting the log was recovered from.

He said scientists know that 50 million years ago the region would have been a humid temperate forest ecosystem with metasequoia, hazel, chestnut and oak-like trees.

"It would almost have looked like Nashville, Tennessee in a way, climate-wise."

But that paints a broad picture of the land at the time, Reyes said, while studying this newly uncovered tree could yield more specific information.

"The ability to look at year-to-year climate variability deep in time during a period of … our history when it's a lot warmer than present in the Arctic would be really fascinating. We don't have a great handle on that yet."

Is ancient wood still actual wood?Reyes and Christopher West, the curator of paleobotany at the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller, Alberta, agree the tree is likely about 50 million years old.

West said there are two ways the mine may have figured out how old its kimberlite pipes are: one method is to look at fossil pollen in the area, which reveals what kind of plants were growing at the time and anchors the material in a particular period. The other involves studying a layer of ash that could be present.

West said it's also "quite common" to find fossil logs with straight ends that look like they could have been cut with a chainsaw.

The Prince of Wales Heritage Centre also has another larger, 52-million-year-old piece of a metasequoia tree in its stored collection, from the Ekati diamond mine on Lac de Gras. (Liny Lamberink/CBC)

He said when there's flooding or an event in which a lot of sediment is deposited, a dead tree can be partially covered. "Eventually the tree breaks away and aspects of it will get sheared and smoothed out," he said.

West says the tree may have been preserved through permineralization — a type of fossilization which would render the tree hard to the touch — or through coalification — a process that turns plant matter to coal, in which case it could still feel a bit woody.

Reyes, however, suspects the recently uncovered log may still be wood, at least on the inside. He's examined specimens from similar settings — such as a piece of wood from a kimberlite pipe in the N.W.T. in 2007 — that looked charred only on the outside.

It meant that Reyes and a colleague were able to do chemical tests to try and reconstruct the climate at the time.

"That was my first kind of toe-dipping into the world of … diamond mines and ancient climate in, in N.W.T. And we've sort of kind of kept going from there."

[Maple MAGA ] Elbows up! [graphic]

Maple MAGA — 3/24/2025 3:22:55 PM

Elbows up!

[Maple MAGA ] Liberal leader can't stop copying and pasting Conservative policies Terry Newma...

Maple MAGA — 3/23/2025 10:47:30 PM

Liberal leader can't stop copying and pasting Conservative policies

Terry Newman

Published Mar 23, 2025 • Last updated 6 hours ago • 5 minute read

593 Comments

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks at a news conference at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on March 23, 2025 after asking the Governor General to dissolve Parliament thereby triggering snap elections on April 28. (Photo by DAVE CHAN/AFP via Getty Images)

On Sunday, freshly minted Prime Minister Mark Carney visited Governor General Mary Simon at Rideau Hall triggering a federal election which will send Canadians to the ballot boxes on April 28. Parliament is now dissolved. Monday’s previously scheduled return to the House of Commons for MPs is now cancelled.

Carney, who appeared shaky at his pulpit on the steps of Rideau Hall, has a temporary respite from a skills test in the House against Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre. Instead, Carney’s been catapulted into the ultimate test, a federal election shadowed by unresolved questions about his financial assets, possible conflicts of interest, copy-pasting of Conservative policy promises, and the fact he’s yet to attempt negotiations with Trump.

If the polls are to be believed, the Liberals have performed a magic trick. They’ve managed to maintain virtually the same party, taking it from the very dismal 16 per cent popularity to overtaking the Conservatives in the latest Ipsos poll by 42-36, all by replacing their leader. Nanos Research pollster NikNanos has suggested this fight between the Liberals and Conservatives will be akin to “a knife fight in a telephone booth.”

There was some speculation that this telephone booth might be located in Edmonton Centre, a riding that if Carney chose to run in, could have signalled affinity for Alberta. Much ado was made of Carney, who is from Edmonton, making a hometown comeback. He participated in an on-ice activity with the Oilers before a game on Thursday. On the social media platform X, Carney shared a polished campaign video of himself in an Oilers jersey with the number 24, nodding to the fact that he’s the 24th prime minister, skating on the ice and hanging out in the team’s dressing room.

Comedian Mike Myers, who left Canada for the U.S. 36 years ago, also showed up at the rink to support Carney, and to apparently dispel any concerns that living in the U.S. (or elsewhere) makes one less Canadian. Carney’s recent lack of habitation in Canada is really no big deal, you see. What’s really important is not that Carney has spent so much time living outside of Canada, but that he knows the names of Mr. Dressup’s two puppets, Casey and Finnegan. That’s quite a low bar for prime ministerial suitability.

Internal polling must have suggested this wasn’t Carney’s best shot, because we now know he’ll be running in Nepean, ON., where there he will face off with Conservative MP candidate Barbara Bal, a staff sergeant who’s been in law enforcement for over 27 years and has received a police exemplary service medal.

Of course, the bigger fight is with Poilievre, whose policies Carney has, for the most part, copied and pasted. And Sunday’s announcement of the election was no exception. Poilievre has promised to cut income taxes, and on Sunday, Carney pledged to reduce income tax in the lowest bracket by one per cent up to $57,375, leading to a savings of about $825 per year for a two-income family.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre speaks at a news conference to launch his campaign for the federal election, in Gatineau, Que., on Sunday, March 23, 2025. Photo by Justin Tang /THE CANADIAN PRESS

Poilievre promised to axe the consumer carbon tax. Up until recently, the Liberals attacked him endlessly for this. Carney has since reduced it to zero. It is not actually cancelled, despite claims by the Liberal party. That would require legislation, so the tax is still officially on the books. Poilievre promised to scrap both the consumer and the industrial carbon tax, preferring to use tax credits to reward companies that lower emissions. In other words, unlike Carney, he’s chosen to use positive rather than negative incentives.

Poilievre promised to speed up approvals for energy projects. Mark Carney recently promised the same, saying he’d create a “one-window” approval process, but failed to explain what he’d do about the Liberals’ existing regulatory regime that has spooked investors up until now, leading to projects being cancelled. Carney’s been caught speaking out of both sides of his mouth, depending on the language being used and where he’s located.

Carney wrote in his 2021 book Value(s) that 80 per cent of fossil fuels need to remain in the ground to meet 2050 net-zero targets, saying even Greta Thunberg could do the math. Does this seem like someone who will be interested in pipelines?

Poilievre said he’d reverse the Liberal’s proposed capital gains tax hike from 50 to 66.7 per cent. Mark Carney has cancelled the capital gains tax increase. Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V.

Poilievre promised to cap immigration and tie it to housing construction rates. Carney promised a temporary cap on immigration until numbers return to pre-pandemic levels. The only problem with that is there was already a housing crisis at that time. Carney commented Sunday that the crisis was a post-pandemic issue. This kind of knowledge requires being steeped in Canada, not simply recalling the names of Mr. Dressup’s puppets.

Carney began his election announcement by telling the assembled crowd he knew our country needed to act to fix our economy, to fight the Americans and to deal with Donald Trump’s tariffs.

He told Canadians he will end all provincial trade barriers by July 1st to create one Canadian economy, a welcome change that shouldn’t have required the threats of Donald Trump to happen.

He said, “This past week, we acted to protect workers, using the proceeds of our retaliatory tariffs against America’s unjustified trade actions. We acted to unlock major infrastructure projects and get them moving rapidly including clean and conventional energy, critical minerals, and new trade corridors with reliable trading partners. We acted to create new supports for farmers and businesses during this trade war. We expanded dental care for millions of more Canadians.”

“We acted,” is being used very liberally here, as Carney has been prime minister for all of nine days. Where and what are these major projects that are now “unlocked”?

He continued. “We can’t control the U.S. president, but we can control our destiny,” he said. “And the best way we can deal with this crisis is to build our strength here at home and to help people who will be hit hardest by these tariffs. That’s the right thing to do. That’s the fair thing to do. That’s the Canadian thing to do,” he said.

The question remains as to whether retaliatory tariffs and this workers’ program are the necessary thing to do. As one reporter pointed out, Carney hasn’t even bothered to engage in negotiations with Trump yet.

Carney’s financials, potential conflicts of interest and his climate obsessions hung like a shadow over his head as he announced the, shortest possible, 36-day election. Reporters below the steps who had waited over an hour and a half for him to give his speech appeared to have sensed these insecurities and went for his jugular, one asking why he’d throw Canada into an election during a trade war before giving Canadians a chance to test drive him, his answer wasn’t convincing, and can be summed up as, “We’ve been busy, and we’ve changed.”

Have they really?

tnewman@postmedia.com

X: @TLNewmanMTL

[Maple MAGA ] Canada: Toronto police charge Amir Arvahi Azar with advocating genocide against ...

Maple MAGA — 3/19/2025 3:37:27 PM

Canada: Toronto police charge Amir Arvahi Azar with advocating genocide against Jewish community

Mar 19, 2025 12:00 pm

By Christine Douglass-Williams

4 Comments

And since the “rare charge” of “advocating genocide” was laid against Amir Arvahi Azar, what about any follow-up from the Toronto Police regarding its “official” podcast, on which two Muslim liaison officers praised jihad savagery by saying that “the October 7 massacre brought people closer to Islam”? Doesn’t this incident deserve full acknowledgement of the inherently dangerous message that was conveyed, as well as a full investigation, consequences for those involved, and formal complaint? So far, nada. Only an apology for upsetting people.

In returning to the case of Amir Arvahi Azar, the National Post reported that “despite allegedly being caught with three loaded handguns and being accused of an eight-month antisemitic crime spree – he’s been released on bail.”

“Man faces rare charge of advocating genocide against Jewish community, Toronto police say,” by Ethan Lang, CBC News, March 17, 2025:

A Toronto man is facing the rare charge of advocating genocide, in addition to more than two dozen other offences allegedly motivated by hatred toward the Jewish community, police say.

Amir Arvahi Azar, 32, was arrested on Jan. 11 for incidents that took place between April 26, 2024 and Jan. 3, 2025, Toronto police said in a news release Monday. Police said they are unable to provide further details about the alleged crimes due to a publication ban.

Azar faces 29 charges, including wilful promotion of hatred, which together with advocating genocide, requires the consent of the Ministry of the Attorney General.

The charges have not been tested in court.

Hate crime expert Barbara Perry says law enforcement has an incredibly high bar to clear when deciding whether to lay such charges.

“These charges tend to be reserved for the most serious, the most threatening kind of crimes,” said Perry, who is director for the centre on hate, bias and extremism at Ontario Tech University.

“There are a whole array of factors that [law enforcement is] going to be looking at here,” she said….

[Maple MAGA ] German In Jail For A Meme Sure Hopes EU Can Stop Spread Of Russian Tyranny Marc...

Maple MAGA — 3/7/2025 4:35:46 AM

German In Jail For A Meme Sure Hopes EU Can Stop Spread Of Russian Tyranny

March 6, 2025 · BabylonBee.com

FRANKFURT — According to sources, a German man who was jailed by authorities for sharing a meme is expressing hope that the European Union will stop the spread of Russian tyranny.

Adelbert Schneider, who has been held in solitary confinement for posting an insensitive meme depicting the Prophet Muhammed dressed as SpongeBob SquarePants in 2019, relayed to a reporter he hoped that Germany and its allies in the EU would stop Putin's aggression before Russia had a chance to take away the freedoms of German citizens.

"It's Europe's only hope for pretend freedom," Schneider said through the narrow slot of his prison cell door. "If Vladimir Putin and his evil Russian regime are allowed to run roughshod across our countries, Europeans will be doomed to a life without liberty. They might even be silenced and locked away for expressing their opinions. It would be horrible."

German officials urged all citizens to unite against the Russian threat and also refrain from expressing any dissenting views. "We must stand up to Putin and all other forms of despotism," one high-ranking leader said under the condition of anonymity. "And if anyone here disagrees with that, we will see to it that they suffer dire consequences."

At publishing time, German leaders had warned that the ongoing expansion of Russian power could potentially endanger the lives of millions of radical Islamists living in the country.

[Maple MAGA ] [X] OMG. RON DESANTIS with the MIC DROP. 🔥 "3.3 million visitors from Canada....

Maple MAGA — 3/7/2025 4:09:57 AM

[X]

OMG. RON DESANTIS with the MIC DROP. 🔥

"3.3 million visitors from Canada. That's not much of a boycott, in my book. Maybe they wanted to get a glimpse of what a Stanley Cup winning hockey team actually looks like."

CC: @JustinTrudeau pic.twitter.com/IGu3xoDp6P
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) March 4, 2025

[/X]

[Maple MAGA ] Trudeau to bring up Trump's threat to annex Canada in meeting with King Charles ...

Maple MAGA — 3/3/2025 7:46:23 AM

Trudeau to bring up Trump's threat to annex Canada in meeting with King Charles

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will meet with King Charles III on Monday where he will discuss U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to make Canada the 51st state

Rob Gillies

02 March 2025

Trudeau to bring up Trump's threat to annex Canada in meeting with King Charles

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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will meet with King Charles III, the country's head of state, on Monday where he will discuss U.S. President Donald Trump's threats to make Canada the 51st state.

The king has come under criticism in Canada for being silent about Trump’s threats to annex Canada.

Trudeau said in London on Sunday he will discuss matters of importance to Canadians with Charles and said "nothing seems more important to Canadians right now than standing up for our sovereignty and our independence as a nation.”

Charles is the head of state in Canada, which is a member of the British Commonwealth of former colonies.

Overall, the antiroyal movement in Canada is small, but the silence of the monarch on Trump’s threats have spurred talk in recent days.

Former Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said “for Canadians disappointed that King Charles has not commented” on Trump's threats he can only act on the advice of Canada's prime minister.

“The Government of Canada should ask the Head of State to underscore Canadian sovereignty,” Kenney posted on X.

The king, who met Sunday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has invited Trump to come to Scotland for a state visit.

Though Canadians are somewhat indifferent to the monarchy, many had great affection for the late Queen Elizabeth, whose silhouette marks their coins. She was the head of state for 45% of Canada’s existence and visited the country 22 times as monarch.

Visits by Charles over the years have attracted sparse crowds

“Canadians will need to decide what purpose King Charles III serves as King of Canada if he can’t even speak up for our sovereignty,” Artur Wilczynski, a former Canadian public servant, posted on X.

Abolishing the monarchy would mean changing the constitution. That’s an inherently risky undertaking, given how delicately it is engineered to unite a nation of 41 million people that embraces English-speakers, French-speakers, Indigenous tribes and a constant flow of new immigrants.

[Maple MAGA ] [X] "I met a little 4 year old girl, she asked me, whether if I could prevent T...

Maple MAGA — 2/26/2025 2:19:21 AM

[X]

"I met a little 4 year old girl, she asked me, whether if I could prevent Trump from invading our country. And that's why I'm standing to be the Liberal Party leader, and to become the next Prime Minister of Canada."

Chrystia Freeland's opening statement at the French debate. pic.twitter.com/xu4wqDYph9
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) February 25, 2025

[/X]

[Maple MAGA ] US Invasion Of Canada? Chrystia Freeland Says As Prime Minister She Will Stop ...

Maple MAGA — 2/26/2025 2:18:38 AM

US Invasion Of Canada?

Chrystia Freeland Says As Prime Minister She Will Stop It

by Tyler Durden

Tuesday, Feb 25, 2025 - 07:30 PM

The political left, regardless of whatever country they are in, is notorious for creating emotional drama for the purposes of propaganda. They are also notorious for accusing their ideological opponents of committing the exact kind of crimes they are actually guilty of. Their fundamental strategy is to take the words of their opponents and twist them into a fantastical narrative of villainy. Add a professional agitator personality like Donald Trump into the mix and you have a recipe for pearl clutching on an epic scale.

Trump's calls for tariffs on Canada and Mexico have elicited a highly dramatic response, with both government's pretending as if the policy is an act of war. Specifically, his prodding assertions that Canada should become the "51st state" have Canadian officials in an uproar.

Podcaster Joe Rogan recently noted that when he asked Trump about the controversy, Trump stated that "It was a joke at first, and then he started to think it might be a good idea". Whether one agrees with this or not, anyone with any sense understands that it's highly unlikely for a number of reasons that Canada will ever become part of the United States. It is fun to play with the premise, though.

For Canadian leftists the idea is not a joke. They are treating it as a precursor to US invasion.

Chrystia Freeland, a Canadian MP, Deputy Prime Minister and a member of the World Economic Forum's Board of Trustees, is running with the manufactured outrage. Freeland announced her candidacy for Prime Minister this week and defined her campaign platform almost exclusively as an anti-Trump platform. She claims that her run as PM was inspired by fears that Donald Trump intends to "invade Canada", a threat she intends to courageously stand against.

First and foremost, whenever leftist candidates conjure a story from thin air they often claim an "innocent child asked them a frightening question" which inspired them to take action. In all likelihood the four-year-old girl Freeland talks about doesn't exist other than in her own mind. Second, Freeland is jousting at windmills because no one in the Trump Administration has suggested such an invasion.

President Donald Trump’s national security adviser Mike Waltz told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” he doesn’t think the president has “any plans to invade Canada.” His remarks follow multiple reports that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a closed-door meeting of business leaders last week that the Trump administration “keeps talking about absorbing us and making us the 51st state.”

Freeland says Trump represents 'the greatest threat to Canada since WWII'. Oddly, Freeland's own family was a part of that threat. Her Grandfather on her mother's side, Michael Chomiak, was a Ukrainian Nazi collaborator who ran a propaganda newspaper called Krakivski Visti.

The Ukraine Archival Records held by the Province of Alberta has a large file on Chomiak, including his own details about his days editing the newspaper Krakivski Visti. Chomiak noted he edited the paper first in Crakow (Cracow), Poland and then in Vienna. The reason he edited the paper in Vienna was because he had to flee with his Nazis colleagues as the Russians advanced into Poland.

Globe and Mail reported that, “Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland knew for more than two decades that her maternal Ukrainian grandfather was the chief editor of a Nazi newspaper.” Despite this fact, she has often cited her grandfather as inspiration for her political career. Freeland has been called out on multiple occasions for revising her family history and painting her grandfather as a "refugee fleeing the Nazis". The information on her grandfather was initially labeled "Russian disinformation", but it turned out to be true.

Freeland is not necessarily culpable for the actions of her ancestors, but as a close member of the authoritarian Davos crowd within the WEF, it looks like Freeland is making her Nazi grandfather proud. Freeland argued during the Liberal leadership French Debate that free speech similar to that in the US should not be tolerated when it comes to negative views on open immigration.

It should also be noted that Freeland was a rabid supporter of draconian forced vaccination mandates during the pandemic scare in Canada. It would seem that Canadian citizens have a lot more to fear from Chrystia Freeland as PM than they do from Donald Trump.

[Maple MAGA ] [X] "We can't allow the kinds of comments about immigrants that we're hearing c...

Maple MAGA — 2/26/2025 2:17:53 AM

[X]

"We can't allow the kinds of comments about immigrants that we're hearing coming out the U.S. at the moment. We can't have that in Canada." Chrystia Freeland at the Liberal leadership French Debate. pic.twitter.com/VcRdRNSulb
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) February 25, 2025

[/X]

[Maple MAGA ] American couple buys everyone breakfast at a restaurant in Windsor, ON — and it'...

Maple MAGA — 2/25/2025 10:20:05 PM

American couple buys everyone breakfast at a restaurant in Windsor, ON — and it's sickening...

[Maple MAGA ] [X] 🇨🇦 The Liberals spent millions of tax dollars searching for 'unmarked gra...

Maple MAGA — 2/25/2025 10:17:36 PM

[X]

🇨🇦 The Liberals spent millions of tax dollars searching for 'unmarked graves' at residential schools.

They found nothing and are now quietly defunding the committee.

They lied loudly and are now silently backtracking.

Is this a mistake or manipulation? pic.twitter.com/38aJbOk9bi
— BlendrNews (@BlendrNews) February 23, 2025

[/X]

[Maple MAGA ] The Laurentian elite, also referred to as the Laurentian Consensus, is a Canadi...

Maple MAGA — 2/22/2025 10:05:04 AM

The Laurentian elite, also referred to as the Laurentian Consensus, is a Canadian political term used to refer to individuals in the upper class of society who live along the St. Lawrence River and watershed in major Central Canadian cities such as Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto, an area which represents a significant portion of Canada’s population. The term has been used to describe the belief that a general governing political consensus existed in Canada due to the influence of the Laurentian elite from Confederation until the early twenty-first century.

Map of the St. Lawrence River watershed, which has over half of Canada's 338 ridings; this region is known to be influential in deciding federal election resultsThe term is generally attributed to John Ibbitson, who wrote extensively about the Laurentian elite following the 2011 Canadian federal election (though he has shared the credit for coining it with University of Toronto academic David Cameron). Ibbitson later expanded his coverage in the book The Big Shift: The Seismic Change in Canadian Politics, Business, and Culture and What It Means for Our Future published in 2013 by Darrell Bricker and Ibbitson, in which the authors argue that the Laurentian Consensus is on course to be replaced by a new political coalition consisting of Western Canada and suburban Ontario. The term has since been adopted by other journalists and political commentators as a shorthand for the Central Canadian establishment.

[Maple MAGA ] [X] Doctors in Canada can call for the death of a people. Publicly. Vehemently....

Maple MAGA — 2/13/2025 10:37:33 AM

[X]

Doctors in Canada can call for the death of a people. Publicly. Vehemently. Repeatedly.

Why did Australia take action against its healthcare workers — but this 🇨🇦 doctor calls for "death to Israel," receives countless complaints and still practises?

Meet Dr. Nahla Al Sarraj. A… pic.twitter.com/sX9yz30TlI
— dahlia kurtz ✡︎ דליה קורץ (@DahliaKurtz) February 13, 2025

[/X]

[longz] Dumb azz LIBERALS every last one of them...

longz — 2/10/2025 6:51:51 PM

[Maple MAGA ] Trudeau paid Khadr $10.5 million and apologized for infringing on his rights.

Maple MAGA — 2/10/2025 6:33:10 PM

[longz] Joachim K Just in case anyone has forgotten what a terrible government these Lib...

longz — 2/10/2025 4:55:01 PM

Joachim K Just in case anyone has forgotten what a terrible government these Liberals have been... Combat veteran shreds terrorist Omar Khadr narrative - Combat vet shreds Trudeau and the glorification of terrorist Omar Khadr on Vimeo

[Maple MAGA ] Canadian Prime Minister Spends Christian Holiday at Muslim Resort Prime Ministe...

Maple MAGA — 2/10/2025 1:02:04 AM

Canadian Prime Minister Spends Christian Holiday at Muslim Resort

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his family spent their Bahamas vacation on a private island belonging to the Aga Khan, the spiritual leader of Ismaili Muslims, Trudeau's office confirmed Friday.

A spokesman for the prime minister said in a statement that Trudeau, his family and a few friends were invited to join the Aga Khan on Bell Island for the holidays.

"As you are aware, his Highness and the Prime Minister have been close family friends for many years. As is the usual course, the Prime Minister will be reimbursing the costs of his (and his family’s) flights to and from Nassau. No friends were on the Challenger," Cameron Ahmad wrote in an email.

The Aga Khan was an honorary pallbearer at the funeral of Trudeau’s father, former prime minister Pierre Trudeau.

The Aga Khan is the hereditary leader to the world's 12 to 15 million Ismaili Muslim population, with a profile among his followers similar to that of a pope among Catholics.

He's also one of the world's wealthiest royals, according to a 2010 Forbes magazine list.

The Aga Khan founded one of the world's biggest international development organizations, the Aga Khan Development Network. The organization works in 30 countries around the world. The federal government provides tens of millions of dollars in funding to the Aga Khan Foundation of Canada every year.

In 2015, Global Affairs Canada provided more than $46 million in funding for projects in countries including Afghanistan, Egypt, Kenya, Pakistan and Tanzania. The projects cover maternal, newborn and child health funding, as well as strengthening basic education.

Khalil Shariff, executive director of the Aga Khan Foundation of Canada, is registered to lobby a variety of federal departments, including Global Affairs Canada and the Prime Minister's Office. Publicly available records show he's met with top officials at Global Affairs six times in the last year, including International Development Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and her chief of staff. His last recorded communication was last month, with Bibeau's chief of staff.

Shariff hasn't met with anyone from Trudeau's Prime Minister's Office, though the communication reports log one interaction with a Privy Council official, the deputy secretary to cabinet, nearly a year ago. The Privy Council is the arm of the civil service that supports the work of the PMO.

A spokeswoman for Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson said, in an email to CTV News, that the office knew nothing about Trudeau's vacation arrangements and wouldn't comment on them anyway due to "confidentiality considerations." Dawson is the watchdog for questions of conflict-of-interest gifts and sponsored travel.

"More information would be required in order to determine whether a trip taken by any public office holder or member would be subject to the gift rules ... or whether it would be considered sponsored travel," Jocelyne Brisebois wrote in an email to CTV News.

"If we had information that raised concerns in this regard, we would contact the public office holder or member in question. Commissioner Dawson has not received any complaints about this matter."

Postmedia first reported the vacation location.

In a December statement marking the Aga Khan's 80th birthday, Trudeau called him a friend and noted Canada gave him honorary citizenship in 2009.

ctvnews.ca

[Cogito Ergo Sum] Ouch !

Cogito Ergo Sum — 2/9/2025 1:48:13 PM

[Maple MAGA ] Trudeau is Terrified [youtube video]

Maple MAGA — 2/9/2025 3:34:29 AM

[Maple MAGA ] Canada Must Offer Alberta More Than Trump Could [youtube video]

Maple MAGA — 2/8/2025 2:22:28 AM

[Maple MAGA ] MPs reject Trump's idea of clearing out Gaza as Israeli minister points to Canad...

Maple MAGA — 2/7/2025 6:07:05 AM

MPs reject Trump's idea of clearing out Gaza as Israeli minister points to Canada

By The Canadian Press

February 06, 2025

Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly attends a luncheon with the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal in Montreal on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi

OTTAWA — Canadian politicians are pushing back on the idea of clearing Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip as an Israeli minister suggests some of them could be sent to Canada.

“We support Palestinians’ right to self-determination, including from being forcibly displaced from Gaza,” Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly wrote on the online platform X on Wednesday.

The previous day, U.S. President Donald Trump stunned leaders across the Middle East and beyond when he suggested that the territory be cleared out and made into a U.S.-owned resort destination.

Human Rights Watch and similar groups say Trump’s plan would amount to ethnic cleansing.

While White House aides and various analysts have suggested other ideas for American involvement, Trump doubled down on his proposal Thursday, saying “the Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting,” by which point Palestinians “would have already been resettled.”

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz wrote Thursday on X that he’d instructed Israeli’s military to draft a plan to evacuate “any resident of Gaza who wishes to leave” to be resettled to willing countries abroad.

“Countries like Canada, which has a structured immigration program, have previously expressed willingness to take in residents from Gaza,” he wrote.

Ottawa’s only resettlement program for Gazans is limited to people with relatives in Canada, and only a small portion of the applications — currently capped at 5,000 — have resulted in Palestinians actually making it to Canada.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada did not immediately respond when asked for the latest figures on Palestinian resettlement. In its last public disclosure release, issued in late May 2024, it said just 41 people had arrived as of May 20. CBC News reported last month that just 616 people had arrived under the temporary program.

Before Katz made his comments, Joly said Canada is still calling for a two-state solution — the creation of a Palestinian state that would exist in peace alongside Israel.

“Canada’s long-standing position on Gaza has not changed,” she wrote Wednesday on the platform X.

International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen, Justice Minister Arif Virani and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh were among a dozen MPs who also pushed back on Trump’s idea.

Hussen, Virani and seven other Liberal MPs released a statement calling Trump’s idea “preposterous and a complete violation of international law” and saying that “it amounts to ethnic cleansing.”

Singh said that Trump’s comments “destabilize” the Middle East and threaten the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. “Trump’s threats are utter madness. They violate every international law,” he wrote in a post on X.

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs deferred comment to the Israeli embassy in Ottawa, which did not provide an immediate response.

The Gaza Strip was established as a Palestinian territory after Palestinians were displaced across the region during the creation of the State of Israel.

Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt already host millions of Palestinian refugees and say it would be inappropriate to remove more Palestinians from their homeland.

Israel rejects the United Nations' designation of Palestinians as refugees, saying this creates an illegitimate idea of them returning to land that is now Israel. Israeli officials also have argued that the Jewish people have ancestral ties to the land.

Mona Abuamara, the Palestinian ambassador in Ottawa, said that Israeli “terrorist settlers” in occupied Palestinian territories are the ones who should be moved to other countries. She said another alternative is to have Palestinians take back land that is now Israel.

“If you don’t want to move forward, we can happily go back,” she wrote on X.

In late 2023, amid reports that the Israeli government was looking to send Palestinians to countries like Canada, Immigration Minister Marc Miller dismissed talk of a “so-called ‘voluntary transfer’ of Gazans out of Gaza” to Canada.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 6, 2025.

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press

[Maple MAGA ] Male Arrested Twice in Three Days for Impaired Driving Offences 06 February 202...

Maple MAGA — 2/7/2025 6:04:48 AM

Male Arrested Twice in Three Days for Impaired Driving Offences

06 February 2025

A 35-year-old male is facing impaired driving charges for the second time in three days.

On Monday, February 3, 2025, at approximately 8:50 a.m., members from East Division conducted a traffic stop near Grandview Street North and Beatrice Street East in Oshawa. After speaking with the driver, officers administered a roadside screening test, which registered a "fail." The driver was subsequently arrested, and further testing revealed a blood alcohol level exceeding the legal limit.

Further investigation revealed the driver was also driving while under suspension.

On Wednesday, February 5, 2025, at approximately 8:40 a.m., members from East Division conducted a traffic stop near Grandview Street North and Beatrice Street East in Oshawa after observing a male driver using his cellphone. Upon speaking with the driver, officers administered a roadside screening test, which registered a "fail." The driver was subsequently arrested and taken to the division for a breathalyzer which revealed a blood alcohol level exceeding the legal limit.

Sharifuddin ABASSI, age 35 of Oshawa is charged with the following Criminal, Highway Traffic Act and Liquor Licence Act offences; Impaired Operation – Blood Alcohol Concentration x2, Drive – Hand Held Communication Device, Fail to Produce Permit x2, Driving While Under Suspension x2, Fail to Have Insurance Card, Drive No Insurance and Having Care and Control of a Motor Vehicle Unsealed Container of Liquor.

He was held for a bail hearing.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Durham Regional Police at 905-579-1520.

Anonymous information can be sent to Durham Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or online at www.durhamregionalcrimestoppers.ca and tipsters may be eligible for a $2,000 cash reward.

The information in this media release contains facts and circumstances that have been obtained from a police investigation. These allegations have yet to be proven in court.

-30-

[Maple MAGA ] This is so cool! [youtube video]

Maple MAGA — 2/5/2025 9:45:36 AM

[Maple MAGA ] ---2024 export values expressed in U.S. dollars. ---Canada Exports to U.S.: $4...

Maple MAGA — 2/3/2025 1:50:59 AM

---2024 export values expressed in U.S. dollars.

---Canada Exports to U.S.: $462 billion

---U.S. Exports to Canada: $435 billion

Conrad Black

I wish this latest round of bed-wetting from Andrew Coyne came as more of a surprise. But anyone afraid of annexation is suffering from an acute and irrational phobia best treated by spending less time on social media.

I've never opined on "the wisdom of Trump's strategic vision for us." Not least because he doesn't have a strategic vision for us, he's focused on his own country's strategy. My comments are largely on what Canada's response should be in light of the sobering economic correlation of forces. US exports to Canada represent 1.5% of US GDP. Canadian exports to the US are 20% of our GDP. US exports to Canada could go to zero, and while some northern states would be hit pretty hard, it wouldn't even slow the US economy enough to trigger a recession. On the other hand, if Canadian exports to the US went to zero, it would be a cataclysm.

As a fervent flag-waiving patriot and enthusiastic member of Team Canada, I'm afraid the tough-talk and posturing is not going to cut it. Unilateral insistence that we are entitled to the status quo simply because we've gotten accustomed to it, while refusing to negotiate with Trump because we purport to possess the moral high ground, instead, puffing out our maple leaf emblazoned chests in defiance of the "bad orange bully," is dim-witted bunk (Andrew Coyne's apparent stock-in-trade).

If someone in the beleaguered Liberal cabinet, with the authority to do so, called up the president and proposed two simple things, I suspect the trade war would end overnight.

Firstly, a modest earmark for stronger and collaborative border security measures (which would both satisfy Trump and redound to our benefit—see the Toronto police's seizure of 900kg of cocaine two weeks ago, smuggled over the US border, and note the vast majority of illegal firearms on Canadian streets come over the US border).

Secondly, make good on our long-overdue commitment as a member of NATO to contribute 3% of GDP to defense. Something we should be doing for decades.

That's it. My prediction is those two mutually beneficial "concessions" with a bit of finesse would be enough to resolve the issue overnight.

In my personal experience with Donald Trump, he is a tough negotiator, but I have never known him to reject a fair deal.

As a hedge against his supposed unpredictability, by all means respond with counter tariffs, but that's not a fight we can win. The only real counterpunch, such as there is one, is a combination of heeding Premier Danielle Smith's call to fast track domestic oil and gas pipelines, construct LNG terminals on each coast, and unshackle Canada's resource economy, while getting busy strengthening existing and developing new international trade relationships (CANZUK for starters). Unfortunately, it appears the Liberal government is gearing up to walk the plank, while Andrew Coyne cheers them on.

[Cogito Ergo Sum] Your man Conrad has a suggestion.. ok at that [X] I wish this latest round of ...

Cogito Ergo Sum — 2/2/2025 11:02:43 PM

Your man Conrad has a suggestion.. ok at that

[X]

I wish this latest round of bed-wetting from Andrew Coyne came as more of a surprise. But anyone afraid of annexation is suffering from an acute and irrational phobia best treated by spending less time on social media.

I've never opined on "the wisdom of Trump's strategic vision… https://t.co/OEPA9peYDp
— Conrad Black (@ConradMBlack) February 2, 2025

[/X]

[Maple MAGA ] [graphic]

Maple MAGA — 2/2/2025 1:05:42 PM

[longz] WE wait and see i guess...

longz — 2/2/2025 1:04:06 PM

[Maple MAGA ] Trudeau will be howling in pain during his last few months as PM. This will b...

Maple MAGA — 2/2/2025 12:58:43 PM

Trudeau will be howling in pain during his last few months as PM.

This will be wonderful to watch and witness.

[longz] Agree good post!

longz — 2/2/2025 12:49:40 PM

[Maple MAGA ] Trudeau is visibly upset because Trump is penalizing Canadians, something he see...

Maple MAGA — 2/2/2025 11:56:37 AM

Trudeau is visibly upset because Trump is penalizing Canadians, something he seems to believe is solely his prerogative. His frustration isn't about protecting Canadians but rather about maintaining control over them.

Then, in typical fashion, his team proceeded to answer all questions in French, ensuring that the majority of Canadians—along with the American media, couldn't fully understand or broadcast the responses. A calculated move to limit scrutiny.

Canadians are exhausted by hearing about "challenging times." It’s been nothing but one crisis after another, with no real solutions, just endless excuses.

When directly asked if he would recall Parliament, Trudeau outright refused to answer. A true leader would face the nation and take responsibility, but instead, he dodges and deflects, just as the Liberals always do. His avoidance speaks volumes: he simply doesn’t care about Canada.

The Trudeau family has been burdening Canadians for generations, and Justin has only continued the legacy of mismanagement.

Trump might be open to meaningful negotiations with Canada, if we had a serious government. But with Trudeau at the helm, he won’t waste his time engaging with a weak leader surrounded by an incompetent team.

This is the same leader who can't hold his marriage together, can't keep his caucus unified, and exudes no confidence even in himself. And yet, this is supposed to be "Team Canada?" What an embarrassment.

If Trudeau truly stood up for Canadians, we wouldn’t be in this mess. Instead, he and his Liberal government have sown division and drained resources from provinces like Alberta, the economic backbone of the country.

It’s time for Trudeau, the Liberals, and the NDP to step away from politics. They are playing games with Canadian taxpayers' dollars, and the country is paying the price.

Why does he behave like a moody teenager, complete with his childish bracelets? Is this really the leader Canada deserves?

This is what Canada voted for? This is the best we could do?

Trudeau’s 2015 interview with The New York Times revealed his true sentiments: "There is no core identity, no mainstream in Canada," he claimed, envisioning the country as "the first post-national state." And yet, now, when convenient, he suddenly invokes patriotism and unity to rally Canadians in a retaliatory stance against Trump.

Between the 8-minute and 12-minute mark of his recent speech, he contradicted himself, admitting that Canada has a proud history and cultural identity, that we are, in fact, the envy of the world. Which is it, Trudeau?

The arrogance, the body language, the sheer disdain for Canadians, it’s unbearable. This government is an embarrassment.

Canada is in trouble.

It’s time to bring back the truckers.

Fire up those engines—it’s time for an election.

[longz] I can hardly friggin wait for TRUEDUMB's to speak.... He will probably make a fo...

longz — 2/2/2025 1:30:18 AM

I can hardly friggin wait for TRUEDUMB's to speak.... He will probably make a fool of himself and Canada...

The world is watching............................

[Maple MAGA ] Brace for impact. Team Trudeau is about to hit the self-destruct button on Cana...

Maple MAGA — 2/2/2025 1:11:19 AM

Brace for impact. Team Trudeau is about to hit the self-destruct button on Canada.

[Maple MAGA ] [X] So, not “refugees” pic.twitter.com/tI96UfPjC5— Rothmus 🏴 (@Rothmus) Januar...

Maple MAGA — 1/31/2025 4:27:57 AM

[X]

So, not “refugees” pic.twitter.com/tI96UfPjC5
— Rothmus 🏴 (@Rothmus) January 31, 2025

[/X]

[Maple MAGA ] That might have been my sister… She’s had COVID three times, convinced she was d...

Maple MAGA — 1/23/2025 11:39:21 PM

That might have been my sister… She’s had COVID three times, convinced she was dying each time. She’s updated her will ten times, been vaccinated ten times, and received final absolution from a priest twice.

[longz] I seen in cars with only a driver and he is wearing a mask...WTF?

longz — 1/23/2025 11:27:31 PM

[Maple MAGA ] I saw more people with masks today than I did during Peak Covid.

Maple MAGA — 1/23/2025 11:20:30 PM

[longz] you mean this===>> [graphic]

longz — 1/23/2025 11:06:46 PM

you mean this===>>

[Maple MAGA ] During President Donald Trump's tenure from January 2017 to January 2021, crude ...

Maple MAGA — 1/23/2025 10:56:05 PM

During President Donald Trump's tenure from January 2017 to January 2021, crude oil prices experienced notable fluctuations. In January 2017, the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil was approximately $52 per barrel. Prices remained relatively stable through 2017 and 2018, generally ranging between $50 and $70 per barrel. In late 2018, prices briefly spiked to around $75 per barrel before declining.

In 2019, prices fluctuated between $50 and $65 per barrel. The most significant change occurred in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to a sharp decrease in demand. In April 2020, WTI crude oil prices briefly turned negative for the first time in history, reaching -$37.63 per barrel, as storage capacity concerns and plummeting demand heavily impacted the market. By the end of 2020, prices had recovered to approximately $48 per barrel.

For a detailed visual representation of these price movements, you can refer to the interactive chart provided by MacroTrends, which illustrates daily closing prices of WTI crude oil over the past decade.
MacroTrends

Additionally, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) offers historical data on WTI spot prices, which can be accessed here:
EIA

These resources provide comprehensive insights into oil price trends during President Trump's time in office.

[Maple MAGA ] [graphic]

Maple MAGA — 1/23/2025 10:52:23 PM

[Maple MAGA ] The Covid vaccine 1) Does not protect you from getting Covid 2) Does not red...

Maple MAGA — 1/23/2025 10:51:13 PM

The Covid vaccine

1) Does not protect you from getting Covid

2) Does not reduce transmission of Covid

3) Does not reduce Covid symptons

4) Has known lethal side-effects

5) And you have no legal recourse if the Covid vaccine damages you

Who is the crazy one?

We need to have our Führer and his Ukrainian monkey committed to a psychiatric hospital.

[Maple MAGA ] Canadian Tire [graphic]

Maple MAGA — 1/20/2025 2:16:07 PM

Canadian Tire

[longz] THE ODD COUPLE'S

longz — 1/19/2025 8:14:35 PM

[Maple MAGA ] Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly to endorse Mark Carney for Liberal leader...

Maple MAGA — 1/19/2025 12:30:01 PM

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly to endorse Mark Carney for Liberal leader: source

Joly’s endorsement gives Carney an important boost in Quebec

Louis Blouin · CBC News · Posted: Jan 19, 2025 8:10 AM CST | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly returns to a Liberal Party caucus meeting in West Block on Parliament Hill on Jan. 8. (Justin Tang/Canadian Press)

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly will endorse Mark Carney in the race for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada, Radio-Canada has learned.

Joly will make the announcement in a written statement on Sunday, according to a source with knowledge of the decision who spoke to Radio-Canada.

This development comes on the same day that former finance minister Chrystia Freeland will deliver the first speech of her campaign to become Liberal leader. Her official campaign launch is scheduled for mid-day at an event in her Toronto riding.

Inside Mark Carney's leadership campaign launch: Teleprompter issues, mystery limo and an unexpected supporter

Radio-Canada's source stressed that U.S. president-elect Donald Trump's return to power was a determining factor in the minister's decision to back Carney. Joly believes the former governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England is best suited to deal with the threat of a trade dispute with the United States.

The source pointed to Carney's experience managing the 2008 financial crisis and the economic challenges that arose after the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union.

Mark Carney smiles during his Liberal leader campaign launch in Edmonton on Jan. 16. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press)

As for the timing of Joly's announcement, the foreign affairs minister was keen to make it before Trump's swearing-in ceremony in Washington on Monday.

Within Joly's circle, there are doubts about Freeland's ability to distance herself enough from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's legacy, having been his finance minister for over four years.

Carney's promise to tighten up public finances is "fundamental" in Joly's view, according to the source with knowledge of her decision. At Carney's campaign launch last Thursday, he declared the federal government "spends too much but invests too little."

Organization and strategyThe foreign affairs minister's decision to back Carney, a former Bank of Canada governor, is a lift in Quebec, since Joly has an extensive network within the Liberal Party's base in the province.

The source estimates that hundreds of volunteers and organizers in Quebec will be actively supporting Carney's campaign. Overall, fieldwork will be crucial in the leadership contest since every riding in Canada will have equal weight in electing the next Liberal leader.

Joly has been able to develop her network within the Liberal Party since she co-chaired the 2021 election campaign with former minister Navdeep Bains. According to information obtained by Radio-Canada, Bains is also helping Carney's team mobilize in the Greater Toronto Area.

Endorsements start rolling in for Liberal leadership contestants from caucus

Carbon tax's fate uncertain as Liberal leadership front-runners distance themselves from key policy

Joly intends to advise Carney and help him with his organization in Quebec, though her priority will remain handling the Canada-U.S. file, the source said.

Freeland has other ministers on her side, including Health Minister Mark Holland and Fisheries Minister Diane Lebouthillier.

"Chrystia Freeland has always had Quebec and the French language at heart," Lebouthillier said in a social media post. "Having worked with her for over nine years, I can tell you she is the best person to embody the change we need at the Liberal Party of Canada."

Freeland gave her first interview since announcing her candidacy to a French-language media outlet on Friday. So far, Carney has not done an interview in French.

WATCH | Freeland, Gould release campaign videos for Liberal leadership:

Freeland, Gould release campaign videos for Liberal leadership

Government House leader Karina Gould announced Saturday in a video posted to social media that she's running in the Liberal leadership contest, becoming the youngest candidate so far. Hours before Gould's announcement, former finance minister Chrystia Freeland posted her own campaign video playing up Canadian identity and taking swipes at U.S. president-elect Donald Trump.

Carney has also been publicly endorsed by Emergency Preparedness Minister Harjit Sajjan.

Government House leader Karina Gould officially launched her leadership campaign Sunday morning at an event in her home town of Burlington, Ontario.

MP Chandra Arya, who represents the Ottawa-area riding of Nepean; former Montreal MP and businessman Frank Baylis; and MP Jaime Battiste, who represents the Nova Scotia riding of Sydney—Victoria, have all declared they're running for the leadership.

Candidates will have to declare their intention to run and pay the entry fee of $350,000 by Jan. 23. People can register with the party to vote in the leadership race up until Jan. 27.

CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices| About CBC News
Corrections and clarifications| Submit a news tip|

[Maple MAGA ] ‘It’s about stopping the stupid’: Jim Balsillie says Canada came ‘sleepwalking’ ...

Maple MAGA — 1/18/2025 11:44:23 PM

‘It’s about stopping the stupid’: Jim Balsillie says Canada came ‘sleepwalking’ into Trump tariff crisis

By Stephanie Ha

Published: January 18, 2025 at 5:00AM EST

Former chairman and CEO of Research In Motion Jim Balsillie — known for creating the BlackBerry — says Canada’s relative economic vulnerability amid a potential trade war with the U.S. is “an issue of our own making,” adding that while “they come prepared,” “we come sleepwalking.”

“We’re in a vulnerability,” Balsillie said in an interview with CTV Question Period airing Sunday. “No other nation state allowed themselves to become this vulnerable in so many critical aspects of their prosperity and security, and so these are self-inflicted wounds.”

U.S. president-elect Donald Trump will be inaugurated on Monday and has threatened to impose blanket 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian imports as one of his first of “many” executive orders, as soon as he’s back in the White House.

Trump initially used the flow of illegal migrants and drugs over the border as reason for imposing tariffs, but he has since shifted emphasis rhetorically to praising the use of tariffs — as he sees it —on their own merit, and as a way to address the U.S. trade deficit with Canada.

Speaking to host Vassy Kapelos, Balsillie argued that Canada has been slow to foster resiliency within its borders, as the nature of the economy has changed over the past decades.

“It’s not a trading economy, and so the key is to build resilience in value chains and security as a nation, because there isn’t the same kind of economic allies of the post-World War Two trading system,” Balsillie said. “So, the game changed 30 years ago. All other successful countries changed their strategies, and Canada doubled down on old strategies and put us in this place.”

Canada’s economy has faced a productivity challenge for years, with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) predicting Canada’s per capita GDP growth will rank last among OECD economies over the next 40 years. Canada’s overall 1.8 per cent decrease in labour productivity in 2023 was also the worst in the OECD.

Balsillie insists the signs were there, pointing to signals during Trump’s first term in office in which the president’s former adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner lauded the “sunset provision” in the trilateral trade agreement — the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) — which allows the deal to be reviewed every six years. The agreement also has a 16-year lifecycle.

In a 2020 op-ed, Kushner wrote that it was “imperative” the U.S. “retain leverage in any of (its) trading relationships to prevent unfair trade practices and market distortions.”

Balsillie said Canada should have heeded that signal.

“Very simply, for 30 years, Canada has been using outdated thinking in its economic and security strategies, and this is what’s caused the erosion of our prosperity and security,” Balsillie said. “What Donald Trump has done is laid bare the inattention by our economic policy community in that time.”

“What’s particularly unacceptable is his adviser, Jared Kushner, warned us what (Trump) was doing, that he sees (Canada) as a tenant,” he added. “He’s a landlord. He’s going to come back and raise the rents and in six years, and here we are.”

The United States is Canada’s largest trading partner, with the annual trade relationship between the two countries accounting for $1.3 trillion. Canada is also the largest export market for 36 states.

Given those ties, economic experts say a 25 per cent tariff could have severe consequences to the Canadian economy and cost millions of jobs. According to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Canada’s gross domestic product could shrink by 2.6 per cent and Canadian households could lose an average of $1,900 annually.

Asked how Canada can become less dependent on the U.S. economy, Balsillie said, “It’s partly dependence, but it’s partly a responsibility.”

“A responsible nation would have built a house of bricks, and we built a house of sticks,” Balsillie said. “The big bad wolf has shown up, and everybody’s running around freelancing, saying, ‘What do we do now’?”

Balsillie added that Canada needs “new voices,” and that building a successful policy around resiliency is “about stopping the stupid.”

“We have to move beyond palace intrigue of the politics and start to have proper economic discourse,” he said. “Or sadly, the erosion is going to continue.”

“It’s very fixable,” he said.

Balsillie is part of a group called the Council of Canadian Innovators, which just launched the Canadian SHIELD Institute, with the aim of fostering homegrown innovation that will have a long-term impact on the country. He donated $10 million to get the project started.

“There are many, many things that need to be done and should have been done a long time ago,” Balsillie said. “But the old saying, ‘The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago, the second-best time is now,’ I’ve met so many bright young scholars who want to build a better country. I’m betting on them.”

With files from CTV News’ Spencer Van Dyk

Former chairman and CEO of Research In Motion Jim Balsillie on CTV Question Period. (CTV News)

[Maple MAGA ] God Help Us...! [graphic]

Maple MAGA — 1/17/2025 2:13:21 AM

God Help Us...!

[Maple MAGA ] Trump Announces Plans to Takeover Canada [youtube video]

Maple MAGA — 1/12/2025 11:30:28 PM

[Maple MAGA ] NDP Ontario Leader Marit Stiles unleashes on Trump: "The lack of our products ...

Maple MAGA — 1/12/2025 2:53:44 AM

NDP Ontario Leader Marit Stiles unleashes on Trump:

"The lack of our products in the US is going to cost Americans more... Trump doesn’t give a shit about any of that. For him, it’s all about himself and his billionaire buddies, like Elon Musk..."

reddit.com