The Conservative Promise

Feb. 15, 2025: Pierre Poilievre delivered a major speech on National Flag Day showcasing plans to put Canada First.  The tariff threat has proven Conservatives right on everything, and Conservatives have been talking about these Canada First ideas for over two years.  Below is a list of many common-sense ideas that Pierre Poilievre has announced.  He has placed positive Canada-first policies on the table.

Retaliate with dollar-for-dollar tariffs against America's unjustified tariff threats, with 100% of the proceeds going to reimbursing businesses and workers that are directly impacted.  The rest will go to tax cuts for Canadians.  Not one penny will go to other government spending.

Repeal the unconstitutional No-New Pipelines Law C-69 within 60 days and replace it with a new law that protects nature and gets projects approved within a year of an application.

Immediately green-light all federal permits for the Ring of Fire in Northern Ontario to harvest chromite, cobalt, nickel, copper, and platinum.

Take back control of our Arctic by establishing the first permanent Arctic base since the Cold War in Iqaluit, two extra heavy icebreakers for the Navy, and 2000 more Canadian Rangers to keep the true north strong and free.

Bring together the Premiers within 30 days of forming the government to agree on removing as many interprovincial trade barriers as possible.  Poilievre will prioritize agreeing on a standard set of trucking rules to get billions of dollars of goods moving east-west and offer provinces a Free Trade Bonus to get a deal done.

Create a Blue Seal Professional Licensing Standard recognized in each province so doctors, nurses, and engineers can work in all provinces and territories, and those Canadians trained abroad can quickly get certified and work in Canada up to our standards.

Remove GST on new homes under $1 million, saving $40,000 or $2,200/year in mortgage payments on a $800,000 house and bringing more jobs for our trades workers.

Within 60 days of becoming Prime Minister, Poilievre will name a Tax Reform Task Force of entrepreneurs, inventors, farmers, and workers to design a Bring it Home Tax Cut that will lower taxes on energy, work, homebuilding, investment and making stuff in Canada as well as 20% less paperwork by simplifying tax rules.

Incentivize Indigenous leaders to support energy projects by letting companies pay a share of their federal corporate taxes to local First Nations.  This will help First Nations create their own source of money for clean drinking water, schools, job training, and more.  These projects will make First Nations the wealthiest people in the world, while we get things approved and make Canada more self-reliant.

Reverse Liberal Bill C-5 and Bill C-75 and impose life sentences for fentanyl kingpins to shut down drug manufacturing and superlabs, saving lives.

Take back control of our border by sending military troops and helicopters to the border now, adding 2,000 new border agents, and giving CBSA powers for full border and more.  Build border surveillance towers and deploy truck-mounted drone systems that can spot border incursions and track departures so we know which people who have been deported have actually left.

Install high-powered scanners at all major land crossings and shipping ports to spot drugs, guns, and stolen cars inside containers or vehicles.

End cancel culture and stop the war on our history by building a monument to the brave Canadians who fought in Afghanistan, strengthen penalties for those who tear down or deface our symbols, and restore Canadian heroes like Terry Fox, the Famous Five, and our Indigenous peoples to the passport.

Massively expand the Cadet Corps and the Junior Rangers to bring together our youth from across the country and learn, under the mentorship of members of the armed forces.

Create more exchanges so a teenager from Mississauga might get the chance to do an Arctic Patrol in Inuvik, learning the wilderness and survival secrets of the great Inuit Rangers.  We will expand these immersion spaces to 10,000 more youth to cross the two solitudes and strengthen our official languages.

Restore in-person citizenship ceremonies and add the following words to the existing oath: "I pledge gratitude to those who worked, sacrificed, and gave their lives to defend the freedom I now enjoy and build the country of Canada I call home.  Like them, I pledge to fulfill my duties as a Canadian citizen.”

National Flag Day Ottawa

Feb.15, 2025

In an enthusiastic packed room of 1000 supporters in Ottawa, Pierre Poilievre said, "We will never be the 51st state". He spoke for an hour about a Canadian vision and needed policy remedies that only Conservatives could deliver.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre warned U.S. President Donald Trump not to turn a "loyal friend into a resentful neighbour" with incessant threats of tariffs on key sectors of the Canadian economy and of making Canada into the 51st state.

"Sometimes it does take a threat to remind us of what we have, what we could lose, and what we could become," he told the crowd. "The unjustified threats of tariffs and 51st statehood from Donald Trump have united our people to defend the country we love."

Speaking to Americans, Poilievre gave them two options. The first would be to carry out an "unprovoked attack" on the Canadian economy with tariffs, making all consumers pay more, workers making less money, and gas prices skyrocketing.

"You will turn a loyal friend into a resentful neighbour, forced to match tariff with tariff and to seek friends everywhere else; both our economies will weaken, leaving less money for defense and security, and our enemies will grow stronger."

Or, the second option would see Canada and the U.S. trade even more, bringing a wave of optimism as it would make consumers pay less for goods and workers have more money in their pockets.

"I would ask you this question, which other country would you rather have as your neighbour? If Canada is not your friend, who is?” he asked Americans.

Poilievre said Canadians are nice and polite, slow to anger, and quick to forgive. “But never confuse our kindness with weakness,” he said, prompting loud cheers from the crowd.

"Let me be clear: we will never be the 51st state. We will bear any burden and pay any price to protect the sovereignty and independence of our country.”

Poilievre also accused the Liberal Party, and especially their leadership contenders, of instrumentalizing the looming threat of tariffs to distract from their record. He also said many of them prove that Conservatives were "right on everything."

"Everyone now admits…that Conservatives were right on the Liberal capital gains tax, that Conservatives were right on the carbon tax, on pipelines, on LNG, on fentanyl, the borders, immigration, and the need to celebrate rather than cancel our proud history," he said.

The rally was an exclamation mark on a broader message change by the Conservatives, which sees moves beyond calls for a “carbon tax election” to a campaign theme more in tune with the current moment, battling multiple threats from Trump and strengthening an independent Canada.

That did not stop Poilievre from attacking Mark Carney, seen as the frontrunner to become Liberal leader, on his promise to “change” the consumer carbon tax.

“Mr. Carney will pause the carbon tax, hide it out of sight, so that you won’t see it for the duration of the election period,” said Poilievre. “God forbid, if he were elected, he would bring in a much bigger tax that has no rebate whatsoever.”

“They will be popping the champagne at the Trump Tower when ‘Carbon Tax Carney’ comes in,” he added.

Poilievre fleshed out his election promises, promising a 'patriotic tax cut' for Canadians if he is elected prime minister. This tax cut, he explained, would put more money in the pockets of hardworking Canadians, stimulating the economy and benefiting all. He also pledged to axe the sales tax on new homes, making homeownership more affordable for Canadians.

He got some of the loudest cheers when promising to cut foreign aid to “dictators and terrorist groups,” bringing back Canadian symbols and figures such as Terry Fox in passports, and restoring in-person citizenship oaths but improving the words of the existing oath.

Conservatives made a big splash with the “Canada First” rally on National Flag Day.

National Poll 338  updated Feb. 9, 2025  CPC 42%, LPC 26%, NDP 16%, BQ 8%, GPC 4%

(Sources CBC, CTV, National Post)

 

The Canadian Challenge

Trump's challenge to Canada has changed Canadians' attitudes about commerce with the USA.  Jokes about Canada becoming the 51st State are no longer funny to Canadians.  Amazon offers flags and other political promotional material about Canada being the 51^st State, but Canadians are not buying.  Our international outlook may never be the same.

Our nation is currently engaged in a profound reevaluation of our relationship with the USA.  The shockwaves were palpable as Canadians grappled with the harsh and unfounded criticisms from the American President.  The initial remarks falsely claimed that we owe the USA and are subsidized by them, were a direct assault on the trade agreement established during the previous Trump administration, a deal that favoured the USA.

On November 30, 2018, Canada, the United States, and Mexico signed the updated Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).  Investment decisions were then made based on those treaties.

President Kennedy said it best.  Concerning the USA, geography has made us neighbours.  History has made us friends.  Economics has made us partners.  And necessity has made us allies.  Unfortunately, the value of mutual respect has now evaporated. 

Canada has rescued the USA at many critical times and is also a partner in countless endeavours.  Sadly, Trump's statement about revoking his trade deal with us broke something profound.  The surprise reverberated worldwide, and the USA is no longer regarded as a stable, honest partner that abides by the agreements it signs.  Unilateral policy behaviour has its consequences. 

Despite the challenges and uncertainties we face, Canada remains resolute.  We will continue to negotiate, striving to prevent the worst-case scenarios.  We do not seek conflict, but rather cooperation for the betterment of all.  We stand as a sovereign and independent nation, not subservient to any.  The respect and dignity we extend to other countries should be reciprocated by our closest allies.

A 30-day suspension from 25% tariffs was obtained, postponing the international commercial disaster of a trade war.  Such a tragedy may still come, regardless of how honourable our response.  Because of the reprieve, the Prime Minister’s minions are claiming a big boost for him in the polls, but as of Feb.9, it was CPC 42%, LPC 26, NDP 16, BQ 8%, and GPC 4%. 

The Canadian government made big promises to change its behaviour concerning spending on border protection.  However, changing its truancy at the NATO table will be problematic.  The economy has been so poorly managed that Canada has no economic room to restore credibility to our military and fulfill our obligations under NATO, NORAD, vigilance for our northland, and UN Peacekeeping.

Canada needs better leadership to insulate its sovereignty against external forces. We must use wise alternative policies to stand up for ourselves.  Our geography remains, and the USA is not going away.  We will always be the United States’ northern neighbour.  We must wisely manage to insulate ourselves from external coercion and defend our sovereignty.

Our leaders have long championed the importance of trade diversity.  Now, more than ever, there is a renewed commitment to action, focusing on strengthening ties with the Commonwealth, particularly Australia, New Zealand, the European Union, Japan, and Mexico.  Canadians are also making conscious efforts to diversify their shopping habits, seeking alternatives to American goods. 

Nevertheless, nearly 50 percent feel that a Conservative government would be better positioned to deal with tariffs and the unpredictable President Trump.  The threats have been unifying for Canadians.  What is clear is that we will never become the 51st State.  It is unclear if we can fulfill our Constitutional promise that Canada is an internal free-trade zone for goods, capital, and labour.

The Canadian Constitution states that Canada is an economic union.  Under section 121 of the Constitution Act of 1867, goods from one province shall be freely admitted into any other.  However, the Supreme Court ruled differently in the Comeau case.  It stated that provincial free trade cannot impede provincial governments' regulatory actions.  This ruling, which prioritizes regulation and protectionist measures over free trade, disregards both the plain meaning and historical intent of section 121, and substitutes its own vision of the role of government.  It sets aside the words of section 121 as incompatible with the functions that the Court believes the State should serve.  This ruling has made Canada more vulnerable to US trade policy.  

Thankfully, Conservatives have a remedy plan.  

 

Trump betrays Canada

The news buzz involves crushing tariffs against Canada and Mexico imposed by the USA President Donald Trump.  But it is really not about the minutia of what drugs go across the border, general trade imbalances, or all the stated complaints made by Trump.  The executive order says specific things just to make tariffs legal, but the mentioned items are just the excuse, not the real long-term agenda.  There is a motive behind Trump’s lying trash talk about Canada.

The reality is that Canada is under attack from an aggressor who desires our subjugation.  Trump said it clearly that he wants Canada to be part of the USA.  No amount of our economic or policy placation will change the larger long-term goal.

Trump’s crazy idea is an Empire, the ‘golden age’ of the USA, a golden Trump Tower of a country to dominate the vassal neighbour countries (Canada & Mexico).  The only mitigation one can obtain in defence is where the emperor is hurt directly on his goal, or his Oligarchs suffer that he has surrounded himself with.

Canada is in the opening stages of a war of aggression by nonmilitary means. If Trump’s actions are not stopped and we continue to resist, the attempt to use the US military against us is on the list, albeit way down at the bottom at this point. It is unthinkable, but we must understand the aggressor’s larger goal.

Putin miscalculated that Ukraine would be a pushover, and Trump has miscalculated that he could bully Canada into submission.  The American population has not yet caught on to the larger geopolitical agenda.  Trump’s early incremental steps are justified by lies to make them legal.  The next stage is raw illegalities.

Trump has described the golden empire he wants to build.  He shows no human compassion for the disruptions he knows everyone will endure as he unfolds his real agenda.  There is no end to it, but he will take his consuming enterprise as far as he can go.

The unfolding stages of subjugation of peoples for territory and control have been seen many times in history.  What have we learned about how to deal with it?  Certainly not appeasement.

Canada is at war.  Most democratic people on both sides of the border don’t realize it yet.  Trump has published his agenda in books.  A large segment of the USA population at this stage agrees with his lies and are willing facilitators.

Now that unrestrained Donald Trump is emerging on the international stage in a horrific fashion, analysts are reflecting more deeply on his personality, foibles, biases, and deeper life motivations.

Trump’s niece, Mary L. Trump, a qualified psychologist, published an insightful book in 2020, “Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man”.

Her book was praised as insightful and forthrightly written, from the view of a family insider with the ring of credibility and engaging nuance.  Trump and his agents also discredited it in an effort for damage control.

Mary Trump (59 years) holds a PhD in clinical psychology.  She writes a succinct description of her uncle, Donald Trump.  She describes a highly flawed individual whose self-absorption and self-aggrandizement over decades have made him into an unpredictable and scary man.  Given his position as President of the United States, she describes that he is ill-equipped and unsuitable for office  -no empathy, insightful understanding, compassion, etc.  She concludes that there is no hope of a change in character for Trump, considering his age and lifetime behavioral pattern.  His disturbed character traits have been inherent since childhood, and he is now a senior citizen; as the saying goes, “He is fully baked”.

Governments will deal with the agonizing technical details of his fraudulent aggressive enterprise.  The public will eventually grasp the essence of the man as their personal lives are affected.  There are dark days ahead. 

Thomas Hobbes said the grim reality of war is that force and fraud are its two cardinal virtues. Trump has abundantly presented himself over the years as a sociopathic liar who lacks empathy and is motivated by personal gain.  However, Trump will never realize his “golden age for America.”  Before events turn, there will be grim days ahead for Canada.

Proverbs 20:17 What you get by dishonesty you may enjoy like the finest food, but sooner or later it will be like a mouthful of sand.  At first, the bread of lies tastes sweet until guilt reduces it to gravel in the mouth.

I am a Canadian Conservative who believes in peace, order, and good government.  I have faith that Canadians will rise to the challenge with courage, pragmatism, balance, and resolve.  Canada has been betrayed by our historical friend and international ally. Nevertheless, we will always be Canadian.

The fix is in for Mark Carney

Photo Internet web capture

Since the fix is in for Mark Carney to take over as captain of the Liberal ship of fools, we must ask who he is. He has been hanging about Justin Trudeau for quite a while as an advisor for the last Liberal Budget 2024 and the subsequent updates presented by Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland.

As a Liberal insider, on September 9, 2024, Carney was named by Justin Trudeau to chair the Liberal Party of Canada's Leader's Task Force on Economic Growth. Later, Carney was proposed as the next Canadian Finance Minister, which caused Finance Minister Freeland to resign.

She was deputy Prime Minister from 2019 and Finance Minister since 2020. She resigned on Monday, December 16, 2024, which caused a media stir. It was a misstep too far for Prime Minister Trudeau, and in disgrace, he had to announce that he was leaving politics.

Mark Joseph Carney, a 59-year-old Canadian economist, has a professional background. He served as the eighth governor of the Bank of Canada from 2008 to 2013 and later as the 120th governor of the Bank of England from 2013 to 2020.

Carney was born in March 1965 in Fort Smith, Northwest Territories. When Carney was six, the family moved to Edmonton. He has three siblings. Carney attended St. Francis Xavier High School and has a bachelor’s degree from Harvard. He did postgraduate studies at Oxford UK and obtained Master's and Doctoral degrees. His thesis was ‘The Dynamic Advantage of Competition’.

His father was the Liberal candidate for Edmonton South in the 1980 federal election and placed second.

He is a member of the elite ‘Group of Thirty’, an esteemed international body of financiers and academics, and also a member of the ‘World Economic Forum’. His global outlook is further evident in his book, 'Value Building a Better World for All,' published in 2021.  

While at Oxford, Carney met his wife, Diana, a British economist. She is active in environmental causes. They married in 1994 and have four children. They moved to Ottawa when Carney left the Bank of England.

Carney speaks passable French. He holds Canadian, Irish, and British citizenship and is a practicing Catholic.

In October 2023, Carney endorsed the UK Labour Party, characteristic of his left-leaning orientation. Following Labour winning the 2024 UK election, Carney was part of that government's task force to create the British National Wealth Fund.

After much background media maneuvering emanating from the Prime Minister’s Office, on January 16, 2025, Carney officially announced that he was running for the Liberal leadership. The Liberal Party announced that its next Leader would be revealed on March 9, 2025. 

Carney is no savior for Canada as he continues Trudeau's disaster policies. He's an elite technocrat without experience or empathy for the plight of average Canadians who have suffered under his financial prescriptions.

Heaven help us all.

https://nationalpost.com/opinion/terry-newman-the-alternative-to-justin-trudeau-is-back-after-fleeing-media-questions

Trump, taunts and trade—Canada’s response is a decade out of date

 

Trump, taunts and trade—Canada’s response is a decade out of date, says Ross McKitrick Professor of Economics, University of Guelph

We can count on Ross to have an outlier opinion that is apart from the legacy media talking head conversation.  There will be many turns to come for Canada – USA relations in 2025. 

Our focus should not be so much about what President Trump says each day, but rather about what we are doing within our own house to clean up, repair, and properly behave with responsibility.  Canada needs to get a conservative mindset into Ottawa as soon as possible.  It remains that far too many Canadians still buy into the leftie myths on economics, and their lying prejudice of anti-conservatism.

In actual policy change, Canada needs to get to a balanced budget as soon as practical.  Eliminate waste (Liberals) and unleash and open up the economy (flush NDP).  These hurtful politicians only remain because there is a significant segment of deceived voters who believe the lies, while they resent facts, truth, and accountability for themselves.

On January 20, 2025, Professor Ross McKitrick says it differently.

https://www.fraserinstitute.org/commentary/trump-taunts-and-trade-canadas-response-decade-out-date

Canadian federal politicians are floundering in their responses to Donald Trump’s tariff and annexation threats.  Unfortunately, they’re stuck in a 2016 mindset, still thinking Trump is a temporary aberration who should be disdained and ignored by the global community.  But a lot has changed.  Anyone wanting to understand Trump’s current priorities should spend less time looking at trade statistics and more time understanding the details of the lawfare campaigns against him.  Canadian officials who had to look up who Kash Patel is, or who don’t know why Nathan Wade’s girlfriend finds herself in legal jeopardy, will find the next four years bewildering.

Three years ago, Trump was on the ropes.  His first term had been derailed by phony accusations of Russian collusion and a Ukrainian quid pro quo.  After 2020, the Biden Justice Department and numerous Democrat prosecutors devised implausible legal theories to launch multiple criminal cases against him and people who worked in his administration.  In the summer of 2022, the FBI raided Mar-a-Lago and leaked to the press rumours of stolen nuclear codes and theft of government secrets.  After Trump announced his candidacy in 2022, he was hit by wave after wave of indictments and civil suits strategically filed in deep blue districts.  His legal bills soared while his lawyers past and present battled well-funded disbarment campaigns aimed at making it impossible for him to obtain counsel.  He was assessed hundreds of millions of dollars in civil penalties and faced life in prison if convicted.

This would have broken many men.  But when he was mug-shotted in Georgia on Aug. 24, 2023, his scowl signalled he was not giving in.  In the 11 months from that day to his fist pump in Butler, Pennsylvania, Trump managed to defeat and discredit the lawfare attacks, assemble and lead a highly effective campaign team, knock Joe Biden off the Democratic ticket, run a series of near daily (and sometimes twice daily) rallies, win over top business leaders in Silicon Valley, open up a commanding lead in the polls and not only survive an assassination attempt but turn it into an image of triumph.  On election day, he won the popular vote and carried the White House and both Houses of Congress.

It's Trump’s world now, and Canadians should understand two things about it.  First, he feels no loyalty to domestic and multilateral institutions that have governed the world for the past half century.  Most of them opposed him last time and many were actively weaponized against him.  In his mind, and in the thinking of his supporters, he didn’t just defeat the Democrats, he defeated the Republican establishment, most of Washington including the intelligence agencies, the entire corporate media, the courts, woke corporations, the United Nations and its derivatives, universities and academic authorities, and any foreign governments in league with the World Economic Forum.  And it isn’t paranoia; they all had some role in trying to bring him down.  Gaining credibility with the new Trump team will require showing how you have also fought against at least some of these groups.

Second, Trump has earned the right to govern in his own style, including saying whatever he wants.  He’s a negotiator who likes trash-talking, so get used to it and learn to decode his messages.

When Trump first threatened tariffs, he linked it to two demands: stop the fentanyl going into the United States from Canada and meet our NATO spending targets.  We should have done both long ago.  In response, Trudeau should have launched an immediate national action plan on military readiness, border security and crackdowns on fentanyl labs.  His failure to do so invited escalation.  Which, luckily, only consisted of taunts about annexation.  Rather than getting whiny and defensive, the best response (in addition to dealing with the border and defence issues) would have been to troll back by saying that Canada would fight any attempt to bring our people under the jurisdiction of the corrupt U.S. Department of Justice, and we will never form a union with a country that refuses to require every state to mandate photo I.D. to vote and has so many election problems as a result.

As to Trump’s complaints about the U.S. trade deficit with Canada, this is a made-in-Washington problem.  The U.S. currently imports $4 trillion in goods and services from the rest of the world but only sells $3 trillion back in exports.  Trump looks at that and says we’re ripping them off.  But that trillion-dollar difference shows up in the U.S. National Income and Product Accounts as the capital account balance.  The rest of the world buys that much in U.S. financial instruments each year, including treasury bills that keep Washington functioning.  The U.S. savings rate is not high enough to cover the federal government deficit and all the other domestic borrowing needs.  So, the Americans look to other countries to cover the difference.  Canada’s persistent trade surplus with the U.S. ($108 billion in 2023) partly funds that need.  Money that goes to buying financial instruments can’t be spent on goods and services.

So, the other response to the annexation taunts should be to remind Trump that all the tariffs in the world won’t shrink the trade deficit as long as Congress needs to borrow so much money each year.  Eliminate the budget deficit and the trade deficit will disappear, too.  And then there will be less money in D.C. to fund lawfare and corruption. Win-win.

Pierre Poilievre at Lois Lumber

I was with Pierre Poilievre at Lois Lumber, a cedar specialty sawmill in Powell River January 15, 2025.  It is a small operation but valued by the community.  The night before, Pierre had spoken to a rousing packed crowd of about 800 at the historically restored Dwight Hall built in 1927.

Mill workers and contractors gathered on that cold clear morning under the shed-roof of the mill’s greenchain to hear from Pierre about getting BC back to work.  Of note were his views on energy policy as published by Northern Beat’s, Fran Yanor.  She wrote:

https://substack.com/home/post/p-155124686

Reliables versus renewables

Q: Premier David Eby announced his government will expand electricity generation to increase investment.

A: “I’m fine with that, as long as it pays for itself.  The reason why electrical generation is so expensive in Canada is that it takes so long to get permitted.  We need to speed up permits for hydroelectric, for natural gas generation and for nuclear, quite frankly.  There’s a lot of talk about renewables.  I’m focused on reliable base load, affordable electricity to power our economy.  So, if that’s what he wants to do, I agree with him on that.

Speed up permitting

Q: There’s a couple of pipelines stalled in B.C., as you probably know, Northern Gateway and Prince Rupert [gas transmission pipeline].  If your party formed government, would you clear the way for those?

A: I will repeal the anti-pipeline law C-69, and I will give rapid permits for pipelines so that we can get our energy to market.  Every time the NDP and Liberals block a pipeline, Donald Trump does a dance of joy, because it means that we have to sell him all of our oil at a discount.

The Americans are getting our oil for a discount of between $10 and $15 a barrel, and that’s times 3 million barrels a day.  That’s $30 million in subsidies that the Canadian energy sector is giving to the American economy because we have almost no other customers than America. 

Pipelines would allow us to get our product to the Pacific, which means we can get it to Asia without going through America.

Why do the Americans have us by the throat?  Because we don’t get our products to other markets.  And I don’t know why the NDP is so determined to help Donald Trump.  They seem to be his biggest ally in giving him our energy at a huge discount.

Ramp up LNG to feed global demand

Q: You said we need four, five or six LNG Canada plants.

A: The more the better.

Q: If you become Prime Minister, what do you want from B.C., in terms of what they are bringing to the table for trade talks, for instance?

A: The thing is, with energy, we don’t actually need new trade agreements.  We already have free trade with 800 million Asians now with the Trans Pacific Partnership.  We have a free trade agreement with Europe.  We could use India. I would like us to have unbridled access to the Indian market.

But really that’s not the issue.  The issue is getting our energy over the Pacific.  And that means we need two things: one, pipelines, and two, LNG plants.

We have one [Canada] LNG plant that’s about to come on [stream] over in Kitimat. There’s the Cedar [LNG] project.  There’s the Squamish [Woodfibre LNG] – who’ve got a beautiful project they’re just about to start – but none of them are operational yet.

The Americans have built seven of these plants in the last decade.  The Qataris have doubled their production.  The Greeks, Germans, Japanese and French have all asked for Canadian LNG.

We don’t need a deal.  We don’t need paperwork.  We don’t need politicians to go across to hold meetings.  What we need is LNG plants to liquefy it and put it on boats.

That’s what we are going to rapidly approve.

Incent nations to support pipelines

Q: One challenge with pipelines, as you know, is getting them across First Nation territories.

A: Well, look, first of all, I’m going to give a powerful incentive for First Nations communities to say yes.

I will allow the companies that transit through traditional First Nations lands to pay some of their federal tax to the first nation and I will vacate federal tax room so the companies will then pay these local first nations communities a tax that the federal government will neutralize through a federal tax cut.

Then these communities will have a very powerful incentive to say yes, and they can use some of that money to defeat poverty, build schools and hospitals and clean water and other essentials for their people.

The tax break will be for the natural resource companies.  Instead of paying all their taxes to the federal government, [the company] will pay some of it to the local first nation.  Then they sign an agreement and away you go.

It will be a standard.  I hope what they’ll do is develop standardized agreements that are very easy to replicate.  Then you don’t have to spend seven years negotiating, it’s already done.  You have a clear, simple template that you can use anywhere you have a negotiation between first nations and companies, save a hell of a lot of time.

‘You can’t please everybody’

Q: What about those nations that still hold out?

A: Well, you can’t please everybody, at the end of the day.

There were hereditary chiefs that opposed the Coastal Gaslink and we went ahead anyway.  We have to.  You’re never going to get unanimity in anything.

You can’t get 100 per cent of Canadians to agree that Elvis is dead.

At the end of the day, if you wait for 100 per cent of people to agree on something, nothing will ever get done.  So, you’ve got to go ahead.

Subscribe to Northern Beat News  www.northernbeat.ca

In addition, my friend R. Whittaker did a live interview which is worth watching for policy substance. 

https://fb.watch/xags5Nqvdh/

In conclusion, Poilievre has talked about substantive policy for quite some time across the country.  However, voters know him for adeptly revealing the disasters of the Trudeau administration.  Pierre Poilievre has been diligent and successful at his job.  It is his parliamentary role as ‘His Majesties Loyal Opposition.’  Nevertheless, the cynical legacy media talk about Poilievre being all “critic” without substance for “governance”.  They have not been listening.  Maybe they don’t want voters to know?

This post reveals the Trudeau contrast.  Trudeau is ‘image over substance’ and Poilievre is ‘substance over image’.

 

Coffee with Pierre Poilievre Jan.15, 2025

It was great to chat with Pierre Poilievre over coffee, after attending his rousing packed political rally the night before.  We had served together as MPs in the House of Commons from 2004-2006.  It was heartwarming to catch up and reminisce about former colleagues.  However, he did surprise, that just before he had to leave, he seriously looked straight at me and asked if I had any advice.  He didn’t need my wisdom, and what I said will stay private.  Pierre is the real deal.

More detail of the town hall meeting can be found at the Peak Powell River Newspaper by Paul Galinski  https://www.prpeak.com/local-news/political-rally-in-powell-river-outlines-conservative-policies-10082949

On December 16, 2024, a sour, sarcastic MP questioned Pierre Poilievre in the House of Commons by asking, "What jobs has he held in real life outside politics that make him think he could be prime minister?”

(Answer) Hon. Pierre Poilievre: “I would be happy to talk about jobs, Mr. Speaker.  My first job here was to help pass the Federal Accountability Act to crack down on the corruption that we have seen on the Liberal side.  I then helped cut the GST so that Canadians could save when they made every single consumer purchase; it was cut from 7% to 6% to 5%.  I worked with former Prime Minister Harper to help balance the budget and rebuild the military so that we would have the necessary equipment to help destroy al Qaeda after the attacks of 9/11.  I helped deliver the lowest inflation of any government in 40 years, leaving behind a balanced budget and the best balance sheet of any government in the G7.  In fact, it turns out that the job experience I have is best aligned with the job that I promise to do.  Now let us bring it home.”

Pierre Marcel Poilievre, born June 3, 1979, in Calgary, is a Canadian who has served as the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada and the leader of the Official Opposition since 2022.  He has also been a Member of Parliament since 2004.

He studied at the University of Calgary and earned a Bachelor of Arts in international relations.  He then worked for Canadian Alliance leader Stockwell Day.  Poilievre was first elected to the House of Commons in the 2004 federal election.  He at first represented the Ottawa-area riding of Nepean-Carleton and then represented the re-established riding of Carleton.  After holding various parliamentary secretary posts from 2006 to 2013 under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Poilievre served as Harper's minister for democratic reform from 2013 to 2015 and as his minister of employment and social development in 2015.  From 2017 to 2022, Poilievre served as the shadow minister for finance and briefly as the shadow minister for jobs and industry.

In 2022, Pierre Poilievre ran for the leadership of the Conservative Party and emerged victorious on the first ballot.  His victory was a testament to his popularity and support within the party.  Described as a populist, Poilievre has focused on issues related to the cost of living in Canada.  His leadership has been instrumental in the Conservative Party's substantial lead in opinion polling for the 2025 federal election since mid-2023.

There is a reasonable history from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  However, the best and most worthwhile background is in the book “Pierre Poilievre: A Political Life” – May 28, 2024 (hardcover) by author Andrew Lawton  - ‎ Sutherland House Books ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1990823807.

Pierre is a well-prepared political party leader aspiring to become Prime Minister.  The transparency about his life journey, which has no dark secrets, has unfolded based on his merit and natural talents.  His life story is in contrast to the current Prime Minister, who was born into privilege and has a thin resume of accomplishment, including many shameful incidents that required cover-up.  The most significant contrast is with demonstrated life values, where Poilievre has lived them and Trudeau has only been able to mention them.

Pierre Poilievre is not just a contender for Prime Minister; he is the best-prepared person for the role in decades.  His extensive political experience, dedication to public service, and clear vision for the country make him a formidable leader.  Serious times demand serious people.  If Canadians honour him with their trust, he won’t disappoint. His readiness for the role of Prime Minister should inspire and instill confidence in every voter.

Canada - Taxes for middle-class families have increased since Trudeau Liberals took office.

While reflecting on his tenure, Prime Minister Trudeau said he was proud that his government reduced taxes for middle-class Canadians. In reality, taxes for middle-class families have increased since he took office. That’s a major part of his legacy as prime minister.

January 10, 2025, By: Jake Fuss and Grady Munro Fraser Institute

https://www.fraserinstitute.org/commentary/trudeaus-legacy-includes-larger-tax-burden-middle-class-canadians

On Monday, January 6, 2025, outside Rideau Cottage in Ottawa, after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Canadians he plans to resign, a reporter asked Trudeau to name his greatest accomplishments.  In response, among other things, Trudeau said his government “reduced” taxes for the “middle class.”  But this claim doesn’t withstand scrutiny.

After taking office in 2015, the Trudeau government reduced the second-lowest personal income tax rate from 22.0 per cent to 20.5 per cent—a change that was explicitly sold by Trudeau as a tax cut for the middle class.  However, this change ultimately didn’t lower the amount of taxes paid by middle-class Canadians.  Why?

Because the government simultaneously eliminated several tax credits—which are intended to reduce the amount of income taxes owed—including income splitting, the children’s fitness credit, children’s arts tax credit, and public transit tax credits.  By eliminating these tax credits, the government helped simplify the tax system, which is a good thing, but it also raised the amount families pay in income taxes.

Consequently, most middle-income families now pay higher taxes.  Specifically, a 2022 study published by the Fraser Institute found that nearly nine in 10 (86 percent) middle-income families (earning household incomes between $84,625 and $118,007) experienced an increase in their federal personal income taxes as a result of the Trudeau government’s tax changes.

The study also found that other income groups experienced tax increases.  Nearly three-quarters (73 percent) of families with a household income between $54,495 and $84,624 paid higher taxes as a result of the tax changes.  Across all income groups, 61 percent of Canadian families faced higher personal income taxes than they did in 2015.

The Trudeau government also introduced a new top tax bracket on income over $200,000—which raised the top federal personal income tax rate from 29 per cent to 33 per cent—and other tax changes that increased the tax burden on Canadians including the recent capital gains tax hike.  Prior to this hike, investors who sold capital assets (stocks, second homes, cottages, etc.) paid taxes on 50 percent of the gain.  Last year, the Trudeau government increased that share to 66.7 percent for individual capital gains above $250,000 and all capital gains for corporations and trusts.

According to the Trudeau government, this change will only impact the “wealthiest” Canadians, but in fact it will impact many middle-class Canadians. For example, in 2018, half of all taxpayers who claimed more than $250,000 of capital gains in a year earned less than $117,592 in normal income.  These include Canadians with modest annual incomes who own businesses, second homes or stocks, and who may choose to sell those assets once or infrequently in their lifetimes (when they retire, for example). These Canadians will feel the real-world effects of Trudeau’s capital gains tax hike.

While reflecting on his tenure, Prime Minister Trudeau said he was proud that his government reduced taxes for middle-class Canadians. In reality, taxes for middle-class families have increased since he took office. That’s a major part of his legacy as prime minister.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau resigns

 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau makes an announcement outside Rideau Cottage in Ottawa on Monday, Jan.6, 2025.  Photo Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press

Canada is finally stumbling forward politically.  The nightmare of the Justin Trudeau Liberals is ending.  Voters desperately want relief from a government that has hurt the nation.  Even voters who want them gone from office, don’t yet realize how bad the Liberal administration has been for society, the magnitude of the financial corruption, and how deep are the wounds of strife they have brought.  Healing the nation will be difficult and complicated.

Now that the Liberal house built on sand is being swept away, the media would have us believe it is all about Justin Trudeau and his desires and plans.  The sad truth is that he is the mere symptom and projection of a self-serving voter class that tells its lies into the wind.  The conversation of the political chattering class now revolves around the fate of one flawed man.

Trudeau said, "I intend to resign as party leader, as prime minister after the party selects its next leader through a robust nationwide competitive process.  Last night, I asked the president of the Liberal Party to begin that process. This country deserves a real choice in the next election, and it has become clear to me that if I am having to fight internal battles, I cannot be the best option in that election."

The Prime Minister asked the Governor General for Parliamentary Prorogation, so business is temporarily suspended until Parliament reconvenes on March 24.  The move means opposition parties can’t trigger an election with a non-confidence motion before the Liberals have a new leader, as all parliamentary business has stopped.

Trudeau lost his political caucus support from Ontario, Quebec, and Atlantic Canada.  The Trudeau days are over.  Fortunately, Canada is a country of law, social rules, and enough Christian cultural foundation that most Canadians will work it through to an agonizing yet reasonable outcome, unlike the international scene.

Trudeau says he is going.  Yet he is still dragging us around inside the jail yard as we wait for the gates of freedom to open with an election.  The farcical political march must stop; the outside world goes on. 

Our government must turn its attention to nation-building.  One in ten Canadians uses food banks.  Too many people are jobless and homeless.  We are drowning in debt.  It may get worse for a time.  President Donald Trump threatens to impose 25% tariffs on our exports.  His additional promise to deport 10 million illegal aliens could see a wave crashing our border.  The Prime Minister and his Cabinet do not have the mandate and skill to deal with this. There will be no real difference between the Liberal Party Canada now, and the Liberal Party that will emerge with a new leader.

Canada needs the ready and waiting Conservatives to govern, like the adults we need.  They can meet the internal and international challenges, and begin healing our wounds.  

Trudeau and his complete Caucus need to leave, and the Liberal Party needs to find an acceptable reason to exist. The new Liberal leader will be announced on March 9.

We need an election to put Canada first.

Michael J. Fox receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom

 Image  michaeljfox.org

Michael J. Fox receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom

January 4^th, 2025   Today, President Biden named nineteen Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the Nation’s highest civilian honour, presented to individuals who have contributed to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public, or private endeavors.

President Biden said, “Great leaders keep the faith, give everyone a fair shot, and put decency above all else.  These nineteen leaders have made America and the world a better place.  They are great leaders because they are good people who have made extraordinary contributions to their country and the world.”

President Biden personally presented the awards at the White House on January 4, 2025.

(José Andrés – Bono - Ashton B. Carter (posthumous) - Hillary R. Clinton - Michael J. Fox - Tim Gill - Jane Goodall - Fannie L. Hamer (posthumous) - Earvin “Magic” Johnson - Robert F. Kennedy (posthumous) - Ralph Lauren - Lionel Messi - William S. Nye - George W. Romney (posthumous) - David M. Rubenstein - George Soros - George Stevens, Jr. - Denzel Washington - Anna Wintour) 

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2025/01/04/president-biden-announces-recipients-of-the-presidential-medal-of-freedom-3/

Of note to Canadians, we honour Michael J. Fox, who was bestowed the Medal for his lifetime achievements.

Michael J. Fox, originally from Canada, is an actor who has won five Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Grammy Award.  He is a world-renowned advocate for Parkinson’s disease research.

Fox was one of 19 named (four posthumously), including other international notables and was personally given the nation’s highest civilian honour by President Biden.

“Michael Andrew Fox OC (born June 9, 1961), known professionally as Michael J. Fox, is a Canadian and American activist and retired actor.  Beginning as a child actor in the 1970s, he rose to prominence portraying Alex P. Keaton on the NBC sitcom Family Ties (1982–1989) and Marty McFly in the Back to the Future film trilogy (1985–1990).  Fox went on to star in films such as Teen Wolf (1985),  The Secret of My Success (1987), Casualties of War (1989), Doc Hollywood (1991), and The Frighteners (1996).  He returned to television on the ABC sitcom Spin City in the lead role of Mike Flaherty (1996–2000).  In 1998, Fox disclosed his 1991 diagnosis of Parkinson's disease.  He subsequently advocated for finding a cure, and founded the Michael J. Fox Foundation in 2000 to help fund research.  Worsening symptoms forced him to reduce his acting work.” (Wikipedia)

Canadians are proud of Michael and congratulate him on his family, career, and philanthropic example.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to resign ?

 

Pierre Poilievre, leader of His Majesty's loyal opposition in the Canadian Parliament

January 3^rd, 2025

Liberal Members of Parliament calling for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to resign are coming from every corner.  Each day, another MP in the Liberal Caucus adds their name to the roster of roughly 20 Liberal MPs who have gone public with their request for Trudeau to resign.

However, there have been about 8 non-confidence votes in the last few months.  During those opportunities, the NDP and Liberal Members could have abstained from their vote and allowed the government to fall.  Even better, they could have voted to support ‘non-confidence’.  Instead, while whining about how bad Trudeau and his administration were, they kept voting to keep the government in office.

All the ‘toing and froing’ about getting Trudeau to resign from MPs inside the Caucus is hot air.  Also, the NDP partners have no credibility.  They have had many opportunities but did not have the courage of their rhetoric.  Consequently, they collectively must bear the responsibility and be accountable for their actions. 

Trudeau could be gone tomorrow if enough MPs in the Liberal Caucus signed a letter saying they would no longer vote in the Commons to support the government if Trudeau remained the leader.

Canadians, feeling increasingly exasperated by the Liberal government, are expressing a strong desire for an election.  Pierre Poilievre's phrase resonates with this public demand.  He says, "axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget, stop the crime”.  This phrase succinctly identifies some key problems a new government must tackle, acknowledging the challenges ahead.

In concert with the Ottawa lobby industry, the media bias and the resistant public service will do everything they can to preserve their insider benefits and undermine the corrective actions of a new Conservative government.

Poilievre, leader of His Majesty's loyal opposition, enters the election year 2025 with a surge in popularity, as reflected in the opinion polls.  This rise in popularity comes at a time when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's days are numbered, signaling a change in national leadership.

The '338 Canada Poll' now projects seat counts CPC 232, BQ 45, Lib 39, NDP 25, GPC 2

The 2025 election will be the first time the new 343-seat electoral map will be based on the 2021 Canadian census.  New electoral boundaries for each of the ten provinces were finalized between February 14 and July 8, 2023, and officially proclaimed on September 22, 2023. 

The Canadian election in 2025 will yield a Conservative government with Pierre Poilievre as Prime Minister —the detailed picture of how Trudeau exits will soon be painted.  The dark confused the swirl of colour won’t be attractive. 

Choices for 2025

Choices for 2025

There are ways to carry the Christmas Spirit into the New Year and beyond that will bring better living in 2025.  The New Year is not just a time for resolutions, but for continuing with choices that lead us closer to our best selves.

The promise of Christmas was first noted in Genesis.  God our creator, was coming to be with us.  Then, the long story unfolds about the nature of the human heart which had become separated from God.  However, reconciliation with God was made possible if we chose to respond.  

In 2025 we could choose some humility more often.  Christmas commemorates the birth of Christ, who humbly came to earth as a baby.  Creator God humbled himself to temporarily live among His creation, with its sickness, suffering, and sin.

What would choosing that kind of humility in our lives look like?  It could mean offering to help a colleague with a project, even if it's not your responsibility.  Sincere prayer is not just a ritual but a transformative practice that changes the one who prays.  Take time to pray, "Father, where are the needs?  Have I been making excuses for avoiding the needy I see around me?”

Humankind has been self-centred and rebellious, not humbly recognizing our actual position in life before God.  In 2025, we can choose to walk more frequently on the path of humility.

While becoming a little more humble, we could also practice some generosity.  We could be generous with time and money.  We could hang out with those who need a friend or provide transportation to someone who needs it.  We could join a committee dedicated to supporting refugees or give money to your church that is designated for a community food program.

Allow yourself to get out of your comfort zone.  Following the Lord will bring inner joy when you realize generosity has an impact on people.

In the new year, we could also practice some peace.  God’s peace is not the cessation of strife or overcoming the lack of social acceptance.  It's a deep, inner calm that comes from trusting in God's promises.  The people who enjoy God's peace are those who, in everything by prayer, let their requests be made known to God.  Christians experience the Lord’s peace when they walk in faith.  They turn to God in good and bad times to experience His closeness.

In 2025, we could also practice more patience.  We need patience to deal with unfulfilled longings and stress.  Passion is a powerful desire, and these yearnings frustrate us to the point of giving up or lashing out.  When we want something badly, that longing can become heavy.  But remember, the reward of patience is hope and encouragement.

Seek to hear from God, then be quiet and learn to hear His voice.  The Lord does not always give us what we desire.  Instead, He might provide us with something we never thought to ask for.  Patience and trust go together.

So, we could become a little more humble on occasion, more generous and patient, and live more peacefully with ourselves and others, but can we do it faithfully?  It is good to practice faithfulness.

As the Christmas celebrations end and decorations are put away, we might struggle to believe that God is faithful, so we can specifically choose to be faithful to Him in our lives.

A lifetime of steadfast faith doesn't happen overnight.  It's built upon years of many days of ordinary perseverance.  Faith is a steadiness, a daily belief that God is good, He is real, He is for you, and we do not need all the answers.  God is trustworthy with our prayers, and He is there for a relationship.

We can trust God in life's big decisions and in the dull minutes (laundry, traffic, cleaning the yard, or paying bills).  We can trust God for energy, discernment, patience, and generosity of spirit.

We can trust God to faithfully show us mercy when we lack patience or become self-centered.  We can live forward by actively replacing the bad in our minds with good things and trusting and declaring God’s goodness, an act of faith.

When we start to do these things, we discover a kinder side within ourselves.  We practice kindness.

Christians often do kind things.  They express their love for Jesus by encouraging sad people and trying to lift broken spirits.  Even many non-Christians can behave kindly for a few weeks of the year and are likelier to do so when Christmastime is in the air.

Kindness observes sadness and despair, remembering in the months after Christmas that those problems don’t go away when the tree and decorations come down. Genuine kindness asks God to reveal needy and broken hearts.  God says, "Let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth.  For in these things, I delight, declares the LORD” (Jeremiah 9:24).

Similar to generosity, kindness can sometimes feel sacrificial.  It is easy to be kind to loved ones but not to adversaries.  We remember that in His kindness, Jesus was not merely “nice.”  Sometimes, our kindness will mean lovingly speaking the truth, planting a seed of wisdom that comes to fruition later.

When someone rejects God and His standards, yet mistakenly thinks philanthropy will open the gates of heaven, it may be kind to explain that no amount of donations will buy a person’s redemption or way into heaven.  Genuine, practical kindness comes from God through you.

Beyond the aforementioned positive attributes, we can choose to be more thankful in life and find ways to practice joy.  The joy of practicing joy is in the upliftment and optimism it brings to our lives.  It's a powerful tool that can transform even the most challenging situations into opportunities for growth and learning.

Joy may come easily when things seem good.  But the more profound joy of life can remain deep within even when things seem empty or incomplete.  Joy arises from discipline and sacrifice, and it is available even to the hurting and the poor, the hungry and the lonely.  “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2).

By the power of the Holy Spirit, we can approach life's most difficult circumstances with a sense of inner joy.  When we are spiritually impoverished, when we grieve with our sins, and when we are weak, Christ can come close.  The joy that comes from God is our strength.  Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.

For life in 2025, there is a formula:

The Spirit of God in one’s life yields fruit such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, fidelity, tolerance, and self-control—and no shame exists against any of them.  Those who belong to Jesus Christ have rejected their old natural desires with all that was lusted for.  If the Spirit of God inspires our lives, we can live to the fullest by the Spirit of God’s motivation.

The acts of the flesh (sins) are evident in this world: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, lies, factions, and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. Those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  Against such things, there is no law or social prohibition.  Galatians 5:19-23

In 2025, we can choose to be more humble, generous, peaceful, patient, faithful, kind, and thankfully joyful.  Will you?