Thoughts on BC Politics and More

Canada is grappling with debates over national identity and security as well as international trade. Ottawa is navigating U.S. tariffs and Donald Trump’s threats of higher trade duties ahead of this July’s review of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement, while also managing populist and separatist movements, hate crimes, and broader pressures on national cohesion ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Are we witnessing the beginning of the end of Mark Carney’s second political honeymoon? Although the federal Liberals continue to lead their Conservative rivals in public support, new data from Liaison Strategies suggest the government’s approval ratings have taken a hit in recent weeks. Naturally, nuance is key here: net approval remains comfortably in positive territory, but the recent movement in the numbers can hardly be dismissed as mere statistical noise. According to the latest Liaison update — a two-week rolling poll fielded from May 4 to 16, 2026 — 56% of respondents approve of Mark Carney’s performance as Prime Minister of Canada, against 36% who expressed disapproval ... CLICK HERE for the full story

The U.S. undersecretary of defence said Monday that the United States is pausing a long-standing military board, claiming “Canada has failed to make credible progress on its defense commitments" ... ...  Colby said the United States can “can no longer avoid the gaps between rhetoric and reality” in the post, where he shared a link to a transcript of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s speech the World Economic Forum in Davos in January. Carney never mentioned U.S. President Donald Trump during the widely applauded speech where he described a “rupture in the world order.” The address did garner the president’s attention and following the speech Trump referred to Carney as “governor.” But Canada has not been the main target of Trump’s ire in recent weeks ... CLICK HERE for the full story

When The Bureau published its analysis of Bill C-2 last fall, the diagnosis was unsparing. Ottawa had confused expansion of state power over ordinary Canadians with the enforcement tools Canada actually needs to confront the Chinese Triads, Mexican cartels, and hostile-state networks that have turned Canadian cities into operational platforms for the hemisphere’s most dangerous criminal organizations. The government has now repackaged that same flawed instinct under a new number. Bill C-22, the so-called Lawful Access Act, deserves the same verdict. The critics arriving at that conclusion now span an extraordinary coalition ... CLICK HERE for the full story

IMAGE CREDIT :  CBC News   Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced a landmark agreement today committing Ottawa to designate a new pipeline to BC's west coast as a project of national interest by October 1, 2026, with construction approval targeted for September 1, 2027. The deal pairs the pipeline with a new industrial carbon pricing framework and a fall 2027 construction start. British Columbia, the province where the pipeline ends, where the jobs would land, and where the export terminal would be built, was nowhere at the table. "This is a nation-building deal, and the BC NDP have been locked out of the room," said Trevor Halford, Interim Leader of the Official Opposition.  "While the Prime Minister and the Premier of Alberta were doing the hard work of growing the Canadian economy, the NDP is on the sidelines calling this pipeline a 'fiction' and an 'energy vampire.'  He chose petulance over partnership, and now BC ...

The federal government says it is committed to supporting BC's struggling forestry sector in the face of U.S. import fees, and has announced a new $12-million fund to do so. But for those struggling, the help offered so far does not go far enough. "This is an insult," said John Brink, whose workforce at a trio of wood manufacturing plants in and around Prince George has dwindled from roughly 400 to about 30 people over the past year ... CLICK HERE for the full story  

As the BC Conservatives gear up to select a new leader this month, the five candidates share their thoughts with CHEK News on the province’s deficit, DRIPA, BC Ferries and transportation issues. Members of the BC Conservative Party will begin voting on their new leader on May 23, with the winner to be announced in Vancouver on May 30. To help British Columbians get a sense of who’s in the running, CHEK News reached out to each of the five candidates and asked for information on their background, as well as their opinion on key issues for British Columbians ... CLICK HERE for the full story

A Liberal government bill that proposes giving police and spies easier access to information during investigations has fallen into the crosshairs of U.S. tech giants and two American congressional committees, threatening to become the latest irritant in the Canada-U.S. relationship. The bill, this government’s second attempt at passing lawful access legislation, has already garnered intense domestic scrutiny from privacy and civil rights advocates, and is now attracting attention south of the border.  Late last week, the heads of two American congressional committees sent a letter to federal Public Safety Minister Anandasangaree calling for changes ... CLICK HERE for the full story  

BC Green Leader Emily Lowan is calling for a pause in building AI data centres in BC until the environmental, health and security risks of these ­facilities are properly ­understood and regulated. The federal government and Telus, the telecom company building the projects, describe the data centres as a bid to boost Canada’s sovereign ­computing and artificial-intelligence ­infrastructure. Two data ­centres ­— the cost of which have not been disclosed — will be in Vancouver and the other in ­Kamloops. Lowan said the current “build first, regulate later” model pushed by the federal and ­provincial governments is ­reckless and unacceptable for British Columbians ... CLICK HERE for the full story