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

BC Conservative Kamloops North Thompson MLA, and BC Forests Critic, Ward Stamer says: West Fraser Timber has announced it is closing its Cariboo mill stating the “ 100 Mile House lumber mill is no longer able to reliably access an adequate volume of economically viable timber" This is devastating news for the residents of the South Cariboo , and just one more example of the NDP government's gross neglect. Over a year ago alarm bells were ringing as BC’s Forest industry made clear the need for changes in permitting and regulation costs, and as West Fraser indicated in it’s announcement of the upcoming mill closure, the need for access to a consistent supply of fibre. The lack of fibre, coupled with the highest costs in North America, along with increased tariffs from the US, will see mills continue to close across the province. BC’s forest industry, once the source of pride, now sees an ever-increasing number of hard-working British Columbians being put out of work, and the ...

IMAGE CREDIT:   Sky News  A few days ago, President Trump and President Ursula von der Leyen met in Scotland to announce that the EU and the US had reached a trade agreement. The three largest economies in the EU — Germany, France, and Italy — are included in this landmark deal. With the EU, the UK, and Japan working alongside the US, these nations have made major progress in reshaping global trade. Other countries will soon follow suit. What about Canada? ... CLICK HERE for the full story 

Donald Trump’s America First nationalism has forcefully yanked the world backward from its postwar consensus of interdependence and international cooperation. The G7 group of leading market economy countries will hold its  annual summit June 15-17 in Kananaskis, Alberta, under Canadian chairmanship, and under Trump’s tariff assault on all partners including G7 partners. The Summit, coming 50 years after Canada’s addition to the G6 made it the G7 in Puerto Rico in 1975, may or may not sustain the principle of mutual interest permitting the G7 to carry on. G7 members are mentally focused on the challenge the Trump administration poses to their own economic outlooks. But a preparatory meeting this week of G7 finance ministers in Banff avoided substantive discussion of the divisive and toxic US tariff assault on the global economy. Their description of the meeting as “productive” was an evasion of reality to keep the US at least partially in the consensus tent at the ministerial level ...

With Canada’s electric vehicle industry stalling this week, some are worried the sector may experience a full-scale power outage in the months ahead ... ... Honda’s decision to take a reported two-year break on its $15-billion investment in Ontario, which was to include multiple EV battery plants and a made-in-Canada supply chain, has caused some industry watchers to re-evaluate other large scale Canadian EV projects from Stellantis and Volkswagen. Raz says 2025 has seen a sluggish start to EV sales, adding the shutdown of the federal government’s EV rebate program hasn’t helped sales ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Our On The Ledge panel discusses the Prime Minister's meeting with the U.S. President, the latest talk about separatism by Alberta's Premier, and a new BC plan aimed at reducing our reliance on U.S. electricity ... CLICK HERE for the full story

One year ago, the Plateau sawmill was the largest single employer in Vanderhoof, a community of 4,500 people about an hour's drive west of Prince George that bills itself as the geographic centre of BC. Today, its lumber yard sits empty — one of dozens of mill closures and curtailments around the province that have sent hundreds of people who had held long-term union jobs seeking employment elsewhere. Those sorts of losses keep Coun. Brian Frenkel up at night, especially as the industry prepares for another hit in the form of U.S. tariffs set to come into effect this week ... CLICK HERE for the full story

In a twist that could make even the most seasoned political observer do a double take, Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet is throwing his support behind counter-tariffs against the US — a distinctly federalist position — while remaining firmly opposed to pipelines that would bring Alberta oil to Quebec’s doorstep. Blanchet’s platform promises to fight aggressively for protectionist measures that would shield Quebec industries like lumber and aluminum — and cheese curds — from American trade policies ... CLICK HERE for the full story

The NDP government was in the dark like everyone else right up to the provincial budget’s press time about whether the U.S. tariff threat would actually take effect. How they handled that is summed up in one phrase in the document: “Given the evolving and fluid situation, (it) is not incorporated into the budget.” They decided to press on with a spending plan that assumed the U.S. northbound runaway train would stop short of the border. The prospect of it crashing into the B.C. economy was instead addressed in a sidebar that updates an assessment from six weeks ago. The update is more optimistic than the first estimate, but still dire ... CLICK HERE for the full story

The British Columbia premier is preparing to address the arrival of broad U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods Tuesday morning. David Eby will speak from the B.C. legislature in Victoria just hours before his government is scheduled to deliver its 2025-26 budget. Eby has called the 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods a “declaration of economic war” by U.S. President Donald Trump. The provincial government has urged British Columbians to support domestic products and businesses as part of a “Buy BC” campaign aimed at protecting the province’s economy from the damage of a Canada-U.S. trade war. This is a developing story. Check back for updates .

Today’s latest news from the US Commerce Department, of a new preliminary 20% anti-dumping duty on Canadian softwood lumber exports, is not sitting well with Kamloops North Thompson MLA, and Conservative BC Forestry critic, Ward Stamer. Speaking from Victoria Stamer commented, “Since 2017 the American’s have hit us with ten billion dollars in duties.” “Last week our party leader, John Rustad, proposed putting a carbon tax on American thermal coal. If their tariff is now 20.07% on our lumber, then let’s put 20.07% on their thermal coal.” “And let’s do it TODAY - that will certainly get their attention.” Stamer continued, “We need to get back to the table and negotiate a new free trade softwood agreement with the United States.” In recent weeks the Kamloops North Thompson MLA has been clear about the precarious situation British Columbia’s forest industry is in, with mill shut downs, and the loss of thousands of jobs. “We are going to have more people out of work, and we are going to be ...

As the threat of a trade war with the US looms, the province needs to gird its loins, says the Business Council of BC. The council’s new report is urging the NDP government to start with its upcoming budget by getting its own fiscal house in order, and developing a more welcome investment climate by cutting taxes and regulations. “The Trump administration has our industrial base in its sights,” BCBC vice-president of policy David Williams said in a press release accompanying Monday’s report, Strengthening BC’s Economy Amid US Tariff Threats ... CLICK HERE for the full story

THE TARIFFS ARE ON and so is my personal war against Trump’s America. As of Tuesday, 25 per cent tariffs will come into effect on all Canadian goods, except for energy, which will be 10 per cent. So I will no longer be a customer of the U.S. That’s just naïve, you might say. So I say, what are you going to do, just accept it? Curl up into the fetal position and take the beating without fighting back? All across the country tonight (Feb. 1, 2025), province after province (except Alberta, but that’s another story) is lining up beside the federal government to fight back. As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a nationwide address, “This is Team Canada at its best.” I hereby sign up for the team. Many say it won’t be easy to simply “ buy Canadian ” but I’m going to do my level best. It’s not just about the economy, or my own pocket book. It’s about standing up to the American bully. I’m willing to lose money doing it. Donald Trump claims we’re letting too many crimina...

Canada may find itself in a stronger position than the United States if a trade war breaks out between the two countries. Don’t take my word for that. That’s Paul Krugman speaking. You know, the distinguished professor of economics, winner of a Nobel prize in that field and for almost 24 years until late last year the New York Times’ widely respected economics columnist ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Canadian Future Party leader Dominic Cardy today called for a unity government to guide Canada through the unprecedented threats the country is facing both internally and externally. “ We have never before seen the chaos we are seeing in Ottawa today ,” said Cardy. “ This comes at a time when we are facing what is likely the most serious economic threat in our history from the proposed punitive tariffs by President-Elect Donald Trump . At the same time, we continue to face a global economic crisis and essentially a global war between the forces of democracy and the forces of autocracy .” On the day she was supposed to present the Fall Economic Update, Canada’s Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland resigned, stating she no longer had confidence in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau or his government’s fiscal policy. Simultaneously, Sean Fraser, considered one of the few effective ministers in this government, also stepped down. Some are calling for an election in the midst of thi...

... “We’re going to stand together, and we’re going to ensure that we negotiate from a position of strength,” said Eby. “That we negotiate hard and we ensure any decisions that are made are in the best interests of British Columbians and Canadians.” A position of strength. The line played well for the hyper-partisan, NDP-loyal, Trump-hating audience at the BC Federation of Labour, where the crowd could be relied upon to shout “shame” and applaud on command. But back in the real world, you’d be hard-pressed to describe the Canadian position as anything remotely resembling one of strength ... CLICK HERE for the full story