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Friday, July 11, 2025

Chris Rufo appearance at Alberta conference triggers some sponsors to pull support

By
Noah Jarvis, True North Wire
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Source: X

Several corporate sponsors are withdrawing their support of the Canada Strong and Free Network’s Red Deer conference.

The termination of support comes after left-wing activists and journalists have targeted the networking organization for hosting American conservative journalist Christopher Rufo, though the companies are remaining mum as to why they have pulled their support.

A hit piece published in the National Observer at the beginning of August attacked CSFN for hosting Rufo, painting the conservative journalist as “far-right” and a regressive force in politics. 

Later in the month, a petition on Change.org started by LGBTQ activist Wilbur Turner began circulating online, seeking to pressure CSFN’s corporate sponsors into withdrawing their support from their September conference in Red Deer because of Rufo’s scheduled talk.

The petition claims sponsors should pull their support because Rufo is one of the leading opponents against critical race theory, actively campaigns against diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, appeared alongside Florida Governor Ron DeSantis during the signing of his Stop W.O.K.E. Act, and was appointed to the board of Florida’s New College. 

Turner is a prominent LGBTQ activist, serving as the president of Advocacy Canada – an organization dedicated to “uniting queer voices.” Turner was also the grand marshall at Kelowna’s 2022 Pride march.

Controversial left-wing activist and journalist Rachel Gilmore posted a video to X condemning CSFN’s sponsors for supporting an event hosting Rufo, claiming the journalist is responsible for the worst features of the American culture war and is opposed to teaching about racism in schools.

Soon after, Bruce Power, Ontario’s only private sector nuclear energy provider, pulled their support alongside Mastercard, a major payment transaction processor.

In a post on X, Bruce Power’s chief operating officer James Scongack said that his company has sponsored CSFN events focused on energy policy in the past, but do not support the dialogue with Rufo.

“@Bruce_Power has traditionally participated in the former Manning Centre Conference in Ottawa sessions focused on energy and do not support this dialogue. Bottom line- we will no longer support the energy dialogue and want our name removed from everything,” said Scongack.

Scongack confirmed that Bruce Power is withdrawing all financial contributions to CSFN.

True North reached out to Scongack and Bruce Power for comment, though no response was given.

SunLife Financial, Canadian Pacific Kansas City, and the Canadian Bankers Association would join Bruce Power and Mastercard in the boycott.

True North reached out to Mastercard, SunLife Financial, and Canadian Pacific Kansas City for comment, though no response was given. 

The Canadian Bankers Association told True North that they will not be commenting.

In a statement to True North, CSFN president Adam Bolek said that he is unable to speak to specific sponsor arrangements and agreements, but appeared to be undeterred by the corporate sponsor boycott.

“You may have seen the attempts of the activist left to undermine the spirit of free thought and debate that CSFN fosters at our conferences. Their attempts will never discourage us,” wrote Bolek.

“Unlike the left, we don’t demand agreement or quiet obedience to the ideas presented on stage. We expect our attendees to think for themselves. That’s at the very core of our Network, and of Canadian conservatism.”

Bolek went on to reaffirm his commitment to hosting Rufo at the conference.

“We’re pleased to host Chris Rufo as our Keynote Speaker. An influential voice, academic, policy mind and thought-leader, Mr. Rufo is advancing debate on issues that underpin our academic and corporate institutions,” said Bolek.

“The activist left had taken specific note of Mr. Rufo, with whom they disagree on a number of points. They’re working hard to undermine him.”

The companies Meta, Roll’n, Loyalist Public Affairs, KOCH, the Modern Miracle Network, CocaCola, and DoorDash have maintained their support for the conference. Additionally, Alberta Proud, the Montreal Economic Institute, and Second Street remain as partners.

Rachel and the Republic | Dems succeed in making THIS a wedge issue for voters (Ft. Jonathon Van Maren)

By
Rachel Parker
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Source: Facebook

Today on Rachel and the Republic with Rachel Parker, Rachel speaks to author and pro life activist Jonathon Van Maren about the Democrats’ efforts to make abortion the election issue this cycle. The two discuss claims about abortion bans at the DNC last week, and whether the Republican’s response has helped or hindered the campaign.

Finally, Rachel wonders whether the pro-life movement will cast a ballot for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in November.

Tune into Rachel and the Republic now!

Gov says Muslims, Indigenous more impacted by wildfires due to racism, colonialism

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa, True North Wire
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Source: Unsplash

A Liberal government “intersectional analysis” argued that wildfires have a greater effect on Muslims and Indigenous people because of Canada’s role in perpetuating environmental racism and colonialism. 

The Public Health Agency of Canada wants to review the way wildfire evacuations are conducted because they supposedly disproportionately impact minorities. Part of this impact is that evacuating people from First Nations communities traumatizes Indigenous people due to “colonialism” and the history of residential schools. 

A “rapid review” released by the agency in July included an “intersectional analysis” arguing that wildfires disproportionally impacted First Nations groups, minorities, women and non-binary people. 

Much of the report was dedicated to explaining how those with “Indigenous identity” suffered more from wildfires than others. 

“Indigenous communities disproportionately experience both adverse mental health and physical health outcomes due to wildfires,” wrote PHAC.

“The impact of wildfires on Indigenous Peoples is influenced by colonialism and has forced many Indigenous Peoples to live in isolation or in communities that are isolated from the rest of society.” 

PHAC argued that because many Indigenous communities live remotely and in northern communities, evacuations can trigger past trauma linked to the residential schooling system and the Sixties Scoop. The Sixties Scoop was a period beginning in the 1960s until the 1980s when thousands of Indigenous children were placed by the government into foster and adopted care.

“Finally it was noted that the evacuation measures conducted in Indigenous communities served as traumatic reminders of being taken away to residential schools and/or the Sixties Scoop as some were forced onto buses and separated from family,” wrote PHAC. 

True North reached out to PHAC for comment and clarification on the report but did not receive a reply. 

The agency claimed that wildfires can cause “solastalgia” in Indigenous people which it defines as a “form of mental or existential distress caused by environmental change.” Additionally, current wildfire responses need to be changed to include “Indigenous knowledges” in response and recovery strategies. 

According to the report, other identity groups are also impacted more by wildfires. Among those are women who are “disproportionately impacted by climate-related threats due to their long-standing social roles as caretakers, vulnerability to gender-based violence, and pre-existing mental health challenges.” 

The report also claimed that Muslim evacuees are often faced with “a lack of privacy when needing to stay in group-lodging facilities, a lack of appropriate clothes and food, and additional considerations for spirituality and prayer” pointing to the 2016 Fort McMurray as an example. 

In 2024, wildfires impacted over 500,000 hectares of land, leading to the destruction of Jasper, Alberta. In Jasper alone, wildfires caused an estimated $880 million in insured losses.

Doctor decries Quebec health board decision to reinstate masking

By
Quinn Patrick, True North Wire
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Source: Unsplash

A Quebec regional health board north of Montreal reinstated masking across its facilities in response to a jump in COVID-19 cases, however, one doctor believes the decision to be politically motivated, rather than rooted in scientific harm reduction.  

The Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux de Laval made the decision to require staff to wear masks when in direct contact with patients last week, according to an internal memo obtained by CBC News. 

However, family and ER physician Dr. Chris Milburn, who has worked in Nova Scotia for over 20 years and has written extensively on masking, said he disagrees with the protocol. 

“There were decades of evidence that masks were ineffective for reducing transmission of respiratory viruses. That is why they were never used,“ Milburn told True North.

“Since COVID is more aerosol than droplet transmitted as compared to influenza, one would expect masks to be much LESS effective for preventing transmission, since aerosolized viral particles are smaller than the pore size of even an N95 mask.”

The region’s COVID-19 positivity rate increased from 2.9% in April to 27% in August and across Quebec, the COVID-19 positivity rate is on the rise throughout the province.

According to Milburn, “masks are not benign” and cause social and physical discomfort, which can “reduce job satisfaction for healthcare workers, and perceived quality of care for patients.”

“The Science (TM)” on masks turned on a dime,” said Milburn. “In early 2020 we were told by public health experts not to wear masks because they were ineffective at best and harmful at worst (because we touch our face more).  Within a few months, with no new evidence available, the same public health experts told us that we not only should, but MUST wear masks to prevent COVID.  Science does not turn on a dime, but politics does.”

Outbreaks are occurring across the province according to the Institut national de santé publique Quebec, which reported that COVID-19 hospitalizations have doubled from June to August.

The INSPQ said that there are over 110 outbreaks in long-term care care facilities and at 54 healthcare centres. 

Over 1,200 people have been hospitalized provincewide in recent weeks, with more than 30 people dying with the virus weekly and an averaging positive test rate of 21%.

While cases are up, Milbrun said that health officials should take lessons from the last four years and quit the habit of  parsing through the “scientific evidence on hastily-created and unhelpful policies that were rushed in during early 2020.”

Furthermore, he believes reinstating such policies is an attempt by public health officials “to save face.”  

“Given the societal divisions, fights, and stress that mask mandates caused, it is politically untenable for politicians or public health officials to now admit “we were wrong,” he said. 

“Four years later, we are still following the politics and not following the science.  And unless something fundamental changes, masking every time people start to sneeze is “the new abnormal”.

The province’s immunization committee released its recommendations for a vaccine program for the upcoming fall in July, asking that people over the age of 60 and immunocompromised to get a booster ahead of the season change. 

Additionally, the committee is recommending that people under 60 wait until the latest version of an mRNA vaccine is available as the most recent one is no longer effective.

When it comes to masking however, Milburn maintains that there never was any “solid scientific evidence to support these mandates at that time, and that lack of evidence remains.”

“Masks have become a mantra, a talisman, a political statement.  Like garlic to ward off vampires or a horseshoe above the door to bring good luck, they make people feel like they are doing something but are without logical or scientific support,” he said. 

Ratio’d | Citizenship to ILLEGAL Immigrants? Toronto residents react

By
Harrison Faulkner
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Source: Harrison Faulkner

Last week Toronto’s deputy mayor Ausma Malik called on the federal government to put all illegal immigrants living in Toronto on the path to citizenship. Malik described Canada’s immigration rules as racist and colonial and that the way to break down those systems is to regularize “undocumented residents.”

On the latest episode of Ratio’d, Harrison Faulkner hit the streets of Toronto to ask Toronto residents if they agree with city council and want to extend permanent residency status to illegal immigrants.

The Daily Brief | Trudeau’s failed two billion trees initiative

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
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Source: Facebook

Five years after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged to plant two billion trees by the year 2030, the Liberal government is barely a quarter of the way there.

Plus, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he regrets bowing down to censorship requests from the Biden government during the Covid-19 pandemic.

And former Alberta premier and immigration minister Jason Kenney called the Liberal government’s handling of immigration “gross mismanagement.”

Tune into The Daily Brief with Cosmin Dzsurdzsa and Lindsay Shepherd!

Nova Scotia needs to cut fuel taxes as residents face 40% tax at the pump: CTF

By
Isaac Lamoureux, True North Wire
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Source: Unsplash

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is sounding the alarm, as its 2024 Gas Tax Honesty Report highlights that Nova Scotians are paying 40% in taxes when purchasing fuel.

“Both Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier Tim Houston need to scrap their taxes on fuel that are making life more expensive,” said Devin Drover, Atlantic director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

Drover highlighted that Nova Scotians currently pay 67 cents in federal and provincial taxes per litre of gasoline. Gas taxes on a 64-litre fill-up amount to $44.80.

“A staggering 40% of the price Nova Scotians pay at the pump is taxation,” said Drover.

The Liberals have raised the price of carbon tax every year since 2019. The carbon tax reached $80 per tonne on Apr. 1, 2024. The tax will be raised by $15 per year until it reaches $170 per tonne in 2030. 

The Gas Tax Honesty Report shows that the average Canadian will pay 47.9% in taxes and 52.1% for the gas itself on a 64-litre fill-up by 2030. Residents of Nova Scotia will pay 50.61% in taxes and 49.38% for the fuel itself. 

Drover highlighted that other provinces have cut their gas taxes, saving residents money at the pump. 

Manitobans pay the least to fill a 64-litre tank, as they are the only province without provincial fuel taxes. Their cost is $90.78, with Alberta following as the second-lowest at $98.04. Currently, Manitobans only pay 24.2% in taxes when refuelling their 64-litre vehicle.

By 2030, Manitobans will pay 44.7% in taxes when filling up, according to the report.

“Other provinces have been able to cut taxes to make life more affordable and the government of Nova Scotia needs to step up and do the same,” said Drover. 

Removing carbon and fuel taxes has led to residents of some provinces saving money beyond just fuel.

Inflation in Saskatchewan and Manitoba has continued to rise at half the rate of the rest of the country following the two provinces cutting taxes on fuel.

While Canada’s overall inflation rose by 2.9% from May 2023 to May 2024, Manitoba’s inflation increased by only 1.3%, and Saskatchewan’s by 1.5%. No other province saw its consumer price index rise by less than 2.6%, according to Statistics Canada. 

Conversely, Nova Scotia experienced the highest inflation in the country, with its CPI growing by 3.7% between May 2023 and May 2024. CPI measures price changes as seen by Canadian consumers.

The Bank of Canada initially estimated that eliminating the carbon tax would reduce inflation by 0.15 points. However, Governor Tiff Macklem later revised this figure to 0.6 percentage points. The revised estimate still faced criticism for not accounting for secondary or supply chain effects.

Ratio’d | Justin Trudeau REVERSES mass immigration agenda

By
Harrison Faulkner
-

After ballooning the country’s population over the last nine years through record levels of mass immigration, Justin Trudeau has abruptly changed course. Less than 12 months ago, Trudeau was committed to the highest levels of permanent residency numbers in Canadian history and today he is planning to cut the number. He is also now planning to drastically cut the temporary foreign worker program – which also skyrocketed under his watch. This follows announced cuts to the international student system as well.

But what is behind this sudden immigration u-turn? It certainly isn’t increased political pressure from the opposition. Might it be perhaps about the damning Toronto Star investigation into the government’s handling of the temporary foreign worker approval process?

Watch the latest episode of Ratio’d with Harrison Faulkner.

Australian politician compares Pierre Poilievre to Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan

By
Noah Jarvis, True North Wire
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Source: X

An Australian politician rose in a state legislature to praise Canadian Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre ranking him among history’s greatest conservatives.

Chris Rath, a Liberal party member of the New South Wales legislative council, rose in the legislature to express his support for Poilievre and his agenda.

The centre-right legislator lamented the lack of principled free market politicians in the Anglosphere, but predicted that Poilievre would break the trend of weak leadership. 

“Over the last decade it has often been dispiriting for classical liberals and small government conservatives in the anglosphere not to be led by the same type of principled and determined global figures as Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan in the 1980s,” said Rath.

“Today though, I have high hopes for the leader of Canada’s Conservative opposition to take up that mantle. Pierre Poilievre stands alone as the global leader classical liberals and small government conservatives are looking for.”

Rath said that Poilievre is not a “boring managerial centrist” or a “far-right populist,” but is instead a policy leader for liberal-minded conservatives worldwide.

“Poilievre’s policies include a war on debt and deficit where any increase in government spending must be simultaneously offset by cuts, industrial relations deregulation, privatization, eliminating subsidies, and overall lower taxes, including payroll tax and capital gains tax reform,” said Rath.

Rath went on to disparage Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for his housing policy, failing to meet targets and driving the dream of homeownership out of the minds of young Canadians.

“But probably his [Poilievre] best policies overall are on housing, especially in contrast to Trudeau, who constantly misses his housing targets and with home ownership now becoming a pipe dream for most young Canadians,” said Rath. 

Rath applauded Poilievre’s proposal to tie federal funding of municipalities to the number of houses they build annually, rewarding cities that expand their housing supply while punishing those who do not. Rath says that this housing plan is responsible for the Conservatives attracting young voters who he says are not inherently left-wing. 

The Conservatives under Poilievre have made housing policy a key plank in the party’s platform with their plan to “build homes, not bureaucracy.”

Poilievre has been able to attract the admiration of centre-right politicians from other countries also.

In March, British Conservative MP and former secretary of state for housing Sir Simon Clarke lamented his party’s failure to address Britain’s housing crisis, contrasting his party’s failures with the political success the Canadian Conservatives have been having in public opinion polls.

“One need only contrast the recent success of the Canadian Conservatives to see the amazing difference that embracing pro-home-ownership policies can deliver, even among the youngest voters,” said Sir Simon.

Kenney dubs Ottawa’s immigration policies as “gross mismanagement”

By
Rachel Parker, True North Wire
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Source: X

Former Alberta premier and Conservative immigration minister Jason Kenney is attacking the federal government’s handling of immigration, with particular ire for its foreign labour policies.

While serving as the immigration and employment minister in 2012-13 under then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Kenney overhauled the Temporary Foreign Worker Program resulting in an 80% decline in low-skilled foreign workers.

Those numbers have exploded under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and Statistics Canada is now reporting a 30-month high in unemployment which is particularly impacting youth who are competing with an influx of foreign labour. 

Kenney says he is “perplexed” by the federal government’s “gross mismanagement” of the immigration system, and especially the foreign worker program.

“And then the current government reversed these reforms, on top of massive increases in other streams of both permanent and temporary resident migration, in the midst of a housing crisis,” he wrote on X. “Why???”

Trudeau announced that his government would be reducing the number of foreign, low-wage workers after Canada’s unemployment hit a 30-month high of 6.4% in July. 

“The labour market has changed,” Trudeau said. “Now is the time for our businesses to invest in Canadian workers and youth.”

Temporary foreign workers do labour ranging from picking fruit, to pouring coffee, to cleaning hotel rooms. Healthcare, construction, and food security sectors won’t be impacted by the cuts. 

The prime minister’s announcement follows Statistics Canada’s July data which revealed that unemployment is highest among young Canadians, and increasingly among core-aged men.

“There’s record-high unemployment for youths, there’s record-high unemployment for, basically, very young workers,” said Chetan Dave, professor of economics at the University of Alberta.

“So having this surge or temporary foreign workers cut against Canadian workers who were looking for positions as well.”

During the pandemic, the federal government bolstered the program resulting in more than 183,000 permits effective last year – an 88% jump from 2019.

Kenney said changes he made over 10 years ago were criticised by the business community but were “ the right thing to do.”

“As I said repeatedly at the time, if there are real labour shortages, then the market response must be for employers to offer higher wages, better benefits, more training, accommodations for underemployed cohorts of the labour force, and more investment to enhance productivity,” he said. 

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