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Friday, May 16, 2025

Red tape costs Canadian businesses $17.9 billion each year, report finds 

By
Isaac Lamoureux, True North Wire
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Source: Unsplash

The amount of time spent complying with regulations and the cost of red tape comes with an astronomical price for Canadian businesses.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business began its 16th annual Red Tape Awareness Week on Monday by issuing the seventh edition of the Red Tape Report  – a study that measures the financial impact of government regulation.

The report highlighted that time spent on red tape has increased by 35% since 2020 for small businesses, rising from 189 hours in 2020 to 256 in 2024. Red tape accounted for 35% of the 256 hours small businesses spent on regulatory compliance. The report separated regulations into two categories: justified regulation and excessive regulation, or red tape. 

The federation said that justified regulations add real value to businesses with social benefits that outweigh the costs. Conversely, red tape encompasses excessive government regulations.

Canadian businesses faced compliance costs totalling $51.5 billion in 2024, up 13.5% from $45.4 billion in 2020. Of this total, $17.9 billion was attributed to red tape, or 35%, a 41% rise from $12.7 billion in 2020.

“Higher wages and professional fees, along with an increase in time spent on compliance, are driving the rise in costs,” said the federation in its press release.

The federation said eliminating red tape would free up 268 million hours for business owners, which is equivalent to almost 137,000 full-time jobs. 

“The extra hours could be used to plan business expansions, serve customers, train staff, or spend more time with family. It would undoubtedly have a positive impact on productivity across Canada,” reads the report.

Small businesses bear a disproportionately higher regulatory burden than larger firms.

Businesses with fewer than five employees spent $10,208 per employee on regulatory compliance in 2024—over seven times the $1,374 spent by businesses with 100 or more employees. 

Smaller firms spent 198 hours per employee on compliance, nearly 25 times more than the eight hours per employee spent by businesses with 100 employees or more.

Almost nine in ten, 87%, of small business owners said that excessive government regulations are reducing their business’ productivity and ability to grow. Nine in ten reported high stress from excessive regulations that have harmed their work-life balance. 

Business owners said that reducing red tape would help them expand operations, hire more employees, increase wages, and improve work-life balance, thereby contributing to greater productivity and economic growth. 

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business said this was necessary because Canada’s labour productivity growth has been trailing most OECD countries. It is projected to have the lowest GDP per capita growth among advanced economies between 2020 and 2060.

The regulatory burden is also dampening motivation. Almost seven in ten, 68%, of business owners would not recommend entrepreneurship in Canada to the next generation.

The vast majority of businesses are not confident in the government’s ability to reduce red tape. Only 6% of business owners are confident that the federal government will reduce red tape.

The confidence level varied by province. Confidence was lowest in British Columbia, where only 4% of business owners trusted their provincial government to reduce red tape. Alberta stood out with 39% expressing confidence, the highest in the country.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business provided ten recommendations for effective regulatory reform in its report. The ten-point plan includes measuring the regulatory burden, staying accountable to the public, prioritizing plain and simple language, and making regulatory accountability a political priority.

The federation’s director of research, Marvin Cruz, said at a media embargo that governments are generally receptive to suggestions such as these as they are looking for solutions. 

However, Executive Vice President of Advocacy for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, Corinne Pohlmann, said that Canada’s competitiveness is extra important right now due to President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs. She said he would be implementing legislation in the United States to lower regulation, making Canada comparatively even less competitive. 

The federation’s Red Tape Awareness Week will continue with further releases and awards each day. 

Poilievre says he’d hit U.S. hard with dollar-for-dollar tariffs if elected

By
Quinn Patrick, True North Wire
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Source: Facebook

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed that if elected he would be looking to pinpoint strategic trade areas with the U.S. to target with retaliatory tariffs, even going so far as matching them dollar for dollar.  

The Conservative leader said he would pitch to U.S. President Donald Trump that “America can only win with open and unbridled free trade with Canada.”

Poilievre told CTV News Atlantic’s Todd Battis that he wouldn’t hesitate to slap retaliatory tariffs on as many U.S. goods as necessary in an interview that addressed his stance on the issue for the first time 

“I would retaliate and I would target products and services that a) we don’t need b) we can make ourselves and c) that we can buy elsewhere so that we can maximize the impact on Americans while minimizing the impact on Canadians,” said Poilievre on Friday.

Poilievre pledged to implement an “emergency bring it home tax cut on work, investment, making stuff in Canada, energy, homebuilding so that we can stimulate more economic growth here.” 

He also said that he would break down barriers faced by interprovincial trade so that Canada could become more self-reliant.

“We have freer trade today with the Americans than we do with ourselves,” said Poilievre. “We have to knock down those barriers” and build more liquid natural gas pipelines and facilities to enable great global export.

When asked if he would take a dollar-for-dollar approach regarding retaliatory measures, he confirmed that he would. 

“It has to hit hard,” said Poiievre, stressing the importance of being very surgical about what products to place tariffs on. 

Trump announced that his proposed 25% tariffs on all Canadian imports could take effect as early as Feb. 1.

Poilievre noted that Canada’s economy has long been basking in the glow of the massive economic superpower and strong military of the U.S. but that the time has come to stop relying so heavily on our neighbour to the south. 

Additionally, he discussed seeking alternative routes to get Canadian exports to market without relying on the U.S.. 

“Right now we are importing oil from the Americans and the Saudis in the east at world prices and we’re selling it to the Americans at discounts in the West. It’s a crazy business model,” said Poilievre. “We need pipelines. We need LNG plants and we need to approve resource projects quickly so that we can become self-reliant and start making things here in Canada.”

Poilievre went on to say that he would “strongly support an east-west pipeline” where western Canadian oil could be sold to refineries located in the country’s east. 

“The alternative is that we continue to sell at a discount in the west and buy it at a premium in the east and lose money, millions of times every single day,” he said. “It’s economic suidice and stupidity.”

Poilievre pledged to repeal the Liberals’ Bill C-69 to expedite energy projects, which he called an “anti-development” bill that can take “an estimated 19 years to get a mine approved.” The law, commonly referred to as the “No More Pipelines Act” by its opponents, provided the government with sweeping regulatory powers over new energy projects.  

“We have the fifth biggest lithium supply in the world but we don’t mine lithium. We have the sixth biggest supply of natural gas on planet earth, we don’t export a single cubic foot of it overseas,” he said. “We have the most uranium, the most potash, the list goes on but because our laws are designed to block projects from proceeding, businesses don’t put their money here.” 

According to Poilievre, Canada has lost half a trillion dollars in net investment from Canada to south of the border.

“My goal is to have the fastest permits for mines anywhere in the developed world,” he said. 

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce reported that around $3.6 billion in goods cross the border daily and that about 2.3 million Canadian jobs are tied to U.S. exports.

CBSA refusing to honour pardon for Jan. 6 fugitive detained in B.C.

By
Quinn Patrick, True North Wire
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Source: Facebook

The Canada Border Services Agency is refusing to honour U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order to pardon those involved in the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot in Washington D.C.

An Indiana man detained in a Surrey, B.C. immigration detention centre may soon be free to return following U.S. President Trump’s executive order to pardon all those involved in storming the Capitol building in Washington in 2021. 

Antony Vo, 32, fled to Canada to make an asylum claim to avoid sentencing after being convicted of four non-violent misdemeanours that occurred during the Jan. 6, 2021 riot.

“It has been a long fight for my client but I am happy he has been pardoned in the USA so he will likely drop his claim and return to the USA,” Vo’s U.S. lawyer Damilo Ausni told True North. 

The CBSA attempted to intervene in the matter by sending a letter to the Immigration Refugee Board last week prior to Vo’s hearing to state that he was “not on the list of individuals pardoned by the US President.”

Along with specific individuals pardoned by name in the executive order, Trump also granted “a full, complete and unconditional pardon to all other individuals convicted of offenses related to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.”

Vo’s legal representation in Canada, Robert Tibbo, told the National Post that his client’s counsel in the U.S. all indicate that “yes, 100%, he’s been pardoned.” 

According to Tibbo, the agency wants “an Immigration Department adjudicator to rule him inadmissible so that they don’t have to screen his refugee claim” to begin the process of removing him from Canada.

Regardless of what happens to Vo, his presence in the country has further spurred on the mounting U.S.-Canada border security concerns, raising questions about how someone wanted as a fugitive in the U.S. could so easily gain entry. 

“I don’t like any part of what this man did,” Toronto lawyer Ari Goldkind told True North. “You can just run here and exhaust every appeal, every route and every admissibility criteria as opposed to a simple notion: You got sentenced in the states, you have to serve your sentence in the states.”

Vo entered Canada last spring to skirt his nine-month prison sentence and subsequently filed a refugee claim which cited his concerns of “torture and inhumane treatment by the USA government” that was accepted for assessment by the CBSA in December.

The CBSA is mandated to “assess the admissibility of persons coming to Canada and pursue investigations against persons in Canada who may be inadmissible.”

True North contacted the CBSA to inquire why Vo was not flagged as a wanted man in the U.S. at the border during the time of his crossing. 

“In this case, we can tell you that the CBSA does not have a record of Antony Vo entering Canada at Regway, SK or any other official port of entry,” CBSA spokesperson Karine Martel told True North.  

“The CBSA is also mandated, if information comes to light that an individual who entered Canada may be inadmissible, to launch an investigation and initiate appropriate enforcement action. Enforcement action may include the arrest and detention of an inadmissible individual, as authorized under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA).”

Martel went on to say: “We can confirm that Mr. Vo, a fugitive from U.S. justice, was arrested without incident in Whistler, BC on January 6, 2025 on warrant under the IRPA.”

Vo was arrested while on a snowboarding trip to Whistler, B.C. on Jan. 6 and has been staying in an immigration holding centre in Surrey, deemed as a flight risk by the adjudicator in his case. 

“I think that there was an argument that the participants in the Jan. 6 events were persecuted with semi-political trials and extraordinarily excessive sentences,” Montreal lawyer Julius Grey told True North. “But once a pardon is issued there is no more refugee claim.”

However, Vo must also face a separate charge for failing to report to jail in Indiana and a subsequent arrest warrant after he was apprehended in Canada.

Additionally, the phrasing of Trump’s executive order states that anyone “at or near” the Capitol be pardoned but its filing at least four years since the riots could preclude Vo’s latest charge from being covered. 

Tibbo referenced a separate Jan. 6 case where clemency covered “consequential connected offences,” which is his rationale for advising Vo not to abandon his refugee claim until it can be confirmed.

“It’s an insult to all the Jan. 6 people who did actually serve time in jail and I’m someone who thinks people have been well over-incarcerated or over-sented for Jan. 6.,” said Goldkind. 

Vo’s final option would then be to re-apply for refugee status on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.

Still, Goldkind takes issue with Canada being a country that leaves the door open for people “simply wanting to avoid their sentence.”

“Our country continues to seem to be a dumping ground. Now, this guy’s not a terrorist, he’s probably not a bad guy but why do we have no border? Why is there no ability to get rid of anybody?” he asked.

Major Kelowna bridge shut down after man blocks traffic, issues explosive online threats

By
Alex Zoltan, True North Wire
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Source: Facebook

A man “in crisis” in Kelowna parked his vehicle lengthwise across two lanes on the William R. Bennett Bridge, shutting down the vital roadway that connects Kelowna to West Kelowna, the RCMP said. 

Police responded to a call early Monday morning after they said a middle aged man who claims to be a taxi driver from Penticton blocked the lanes and lit a small fire inside the vehicle. Further investigation revealed the man made disturbing social media posts hours earlier.

“The doors of this vehicle have been sealed shut so don’t even think that you will be able to open them up,” stated Roy Winter in a Facebook post. “If you try just remember the phrase I will introduce you to GOD at the same time I introduce myself … Inside this vehicle is 60 pounds of highly volatile material that requires nothing more than a stupid human to make a simple mistake and regret their decision.” 

In the rambling statement, Winter blamed Kelowna RCMP, the Hell’s Angels and Kelowna Cabs for his frustrations and subsequent actions this morning.

A bomb squad from Vancouver was brought in to handle the bizarre situation. Winter has been taken into custody and the car was removed after explosives experts determined it was safe. The bridge remains closed.

The William R. Bennett bridge is a vital chokepoint for Kelowna. Ron Berlie, president of Penticton Search and Rescue, told CBC earlier today that his team responded to several reports of vehicles being stranded on forest service roads as people try to navigate around the closure.

According to multiple sources, firefighters had to ferry medical workers from the western shores of Okanagan Lake to hospitals in Kelowna to maintain health care services.

Poilievre calls to deport temporary residents involved in violence or hate crimes

By
Isaac Lamoureux, True North Wire
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Source: Facebook

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has called for the deportation of temporary residents carrying out violent or hate crimes in Canada.

His comments came during the Holocaust memorial ceremony in Ottawa, to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.

Poilievre revealed that hate crimes inspired by antisemitism and “woke ideologies” had increased by over 100% in Canada before Oct. 7. Following Hamas’ brutal terrorist attack and murder of 1,200 Israelis—marking the largest assault on Jews since the Holocaust—Poilievre said that hate crimes had increased by 251%, with Jews being the primary victims.

“We must not just condemn these things. We must take action against them,” said Poilievre. “We must deport from our country any temporary resident that is here on a permit or a visa that is carrying out violence or hate crimes on our soil.”

Even before Hamas’ attack, Jewish people accounted for 70% of all religiously motivated hate crimes in 2023, despite making up less than 1% of Canada’s population.

Poilievre continued by calling out numerous examples of antisemitism in the country.

He said it was “obscene” that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps remained legal in Canada for four years after killing 55 citizens on flight PS752. The Liberals finally listed them as a terrorist organization in June 2024, six years after the House of Commons first called for it.

Poilievre added that it was “outrageous” that an estimated 700 IRGC officials remain on Canadian soil.

Poilievre said the federal government should also be condemned for giving anti-racism grants to people like Laith Marouf despite a history of hate speech and extremist views. Poilievre also criticized the appointment of Birju Dattani to head the Canadian Human Rights Commission despite his past anti-Israel activism. 

“We must stand up against these outrages and stand for bringing our people together, united in our common values, our common freedom, and our common love for our country and for humanity,” said Poilievre. “Because in the end, we know Jewish people will prevail. We know the State of Israel will live on. We as Canadians must live on as allies and friends so that when we say ‘Never Again,’ we mean it.”

True North compiled a list of seven times the Liberals appeased Hamas and its supporters since the Oct. 7 attack. 

The Conservative Party of Canada also released a statement from Poilievre on Monday, International Holocaust Remembrance Day. 

Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order ordering the deportation of non-U.S. citizens involved in terrorism or espousing hateful ideologies.

“It is the policy of the United States to protect its citizens from aliens who intend to commit terrorist attacks, threaten our national security, espouse hateful ideology, or otherwise exploit the immigration laws for malevolent purposes,” reads the order.

Since the order was signed, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been raiding homes and deporting illegal aliens who were previously protected under sanctuary jurisdictions by the previous government.

One of the illegal immigrants apprehended by ICE had 17 criminal convictions in recent years.

Majority of B.C. NDP cabinet ministers reported empty work calendars or didn’t file at all

By
Clayton DeMaine, True North Wire
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Source: Facebook

The majority of British Columbia’s newly minted NDP cabinet ministers and parliamentary secretaries have published either empty work calendars or have outright refused to disclose them – potentially flouting requirements under freedom of information laws. 

Despite not being set to sit in the legislature until Feb. 18, Eby gave a pay raise to his caucus to nearly all of his cabinet ministers except for one MLA, Rohini Arora. The legislature hasn’t met since May 16.

According to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, Eby’s new cabinet will put B.C. taxpayers on the hook for at least $1.9 million after hiring an enlarged number of cabinet appointees—the B.C. NDP voted to give ministers an additional $60,000 top-up to their base salary of $120,000.

Ministers of the state will receive an additional $42,000 and parliamentary secretaries can bank on an extra $18,000 to their base salary.

The B.C. government is required by law to reveal the schedules to the public. According to the calendar information obtained by the B.C. Conservatives the schedules show that Eby only had one single reported cabinet meeting in November following their victory, and it skipped one other meeting. 

Nine parliamentary secretaries reported “no work-related meetings or calls whatsoever.”

Ministers, ministers of state, and parliamentary secretaries are required to release their work calendars per the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act within 45 days of the month in question.

B.C. Conservatives allege that seven of Eby’s cabinet ministers, two ministers of state and four parliamentary secretaries breached the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act by not revealing their November schedules to the public.

They said most new cabinet ministers posted empty schedules or “withheld the records.”

“Parliamentary secretaries who turned in ‘NIL’ calendars, and those who reported no work-related meetings or calls at all, need to explain themselves,” Milobar said. 

Jessie Sunner, the Parliamentary Secretary for Anti-Racism Initiatives, reported only two working hours in November and was the only parliamentary secretary to report meetings with her respective cabinet minister at the Ministry of the Attorney General.

Among those who did not withdraw meeting records, six parliamentary secretaries submitted “nothing-to-report” in their filings.

The B.C. NDP government did not respond to True North’s requests to comment.

“What’s obvious from these records is that David Eby gave his entire caucus a big pay raise, and then they mostly went on vacation on the taxpayer’s dime,” B.C. Conservative Finance Critic Peter Milobar said in the statement released by his party.

B.C. NDP Minister of Education and Childcare Lisa Beare is one of the 13 who allegedly withheld their scheduling information following the NDP victory.

“Lisa Beare can’t claim ignorance of her freedom of information obligations. She oversaw FOI as former Minister of Citizens’ Services and introduced one of the calendar directives herself,” said Milobar. “Beare has worked extensively on the FOI file – after all, she’s also the one who introduced $10 processing fees for freedom of information requests.”

Beare did not respond to True North’s requests to comment.

“These NDP MLAs all received promotions and pay bumps from David Eby, but they have chosen to blatantly ignore their obligations as elected officials,” Milobar said. “Are they hiding something?

The Candice Malcolm Show | A Preview of Trump’s Wrath

By
Candice Malcolm
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Source: Facebook

U.S. President Donald Trump showed the world how serious he is when it comes to immigration and national security. Trump tried to deport a group of Colombian criminals back to Colombia, but was stopped by the socialist President. Trump responded by unleashing a host of threats, and the Colombian government quickly folded and took the criminals back. This shows that Trump means business, and that he’s willing to fight back against those who stand in the way of his agenda.

On today’s episode of the Candice Malcolm Show, Candice discusses what Canada can learn from this episode and why we should work with Trump, not against him. She analyzes Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s response to a potential trade war, discusses the Ontario election, and looks at the state of the Liberal Leadership race.

Later in the show, Candice is joined by Julien Newman – an NDP strategist and former advisor to previous leaders Jack Layton and Thomas Mulcair – and they discuss his efforts to force an election and his ongoing feud with NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh.

Conservatives condemn Trudeau’s reported plan to stack Senate on his way out

By
Isaac Lamoureux, True North Wire
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Source: Facebook

The Conservative Party of Canada is calling on Liberal leadership candidates to oppose Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s alleged plan to stack the Senate with Liberal partisans shortly before his resignation.

The party said that to shield democracy, Trudeau should wait until a general election so that Senate appointments occur while a government with a public mandate holds office. Instead, as originally reported by CBC, Trudeau plans to fill ten Senate vacancies. 

These vacancies will be filled with Liberal partisans who won’t need to retire until they’re 75 years old, said the Conservatives.

“This is just another instance of classic Liberal party arrogance that Canadians have become used to after nine years of their government,” wrote the Conservatives in a press release. “The last thing Canadians need is more lame-duck senators tied to Justin Trudeau who pretend to be independent.”

The selection process is reportedly already underway and the Senators should be appointed before Trudeau’s resignation officially takes place upon a new Liberal leader and prime minister being named on Mar. 9.

According to CBC, Trudeau has appointed 90 senators since he took power in 2015, at which point there were 22 vacancies. The ten positions to fill as of Feb. 2 are due to retirements. Comparatively, former prime minister Stephen Harper appointed 59 senators during his nine years in office.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith formerly said that Trudeau appointing “left-wing partisans” over the province’s elected nominees was undemocratic. Trudeau appointed two senators he chose who both previously contributed to the Liberal Party of Canada instead of the two who won nomination via the province’s non-binding election.

“Both of them should be sitting representing us in Ottawa, as opposed to a radical, extreme, LGBT activist, as well as a radical extreme fundraiser for the Liberals for a long time,” said Smith of her overlooked candidates.

This was not the first time Trudeau overlooked Alberta’s Senate elections. Hehas a history of appointing Senators with partisan ties to the Liberals. 

CEO of the Canadian Coalition for Firearms Rights, Rod Giltaca, warned of the development.

“Stacking the Senate with dangerous lunatics has consequences. No other government has acted like this in the history of the country,” said Giltaca. “Trudeau continues to prove he is as malevolent and toxic as his critics say he is.”

The Conservatives called on Liberal leadership contenders to speak out against the Senate stacking immediately. The party also requested hopefuls to leave the appointments vacant until a new government is elected.

The party called out one candidate by name.

“Instead of continuing to hide from the media, Carbon Tax Carney must immediately tell Canadians whether he will oppose Trudeau’s lame-duck appointments in the Senate,” said the party. “If he is not on Team Trudeau, he will say publicly that these new appointments should wait until after a new government receives a democratic mandate from Canadians.”

Various Conservative MPs echoed the concerns of the party and Giltaca.

“Trudeau is hellbent on entrenching his damning and radical policies for decades to come through this wave of handpicked appointments,” said Conservative MP Dan Mazier. 

Conservative MP Dan Albas highlighted that the prorogation of Parliament did not affect the ability to appoint Senators.

“The great arrogance to do this on the way out the door. This is a man who knows no shame,” said Albas.

Smith made a similar analogy about Trudeau regarding the oil and gas cap. 

“Once again, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is putting reckless policy ahead of the needs and concerns of everyday Canadians. I made note that he would do this on his way out the door. It’s like a bad renter who’s burning the furniture on their way out,” she said.

True North reached out to Carney and Trudeau for comment but received no reply.

The Daily Brief | Canadians should “bear the sacrifice” of Canada’s response to U.S. tariffs

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
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Source: Facebook

Justin Trudeau’s trade minister is warning Canadians to “bear the sacrifice” of the government’s response to U.S. tariffs.

Plus, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith ranked the highest in a new provincial report card on fiscal management.

And over half of Canadians are feeling “financially paralyzed” as costs continue to rise, according to a new RBC study.

Tune into The Daily Brief with Cosmin Dzsurdzsa and Isaac Lamoureux!

Liberal party disqualifies MP Chandra Arya from leadership race

By
Noah Jarvis, True North Wire
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Source: ParlVu

Liberal party leadership hopeful Chandra Arya says his party will not be permitting him to run in its leadership contest. 

Arya announced his disqualification in an X post on Sunday, thanking those that decided to support his campaign while questioning the legitimacy of the Liberal leadership race.

“Today, I was informed by the Liberal Party of Canada that I will not be permitted to enter the leadership race. While I await their official communication, I am carefully considering my next steps,” said Arya.

“This decision raises significant questions about the legitimacy of the leadership race and, by extension, the legitimacy of the next Prime Minister of Canada.”

The Liberal party has not issued any public communication regarding their decision to disqualify Arya – the Liberal MP for Nepean since 2015. True North reached out to the Liberals for comment, though no response was received.

Arya was among the first entrants in the Liberal leadership race, running an unconventional platform for a Liberal politician.

The Nepean MP pledged to take the party in a radically new direction, proposing to abolish the monarchy, scrap DEI standards for cabinet appointments, raise the age of retirement, and cut the size of government.

In an interview with the CBC, Arya claimed that his inability to speak French was not a problem and downplayed the importance of the French language to the people of Quebec.

“The point is that whether the Quebecers or English Canadians, it’s not the language that matters it’s what is that is delivered to them,” said Arya.

Arya’s campaign received reception, with some Liberals horrified by his comments about French  while other Liberals were encouraged by his willingness to change the party’s direction.

Much of the conservative commentariat was amused by Arya’s campaign, reacting to his various policies with mockery or tepid praise. 

The field of candidates now includes former central banker Mark Carney, former finance minister Chrystia Freeland, former government House leader Karina Gould, Sydney––Victoria MP Jamie Battiste, former MP Frank Baylis, and former MP Ruby Dhalla.

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