Conservatives are surging in the polls across the country. Not only are Poilievre’s Conservatives in firm majority territory but even provincial Conservative parties are becoming increasingly popular.
According to the most recent polls, if an election were held today, Poilievre would win a sweeping majority, and Justin Trudeau’s Liberals would be relegated to 3rd or possibly even 4th place – behind the Bloc Quebecois and neck and neck with the NDP.
But there won’t be an election anytime soon. Why? Because NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh wouldn’t dare trigger an election until he becomes eligible for his golden pension – in 2025.
The Libs are cooking up a new scheme to ensure that even more of their MPs become eligible for the multi-million dollar, taxpayer-funded life-long pension.
On today’s episode of the Candice Malcolm Show, Candice is joined by pollster and Conservative insider Hamish Marshall. They discuss political trends, proposed changes to the Election Act, the problems with mail-in ballots and voter fraud.
They also talk about British Columbia politics, where a seismic shift has seen the BC Conservatives surge from obscurity to contender in the upcoming October provincial election.
The gun “buyback” the Liberals announced four years ago, which was supposed to be completed by 2022, has so far racked up $42 million in costs without even confiscating a single gun. Even so, the government is still committed to this approach, which is squarely aimed at registered and legally-owned firearms, and not those overwhelmingly used in gun crime. True North’s Andrew Lawton says it’s bad news for taxpayers, but good news for lawful gun owners.
Also, a new study from the Fraser Institute shows that government spending and public sector employment are on the rise in almost all provinces – meaning government is getting bigger and bigger with no end in sight. Andrew unpacks the numbers with Jake Fuss, the Fraser Institute’s fiscal studies director.
Plus, city councillors in the British Columbia city of Quesnel have condemned the mayor’s wife for, as a private citizen, distributing copies of the True North-published book “Grave Error,” a scholarly work pushing back at the mainstream narrative on residential schools. One of the co-editors, Professor Tom Flanagan, joins the show to discuss.
A True North exclusive reveals the ombudsman overseeing Canada’s public broadcaster recently ruled that a report linking conservative US commentator Ben Shapiro to extremists and far-right groups was “sustainable” and fair.
Plus, despite the Ontario government’s attempts to weed out far-left terms from government, a study found that the public school system was riddled with references to critical race theory and similar ideas.
And Canada was ranked dead last among 10 high income countries when it comes to access to primary care physicians.
Tune into The Daily Brief with Cosmin Dzsurdzsa and Noah Jarvis!
Tucker Carlson isn’t only adept at drawing crowds in Alberta – he’s also good for business, according to one Alberta credit union.
Membership at Bow Valley Credit Union has expanded after it was the headline sponsor for the conservative commentator’s widely publicized Canadian tour earlier this year.
The credit union has seen a 3% growth in memberships since Carlson’s Jan. 24 talks in Calgary and Edmonton.
Bow Valley CEO Brett Oland said the growth comes despite legacy media outlets saying the partnership negatively impacted the credit union.
“Since the (mainstream media) started with their vitriol towards (Bow Valley), new membership continues to speed up as we hold firm with our position,” Oland told True North.
The growth totals 356 new business and personal accounts and equals more than $26 million in new deposits. In contrast, Bow Valley lost 17 accounts and just over $400,000 in deposits.
In February, the Cochrane Eagle criticized Bow Valley for sponsoring the Carlson events and reported that the Airdrie-Cochrane NDP would be moving funds from the credit union in protest.
Meanwhile, the Rocky Mountain Outlook’s Local Journalism Initiative reporter — referring to journalists’ whose salaries are paid for by the federal government — accused Bow Valley of “coming under fire for a so-called marketing strategy to expand its membership – and working – in socially conservative circles.”
The article referred to Carlson as a commentator who is “often criticized for disseminating harmful rhetoric and misinformation.”
It also quoted a letter to the editor published in the Outlook accusing Bow Valley of sponsoring a “high-profile U.S. conspiracy theorist who mocks Canadian diversity, opposes immigration, and preaches divisiveness, fear and hatred.”
Oland said there might be more account closures over the Tucker Carlson event, adding that dissenters “are principled to a point.”
“As deposit or loan terms expire, they may exit but are not inclined to leave money on the table and break terms on deposits/loans to gain access to funds/loans immediately,” he said. “To me, this shows their commitment to their cause is pretty weak.”
Bow Valley has also been lambasted by the Credit Union Deposit Guarantee Corp., which oversees Alberta’s 13 credit unions for stockpiling gold and silver. The credit union owns about one-third of a tonne of precious metals to protect against inflation and a federal bank collapse.
In January, Credit Union Deposit Guarantee Corp. told the Globe and Mail it had advised Bow Valley to cease publishing content that may undermine member confidence in the federal/provincial banking systems.
“We advised BVCU that the credit union legislation in Alberta does not support BVCU’s precious metals initiative.”
The carbon tax revolt continues with a wave of protests against the Trudeau government’s controversial policy is set to unfold across Canada, including on Parliament Hill.
The protests will happen Apr. 1, the same day the carbon tax is set to rise by 23% from $65 per tonne to $80 per tonne.
In Ottawa, local organizers have received a permit to hold a rally in front of Parliament. The permit authorizes, among other things, the use of two 300-watt speakers and flags.
Nationwide Protest Against the Carbon Tax
For those in Ottawa and surrounding areas, a permit has been approved for April 1st on Parliament Hill.
They, however, say the blockades will not be total like the ones seen in Alberta and Southern Ontario during the Freedom Convoy. “At least one centre lane (will be) open for traffic.”
Highway demonstrations are currently planned in the suburbs of Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal — in addition to border towns like Lloydminster.
Some small town rallies are also being planned.
In Lloydminster, the blockade will see the right lanes of Highway 16 shut down for days. Organizers stress that they’ll make room for emergency vehicles.
Despite their disruptive plans, organizers say the event will be peaceful.
“This is a peaceful event aimed at uniting Canadians for a common cause & we will be holding the line indefinitely until our mission objective is achieved. Join us in this steadfast commitment to ensure our voices are heard, and our goals are realized,” organizers say.
A code of conduct found on the organizers’ website calls for respectful and peaceful behaviour, as well as respect for people’s diverse backgrounds.
“By adhering to these principles, our collective voice will resonate stronger and clearer. Let’s exemplify commitment, responsibility, and a desire for positive change,” the code reads.
A Facebook group promoting the national protests has also been set up, and currently has almost 150,000 members, suggesting great interest in the protests.
WOW: Almost 150,000 people have joined a Facebook Group on planned nationwide protests against Trudeau’s Carbon Tax that are set to take place on April 1. Il have more on that shortly. @TrueNorthCentrepic.twitter.com/tmoFLGKySG
In a statement to True North, Canadian Taxpayers Federation federal director Franco Terrazzano said he is pleased that Canadians are taking a stand against the carbon tax.
“But it’s great to see more and more Canadians standing up to fight the carbon tax,” he said. “Canadians are sick and tired of the federal government making our lives more expensive with the carbon tax.”
A spokesperson for Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre told True North that Poilievre supports “the right of all Canadians to lawful and peaceful protest” and will be hosting his own “axe the tax” rally in Nanaimo, B.C. Monday.
“With our ‘Spike the Hike’ campaign in full swing, Pierre Poilievre and common sense Conservative MPs have been taking our message directly to Canadians with massive rallies across the country, calling on Justin Trudeau and his Liberal-NDP costly coalition MPs to cancel their 23% carbon tax increase come April 1,” Sebastian Skamski said.
“Common sense Conservative MPs are also staging protests in Liberal and NDP held ridings – like in Thunder Bay and Cape Breton today – to bring the heat to costly coalition MPs and force them to confront Trudeau to stop his costly tax hike.”
According to a recent poll, 69% of Canadians oppose the planned carbon tax hike.
This story has been updated toinclude details about Pierre Poilievre’s plans for April 1 made available after this story was published.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed interest in purchasing liquified natural gas from Canada while on his first visit to Canada.
While giving an interview in Montreal on CTV’s Question Period the Greek prime minister said that his country was “of course” interested in buying LNG from Canada.
Mitsotakis’ visit marks the first time a Greek prime minister has travelled to Canada in over 40 years.
“We are a big entry point for LNG, not just for the Greek market, but also for the Balkans, for Eastern Europe,” said Mitsotakis. “Theoretically, we could even supply Ukraine.”
According to Natural Resources Canada, the country currently has eight LNG projects “in various stages of development” with the first export facility scheduled to begin exporting shipments to Asia in 2025.
However, shipping LNG to Europe has become a political bone of contention due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the response of many European countries to quit buying Russian oil.
“So in principle, yes, we are very interested in obtaining LNG at competitive prices,” continued Mitsotakis.
“As fast as we go in terms of our renewable penetration, we will still need a reliable source of electricity, and for us, for Greece, we don’t have nuclear, we’re practically, or completely, moving away from coal, so that leaves natural gas for the foreseeable future as a significant source of energy, for the production of electricity.”
Mitsotakis also said that “Canada is a country with which we share so many values,” which makes the country an “absolutely” ideal partner to buy energy from.
“Greece is mapping out a pragmatic transition from using coal to power its economy and wants Canadian LNG to be a part of their lower emission energy mix for the foreseeable future,” Lisa Baiton, the president and CEO of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, told True North.
“This is another key trading partner that has come to Canada looking for our LNG and we should be leveraging these opportunities for the betterment of the Canadian Economy and to help lower global emissions,” she added.
However, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has shown less interest in supplying LNG exports to Europe in the past, as it disrupts the Liberals’ long-term plan to supply clean energy.
Trudeau shut down interest from German Chancellor Olaf Sholz in August 2022 to significant backlash.
During German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s trip to Canada last year, Trudeau doubted there was a “worthwhile business case” to export gas to Germany from Canada’s east coast.
“There are a number of potential projects, including one in Saint John, and some others that are on the books for which there has never been a strong business case because of the distance from the gas fields,” claimed Trudeau.
“We are looking right now — and companies are looking — at whether or not, in the new context, it makes it a worthwhile business case, to make those investments. … It needs to make sense for Germany to be receiving LNG directly from the east coast.”
However, the Mitsotakis’ noted that the purpose of his trip was to discuss business opportunities and let Canada know that Greece is open for business.
“Greece has been making, I think, a rather impressive comeback economically, we’ve left the crisis behind us,” he said. “And I feel this is a good time to make the case also to the Canadian business community that they should take a good look at Greece and consider deploying capital there.”
It’s a message that workers in the LNG industry are eager to hear.
“Countries around the world are turning to LNG to lower their emissions and provide reliable and affordable energy to their citizens. Canada has a real opportunity to build an entirely new export industry for liquefied natural gas, bringing jobs, significant Indigenous participation and billions of dollars in investment to Canada,” said Baiton.
At the recent Junos in Halifax, Calgary musical duo Tegan and Sara level criticism at Premier Danielle Smith for banning transgender surgeries for minors.
The twin sisters aimed at what they described as the Alberta government’s “attack” on LGBTQ rights while accepting the Humanitarian Award for their foundation’s work.
The award was presented by Oscar-nominated transgender actor Elliot Page, who’s also a member of the Tegan and Sara Foundation Board.
The Tegan and Sara Foundation was founded in December 2016 by the Calgary natives following the United States presidential election to advocate for “economic justice, health, and representation for LGBTQ girls and women.”
Tegan and Sara have ten studio albums, earning a Grammy nomination in 2012 and winning various Juno Awards, along with a long list of other awards.
While accepting their Humanitarian Award on stage at the Junos this year for their foundation, the sisters switched the focus from music to trans rights.
“If the world were not so hostile to 2SLGBTQ+ people, we would see ourselves purely as musicians,” said Sara Quin, addressing the audience.
“We are dedicated to confronting any form of discrimination that threatens the well-being of our community, threats like the Alberta government’s attempt to prevent trans youth from accessing vital care. These attacks are harmful because they are directed at kids who need our support the most.”.
Smith announced banning top and bottom gender surgeries for children aged 17 and under in January. Alongside that announcement were prohibitions on the use of puberty blockers and hormone therapies for minors aged 15 and under. However, 16-year-old and 17-year-old minors would be able to commence hormone therapies with the purpose of gender reassignment with approval from parents, physicians, and psychologists.
Following Smith’s announcement, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre doubled down on his opposition to gender surgeries for children and praised Smith’s “common-sense protections.”
Poilievre accompanied his support for Smith with a National Post article containing a poll showing that approximately half of Canadians support banning gender reassignment surgeries and cross-sex hormones for children. Only 24% saw it as an “attack on transgender children.” An even lesser 11% believed that minors should be permitted to pursue gender reassignment surgery without parental consent.
Danielle Smith’s press secretary, Sam Blackett, responded to Tegan and Sara’s criticism of the Alberta government in a statement to True North.
“The government is introducing these policies across several ministries to preserve the choices children and youth have before potentially making life-altering and often irreversible adult decisions,” said Blackett.
He said that the province is providing additional support by bringing medical professionals specializing in transgender care to assist transgender adults in Alberta.
“We’re also developing a private registry of medical professionals who specialize in this field to make it easier for transgender Albertans to access needed medical treatment and care. Additionally, we’re developing a counselling pilot project to help youth identifying as transgender and their families work through often difficult and complex issues and discussions,” said Blackett.
Shark Tank star and the self-styled “Mr. Wonderful” Kevin O’Leary had some choice words for the “total incompetence” exhibited by the federal Liberal cabinet.
In his characteristically blunt style, O’Leary called for Trudeau to be fired on news anchor Daniela Cambone’s podcast. While they covered various economic and political topics, O’Leary’s most critical comments came during a discussion about Canada.
“Look at the natural resources the country has per capita. It’s one of the richest countries on earth, run by complete idiots,” he said.
O’Leary explained that it’s vital that Trudeau be thanked for his service and removed from office. While saying that Trudeau was the worst manager in Canada’s history, he’s not the only person that O’Leary blamed.
“Total incompetency underneath him in the cabinet seats. Total incompetency in almost every mandate. Absolutely the worst I’ve ever seen. The very, very, very worst,” said O’Leary.
Canadians are finally starting to wake up and realize just how poorly their country is being run, O’Leary explained.
O’Leary said, despite his criticisms, he wants to support Canada and is a big believer in its potential.
While speaking about one of Canada’s greatest resources, mining, O’Leary said investors can’t get anything done in Canada. He was responding to a question about how Canadian billionaires Pierre Lassonde and Frank Giustra were vocal with a media campaign urging the feds to invest pensions to fund Canadian mining, saying that the mining industry has been lost to foreign giants in China.
O’Leary said that with the revolutionization of AI, data centres are needed across the world. They require approximately 100MW of energy to operate, according to the Canadian businessman. He added that Canada has only 8% of what it needs, and the average AI data centre is a $3.6 billion project.
“Canada should have at least five of them. There are none of them going on right now because you can’t get energy permits. That’s controlled by Trudeau’s government. And so, you don’t even try. You wouldn’t even waste your time trying to go through the regulatory process of getting a permit issued,” he said.
O’Leary added that Canada can’t change directions until Trudeau is removed from office
“No one is going to risk capital there. You cannot get anything done in Canada, not in mining, not in data centres, not in anything to do with the federal government,” said O’Leary. “They are crippling the Canadian economy with mismanagement.”
O’Leary said that no matter the measure you analyze during Trudeau’s tenure, things have progressively worsened yearly.
“It’s so important that he be swapped out. It’s just the most important thing Canadians can do. They could vote for anybody else and do better. Anybody else.”
True North reached out to the Prime Minister’s Office for comment but received no response.
Conservative pundit Dave Rubin says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should be incarcerated over his decision to freeze protester bank accounts during the Freedom Convoy.
During a Monday episode of The Dave Rubin Show, Rubin called Trudeau a “horrible communist” who “should be in jail.”
Political commentator Dave Rubin calls PM Trudeau “the worst sort of authoritarian leader,” and says Trudeau “should be in jail.” pic.twitter.com/lrBKG82fEn
Rubin spoke about how governments will often test the limits of their people to see how far they can erode the rights of their citizenry before getting a reaction.
He referenced comments made by Jordan Peterson on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast several years ago, where Peterson broke down how authoritarian regimes will only push a little bit at a time so that it doesn’t seem like a sacrifice. However, over time people wind up being in a place they would never have agreed to initially.
Rubin cited the Trudeau government’s implementation of vaccine passports and other measures in 2021 as an example of this kind of tactic.
“Do you remember when Justin Trudeau, the horrible communist with the nice socks up in Canada? Remember when he became the worst sort of authoritarian leader during COVID because a couple people, some truckers, wanted to open up the country?” asked Rubin. “And what did he do? He froze their bank accounts.”
It was through the invocation of the Emergencies Act that the Trudeau government justified freezing the bank accounts of those opposing COVID-19 mandates during the three-week-long Freedom Convoy protest in Ottawa in February 2022.
“They test you, and then they see, and then they push you again,” said Rubin. “That was only two years ago. Do you think they’re done with all that?”
Political commentator Dave Rubin says he opposes a central bank digital currency, citing Canada as an example of why people should want a decentralized system. pic.twitter.com/lEDc9iih3C
“He should be in jail,” said Rubin, referring to Trudeau. “If there was a just society, which there isn’t, he would be in jail.”
Chirs Barber, an organizer of the Freedom Convoy still on trial for his role in the protest, among numerous plaintiffs suing the federal government for freezing their bank accounts after a Federal Court finding that the Emergencies Act was unconstitutional and unreasonable.
Last night at the Juno Awards, Canadians were presented with a new question to ponder about Canadian culture and Canadian music: what makes Canadian music Canadian?
Although that might seem like a simple question to some, the Liberal establishment who want you to believe that foreign music sung completely in a foreign language to Canadians and performed by non-Canadians is now Canadian music.
An Indian born singer Karan Aujla, who is not even a citizen of Canada, performed a Punjabi song last night and even won a Juno Award. What does this mean for the future of Canadian music if foreign music that has no connection to Canada is now considered Canadian?
And of course, it wouldn’t be a leftist event without a healthy serving of gender ideology politics and far-left activism, which were proudly displayed last night as some representation of Canadian culture.
Watch the latest episode of Ratio’d with Harrison Faulkner.
Alberta credit union sees $26 million in new deposits after sponsoring Tucker Carlson
Tucker Carlson isn’t only adept at drawing crowds in Alberta – he’s also good for business, according to one Alberta credit union.
Membership at Bow Valley Credit Union has expanded after it was the headline sponsor for the conservative commentator’s widely publicized Canadian tour earlier this year.
The credit union has seen a 3% growth in memberships since Carlson’s Jan. 24 talks in Calgary and Edmonton.
Bow Valley CEO Brett Oland said the growth comes despite legacy media outlets saying the partnership negatively impacted the credit union.
“Since the (mainstream media) started with their vitriol towards (Bow Valley), new membership continues to speed up as we hold firm with our position,” Oland told True North.
The growth totals 356 new business and personal accounts and equals more than $26 million in new deposits. In contrast, Bow Valley lost 17 accounts and just over $400,000 in deposits.
In February, the Cochrane Eagle criticized Bow Valley for sponsoring the Carlson events and reported that the Airdrie-Cochrane NDP would be moving funds from the credit union in protest.
Meanwhile, the Rocky Mountain Outlook’s Local Journalism Initiative reporter — referring to journalists’ whose salaries are paid for by the federal government — accused Bow Valley of “coming under fire for a so-called marketing strategy to expand its membership – and working – in socially conservative circles.”
The article referred to Carlson as a commentator who is “often criticized for disseminating harmful rhetoric and misinformation.”
It also quoted a letter to the editor published in the Outlook accusing Bow Valley of sponsoring a “high-profile U.S. conspiracy theorist who mocks Canadian diversity, opposes immigration, and preaches divisiveness, fear and hatred.”
Oland said there might be more account closures over the Tucker Carlson event, adding that dissenters “are principled to a point.”
“As deposit or loan terms expire, they may exit but are not inclined to leave money on the table and break terms on deposits/loans to gain access to funds/loans immediately,” he said. “To me, this shows their commitment to their cause is pretty weak.”
Bow Valley has also been lambasted by the Credit Union Deposit Guarantee Corp., which oversees Alberta’s 13 credit unions for stockpiling gold and silver. The credit union owns about one-third of a tonne of precious metals to protect against inflation and a federal bank collapse.
In January, Credit Union Deposit Guarantee Corp. told the Globe and Mail it had advised Bow Valley to cease publishing content that may undermine member confidence in the federal/provincial banking systems.
“We advised BVCU that the credit union legislation in Alberta does not support BVCU’s precious metals initiative.”