U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has suggested that NHL legend Wayne Gretzky replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as the new “governor of Canada” after the two shared a holiday visit on Christmas Day.
“I just left Wayne Gretzky, ‘The Great One’ as he is known in ice-hockey circles,” wrote Trump in a social media post on Wednesday.
“I said, ‘Wayne, why don’t you run for prime minister of Canada, soon to be known as the governor of Canada — you would win easily, you wouldn’t even have to campaign.’ He had no interest,” he continued.
Trump’s “governor” reference has been an ongoing joke at Trudeau’s expense that began after the prime minister travelled to his Mar-A-Lago estate in Florida to discuss impending tariffs on Canadians imports.
President-elect Donald Trump endorses Wayne Gretzky to be the next Canadian Prime Minister pic.twitter.com/mwzUbT2a0Z
Trump reportedly told Trudeau at their dinner in Florida in reference to the proposed tariffs, that “If Canada can’t survive without ripping off the U.S. to the tune of US$100-billion a year, then maybe Canada should become the 51st state.”
The tariffs are a punitive measure in response to what the Trump administration views as the Liberals’ failure to address border security concerns.
Trump has expressed concerns about the high volume irregular migrants and drugs, particularly fentanyl, that has been entering the U.S. from Canada in recent years.
The Trudeau government announced a suite of new measures to protect Canada’s southern border, including 24/7 surveillance with the use of “helicopters, drones and mobile surveillance towers.”
However, no timeline has been given as to when such measures will be implemented, nor if the government currently has the resources to enforce them.
The incumbent president went on to say that it would be “fun to watch” if Canadians would start a movement to “DRAFT WAYNE GRETZKY” for the position.
Gretzky has endorsed Conservative politicians in the past such as former prime minister Stephen Harper, whom he once called an “unreal prime minister” that has been “wonderful to the whole country.”
He also publicly supported former Ontario Progressive Conservative leader Patrick Brown during his leadership run in 2015.
New year, same plan from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau: take more money from Canadians.
In 2025, Trudeau will again take more money out of the pockets of Canadians through higher payroll taxes, while also making life more expensive with carbon and alcohol tax hikes.
Trudeau is raising the mandatory Canada Pension Plan and Employment Insurance contributions in 2025. These payroll tax hikes will cost a worker up to an additional $403 in 2025.
Federal payroll taxes will cost a worker making $81,200 or more a total of $5,507 in 2025. Their employer will also be forced to pay $5,938.
On April 1, Trudeau will again crank up his carbon tax to 21 cents per litre of gasoline, 25 cents per litre of diesel, and 18 cents per cubic metre of natural gas.
The Trudeau government claims “families are going to be better off” with its carbon tax and rebates. But the government’s own non-partisan, independent budget watchdog shows the government is using magic math.
The carbon tax will cost the average family up to $477 more than the rebates they get back in 2025, according to the Parliamentary Budget Officer.
The government also charges its sales tax on top of the carbon tax. This carbon tax-on-tax will cost Canadians $500 million in 2025. And the government doesn’t even pretend to rebate that money back.
You could be forgiven if Trudeau’s tax hikes drive you to drink. But Trudeau will be reaching deeper into your pockets next year when you pick up that case of Canadian, bottle of pinot or mickey of rum.
On April 1, Trudeau will again hike alcohol taxes by two per cent, costing taxpayers about $40 million. And even that downplays the impact of Trudeau’s booze tax binge.
In 2017, Trudeau imposed an alcohol escalator tax that automatically increases excise taxes on beer, wine and spirits every year without a vote in Parliament. Since being imposed, the alcohol escalator tax has cost taxpayers more than $900 million, according to Beer Canada.
And don’t forget about the tax hikes Trudeau imposed following his most recent budget.
University of Calgary economist Jack Mintz estimates “1.26 million Canadians (almost five per cent of taxpayers) will be affected by the increase in the capital gain tax on individuals, half of whom earn less than $117,000 per year.”
Mintz also estimates that because of the capital gains tax increase, “Canada’s capital stock will fall by $127 billion; employment would decline by 414,000; GDP will fall by almost $90 billion; and real per capita GDP will decline by three per cent.”
In June 2024, the government also imposed an online streaming tax and a digital services tax.
The online streaming tax requires “online streaming services to contribute five per cent of their Canadian revenues to support the Canadian broadcasting system” and will cost “an estimated $200 million per year.”
The digital services tax targets large companies operating online marketplaces, social media platforms and businesses earning revenue from online advertising, such as Amazon, Google, Facebook, Uber and Airbnb.
Canadians should expect to pay more to stream our favourite music and shop online because of these new taxes.
“As Canada’s affordability crisis remains a significant challenge, the government needs to avoid adding to this burden,” Graham Davies, president and CEO of the Digital Media Association warned about the online streaming tax.
“An economic impact assessment of the French digital services tax shows that about 55 per cent of the total tax burden will be passed on to consumers, 40 per cent to online vendors and only five per cent borne by the digital companies targeted by the new tax,” according to the Tax Foundation.
Instead of taking more money from Canadians’ pockets, Trudeau should take a look at his polling numbers and reflect on why Canadians are fed up. Then he should cut taxes.
Franco Terrazzano is the federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation
On the final episode of Ratio’d for 2024, Harrison Faulkner hands out the year-end Ratio of the Year prizes. We have a podium finish, including some honourable mentions for some of the weirdest and strangest social media videos you’ve ever seen.
Thank you to everyone for supporting the show this year.
Keeping track of all the stories throughout the year can be overwhelming, and some impactful stories could easily slip through the cracks.
You might remember things like the government’s misappropriation of green tech funds, which halted Parliament for months, foreign interference in Canada’s elections or big stories like the Federal Court finding the use of the Emergencies Act in 2022 unconstitutional.
So here’s a list of some of those stories which you might have forgotten about throughout the year.
CityNews quietly walks back claims that 215 “unmarked graves” were discovered at Kamloops residential school
Kamloops Indian Residential School students. New York Times.
CityNews Vancouver quietly erased a false report it made that 215 graves were uncovered at the Kamloops Indian Residential School site in 2021. The outlet was hit with a community note on X for posts which wrongly claimed that “hundreds of unmarked graves” were discovered at the site.
City News edited the piece to include the word “suspected” about the supposed discovery.
The article initially said, “May 27 marks a grim anniversary. Three years ago Monday, hundreds of unmarked graves were discovered at a residential school site in Kamloops.”
It was amended to read instead, “May 27 marks a grim anniversary. Three years ago Monday, the Tk’emlups te Secwépemc First Nation released the preliminary findings of its investigation, saying hundreds of suspected unmarked graves were discovered at a residential school site in Kamloops.”
Despite the reports, no graves have been confirmed at the site more than three years after the announcement. The announcement precipitated over a hundred suspected arsons and vandalism incidents targeting churches since the incident.
Nudist GTA swimming club offered free membership to children aged 14 to 18 without parental supervision
Source: X
The GTA Skinny Dippers Club advertised its minor inclusive nude swim times at this year’s Trans March in Toronto. The group offered free memberships to children under the age of 18 while promoting that those aged 14 to 18 could swim naked with adults without being accompanied by a parent or guardian.
The group later changed its website to no longer show illustrations of naked children and photos of the nude backsides of children with their families and removed some of the controversial rules from the site following public outrage.
Chrystia Freeland met with an undeclared mystery lobbyist at the World Economic Forum
Source: World Economic Forum
Back in January, the then deputy prime minister, Chrystia Freeland, told the World Economic Forum summit in Davos that she had spoken to an ambiguous “very significant international business leader.”
She said that the decarbonization of Canada would mean more jobs, growth, and manufacturing, and she spoke to a “big investor in Canada” the day before the WEF summit.
“He said to me ‘All the countries in the world need to be very careful that decarbonization does not mean deindustrialization.’ I thought that was an extremely smart comment,” said Freeland.
Freeland did not register the meeting with the mystery WEF-affiliated investor.
The World Health Organization fails to draft a global pandemic treaty
Source: WHO
The World Health Organization attempted to have its member nations, including Canada, sign a global pandemic treaty, which, among other things, would have given the WHO authority over each country’s responses to the next global health crisis.
The treaty, criticized as overreach by an international body that would strip Canada of its sovereignty, ultimately failed to pass.
However, it only failed because the WHO’s member nations disagreed on a draft. The WHO has signalled that it will try to reintroduce another draft of the pandemic treaty in the near future.
Canada’s contributions to the global discussion around the treaty largely centred on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion principles.
Feds quietly pay $36 million toward COVID shot compensation fund
Source: Unsplash
Despite repeating the line that the COVID shots were “safe and effective,” throughout the pandemic, the Liberal government set aside tens of millions in compensation for COVID vaccine-related injuries.
The federal government added $36 million to its Vaccine Injury Support Program, though only 6% of the vaccine injury claimants had been paid as of April this year.
In January, the vaccine compensation fund paid out $11,236,314 in compensation to 138 families. True North spoke to Ross Wightman, one vaccine injury survivor who was paid $250,000 from the fund after developing Guillain-Barré syndrome from taking an AstraZeneca vaccine.
Wightman will likely never be able to work again and is a living example that the COVID vaccine was not “safe” for everyone.
The vast majority of the world’s population has seen their freedoms erode from 2020-2022 and Canada is not an exception.
The annual Human Freedom Index from the Fraser Institute measures and ranks all of the countries of the world on how much freedom their citizens have based on measures of economic and personal freedom.
2024’s Human Freedom Index measures developments as recent as 2022 and places Canada as the 11th freest country in the world, up from 14th in last year’s index.
Canada’s freedom score strengthened from the year prior, improving from Canada’s lowest score ever of 8.48 to 8.74.
The study scores countries based on 12 metrics including rule of law, security and safety, size of government, sound money, and regulation, with a variety of more granular subcategories.
Before the pandemic, Canada’s freedom score never dropped below 8.78, reaching the highest score on the freedom index in 2000 with a score of 8.96.
On the personal freedom metric, Canada ranks 16/165 countries, reaching a score of 9.28 while Canada ranks 8/165 on economic freedom with a score of 7.99. Canada’s main impediments to achieving a higher score are the rule of law and the size of government, scoring especially poorly on government consumption and top marginal tax rate metrics.
Canada ranks just ahead of notable countries like Japan who have a score of 8.73, Germany with a score of 8.67, and the United States and the United Kingdom which both have a score of 8.64.
The countries that cracked the top ten are Switzerland, New Zealand, Denmark, Luxembourg, Ireland, Finland, Sweden, Iceland, Australia, and Estonia.
The bottom ten countries on the list are Syria, Yemen, Iran, Myanmar, Sudan, Egypt, Venezuela, Somalia, Algeria, and Iraq. Notable jurisdictions ruled by authoritarian regimes that were not assessed include North Korea, Turkmenistan, Cuba, Eritrea, and Gaza.
Hong Kong’s score has notably dropped in recent years from a world leader in economic and personal freedoms to a middle-of-the-pack country since the People’s Republic of China reclaimed control over the city.
The report finds that human freedom had deteriorated sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide, with the global human freedom index average dropping from 6.98 to 6.73 in 2020.
Overall, the report estimates that 87.4% of the world’s population lives in jurisdictions where human freedom fell from 2019-2022. The drop in freedom affected countries with a variety of government regimes and economic circumstances, from democracies to autocracies, from rich countries to poor countries.
Alberta emerged as a defender of freedoms for its residents—and often all Canadians—often consisting of battles against the federal government or championing individual rights.
Some of the key ways the Alberta government fought for freedoms can be found below.
Sovereignty Act
Source: Alberta Govervnment
Though not a numbered list, we’d be remiss to start with anything but Alberta’s invocation of the Sovereignty Act – which was implemented to protect against federal overreach.
The Sovereignty Act was used for the first time on Nov. 27, 2023, in response to the Liberals’ program designed to mandate a net-zero electricity grid by 2035.
Almost exactly one year later, on Nov. 26, 2024, Alberta invoked the act once more to combat the Liberals’ oil and gas emissions cap.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith warned that the cap would cut one million barrels of oil daily by 2030 and that 150,000 Canadians would lose their jobs, reducing Canada’s GDP by up to $1 trillion between 2030 and 2040.
“Ottawa seems to think that they need to save us from ourselves, but they are wrong because we’re not just working with industry to continue to drive down emissions; we’re succeeding at it. Alberta already has a system in place that is working,” said Smith. “Emissions per barrel are declining even as production and contribution to GDP grows. Alberta’s energy industry doesn’t just provide jobs to Albertans but to Canadians all across our country. And it doesn’t just power Alberta’s economy, it powers Canada’s.”
Alberta Bill of Rights
Alberta Legislative Assembly Building
– Source: X
Alberta’s United Conservative Party is in the midst of introducing 13 bills this legislative session that are set to protect personal autonomy, property rights, and legal firearm ownership.
Among the legislation is the Alberta Bill of Rights Amendment Act.
The Alberta Bill of Rightshad not been significantly updated since its introduction in 1972.
There is some overlap between the Alberta legislation and the federal Charter, which was adopted a decade later, but a notable point of divergence is the Alberta Bill of Rights’ guarantee of property rights and the right of parents to make informed decisions about their children’s education.
The 2024 changes include the right for Albertans not to be subjected to or coerced into receiving medical care, treatment, or procedure without consent. It includes the right not to be compelled or coerced into not taking a vaccine. Freedom of expression rights were expanded beyond written and spoken language to include other expressive activities. Additionally, rights to acquire, keep, and use firearms were added to reinforce the right to lawful firearm ownership. Property rights were also expanded.
The amendments took effect Dec. 5, 2024.
Other bills were passed in Dec. that strengthen parental rights, promote fairness in sports, and prevent minors from undergoing irreversible gender transitions and are expected to come into effect on Sep. 1, 2025.
Exporting Alberta’s Bill of Rights changes
Source: True North
Speaking at True North Nation, Smith called on her federal counterpart, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, to follow her lead and amend the Canadian Bill of Rightsto strengthen protections that may be absent in the Charter.
“I think that we should stop looking at the Charter of Rights and Freedoms as the full, comprehensive expression of all rights and freedoms we are endowed with,” said Smith.
The premier said she believed Poilievre could make these amendments if he’s elected prime minister without having a huge constitutional discussion.
“I think we’re entering an era now where people are demanding that their governments respect them and not treat them the way they were treated during that terrible COVID era,” said Smith.
Among them was the introduction of political parties at the municipal level, which will take place as pilots during the next municipal elections in Edmonton and Calgary. Local candidates are not required to join a political party but are allowed to do so or run as independents. No affiliation will be allowed with provincial or federal parties.
All automated voting equipment, like electronic tabulators, will be prohibited at municipal elections, with votes being counted by hand.
Voters will no longer be able to vouch for someone’s identity or citizenship if they fail to produce documentation, but can still vouch for another elector’s residence.
Another update will allow those waiting in line when polls close to cast their vote. However, nobody will be allowed to join the queue after polls close.
Municipalities will be able to require a criminal record check for candidates, which will be publicly available data included in the candidate’s nomination package.
Alberta tops economic freedom ranking among provinces
Source: Unsplash
Alberta has been recognized as one of the freer places in North America, with one study highlighting its economic freedom — far exceeding its provincial peers.
A Fraser Institute study ranked Alberta 12th for economic freedom across North America’s subnational jurisdictions, including Canada’s ten provinces, America’s 50 states, Mexico’s 32 states, and the United States territory of Puerto Rico. Alberta was tied with Texas, Tennessee, Colorado, and South Dakota.
Alberta was the freest province, with its closest challenger being British Columbia, ranking 43rd. While British Columbia ranked decently on the freedom scale, it was more than three and a half times less economically free than Alberta.
Alberta received an overall score of 8.01, trailing the leader, New Hampshire, which had a score of 8.13.
The study measured ten indicators using 2022 data to measure the impact of provincial state and federal policies on economic freedom in each analyzed state and province.
The study used the ten variables in the areas of government spending, taxes, and labour market freedom. Other variables considered are legal systems, property rights, “sound money,” and freedom to trade internationally.
In 2022, government consumption spending in Alberta accounted for 26.8% of provincial income, compared to an average of 30.9% in the other provinces. Nova Scotia had the highest spending, at 34.2% of its provincial income.
“Because the government of Alberta spends less, its citizens are allowed to keep more of their money and make more of their own economic choices,” Matthew Mitchell, a senior fellow at the Fraser Institute and the study’s co-author, told True North.
“Alberta’s top marginal tax rate is 15%, and it kicks in at a relatively high threshold of $267,724,” Mitchell said. “By contrast, it is 21% in Nova Scotia, and it kicks in at $124,650. PEI’s rate isn’t that high at 18.37%, but it kicks in at just $53,158.”
Metrolinx is ringing in 2025 by offering free rides on all GO Transit trains, buses, and UP Express services, thanks to sponsorship from Forty Creek Whisky.
This complimentary service will be available from 7:00 PM on Dec. 31 until 8:00 AM on Jan. 1, allowing revellers to enjoy their New Year’s Eve plans without transportation worries.
In addition to free travel, Metrolinx has introduced special service enhancements for the evening. Extra trains will run throughout the night, both into and out of Union Station in Toronto.
Following the midnight celebrations, additional trips will ensure passengers travelling west, east, or north of Toronto can get home safely.
Communities along the Lakeshore West line, including Mississauga, Oakville, Burlington, and Hamilton, will see regular arrivals and departures at Union Station. Meanwhile, the Milton line will feature late-night departures from Union Station, with the final train leaving at 2:55 AM.
While the rides are free, Metrolinx requests passengers to tap on and off using their PRESTO cards as usual. This helps the agency gather valuable data to improve services in the future. No fares will be charged during the free travel window.
For holiday travellers, Metrolinx has also announced adjustments to its schedule. On Christmas Eve, select train times on the Milton and Richmond Hill lines have been shifted to accommodate earlier departures.
On Christmas Day and Boxing Day, GO Transit will operate on a Saturday schedule, while UP Express services will run on a weekend/holiday timetable.
Metrolinx and Forty Creek Whisky are encouraging passengers to take advantage of this opportunity to travel safely and responsibly and to visit gotransit.com in case of any scheduling changes.
A lot has happened in 2024 and Canadians have continued to trust True North as their go-to source for independent media.
Our readers tuned into True North to escape the constant bias and dishonest narratives spun by the pro-establishment legacy media on issues like immigration, political corruption and citizen protests.
In 2024, Canadians turned up in droves to read stories they couldn’t find anywhere else.
Using Google Analytics to determine which stories got the most attention, True North has compiled a list of the top five most-viewed stories of the year.
5. Jagmeet Singh caught getting into a Maserati on Parliament Hill
Source: True North / Candice Malcolm
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh likes to present himself as a champion of the working class but in reality he was photographed getting into a luxury Maserati SUV on his way back from work at Parliament Hill in early October.
According to the car website driving.ca, the Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price for a 2024 Maserati Levante ranges from $127,000 to $213,800 – a price out of reach for the majority of Canadians.
The most recent data from Statistics Canada shows that the median Canadian salary is now around $71,000 per year.
Though he did not respond to True North for comment at the time – after the story broke and after Conservatives began labelling Singh a “Maserati Marxist,” Singh denied the scandal, saying the vehicle wasn’t his.
Singh has been criticized in the past for his lavish spending, including multiple Rolex watches priced anywhere between $8,000 and hundreds of thousands. His wife was also spotted wearing a $1,124 Zimmerman dress in a 2021 maternity shoot when the NDP promoted a tax on “luxury goods.”
4. Federal court declares Trudeau’s use of Emergencies Act unconstitutional
Source: True North
Nearly two years after the Emergencies Act was invoked to crackdown on peaceful Freedom Convoy protesters demonstrating at Parliament Hill, the Federal Court ruled that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s measures were unreasonable and unconstitutional.
The Emergencies Act allowed the Trudeau Liberals to freeze the bank accounts of protesters, conscript tow truck drivers, many of whom objected to helping otherwise, and arrest people for participating in assemblies the government deemed illegal.
The court found that the decision to invoke the Act, formerly known as the War Measures Act, and the associated Regulations and Order was unreasonable and beyond the scope of the Emergencies Act and thus unconstitutional.
3. Trudeau falsely accuses Jordan Peterson and Tucker Carlson of being funded by Russia
While testifying at an ongoing foreign interference inquiry in October, Trudeau accused Canadian author and psychologist Jordan Peterson and American media personality Tucker Carlson of being funded by Russia without any evidence to substantiate his claims.
Trudeau mentioned a recent US Department of Justice indictment which implicated a since disbanded conservative media company, Tenet Media, in a foreign influence scheme orchestrated by employees of Russia’s state broadcaster, “Russia Today.”
Neither Peterson nor Carlson were named in the indictment, nor did they have any involvement with the company. Despite this, Trudeau suggested that Russia used them to amplify messages that were “destabilizing democracies.”
At the beginning of December, Peterson addressed Trudeau’s accusations on his daughter Mikhaila Peterson’s podcast. He noted that no legal action could be taken against the Prime Minister as his speech during the committee hearing was protected under Parliamentary privilege.
2. Canadian Cancer Society apologizes for not calling cervix “front hole” in non-binary disclaimer
Source: Facebook
In June, the Canadian Cancer Society apologized for referring to the cervix by its technical name instead of using non-gendered terms such as “front hole.”
The agency apologized, saying the term “cervix,” could be considered offensive, and instead, they should use the term “front hole.”
The cancer society said that men can have “these body parts too” and that LGBTQ+ people face “significant barriers” to accessing healthcare and are less likely than “cisgender” people (people who don’t identify as trans or non-binary) to be screened for cancer.
1. Ontario resident goes viral after speaking out about immigrants pooping on the beach
Source: Wikipedia
The most popular True North story this year was about one Ontario resident going viral for raising awareness about an alleged rise of public pooping incidents on Wasaga Beach, Ont.
Videos from Tiktoker ItsNattyLxnn2.0, a now-deleted Tiktok account, went viral in July after she accused immigrants, namely from India, of defecating in holes on the beach and burying it.
Natty claimed that she could not take her kids to the beach because visitors were using it as a toilet. She alleged that she found feces on multiple occasions after witnessing Indian families digging and setting up tents over the holes during their day trip to the world’s longest freshwater beach.
Following the viral online moment, “Natty” was visited by Wasaga police following complaints that she was being racist for making the claims online. She noted that her daughter has Indian heritage, and she’s not being racist and that she was just concerned about the “bio-hazard” of human feces found on the beach.
The Wasaga Beach Provincial Park later denied having observed such behaviour on its beach.
While the 2024 news cycle was often dominated by stories at the federal and provincial levels, a few municipal stories were so newsworthy that they captured the attention of the Canadian public.
Some of the most notable stories from municipalities in 2024 can be found below.
Woke Remembrance Day ceremonies observed nationwide
Source: Flickr
This year’s municipal Remembrance Day ceremonies were tainted by woke initiatives like lengthy land acknowledgments and pro-Palestine activism. Various municipalities faced backlash for overlooking the true importance of Remembrance Day – honouring veterans and fallen soldiers.
Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek was one of the municipal leaders who faced severe backlash for her six-minute-long land acknowledgement during the city’s ceremony.
Various Canadians called her out on X.
“Land acknowledgment is like the leftist prayer that they have to say before any event,” said one user.
“I was born here; this is my home and native land. She is a settler,” said another.
Similar reactions occurred in Toronto when Aretha Phillip, the city’s chief of protocol, began the ceremony by focusing on Toronto’s colonial history.
One user responded that veterans don’t need lectures about land claims, colonialism, racism, or other virtue signalling and pandering on Remembrance Day.
“This isn’t about you; not everything is about you,” wrote the user. “This day is about our military, past, present, and their families. If you aren’t getting up to the mic to speak about service and sacrifice, then just sit down. We don’t want to hear it. Save it for another day when people are willing to put up with your virtue signalling.”
A municipality on Vancouver Island, Saanich, featured a reading of the Quran, the central religious text of Islam, on Remembrance Day. The originally scheduled poem was also allegedly replaced by a 14-minute land acknowledgement.
Another municipality tried to appeal to Muslims on Remembrance Day when Sir Robert Borden High School in Ottawa played a Palestinian protest song during their ceremony.
“Even their apology is disrespectful and biased,” wrote one user.
Pro-Hamas protestors invaded the Remembrance Day ceremony in Kingston.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre called out the wokeism.
“What an absolute disgrace that so many woke activists & authorities used Remembrance Day to push their divisive and radical causes, denigrating our history and the brave military members who sacrificed for it,” he said. “We are a proud country with a proud history, and everyone who lives here should be grateful to call Canada home.”
Green Line LRT “multi-billion-dollar boondoggle”
Source: City of Calgary
Calgary’s Green Line LRT was initially supposed to be 46 kilometres with 29 stations and cost $4.6 billion. It was subsequently reduced to merely 10 kilometres with seven stations while rising in cost to $6.2 billion.
Much of the backlash fell on Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek, whose approval rating plummeted due to this fiasco overlapping with the city’s water crisis.
Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi also shouldered some of the blame, as he was at the helm when the initial proposal was made.
Alberta Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen called the updated plan “unacceptable,” stating that the project had become a “multi-billion-dollar boondoggle that will serve very few Calgarians.”
The province revealed the most recent update on the LRT on Dec. 13. They said their revised plan would save $1 billion while adding five more stops, making the route 76% longer while serving 60% more Calgarians.
Alberta towns implementing bylaws combatting Pride crosswalks and flags
Source: Unsplash
Sticking with Alberta municipalities, two Alberta towns adopted bylaws banning pride crosswalks and non-government flags.
The first to do so was Westlock, which banned all non-standard crosswalks. The bylaw passed by a vote of 663 for and 639 against. It also required all flags flown on municipal property to be exclusively federal, provincial, or municipal flags. The existing rainbow crosswalk in the town was removed.
Following Westlock’s lead was the town of Barrhead. The vote in Barrhead was not as close, with 653 voting in favour and 492 against.
The bylaw featured the same rules around crosswalks and flags as the one in Westlock.
In fact, Westlock’s Neutrality Team was in contact with Barrhead’s team throughout the entire process – advising them when appropriate.
All existing crosswalks and flags were removed from public property, but private property and businesses remained untouched.
Emo mayor’s bank account garnished for not succumbing to Pride activists
Source: Thunder Bay Television
Moving from small Albertan towns to a rural township in Ontario, a town with a population of around 1,200 people caught international headlines.
This occurred after the town was fined $15,000 for voting not to recognize Pride Month or fly the Pride flag.
The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario sanctioned the town’s mayor, Harold McQuaker, to pay $5,000 to Borderland Pride. The town would be forced to pay $10,000.
The mayor subsequently refused to pay the fine or take the DEI training the tribunal attempted to force on him.
“I utterly refuse to pay the $5,000 because that’s extortion…and will not take the training,” McQuaker told the Sun. “I did not do anything wrong. If anybody needs training, it’s the LGBTQ2+ to quit pushing their weight around and make demands that people can’t live with.”
Following that, the mayor had the funds garnished from his bank account.
Olivia Chow favouring bike lanes over Oct. 7 vigil
Source: X
A community-led vigil to honour the victims of the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel was missed by Chow because she was too busy discussing bike lanes.
“I got caught up in the long discussion on bike lanes over Kingsway area where emotions were very high and the meeting went quite long and by the time I was done, I was exhausted,” said Chow. “I didn’t even know precisely what time the event was.”
A petition calling for Chow’s resignation was launched following her absenteeism. The petition has over 12,500 signatures.
The petition was launched by Toronto resident Richard F.
“Since the sobering Oct 7 massacre last year, I have expected our city’s leaders to take a stand against this rising hatred, but instead, I have witnessed an alarming lack of response. Specifically, Mayor Olivia Chow has been consistently absent at crucial moments when we needed her to stand with the Jewish community,” he wrote in the petition.
He added that Chow wasn’t doing enough to combat antisemitism in the city.
“The situation is beyond disappointing; it’s alarming and cannot continue. We implore all concerned citizens and those who value justice and equal representation to join us in demanding the resignation of Mayor Olivia Chow. Her failure to support the Jewish community of Toronto is indicative of a broader inability to serve her populace effectively,” said Richard.
In what has been a challenging year for the business landscape in British Columbia, several prominent companies have found themselves navigating through financial distress, leading to insolvency proceedings.
This follows a record-breaking 65.4% increase in British Columbia businesses declaring bankruptcy in 2023.
While precise 2024 figures are still being finalized, several significant business failures were reported in the media this year as reported by Business in Vancouver.
Building on the challenging economic backdrop of 2023, businesses in British Columbia grappled with persistent headwinds.
The year began with Black Press Ltd., a major player in local journalism, entering creditor protection in January. By March, the company had restructured and was sold to new owners, marking a significant shift in its operational history.
Nexii Building Solutions Inc., a once-promising green construction firm, faced its own financial reckoning, with debts surpassing $112 million. The company was eventually sold for a mere $500,000, with the new owners also assuming the company’s substantial liabilities.
Teal Jones Holdings Ltd., a significant name in the forestry sector, filed for creditor protection in April after reporting a $4 million loss. The company is still in the process of restructuring, highlighting ongoing struggles within industries heavily reliant on raw material prices and export markets.
The brewing and distilling industry wasn’t spared either, as Central City Brewers and Distillers Ltd. declared insolvency and entered creditor protection in November. Owed over $50 million to major lenders.
Real estate developer Thind Properties Ltd. saw several of its projects placed under receivership due to financial defaults, further illustrating the strain within the property sector.
Meanwhile, Small Business BC, an organization known for supporting local entrepreneurs, filed for bankruptcy in December, despite having previously received a $20 million federal grant a month before becoming insolvent.
On a national scale, Canada experienced a 41.7% year-over-year increase in reported insolvencies for the 12 months ending October 31, 2024. The construction, accommodation, and transportation sectors were among the hardest hit, while others like oil and gas saw a decrease in insolvency rates.
Regionally, British Columbia recorded the second-largest percentage increase in business insolvencies in 2023 at 65.4%. Other provinces like Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia also noted significant spikes. In terms of volume, Quebec and Ontario saw the largest increases in insolvency filings.
