Thousands of Canadians joined a nationwide march in favour of parental rights and True North was on the ground.
Plus, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre says the Trudeau government’s bid to meet with the CEOs of grocery chains is a “big photo op.”
And the Indian government is warning all Indian nationals and students in Canada to QUOTE “exercise utmost caution.” In addition, India has suspended visa services in Canada.
Tune into The Daily Brief with Lindsay Shepherd and Isaac Lamoureux!
Justin Trudeau is at the United Nations this week, calling on countries to ramp up their efforts to meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and also making a pitch for other countries to follow in Canada’s footsteps by imposing a carbon tax. True North’s Andrew Lawton weighs in.
Also, the Tamara Lich’s and Chris Barber’s criminal mischief trial is wrapping up its third week today, with only three of the 22 scheduled witnesses having testified. Journalist and filmmaker Trish Wood joins the show to give an update on how things are going in the courtroom.
Plus, Centre Ice Canadians, a group founded by former Conservative leadership candidate Rick Peterson, has launched a new “radical centrist” political party called Canadian Future, which organizers believe is the antidote to Canadians who feel “politically homeless.” Interim leader Dominic Cardy, an independent New Brunswick MLA, joins The Andrew Lawton Show to discuss.
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India says the decision to stop issuing visas for Canadians is temporary but necessary due to “security threats” that were disturbing its diplomatic missions in Canada.
The move is the latest in an escalating feud between the two countries that began after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused the Indian government of having involvement in the June assassination of Sikh activist Hardeep Sing Nijjar, in Surrey, B.C.
“Important notice from Indian Mission: Due to operational reasons, with effect from 21 Sept. Indian visa services have been suspended [until] further notice,” wrote the BLS Indian Visa Application Center in Canada in a statement on Thursday.
The suspension of visa services also “applies to Canadians in a third country,” according to a statement published by the Indian government.
“There have been threats made to our high commission [embassy] and consulates in Canada,” said a foreign affairs ministry spokesman in Delhi, according to the BBC.
“This has disrupted their normal functioning. Accordingly [they] are temporarily unable to process visa applications. India is looking for parity in rank and diplomatic strength between the diplomatic missions of the two countries. This is being sought because of Canadian diplomatic interference in our internal affairs.”
Canada had announced several hours earlier that it would be reducing its personnel in India due to threats they had received via social media.
“In light of the current environment where tensions have heightened, we are taking action to ensure the safety of our diplomats,” a statement said.
Nijjar was an outspoken activist for Sikh separation in India and was murdered in Surrey, B.C. in June.
On Monday, Trudeau alleged in the House of Commons that the Indian government had a hand in Nijjar’s murder based on intelligence his government had received, however no such evidence has been presented to the public.
The Indian government called Trudeau’s allegations “absurd” and denounced them as false the following day.
The allegations first led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from both countries, beginning with Canada.
The Indian government then updated their travel advisory for Indian nationals and students living in Canada, warning them to exercise with the “utmost caution” due to “growing anti-India activities and politically-condoned hate crimes.”
The Canadian government then retaliated by updating their travel advisory for Canadians traveling to India, telling them to exercise a “high degree of caution” while there, due to the “threat of terrorist attacks.”
Historically, Canada and India have had close ties through trade and immigration.
There are currently 1.4 million people of Indian origin living in Canada, more than half of whom are Sikhs, according to the 2021 census.
Indian international students also make up 40% of all foreign students studying in Canada.
Canadians account for a large portion of tourism in India, visiting more than most other countries, only behind Bangladesh, U.S. and U.K.
The federal government has rejected the notion that Indian nationals living in Canada should exercise the “utmost caution,” slapping down an advisory put forth by the Indian government on Wednesday.
Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc assured reporters that “Canada is a safe country.”
The Indian government’s advisory told Indian nationals and students in Canada that they may not be safe due to “growing anti-India activities and politically-condoned hate crimes.”
The federal government responded to India’s warning by updating its own travel information for Canadians visiting India, telling them to exercise a “high degree of caution” while there due to the “threat of terrorist attacks.”
The back and forth began after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused the Indian government of being involved in the assassination of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Trudeau said in the House of Commons that there were “credible allegations of a potential link” between Indian Prime Minister Modi’s government agents and the murder of Nijjar in June.
The advisory published by India’s foreign ministry expressed concern for the safety of Indian nationals and students living in Canada due to “politically condoned hate crimes and criminal violence.”
“Threats have particularly targeted Indian diplomats and sections of the Indian community who oppose the anti-India agenda,” read the statement. “Indian nationals are therefore advised to avoid traveling to regions and potential venues in Canada that have seen such incidents.”
Ottawa has yet to release any details on the merits of the accusation, however Trudeau remains confident in his decision to make the investigation public. He said that after months of deliberation and consultation with allies, the public had a right to know.
This accusation has put several other Canadian and Indian allies in a tough position, countries like the United States, Australia and the U.K. have all been making moves to try and strengthen their ties with India.
Governments in both the U.K. and U.S. have said that they are “deeply concerned” by the possibility of India’s involvement in the murder of a Canadian citizen, saying that they will remain “in close touch” with Canada’s authorities.
Some have accused the U.S. of downplaying the situation and not properly condemning India.
“Reports that we rebuffed Canada in any way on this are flatly false,” wrote White House National Security Council Spokesperson Adrienne Watson on X.
“We are coordinating and consulting with Canada closely on this issue. This is a serious matter and we support Canada’s ongoing law enforcement efforts. We are also engaging the Indian government.”
A nationwide series of parental rights protests Wednesday prompted left-wing politicians to condemn the Million Person March as “hateful.”
The Million Person March was a demonstration organised largely by parents concerned with the expansion of gender ideology. Protesters advocated for a stronger foothold for parental rights both in what children learn and also what they do at school as it pertains to changing gender identity and pronouns.
However, prominent politicians supportive of the LGBTQ+ community attacked the nationwide protests as being “anti-trans” and “hateful.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took to X (formerly Twitter) to condemn the protests, labelling them as a transphobic, homophobic, and biphobic manifestation of hate.
“Let me make one thing very clear: Transphobia, homophobia, and biphobia have no place in this country,” wrote Trudeau.
“We strongly condemn this hate and its manifestations, and we stand united in support of 2SLGBTQI+ Canadians across the country – you are valid and you are valued.”
In a press conference at City Hall, Toronto mayor Olivia Chow said that there is “no room for hate in Canada” and emphasised her commitment to advocating on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community.
“Toronto is a welcoming place for everyone, including our LGBTQ neighbours and young people,” said Chow, touting her raising of a transgender flag at City Hall. “I spent my career standing shoulder to shoulder with the LGBTQ community and I want to continue to stand with them today in the face of hate.”
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh attended the counter-protest to Ottawa’s Million Person March, marching with a large pride progress flag and chanting pro-LGBTQ+ slogans.
In an X post, Singh warned of an alarming rise in hate against the LGBTQ+ community, representing a threat to safety and freedom.
In Wednesday’s Question Period, NDP MP Randall Garrison accused the Million Person March of being “anti-trans” and making it impossible for transgender children to feel safe.
“As Canadians we should be making sure that all of our kids feel safe, loved, and supported. But right now, anti-trans demonstrations across Canada are making this impossible, especially for trans kids,” said Garrison.
Garrison called on the Trudeau government to join the NDP in condemning the protests, prompting a standing ovation from Liberal MPs and a strong statement of solidarity from Women and Gender Equality Minister Marci Ien.
Liberal MP Andy Fillmore took to X accusing the protesters attending the Million Person March of being “far-right bozos” and being motivated by hate.
“You may notice some far-right bozos marching in the streets today under the ruse of standing up for Canada’s kids. Don’t fall for it.” wrote Fillmore.
“This is what bigots do—they mask their hatred under the cover of fake causes because they know we won’t accept it for what it really is: hate.”
On Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the shocking accusation that the India government was behind the murder of Khalistan activist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in Surrey, B.C. India has rejected Trudeau’s allegations while Canada has yet to provide concrete evidence to back up its accusation. Since Monday, the two countries have been involved in a diplomatic tit-for-tat exchange, expelling diplomats from their respective countries and issuing travel warnings.
On this special edition of The Rupa Subramanya Show, Rupa is joined by foreign policy and security expert Abhijit Iyer-Mitra to make sense of the situation. Abhijit is based in New Delhi and has been following Canada’s troubling connection with the Khalistani movement closely.
Rupa and Abhijit discuss if Trudeau is politicizing Canada’s relationship with India, how other western countries aren’t picking sides in the dispute, and if there’s any hope to repair this relationship while Trudeau remains in office. Tune into The Rupa Subramanya Show!
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The group of ex-Conservatives behind the “Centre Ice Canadians” initiative have launched a new federal political party, Canadian Future.
The party said in an announcement Wednesday it seeks to offer Canadians a “radical centrist” political option.
New Brunswick MLA Dominic Cardy is serving as the party’s interim leader.
“Today, Centre Ice Canadians is pleased to announce that a new party, Canadian Future, will begin the process of registering with Elections Canada and prepare to contest elections,” wrote the new party in a press release.
“Canadian Future, which will be an exclusively federal party, will be headed by a National Council with a representative from each province and territory.”
Cardy is a former cabinet minister under New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs and is currently a sitting independent MLA. On Tuesday, he confirmed his temporary leadership to Brunswick News.
“My goal is to guide the process of founding this new party and getting ready for a founding convention in 2024. We already have strong policies and ideas developed by folks from across the country, and people stepping up to say they want to see – and that Canada needs to see – a new party that’s ready to confront the 21st century head-on,” said Cardy.
“I am involved in this project because I want to see a positive vision for Canada in 2030, 2040, and beyond – and plans to get us there. I’m not interested in sterile arguments about left vs. right, but in evidence and results.”
Centre Ice Canadians, formerly known as Centre Ice Conservatives, first came to fruition during the pandemic as a response to what its founders believed was the Conservative party drifting too far to the right under Pierre Poilievre’s leadership.
The organization was formed by Alberta businessman Rick Peterson in 2022, a two-time Conservative leadership candidate.
“We heard from Canadians that today’s parties are not ready to meet tomorrow’s challenges,” said Peterson. “We heard that as politics is becoming more and more extreme – so are our parties. They’re following, not leading.”
The press release went on to say that the party “has completed a six-month period of discussions with Canadians from coast to coast on whether Canada needs a new, radical, centrist political option based on evidence, civic nationalism, fiscal responsibility, and social liberalism. The response was overwhelmingly positive.”
The party aims to have a platform that includes a wide variety of policies from across the political spectrum, including electoral reform. It also pledges to create a strategy to reduce and control national debt.
The party is firm in its stance that “climate change is real,” with plans to promote carbon capture, nuclear and renewable energy, while also supporting “the use of democratically sourced fossil fuels, especially Canadian energy.”
Canadian Future also aims to negotiate agreements with First Nations regarding their resource sharing and ability to self-govern.
The party said it plans to increase Canada’s military budget to at least 2% of the country’s GDP, to meet its NATO obligations.
In 2011, Cardy was party leader of the New Brunswick New Democrats, leading the party to 12.98% of the popular vote in the 2014 provincial election, however the party still didn’t win a single seat.
After resigning from the New Democrats, Cardy was appointed strategic issues director by Progressive Conservative leader Blaine Higgs. He was then promoted to chief of staff shortly thereafter and won in the 2018 provincial election for his riding of Fredericton West-Hanwell.
Following that, Cardy was named education minister and held the position for almost four years before resigning. After his resignation, he wrote a scathing public letter which condemned Higgs’ leadership style and was expelled from caucus, according to the National Post.
An online survey has found that the majority of Canadians believe news should be free and accessible for everyone, in relation to the federal government’s controversial Online News Act. The bulk of respondents also think that Canadian news media outlets have other means of making money.
The survey, conducted by Leger, asked 1,564 Canadians about the Liberal government’s Online News Act, also known as Bill C-18, a law requiring tech giants like Meta and Google to financially compensate Canadian media outlets for news content posted and shared on their platforms.
Around 75% of respondents were aware of the Online News Act but only 34% agreed with the law conceptually, should it help media outlets continue to compete in the internet marketplace.
Meta has since removed news content from Facebook and Instagram to avoid having to pay various news outlets for the content they and users post freely on their sites.
The survey found that 58% of respondents agreed that Meta should restore news content on its platforms, while a mere 12% said that the company had a right to protest the new legislation.
Leger’s executive vice president Christian Bourque told CTV News that “there isn’t much opposition to the bill itself,” he said. “There’s opposition to the fact they would not get their news whenever they want, wherever they want.”
Two out of every three Canadians believe that news should be free and accessible to everyone, according to the survey, as they believe that “the struggling media have other ways to make money.”
Those who shared this sentiment the most were aged 18-34 years old, an age bracket who is also most likely to view news content on platforms offered by Meta.
“It’s there, it’s out there. I should be entitled to have access to it,” said Borque, summarizing the attitude of that cohort.
“And social media basically offered everything for ‘free’,” he said. “I think most Canadians expect that this is how you get news.”
Around 43% of respondents were in support of the Online News Act, while 31% were opposed and the remaining 26% said that they didn’t know enough about the bill to form an opinion.
The majority of respondents in the survey said that they believed it was possible for media outlets to earn money through other avenues.
Around 47% of respondents took notice of the fact that news had been removed from their social media feeds and most commonly those living in Quebec, where 59% respondents said they primarily get their news through those platforms.
About 22% of respondents said they have gone to other sources for news like TV and radio, while 20% said they are going directly to free news media websites and apps. Additionally, 13% of respondents said they are now using social media sites like X and Reddit.
When asked if respondents would pay for a direct subscription to a news site, only 6% said they would.
Online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error because they don’t take a proper random sample of the population, according to the Canadian Research Insights Council.
The One Million March for Children is currently underway, with thousands of Canadians from across the country taking part in the protest.
The marches were initially organized by Muslim parents who were growing increasingly disillusioned with school teachings on gender and sexuality.
Several organizations have played a part in organizing the protests, including Hands Off Our Kids, run by Muslim activists Bahira Abdulsalam and Kamel El-Cheikh.
Organizers hoped the wave of protests and absences will “unite people for a noble cause, to safeguard children from gender ideology teachings, sexual indoctrination, exposure to explicit sexual content, (and) ensuring that parental consent remains paramount.”
There have also been several counter-protests in response to March, many of them led by union and gender ideology activists, who have attempted to frame the march as “racist” and “transphobic.”
Protests are taking place in major cities across Canada, including Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, and more.
True North journalists are reporting live on the scene:
Toronto:
Ottawa:
Calgary:
Edmonton:
Winnipeg:
Hamilton:
Vancouver:
Abbotsford:
Halifax:
Pickering:
Kitchener:
A series of demonstrations and marches are underway across the country as parents advocate for their right to educate their children as they see fit. The 1 Million March 4 Children has been met with large counter-protests, spearheaded by union groups and joined by NDP leader Jagmeet Singh. True North’s Harrison Faulkner and Elie Cantin-Nantel join The Andrew Lawton Show to for a report on the Toronto and Ottawa scenes.
While it’s no secret that wokism has taken over academia, the extent to which this is threatening discourse and academic standards may shock you. University teacher Brock Eldon has written a three-part non-fiction novella in C2C journal, Ground Zero in the Culture War, chronicling his experiences as a grad student in the land of the woke. He joins Andrew to discuss. You can read the first part of his series here.
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