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Saturday, July 19, 2025

GUEST OP-ED: Liberal-NDP deal will mean major tax hikes

By
Jay Goldberg
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Jay Goldberg is Ontario Director at the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

Now that the years-long Liberal-NDP courtship has turned official, Canadians should brace themselves for an unwelcome raft of higher taxes and unsustainable spending.

With Prime Minister Justin Trudeau inking a deal with the NDP to keep him in power until 2025, Canada’s finances are headed from bad to worse. To help justify overspending, the Trudeau government might impose an NDP-favoured wealth tax to pay for some of the commitments the Liberals have made to the NDP.

Thanks to six years of the Trudeau government’s reckless fiscal mismanagement, Canada has a $1 trillion debt tab and a deficit this year of $60 billion. Taxpayers are forced to pay more than $2 billion per month to bondholders on Bay Street simply to pay for interest on the national debt.

With the Bank of Canada set to raise interest rates several times this year, that interest number will surely worsen. Now that the Liberals will be on the hook to push through expensive NDP-favoured big government programs, the Trudeau government will be searching for new ways to tax Canadians to deal with the nation’s burgeoning credit card bill. 

The Liberal-NDP agreement is full of big-ticket items, but it offers no plan for how to pay for any of it. That’s like planning a trip to Disneyland when you can’t afford to make rent.

Wealth taxes have long been pushed by politicians who assure people that someone else will always pay. Those politicians would have you believe that there’s a money tree growing in the prime minister’s backyard to cover the tab.

The NDP told Canadians during the last federal election that only the ultra-rich would feel the effects of a new federal wealth tax. But wealth taxes don’t work that way. Even if wealth taxes are only directly imposed on wealthy Canadians, the ultimate outcome is economic pain for taxpayers across the board.

If Trudeau caves to the NDP on wealth taxes, Canadian taxpayers at every point on the income spectrum will pay the price.

The Trudeau government has already made Canada a less attractive place for entrepreneurs and businesses to invest by doubling the national debt, introducing a costly carbon tax, and pursuing a fiscal agenda of run-away spending. In a world with over two hundred countries and tax systems, a wealth tax may be the final straw for potential entrepreneurs, who can pick up and move in a heartbeat.

Why invest in Ontario when entrepreneurs can affordably invest in Ohio instead?

For those who argue that the rich won’t just get up and leave if a new wealth tax is introduced, consider the experience of France. France lost 12,000 millionaires in a single year thanks to its wealth tax regime. The country’s socialist government scrapped the tax less than a decade ago, with present French President Emmanuel Macron declaring that the wealth tax had turned France into “Cuba without the sun.”

For those Canadians who believe wealth taxes will never hit them personally, think again. When the federal income tax was introduced, it only applied to the top two per cent of income earners. Now we’re all stuck paying an annual income tax bill. Wealth taxes could start the same way but follow a similar path.

When it comes to wealth taxes, Trudeau needs to draw a line in the sand. He should look for ways to make tax dollars go further rather than soaking Canadians with a new tax that would make Canada a much less attractive place to invest and do business.

Jay Goldberg is the Ontario Director at the Canadian Taxpayers Federation

Leona Alleslev launches CPC leadership bid website

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
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Former Conservative MP Leona Alleslev has launched a website indicating her bid for the 2022 Conservative leadership.

The website writes that she’s a “mother, federal politician, corporate manager, entrepreneur and military officer.”

Should Alleslev officially announce her candidacy, she would be the 10th candidate in the race among confirmed candidates and fellow colleagues including MPs Pierre Poilievre, Leslyn Lewis and Scott Aitchison.

Alleslev, who was a former Liberal MP, crossed the floor in 2018 to join the Conservatives under then leader Andrew Scheer. 

In an op-ed in the National Post, Alleslev explained that she left the Liberals because her belief in the party had been “eroding over time.” She also accused Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of moving further left.

“The platform that I ran on in 2015 represented a largely centrist political vision. After three years, this government has not delivered the change that Canadians expected. Instead, we have seen the Prime Minister move increasingly to the left and away from the centre,” wrote Alleslev. 

“I have been disappointed at the pattern of undiplomatic behaviour exhibited by those holding the highest offices who speak for our country. This behaviour could pose a significant risk to our trade relations, economy, and jobs here at home.”

After being re-elected under the Conservatives in 2019, Alleslev was promoted to the position of deputy leader of the opposition in 2019, where she served until 2020. She was succeeded in that role by current CPC interim leader Candice Bergen. 

Alleslev lost her seat by a narrow margin in the 2021 federal election to Liberal MP Leah Taylor Roy.

CBC says racism against white people “doesn’t exist”

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
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In response to a viewer’s complaint that a CBC radio program had discriminated against people of British descent, a CBC director has said that racism against white people “doesn’t exist.” 

The complaint focused on a June 30, 2021 airing of CBC Vancouver’s radio show The Early Edition, where a guest had complained that schools were named after “Lord so-and-so or Queen this or Sir whatever.” 

According to a review by CBC Ombudsman Jack Nagler last week, the complainant had accused journalists on the program of ridiculing people of British heritage who had schools named after them.

“I found the whole segment to be demeaning of my British heritage. It was clearly racist and I expect an apology,” the complainant wrote. 

In response, CBC British Columbia director Treena Wood replied by dismissing the concept of “reverse racism” and saying that racism against white people and so-called privileged groups is not a real thing. 

“I understand and appreciate that conversations around colonialism and the nature of settlements in Canada can be difficult ones, but I respectfully reject your opinion that this segment was racist,” wrote Wood. “The common and accepted sociological understanding of racism is that so-called “reverse racism” against privileged groups, especially white people, doesn’t exist. Racism must involve a privileged group showing prejudice against a historically underprivileged group.”

Wood pointed to a blog post by the activist group the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion to justify her claims. 

Despite Wood’s selective position, the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal, defines racism as a “belief that some people are better than other people because they belong to a particular race or ethnic group,” and racial descrimination occurs when someone treats others badly, denies them a benefit, harasses or insults based on race, colour, ancestry or place of origin. 

In fact, the tribunal ruled in a landmark 2018 case that a resort owner had engaged in racial discrimination when he fired seven white employees. 

Following Wood’s response, the complainant had requested a review from Nagler. 

“Are ALL Canadians equal or are they not? So am I to read into this response that it is OK to make racist remarks or jokes as long as the recipient is of British heritage and white?” the complainant wrote. 

In his review of the complaint, Nagler agreed with Wood’s characterization and ruled that the program and the conduct of participants didn’t breach the state broadcaster’s policy. 

“It was in the public interest to understand just how many school names might warrant scrutiny, and where those schools are. I know that you did not claim this to be a problem, but I want to remove any scintilla of doubt in case anyone should feel that CBC’s investigation was itself irresponsible or problematic,” wrote Nagler.

“Finally, I find it difficult to comment on your assertion that had a CBC host said “Chief Whatever” instead of “Sir Whatever,” it would have been seen by all to be an example of racism. As always, context would be key, and I can’t give you an honest evaluation of a hypothetical. All I know is that in the real-world case of this radio segment, I found no breach of policy on the part of CBC’s journalists.” 

Marc Dalton says he’s principled and unafraid to take a stand

By
Andrew Lawton
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British Columbia Conservative MP Marc Dalton is seeking the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada. While he knows he has an uphill battle ahead of him, Dalton is hoping his principled and unapologetic stands will deliver a win. Dalton says in this interview with True North’s Andrew Lawton he wants an investigation into the government’s response to Covid-19, including an in-depth look at injuries caused by vaccination. Dalton and Lawton also talk about debt, firearms and social conservatism.

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Carbon tax rebates not covering costs to Canadians

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
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Claims by the Trudeau government that the carbon tax would see Canadians get more back in rebates than they paid into the program are false, according to Canada’s federal budget watchdog.

As reported by Blacklock’s Reporter, the Parliamentary Budget Office’s (PBO) latest report stated that “most households will see a net loss” as a result of the carbon tax rebate scheme. 

By 2030, these net losses would mean thousands in additional taxes a year for some households. 

As recently as yesterday at the Commons environment committee, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault spread the untrue claim that most Canadians got more money back from the carbon tax program than they paid into it.

“As you know according to the Parliamentary Budget Officer eight out of ten households are better off with carbon pricing,” said Guilbeault. “It is true the richest among us in Canada do not benefit from rebates but eight out of ten households are better off.”

Guilbeault’s claim is contrary to what budget analysts reported when they stated that the carbon tax had a “negative economic impact” for taxpayers. 

“When the economic impact is combined with the fiscal impact, that is the carbon levy and related GST paid less the rebate received, the net carbon cost increases for all households reflecting the overall negative economic impact of the federal carbon levy,” wrote the PBO.

“Most households in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario will see a net loss resulting from federal carbon pricing. That is, the costs they face including the federal carbon levy, higher GST and lower incomes will exceed the Climate Action Incentive rebate they receive.”

In 2019, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also campaigned on the claim that the federal carbon tax would put “more money” in the pockets of Canadians. 

“Our plan will mean a cleaner environment and more money in their pockets,” Trudeau falsely claimed. “The average citizens of those provinces will be better off with this price on pollution than they would be had there been no price on pollution.”

Not only is the carbon tax making life more expensive, it has also largely failed to reduce Canada’s emissions. 

The carbon tax is poised to increase on Apr. 1 as many Canadians are facing record-breaking prices at the gas pumps. The 25% increase to the tax will raise the cost of greenhouse gas emissions from $40 per tonne to $50 per tonne.

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) blasted the federal government over the PBO’s report, emphasizing the watchdog’s finding that Canadian households are losing as much as $845 dollars annually to the carbon tax, even after rebates.

“The carbon tax is bad for families, plain and simple,” said CTF Ontario director Jay Goldberg. “The Trudeau government’s plans will hurt Canadians and hinder economic growth, even though evidence shows carbon taxes don’t lower emissions. It’s clearer than ever before that the federal government needs to scrap its carbon tax.”

Trudeau gets what’s coming to him in Europe

By
Candice Malcolm
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau goes to Brussels to lecture the world about democracy and gets absolutely roasted by European politicians for his treatment of the freedom convoy. Lucky for Trudeau, his friends in the media continue to try to cover for him.

Plus, the legacy media’s fake news narrative about the freedom convoy continues to fall apart as Ottawa Police confirm the arson attempt had nothing to do with the convoy.

It’s Fake News Friday on The Candice Malcolm! Tune in as Candice and True North producer Harrison Faulkner discuss the worst takes in the legacy media this week.

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Pierre Poilievre proposes ban on overseas foreign oil within five years

By
Andrew Lawton
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Conservative leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre says he’ll end imports of overseas oil within five years if he becomes prime minister.

At a campaign stop in Saint John, New Brunswick Friday, Poilievre committed to increasing Canadian oil production to reduce reliance on imported oil.

“Justin Trudeau supports oil – as long as it is foreign oil,” Poilievre said. “Every time he kills a Canadian energy project, foreign dictators like Putin do a victory dance, because they get to dominate the world market.”

Poilievre’s plan would double Newfoundland’s oil production and support projects that get western oil to eastern Canadian markets whether by pipeline or rail.

Poilievre said importing oil from “polluting dictatorships” is bad for the environment, the economy, and Canada’s security.

“The reality is we either make it ourselves, or we pay dirty dictators to do it for us,” he said. “Buying overseas oil from polluting dictatorships is terrible for our environment. It exports our jobs, our money and our pollution to countries with poor ecological standards. Instead, let us bring home the jobs, money and business to the most environmentally responsible energy sector in the world here in Canada.”

While Canada has the world’s third-largest oil reserves, moving oil from west to east remains challenging with existing infrastructure. In 2019, more than half of the oil used in Quebec and Atlantic Canada came from overseas, including Saudi Arabia and Russia.

Canada imported $18.9 billion worth of oil in 2019. In 2020, Poilievre noted, Canada imported 73,000 barrels of oil per day from Saudi Arabia alone.

“Consumers will know when they fill up their tanks they are providing paycheques for Canadians, not money for despots,” Poilievre said. “Canadians will take back control of their lives in the freest country on earth.”

Poilievre is one of 10 candidates seeking the leadership of the Conservative party, including former Quebec premier Jean Charest, Brampton mayor Patrick Brown, and Conservative MP Leslyn Lewis.

Conflicting vaccination policies plague two provinces

By
Harley Sims
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Even as it seems that COVID-19 restrictions are being lifted everywhere, there remain not only jurisdictions that are clinging to vaccine mandates, but others that are still putting them in place.

Two cities in two provinces provide tangled examples. One – St. John, New Brunswick – is imposing a vaccine mandate on employees even as the province drops its own. The other – Victoria, British Columbia – is lifting its vaccination policy while the province itself continues to impose and even expand one.

New Brunswick lifted its vaccine passport system on Feb. 28 and all remaining restrictions on Mar. 14. The province has also announced that full vaccination would no longer be a condition of employment for its public service – with some exceptions, including in health care – by Mar. 28.

These changes came despite New Brunswick’s hard line against the unvaccinated during the Omicron wave of the pandemic.

In December, the province made international headlines by imposing one of the harshest measures in all of Canada when it gave grocery stores the option of demanding vaccine passports from their customers. The province reversed the policy after massive backlash, but that did not prevent Premier Blaine Higgs from openly weighing his options moving forward.

“Life will become increasingly uncomfortable and more difficult for those who are able to be vaccinated but choose not to be,” Higgs had vowed in February.

Despite New Brunswick dropping the vaccine requirement for new and existing provincial employees, the city of St. John announced this week that it was making vaccination mandatory for new municipal hires.

Mayor Donna Reardon told the CBC that “it just makes sense to, as you go forward, to have staff to be fully vaccinated,” and that the purpose of the policy was to minimize the effect of COVID on city operations going forward.

Reardon added that the current definition of “fully-vaccinated” is two doses but that it will become three if Public Health changes it.

Meanwhile, on the opposite coast, British Columbia and its capital city of Victoria are in the opposite situation.

B.C. entered the pandemic with some of the lightest restrictions in the country but ended up becoming the last province to announce it was lifting them, which happened on Mar. 10. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry has also suggested bringing restrictions back in the fall, warning about the possibility even before she had dropped them.

The province has continued not only to expand its vaccine mandates but also to fire public employees forced onto leave over the policy last year. The B.C. health ministry also revealed this week that it had terminated thousands of healthcare workers, even as the system continues to experience crippling staff shortages.

Health minister Adrian Dix has admitted that one week in January saw 27,937 shifts unfilled. On Feb. 3, a newborn child died at Lions Gate Hospital after staffing issues saw a potentially life-saving procedure delayed.

Despite the province’s position, the City of Victoria announced this week that it was dropping its vaccination requirement for municipal employees on April 8 – when B.C. is slated to relax its vaccine passports – and would be inviting back the 25 employees put on unpaid leave in January for not complying. Other municipalities are also reportedly considering the move.

New Brunswick and B.C. demonstrate the tangled and still-developing situation with vaccination policies across the country, where federal sites, provinces, municipalities and even individual businesses have been able to demand proof of vaccination from employees.

Even in high-profile situations where unvaccinated workers have already been allowed back – as with Alberta Health Services (AHS) – vaccination requirements for new hires remain in place.

“We’ve forced Alberta Health Services to admit that what they were doing was not only ridiculous but wrong,” Alberta paramedic Kate King told True North last week. “But for people trying to get into AHS, they still have to get the shot or give up on their profession.”

While court action continues against the mandates and wrongful dismissals, the rules may elapse before some suits end or even begin. Even former Newfoundland premier Brian Peckford’s lawsuit against federal travel mandates is not scheduled to begin hearings until September.  

As one union representative told True North, “this stuff could all be gone by the end of April. It’s just a matter of ragging the puck.”

Canadian media ignores scolding of Trudeau while rest of world reports it

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

Despite Canadian legacy media outlets burying the story, the reprimand of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau by European parliamentarians in Brussels has made headlines around the world.

Trudeau was treated to scathing condemnation by several Members of European Parliament (MEP) after giving a speech to the European Union on Wednesday.

Croatian MEP Mislav Kolakusic called out the Canadian prime minister for engaging in a “dictatorship of the worst kind” over his treatment of peaceful Freedom Convoy protestors in February. 

At least three other MEPs echoed Kolakusic’s remarks, with Romanian MEP Cristian Terheș entirely boycotting Trudeau’s speech.

The outrage over Trudeau’s presence in the European Parliament spread far and wide in international outlets. 

Croatia’s daily newspaper Večernji list featured an article dedicated to Kolakusic’s remarks titled “Kolakusic condemns Trudeau before EU parliament: ‘Canada has become a dictatorship of the worst kind because of you’.” 

“Recall, in the Canadian city of Ottawa, there were protests against coronavirus restrictions for weeks, and they ended after 24 days of blockade. 190 protesters were arrested, and the police sprayed them with pepper spray and demolished their ‘shelters’. Addressing Parliament, Kolakusic said Trudeau was trampling on fundamental values that citizens had fought for for centuries,” the newspaper claimed.

One of Australia’s most prominent broadcasters, Sky News, also devoted a segment to Trudeau’s thrashing at the EU.

“In the aftermath of Prime Minister Trudeau enacting the legislation (against the protestors”, Canadian police used tough tactics to disperse protestors. Including a woman who was trampled by a horse during the protest,” wrote Sky News Australia. “Justin Trudeau’s clamping down on democratic freedoms has been widely criticized from across the political spectrum.” 

French journalist Gaspar Bazinet also wrote an article on the controversy for the outlet News 24.

“A member of the European Parliament called Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a ‘dictator’ to his face during Trudeau’s trip to Belgium this week and accused the Canadian government of violating human rights,” wrote Bazinet. 

“Canada received international criticism last month after taking drastic and heavy-handed action to end peaceful “Freedom Convoy” protests in Ottawa against Covid-19 restrictions and mandates.” 

The Serbian outlet Nulta Tačka also dedicated a feature article to Trudeau’s torching at the hands of European parliamentarians. 

In Canada, however, the legacy media painted a wholly different picture. Reading through coverage by the CBC, Global News, Canadian Press and others, one would get the impression that Trudeau’s trip was a supremely successful and well-received affair. 

A Canadian Press article titled “Trudeau’s address to European Parliament focuses on the rising threats to democracies” makes no mention of any of the MEPs who spoke out against Trudeau. 

“Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is making a plea to European leaders to come together as democracies in the face of Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and tackle rising uncertainties citizens have about the future,” the article read. “The speech was a sequel of sorts to the 2017 address the prime minister gave in Hamburg, Germany, that outlined his foreign-policy vision and his often professed faith in the rules-based international order.” 

Similarly, Global News devoted a segment to Trudeau’s remarks focusing on the prime minister’s words and not the reaction to his presence in Brussels. 

“Justin Trudeau spoke for about 20 minutes. His themes: reinforcing and supporting this remarkable European unity in the face of Russian aggression,” Global News reporter David Akin said of the speech.

Meanwhile at the CBC, journalist Murray Brewster claimed that the prime minister received a “sustained ovation” from EU politicians despite the fact that the plenary where Trudeau spoke was largely empty. 

“Speaking before half-empty benches and packed public galleries, Trudeau received a sustained ovation when he said the European Union and NATO are more united than ever in the face of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war,” wrote Brewster.

The Canadian legacy media coverage of the affair raises questions about how insulated the press has become from the rest of the world. While international outlets choose to broadcast Trudeau’s worst moments while abroad, the Canadian press has presented a wholly whitewashed version of the prime minister. 

World leaders see through Justin Trudeau

By
Andrew Lawton
-

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in Europe this week, and has received tongue-lashings from a couple of European parliamentarians over his crackdown on peaceful trucker protests last month. True North’s Andrew Lawton says Trudeau isn’t fooling politicians elsewhere in the world, but the NDP in Canada is still giving him a blank check.

Also, the federal government still isn’t saying when it will lift federal vaccine mandates for public servants and air travellers, as airlines around the world go mask-free. Join The Andrew Lawton Show live!

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