Canada

The provincial government says it’s largely due to a reduction in net income from removing the federal carbon price levy and increased expenses such as wildfire and evacuation costs.

'What we're seeing is an exercise of discretion that's much stricter than ever before': Toronto-based lawyer

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has released new data showing a sharp rise in electronic device searches at border crossings.

From July to August alone, CBP conducted 14,899 electronic device searches, up more than 21 per cent from the previous quarter. CBP also reported a 36 per cent increase compared to all of last year's third quarter. Most of those were basic searches, but 1,075 were "advanced," allowing officers to copy and analyze device contents.

While electronic device searches jumped by 12.6 per cent over the past year, the total number of travellers entering the United States rose by 6.6 per cent. Among the most notable inceases are searches of U.S. citizens' devices, which rose nearly 22 per cent.

Finance Minister Nate Horner says softening oil prices mean this year's projected budget deficit is expected to grow by $1.3 billion, and will now finish at $6.5 billion in the red when the fiscal year ends next spring.

That represents a massive multibillion-dollar swing in Alberta's financial fortunes, as it is coming off an $8.3-billion surplus the year prior.

Horner said oil prices, along with uncertainty created by U.S. trade policy — specifically conflict over tariffs — are hurting the Alberta economy and remain a significant risk.

Against the backdrop of the deadly, devastating inferno engulfing northern Manitoba and escalating belligerence from the U.S., a lively debate is playing out over the future of domestic economies and potential nation-building projects in the province and beyond. Some have argued that the province needs more fossil fuel infrastructure to expand Canadian export markets and profit from remaining oil and gas demand.

But a provincial economic strategy based on increased fossil fuel exports would do nothing to address crises of affordability and resilience, and would instead likely worsen them. The dire realities of the climate crisis and trends in global energy transition have changed dramatically in the last few years, undermining claims that doubling down on the status quo is realistic and practical. Investments in climate solutions like upgrading building energy efficiency and heating offer an alternative to resource extraction and export with potential to create more local jobs while adapting our indoor spaces for a more volatile climate.

Investing now in new fossil fuel infrastructure for growing exports is a risky gamble. The International Energy Agency, far from a radical voice, forecasts that global oil and gas demand will peak by 2030, in large part due to China’s rapid and unprecedented electrification which has accelerated dramatically in the last three years. There are now major concerns about looming oversupply and potential price collapses for both oil and gas, which would undercut marginal high-cost producers first, leading to stranded assets and public bailouts.

The idea that fossil fuel exports could significantly boost the province’s economy is unfounded. Almost all fossil fuel infrastructure requires substantial public subsidies. The Trans Mountain Expansion and LNG Canada typify this, requiring tens of billions of dollars in support with tax breaks, loan guarantees, discounted electricity and much else.

Now Canada has lifted most of the retaliatory tariffs, with Carney explaining that Canada has the “best deal with the United States right now.”

Canadians may choose to follow the direction of their prime minister or they may view this as an opportunity to take more responsibility and continue to use their purchasing choices to influence trade relations.

Prost, a Canadian citizen who was raised in Winnipeg, will have any U.S. assets frozen, and she could have difficulty accessing financial services in Canada.

He said Ottawa should issue a blocking statute under the Foreign Extraterritorial Measures Act, which bars Canadian businesses from enforcing what the Department of Justice refers to as "unacceptable extraterritorial assertions of foreign jurisdiction" and allows lawsuits against those who co-operate with unjust foreign sanctions.

Ottawa's silence tells Canadian officials they won't be defended if they take up politically sensitive work, he said, which erodes morale and Canada’s global standing.

"If we don't do anything about this now, it won't just be the ICC. We will normalize the use of coercive sanctions, not only against our citizens, but against people who have done exactly nothing wrong and who have dedicated their lives to serve others."

I got this in my email today and all I could think was yeah I am not signing this petition I am strong in the do not fund Trump camp

Canada’s new government has a mandate to strengthen and diversify our international relationships. In the face of a shifting global trade landscape, that mandate has only increased in importance. To that end, the Prime Minister, Mark Carney, travelled to Germany to strengthen our trade and commercial ties and build new partnerships in the rapidly growing market for critical minerals.

Earlier this year at the G7 Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, Prime Minister Carney introduced the Critical Minerals Production Alliance – a Canada-led initiative that leverages trusted international partnerships to enhance critical mineral supply chains for collective defence and advanced technology.

Today, in Berlin, Canada and Germany signed a Joint Declaration of Intent to deepen co-operation to secure critical mineral supply chains, increase collaboration on research and development, and co-fund new critical mineral projects that contribute to a range of industries – from electric vehicle manufacturing to defence and aerospace.

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With vast energy and natural resources, Canada has what the world needs to meet the demands of the future. By partnering with Germany, the largest economy in Europe, Canada will boost domestic investment and create higher-paying jobs, while accelerating the clean energy transition and strengthening transatlantic security.

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Canadian Prime Minister Carney and German Chancellor Merz also discussed Russia’s ongoing aggression in Ukraine – underlining that no decisions about Ukraine should be taken without Ukraine, and no decisions about Europe should be taken without Europe. The Prime Minister reaffirmed Canada’s unwavering support for Ukraine following this weekend’s meetings in Kyiv with President Zelenskyy, outlining Canada’s recent allocation of $2 billion in military assistance. He echoed that credible security guarantees will be instrumental in creating the conditions for durable, lasting peace.

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I'm a Jew. My grandmother survived the Ravensbruck concentration camp, death marches, and unspeakable horrors.

Israel does not speak for me. Criticism of Israel is not inherently anti-Semitic (a word that doesn't even mean what people think it means). Israel is committing war crimes. This is a genocide of parity with what my family experienced.

I stand with Palestine.

“This year, all our pre-filled syringe COVID-19 vaccine doses for Canada are on track to be produced entirely within the country, starting at our new mRNA manufacturing facility in Laval, Quebec, and completed at our fill-finish partner in Cambridge, Ontario,” Raos says.

“This end-to-end domestic supply chain enables fast delivery, greater self-reliance, and a more agile response to evolving public health threats.”

Article from last year for context:

CBC has whitewashed Israel’s crimes in Gaza. I saw it firsthand

https://mastodon.social/@JasonThorne/115083776485545892

The only thing better than a protected bike lane, is a protected bike lane with artworks by local artists! The new Lansdowne Avenue cycle track murals are looking good.

Shoutout to Street Art Toronto, Cycle Toronto and the City of Toronto Cycling and Pedestrian Projects Unit #BikeTooter

This poor dude and his family. Can Canada reach out and save them? This falls under refugee status I would think.

Archived link

On June 10, 2025 [...] Microsoft France’s Director of Public and Legal Affairs, Mr. Anton Carniaux [...] was asked if he could guarantee that data from French citizens could not be transmitted to United States authorities without the explicit authorization of French authorities.

Mr. Carniaux said that he could not guarantee this.

In other words, if the United States were to issue a legal request to Microsoft for the data of a French citizen hosted in the EU, Microsoft would comply regardless of French or EU law.

[...]

This removes France, Canada, and all other country’s autonomy and sovereignty to control the data it uses in their respective countrys according to their practices and laws.

[...]

Microsoft’s statement means that if they receive a valid legal request from the United States government for data on a Canadian, residing on a Microsoft server in Canada, Microsoft will respond to the request without receiving permission from Canadian authorities.

[...]

United States-based tech companies, such as Microsoft, Amazon, and Google, and their products play a role in nearly every aspect of our daily lives, whether through software, hardware, Internet hosting, or other means

[...]

Previously, Canada and others have adopted data residency requirements, which requires certain data to be hosted in Canada. There was a believe that this was enough to protect Canada’s sovereignty and our people, but with the United States Cloud Act and an adversarial United States administration, the conditions have changed. Despite these efforts, there have always been concerns that Microsoft and others would ignore data residency. Microsoft has now confirmed that it does not care about data residency or other country’s sovereignty.

[...]

Does this affect the Federal Government and Military?

Yes.

It appears that it does not matter if the target is an individual, organization, or government. As long as the legal request is considered valid in the United States, the target or location of the data does not matter. As an example, the Department of National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces make significant use of Microsoft 365. They have their own defence-tailored instance called Defence 365, which serves as a common cloud infrastructure for collaboration across DND/CAF, with stakeholders and other government departments. In theory, any data on or using Microsoft or a US-based organization’s products and infrastructure which is not isolated from the Internet could be subponeaed by the United States government.

[...]

The current United States administration has shown to base a significant amount of its foreign and economic policy on dubious or false pretenses with little basis in rational, informed evidence or reality. As a result, we cannot expect that all legal requests received by Microsoft or other tech giants will be evidence-based or rational. Thus, this revelation represents a significant risk to the Government of Canada and its military.

[...]

Can Canada and Others Say No?

In theory, yes. But there are a few problems with this.

Canada could say no, but if the information is hosted on Microsoft servers then Microsoft would be able to retrieve this information without the Canadian government knowing. So the user and government will not know unless the United States government or Microsoft informs them. Even in such a case where the user or Canadian government/authorities were informed, it would more or less be, “This is happening and there’s nothing you can do. Your issue is with the United States government, not us.”

In more controlled, secure data environments, it would be more difficult for Microsoft to retrieve this data without some indication informing the user. However, the only likely way to avoid the risk of US legal requests superceding Canadian or other international law is to not use the products of US-based organizations or to keep them disconnected entirely from the Internet.

[...]

This admission from Microsoft France has reaffirmed the importance of data sovereignty and renews concerns about Canada’s ability to trust Microsoft or other non-Canadian companies to provide reliable and secure cloud services. This is likely to add to the growing calls for Canada to develop a sovereign cloud capability, reducing its reliance on major cloud hosts, the majority of which are US-based.

[...]