First published in The Toronto Star:
The Carney government needs to protect Canadian businesses, Canadian ownership and Canadian jobs before more damage is done

Some Canadians – notably folks supporting the federal Liberals – were celebrating last week as we saw the largest increase in GDP for the second quarter of this year in the past four years. Second quarter real GDP increased by 0.8 per cent – 3.3 per cent on an annualized basis. A slight readjustment of GDP data for the first quarter of 2026 bumped the numbers up slightly so that the two consecutive quarters of negative economic performance – definition of a recession – that were previously measured did not take place. First quarter GDP did not get revised upward by much – from a decline of 0.1 per cent to an increase of just 0.1 per cent. It’s doubtful the Canadians that have been frequenting food banks for the last couple of years will now be laughing all the way to the bank. It’s also important to note that economic data get revised all the time, so even these recent numbers could be revised up or down in some future data release.

While Canadians were focussing on Canada-U.S. trade relations over the past week or so, a very interesting consultation period was winding up in Ottawa on something called the “green taxonomy.” The purpose of this policy exercise is to divide different economic activities into three categories – green, transition or abatement. Of course, things like oil and gas investment will fall into the abatement category, the least green of all. Supposedly, this will provide a guide to investors as to where they may want to direct their capital if, for example, they want to bias it toward so-called green businesses or activities.

Back in 2023, the Trudeau Liberal government renewed the existing equalization payment formula among the provinces until 2029. This was done with zero consultation with the provinces – an underhanded move but not unusual for the underhanded Trudeau government. Last month at a meeting in Red Deer, Alberta, Prime Minister Mark Carney noted that, despite inquiries from a number of provinces, the federal government would not be opening up the current equalization agreement until its mandatory review takes place in 2029. Such a review was supposed to take place in 2023, but the Trudeau government chose not to do a much-needed review and just rubber-stamped the existing situation until 2029.

Translation – more useless red tape for Canadian businesses. Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture Marc Miller recently announced that the federal Liberal government would be forcing businesses to provide services in French in many more regions than is currently the case. It is unknown where the impetus for this policy came from, as there certainly was not a groundswell of demand for services in French from consumers or the business community this policy will affect. Yet again, it seems the Liberals are devising a policy for which there is no demand. 

Canada’s housing problems have been around for a few decades and have gotten much worse in recent years as out-of-control immigration has swamped Canada and the disincentives imposed by governments to housing developers pile up. Trends show no sign of improving anytime soon. A July 2026 report from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the federal government body overseeing the housing market, was decidedly pessimistic.

For years, climate alarmists, some politicians and others have told us that we are undergoing an energy transition, in which fossil fuels are being replaced by so-called “renewable” energy sources such as wind and solar. Unfortunately for them, the facts keep getting in the way of these pronouncements. The most recent example of this is a new report from the Fraser Institute that demonstrates just how dependent Canada still is on fossil fuels. The answer is very dependent.  

After years of observing incompetent governments at all levels, scandal after scandal, major errors made on important government decisions and total abuse of our taxpayer dollars in so many instances, Canadians would be justified in asking what exactly does it take to get a government employee fired?

There has been considerable anecdotal evidence that Canadian manufacturers have been through a rough few years, with an uncompetitive economic environment of high taxes, intrusive regulatory demands, a sluggish economy and labour market disruptions. The tariffs imposed by the Trump administration over the past year worsened the situation. A KPMG Manufacturing survey published last week helped to quantify the intentions of this important sector. The news was not good for Canada. 

The topic of pipelines is all the rage in policy circles of late, all because there appears to have been some recent progress on the Alberta to B.C. Coast pipeline plans, albeit via a non-optimal route. Before anyone gets too excited, there remain many roadblocks to this project, virtually all of them self-inflicted.