Weekly Roundup - February 21, 2025

Feb 21

Preview

As Canadians head into the weekend riding the high of winning gold against the U.S. in hockey, political campaigns are keeping a close eye on whether the resurgence of Canadian pride and nationalism that’s been spurred on by our hockey team defeating the Americans on the ice and President Trump’s repeated threats against Canada will linger.

In response to looming tariff threats from the Trump administration, concern about U.S. relations continues to trend upwards as a top national issue of concern. The Conservative Party of Canada this week shifted their previous core messaging centred around the need for a “carbon tax election”. Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre delivered a major speech titled “Canada First” focusing on Trump’s tariffs, economic sovereignty, and a strong response to U.S. trade pressure. That’s not to say he’s left the carbon tax messaging behind entirely; ads are being run from the CPC focused on calling the Liberal leadership front-runner “Carbon Tax Carney”.

Canadians are right to be concerned about the impact of a trade war on our economy; Governor of the Bank of Canada Tiff Macklem delivered a speech today in Ontario where he warned that “a new crisis is on the horizon. If U.S. tariffs play out as threatened, the economic impact would be severe.” Macklem highlighted bolstering productivity and removing interprovincial trade barriers, as solutions that could better protect the domestic economy.

Below, you’ll find a recap of the other top stories in federal politics and in Alberta.

Top Federal Stories

Speaking of the need to remove interprovincial trade barriers to strengthen Canada’s economy, CBC reported today that Internal Trade Minister Anita Anand shared with her provincial counterparts that more than half of the 39 remaining Canada Free Trade Agreement exceptions will be removed. The federal removal of CFTA exceptions was coupled with the announcement this week from Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston that the province would be introducing legislation to allow Canadian goods and services to be sold without the need for further testing or red tape, so long as there is a reciprocal agreement in place with the originating jurisdiction. We’ll see if other provinces choose to follow suit with similar legislation this spring.

The Liberal leadership race keeps trucking along, with debates in English and French set to take place early next week. It’s shaping up to be Carney’s race to lose, with a formidable lead in campaign fundraising as well as caucus support. He’ll have one less name to go up against on the ballot with the late breaking news of Ruby Dhalla reportedly being unanimously disqualified from the race this afternoon.

Top Alberta Stories

The weather is warming up across the province, but the hot spot continues to be inside the Alberta Legislature as the heat is on Premier Danielle Smith and Health Minister Adriana LaGrange after allegations of government interference in medical contracts.

The pair held a news conference this week to address the controversy, saying they had no involvement in determining the details of contracts with private surgical facilities, stressing that all such decisions were made by Alberta Health Services (AHS) staff.

During the news conference the Premier also announced Darren Hedley was taking over as the deputy minister of health leaving Andre Tremblay, who previously held both roles, as just the interim head of AHS.

It’s another thread reporters are pulling on as this story continues to unravel. It’s been a major distraction for the governing UCP who continue to face the threat of tariffs from the U.S. and are working to finalize the details of a budget that’s expected to include a deficit. Premier Smith cancelled a planned trip to Washington for the 2025 Winter Meeting of the National Governors Association saying, “we’ve decided to remain in Alberta this week to prepare for the budget that will be released next week.”

To add to the timing troubles, Tuesday marks the start of the Spring session, meaning the opposition NDP will have the opportunity to ask the government questions for 50 minutes a day, four days a week. While NDP leader Naheed Nenshi was acclaimed as the party’s candidate in Edmonton-Strathcona after former leader Rachel Notley stepped down, he does not have a seat in the house and will be relying on House Leader Christina Gray to keep the pressure on.

Since Nenshi’s arrival, the Official Opposition has been finding its feet and struggling to communicate a clear message. However, the team seems to have galvanized around the alleged AHS issue and we expect the former Calgary mayor to spend a lot of time in Edmonton as the NDP works to keep this story from fading into the background as we await Minister LaGrange and other parties to file their Statements of Defence in the coming weeks, along with the investigation into the matter from the Auditor General.

The noise is making it hard for other government announcements to break through. Over the weekend, the province provided an update on the School Construction Accelerator Program. Announced in September, the $8.6 billion funding approach has so far resulted in 11 previously announced school projects in the Calgary Metropolitan Region and Edmonton being sped up. It's likely welcome news for families – if they even heard about it as the announcement barely made a dent in the news cycle consumed by looming tariffs and health procurement.

The traditional news cycle surrounding the tabling of next week’s provincial budget may also be derailed, in particular as UCP MLAs attempt to put a positive spin on any local wins while the dominant narrative is concern over health spending.

New West Public Affairs will be watching closely and dissecting the politics, priorities, and implications during a live webinar at 4pm MST on Thursday February 27 – right after the budget is tabled. Be sure to secure your spot by registering here.