Prime Minister Carney says Canada will recognize a Palestinian state
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National Observer
6 hours ago
- National Observer
A Canadian researcher was 'indispensible' to helping Trump dismantle climate action
A Canadian economist and conservative columnist who recently called Prime Minister Mark Carney a "climate zealot" played a critical role in the Trump administration's push to eradicate US climate rules. Ross McKitrick, an associate professor at the University of Guelph and a senior fellow at libertarian thinktank the Fraser Institute, was one of five co-authors recruited by US Energy Secretary Christ Wright to author a 150-page US Department of Energy (DOE) report that undermined the US government's ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. He was "indispensible" to the project, wrote co-author and climate denier Roy Spencer in his blog. The report argues "CO2-induced warming appears to be less economically damaging than commonly believed," and "mitigation policies could prove more detrimental than beneficial." The report was published last week as part of the Trump administration's proposal to repeal the Environmental Protection Agency's Endangerment Finding — the legal mechanism underpinning most US climate legislation. Eliminating the finding, a longstanding goal of climate deniers, lets the government undermine standards that limit emissions, including from oil and gas operations, power plants and landfills. There is a widespread scientific consensus that human activity, mostly burning fossil fuels, is the main driver of climate change. That finding was backed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the European Climate Risk Assessment, and the US's Fifth National Climate Risk Assessment, published during the Biden era. Bill McKibben, the prominent climate scientist, journalist, climate advocate and co-founder of told Canada's National Observer McKitrick's involvement is a rare example of climate denial flowing from Canada to the US. "I suppose it's proof that once in a while the damage goes the other way across the border," he said. If the Trump administration successfully eradicates all US climate measures, the country is projected to emit an extra seven billion tons of greenhouse gases between now and 2030 — like adding an additional 10 Canadas to the world's emissions. A Canadian economist and conservative columnist who recently called Prime Minister Mark Carney a "climate zealot" played a critical role in the Trump administration's push to eradicate US climate rules. McKitrick has been downplaying the impacts of climate change and bolstering the fossil fuel industry for decades. As far back as 2000, he joined a briefing by the so-called "Cooler Heads Coalition," a group with close ties to the oil industry, to criticize the IPCC's Third Assessment Report. "The inclusion of Ross McKitrick, whose work is widely debunked and who isn't even American, tells you just how hard it is to find researchers who will question the overwhelming scientific consensus on carbon dioxide emissions and climate change," said Simon Donner, a climate scientist at the University of British Columbia and a lead author on the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report. As the conversation continued around climate change, McKitrick continued to publicly criticize climate science and renewable energy throughout the 2000s and 2010s through his work writing reports for the Fraser Institute and other thinktanks, in news media and as a public speaker. In 2020 he published an op-ed for Troy Media that claims we must ' fight climate extremists before they upend society" and slammed Canada's then-proposed plastic pollution rules for imposing " costs and inconvenience … while doing nothing to fix the [pollution] problem." He remains a prominent voice against climate action, contributing climate-skeptical columns to the Financial Post, the National Post and the oil and gas outlet Energy Now. He also continues to write for conservative thinktanks, including a 2025 report for the Fraser Institute that concludes achieving Canada's net zero goals isn't worth the economic and social cost. A spokesperson for the US DOE said in an emailed statement that McKitrick and his co-authors, the prominent climate contrarians John Christy, Judith Curry, Steve Koonin and Roy Spencer, "represent diverse viewpoints and political backgrounds." Wright, the US energy secretary, wrote in the report's preface that "media coverage often distorts the science" on climate, pushing "many people [to] walk away with a view of climate change that is exaggerated or incomplete. To provide clarity and balance, I asked a diverse team of independent experts to critically review the current state of climate science. "I've reviewed the report carefully, and I believe it faithfully represents the state of climate science today. Still, many readers may be surprised by its conclusions — which differ in important ways from the mainstream narrative," Wright, a former oil and gas executive, continued. In February, Wright described the global effort against climate change as "sinister" and a "tool used to grow government power [and], top-down control, and shrink human freedom' while speaking at Jordan Peterson's Alliance for Responsible Citizenship conference. A few weeks later, he attacked Biden-era climate measures as a "quasi-religious' agenda 'that imposed endless sacrifices on our citizens.' Climate experts have slammed the new DOE report. Ben Sanderson, senior researcher on climate mitigation at the Centre for International Climate Research (CICERO) in Oslo, dismantled the paper in a thread on Bluesky. The "tiny" list of authors and lack of external peer-review undermines the report's credibility, he wrote. (Reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change usually contain contributions from hundreds of authors.) McKitrick and his co-authors presented "minority contrarian viewpoints" by "isolating specific talking points and presenting them as a comprehensive assessment. "Each chapter follows the same pattern. Establish a contrarian position, cherry-pick evidence to support that position, then claim that this position is under-represented in climate literature and the IPCC in particular. Include a bunch of references, most of which don't support the central argument," he wrote. In a Tuesday post on X, McKitrick claimed that he and his co-authors weren't involved in designing the government's push to repeal the Endangerment Finding and "only knew what was in the news." However, the post links to blog posts by his co-authors Curry and Spencer where they address the key policy head-on: Spencer wrote that the group"suspected the Endangerment Finding would be the topic of greatest interest" to the Trump administration when they were commissioned to write the report. Curry wrote that "the looming US policy issue is the EPA Endangerment Finding" and that she hopes the report will break "Breaking the link between energy policy and human-caused climate change".
Global News
6 hours ago
- Global News
As Trump hikes tariffs, B.C. jobs minister urges Carney to ‘negotiate hard'
British Columbia's minister of jobs and economic growth is urging the federal government to stand firm and 'negotiate hard' when trying to find a solution to 35 per cent tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump's Ravi Kahlon's advice to Prime Minister Mark Carney and his negotiating team is to keep up what they're doing, and 'find a path forward the best they can.' A statement from Premier David Eby's office says he remains focused on protecting workers and businesses in B.C. from the 'deeply harmful tariffs' imposed by Trump's administration. It says Eby supports the federal government's efforts to get a 'good deal' for Canada, adding that he looks forward to speaking to the prime minister about the situation. 1:09 Scott Moe says Canada should lower or remove counter-tariffs on the U.S. The United States imposed a 35 per cent tariff on all Canadian goods outside the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement on free trade after an agreement couldn't be reached by the Aug. 1 deadline. Story continues below advertisement Several other jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom and the European Union, have reached deals before the deadline. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Kahlon said Trump is 'constantly finding ways to raise the temperature' so 'they can squeeze out the most' from any agreement. He said he believes Carney and Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc are taking the right approach, 'which is keeping their head down, continue to be at the table, continue to find solutions, and not getting distracted by the day-to-day swings of the president of the United States.' He said he would also highlight the importance of the softwood lumber industry for B.C., which is just as crucial as the auto industry is to Ontario. 'The forest sector here in British Columbia should get the same support,' Kahlon said. Both Eby and Kahlon have repeatedly argued that the long-running softwood lumber dispute with the United States should be part of a larger deal. 5:53 CCPA on new Trump tariffs against Canada Brian Menzies, executive director of the Independent Wood Processors Association of British Columbia, said he is 'not very optimistic' that a future deal would also resolve the softwood dispute as the industry already faces combined tariffs and duties of almost 35 per cent. Story continues below advertisement 'We have been at this for eight years now, and there doesn't seem to be enough of a push on the American side to resolve this,' he said. Menzies also favours ongoing negotiations with the United States to resolve the tariff dispute. 'I would say it's better to get a good deal than a bad deal,' he said. 'I'd say right now, 'Do your best to stand up for what's important for Canada,'' he said. Menzies said being 'kowtowed and pushed over' is not good for Canada or the United States. 'People respect people who stand up for what's important to them, and that's the basis for any negotiation,' Menzies said. Menzies noted that any future deal with the United States might not last long, given Trump's temperament. Kahlon agreed. 'We take nothing for granted,' he said. 'It's a sad state for us in Canada to have a partner down south that doesn't honour a handshake, an agreement,' he said. 'It's hard to do business with somebody that is hard to trust when these things come.' Kahlon added that even the United Kingdom and the European Union are not sure if they actually have agreements with the United States. Story continues below advertisement 'So the uncertainty continues,' he said.
The Province
7 hours ago
- The Province
'You may not have the best hand': Former U.S. ambassador on Canada negotiating with Trump
Much of his work involved navigating a landscape where bilateral co-operation could no longer be taken for granted and where he had to rebuild an alliance strained by trade disputes and fiery rhetoric David Cohen, the former U.S. Ambassador to Canada, being interviewed in the U.S. Embassy building in Ottawa on Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022. Photo by David Kawai / The Canadian Press Canada's view of its southern neighbour has understandably dimmed after President Donald Trump launched a tariff war. With Trump declaring more tariffs against Canada effective Friday, National Post spoke this week with former ambassador David Cohen, former president Joe Biden's envoy to Ottawa from 2021 to 2025, who was tasked with resetting U.S.-Canada relations following the first tumultuous Trump term, which included its own tariff actions against Canadian goods. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 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Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Much of Cohen's work involved navigating a landscape where bilateral co-operation could no longer be taken for granted and where he had to rebuild an alliance strained by trade disputes and fiery rhetoric. He's since returned to private life but still gives talks boosting the U.S.-Canada relationship. (This interview has been edited and condensed due to length.) David Cohen at a Canadian Club luncheon in Ottawa on Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023. Photo by Adrian Wyld / The Canadian Press Q: What were your proudest achievements as ambassador? A: 'I think the most important achievement was all of Mission Canada,' said Cohen. 'I set as a priority to rebuild, strengthen, and nurture the U.S.-Canada relationship, and I think we were largely successful in accomplishing that objective.' Cohen also noted helping to shift Canada's defence spending debate away from an almost exclusive focus on GDP percentages by arguing that commitments must be tied to existing security threats. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The public view often was, 'Why does Canada have to spend money on defence? We're surrounded by oceans on three sides, and by the United States on the fourth side.' But, Cohen said, 'that wasn't and isn't true. There are legitimate security threats, and Canada has a special responsibility and should have a special focus on continental defence.' He noted that under prime ministers Justin Trudeau and Mark Carney, the defence discussion has lately become centred on continental defence and the Arctic, which resonates more with Canadians. In fact, in December 2024, for the first time in over a decade, a majority of Canadians supported more defence spending, according to polling by the Angus Reid Institute . This, said Cohen, 'contributed to the additional defence spending that has occurred – and made it easier for (Trudeau and Carney) to make commitments about increasing the amount of investment that Canada would make toward defence, ultimately being able to sign off on the new five per cent threshold that was agreed to this year.' Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Q: How well do you think Carney's team has been doing amid the trade war and negotiations? A: 'Prime Minister Carney and Canada are doing about as good a job as they can do in very difficult negotiations that are not always rationality-based … President Trump has not been all that crystal clear at times about exactly what it is he wants to accomplish and the underlying reasons for his positioning,' he said. Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump in Alberta for a G7 meeting, June 16, 2025. Photo by Gavin Young/Postmedia Cohen pointed to the White House's original 25 per cent tariff announcement and how it was premised largely on border and fentanyl issues, even though he said fentanyl imports from Canada were a very small part of the U.S. problem, especially compared to Mexico. He questioned the rationale for raising tariffs on Canadian goods from 25 to 35 per cent, given the tiny and shrinking amount of fentanyl coming from Canada. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. But Cohen also pointed out that 'Canada sometimes seems to overvalue its leverage, without fully recognizing the huge asymmetry in our almost trillion-dollar trade relationship. Three-quarters of Canada's exports go to the U.S., but only 17 per cent of U.S. exports go to Canada. Sometimes that gives Canada an overinflated view of (Canada's) leverage in negotiations.' Q: Do you think a new U.S.-Canada trade and security deal is coming? A: Cohen noted that Republican voices, such as Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, are publicly starting to highlight the critical importance of the U.S.-Canada trade relationship and expressing confidence that an agreement will eventually come. Cohen agreed, saying he believes a deal is coming – he's just not sure when. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. On Canada's path to securing the best deal, Cohen stressed that delivering concrete defence results matters far more than mere promises. 'Carney has said all the right things. What he now needs to do is to deliver – that is, money actually has to be budgeted and then it has to be spent.' He also noted that the Golden Dome initiative , a spending priority for the U.S., could help Canada reach pledged defence targets. The Golden Dome, an envisioned by U.S. President Donald Trump, would put U.S. weapons in space for the first time. Photo by Mark Schiefelbein / AP 'Actually putting concrete actions behind the commitments is something that Prime Minister Carney can do.' Cohen also noted that Canada's supply management issues, particularly with dairy, remain politically sensitive. 'There are a whole series and host of issues that are outstanding between the United States and Canada,' he added, 'and I think bringing any of them to the table with potential solutions that would be attractive to President Trump is a good strategy and a good tactic.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Q: Do you expect the current trade talks to bleed into the required review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement this coming year? Do you think Trump is looking to rip that up? A: 'I think it's inevitable these negotiations will bleed into the statutorily required review of USMCA,' Cohen said. And while the deal is a legacy of Trump's former U.S. trade representative, Robert Lighthizer, 'I think there's a part of Donald Trump that views it as a Donald Trump legacy too, since he was personally at the table and personally involved in closing the ultimate deal in 2018.' While Cohen doesn't think Trump is interested in ripping up the agreement, he acknowledged that there 'may need to be adjustments to it or revisiting of issues that Canada resisted during the original negotiation.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'I think it's almost inevitable that there will be certain elements of USMCA that will end up needing to be renegotiated as part of the review process.' But he expects it to survive because 'it has been such a good deal for both sides.' Q: Has there been long-term damage to the U.S.-Canada relationship from the last few months of trade tension, or is a reset feasible? A: Cohen noted the trust quotient between the U.S. and Canada plummeted from about 58 per cent during the Obama era to around 10 per cent in Trump's first term, before climbing back to the mid-50 per cent range under Biden. Today it's at 16 per cent. 'That history says it'll take work, it'll take effort from the United States perspective – we'll be dealing with a skeptical Canadian audience,' he said. 'But the U.S. market is too attractive (to not repair the relationship). The Canadian market is historically too much of an integral partner within that market.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'With a different government and a different approach, I think businesses on both sides of the border will probably be more ready to come back to the table and to engage in rebuilding the relationship. I think it's going to take more to convince the Canadian public that the United States really does care about Canada, although I think that is achievable.' Q: Can friction between the U.S. and Canada be a good thing? Can tariffs? A: 'I think civil friction is healthy because it respects the sovereignty of our allies and often ends up improving the United States' decision-making,' Cohen said. 'But I don't think just because the United States is the largest economy on earth, has 10 times the population, a much higher GDP, and just because we dominate the trade relationship, means that everything we say Canada should agree to just because we say it.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. On tariffs, Cohen said he is mostly a free-trade supporter and believes governments should get out of the way of businesses, the true drivers of economies. 'I think tariffs are really dangerous tools to use because I think they can interfere with the natural work of businesses in growing economies — that is what businesses do better than governments.' But Cohen also noted that targeted use of tariffs can be appropriate. He cited the example of softwood lumber tariffs, used by both Trump and Biden. 'It is just about indisputable that Canada, through its governmental policies by the federal government and by multiple provincial governments, unfairly favours Canadian lumber producers, creates preferential treatment for Canadian lumber producers, and discriminates against U.S. lumber producers.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'As a result, U.S. lumber producers are disadvantaged vis-à-vis Canadian lumber producers, and the mechanism for levelling that playing field is the countervailing softwood lumber tariffs.' Cohen also said tariffs can be helpful as leverage to negotiate things like boosted defence spending for NATO. 'I think that's a good thing,' he said. But he also criticized Trump's across-the-board high tariffs, like the 25 per cent tariff on potash, an essential farming input that's scarce in the U.S., as making no sense. Q: How is your successor, Ambassador Pete Hoekstra, doing in his job? A: 'I think he's in a very difficult position because (he's not a free agent but a personal representative of President Trump, but …) he's from a border state and has a longstanding understanding of the U.S.-Canada relationship and its importance from his Michigan roots,' Cohen said, noting how the former representative for Michigan's 2nd congressional district has gone out of his way to repeatedly talk about the importance of the Canada-U.S. relationship. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra. Photo by Justin Tang/The Canadian Press/File 'I think he's doing the best job he can to continue to send a message about the value that he personally and that the country puts on the U.S.-Canada relationship.' Q: Any final advice for Canadians about their relationship with the U.S.? A: 'There's almost an inferiority complex in Canada — lines like 'we're the stepchild' or 'not big enough to matter' — I always hated that,' he said, noting how Canada undervalues its importance as a friend, partner, and ally. 'There are things Canada can do that the United States cannot, because internationally, (the U.S.) is the 800-pound gorilla. Canada, though, gets to be in conversations in the global south where it can express views about promoting democracy and democratic values that, if promoted by the U.S., would fall on deaf ears. Canada can open the door and help achieve America's No. 1 foreign policy goal, which is the promotion of democracy and democratic values around the world. ' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Canada should never also never undervalue the role it has played in its actions, Cohen said. 'When the United States went into Afghanistan, Canada was the first country to join us. Americans should never forget what Canada did in the (Canadian) Caper, getting our last diplomats out of Iran safely (after the 1979 revolution), at great danger to the individual Canadian diplomats and to Canada on the international stage. 'On the one hand, be proud and recognize how incredibly important you are to this relationship … On the other hand, recognize that in tough negotiations, you may not have the best hand because of the asymmetry of the financial nature of the relationship.' 'That tension is one of the most interesting aspects of dealing with Canada.' National Post tmoran@ Read More Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our newsletters here. Local News Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver Canucks Sports Crime
