Canada election 2025: Kelowna
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Kelowna is a federal riding located in British Columbia and is a new riding in the 2025 Canadian election.
Voters will decide who will represent Kelowna in British Columbia during the upcoming Canadian election on April 28, 2025.
Visit this page on election night for a complete breakdown of up to the minute results.
Candidates
Conservative: Tracy Gray (Incumbent)
Liberal: Stephen Fuhr
NDP: Trevor McAleese
Green: Catriona Wright
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Winnipeg Free Press
37 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
PM Carney says he has no plans to tackle 24 Sussex question during his mandate
OTTAWA – Almost a decade after 24 Sussex Drive was abandoned as the official residence of the Canadian prime minister, taxpayers are still shelling out tens of thousands of dollars a year to maintain the vacant property, and the new prime minister has signalled he's in no rush to deal with the crumbling building. Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters in May that it's up to the National Capital Commission to decide what to do with 24 Sussex. 'It's not a challenge for today, this month, this year and it's probably a challenge for this mandate,' Carney said in French, adding that multiple ideas on how to renew 24 Sussex have been put forward by former prime ministers. The home is a 35-room mansion that was built in 1896, and served as the prime minister's official residence starting in 1951. It has been a federal heritage site since 1986. But former prime minister Stephen Harper was the last leader to live at 24 Sussex. When Justin Trudeau took over as prime minister in November 2015, he and his family instead moved into Rideau Cottage, a home on the grounds of Rideau Hall. Carney and his family now also live at Rideau Cottage. While the grounds of 24 Sussex were used during Trudeau's tenure for some social events, it was closed by the National Capital Commission in 2022 for 'health and safety reasons.' Those included an infestation of rats that was so severe they found rodent carcasses and excrement in the home's walls, attic and basement. The commission has since spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on maintaining the building. A document detailing expenses for 24 Sussex, obtained via information access law, shows that upkeep of the building cost taxpayers more than $680,000 between January 2018 and June 2023. Those costs included elevator maintenance, janitorial services, boiler maintenance, the removal of a bees' nest, pest control, roof repair and pool cleaning. In 2022, the NCC spent just over $76,000 to repair a stone wall and steel fence after a tourist bus crashed into the gates of 24 Sussex. NCC spokesperson Valérie Dufour said the organization is unable to provide any up-to-date information on operations and maintenance costs for the building. She confirmed the NCC continues to pay to maintain the building. A separate document from 2023, obtained via an access to information request, shows the Trudeau government looked at three main options for the official residence. The first option would be to establish Rideau Cottage as the prime minister's permanent residence by investing in additional residential infrastructure, such as laundry and staff offices. The second option would be to build a new 'modern facility' at 24 Sussex with 'limited heritage elements,' which would accommodate both residential and official functions. The third option would be to build an entirely new residence on NCC-owned land elsewhere in Ottawa. Dufour said the commission presented options on the future of the official residence to the government and is awaiting a decision. In a letter addressed to then-procurement minister Jean-Yves Duclos, Trudeau asked for a proposal on new options for the official residence to be drafted by January 2026. Trudeau said the proposal should include a plan to transfer all responsibility for the official residence, except for general maintenance, from the National Capital Commission to Public Services and Procurement Canada. Andrew MacDougall, who was director of communications to former prime minister Stephen Harper, said that while Carney is right to focus on more important files, Canada still needs to maintain 'symbols' of its nationhood — including 24 Sussex. 'Imagine a U.S. president leaving the White House in a dilapidated state. They would never,' he said. 'And so why do we tolerate it?' MacDougall argued that Carney is already 'opening the taps and spending like there's no tomorrow' and he might as well take on a problem that too many prime ministers have ignored. Franco Terrazzano, federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said the real problem is that the National Capital Commission is 'too good at wasting our money but bad at managing properties.' 'With debt interest charges blowing a $1 billion hole in the budget every week, Prime Minister Mark Carney must make it a priority to hold the NCC accountable to stop wasting so much money,' he said. 'Canadians also shouldn't be paying for an official residence for any opposition leader or Speaker, and the prime minister doesn't need multiple residences.' Katherine Spencer-Ross, president of Heritage Ottawa, said Carney's reluctance to tackle 24 Sussex is 'hardly surprising' given the amount of work on his plate. 'I'm not holding my breath,' she said. 'I think he's got another fish to fry.' Spencer-Ross said that while prime ministers have been afraid to do anything about 24 Sussex because of the political optics, the prime minister of the day is still the 'steward' of the building. 'It is not their home. It is not their party's home. It belongs to the people of Canada,' she said. Spencer-Ross said Heritage Ottawa wrote to Trudeau in 2018 to suggest setting up an external advisory committee to look at options for the residence. She said nothing happened with that idea until Trudeau included it in his letter to Duclos. She said her organization believes the building should be maintained, renewed and kept in public hands, even if it's no longer the official residence. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 13, 2025.
Winnipeg Free Press
38 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Emerging quantum technologies take the spotlight at Kananaskis G7 summit
OTTAWA – The Liberal government has named quantum technologies as a priority topic for the G7 meeting in Kananaskis — placing the nascent tech centre stage at the summit for the first time. It's a move meant to showcase Canada's strength in the emerging field, which, like artificial intelligence, promises to transform many industries. AI is at a more advanced stage of development than quantum technologies, said Mark Daley, professor and chief AI officer at Western University. 'These are earlier stage investments in a technology that has the potential to be truly transformative. It lets us compute things much faster, using much less energy than classical computers,' he said. 'Including that is sort of our way of hedging our portfolio.' Ahead of the summit, the Prime Minister's Office outlined Canada's priorities for the June 15 to 17 summit. It said in a media release the government would 'seek agreements and co-ordinated action' on a number of topics, including 'using artificial intelligence and quantum to unleash economic growth.' Industry welcomed the move and the consortium Quantum Industry Canada called it a 'major milestone' for the sector. Quantum technologies use the principles of quantum mechanics for applications like computing. Michael Murphy, a post-doctoral fellow and incoming director at the Centre for International and Defence Policy at Queen's University, said quantum technologies also include 'a range of sensors, communications, protocols, hardware and software.' They are all 'related to the discoveries within quantum science, but apply them in the real world and manipulate systems to let us do things more securely or with greater efficiency or with greater accuracy,' he said. Quantum computers, for example, would allow for a 'rapid increase in processing power,' he said. Paul Samson, president of the Centre for International Governance Innovation, said that while quantum computing hasn't reached the commercialization stage yet, there are types of quantum technology that are 'here and now.' They include quantum sensing technology such as new forms of radar, and post-quantum cryptography — cybersecurity applications to protect data and communications. Samson said that given the military and infrastructure applications and the potential for cyberattacks from adversaries, 'there's a common interest' among G7 members in getting 'this cryptography right.' Florian Martin-Bariteau, research chair in technology and society at the University of Ottawa, said national security of all countries is at risk without investments in both quantum computing capacity and safeguards. 'That includes not just government information,' he said, but systems like banking, telecommunications and power grids that run on algorithms, which quantum computers would be able to break. There's an urgent need 'to make sure that we are ready before' quantum computers hit the market, he said. Canada is a leader in both quantum research and startups, Samson said, noting 'it's kind of where we were on AI maybe 15 years ago.' But Canada didn't 'scale up as much' on AI and ended up losing some commercial opportunities to the U.S. and other countries, he said. 'I think Canada is very focused on not doing that now, making quantum really a priority, because we're well positioned on it,' he said. Martin-Bariteau agreed. 'Let's hope that this ecosystem stays Canadian, because we know that unfortunately a lot of the AI ecosystem got bought up by U.S. big tech,' he said. Samson's organization was in charge of putting together advice from various think tanks ahead of the G7 meeting. The final recommendations included putting a G7 contact group in place to co-ordinate quantum supply chains and launching an observatory focused on quantum safety. Martin-Bariteau, who co-authored a brief that recommended the supply chain contact group, said the computing power of quantum computers 'could break all of the encryption algorithms that we have today.' 'So for the past years, we've seen a lot of national security and defence conversation about quantum and a lot of countries passed import-export regulations,' he said, adding those regulations are now impeding collaboration and putting partnerships at risk. Quantum tech is a new priority but artificial intelligence has been on the G7 agenda at previous summits. Martin-Bariteau noted that when Japan held the presidency, it started the Hiroshima process focusing on generative AI and a code of conduct, while Italy's presidency the following year looked at AI in the public sector. Daley said 'time is not wasted at multilateral meetings of very busy people.' 'So this is the clearest possible indicator you can get that the G7 governments and heads of government are taking these technologies very seriously as agents of significant change in our economies and our societies.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 13, 2025.
Winnipeg Free Press
38 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
As Trump heads to the G7, Canada hopes to avoid another Charlevoix-style eruption
OTTAWA – U.S. President Donald Trump is set to arrive Sunday in Alberta for the G7 summit — his first visit to Canada since leaving in a huff seven years ago. Ottawa could use everything from golfing and creative scheduling to special cabinet orders to make the visit successful and avoid a repeat diplomatic disaster. 'He is somebody who is very prickly when he feels like he's not being fully respected,' said Eric Miller, president of Rideau Potomac Strategy Group, a cross-border consultancy. 'You want to make absolutely sure that … he walks away and says, 'You know, those Canadians aren't so bad after all.'' Better than last time The last time Trump was in Canada — for the G7 summit in the Charlevoix region of Quebec — things ended in a blowout. Trump refused to sign the communiqué, the published list of statements on common G7 issues that are mostly negotiated and agreed to by member nations ahead of time. He left early and lambasted Trudeau as 'very dishonest and weak' in a spat over tariffs. The summit included what Miller called the 'photograph for the ages' — of then German chancellor Angela Merkel and others standing sternly over a seated Donald Trump, who appeared to be glaring back with crossed arms. German Ambassador to Canada Matthias Lüttenberg put it bluntly when he told a June 4 panel that Ottawa was again navigating 'very difficult circumstances' as G7 chair — and capably, in his view. 'I mean, I wouldn't like to negotiate with a country at the table who's questioning my sovereignty as a state,' he said. Sen. Peter Boehm, who was summit head in 2018, recalled two late nights of negotiations because the Trump administration didn't align with the others on including climate change or references to the 'rules-based international order.' Informal talks Prime Minister Mark Carney won office in April after repeatedly saying he could stand up to Trump's threats to ruin the Canadian economy in order to make the country an American state. Carney had a cordial visit to Washington in early May and even got praise from Trump on social media and in person, despite the president insisting Canada should still become a U.S. state. The two have continued talking. U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra revealed earlier this month that the president and Carney have exchanged frequent calls and texts on trade and tariffs. Miller said facetime between the two leaders in Alberta could help them make progress on economic concerns, as well as Trump's pitch to bring Canada into his proposed Golden Dome missile shield project. 'Given that there is this conversation underway, it is important that they have an opportunity to continue that, and to meet perhaps in a setting that is less structured and formal than the Oval Office,' Miller said. 'Life is about imperfect choices, and it's absolutely the right thing to have Mr. Trump come to Canada.' He said he's not sure if there will be any formal announcement, though he added Trump is keen to sign agreements with multiple countries ahead of his self-imposed July 9 deadline for so-called retaliatory tariffs. Miller said both Canada and the U.S. are likely to take credit for Ottawa announcing this month it will drastically speed up its pledge to meet NATO's defence spending target. Trump might also take note of the fact that he's in one of the few provinces that have opted to resume sales of U.S. alcohol, after all provinces banned it from their liquor store shelves in response to U.S. tariffs. Lower expectations Ottawa's decision to schedule relatively short group discussions among G7 leaders, and to invite numerous other world leaders, could mean more of the one-on-one meetings that Trump prefers. 'Trump does not like multilateral meetings particularly. He loses interest,' Boehm said. Canadian officials have said they are focused on releasing shorter, focused statements — which could avoid the kind of major blowups that could come from trying to craft the kind of massive joint communiqué that has concluded almost all other G7 summits. Former prime minister Jean Chretien told a panel Thursday that if Trump does have an outburst, G7 leaders should ignore him and 'keep talking normally.' Miller said that for Canada, 'ensuring a positive agenda that doesn't lead to acrimony afterwards' means advancing its interests without isolating the U.S., particularly with so many guest leaders attending. 'The trick that Mr. Carney has to pull off is to reassure the U.S. that it wants a good, positive relationship — while at the same time running vigorously, as quickly as possible, to try to build new relationships,' he said. It's also entirely possible that Trump will leave before the meetings conclude. A visiting felon Keeping it positive is also likely why Ottawa will skirt rules that might bar Trump from crossing into Canada after he was found guilty on 34 criminal counts in a 'hush money' trial in May 2024. Immigration lawyers say those convicted of serious crimes abroad must serve their time and wait five years before seeking a certificate of admissibility to Canada, though there are loopholes if someone seeks a visa for a compelling reason. The federal cabinet passed a formal order published in February that gives diplomatic immunity and privileges to 'representatives of a foreign state that participate in the G7 meetings.' Fore! Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. Another way Canada could ensure a successful visit could be to get Trump to the Kananaskis Country Golf Course — a prospect much discussed in media reports that remained unconfirmed as of Friday afternoon. Carney gave Trump a hat and golf gear from that course during his visit to the Oval Office in May. Miller said that wasn't just a gimmick — Trump loves making deals while teeing off, and it could provide Carney or others with hours of facetime on a golf cart, which is Trump's comfort zone. 'Golf has been pretty central to his life,' he said. 'It makes eminent sense to have Mr. Trump playing at a high-quality golf course.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 14, 2025.
