The 'Century Initiative' is the talk of the campaign, but what is it?
OTTAWA — The campaign may have just begun, but Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre already looks to have found his favourite target: the Liberal-linked Century Initiative.
The little known pro-immigration lobby group, which seeks to grow Canada's population to 100 million by 2100, has been on Poilievre's lips a lot in the campaign's opening stretch, after Liberal Leader Mark Carney added Century Initiative co-founder Mark Wiseman to his advisory council on Canada-U.S. relations last week.
Poilievre said Friday, at a pre-writ skilled trades announcement in suburban Ottawa, the appointment shows the Liberal leader shares the group's vision for Canada.
'By bringing on Mr. Wiseman, it shows that Mark Carney supports the Liberal Century Initiative to nearly triple our population to 100 million people,' Poilievre said in response to a question on the topic.
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'That is the radical Liberal agenda on immigration.'
Carney, who's said he'll scale back immigration to pre-pandemic levels, has distanced himself from the group, telling reporters at Rideau Hall on Sunday that intake should stay capped until the housing crunch has abated.
He added in French that Quebec should have the right to determine 'a rhythm of immigration that allows for integration.'
Here are a few things to know about the group that wants to supersize Canada.
Founded in 2014, the group bills itself as a 'diverse, non-partisan network of Canadians from the business, academic and charitable sectors' who share a vision of a more populous and prosperous Canada with more pull on the global stage.
The group favours both immigration and more domestic births, advocating for Canada to meet the OECD average of 1.6 children per woman by the next decade, reversing the current record low of 1.3. births.
According to the Initiative's website, its day-to-day activities include education, advocacy and meeting with key decision-makers. Notably, it publishes a yearly national scorecard on Canada's growth and prosperity.
The Century Initiative was added to Canada's Registry of Lobbyists in 2021, but is currently listed as inactive.
The Century Initiative was co-founded by Wiseman and fellow businessperson Dominic Barton in 2014. Barton went on to chair Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Advisory Council on Economic Growth, and was tapped by Trudeau in 2019 as Canada's 21st Ambassador to China.
Barton, who was also a central figure in a scandal involving Liberal government contracts to his ex-firm McKinsey & Company, is no longer affiliated with the group.
The group has a nine directors, 15 affiliated experts and a three-person Council of Champions, according to its website.
One notable member is ex-Edmonton mayor Don Iveson, who is rumoured to be eyeing a federal run as a Liberal. Business Council of Canada head Goldy Hyder and retired Trudeau Senate appointee Ratna Omidvar are also members.
The group says that the target of 100 million Canadians by 2100 is carefully chosen, based on future economic and national security needs.
'100 million isn't an arbitrary number. It's the population we need for Canada to remain a prosperous and diverse society with relevance on the international stage,' reads the group's website.
The group recently tacked a note to its landing page pushing back against 'misleading claims' that have circulated in the early days of the campaign.
'Let's set the record straight… Our mission is to ensure long-term, responsible economic growth for Canada by advocating for a national smart growth framework,' reads the note.
'This means aligning immigration with strategic investments in housing, infrastructure, and public services.'
'Efforts to mischaracterize our work are politically opportunistic and do a disservice to voters. We remain committed to facts, informed policy, and Canada's future.'
National Post rmohamed@postmedia.com
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Hamilton Spectator
2 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
‘Uphill battle': Criminal Code must include definition for femicide, advocates say
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Police use the word so rarely that the Kingston example was a 'very significant' move, said Myrna Dawson, founder and director of the Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability. 'That's not something that's really in their vocabulary right now. It's not something that is in many people's vocabulary as much as it should be,' she said. Dawson, who is also a sociology professor at the University of Guelph, said the lack of Criminal Code definition is part of the reason why. The observatory defines femicide as the killing of women and girls because of their gender. The group also uses a framework from the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime that lists 10 specific indicators that a crime could be considered femicide. They include a woman or girl being killed by her intimate partner or family member, a victim having had a history of being harassed and sexual violence playing a role in the crime. In some cases, more than one factor can be at play. 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The Ontario Association of Interval Houses, which tracks cases in the province, has identified five femicides in Kingston since late 2019. Its executive director, Marlene Ham, said that without a universally recognized definition for femicide, different groups will end up with different numbers. Adding a definition of femicide to the Criminal Code would allow better data on violence against women to be captured by police and national agencies such as Statistics Canada, both advocates said. Kingston Police spokesperson Const. Anthony Colangeli declined to answer questions about what motivated the force to use the term femicide and whether it plans to use similar terminology in the future. An Ottawa police spokesperson said the force started using the word femicide to 'highlight the realities of gender-based violence faced by women in our community.' 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The force does, however, lay terrorism charges in homicides where misogyny is a motivating factor. Dawson says police are 'fighting an uphill battle' when it comes to using femicide terminology more consistently. 'Police really need leaders to take the initiative, and by that I mean the federal government who decides what is a criminal offence and what should be labelled and legislated officially,' she said. Carney promised in the campaign to make killings motivated by hate — including femicide — a 'constructive first-degree offence,' which means a first-degree murder charge would be laid even if the slaying was not planned and deliberate. Chantalle Aubertin, a spokesperson for Justice Minister Sean Fraser, said in a statement the government is 'determined to bring forward legislation to advance this commitment as soon as possible.' Should the federal government enshrine a definition of femicide, Statistics Canada could record better data, Dawson said. The agency already tracks homicides reported by police each year, and the genders of the accused perpetrators and victims. While a 2023 report on gender-related homicides of women and girls broke down some indicators of femicide, it only addressed some of the UN's indicators. 'The more we know about these killings and the more we can contextualize them within that understanding of femicide, the more awareness that we can ultimately build and continue to have these discussions about prevention,' Ham said, noting a history of threats, violence and coercive control is present in many cases. It's important to keep the conversation about violence toward women going, Dawson added, with an emphasis on how these killings differ from those targeting boys and men. 'That's what we're trying to emphasize because if we don't recognize that, then our prevention efforts also don't recognize that, and we don't recognize the urgency of this.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 8, 2025. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Telecom sector ramping up investments in tech as traditional growth areas slow
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Pogorel was among a half-dozen international experts who spoke last month at a telecom seminar in Toronto hosted by the Ivey Business School. The event focused on the role of innovation for telecom policy, along with harnessing new technologies for economic growth at a time of disruption and geopolitical challenges. Peter Cramton, an emeritus professor of economics at the University of Maryland who also spoke at the event, said big tech companies have outperformed telecom carriers globally over the past decade by "expanding across domains" to achieve exponential customer growth. "Whereas the big (telecom) carriers have struggled with, 'Well, we've got our customers, but now we've got 100 per cent penetration, so everybody is a customer and we can't expand the number of customers exponentially,'" he said. "But I think there's lots of scope for this 'telco to tech-co' transition, creating a lot of value for the big carriers that we haven't seen so far." 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He said they should increasingly seek to partner with other businesses in need of connectivity solutions in fields like agriculture and mining, along with developing Internet of Things applications that rely on connectivity to function. As the carriers chase new customers in diversified fields, that also shouldn't come at the expense of much needed investments in their core telecom networks, said Bohlin. "The telcos are in a very important role for society but they are being pressured from all directions," he said. "We take for granted the many ways these telecom networks will work." This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 8, 2025. Companies in this story: (TSX:BCE, TSX:T, TSX:RCI.B, TSX:QBR.B) Sammy Hudes, The Canadian Press Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Indianapolis Star
3 hours ago
- Indianapolis Star
GOP's health care plan: We're all going to die, so whatever
If death and taxes are the only certainties, Joni Ernst is here to cut one and fast-track the other. 'We all are going to die," she said. You might think that's a line from a nihilistic French play. Or something a teenage goth said in Hot Topic. Or an epiphany from your stoner college roommate after he watched Interstellar at 3 a.m. But that was actually the Iowa Senator's God-honest response to concerns that slashing Medicaid to achieve President Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' would lead to more preventable deaths. The full exchange at a May 30 town hall included one audience member shouting at the stage, 'People will die!' And Ernst responding, 'People are not — well, we all are going to die, so for heaven's sake.' That's not a health care policy — that's a horoscope for the terminally screwed. As you can imagine, the internet didn't love it, because losing your health should not trigger the equivalent of a shrug emoji from someone elected to serve the public good. But rather than walking it back, Ernst leaned in, filming a mock apology in a graveyard because nothing says, 'I care about your future,' like filming next to people who don't have one. Ernst's comments aren't just philosophical musings. She's justifying policy choices that cause real harm. If passed, this bill would, according to the Congressional Budget Office, remove health coverage for up to 7.6 million Americans. That's not just 'we all die someday' territory. That's 'some people will die soon and needlessly.' What makes this even more galling is that the people pushing these cuts have access to high-quality, taxpayer-subsidized healthcare. Congress gets the AAA, platinum, concierge-level government plan. Meanwhile, millions of Americans are told to try their luck with essential oils or YouTube acupuncture tutorials. Honestly, it felt more like performance art than policy: 'Sorry about your grandma getting kicked out of her assisted living facility. Please enjoy this scenic view of her future! LOL!' We're not asking you to defeat death, senator. Death is both inevitable and bipartisan. But there is a broad chasm between dying peacefully at 85 and dying in your 40's because your Medicaid plan disappeared and your GoFundMe didn't meet its goal. Fundamentally, governing is about priorities. A budget is a moral document. When a lawmaker tells you 'we're all going to die' in response to a policy choice, they're telling you 'I've made peace with your suffering as collateral damage.' And if a U.S. Senator can stand in a cemetery and joke about it, you have to wonder — who do our federal legislators think those graves are for? This isn't just about one comment or one bill. It's about a mindset that treats healthcare as a luxury rather than a right. If death is inevitable, then access to healthcare you can afford is what helps determine how long you have, how comfortably you live, and whether you get to watch your kids grow up. Healthcare isn't about escaping death. It's about dignity and quality of life while we are here. Ernst got one thing right: death will come for us all. But leadership, real leadership, is about helping people live as long and as well as they can before that day comes. You want to make jokes, Senator? Fine. But if your punchline is 'You're all going to die anyway,' don't be surprised when your constituents realize the joke's on them.
