Reid: 'Hard not to see this as negative' after Trump apparently 'disengages' with Canada
Scott Reid weighs in on Trump's tone, stalled Canada-U.S. deal, and challenges facing the Prime Minister.
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Globe and Mail
30 minutes ago
- Globe and Mail
The Democrats won't be in the dumps for long
It's not news that Canada needs. Our party in the United States, the Democratic Party, which we've always favoured over the less progressive Republicans, appears to be in dire straits. Typical of its troubles is a Wall Street Journal poll saying the party has reached a 35-year-low in public esteem, with 63 per cent of voters holding a negative view. The Democrats are despondent and divided from their election defeat. Their credibility has taken a hit on account of their apparent cover-up of Joe Biden's cognitive decline. They are being steamrollered in Congress by the Republicans. They lack a coherent message, a strong leader. It is all happening when, more than ever, a strong Democratic Party is needed to restrain the authoritarian impulses of Donald Trump, who is going so far as to have Barack Obama investigated. But the party's condition isn't as dire as it is being made out to be. Much of what we're seeing is not unusual for a party in the months after losing a presidential election. Since first being based in Washington in 1978, I've seen the same pattern repeatedly. Initially it's all doom and gloom for the defeated party. Then the midterm elections come and that party invariably makes big gains and all the griping and crying and bad media stops. Andrew Coyne: The final obstacle to Trump's dictatorship may be the people he needs to borrow from Trump says Vance 'most likely' to lead as Republican nominee in 2028 It's only natural that in the wake of the Trump defeat, there is dissent and finger pointing and division among the Democrats. It's standard fare to be trailing well behind the honeymooning victors in the polls. It's hardly surprising to appear rudderless given that in the American system, there is no opposition party leader as such. And it's to be expected that with the Republicans in control of the House, the Senate and the White House, they are having their way. But despite their follies, the Democrats currently lead the Republicans in generic polls for Congressional control. The Trump victory has not translated in a boost in support for Republicans. In three polls released Wednesday, he was an average of negative-seven in favourability ratings. Only 38 per cent of Americans say the country is on the right track. What is being overlooked by those attacking the Democrats is their talent pool. The party is stacked with talent. There's California Governor Gavin Newsom, there's former transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Representative Ro Khanna, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker. That doesn't include firebrand representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who political analyst Nate Silver and others are already touting as the favourite to win the party's 2028 nomination. Ms. Ocasio-Cortez's prominence, however, is one of the reasons the party is said to be doing so poorly. She's dragging the party to the far left. She is therefore deemed to be a gift to Republicans. That could well be the case. It could also be old-think, another example of an out-of-touch establishment mentality, discounting how American politics has changed and is changing. Polls by Gallup and AtlasIntel show AOC scoring a higher positive impression than Mr. Trump. An Emerson College poll shows her neck-and-neck with Vice-President J.D. Vance. AOC has passion and star power. She is inheriting Bernie Sanders's base of support. As a Latina, that base potentially extends to Hispanic America. At the age of just 35, her base extends to the youth of the country. She represents generational change in spades. Clobbering all comers in fundraising, she brought in almost US$10-million in the first quarter of this year. The party needs a fighter who connects with working people; AOC is that too. An anti-establishment rising star like her is hardly an example of a party in decline. On the Republican side, Mr. Trump has been scoring foreign policy wins, but they aren't vote-getters. The party just received rotten economic numbers, leading Mr. Trump to idiotically blame it on his statistics chief and, in banana-republic style, fire her. Most every economist is of the view that the Trump trade war will spark high inflation, handing the Democrats the affordability issue. His recently passed 'big beautiful bill' is getting a big ugly reception for cutting into social security and catering to the rich. The Epstein controversy is fracturing unity in the party's base. This is all going to help Democratic Party disarray go away. In keeping with precedent, we can expect the party to vigorously reassert itself by the midterms, just like it did in the midterms in 2018. We recall how down in the dumps the Democrats were after losing to Mr. Trump two years earlier. It didn't last.
CBC
30 minutes ago
- CBC
Manitoba Métis Federation boycotts PM's summit on major projects law
Manitoba Métis leaders announced Wednesday they intend to boycott this week's summit with Prime Minister Mark Carney because the Liberal government is including the Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO). Other Métis groups are also expressing concerns about the process after confirming they weren't invited to Thursday's meeting in Ottawa to discuss the federal government's recently passed law to fast-track major projects. It's the last of three summits called this summer to ease Indigenous Peoples' concerns about the law, known as bill C-5, yet it's unclear how many people will even be there. "We will not be attending that summit," Manitoba Métis Federation President David Chartrand said at a news conference inside the Chateau Laurier hotel in Ottawa on Wednesday morning. Flanked by his cabinet, Chartrand told reporters he considers MNO a "fraudulent" organization with which Manitoba leaders can't share a table. "To the prime minister, the door is open. If you want to come and sit down with my cabinet in a government-to-government relationship, we will meet," he said. "But if you want to insult us, then we'll see each other in a different political realm in the future. So unfortunately, it's a sad day for us. Truly." In an interview earlier Wednesday, an MNO spokesperson pointed to the group's signed self-government agreement with Canada, brushing off any concerns from Manitoba. "We're here to talk about our serious concerns about C-5 and our serious concerns about Canada's position globally," said Mitch Case, MNO provincial secretary for Métis rights, intergovernmental relations and communications. In 2003, the Supreme Court of Canada recognized the existence of a rights-bearing Métis community in and around Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. At issue, however, are six "new historic" Métis communities MNO and the Ontario government jointly recognized in 2017. First Nations in Ontario contest the communities' legitimacy and MMF, the federally recognized government for the Red River Métis, withdrew from the Métis National Council in 2021 over the dispute. Case said it would be indefensible for Canada to exclude the Ontario Métis, adding that the goal should be finding a collaborative way to address the United States' economic threats while protecting the environment and respecting Indigenous rights. "That's the conversation we're here to have. If people want to try to distract from that conversation with their own political goals, well, that's up to them. But we're here to do important work," he said. Not all Métis invited Chartrand indicated Canada invited the four Métis groups that have signed self-government agreements: Otipemisiwak Métis Government (OMG) in Alberta, Métis Nation-Saskatchewan, MMF and MNO. But there are some communities, like Fort Chipewyan Métis Nation in northern Alberta, that don't belong to any provincial body. An official with that community said this process is "not proper consultation," as the Fort Chipewyan Métis aren't represented by OMG. "It goes against reconciliation, and the process appears to be flawed right out of the gate," said Carmen Wells, lands and regulatory director for the Fort Chipewyan Métis Nation. Wells said the community chooses to have its own voice because it's situated at "ground zero," in a region most impacted by industrial development in Canada — the oilsands. "We also expect not to be left out of those conversations, as we are our own sovereign nation with constitutionally protected rights," said Fort Chipewyan Metis Nation President Kendrick Cardinal in a statement. Up until recently the Métis National Council had five members, but the MMF's exit was followed by the Métis Nation-Saskatchewan and the Métis Nation British Columbia (MNBC) in 2024. Chartrand said the national council shouldn't be included at the summit, even as an observer. The B.C. group wasn't invited to participate in Carney's summit except as an observer, MNBC President Walter Mineault told CBC Indigenous. He said MNBC is still an important stakeholder that deserves to be at the table even if it lacks a formal self-government agreement. "It's very disrespectful to our nation here in B.C. and our government, and it should not happen," he said. "We are very concerned about these issues as well going forward." Back in Ottawa, Otipemisiwak Métis Government President Andrea Sandmaier focused on the meeting itself, calling it as a chance to ensure Métis voices are heard. "I believe that it's possible for the Crown and our nation to prosper together. We're not here to hold up or block progress," she said. "We're here to help shape a future where economic growth, environmental protection and Indigenous rights advance together, and I think that we have a really good opportunity to make that happen." Chartrand said he would not consider withdrawing the MMF's support for C-5, but he did offer Carney a heated warning against "back stabbing" the Red River Métis and ignoring their rights.
CBC
2 hours ago
- CBC
Northern Ontario small-town mayor says she won't step down as community narrowly avoids shutdown
Social Sharing The mayor of the small northern Ontario township of Fauquier-Strickland says she has no plans to step down as the community narrowly avoids a municipal shutdown due to a $2.5-million operating deficit. At a city council meeting on Tuesday, resident Peter Konopelky received applause from others in attendance when he called on Mayor Madeleine Tremblay to resign. "We are asking you to step down and allow somebody who better understands how to manage [the municipality] and move forward," Konopelky said. Tremblay, however, said she would finish the rest of her term. "And I have to tell you that I will do my best," she said. "It would be a lot better to run, and just quit and not face the music. But I'm not that kind of person. I will fight, I will work hard, and I will do my best to try and find a solution." At a special council meeting on July 31, Fauquier-Strickland's council accepted $300,000 in interim funding from the province to prevent a shutdown of municipal services. Earlier that month, Tremblay said the municipality would not be able to afford services like garbage pickup without help from the province or a significant property tax increase of up to 200 per cent. The temporary provincial funding will now allow the township to maintain garbage collection, keep the dump open, retain its volunteer fire department and continue limited administrative functions with a staff of three. But Shannon Pawlikowski, Fauquier-Strickland's director of municipal services, said many services will need to be scaled back. "Services, no matter what, are still going to be bare bones for the foreseeable future." Tremblay told CBC News in July it was a challenge to keep up with rising costs for services when the municipality only has around 500 people. She said some projects, such as upgrades to the municipal water filtration system went over budget. That particular project, which happened during the COVID-19 pandemic, cost around $1 million.
