Balance your budget or be taken over, education minister warns Toronto school board
'The Toronto District School Board has been running multi-year deficits. What they're being asked to do is find savings of less than two per cent on an over $3 billion budget,' Calandra said Thursday during daily question period, adding it could be 'finding savings by reducing the amount of superintendents that they have, by going after the $35 million of paid leave that they have.'
The board is among
five being targeted
by the province for financial issues, and Calandra has previously announced he was sending in an investigator to look at Toronto's books.
He accused the board of going after students by suggesting closing pools or firing itinerant music teachers instead of cutting administration.
'What they didn't say is, 'We're going to look at the record number of superintendents who are littered all over the Sunshine List.' They went from 3,000 to 8,000 people on the Sunshine List. 'We're not looking at that at the TDSB.' Why? Because the TDSB and the trustees are all about protecting themselves at the expense of students, at the expense of teachers.'
To trustees, he added, 'let me be very clear. Do the right things for students; do the right things for teachers. If you don't, I'll take you over and I'll put the board back on track.'
The government has touted its record level of education funding, which now sits at about $29 billion. School boards, however, say when inflation is factored in, per-student funding is down by about $1,500 at a time they are facing increasing costs — some of them mandatory, including employment insurance.
Liberal MPP Jonathan Tsao (Don Valley North) said it is time the government 'commit to properly funding' the board.
'While I agree that fiscal responsibility matters, we also can't ignore the real challenges facing the students across the (Toronto public board) ... due to chronic underfunding,' Tsao said.
'Parents and teachers in my riding are deeply — deeply — concerned about the impact of the inaction of this government over the past seven years, especially on special education, IT programs, and opportunities in music, drama, sports and the arts. On top of that, aging infrastructure only adds to these pressures.'
Trustees at the TDSB, among the largest school boards in North America, voted Wednesday at a special meeting to direct Chair Neethan Shan to 'continue to seek to engage the minister of education with urgency regarding the need for budget 2025 and education funding for 2025-26 to address the growing inflationary gap in per pupil education funding, special education funding, and other areas.'
Some parents have urged the board to not cut staff or delay distributing Chromebooks to students, and instead pressure the government to provide additional funds.
The board initially faced a $70.3 million deficit that was lowered to $58 million after the federal government eliminated the carbon tax. Almost $44 million of the shortfall is attributed to statutory Canada Pension Plan and Employment Insurance increases.
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Boston Globe
12 hours ago
- Boston Globe
These border towns in Maine and Canada seemed inseparable. Now Trump and tariffs are putting them to the test.
The international border between Calais and St. Stephen was once little more than a formality between towns entwined by generations of marriage, history, and economics. Now, their relationship is being tested by global politics beyond their influence. Some Canadians here are refusing to cross into America, even to visit longtime friends or to buy cheaper gas and groceries. 'I wouldn't be comfortable crossing,' said Bruce Craig, 73, who handed out Canadian flag pins on the parade route in downtown St. Stephen, within sight of Calais. Border crossings into Calais from St. Stephen began falling in February, after President Trump announced steep 'economic force' if necessary. Advertisement People started on Main Street in Calais, Maine, as they participated in the International Homecoming Festival Parade on Aug. 9. The parade ended across the border in St. Stephen, New Brunswick. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff Canadian flag pins lay on a Liberal party table at the festival in St. Stephen. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff 'There isn't a snowball's chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States,' then-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said early this year. He encouraged Since March, monthly passenger vehicle crossings from St. Stephen to Calais are down about 30 percent from 2024, according to US Department of Transportation figures. The dropoff is even worse elsewhere along the US-Canada border: Canadian authorities have reported that nationwide, the total number of Canadians returning by car from US trips in June was down 33 percent. Craig is one of the Canadians now refusing to cross into the US, a decision he made out of principle – and some concern about being hassled or detained for his political comments on social media. He's going to great lengths to avoid even stepping foot in America. How great? On a planned road trip this month to see a grandson in southern Quebec, he will not follow his usual route cutting through Maine – a roughly five-hour drive that would mean twice crossing the international border. Instead, he will head north, staying in Canada and motoring the long way around the rounded top of Maine and then back down – a journey that will balloon a half-day trip into two days and require staying in a motel. It's going to be a big inconvenience, for sure, but his national pride is bigger. 'It was the fifty-first state thing, the slap to our sovereignty,' Craig said. 'That punched everyone in the head.' Advertisement It may be hard to find two communities anywhere that have been as closely connected as Calais and St. Stephen, never mind two communities in different countries. People here have long shopped, worshiped, dated, and married across the border. Fans on both sides even cheer for the same sports teams, including the Red Sox and Bruins. Residents of the towns 'blithely tangle up their transborder economic and social lives without thinking twice about it,' a Saturday Evening Post reporter observed in 1946. The precursor to the towns' Bob Treworgy, of Calais, was elected to serve mayor of both Calais and St. Stephen for a week in 1961. The event, called Frontier Week, was the predecessor to the current International Festival. Courtesy of St. Croix Historical Society The 1961 event also featured Red Sox great Ted Williams, who played in the international softball game and competed in the fishing derby. Courtesy of St. Croix Historical Society Today, if you spend any time speaking to people in either town about their shared history, you will hear the gunpowder story. The flourishes change from person-to-person, but the basic thrust is this: During the War of 1812, when Calais and St. Stephen were technically enemies, St. Stephen gave their gunpowder reserves to their friends across the river in Calais, so the Americans could properly celebrate the Fourth of July. The point of the story is not the facts, which may be apocryphal, but the truth beneath them. For hundreds of years, the towns have been inextricably connected. Take Johnny Chambers, 50, who says his family has been here for five generations. He was born in Calais, lives in St. Stephen, and serves as the pastor of Common Ground Church of God, which sits in Calais. His wife is from St. Stephen. His parents live in Calais and own an inn in St. Stephen. He has a brother in Calais and a sister in St. Stephen, who in turn owns a business in Calais. Advertisement 'We're all a bunch of half-breeds up here,' he said. Chambers crosses the border multiple times a day, he said, for work, for banking, for fun. To keep himself on track, Chambers keeps his wristwatch set to Eastern time, for when he's on the American side, and his phone to Atlantic time, for when he's in Canada. It's confusing and yet he loves it. 'What they say – 'two communities, two towns, and one heart'– is very, very true,' he said. Though there have been articles in the Canadian press about Canadians detained at the US border, Chambers says the border has also been a magnet for social media misinformation. He has taken it upon himself to be a voice of reassurance for concerned friends – no, you're not going to be charged a fee to enter the US, he tells them, and no, the Customs and Border Protection officers are not going to tear your car apart conducting a search. Chambers is confident that the vast majority of Canadians in the area still have no problem crossing into the US, though those who won't make a lot of noise. It perhaps hasn't helped international relations that Calais, like almost all border towns in New England, voted for Trump in 2024. 'There are some people who hate the Orange Man – that's what they call him – and some who don't,' he said. 'I can tell you, it is difficult as a patriotic American to listen to Canadians bang on about American politics. Because they live under the umbrella of freedom and security provided by America.' Advertisement Runners passed a pair of US Customs and Border Protection officers during a 5-mile race that crosses the border twice. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff Calais and St. Stephen aren't rich places, and businesses in each town depend on border-crossing customers. Calais, population of about 3,100, has a median household income of about $48,650, some $25,000 below the Maine statewide average. Many locals work in the service industry, in health care, or at the paper mill in nearby Baileyville. The cost of living is low: if you can make $50,000, one man said, you can live a decent life. But without through-traffic to and from Canada, Calais would be a poor town at the end of a dead-end road, as one American businessperson put it. When the international parade seemed in danger of being canceled this year, it was small business owners who rallied to help save it. The parade began under a beating sun in the parking lot of a Calais motor inn, about a mile from the border. It included classic cars, floats advertising local companies, an ancient fire truck with a motor that wheezed and coughed, and members of a Canadian ATV club on their tricked out machines, some decorated in the theme of the Minecraft video game. A US border officer in her black uniform ran alongside the parade handing out candy and tiny American flags to kids. Along Main Street, the procession passed Jan McPhee, 72, of Calais, holding a sign at the curb that read: 'We love you! Canada Thank U 4 coming.' 'I have good friends over there and they are not coming over,' McPhee said of her St. Stephen pals, her voice thickening with emotion. She is 'embarrassed and heartbroken' by the Trump administration's provocations toward Canada, but feels powerless to do anything about it. Advertisement 'It's particularly hard for people on the border because we have more connections than people from, like, the Midwest,' she said. 'We see it, we feel it, we're sad about it.' At one point, a woman passing in a parade float spotted McPhee's sign and jumped down, running over to hug McPhee like a long lost friend, though they'd never met. 'Thank you for bringing the sign,' the woman said. In downtown Calais, the parade passed a table of laser art on birch and maple boards, by Bob Fitzsimmons, 61, a retired Baileyville chief of police. He, too, grew up in a blended family: A dad from Maine and a mom from New Brunswick. Baby Miss International Rylee Holmes took part in the festival in St. Stephen. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff Dallas Murray (right) took a sip of water as he competed in Jo's Pizza Eating Contest during the festival (he'd place second). Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff Fitzsimmons said he and his buddies, from both Calais and St. Stephen, talk border politics all the time. 'Some messages could be better said with sugar than a kick in the butt,' he said. 'We've been not only neighbors but families for generations. To have the US kick our friends and pull the rug out, it's disheartening.' Several Calais residents said they have noticed fewer Canadian license plates outside their bigger retailers, such as Walmart, where American and Canadian flags still hang from the ceiling inside. Local news organizations published stories this spring about the economic hit to Calais businesses. As the parade turned toward the river, it passed Jo's Diner & Pizzeria, one of the first businesses you encounter when crossing from Canada into the US. The restaurant's owner, Tim Crowe, emceed the International Festival's pizza-eating contest (medical personnel stood by in case it turned into a Heimlich-maneuver contest). Crowe has run the restaurant for about 16 years. He's cautious about saying anything disparaging that could offend a customer – people of all political persuasions and national allegiances buy pizza. Or at least they used to. He acknowledged business is down about 20 percent, due to Canadians staying on their side of the border. 'It gets worse depending on the news cycle,' he said. Pizza sales fall when harsh words are exchanged between Washington and Ottawa. When the rhetoric calms down, the numbers begin to tick back up, as Crowe waits nervously for the next clash. He just has to watch the morning news to anticipate the effect on his business. 'I think the only people who are experiencing this are the border towns.' On the St. Stephen side of the border, the parade floats traveled parallel to the river for more than half a kilometer, past a sports bar with a wall mural of Boston Bruins general manager and former player Don Sweeney, the pride of St. Stephen. (Sweeney recalls attending the International Festival with family throughout his childhood, he said through a Bruins spokesman.) Tracey Matheson, of St. Stephen, said she is among those who no longer cross the border to shop. 'It sucks because we like our deals over there,' she said. She empathizes with Calais business owners, but how else can ordinary Canadians take a stand against American government policy? 'What you're doing is wrong and there has to be consequences. 'We're Canadians,' she said, 'we love everybody, but don't [expletive] with us.' After the curse word slipped out, she covered her mouth with a hand. 'Oooo! I mean don't mess with us.' Throughout Canada, companies are trying to cash in on the wave of nationalistic feelings, pushing their Made-in-Canada bona fides, said JP Lewis, a professor of political science at the University of New Brunswick Saint John. It's already proving to be effective. The CEO of the big-box retailer The Canadian government, Lewis said, is also encouraging Canadians to keep their money at home by reducing trade barriers between provinces. On Aug. 1, the toll on the Confederation Bridge connecting New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island was slashed from $50.25 to $20, making it cheaper for Canadians to enjoy their own Atlantic coast, rather than vacationing in the US. The American side is feeling the squeeze. Last year, some 800,000 Canadian visitors spent almost $500 million in Maine, according to the state's Office of Tourism. Governor Janet Mills People on the Canadian banks of the St. Croix River watched fireworks shot off from the Maine side. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff Vicki Hogarth, a Canadian journalist covering the festival with CHCO-TV, a community television station in nearby St. Andrews, New Brunswick, said that the conflicts with the Trump administration are a coming-of-age moment for a country that has long been cast as understudy to the US star on the world stage. 'Before this we didn't really have the best idea of a Canadian identity,' she said. 'When you have these moments when you're being threatened, it was impressive that we could rise to the occasion. It is a really interesting moment to be a Canadian.' Around the corner from the Don Sweeney mural, 33-year-old Michael Jacobs helped staff the welcome tent for Canada's Liberal Party, which rode anti-Trump sentiments to an election victory in the spring. 'President Trump is trying to break us so America can own us,' Prime Minister Mark Carney said in his victory speech. 'That will never ... ever happen.' To Jacobs, who grew up in Fredericton, New Brunswick, about 90 minutes north of St. Stephen, it's all quite sad. 'Atlantic Canadians and New Englanders are so similar,' he said. He recalled his many vacations to the US – to Camden, Maine, Bar Harbor, and Boston. 'Every year our back-to-school shopping trip was to Freeport' – the Maine outlet store haven. 'I can't wait to go back to New England. We love America. We love visiting.' Just not right now. Out of principle and national pride, Jacobs said he won't cross the border until a new US president is in office. 'The alternative,' he said, 'is me giving tacit permission' for Trump's policies. 'Any Canadian who grew up along the border has fond memories of going to the US, and we look forward to making more memories – when the time is right.' Mark Arsenault can be reached at
Politico
12 hours ago
- Politico
Dog days of Carney
Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Canada Playbook | Follow Politico Canada Thanks for reading Canada Playbook. In today's edition: → MARK CARNEY on the down-low. → Five fights waiting for PIERRE POILIEVRE. → It's summer reno season at Stornoway. Trade war SUMMERTIME PM — This isn't exactly a typical lazy summer. Wildfires are burning through Canadian forests at near-record rates. Ukraine's future hangs in the balance as DONALD TRUMP convenes crucial confabs. Air Canada is slowly returning to full operations following a nightmarish few days. Tariffs are the cost of doing business for key sectors. And cross-border trade talks are all out of deadlines. — And yet: Prime Minister MARK CARNEY appears to be following up a weeklong staycation with … dog days things. Over the weekend, the PM and DIANA FOX CARNEY were spotted strolling down Ottawa's Beechwood Avenue at the dinner hour. On Monday, Carney met Ontario Premier DOUG FORD, who happened to be in Ottawa for a conference — the latest check-in between 2025's most surprising bosom buddies. Carney, who has taken heat for failing to open a brick-and-mortar constituency office following his election in April, spent Tuesday in his Nepean riding. He met the area's other rookie lawmaker, provincial Liberal TYLER WATT, as well as municipal councilors and students who scored their gigs via a federal jobs program. — In other words: Standard summer fare. — What we don't see: Any meetings, briefings, phone calls and strategy sessions that fail to crack the prime minister's public itinerary. — For example: Few world leaders are on the phone with VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY more than Carney. — Earlier this week: Several European leaders who also stand behind Ukraine had Zelenskyy's back — literally — at a high-stakes White House summit that worked to chart a path to peace. — Hangin' back: Carney was nowhere to be found — a detail amplified by Conservatives as proof of the prime minister's lack of global influence. Most members of the pro-Ukraine 'coalition of the willing' weren't in the traveling posse. — On the line: Carney did join a Tuesday call with his coalition counterparts. → The official line: 'Leaders welcomed the openness of the United States to providing security guarantees to support long-term peace and security for Ukraine and Europe,' Carney said in a statement. 'This approach is consistent with the principles of no decisions about Ukraine being taken without Ukraine and no decisions about Europe being taken without Europe.' — On today's agenda: Carney heads to Montreal, where he'll meet the mayor, the premier and AI business leaders. MORNING MUST-CLICKS The latest from POLITICO reporters in Ottawa, Washington and Europe: — The White House is planning for a possible trilateral meeting between the U.S., Russian and Ukrainian presidents in the Hungarian capital of Budapest. DASHA BURNS and PAUL MCLEARY report. — But Moscow on Tuesday moved to cool expectations of a long-awaited face-to-face summit. — CHRIS LUNDAY, JACOPO BARIGAZZI and DAN BLOOM report on the deadlock over security guarantees for Ukraine. — What's next? 5 questions to ask heading into a potential trilateral via POLITICO's GISELLE RUHIYYIH EWING. — And more from DASHA BURNS and ADAM WREN: Inside Trump world's reaction to the Zelenskyy reset. THE ROOMS THAT MATTER — Prime Minister MARK CARNEY is in Montreal for an afternoon meeting with Mayor VALÉRIE PLANTE and an evening meeting with Quebec Premier FRANÇOIS LEGAULT. He'll also 'participate in a roundtable discussion with business leaders focused on artificial intelligence and innovation' — and meet with another group of business leaders. — Conservative Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE is in Surrey, British Columbia, where he'll hold a press conference at 10 a.m. local time (1 p.m. in Ottawa) on his party's plan 'to end the crime and chaos on our streets.' Want more POLITICO? Download our mobile app to save stories, get notifications on U.S.-Canada relations, and more. In iOS or Android . For your radar FIVE-ROUND FIGHT — POILIEVRE now has a second shot at becoming prime minister, although roadblocks stand in his way. Here are five more fights he faces in the coming months: → The Conservative Party: Poilievre will face a mandatory leadership review in January. When he returns to the House of Commons in September, he will need to prove he can take on the prime minister. → POTUS: Canadians are more worried about DONALD TRUMP and U.S. relations than jobs and the economy, according to a recent Nanos poll. While Liberals are seen as better equipped to handle a Trump presidency, the Conservative Party — which focused its election campaign on affordability and crime — has no regrets about that strategy. → The Dougfather: Ontario Premier DOUG FORD, who famously feuded with Poilievre during the federal campaign, publicly advised Poilievre on Monday to put his 'political stripes' aside and work with the feds on big projects. Ford has a close relationship with Poilievre's main political rival: MARK CARNEY. The premier even hosted the PM at his cottage last month. Party activists whisper about Ford's federal ambitions — and those of Nova Scotia Premier TIM HOUSTON, too. → Women: Like his former rival JUSTIN TRUDEAU, Poilievre is a polarizing figure in Canadian politics with voters split on whether they like him or not. And he polls particularly poorly among women. A recent study by the Angus Reid Institute showed 64 percent of women have a negative view of Poilievre. → The PM: While it's early days, Carney continues to lead over Poilievre as the person Canadians would prefer as prime minister. Read more from POLITICO's MICKEY DJURIC. TALK OF THE TOWN WHILE YOU WERE AWAY — Playbook spotted construction signs outside the Rockcliffe Park residence reserved for the leader of the Official an awkward time to talk about the tenancy of Stornoway, a big house — 19 rooms, 9,500 sq. ft. — that few former residents would call fancy. The house is technically reserved for a party leader who sits in the House of Commons. CPC House Leader ANDREW SCHEER, a former resident of the place, has for months technically served in the role that would come with the keys. But nobody ever kicked out PIERRE POILIEVRE and his brood. Once the Conservative leader's win in rural Alberta on Monday is made officially official — well, it'll be business as usual on Acacia Avenue. — Meanwhile: The National Capital Commission is carrying out 'rehabilitation work' on the building 'as part of regular property maintenance.' The Crown corporation that maintains the property added a few details about the reno: 'The work includes removal and replacement of the gutters and downspouts, foundation repairs and waterproofing, installation of a new drainage system, and the abatement of designated substances from a basement room previously impacted by water infiltration.' → Upgrade time: The NCC will 'also remove and rebuild the veranda, which is in poor condition, and rebuild the pergola, previously removed as a health and safety precaution.' → Estimated price tag: Any dollar spent on an official residence risks an unfavorable headline about taxpayer-funded mansions. The hard truth for the penny pinchers is this building has a long list of needs. Still, asking these questions with a furrowed brow is a longstanding Canadian tradition: Does the oppo leader really require a veranda? Isn't a pergola a little too fancy? Since you're probably wondering, the NCC did serve up an estimate: C$620,000. PROZONE Our latest headlines for POLITICO Pro subscribers: — Farmers are feeling the heat as Trump's tariffs spike fertilizer prices. — Commerce expands steel and aluminum tariffs wider than expected. — Canada courts Arctic allies to counter Russia. — At least 7 U.S. federal agencies compromised through Microsoft SharePoint vulnerability. — Trump signs bill expanding export control reporting requirements. — Brazil 'strongly rejects' US complaints in Section 301 trade investigation. LOBBY WATCH Our daily check-in on federal lobbyist registrations and notable meetings around town: — Blackbird's BEN CARRIERE is repping the Nunatsiavut Government, which is advocating for 'policies to minimize/mitigate against false assertions of Labrador Inuit identity.' — The Canadian Airports Council logged a July 31 meeting with NEIL PARRY, interim president and CEO of the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority. Top priority was 'enhancing the traveller journey,' including 'the evolving role of technology and innovations in the airport experience.' PLAYBOOKERS Birthdays: HBD to former Sen. MOBINA JAFFER. HBD+1 to JAMES RAJOTTE, former Conservative MP and Alberta rep in DC. Spotted: MAX VALIQUETTE, the PMO's former executive director of communications, substacked the second instalment of a serialized memoir. In this episode: internal debate over a White House-style press briefing (Valiquette didn't win that one; the briefings were never a thing). Noted: ANA POILIEVRE is writing a book (as Playbook suspected last month). — The Canadian Armed Forces sent along an updated tally of current strength as it works toward its overall target of 101,500. As of July 31, the regular force stood at 65,260 (a shortfall of 5,240). The average paid strength of the primary reserve in June was 23,959 (a shortfall of 6,041). — Canada's inflation rate for July was 1.7 percent, down slightly from the 1.9 percent the previous month, Statistics Canada reported today. — For those eyeing the federal NDP leadership race, the application package will be available today. — International Trade Minister MANINDER SIDHU will visit Brazil next week to 'advance trade discussions with the Mercosur bloc.' Sidhu's visit, which starts Monday, signals renewed interest in finishing negotiations with the trading bloc, which includes Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. Talks stalled in 2019. — Green Party Leader ELIZABETH MAY said Tuesday that she will not lead her party in the next election. Movers and shakers: KEVIN D'ENTREMONT announced his retirement for this October as partner at McKinsey & Co. Media mentions: ROBERTA RAMPTON, the Carleton-educated journalist who hails from Dauphin, Manitoba, was named the AP's White House news editor. TRIVIA Tuesday's answer: 'What had gone wrong? Everything is the proper answer,' historian JACK GRANATSTEIN once observed of the Dieppe raid of Aug. 19, 1942. Props to JOSEPH PLANTA, JOHN PEPPER, MICHAEL POWELL, RUSSELL MORROW, MARC SHAW, JOHN ECKER, PATRICK DION, MARCEL MARCOTTE, DARCY KNOLL, LAURE HOURDEBAIGT, JOHN MERRIMAN, ALEX BALLINGALL, BOB GORDON, DARREN MAJOR, BLAKE JOHNSTON, ALEXANDER LANDRY, RALPH LEVENSTEIN, DOUG RICE, MAIA EASTMAN, MACKENZIE WEST, LAURA JARVIS, JEFFREY VALOIS, GORDON RANDALL, ROBERT MCDOUGALL, SHEILA GERVAIS, MALCOLM MCKAY, AIDEN MUSCOVITCH, ELIZABETH BURN, DARRYL DAMUDE and CAMERON NEWBIGGING. Props+1 to GANGA WIGNARAJAH and ROBERT MCDOUGALL. Wednesday's question: Who was the former Canadian Union of Postal Workers president sentenced to three months in jail and 18 months of probation for defying back-to-work legislation? Answers to canadaplaybook@ Writing tomorrow's Playbook: NICK TAYLOR-VAISEY and MIKE BLANCHFIELD. Canada Playbook would not happen without: Canada Editor Sue Allan, editor Willa Plank and POLITICO's Grace Maalouf.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Canada opposition leader Poilievre wins seat, to take on Carney over tariffs
By David Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) -The leader of Canada's official opposition Conservatives, Pierre Poilievre, secured a return to Parliament and a chance to grill Prime Minister Mark Carney, staging a comeback after unexpectedly losing his seat in an April election. Poilievre won 80.4% of the vote in a special election on Monday in the parliamentary constituency of Battle River-Crowfoot in the province of Alberta, a Conservative stronghold. The sitting legislator stepped down to allow Poilievre to run in his seat, thereby allowing him to return to the House of Commons. Poilievre, who accuses the Liberal government of botching its handling of U.S. relations and running up out-of-control deficits, will be able to confront Carney when the House of Commons returns on September 15. Carney, who took over as prime minister in March, secured a strong minority government in April's federal election on a promise to stand up to U.S. President Donald Trump. He has since moderated his approach even as Washington imposed more tariffs. "The deficit is spiraling out of control, inflation is up, elbows are down," Poilievre told a victory rally. Carney offered his congratulations in a post on X. Carney is in no immediate danger politically. Although the Liberals have a minority, they should be able to rely on the support of smaller parties to survive confidence votes. A Nanos Research poll earlier this month put the Liberals at 44% popular support compared with 33% for the Conservatives. Carney has pulled the Liberals more to the center and Poilievre will find it harder to draw a sharp contrast, said pollster Nik Nanos, CEO of Nanos Research. "Poilievre needs to articulate what he learned from the last federal election and how his government would be different than a Carney government," he said via email. At the start of the year the Conservatives looked set for a crushing election victory over the Liberals of then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who were far behind in polls after more than nine years in power. But Liberal fortunes soared after Trudeau announced he was stepping down and Trump began threatening Canada with tariffs and annexation. Solve the daily Crossword
