A rough couple of years with Marda Loop construction
Calgary Watch
Construction in Marda Loop will wrap up this fall, but it's been a rough couple of years for businesses working through the disruptions.
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CBC
6 minutes ago
- CBC
Ex-cabinet minister says western separatism can fizzle out if Ottawa listens to grievances
Former federal Conservative cabinet minister Rona Ambrose says the secessionist sentiment in Alberta is an unwelcome source of uncertainty for investors — but it could fizzle out quickly if Ottawa handles it right. Ambrose, now deputy chair at TD Securities, said Tuesday there's a feeling of resentment in Alberta and in neighbouring Saskatchewan. "I think that it can dissipate quite quickly if some of these underlying issues around how the energy sector has been treated by Ottawa are dealt with," she told a panel discussion at the Global Energy Show. Prime Minister Mark Carney can't take those feelings lightly, she said. "We've had 10 years that have created a huge division, east-west, in between the federal and provincial governments. He's got to heal that," Ambrose said of environmental policies Carney's predecessor, Justin Trudeau, brought in. "And so decisions he makes are not just for the economic benefit of Canada, but it's for the benefit of national unity, which is the most important thing a prime minister should always have top of mind." Ambrose said outreach and trust-building is paramount and the federal-provincial relationship is "already better." The chief executive of one of Canada's biggest oil and gas companies said the complaints are valid even if the separatist talk isn't the most constructive way to go about expressing them. "The way this separatist movement has manifested itself is really rooted in some grievances that I think are real and have frustrated this region for a long period of time," Cenovus Energy chief executive Jon McKenzie told the panel. McKenzie told reporters on the sidelines of the conference he has not been hearing from investors about the separatist rumblings, and that he agrees the movement will "go away" if political leaders address the concerns. Separation talk ratcheted up since election Talk of Alberta going it alone or joining the United States has ratcheted up since the federal Liberals won a fourth term in office in April. In the province, where all but a few seats went Conservative blue, there is widespread discontent with federal environmental policies affecting the key oilpatch industry. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has introduced a bill that, if passed, would make it far easier for Albertans to launch referendums on various topics — including splitting from Canada. Last month, the top executive of another major Alberta company said mere talk of secession has already been hurting the investment climate. Atco Ltd. CEO Nancy Southern said Asian partners in a major hydrogen project indicated they won't make final investment decisions unless there is certainty around the issue. "There's just too many questions for them to be confident that they can move forward with large-scale investment decisions, and so I think the separatist discussion is very unhelpful and not constructive to Alberta," Southern said in a May interview. Questions include how an independent Alberta would get its products to coastal ports, what kind of trade deals it would have with its neighbours, what currency it would use and how stable the economy would be. Southern said she understands Albertans' frustration with the federal government. "We have had the short end of the stick on many occasions as a result of new regulations and legislation and rule of law," Southern said.
CTV News
32 minutes ago
- CTV News
Moving Whitecaps from Vancouver would be ‘a crime': FIFA vice president
Workers clear the turf at B.C. Place during a FIFA World Cup 2026 update in Vancouver, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns A vice president of soccer's global governing body says moving the Vancouver Whitecaps would be 'a crime' and negatively impact the city's reputation after it hosts games at next year's World Cup. FIFA vice president Victor Montagliani spoke at a Vancouver Board of Trade event Tuesday, telling the crowd that relocating the Major League Soccer club would suggest to the world that the city simply wanted to host a party and isn't actually serious about the sport. 'You don't want to come out of the World Cup and your professional football club is playing in Sacramento,' said Montagliani, who is also the president of CONCACAF, soccer's governing body in North and Central America and the Caribbean. 'That would be a bruise on the city.' The Whitecaps announced in December that the current ownership group — Greg Kerfoot, Steve Luczo, Jeff Mallett and former NBA star Steve Nash — had put the team up for sale. Speculation has since been rife that an out-of-town buyer will purchase the club and move it out of Vancouver. In April, the Whitecaps revealed that they are in talks with the City of Vancouver about building a new, soccer-specific stadium in the city. Club chief executive officer Axel Schuster said at the time that those plans are intrinsically tied to the sale of the team. 'We are only working on one plan, one goal, and this is to keep the club in Vancouver and to find a very good setup for the future for this club in Vancouver,' he said. 'And part of all of this is to look in every possible option that might be needed to do this successfully.' Keeping the Whitecaps in Vancouver is key to continuing the city's love and support for soccer, Montagliani said on Tuesday. 'It is going to be a party — trust me. But it can't just be about a party,' he said. 'It's got to be about the youth. It's got to be about the game itself. And it's got to be about the continuation of the game.' He noted that Canada had to create its own league, the Canadian Premier League, in order to be eligible to bid for the 2026 World Cup. Losing one of the country's biggest teams would be a step backward, he said. 'To lose an MLS club on the back of the World Cup would be a capital crime, in my opinion,' he said. Montagliani is in his hometown of Vancouver to mark the one-year countdown to the tournament's kick off on June 11, 2026, when the first games will be played in Mexico City and Guadalajara. The final is set for July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. Vancouver and Toronto are among 16 host cities across Canada, the United States and Mexico. Vancouver will host seven matches across the tournament, starting on June 13, 2026, including five in the opening round, one in the round of 32 and one in the round of 16. Organizers in B.C. said in April 2024 that it will cost between $483 million and $581 million for Vancouver to host the tournament. That number includes costs to the city, the province and upgrades to B.C. Place. Renovations are currently underway at the 54,500-seat stadium, including new and upgraded suites, more and larger elevators, gender-neutral bathrooms, improved Wi-Fi and a new central video board. A natural grass pitch will also be installed. The B.C. government has said it expects the World Cup will generate enough revenue to result in a net cost of between $100 million and $145 million. Vancouver and Canada as a whole have a unique chance to create something special with the World Cup, Montagliani said. 'For me, it's an opportunity of a lifetime for Canada,' he said. 'Maybe this has done us a favour, in terms of what's going on (with U.S.-Canada relations), in terms of our Canadiana. I really think it's an opportunity for us to take a global game and make it ours.' This report by Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press, was first published June 10, 2025.
CTV News
32 minutes ago
- CTV News
Cardinal who worked closely with Pope Leo XIV travels to Canada to support G7 demonstrators
A Peruvian cardinal who worked closely with Pope Leo XIV for years will be stopping in Calgary to support demonstrators as world leaders gather next week for the G7 summit in Alberta. Cardinal Pedro Ricardo Barreto Jimeno, 81, hopes to help draw attention to what he calls an 'ecological debt' crisis. According to Barreto and organizers from Development and Peace and Caritas Canada, the group that invited the cardinal to Canada, ecological debt refers to the debt owed to poorer nations and Indigenous communities resulting from damage caused by some companies from developed countries like Canada. This damage includes oil spills and pollution from mines. Development and Peace and Caritas Canada, the official humanitarian aid agency of the Canadian Catholic Church, invited the cardinal to support demonstrators in their campaign to call on G7 world leaders to prioritize the protection of the planet and poor communities. Ahead of a speech before dozens of people at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Toronto on Monday, Barreto spoke with through an interpreter about ecological debt. 'It's a very large injustice that the World Bank recognizes,' the Spanish-speaking cardinal said. He pointed to a World Bank 2023 debt report that found developing countries spent a record US$1.4 trillion servicing their foreign debt, as interest costs soared to a 20-year high of $406 billion. For many countries, this move would cut budgets in areas such as health and education. Barreto hopes developed countries like Canada will recognize their ecological debt to poorer countries. He and other environmental advocates are calling on Canada and other countries to cancel 'unjust and unsustainable debts' and help reform the global financial system. 'My hope, which is the hope of the church, is that the leaders of the northern rich countries will assume their responsibility in this situation,' he said. 'They have a really clear opportunity here to have a change in mentality towards debt.' Direction of Leo papacy Barreto, a Jesuit like Pope Francis, says he, Leo and others in the Catholic Church hope to continue Francis's legacy of emphasizing care for the marginalized and environment. While he didn't vote in the conclave last month — Barreto is older than the 80-year-old cutoff — he said he participated in meetings with cardinals leading up to Leo's election, in which they 'insisted' that the new pope must continue the same path as Francis of looking after the Earth. Cardinal's plans in Calgary The cardinal will be a guest of honour at the G7 Jubilee People's Forum in Calgary from June 12 to 15 before the summit in Kananaskis. Activists and faith communities from across Canada and around the world will gather and participate in talks about ecological debt during the forum. Barreto, metropolitan archbishop emeritus of Huancayo, Peru, is known for his advocacy for the environment and poor in Peru and Latin America. Francis made Barreto a cardinal in 2018. According to The College of Cardinals Report, a website featuring profiles of cardinals compiled by independent Catholic journalists and researchers, Barreto is also known for his 'outspoken generally liberal views on national politics,' even facing death threats for speaking out against a smelter causing pollution that threatened the health of people in the Andes Mountains.
