'Albertans know that they have options': Alberta Tory MPs warn Carney not to ignore threat of separatism
Article content
Calgary MP Shuvaloy Majumdar blasted Carney on Tuesday for leaving the first ministers' meeting in Saskatoon without giving Alberta a firm commitment on oil and gas pipelines and other energy infrastructure.
Article content
Article content
Article content
'Yesterday, the prime minister committed to more rhetoric, more lofty words, and no actual (oil and gas) project,' said Majumdar in Tuesday's question period.
Article content
'Alberta's heard all this before. We don't need headlines, we need results.'
Article content
Majumdar told the National Post it's time for Carney to back up his words with actions, after campaigning on an implicit promise to repair the rift between Ottawa and Alberta created by his Liberal predecessor Justin Trudeau.
Article content
'This is all about the pressure of resentment that has built up after (Trudeau spent) 10 years attacking the energy industry in Alberta,' said Majumdar.
Article content
'The prime minister ran on addressing those issues, lifting things from the Conservative playbook… The solution here is for (him) to deliver what he's promising, lest he risk a constitutional crisis.'
Article content
Newly elected rural Alberta MP David Bexte said in his maiden speech last week that 'Alberta separatism is no longer a fringe idea.'
Article content
'I heard (separatist talk) at the doors more times than I can count, and I'll tell you plainly… Albertans know that they have options,' said Bexte.
Article content
'If this House continues to insult, neglect and abuse Alberta… than the future of this country is not guaranteed.'
Article content
Bexte declined a request to be interviewed for this story.
Article content
Departing Battle River—Crowfoot MP Damien Kurek sounded the same warning in his farewell speech to Parliament, imploring all members of the House to 'fight for Canada.'
Article content
'We face a national unity crisis. It is not something that can be flippantly dismissed by those in other parts of the country that would suggest that Alberta, for example, should simply pay up and shut up,' said Kurek.
Article content
'Alberta deserves a fair voice in the federation, just like every province.'
Article content
Kurek announced shortly after April's election that he would vacate his seat to give Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who lost his own Ottawa-area seat, an opportunity to run in a byelection.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
3 minutes ago
- CTV News
Morning Rush: Renewed calls for National Wildfire Agency
Ottawa Watch Bill Carroll from The Morning Rush shares his thoughts on renewed calls for a National Fire Administration and Agency.
The Market Online
33 minutes ago
- The Market Online
Three commodity stocks to strengthen inflation protection
As the economy braces for the full effect of US tariffs, the threat of inflation is looming large once again, potentially putting your stocks at risk as higher costs are absorbed across the supply chain. While nothing will combat inflation as effectively as increasing your income, investors looking for an added edge still have serviceable options at their disposal. Broadly speaking, they are: Aligning their portfolios with undervalued stocks positioned to deliver significant upside, driven by attractive operations and pessimistic share prices. Increasing their allocations to stocks that stand to benefit from inflation, including commodity stocks, whose target materials will increase in price in line with inflation, placing a higher floor on overall returns. In an ideal world, investors keen on more commodity exposure would seek out companies that fit both categories, supercharging their potential to outperform inflation and more efficiently meet their long-term financial goals. They would also maintain an allocation to commodities of at least 10 per cent, in line with the global market capitalization, as calculated by Visual Capitalist, with energy and materials each representing about a 5 per cent share, to ensure a proportional contribution to overall returns. Additionally, they would diversify, well aware that commodities operate on different cycles, subject to idiosyncratic demand drivers, even though inflation is a net benefit to spot prices across the board. With this framework in mind, in the latest edition of Stockhouse's Weekly Market Movers, I'll profile three stocks, active in the oil, gold and cannabis industries, respectively, that appear to be underpricing their underlying assets, operations and inflation-protecting potential. We kick off our crusade against inflation with Fiddlehead Resources, an Alberta-based oil and gas producer with pro-forma production of 3,850 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) and proved developed producing reserves valued at C$80.2 million, more than 13x the company's C$6.05 million market capitalization. Fiddlehead, listing only in September 2024, generated C$3.96 million in oil and natural gas sales in Q1 2025, but did not do so profitably, locking in a net loss of C$2.49 million, explaining why the stock has given back 28.47 per cent since inception. While worth monitoring, this trend should begin to shift as the company's recent acquisition of 2,238 boe/d near Cynthia, Alberta, shows up on the income statement, adding an expected C$10.1 million in net operating income for the year ending July 1, 2026, as well as contributing to increasing reserves through 9 well recompletion candidates and 7 identified unbooked drilling locations. With oil demand expected to continue its ascent into 2029, according to the International Energy Agency, and the need for new production likely to persist for decades after that, as per an OPEC report, Fiddlehead is well-positioned to scale into better pricing power and stronger financials to justify a higher stock price. Brent Osmond, Fiddlehead Resources' chief executive officer (CEO), sat down with Stockhouse's Lyndsay Malchuk last week to discuss the Cynthia acquisition and the company's Q1 2025 results. Watch the interview here. Fiddlehead Resources stock (TSXV:FHR) last traded at C$0.10. Vista Gold Next in our trio of inflation-fighting commodity stocks, we have Vista Gold, market capitalization C$177.69 million, whose permitted Mt. Todd project in Northern Territory, Australia, stands as one of the country's largest development-stage gold deposits with measured and indicated resources of 9.1 million ounces. Mt. Todd yielded a 2025 feasibility study detailing an after-tax net present value of US$2.2 billion, a 1.7-year payback and capital costs of only US$425 million at US$3,300 per ounce of gold. Pending ongoing development and successful construction, this means that investors today can buy a stake in after-tax project cash flows expected to reach almost US$5 billion over a 30-year mine life at the low price of C$170.18 million. This is as enticing proposition with exponential upside, so long as the gold price holds at current levels, and over the near-term, J.P. Morgan, Fidelity and Goldman Sachs think it will, predicting a US$4,000 ounce by as soon as year end. With Mt. Todd's growth runway still largely untrodden, as highlighted by four targets on the 24 kilometre Batman Driffield Trend with the potential to add 1.8-3.5 million ounces to the resource, and management focused on improvements to enhance market appeal backed by US$15 million in cash as of Q1 2025 – including fine-grinding optimization, geotech grilling and pit slope refinement, and desktop studies of expansion alternatives – expect the project to continue delineating more value for the market, supporting Vista's operational leverage beyond its target commodity. Investors have been hopping onto our thesis as of late, more than doubling Vista Gold stock (TSX:VGZ) year-over-year to C$1.42, though shares remain down by about 16 per cent since 2020, despite's gold's approximately 70 per cent return over the period. Frederick H. Earnest, Vista Gold's president and CEO, joined Coreena Robertson to set investor expectations about the company's near-term development plans. Watch the interview here. Herbal Dispatch Our third and final commodity stock to counteract inflation is Herbal Dispatch, market capitalization C$3.68 million, an owner and operator of cannabis e-commerce platforms specializing in small-batch craft flower and a diversity of other product formats, with relationships in legal markets across the world including Australia, Portugal and Brazil. Herbal Dispatch has posted significant revenue growth over the past few years, delivering a 110 per cent increase from C$4.74 million in 2023 to C$9.92 million in 2024, followed by a more than 100 per cent YoY increase to C$2.7 million in Q1 2025 thanks to strong contributions from the recreational, export and services segments. Net losses have been improving in tandem, decreasing from C$4.61 million in 2022 to C$2.77 million in 2024, with a net loss of only C$290,000 ending Q1 2025, setting operations up for further progress on the cannabis retailer's path to profitability. This kind of tangible financial progress is especially impressive, given the widespread bankruptcies and consolidations that have beset the global cannabis market because of oversupply, unsupported growth and margin compression, making Herbal Dispatch's growing user base an increasingly essential asset for smaller players, as well as a potential acquisition target for major brands keen on conserving their leadership positions. Management will spend the rest of 2025 focused on efficient scaling and new strategic revenue streams in Canada and abroad. The company is currently fielding numerous expressions of interest to export its products, opening the door for improved financials and a stock re-rating in the second half of the fiscal year. According to Herbal Dispatch's investor deck, it's estimating that it will generate at least C$18.6 million in revenue in 2025, followed by C$26.3 million in 2026, supported by robust EBITDA growth of almost 300 per cent to at least C$1.7 million, continuing to prove out a business capable of creating value from a deflated commodity. Look for Herbal Dispatch stock (CSE:HERB) to start to retrace its 55 per cent loss since 2023, contingent on the global cannabis market finding its way back to the mammoth growth expected through 2030, and the company continuing to deliver on what since inception has been an unwavering commitment to profit as a conduit to shareholder value. Shares last traded at C$0.045. Philip Campbell, Herbal Dispatch's CEO, joined Lyndsay Malchuk to contextualize the company's ongoing C$1 million private placement. Watch the interview here. Thanks for reading! I'll see you next week for a new edition of Weekly Market Movers, where I delve into companies that sat down with Stockhouse for an interview over the past week. Here's the most recent article, in case you missed it. Join the discussion: Find out what investors are saying about these inflation-protecting commodity stocks on the Fiddlehead Resources Corp., Vista Gold Corp. and Herbal Dispatch Inc. Bullboards and check out the rest of Stockhouse's stock forums and message boards. Stockhouse does not provide investment advice or recommendations. All investment decisions should be made based on your own research and consultation with a registered investment professional. The issuer is solely responsible for the accuracy of the information contained herein. For full disclaimer information, please click here.
National Post
33 minutes ago
- National Post
Christopher Dummitt: Judge brought politics through the back door in Toronto bike lane case
The recent decision by the Ontario Superior Court rendering the removal of Toronto's bike lanes unconstitutional recalls the great Dr. Seuss book Oh, The Thinks You Can Think. Just think how we could change Canada if we take the logic of this ruling and keep going. Article content Oh, the thinks we could think. Article content Article content The case, Cycle Toronto et al. v. Ontario, parsed the Ford government's decision to close bike lanes on several Toronto streets. A group of cycling activists protested the closure, claiming that closing the bike lanes would not improve traffic congestion (as claimed by the government) and, most importantly, that it would harm cyclists. Article content Article content This last point was key as it was central to the cyclists' argument that the removal of bike lanes would infringe their Section 7 Charter right to 'life, liberty and security of the person.' Article content Article content Justice Paul Schabas sided with the cycling activists. He didn't state that bike lanes were a right, rather, that removing bike lanes would violate the rights of cyclists, as their evidence showed that they would be more likely to be injured and or killed on roads without separated bike lanes. Article content On the messy question of balancing interests between cyclists and drivers, and the different priorities of government, the judge seems to have simply relied on the expert testimony provided to him on road safety and traffic congestion — as well as his own wise opinion on how to interpret it all. Article content Reading the ruling takes me back to my university political theory days and to Plato's Republic with its philosopher kings. But here it's made modern — a vision of government via technocratic expertise, refracted through judicial wisdom. Article content Article content Imagine what other controversial political questions could be answered by experts and judges without the messy interference of politicians and democracy. Article content How about Premier Doug Ford's choice to raise the speed limits on some highways? Experts have already warned that higher speed limits lead to more traffic fatalities. This initiative might be considered unconstitutional if we apply the reasoning in the Cycle Toronto ruling. Article content But why stop there? Let's go to federal politics. The Carney government has said that it isn't going to expand pharmacare. But won't this damage Canadians' health? Couldn't this, too, be said to infringe upon our wildly expanded notion of Section 7 rights to 'life, liberty and security of the person'? Article content Perhaps Ford shouldn't have been allowed to let alcohol be sold in Ontario's grocery stores and convenience stores. If this leads to higher rates of alcohol use, especially among youth, and we know that alcohol is bad for our health, then this policy can be said to have harmful effects. Article content If you really wanted to think big about our Section 7 rights, even Canada's national defence policy can be considered harmful to Canadians. Too much spending might risk a greater chance of war and harm. Or, it could be that not enough spending risks conflict. It's hard to know. Luckily, according to the logic of the Cycle Toronto ruling, we don't need to worry. We can just rely on the expert class — overseen by a benevolent judge — to decide for us. Article content This ruling doesn't come out of nowhere, of course. The debate on judicial activism is longstanding in our post-Charter Canada — on how much or how little deference judges should give to parliaments. Article content But it's worth noting that the judges and the experts who testify before them don't come out of a vacuum. These are real people with individual political preferences. We already know the lopsided, left-leaning world of the university from which our 'experts' emerge. This kind of political skew misshapes peer review and undermines the expertise that judges rely on in court. Article content Law schools are, sadly, no different. Law schools like the one at Queen's led the way in erasing John A. Macdonald from its building a few years ago. And before he became a judge, Justice Schabas himself led the charge to modernize and decolonize the Law Society of Upper Canada by switching its name to the Law Society of Ontario. He was also involved in mandating Ontario lawyers to promote diversity, equity and inclusion. Article content It would be a lot easier to trust judicial oversight if it were, in fact, neutral. But rulings like Cycle Toronto show how a judge can work politics through the back door of judicial activism. In the process, they wildly inflate the notion of rights far beyond anything that was imagined back when the Charter was created in 1982. Article content Journalist Andrew Coyne recently said that he is a critic of the 'notwithstanding clause,' that section of the 1982 Constitution that allows governments to temporarily override Charter rights. He says he much prefers Section 1 of the Charter, the 'reasonable limits clause,' which requires that judges place reasonable limits on Charter rights. The clause would ideally safeguard us from rights-based extremism in the courts, which could prevent society and government from functioning collectively. Article content This is an entirely defensible position. But it depends on judges having a cautious approach to new rights claims. It depends on judges realizing that overriding policy set in the courts should be the very last resort. It depends on a ruling like Cycle Toronto being overturned and being seen as the political overreach that it very clearly is. Article content
