Latest news with #Canadas
National Observer
02-08-2025
- Politics
- National Observer
A Canadian researcher was 'indispensible' to helping Trump dismantle climate action
A Canadian economist and conservative columnist who recently called Prime Minister Mark Carney a "climate zealot" played a critical role in the Trump administration's push to eradicate US climate rules. Ross McKitrick, an associate professor at the University of Guelph and a senior fellow at libertarian thinktank the Fraser Institute, was one of five co-authors recruited by US Energy Secretary Christ Wright to author a 150-page US Department of Energy (DOE) report that undermined the US government's ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. He was "indispensible" to the project, wrote co-author and climate denier Roy Spencer in his blog. The report argues "CO2-induced warming appears to be less economically damaging than commonly believed," and "mitigation policies could prove more detrimental than beneficial." The report was published last week as part of the Trump administration's proposal to repeal the Environmental Protection Agency's Endangerment Finding — the legal mechanism underpinning most US climate legislation. Eliminating the finding, a longstanding goal of climate deniers, lets the government undermine standards that limit emissions, including from oil and gas operations, power plants and landfills. There is a widespread scientific consensus that human activity, mostly burning fossil fuels, is the main driver of climate change. That finding was backed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the European Climate Risk Assessment, and the US's Fifth National Climate Risk Assessment, published during the Biden era. Bill McKibben, the prominent climate scientist, journalist, climate advocate and co-founder of told Canada's National Observer McKitrick's involvement is a rare example of climate denial flowing from Canada to the US. "I suppose it's proof that once in a while the damage goes the other way across the border," he said. If the Trump administration successfully eradicates all US climate measures, the country is projected to emit an extra seven billion tons of greenhouse gases between now and 2030 — like adding an additional 10 Canadas to the world's emissions. A Canadian economist and conservative columnist who recently called Prime Minister Mark Carney a "climate zealot" played a critical role in the Trump administration's push to eradicate US climate rules. McKitrick has been downplaying the impacts of climate change and bolstering the fossil fuel industry for decades. As far back as 2000, he joined a briefing by the so-called "Cooler Heads Coalition," a group with close ties to the oil industry, to criticize the IPCC's Third Assessment Report. "The inclusion of Ross McKitrick, whose work is widely debunked and who isn't even American, tells you just how hard it is to find researchers who will question the overwhelming scientific consensus on carbon dioxide emissions and climate change," said Simon Donner, a climate scientist at the University of British Columbia and a lead author on the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report. As the conversation continued around climate change, McKitrick continued to publicly criticize climate science and renewable energy throughout the 2000s and 2010s through his work writing reports for the Fraser Institute and other thinktanks, in news media and as a public speaker. In 2020 he published an op-ed for Troy Media that claims we must ' fight climate extremists before they upend society" and slammed Canada's then-proposed plastic pollution rules for imposing " costs and inconvenience … while doing nothing to fix the [pollution] problem." He remains a prominent voice against climate action, contributing climate-skeptical columns to the Financial Post, the National Post and the oil and gas outlet Energy Now. He also continues to write for conservative thinktanks, including a 2025 report for the Fraser Institute that concludes achieving Canada's net zero goals isn't worth the economic and social cost. A spokesperson for the US DOE said in an emailed statement that McKitrick and his co-authors, the prominent climate contrarians John Christy, Judith Curry, Steve Koonin and Roy Spencer, "represent diverse viewpoints and political backgrounds." Wright, the US energy secretary, wrote in the report's preface that "media coverage often distorts the science" on climate, pushing "many people [to] walk away with a view of climate change that is exaggerated or incomplete. To provide clarity and balance, I asked a diverse team of independent experts to critically review the current state of climate science. "I've reviewed the report carefully, and I believe it faithfully represents the state of climate science today. Still, many readers may be surprised by its conclusions — which differ in important ways from the mainstream narrative," Wright, a former oil and gas executive, continued. In February, Wright described the global effort against climate change as "sinister" and a "tool used to grow government power [and], top-down control, and shrink human freedom' while speaking at Jordan Peterson's Alliance for Responsible Citizenship conference. A few weeks later, he attacked Biden-era climate measures as a "quasi-religious' agenda 'that imposed endless sacrifices on our citizens.' Climate experts have slammed the new DOE report. Ben Sanderson, senior researcher on climate mitigation at the Centre for International Climate Research (CICERO) in Oslo, dismantled the paper in a thread on Bluesky. The "tiny" list of authors and lack of external peer-review undermines the report's credibility, he wrote. (Reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change usually contain contributions from hundreds of authors.) McKitrick and his co-authors presented "minority contrarian viewpoints" by "isolating specific talking points and presenting them as a comprehensive assessment. "Each chapter follows the same pattern. Establish a contrarian position, cherry-pick evidence to support that position, then claim that this position is under-represented in climate literature and the IPCC in particular. Include a bunch of references, most of which don't support the central argument," he wrote. In a Tuesday post on X, McKitrick claimed that he and his co-authors weren't involved in designing the government's push to repeal the Endangerment Finding and "only knew what was in the news." However, the post links to blog posts by his co-authors Curry and Spencer where they address the key policy head-on: Spencer wrote that the group"suspected the Endangerment Finding would be the topic of greatest interest" to the Trump administration when they were commissioned to write the report. Curry wrote that "the looming US policy issue is the EPA Endangerment Finding" and that she hopes the report will break "Breaking the link between energy policy and human-caused climate change".
News18
01-08-2025
- Business
- News18
Trump raises tariffs on more than 90 countries as Canadas Carney disappointed by 35% levy
Trump raises tariffs on more than 90 countries as Canadas Carney disappointed by 35% levy
Ottawa Citizen
13-05-2025
- Business
- Ottawa Citizen
Carney picks new ministers for Treasury Board, procurement as transition begins for public service
Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled his new cabinet, which included new faces in key public service roles, in a major shake-up Tuesday morning. Article content Article content Shafqat Ali, the MP for Brampton—Chinguacousy Park, will take over as president of the Treasury Board. Ginette Petitpas Taylor, who served in that role under former prime minister Justin Trudeau, was shuffled out of Carney's cabinet. Article content Article content Joël Lightbound, the MP for Louis-Hébert, will become the minister of government transformation, public works, and procurement. Al Ehsassi was in Carney's caretaker cabinet, but has been shuffled out. Article content Article content Evan Solomon, a broadcast journalist who helmed touchstone political programs for CBC and CTV, will be the newly created minister of artificial intelligence and digital innovation. Under Carney, Canada becomes the next country to make a minister specifically for AI. France created the role in late 2024 when Clara Chappaz became the first AI minister in the European nation. Article content 'Canada's new Ministry is built to deliver the change Canadas want and deserve,' Carney said in a press release for the cabinet shuffle. 'Everyone is expected and empowered to show leadership – to bring new ideas, a clear focus and decisive action to their work.' Article content
Canada News.Net
04-05-2025
- Business
- Canada News.Net
Carney vows to transform Canadian economy to 'stand up' to Trump
At his first press conference since his election victory, Prime Minister Mark Carney promised Friday to oversee the biggest transformation of Canada's economy since the end of the Second World War to enable it to "stand up" to US President Donald Trump. Prime MinisterMark Carneypromised Friday to oversee the biggest transformation ofCanada'seconomysince the end of the Second World War to enable it to "stand up" toDonald Trump. Carney led the Liberal Party to a dramatic fourth mandate in elections on Monday after a campaign focused on the US president's threats to Canada's economy and sovereignty. Liberals fell just short of the 172 seats needed for majority control of parliament, but with 169 confirmed wins they will be in a strong position to pass legislation. Recounts in two closely contested electoral districts saw the party lose a seat in Quebec province but gain another in Ontario. At his first press conference since his victory, Carney struck a determined note. Read moreDaunting challenges ahead, says Canadas Carney after election victory Known for weighing his words carefully, he said that he was "inpoliticsto do great things, not to be something". "And now that Canadians have honoured me with a mandate to bring about big changes quickly, I will work relentlessly to fulfill that trust," he said. Trump talks Canada's strained relations with the United States historically, its close ally and biggest trading partner was among his "immediate priorities", he said, announcing a trip to Washington next Tuesday to meet with Trump ontradeand security issues. Canadians elected him "to stand up to President Trump", he said, adding that he will act "with focus and determination". "Our focus will be on both immediate trade pressures and the broader future economic and security relationship between our two sovereign nations," said Carney. But he warned also not to expect any "white smoke" from their first meeting signaling a sudden breakthrough. Carney reiterated his message from the campaign that he believes the old relationship between the two North American neighbours "based on steadily increasingintegrationis over". "The questions now are how our nations will co-operate in the future," he said. Watch moreCanada's election: How Trump's trade war is impacting voters in key province of Ontario Trump "respects strength", he added, explaining that this was why he was preparing the country for major changes including a massive build-up of infrastructure and newhousing. The Conservatives, the mainopposition party, as well as the Bloc Quebecois, the third-largest party in Parliament, both called for unity after the elections to fight US levies including on the automotive andsteelsectors. Carney, who previously headed the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, promised to maintain counter-tariffs on American products as long as Washington's measures were in place. 'Economic destiny' "This will be an incredibly exciting time as we take control of our economic destiny to create a new Canadian economy," Carney said. To this end, he promised to abolish existing trade barriers between Canadian provinces by July 1 to expand the economy, and to strengthen trade with "reliable allies". "Canada has what the world needs, and we uphold the values the world respects," he said. He announced also that he would unveil his new Liberal government in the week of May 12 and that parliament would return on May 26. King Charles IIICanada's head of state, as it is a BritishCommonwealthcountry will deliver the opening speech, Carney said. "This is a historic honour which matches the weight of our times," he emphasised. "It clearly demonstrates the sovereignty of our country," he said in a pointed reference to Trump's ambitions to make Canada the 51st American state. The ceremonial speech, which marks the opening of a new session of the Canadian Parliament and outlines the government's goals, is usually delivered by the governor general, who is the King's representative in the country. (FRANCE 24 with AFP) Originally published on France24
Canada Standard
03-05-2025
- Business
- Canada Standard
Carney vows to transform Canadian economy to 'stand up' to Trump
At his first press conference since his election victory, Prime Minister Mark Carney promised Friday to oversee the biggest transformation of Canada's economy since the end of the Second World War to enable it to "stand up" to US President Donald Trump. Prime MinisterMark Carneypromised Friday to oversee the biggest transformation ofCanada'seconomysince the end of the Second World War to enable it to "stand up" toDonald Trump. Carney led the Liberal Party to a dramatic fourth mandate in elections on Monday after a campaign focused on the US president's threats to Canada's economy and sovereignty. Liberals fell just short of the 172 seats needed for majority control of parliament, but with 169 confirmed wins they will be in a strong position to pass legislation. Recounts in two closely contested electoral districts saw the party lose a seat in Quebec province but gain another in Ontario. At his first press conference since his victory, Carney struck a determined note. Read moreDaunting challenges ahead, says Canadas Carney after election victory Known for weighing his words carefully, he said that he was "inpoliticsto do great things, not to be something". "And now that Canadians have honoured me with a mandate to bring about big changes quickly, I will work relentlessly to fulfill that trust," he said. Trump talks Canada's strained relations with the United States historically, its close ally and biggest trading partner was among his "immediate priorities", he said, announcing a trip to Washington next Tuesday to meet with Trump ontradeand security issues. Canadians elected him "to stand up to President Trump", he said, adding that he will act "with focus and determination". "Our focus will be on both immediate trade pressures and the broader future economic and security relationship between our two sovereign nations," said Carney. But he warned also not to expect any "white smoke" from their first meeting signaling a sudden breakthrough. Carney reiterated his message from the campaign that he believes the old relationship between the two North American neighbours "based on steadily increasingintegrationis over". "The questions now are how our nations will co-operate in the future," he said. Watch moreCanada's election: How Trump's trade war is impacting voters in key province of Ontario Trump "respects strength", he added, explaining that this was why he was preparing the country for major changes including a massive build-up of infrastructure and newhousing. The Conservatives, the mainopposition party, as well as the Bloc Quebecois, the third-largest party in Parliament, both called for unity after the elections to fight US levies including on the automotive andsteelsectors. Carney, who previously headed the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, promised to maintain counter-tariffs on American products as long as Washington's measures were in place. 'Economic destiny' "This will be an incredibly exciting time as we take control of our economic destiny to create a new Canadian economy," Carney said. To this end, he promised to abolish existing trade barriers between Canadian provinces by July 1 to expand the economy, and to strengthen trade with "reliable allies". "Canada has what the world needs, and we uphold the values the world respects," he said. He announced also that he would unveil his new Liberal government in the week of May 12 and that parliament would return on May 26. King Charles IIICanada's head of state, as it is a BritishCommonwealthcountry will deliver the opening speech, Carney said. "This is a historic honour which matches the weight of our times," he emphasised. "It clearly demonstrates the sovereignty of our country," he said in a pointed reference to Trump's ambitions to make Canada the 51st American state. The ceremonial speech, which marks the opening of a new session of the Canadian Parliament and outlines the government's goals, is usually delivered by the governor general, who is the King's representative in the country. (FRANCE 24 with AFP) Originally published on France24
