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National Post
04-05-2025
- Politics
- National Post
The Liberals may have lost seats in Ontario — and their majority — because of crime and Trudeau fatigue
OTTAWA — In the first weeks of the campaign, Liberal incumbent Helena Jaczek said decided voters she met at the doors were intent on voting for Mark Carney because they thought he was the best person to deal with U.S. President Donald Trump. Article content Article content 'As time went on and Mr. Trump was less vocal, and perhaps as (Conservative Leader Pierre) Poilievre softened his image somewhat during debates, I think then a lot of the people who hadn't given the election much thought decided they really had to concentrate,' she said in a recent interview with National Post. Article content 'And then what we got at the doors was more of, 'Well, it's time for change, the Liberals have had their time, and I'm looking at alternatives.'' Article content Article content Jaczek was ultimately re-elected in Markham—Stouffville — a riding she's represented federally since 2019 — but most of her Liberal colleagues in York region were defeated by the Conservatives. In fact, she and Tim Hodgson are now the sole representatives of the 905 region which encompasses the cities of Markham, Vaughan and Richmond Hill. Article content There were other stunning losses for the Liberals in the Toronto area. Kamal Khera, who had just been promoted to Minister of Health in March, lost the stronghold of Brampton West in a neck-to-neck battle against Conservative candidate Amarjeet Gill. And Ya'ara Saks, who formerly served as Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, lost her seat of York Centre by 12 percentage points to former Conservative leadership contender Roman Baber who had been campaigning for the Tories in the riding since 2023. Article content Other notable losses for the Liberals occurred in southwestern Ontario, including in Hamilton, Niagara and Windsor — areas acutely affected by the trade war with the U.S. Article content Article content 'I think it's fair to say the reason that the Liberals didn't win a majority is because they did not perform in Ontario as well as they might have hoped to,' said Dan Arnold, chief strategy officer for Pollara and former research strategist for Justin Trudeau's Liberals. Article content 'It's really the only part of the country where their seat totals went down by any significant margin from the last election campaign,' he added. Article content The Liberals still ended up winning 69 seats, with 49 per cent of the popular vote, but the Conservatives managed to increase their seat count to 53, with 44 per cent of the popular vote. The Conservatives gained 16 seats, and the Liberals lost nine compared to 2021. Article content Arnold noted that the Liberals still managed to make some significant gains at the expense of the Conservatives Monday night especially in Eastern Ontario — picking up Poilievre's Ottawa-area riding of Carleton and ridings like Peterborough and Bay of Quinte. Article content 'But in York Region, in Peel region, in parts of southwestern Ontario, it was not a good night for the Liberals,' he said. Article content Liberal incumbent Francesco Sorbara, who lost in Vaughan-Woodbridge against Conservative Michael Guglielmin, said he heard concerns at the door relating to public safety and immigration but also years of 'disappointment' about Trudeau's government.
Vancouver Sun
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Vancouver Sun
The Liberals may have lost seats in Ontario — and their majority — because of crime and Trudeau fatigue
OTTAWA — In the first weeks of the campaign, Liberal incumbent Helena Jaczek said decided voters she met at the doors were intent on voting for Mark Carney because they thought he was the best person to deal with U.S. President Donald Trump. Article content Article content 'As time went on and Mr. Trump was less vocal, and perhaps as (Conservative Leader Pierre) Poilievre softened his image somewhat during debates, I think then a lot of the people who hadn't given the election much thought decided they really had to concentrate,' she said in a recent interview with National Post. Article content Article content 'And then what we got at the doors was more of, 'Well, it's time for change, the Liberals have had their time, and I'm looking at alternatives.'' Article content Article content Jaczek was ultimately re-elected in Markham—Stouffville — a riding she's represented federally since 2019 — but most of her Liberal colleagues in York region were defeated by the Conservatives. In fact, she and Tim Hodgson are now the sole representatives of the 905 region which encompasses the cities of Markham, Vaughan and Richmond Hill. Article content There were other stunning losses for the Liberals in the Toronto area. Kamal Khera, who had just been promoted to Minister of Health in March, lost the stronghold of Brampton West in a neck-to-neck battle against Conservative candidate Amarjeet Gill. Article content And Ya'ara Saks, who formerly served as Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, lost her seat of York Centre by 12 percentage points to former Conservative leadership contender Roman Baber who had been campaigning for the Tories in the riding since 2023. Article content Article content Other notable losses for the Liberals occurred in southwestern Ontario, including in Hamilton, Niagara and Windsor — areas acutely affected by the trade war with the U.S. Article content 'I think it's fair to say the reason that the Liberals didn't win a majority is because they did not perform in Ontario as well as they might have hoped to,' said Dan Arnold, chief strategy officer for Pollara and former research strategist for Justin Trudeau's Liberals. Article content 'It's really the only part of the country where their seat totals went down by any significant margin from the last election campaign,' he added. Article content The Liberals still ended up winning 69 seats, with 49 per cent of the popular vote, but the Conservatives managed to increase their seat count to 53, with 44 per cent of the popular vote. The Conservatives gained 16 seats, and the Liberals lost nine compared to 2021. Article content Arnold noted that the Liberals still managed to make some significant gains at the expense of the Conservatives Monday night especially in Eastern Ontario — picking up Poilievre's Ottawa-area riding of Carleton and ridings like Peterborough and Bay of Quinte.
Global News
03-05-2025
- Health
- Global News
Saskatchewan's front-line physicians press ministers for action, answers
See more sharing options Send this page to someone via email Share this item on Twitter Share this item via WhatsApp Share this item on Facebook Saskatchewan's top health officials faced tough questions from doctors at the Saskatchewan Medical Association's annual assembly. Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill and Mental Health and Addictions Minister Lori Carr, both attending the event for the first time, were pressed on issues like staffing shortages, outdated technology, and the need for more input from front-line workers. Get weekly health news Receive the latest medical news and health information delivered to you every Sunday. Sign up for weekly health newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy While the ministers touted progress under the province's Health Human Resource Action Plan, doctors say real change can't happen without their voices at the table. Watch the video above for the full story.
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Ontario's mental health minister on how to tackle the province's crisis
Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Michael Tibollo has spent years studying mental health and addictions. He sat down with Colin D'Mello on Focus Ontario to explain his plans to make it easier to get help.
Yahoo
26-01-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Promised Canada-wide ban on vaping flavours increasingly unlikely, health groups warn
Nicotine control groups that have waited years for a nationwide ban on vaping flavours say they've now been given indications it won't happen — despite the minister responsible vowing last fall that the restrictions were coming "soon." Cynthia Callard, executive director of Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada, said she and representatives from a number of anti-smoking organizations met this week with a senior staff member for Mental Health and Addictions Minister Ya'ara Saks. "We left the meeting with the firm belief that we are not going to see a ban on vaping flavours this year," she said. "We are greatly disappointed." Callard said the official gave a range of logistical reasons for why the restrictions weren't going ahead — including the limited time left to enact them as the Liberal government stares down a potential spring election. "We were told that this would not be one of the things that's prioritized in the next few weeks," she said. "I don't believe that the current circumstances in Ottawa are the real reason that it's not happening." Top public health doctors renew call for flavour ban The meeting comes the same week Canada's top public health doctors released a joint statement reiterating their call for the federal government to ban vaping flavours, saying they "remain significantly concerned by the continued high rates of nicotine vaping among Canadian youth." The council — which includes the chief medical health officers for Canada and the provinces and territories — has been recommending Ottawa ban vaping flavours for the past five years. Canada has one of the highest youth vaping rates in the world. Statistics Canada reports nearly half of all young adults have tried vaping. Health Canada first promised in June 2021 to restrict vape flavours to mint, menthol and tobacco, citing multiple studies that showed fruity and sweet flavours are more likely to appeal to youth and be seen by them as less harmful. The federal government then spent more than three years in consultations and was set to bring in those regulations in June 2024. That didn't happen. Instead, Minister Saks took multiple meetings with the nicotine and vaping industry. In October, after health groups called on her to step down, Saks told CBC News in an interview that she was not stalling the regulations. "I am seized with this," she said at the time. "I don't anticipate this is going to take much longer." WATCH | Last fall, addictions minister told CBC News a flavour ban was coming 'soon': Saks declined a request this week for an interview. Her office did not answer questions from CBC News about the current progress of the flavour ban or the meeting with nicotine-control organizations. In a statement, the minister's spokesperson, Yuval Daniel, wrote that "vaping flavours are going to be restricted." "We need to get this right to avoid further endangering Canadians and putting youth at risk," the statement said. "A patchwork approach, or one that we cannot enforce properly, would not solve the problem or risk greater harms," the statement continues. "In jurisdictions that have gone forward with a ban, we have seen industry exploit grey areas for their own gain." Saks previously told CBC News the federal government wanted to learn from Quebec's flavour ban in October 2023, and whether it had inadvertently encouraged an underground market. Plenty of evidence to warrant restrictions In absence of action from the federal government, several provinces and territories have brought in their own flavour bans: Quebec, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, New Brunswick, P.E.I. and Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia's chief medical officer of health, Dr. Robert Strang, said there's no reason to further delay a nationwide flavour ban, which he said is essential to ensure regulations are easier to enforce everywhere. "It's concerning. I recognize that the political process can sometimes be slow and winding, but certainly it is frustrating," he said. "We are giving our best advice to elected officials." Strang, who authored the most recent advisory from the Council of Chief Medical Officers of Health calling for more action on vaping, said there is plenty of data and research to show banning flavours is a critical measure to protect youth. Flavoured e-cigarettes are more appealing to young people than older smokers, public health experts argue. (Ben Nelms/CBC) "We need to take quick and strong action. I don't think we need to take time to gather a lot more evidence, quite frankly," he said. Two thirds of teenagers who vape never smoked cigarettes, according to the most recent Canadian Tobacco and Nicotine Survey. "We're creating a whole new generation of people addicted to nicotine. And nicotine itself is not a benign drug," Strang said. There is also emerging research that vaping can cause peripheral lung damage in a matter of years, compared with the more central damage that occurs after decades of smoking cigarettes, Strang said. "The claims that e-cigarettes are much safer than tobacco smoking are actually not well founded," he said. Vaping industry has fought regulations hard The vaping industry has come out hard against a flavour ban, arguing that it could create an illicit, unregulated market and make the product less appealing to adult smokers who are trying to find a safer alternative to cigarettes. But Strang said vaping has never been approved as a method to quit smoking. "It is my strong belief that there's certainly an industry influence on this," he said. David Hammond, a public health researcher at the University of Waterloo who studies population nicotine use, said research does show that adults are choosing vaping to quit smoking. It can be as effective as other methods like patches and gum, he added. "The problem is that vaping is much more popular among young people than it is among the older smokers. And it's really almost being branded as something that a 15-year-old uses rather than a 50-year-old," Hammond said. "Flavours have contributed to that." Hammond said that's why a flavour ban wouldn't just make vaping less enticing to youth; it could also make it more appealing to older smokers. "We have hundreds of different flavours on our market ... like cotton candy and blueberry ice and flavours that most people would look at and think, 'Geez, these are aimed at kids.'" Hammond said he and other public health experts have watched the federal government come close more than once to bringing in a flavour ban, only to pull back, saying that more consultation was needed. "I would have thought that this would be one of the easier areas of regulation," he said. "Tobacco companies own many of the biggest vaping brands in Canada," Hammond added. "They may not have the same political power they had in the 1950s and '60s, but they still do swing a pretty heavy club when they choose to do so." Callard, of Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada, said she worries that the slow pace of federal government action has enabled the tobacco industry to replace Canada's smoking epidemic with a vaping one. "It gets to a point that it's very hard to do something about it," she said. When vaping hit the market in 2018, Callard said, the federal Liberal government failed to act, allowing vapes to be sold relatively freely in the hopes the new product would help smokers quit cigarettes. "They never accepted the warnings that we gave them that young people were likely to pick them up at much higher rates than smokers," she said. "They created a mess. And now they're willing to leave office without cleaning it up. And that's the hardest bit for us."
