Latest news with #ProgressiveConservative
Toronto Sun
16 hours ago
- Business
- Toronto Sun
Ontario launching $260M round of funding for skills development
This is the sixth iteration of the skills development fund from Doug Ford's Progressive Conservative government. Published Jul 29, 2025 • Last updated 5 minutes ago • 1 minute read Labour and Immigration Minister David Piccini speaks at Queen's Park on July 28, 2025. Photo by Jack Boland / Toronto Sun Ontario has opened up applications for a $260-million round of funding to train workers. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Labour Minister David Piccini says the funds can be used for innovative projects in health care, manufacturing, construction and the automotive sector, among other skilled trades. This is the sixth iteration of the skills development fund from Doug Ford's Progressive Conservative government. Piccini says the province plans to keep building as it continues its infrastructure push, with numerous highway, hospital and long-term care projects in the works. Piccini has also announced the recipients of a $20-million investment that was part of the last round of skills funding, which includes money for youth, manufacturing and hospitality workers as well as for health care workers such as nurses. Ford has pitched even more infrastructure projects going forward as a way to offset an economic downturn created by U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war. MLB Canada Toronto & GTA Toronto Blue Jays World
CBC
3 days ago
- Politics
- CBC
Manitoba political commentator Paul Thomas to retire after more than 50 years of punditry
Longtime Manitoba political commentator and professor emeritus Paul Thomas is retiring. Thomas, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Manitoba, announced his retirement in a final Winnipeg Free Press column earlier this month, saying his "days of punditry are over" and his future availability to the media will be "limited to topics of deep interest to me." He's been the person to call with questions about Canadian politics for more than half a century, having spent decades observing and researching politics, offering his insights in countless media interviews. Now, Thomas is recounting some of his standout political moments and opinions. He says Manitoba's most memorable premier is Progressive Conservative Duff Roblin, "by miles." "I know, in my opinion — having studied premiers from the past and having known all of them since the Duff Roblin era — that he was the best by far," Thomas told host Marcy Markusa in a Wednesday morning interview on CBC Manitoba's Information Radio. Roblin served as Manitoba's 14th premier, from 1958 to 1967, leading the charge to create the Red River Floodway around Winnipeg. Before Roblin's election, the Manitoba government played a "very limited role" in the province, Thomas said, and the province was behind compared to some other jurisdictions in terms of education, social services and housing policy. In contrast, Roblin led a "very active government," and he was willing to run up deficits and then raise taxes, Thomas said. "It was sort of a quiet revolution, Manitoba style," he said. "He was very pragmatic. He wasn't a strongly ideological conservative, so that's why I have such great respect for him." Manitoba's greatest premiers were those who took a more pragmatic approach, he said. "Give me a government that's affordable and show me that the government works — that's the best approach that's prevailed in Manitoba [and has] led to the most success." Conversely, Thomas said Manitoba's most polarizing premier was Progressive Conservative Brian Pallister, who served as the province's 22nd premier from 2016 to 2021. He described Pallister as "the most ideological" of Manitoba's premiers. Pallister was so committed to an agenda of limited government, lower taxes, deregulation and privatization that Thomas said he "antagonized a lot of people." "Manitobans want good government and they want affordable government, but they believe that there's a positive role for government," Thomas said. "He seemed to bring the view that government was a problem, and he got caught by the pandemic and the economic slowdown at a time when he was trying to curb spending." Pallister stepped down as premier as party support plummeted in the polls, after widely condemned comments about Canada's history and colonization. His decisions as leader during the COVID-19 pandemic and plans to eliminate school boards also brought criticism. Regardless of political stripe, Thomas said he's proud to have served as a nonpartisan "sounding board" for Manitoba's premiers since the 1960s. "Unfortunately today, people in public life don't get the respect they deserve, both on the political side, even on the administrative or public service side," he said. "That's an unfortunate trend that's developed over my lifetime of commentary." The most impactful political moment that he witnessed was Canada's Constitutional crises involving the Charlottetown and Meech Lake accords in the 1980s and 1990s. The Meech Lake Accord — former prime minister Brian Mulroney's effort to bring Quebec into the Constitution by strengthening provincial powers and declaring Quebec a distinct society — was fiercely opposed by Indigenous leaders who said it ignored their rights. In 1990, Manitoba Indigenous leader Elijah Harper, the only Indigenous Manitoba MLA at the time, withheld his consent for the Meech Lake Accord, preventing it from coming to a vote in the province and leading to the accord's eventual failure. Elijah Harper's vote of protest in 1990 35 years ago "Manitoba was at the centre of attention then," Thomas said. Thomas described that period as a time of "high drama, lots of theatre" that occupied more television time than normal for Canadian politics. "I remember my late mother-in-law … complained to me, 'Paul, why is Coronation Street not on CBC? Where did it go?'" Thomas said. "Well, we're trying to save the country." A political moment that still causes Thomas to scratch his head was Manitoba's French-language crisis of 1983-84. The province sparked protests when it said it would introduce legislation to give Franco-Manitobans the constitutional right to receive provincial government services in their own language. That time sticks out in Thomas's memory as an "ugly period." "That was a horrible moment in Manitoba history: high-emotion crowds, mobs … occupying the legislative building and screaming personal threats, targeted at both sides," Thomas said. Tough assignments, proud achievements A politician's duty is to "keep the temperature as low as possible," and to "strive for as much consensus as possible," he said. "Increasingly, in this age of misinformation and disinformation, there's more of that going around. It spilled over from the United States, and it's disappointing [and] discouraging to me." Thomas said one of his toughest assignments was as a consultant for a 1994 inquest led by then provincial court associate chief judge Murray Sinclair, after 12 infants died in one year during cardiac surgery at Winnipeg's Health Sciences Centre. "That was a very emotional journey for me, dealing with the 12 families who had lost infants in the pediatric cardiac surgery program. I still have vivid memories of that to this day." But a satisfying achievement for Thomas was success after advocating for a legislative internship program for a decade. The program, established in 1985, allows a group of recent university graduates to work in the legislature as research assistants. "That's one of my proudest achievements."
CBC
4 days ago
- Health
- CBC
Manitoba settles lawsuit with family of woman who died after halted medical flight during pandemic
Social Sharing The Manitoba government says it has settled a lawsuit with the family of a woman who died during the COVID-19 pandemic while in the process of being transferred out of province due to a shortage of hospital beds. Matt Wiebe, minister of justice and the province's attorney general, confirmed a settlement was recently reached with the family of Krystal Mousseau more than two years after Mousseau's mother first sued the provincial government and health agencies. Elaine Mousseau alleged that cuts to health care and improper medical decisions contributed to her daughter's death in May 2021. Mousseau was in intensive care with severe COVID-19 pneumonia and died after being taken by ambulance to a waiting airplane that was to take her to Ottawa. Details of the settlement were not made available. Wiebe says he is pleased the province has been able to reach an agreement with the Mousseau family. "While it can't bring back their loved one or repair the harms done to their family, we hope this agreement brings them clarity and a sense of closure," Wiebe said in a statement on Friday. "Our government remains committed to rebuilding health care in northern Manitoba and across our province." Mousseau died on May 25, 2021, after an aborted attempt to fly her from an intensive care unit in Brandon, Man., to a hospital in Ottawa. The province, under the previous Progressive Conservative government, sent dozens of intensive-care patients to other provinces that spring due to a shortage of beds as COVID-19 cases rose and hospitals struggled to deal with an influx of people needing care. Elaine Mousseau alleged that the government and Shared Health, the provincial body that co-ordinates many health services, failed to provide proper care. Shared Health said on Friday that any settlement is confidential in nature and it would not be commenting on the matter. Elaine Mousseau's lawyer was not immediately made available to comment on the settlement. A letter from the regional authority in western Manitoba to the family shortly after Krystal Mousseau's death, which was released publicly, said the transport team did not have a piece of equipment that would let them constantly monitor Mousseau's blood pressure, so a blood-pressure cuff was used instead. Mousseau was also being given at least one medication at the wrong rate, the letter stated. The lawsuit alleged the Tory government ignored warnings in 2019 when it privatized some air ambulance services. The government also created a scenario where hospitals couldn't deal with an influx of patients when it reduced the number of critical care beds in 2019, the lawsuit claimed. The statement of claim also alleged staff at the hospital allowed Mousseau to leave while she was in unstable condition and at severe risk. Mousseau showed high blood pressure and a sudden elevated heart rate shortly before she was put into the ambulance on the way to the airport, the statement of claim alleged. She went into cardiac arrest while in the ambulance, was sent back to hospital, and suffered another cardiac arrest and multiple organ failure before being pronounced dead the next day, the document said.
Winnipeg Free Press
4 days ago
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Manitoba byelection called in traditional Progressive Conservative stronghold
WINNIPEG – Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew called a byelection Friday that will test whether his NDP government's popularity can spread to a longtime Progressive Conservative stronghold. Voters in the Spruce Woods constituency will go to the polls Aug. 26 to choose a replacement for Grant Jackson, a Tory who resigned in March to run federally. Jackson garnered more than double the votes of his closest opponent in 2023, and the Tories normally get well above 60 per cent of the vote in the area. The New Democrats have been riding high in opinion polls, however, and have made a series of spending announcements in and around Spruce Woods in recent weeks. One political analyst said the byelection could be a race. 'I would say right now that I think the (Progressive) Conservatives probably still have a bit of the upper hand, given that history, but it's not beyond the realm of possibility that the NDP can win it,' Kelly Saunders, a political science professor at Brandon University, said in an interview. The outcome of the vote won't affect the NDP's majority in the legislature, where the party has 34 of the 57 seats to the Tories' 20. There is one Liberal and one Independent. But a win in Spruce Woods would give the NDP, whose seats are concentrated mainly in Winnipeg and the province's north, a breakthrough in the rural southwest corner of the province. The riding contains a part of Brandon, but most of its area consists of small towns and farmland. 'If (Kinew) can pull that off, then I think that would be a huge symbolic win for (the NDP) to show that in fact they are the government that can speak for everybody in this province,' said Saunders, who lives in Spruce Woods. Kinew announced spending on highways, housing, doctor training and other items in the lead-up to the byelection call. He told supporters in the area Thursday that the NDP is being more proactive than in past contests, when some areas of the constituency didn't have lawn signs. The Tories have also gone on the offensive. They have criticized Kinew for not calling the byelection earlier and have accused him of leaving the area without a voice. When Kinew pushed back against a reporter's questioning about the ongoing vacancy, the Tories turned it into social media fodder. The Tories have chosen Colleen Robbins, a longtime party volunteer for the race. The NDP have nominated Ray Berthelette, a former real estate agent who recently worked as an executive assistant to cabinet minister Glen Simard. The Liberals have selected Stephen Reid, a teacher in Brandon. The Tories have been in rebuilding mode since losing the 2023 provincial election. The NDP pulled off a major upset last year in winning a byelection in the Tuxedo seat in Winnipeg, which had always voted Progressive Conservative and had been the seat of two former Tory premiers. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 25, 2025.
Winnipeg Free Press
4 days ago
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Spruce Woods byelection called for August 26
The byelection for the provincial constituency of Spruce Woods will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 26, the Manitoba government said late Friday, hours after Premier Wab Kinew held another news conference in Westman. Kinew and two cabinet ministers appeared in Glenboro to promote road and bridge work that is part of the province's long-term infrastructure plan. The town is in the Spruce Woods constituency, where the byelection must be held to fill the seat vacated by Progressive Conservative Grant Jackson in March. Ray Berthelette (Matt Goerzen / The Brandon Sun) Kinew and his NDP cabinet ministers have made a series of announcements in and around the constituency in recent weeks. Political science professor Kelly Saunders at Brandon University says a NDP win in the rural seat would be a huge symbolic win for the party, because rural seats in southwest Manitoba have been Tory strongholds. Kinew said Thursday he is confident the party's candidate, Ray Berthelette, can bring Spruce Woods into the NDP fold, at a news conference to unveil the candidate. Colleen Robbins from Souris is the Tory candidate, while the Liberals have selected Brandon teacher Stephen Reid. The government news release said the chief electoral officer will issue information in the upcoming days that will indicate polling times, locations and the dates, and locations of advance polls. Colleen Robbins (Supplied) Tuesdays A weekly look at politics close to home and around the world. There are 57 seats in the legislature; 34 are held by the governing New Democrats; 20 by the Progressive Conservatives; one independent Liberal; one independent member and the vacant Spruce Woods seat. fpcity@ Stephen Reid (Supplied)
