Policy Topics | Policy Briefings

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• Agriculture
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• Defence & Security
• Environment
• Finance
• Fisheries and Oceans

• Foreign Policy​
• Health
• Industry and Manufacturing
• Infrastructure and Transport
• Innovation
• Intergovernmental

• Indigenous Relations
• Justice
• Labour & Employment
• Lobbying
• Natural Resources and Energy
• Women, Gender and Diversity

Finance

Cabinet spending tops $92-million in 2024-25, up 3.7 per cent

NewsBY LAURA RYCKEWAERT

• Unsurprisingly, then-prime minister Justin Trudeau’s office was the highest spender, with a total of $13.1-million in expenses reported.

Cabinet spending tops $92-million in 2024-25, up 3.7 per cent

NewsBY LAURA RYCKEWAERT

• Unsurprisingly, then-prime minister Justin Trudeau’s office was the highest spender, with a total of $13.1-million in expenses reported.

The federal budget misses Canada’s biggest AI opportunity

OpinionBY REBECCA BAILEY, SARAH HASHEM

Brookfield executive grilled by House Ethics Committee on Carney’s ties to company, says he met Carney in October on the Hill to talk about rising antisemitism in Canada

NewsBY MARLO GLASS

PBO repeats calls for transparency after he says budget uses ‘made-in-Ottawa’ definition of capital spending

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

‘Quiet buzz’ on Bay Street about Carney’s ‘nation-building’ major projects, says Tobin

NewsBY CHRISTOPHER GULY

Most Liberals believe Poilievre’s their ticket to remain in government

OpinionBY SHEILA COPPS

Budget delivers measures to grow the economy, but fails to deliver urgently needed transformation and generational change

OpinionBY DAVID CRANE

Don’t forget the kids, health advocates tell feds

NewsBY TESSIE SANCI

Bloc Leader Blanchet’s expletive about government’s budget negotiation strategy ‘not suitable for work,’ says Government House Leader MacKinnon

NewsBY ABBAS RANA

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‘I’m not into games’: NDP MP Johns defends decision to abstain from budget vote

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND | UPDATED November 24, 2025

• After meeting with municipal and Indigenous leaders in his B.C. riding, all of whom opposed an election, NDP MP Gord Johns says he was 'confident' in his decision to intentionally sit out the Nov. 17 budget vote.

‘I’m not into games’: NDP MP Johns defends decision to abstain from budget vote

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND | UPDATED November 24, 2025

• After meeting with municipal and Indigenous leaders in his B.C. riding, all of whom opposed an election, NDP MP Gord Johns says he was 'confident' in his decision to intentionally sit out the Nov. 17 budget vote.

Interim PBO says he is focusing on parliamentarians, not media

NewsBY MARLO GLASS

Canada’s AI imperative: go big and bold

OpinionBY SARA CLODMAN

Bridging Canada’s divide on consent

OpinionBY MEGAN BUTTLE

Budget 2025 could have enhanced Canada’s military mobility by investing in roads and rails

OpinionBY ANDREW ERSKINE

Budget cuts in defence: an opportunity to align needs and outputs?

OpinionBY CHARLOTTE DUVAL-LANTOINE

The laws of economics finally catch up with Trump

OpinionBY LES WHITTINGTON

Pivot to ‘economic reconciliation’ risks ‘squandering’ political goodwill as Indigenous social programs face funding gaps: observers

NewsBY STUART BENSON

Coastal communities ‘running out of time’ without fisheries fund renewal, say opposition critics as DFO faces $544M in cuts

NewsBY STUART BENSON

AGRICULTURE

Scaling climate-resilient farming solutions for global impact

OpinionBY CAROL THIESSEN

The easiest policy win in Ottawa might just be hiding in plain sight

OpinionBY ORVILLE BOVENSCHEN

Thinking clearly about the EV-canola tradeoff

OpinionBY BO CHEN, ISG SENATOR YUEN PAU WOO

Investing in the future of Canadian agriculture: a strategic imperative

OpinionBY TREVOR HECK

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Biotechnology

Canada’s research strength is world-class—now we need to all pull in the same direction

OpinionBY BENOIT-ANTOINE BACON

Canada could have access to more than 10,000 doctors if licensing were less complicated, House Health Committee hears

NewsBY TESSIE SANCI

Turning innovation into impact: Canada’s biotech advantage

OpinionBY WENDY ZATYLNY

‘Cutting red tape,’ mental health and primary care on the health docket this fall

NewsBY TESSIE SANCI

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DEFENCE & SECURITY

Joint co-operation needed to tackle spread of narcotics, says Colombian defence minister 

FeatureBY NEIL MOSS

Gripen fighter jet purchase would allow Canada to assert sovereignty, says past chair of House Defence Committee McKay

NewsBY NEIL MOSS

Seeing beyond the cave: bridging culture in defence and procurement

OpinionBY DAN A. DORAN

The future fighter debate

OpinionBY SCOTT TAYLOR

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Environment

Driving change: how investing in youth and transportation can power a greener future

OpinionBY ISG SENATOR FARAH MOHAMED

Ottawa plans to modernize the Energy Efficiency Act. Here’s how to do it right

OpinionBY SARAH RIDDELL

There is no bargain in a north coast oil pipeline, only snake oil

OpinionBY JESSICA CLOGG

Canada’s G7 leadership: the ambition is there, but is the budget?

OpinionBY JOSEPH INGRAM

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Fisheries and oceans

Q&A | Cod quota ‘pressure is enormous’ on fisheries minister

NewsBY PETER MAZEREEUW

Federal fish science analyses continue to muddy the waters in salmon farm fight

NewsBY STUART BENSON

The markets are hungry for Canadian cod. Will we deliver?

OpinionBY SYLVIE LAPOINTE

Oceans must take centre stage in nation-building projects

OpinionBY DEREK ARMITAGE, TREVOR SWERDFAGER

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FOREIGN POLICY

With even Conservatives conspiring to pass Carney’s budget, PM turns attention to the wider world

OpinionBY LES WHITTINGTON

Budget investments in transportation, trade require long-term strategy and private sector support, say experts

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

Ukraine: once more around the loop

OpinionBY GWYNNE DYER

Now is the time for Canadian businesses to invest in Ukraine

OpinionBY ISG SENATOR STANLEY KUTCHER, ZENON POTICHNY

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health

Alberta’s hybrid health-care plan breaks the spirit—and likely the law—of Canadian Medicare

OpinionBY KAREN S. PALMER

Health Canada’s alcohol guidelines are 14 years old, despite new ones issued in 2023

NewsBY TESSIE SANCI

It’s time to help stop the spread of STBBIs throughout the country

OpinionBY ISG SENATOR RENé CORMIER

Why we still don’t have a National Lung Health Strategy

OpinionBY JESSICA MOFFATT, JOSé LUIS CASTRO

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Industry and Manufacturing

Canada’s ZEV mandate will leave 450,000 drivers stranded

OpinionBY BRIAN LIVINGSTON

Budget 2025 is more of the same

OpinionBY DAVID CRANE

Losing Canada’s last big critical minerals champion: the stakes in the Anglo–Teck deal

OpinionBY ED FAST

Carney’s big promises all hinge on Canadians’ trust

OpinionBY DAVID CRANE

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infrastructure and transport

Striking a balance

OpinionBY CSG SENATOR TODD LEWIS

Breakfast at Café Olimpico, lunch at Piano Piano

OpinionBY BEHROUZ BAKHTIARI

What will it take to get out of the supply-chain crisis?

OpinionBY JOHN COLEMAN

Canada needs a strong EV market to secure future jobs

OpinionBY ADAM THORN, MEGAN GORDON

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innovation

Adopting a made-in-Canada policy could result in losing the battle for AI supremacy

OpinionBY MICHAEL CHOLOD

Canada must build on federal budget investments in dual-use innovation

OpinionBY ELYSA DARLING, JAKE HIRSCH-ALLEN, AYAZ SYED

The Canadian government is hallucinating over its AI strategy

OpinionBY RENEE SIEBER, FENWICK MCKELVEY, JONATHAN ROBERGE, JOANNA REDDEN

Skeptics say billions of dollars in AI-driven government efficiencies ‘fiscally dubious’

NewsBY MARLO GLASS

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intergovernmental

Arctic security cannot exist without Inuit sovereignty

OpinionBY NDP MP LORI IDLOUT

PQ Blue Book attacks Canada’s international role

OpinionBY ANDREW CADDELL

A letter to Alberta Premier Danielle Smith: reclaim Alberta’s promise

Opinion

No ‘serious negotiation’ with Liberals on budget, says Bloc MP Garon: ‘If the result is an election, what can we do?’

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

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justice

How best to stop coverups: end government misuse of non-disclosure agreements

OpinionBY INDEPENDENT SENATOR MARILOU MCPHEDRAN, JULIE MACFARLANE

A debt of gratitude for Ivan Zinger, correctional investigator

OpinionBY ROSE LEMAY

OGGO hearing confirms: our government continues to persecute whistleblowers rather than protect them

OpinionBY DAVID HUTTON

Prison watchdog leaves post early with ‘frustrations’ as final report keys in on ‘grossly inadequate’ mental health care behind bars

NewsBY MARLO GLASS

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Labour & employment

Canada’s local infrastructure fund must be fair to workers

OpinionBY RENZE NAUTA

Canada at a crossroads as history repeats itself

OpinionBY JOSEPHINE GREY, SHEILA REGEHR

Unspinning the Trumpian disinformation on DEI: why it matters for all Canadians

OpinionBY KAIT LAFORCE, WILL SHELLING

‘Prices have to go down’: housing experts say new agency’s success must be measured in cost, not construction outcomes

NewsBY STUART BENSON

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Lobbying

Blanchard defends Carney’s ethics screen as a ‘rigorous process’

NewsBY MARLO GLASS | UPDATED November 21, 2025

The unintended consequences of stricter rules on public policy engagement

OpinionBY JACQUES J.M. SHORE, SUZANNE SABOURIN

Budget a step in the right direction, but fails to deliver on the ‘hype,’ say lobbyists

NewsBY SERGIY SLIPCHENKO

‘Cut through the table talk’: tech firms launch new group to help feds fix procurement woes 

NewsBY IREM KOCA

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natural resources and energy

‘It’s a big concern’: MPs scrutinize head of Major Projects Office for past role in Trans Mountain contract

NewsBY IREM KOCA

The critical-minerals battle is being fought on land—and over the sea

OpinionBY KEN RUBIN

Methane regulation is a climate-competitive home run

OpinionBY AMANDA BRYANT

Building a national Canadian economy starts with our fuel sector

OpinionBY JAKE ENWRIGHT

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Women, Gender and Diversity

The CAF’s emotional apology for racism

OpinionBY SCOTT TAYLOR

Women’s groups hail ongoing funding for gender-equality programs, but warn the ‘devil is in the details’

NewsBY RIDDHI KACHHELA, SAMANTHA WRIGHT ALLEN

The case for renewing the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy

OpinionBY ADAM SPENCE

Conservative attacks on DEI are nothing new, but fighting past battles risks future growth, say politicos

NewsBY STUART BENSON

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Indigenous Relations

Deloitte’s certification as partner to Indigenous firms raises questions about access to feds’ contract regime, says Indigenous business owner

NewsBY IREM KOCA

Opening the pathway for greater Indigenous inclusion in the Armed Forces

OpinionBY GRAZIA SCOPPIO, FEDERICA CASO

The one where the minister called the Senate racist

OpinionBY ROSE LEMAY | UPDATED November 19, 2025

Budget signals strong economic focus, but falls short in details like regulatory burden or clarity on defence spending, say experts, economists

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

Exclusive lists

First-quarter expenses: MPs spent nearly $28-million

First-quarter expenses: MPs spent nearly $28-million

This Parliament’s ethics roundup: blind trusts, recusals, gifts, and more

This Parliament’s ethics roundup: blind trusts, recusals, gifts, and more

Take The Hill Times politics quiz

Take The Hill Times politics quiz

Carney government bills: tracking their progress into law

Carney government bills: tracking their progress into law

The number of sick days claimed by bureaucrats, broken down by department

The number of sick days claimed by bureaucrats, broken down by department

Take The Hill Times politics quiz

Take The Hill Times politics quiz

MPs’ annual office budgets for 2025-26

MPs’ annual office budgets for 2025-26

Take The Hill Times politics quiz

Take The Hill Times politics quiz