We have just passed Canada Day, and did Mark Carney live up to all of the promises he made that were supposed to happen by then? Erm, not really. He set some pretty lofty goals for himself, and some of those promises he started to backpedal on the closer the time got, like on internal trade barriers. First it was eliminating them all by Canada Day. And then it was federal barriers. And even then, while the legislation has passed, it’s a bit of a mess. Why? Because the approaches to lifting those barriers is a patchwork of mutual recognition agreements between some provinces and not others, and that could in turn be new barriers in and of themselves, because there aren’t any consistent approaches.

Meanwhile, his bill to cut taxes didn’t pass, but it’ll still take effect on July 1st because of the Ways and Means motion that got passed. He got the ball rolling on the ReArm Europe programme, but it is not a done deal. He also said that he wanted all departments to undertake reviews to cut “red tape” within sixty days, but when exactly that kicks in was a bit ambiguous, not that I think 60 days is an adequate enough time to do a review of all of a department’s regulations to find inefficient rules. They’ve been doing that for years, so it’s not like there’s a lot of low-hanging fruit. I guess we’ll see what they turn up before the fall.

https://twitter.com/CanadianUK/status/1940419524375072985

https://twitter.com/RoyalFamily/status/1940002704295596284

It is nice to see Prince Edward make an appearance, and say a few words, and to bring greetings from Their Majesties with a promise of a longer royal tour to come."I speak for all of my family when I say that we take immense pride in Canada and Canadians." #MapleCrown

— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2025-07-01T16:38:04.203Z

In case you missed it:

My weekend column points out that Danielle Smith’s attack on immigrants in her “Alberta Next” panel telegraph how desperate she is to find new scapegoats.

My Loonie Politics Quick Take looks at that NATO “five percent” goal, which isn’t five percent, and the conversations we should be having instead.

My column shows how Bill C-5 is the latest in a series of ways in which our Parliament has been slowly hollowing itself out, becoming a Potemkin village.

Ukraine Dispatch

The US is delaying or halting shipments of promised weapons to Ukraine, just as Russia has been ramping up attacks, because this is who Trump is. Meanwhile, Russia appears to be ramping up its offensives in Donetsk and Sumy.

Good reads:

• Carney met with auto industry CEOs on Wednesday, who want the EV quotas scrapped, but there was mention of it in the readout.
• The government rescinded the Digital Services Tax on Sunday night, just before it was due to be collected, essentially rolling over for Trump. (Honestly…)
• Carney called the by-election for Battle River—Crowfoot for August 18th.
• Steven Guilbeault wants you to know there is no one way to be a Canadian.
• The CRA says that they won’t refund any Digital Services Tax revenues collected until there is legislation to rescind it officially.
• The stocks on the Canadian Rangers’ new rifles bleed red in the rain, and they’re cracking due to moisture, but the company claims this is out of warranty.
• Telecom companies are fighting new network competition rules, as Telus exploits them in order to offer service without building new infrastructure.
• Here’s an interview with Mike Myers, and how he started “elbows up” on SNL as a bit of a whim, which quickly spread.
• The Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the Immigration Appeal Division needed to hear the appeal of a woman whose visa expired before she had a hearing.
• Former Government Leader in the Senate Marc Gold reflects on his time in the role and in the Upper Chamber.
• Here’s a look back at Carney’s first few weeks in office and talking to people to get a sense of where they think he’s at in terms of a doctrine.
• Former foreign affairs minister Lloyd Axworthy says Carney is “bootlicking” in his approach to Trump, and had worse words for the NATO secretary general.
• Doug Ford says he ordered six new water bombers for the province, but has allocated no money for them. So, we have no clue if that’s actually happening.
• The proposals Danielle Smith is floating in her “Alberta Next” panel are mostly either unconstitutional, hugely expensive, or require buy-in from other provinces.
• Two ousted UCP MLAs are looking to revive the “Progressive Conservative” brand in Alberta, and would need one more floor-crosser to make them official.
• Kevin Carmichael worries about the declining entrepreneurialism in Canada, and what that does for productivity.
• Dan Garnder recounts the history of Canada’s flags prior to the adoption of the Maple Leaf in 1965.
• Glenn Cowan, Michael M. Smith and Philippe Lagassé suggest ways the government can reform military procurement and incentivise defence innovation.
• Marty Patriquin recalls his cover story on Quebec corruption 15 years ago, and what has and has not changed in the province in the time since.
• Justin Ling ponders the need to take on the oligopolies that run this country, and how the government can leverage its tools to break up the status quo.
• Emmett Macfarlane considers the capitulation over the Digital Services Tax to be the final straw in ending the honeymoon Carney has enjoyed.
• Jennifer Robson points out that enough concessions to Trump will add up faster than we think, starting with the Digital Services Tax.
• Paul Wells reflects on what kind of leader he sees Carney as being.

Odds and ends:

Missed this yesterday—it's @clareblackwood.bsky.social as Danielle Smith for Canada Day.

— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2025-07-02T13:46:32.628Z

Want more Routine Proceedings? Become a patron and get exclusive new content.