🇨🇦 Canada is beefing up its defence

In hockey, if a team’s goaltender keeps getting run into by opposition teams, NHL GMs tend to get bigger defencemen to protect their goaltender. Canada has made a heavy commitment to beef up their own defence this time around due to unreliable partners (United States) and they’re beefing it up to levels not seen since World War II.

Canada has pledged to meet NATO’s lofty new targets - 5% of GDP threshold by 2035. This is a massive jump as Canada currently commits a little less than 2% of GDP to defence, and former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had struggled to even hit 2%.

The investment comes as Canada has signalled a shift away from relying on the United States and leaning on a closer partnership with the European Union. In doing so, the Mark Carney government will be investing in the military and heavy infrastructure, such as ports, Arctic sensors, communications and critical-minerals logistics. PM Mark Carney has also given the go-ahead to review the $19-billion F-35 jet purchases by summer’s end and has hinted at buying more Canadian or European gear. The status of the F-35 purchases came into question once President Trump targeted Canada for his trade war.

✂️ Cuts are coming, but everything will be gradual.

PM Carney warned that the increased investment in defence could come with some trade-offs and cuts in other areas to keep spending under control. It won’t be immediate, however, as PM Carney says those “trade-offs” are expected closer to 2030, but these investments in defence are required due to evolving threats and global dangers.

A day earlier, PM Carney told CNN that the new goal will cost Canada roughly $150-billion per year, the equivalent of roughly one-third of all federal spending expected in 2025-26. He’s noted that with the big increases in spending, it’ll all have to be done gradually to avoid spending more and spending unnecessarily.

No longer interested in a 51st State? In his interview with CNN, PM Carney said President Trump is no longer interested in annexing Canada. PM Carney joked that Trump admired Canada and for a time, “coveted Canada.”

🛠️ Wartime efforts

Back at home, Canada’s Energy and Natural Resources Minister is pushing for a “wartime effort” mindset to get many infrastructure projects off the ground under the new “One Canadian Economy Act.”

In a keynote address, Minister Hodgson called on business leaders to “bring your best ideas forward” as Canada begins to retool the economy with major projects similar as they did after World War II.

🇨🇦 Canadian Headlines

• 🇮🇷CBSA investigating Iran officials. Out of 66 people suspected of being senior Iranian officials trying to enter Canada, 20 have already been flagged as inadmissible.

  • The sweep comes under growing anxiety about Iran-linked sleeper cells in the USA and potentially in Canada.

  • CBSA says it has cancelled the visas of more than 130 suspected senior Iran officials trying to come to Canada since 2022.

• Some takeaways from Canada’s NATO pledge.

  • In 2029, NATO will review its spending pledge. This coincides with when the U.S. Constitution says Trump’s time as President is officially done after serving two terms. On that note, evidently, Trump calls the shots. With threats of backing out of NATO or not defending a NATO ally if spending didn’t go up, the boost in defence spending can at least partly be attributed to the threats by President Trump.

  • The weapons and other military equipment that will make up 3.5% of Canada’s 5% benchmark remains unclear and fluid, due to advances in technology and how cyber threats will play out.

  • The remaining 1.5% of the benchmark will consist of building infrastructure - such as roads and Arctic ports.

• Ontario Place redevelopment. Instead of an underground parking garage, they’ll spend $400-million on a five-level parking garage that obstructs waterfront views.

  • The claim is that the parking garage alone will generate $60-million a year and create 5,000 construction and tourism jobs.

  • Revamped amphitheatres, a spa, splash pads, treehouses, canoe and kayak launch points, a beach, and a splash fountain as part of a 50-acre public park. It will be 14 acres larger than one of the area’s most popular green spaces.

  • There have been concerns regarding the involvement of private companies on provincially owned land. Therme, a European company, has a 95-year lease on Ontario Place. Concerns were raised that the company was given special access to provincial executives during the bidding process. How much of a kickback do we think Dougie got with this one?

  • Other critics point to it all being one big money grab. Ontario NDP MPP, Chris Glover, said Premier Ford is turning public parkland into a way to make money off people’s backs. Councillor Ausma Malik blasted the project, saying “Ontario Place should connect people to our waterfront, not block them with a massive parking structure.” Green leader, Mike Schreiner, says the project is not a revitalization, but rather a “reckless misuse of public land and a waste of money.”

• 🎓Harvard & U of T work together. In the face of the Trump Administration vs. Harvard, Harvard students can finish up their degree at the University of Toronto if they can’t re-enter the United States due to visa restrictions.

• Canadian dies in ICE custody. Johnny Noviello, a 49-year-old Canadian and U.S. permanent resident, died this week while in ICE custody in Florida. Noviello had moved to the U.S. when he was 10 years old. He was found unresponsive and pronounced dead an hour later. Global Affairs Canada has been notified and investigations are ongoing.

  • This is the 9th person to die in ICE custody since the start of the year.

• Senate passes Bill C-5. Just in time for Canada Day, as PM Carney intended, the Senate approved Bill C-5 and has given Ottawa the power to fast-track major infrastructure projects under the “One Canadian Economy Act.”

• Competition Bureau warns landlords. The Competition Bureau slapped a major warning on landlords and property managers who get buddy-buddy with one another and collude on rental prices, lease terms and availability.

  • One pointed quote from the bureau: “agreements between landlords to ‘make the most of the booming rental housing market’ or ‘find ways to ensure all players benefit from the strong demand equally’ raise concerns under the law and could be illegal.

🏦 Numbers

• The gap widens. In the latest Nanos poll, Liberals lead public polls by 45% with the Conservatives posting 31% of support. A far cry from the neck-and-neck race (or close to it) heading into the Federal Election as the Conservatives have bled support and Mark Carney makes good first moves.

  • Mark Carney’s early policy shifts and bills have proven popular as he polls at 52% as the preferred Prime Minister.

  • The opposition leader, Pierre Poilievre, facing a leadership review in January, continues to bleed support as his personal polling has him at 23% for preferred Prime Minister. A 29-point gap following an election that was considered a slam dunk will likely put more pressure on the Tories to make a move. Pierre Poilievre may find his way back into Parliament in the Alberta by-election, but will he remain leader after January 2026?

• $2.3-billion. Social media giant TikTok claims the platform alone fuelled $2.3-billion in GDP in 2024. This is broken down with $1.4-billion from SMBs and creators, $602-million from operations and $326-million from organic features. They claim to support nearly 20,000 jobs in Canada and $554-million in tax revenue.

  • With constant scrutiny and threats at the federal level, shutting TikTok down would cost Canada money and jobs.

📰 More Headlines

• 🇮🇷Middle East fallout. In the days following the attacks, the ceasefire has continued to hold for now. President Trump pushed back against claims that the strikes did not destroy core components of Iran’s nuclear program, taking to Truth Social to call it “one of the most successful military strikes in history” and that “the nuclear sites in Iran are completely destroyed.” (Picture this in all caps as a typical Trump tweet, though).

  • An Iranian official said the sites were “badly damaged” by repeated attacks from Israel and the U.S., but an early U.S. Intelligence briefing found the strikes likely only set Iran’s program back by months.

  • I’m not touching NATO’s secretary-general referring to Trump as “daddy” with a 10-foot pole. Nope.

• 📉Consequences of action. President Trump is the most unpopular he’s been during his second term. More than half of American adults disapprove of the work he’s doing and he’s polling negatively on nearly every important issue.

  • On the economy, Trump is down 13%. On inflation, 20%. On immigration, he’s down 2%.

  • President Trump entered office with a positive approval rating and popular support, but at this point, the support has washed away through his political fights and policy decisions.

  • The more people pay attention to Trump, the less they like him. Who could have seen that coming?

• 🏛️Planned Parenthood in trouble. The Supreme Court voted in a 6-3 decision to allow the state of South Carolina to strip Planned Parenthood South Atlantic of Medicaid funding. This decision upends previous rulings that protected patient choice under the 1871 law. Under the guise of “qualifications,” this paves the way for more states to defend Planned Parenthood and its affiliates.

• 💉RFK Jr. is the vaccine expert. That’s why he announced the U.S. is pulling multi-hundred-million-dollar aid to vaccines alliance Gavi, claiming the group “ignored the science” on vaccine safety. The vaccine group was hoping to raise $9-billion for the next five years.

  • Gavi is a partnership consisting of private and public entities, including the WHO, UNICEF, Gates Foundation and World Bank.

  • It has paid for more than 1-billion children to be vaccinated through routine immunization programs and is estimated to have saved 18-million lives.

  • The United States was one of the program’s biggest supports until Donald Trump’s re-election. The United States had pledged $1-billion through 2030.

🔭 First Exoplanet Photo

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope grabbed the first-ever direct image of a planet outside of our solar system. Exoplanets don’t typically put out much light, so researchers have to use methods such as tracking shadows as they pass across a host star.

The planet is called TWA 7b and is believed to have a mass similar to Saturn. It’s located 100 light years away from Earth.

The planet is further away from its star than Earth, so its orbital period lasts several hundred years. The planet is thought to be 6-million years old, meaning the picture we got is a snapshot into the early stages of its development.

The planet is considered smaller than previous exoplanets that were directly observed with a telescope. Planets this size can’t be seen by telescopes here on Earth.

💭 ICYMI

• Muskoka’s wildfire risk. Southern Ontario has long been considered “safe” from forest fires, but is climate change changing that?

• Robotaxi proves unsafe. Tesla’s stock took a dip after investors realized people don’t want to be in driverless cars that are riddled with errors.

• Are memes illegal now? The Trump administration admits that they went through a tourist’s phone, but deny that a bloated JD Vance meme is the reason for deportation.

• James Bond Reboot. Fans found their faith again as Denis Villeneuve, the mind behind Dune and Blade Runner 2049, will be at the helm for the James Bond reboot.

• More games for the NHL? The NHL and NHLPA are closing in on a CBA extension, one of the changes in the new CBA includes an 84-game schedule (increased from 82) starting in 2026-27.

😊 Not everything needs to be serious…

Not everything needs to be serious and dreary. We can smile at the news too, and one of my goals is to end every edition with a story that you wouldn’t ordinarily see in the news, but that will hopefully make you smile.

Today, why showing up matters - from nervousness to an instant demeanour change just from spotting mom.

Instant relief. 🥲