‘It’s all out war now’: Liberal MPs, senior Grits predict a ‘volatile’ summer with ‘lots of political games’

If Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wants to shuffle his cabinet or make any changes to his team of senior political aides, he should do so as soon as possible to calm caucus members’ jittery nerves as unfolding events are creating an atmosphere of unpredictability for the governing party, say Liberal MPs.

“It’s better to have it now. People expect there’s going to be some change, and that we need to see that change happen soon so that people can move on with their lives,” said one Liberal MP who spoke on a not-for-attribution basis to share their candid views. “Whether it’s leadership [change] in the PMO, in the party—definitely cabinet—[or a] change in orientation in moving to the centre.”

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Diversity Crime Alert: Wadia Khaled & Fadel Yazba charged in Ontario Disability Support Program Robbery

Toronto police have arrested two men they say have been targeting Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) clients and allegedly stealing their funds.

Authorities were notified of a robbery just before 12:30 p.m. on June 28 in the Wellesley Street and Jarvis Street area.

… Two 18-year-olds, identified as Wadia Khaled of Toronto and Fadel Yazbak of Mississauga, were arrested and charged with robbery with an offensive weapon, conspiracy to commit an indictable offence and disguise with intent.

They’re probably released and conducting another robbery as you read this.

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Canada Said to Have Mapped Out Secret Chinese Police Operations

Canada has done a detailed mapping of what it says are covert Chinese police operations within its borders and wants to explore a response with Group of Seven allies to a challenge faced by several nations.

The issue of Beijing allegedly setting up unofficial “police stations” in Western democracies — to monitor and intimidate members of the Chinese diaspora — has become a growing concern. Canada, the US, Italy, Germany and the UK have all grappled with the problem.

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The best and brightest don’t want to stay in Canada. I should know: I’m one of the few in my engineering class who did

I’m used to seeing my friends pack up bags and move to the United States. Most of my graduating class of software engineering at the University of Waterloo decamped for the U.S. right after graduating in 2019. The few who stayed back, have strongly considered moving or have gradually made the jump since.

Recent data shows that this trend is accelerating and is no longer isolated to tech. According to data from the U.S. census, more than 126,000 people from Canada moved to the United States in 2022, a 70 per cent increase from 2021 and one of the highest numbers seen yet.

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With more people living in Hamilton parks, council looks at new options for encampments

At the edge of a east-end Hamilton park, Lisa Bartlett carefully wipes dirt off her belongings after heavy rainfall partially collapsed and flooded her tent.

Living in an encampment is hard, said Bartlett, 50.

It’s often uncomfortable and unsafe, she added.

She wears a whistle she around her neck and carries a can of hairspray to ward off anyone who seems dangerous.

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Poll: Liberals continue to lose young voters thanks to housing crisis they created with harmful mass immigration scheme

“… The latest Nanos federal ballot tracking has the Conservatives now at 41.0 per cent, 15 points ahead of the Liberals at 25.7 per cent. The NDP, meanwhile, are sitting at 17.3 per cent, the Bloc at 8.9 per cent, the Green Party at 4.2 per cent and the Peoples Party at 2.6 per cent.

Nanos says it’s young people, who he called a swing-voting block, appear to be deserting the Liberal government.

“In 2015, Justin Trudeau built his majority around many enthusiastic and positively minded young people who were progressive,” he said. “Fast forward now, and those same young people have deserted the Liberals and are looking at the Conservatives probably because of the anxiety and frustration they are having with the rising cost of living and housing.”

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Justin Trudeau is reckoning with the decision of his political life. Here’s why few know what he will do

This is a moment of reckoning for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The question of whether to stay or go, or to deliver some other kind of dramatic change the Liberal caucus is clamouring for, is one of the most sensitive and solitary exercises a prime minister can undertake.

Sometimes the moment arrives when bitter internal rivalries push a leader out, as happened to Jean Chrétien. Sometimes it comes on the night of a general election defeat, as it did for Paul Martin and Stephen Harper.

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Canadian Real Estate Weakens As People Flee Toronto & Vancouver

Canadian real estate didn’t get a boost from a recent rate cut. That’s good news, according to BMO’s latest research note. The bank broke down CREA’s June update on existing home sales, and believes this is what the Bank of Canada (BoC) would like to see. Cheaper credit didn’t suddenly spark exuberant demand, potentially clearing the way for more rate cuts. However, BMO warns the data is driven by just one major factor—people fleeing the country’s largest markets, Toronto and Vancouver. This same trend is also helping to boost prices in traditionally affordable regions, creating a split market driven by the same issue.

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Can Canada Trim Its Reliance on Foreign Labor?

To boil down the economy of labor for his university students, Mikal Skuterud often poses them a basic question: Would they prefer to graduate when jobs are scarce or when workers are scarce?

They mostly vote for a time of worker scarcity. Workers can benefit in a vast job pool through employers’ competition to attract them — with better wages, for example — though this dynamic varies across industries, said Professor Skuterud, a labor economist at the University of Waterloo in Ontario who specializes in immigration.
“Labor economists tend to see labor shortages not as a first-order economic problem that governments need to solve,” he said.

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Federal poll: Military members widely believe Canada is ‘on the wrong track’ in national defence

In-house research conducted by the Privy Council Office found Canadian military members feel disheartened and abandoned by the state of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF).

Of those surveyed, each of them said they believe Canada is “on the wrong track” in national defence, per Blacklock’s Reporter. Findings were drawn from focus groups with retired veterans as well as active soldiers, sailors and air crew.

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Former federal appointment overseer says Liberals’ explanation for not vetting Dattani isn’t believable

Birju Dattani – Hateful Muslim hired by Trudeau to do Hateful Muslim stuff

OTTAWA — A former aide to then prime minister Stephen Harper who oversaw major appointments is casting doubt on the Liberals’ explanation that the public service failed to properly vet Canada’s new human rights commissioner Birju Dattani.

Howard Anglin, who served as Harper’s deputy chief of staff, said that each appointment for the head of a major agency or board goes through layers of verifications from ministerial staff, the Privy Council Office (PCO) and the cabinet itself.

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People hate Trudeau so much they’ll vote for Poilievre even though they couldn’t pick him out of a line-up says perplexed Star

Who’s that guy? Pierre Poilievre may not be recognizable to some Canadians, but a lot of them still want to vote for him

OTTAWA — About a third of Canadians can’t put a name to Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s face, a new poll suggests, even as his party commands at least a 17-point lead over Justin Trudeau’s Liberals in public support.

But Abacus Data CEO David Coletto says that’s not actually a problem for Poilievre, and instead signals one for Trudeau, whose floundering fortunes are driving big questions about how or if he can hang on to power — and who might replace him if he goes.

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Ottawa defends purchase of luxury condo for diplomats in New York

The Canadian government is defending its decision to spend a reported US$6.6-million on a luxury residence for its consul-general in New York, saying relocating to this condominium near Central Park will end up saving taxpayers money.

The New York Post reported that the three bedroom apartment, 11A at 111 W.57th Street in Manhattan, is located in an area referred to as Billionaires’ Row.

Party House is more like it.

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Data Dive with Nik Nanos: Canadians want a foreign-policy pivot away from that Gay stuff Trudeau does

A mile wide and an inch deep is one way to describe Canada’s current foreign-policy strategy. Since 2015, Canada has been balancing a range of priorities and initiatives. It has been working to build trade relationships and deliver on security commitments while also advancing progressive politics around the world.

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