Politics Insider: Elections Alberta approves recall petition for Premier’s seat
Hello, welcome to Politics Insider. Let’s look at what happened today.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith will have to fight to keep her seat in the legislature after a recall petition was approved by Elections Alberta today.
She is the latest target of citizens using the United Conservative Party’s own legislation to voice their anger with the government.
Matthew Scace reports that a day earlier Alberta’s top elections administrator sounded the alarm over a bill that would transfer many of his powers to elected officials, warning of perceived partisan influence over elections.
The recall petition set to target the Alberta Premier is the latest chapter in a widespread effort by some constituents to have MLAs voted out of office before the next provincial election.
Two other UCP MLAs – Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz and Technology Minister Nate Glubish – were added to the list of active recall petitions today.
In other news, opposition parties are warning Prime Minister Mark Carney against appointing a long-time friend and wealthy financier as Canada’s ambassador to Washington.
The U.S. envoy post opened after Ambassador Kirsten Hillman announced Tuesday that she will leave Canada’s most important diplomatic position in the new year.
Robert Fife reports that a source has told The Globe and Mail that Canadian financier Mark Wiseman, a close friend of Carney, is being considered to replace Hillman. The Globe is not naming the source who was not authorized to discuss the matter.
In the House of Commons today, Conservative and Bloc Québécois MPs seized on comments that Wiseman made as the co-founder of the Century Initiative. The non-profit organization advocates increasing Canada’s population to 100 million by 2100 solely through immigration.
Wiseman was quoted in a May, 2023 tweet as saying that “100 million may not be federal policy, but it should be – even if it makes Quebec howl.”
Also today, the Bank of Canada held its benchmark interest rate steady, moving onto the sidelines for what financial markets expect to be an extended pause.
Mark Rendell reports that, as widely anticipated, the central bank’s governing council kept the policy rate at 2.25 per cent, after cuts in September and October.
Governor Tiff Macklem told a news conference after the announcement that the Canadian economy is “proving resilient overall” in the face of U.S. tariffs.
In that environment, he said, the bank believes the benchmark rate is “at about the right level” to keep inflation close to the 2-per-cent target while helping the Canadian economy adjust to the disruption to North American trade caused by U.S. protectionism.
Having lowered the interest rate four times this year – and nine times since the summer of 2024 – financial markets now expect the central bank to remain on hold through the first half of next year, before hiking rates by a quarter-point in the fall, according to Bloomberg data.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith speaks during a press conference in Edmonton.JASON FRANSON/The Canadian Press
What else is going on
Quebec’s Liberals face criminal investigation by anti-corruption police: As the party faces allegations of possible vote-buying during a leadership race earlier this year, a spokesperson for the police’s anti-corruption unit today confirmed an investigation has begun, but did not offer details about the nature of the probe.
Alberta invokes notwithstanding clause again: The governing United Conservatives stayed up into the early pre-dawn hours today to pass a bill that marks the fourth time in under two months they have used the Charter’s notwithstanding clause. This time they are shielding three laws affecting transgender people from legal challenge.
B.C. Conservatives cannot be ‘kooky’ if they want to get elected, former premier warns: Christy Clark, a former B.C. premier, says “nobody wants to elect a government that is kooky” as the B.C. Conservatives embark on a leadership contest, urging them to focus on economic issues.
NDP rejects Yves Engler as leadership candidate: In announcing the decision the party said the author and left-wing activist had harassed, intimidated and confronted elected officials.
Carney government accused of dragging its feet on foreign-agent registry: “For a government that promised to work at speeds not seen in generations, it’s frustrating that the registry is still not up and running,” says Conservative foreign-affairs critic Michael Chong.
On our radar
Prime Minister’s Day: In Ottawa, Mark Carney attended the Liberal caucus meeting, and, later in the afternoon was at a reception in honour of the recipients of the 2025 Prime Minister’s Awards for Teaching Excellence. In the evening, Carney was scheduled to deliver remarks at an Equal Voice Gala.
Also, Carney was scheduled to attend the Laurier Club holiday fundraising reception in Gatineau with cabinet ministers including Marjorie Michel, Steven MacKinnon, Evan Solomon, David McGuinty, Gregor Robertson, Anita Anand, Marc Miller and Joanne Thompson.
Party Leaders: In Ottawa, Green Party Leader Elizabeth May held a press conference on various issues related to the end of the House of Commons session. Interim NDP Leader Don Davies met in person with B.C. Jobs Minister Ravi Kahlon and B.C. Finance Minister Brenda Bailey, attended the NDP caucus meeting, and held a news conference on the end of the session. No schedules were released for other party leaders.
Quote of the Day
“Things get silly the last week of a sitting and here we are.” – Corey Hogan, parliamentary secretary to the Energy Minister, speaking to the media after today’s Liberal caucus meeting.
Question period
Which prime minister signed off on creating the Bank of Canada?
Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter for the answer.
Perspectives
Something is wrong with Canadian democracy
MPs unable to hold their leader to account. Parliament prevented from properly scrutinizing legislation. The Charter neutered, and the courts muzzled, for nakedly partisan purposes. And a wildly unrepresentative electoral system that is hurtling the country toward another unity crisis – or rather two. Just another week in Canadian democracy.
— Andrew Coyne, Columnist
Conservatives persist with cute legislative tricks, while the government tries to run a country
As long as it looks as though Mr. Carney is committed to building a pipeline (and we’re talking about perceptions here), the Conservatives cannot win on the file. They can try setting traps, or exposing the fine print, or exploiting divisions within caucus, but there is a greater risk in the Conservatives making themselves look petty or amateurish than there is in changing the public’s perception of Mr. Carney’s commitment to nation-building projects.
— Robyn Urback, Columnist
The slow death of public transit service
Success is not measured by the number of transit lines. They need to be appealing to attract lots of riders. They must be affordable, come often, have enough space on board, go to the right places and, crucially, get to their destination quickly. Fall short on any of these and it becomes much harder to convince people to take transit instead of drive. And that is a recipe for perpetual gridlock, a threat to any growing city.
— The Globe and Mail Editorial Board
Go deeper
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The answer to today’s question: R.B. Bennett, Canada’s 11th prime minister, who held office between 1930 and 1935. In 1933, Bennett, a Conservative, set up a Royal Commission to study the organization of Canada’s banking system, and consider the pros and cons of a central banking institution. The pro side won out, the Bank of Canada Act received royal assent in 1934 and the bank was launched in March, 1935. The first bank governor was Graham Towers, who had had a long career with the Royal Bank of Canada in Montreal. He served for three seven-year terms before retiring in December, 1954.
