Author: Alex Dhaliwal

A new academic paper is reviving debate over “death by organ donation,” proposing that organs be retrieved from “assisted suicide” patients before they are declared dead.

Current law prohibits the practice under the dead donor rule, which requires patients to be declared dead before organs are removed and bars doctors from causing death through organ procurement.

But the paper’s authors argue the growing acceptance of voluntary euthanasia has fundamentally changed the ethical landscape, as first reported by the National Post.

Because “assisted suicide” patients knowingly consent to death and euthanasia laws already permit physicians to intentionally end life in limited circumstances, they say the dead donor rule deserves to be re-examined in that specific context.

They argue that allowing organ retrieval before death could improve organ quality, potentially save more lives and enable donors to maximize the impact of their final gift.

University of Toronto bioethicist Kerry Bowman told the National Post that the proposal risks undermining public confidence in both MAID and organ donation.

“I think a lot of the public would be fairly horrified by it,” Bowman said.

The paper, Contextualizing the Dead Donor Rule in an Era of Voluntary Euthanasia, stops short of calling for the dead donor rule to be abolished. Instead, the authors argue it should be reassessed as organ donation after “assisted suicide” becomes more common.

The dead donor rule exists to prevent people from being killed for their organs and to ensure patients are never treated merely as a means to benefit others. It has also been viewed as essential to maintaining public trust in transplant medicine.

But voluntary euthanasia, the authors argue, creates “a new ethical context.”

“The current legal reality of voluntary euthanasia provides a new context for interpreting the Don’t Kill Rule,” wrote two Canadian critical care physicians and a Harvard Medical School bioethicist.

The authors argue that because “assisted suicide” patients are not yet dead but have already consented to physician-administered death, requiring a formal declaration of death before organ retrieval may be ethically arbitrary.

Rather than focusing on the precise biological moment of death, they argue ethical safeguards should instead emphasize informed consent, protection against coercion and a transparent, publicly accountable process.

Under current Canadian Blood Services guidance, a patient’s decision to pursue “assisted suicide” must be made independently of any decision to donate organs.

Once it has been approved, however, organ donation may be discussed. Canada has become a global leader in organ donation following euthanasia.

Between 2019 and 2021, 136 Canadians donated organs after “assisted suicide,” including 41 cases in 2021—more than Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain combined.

Currently, organ donation after the contentious procedure follows the same protocol as circulatory death: physicians administer life-ending drugs, wait for the heart to stop, observe a mandatory five-minute “no-touch” period, and only then retrieve organs.

Lead author Dr. Carter Winberg, a Canadian critical care physician and Harvard bioethics master’s student, said the proposal would allow organs to be removed from sedated, unconscious “assisted suicide” patients before they are declared dead, with organ retrieval itself causing death.

The authors argue this would preserve organ quality, improve transplant outcomes and potentially increase heart donations.

“Since death would be a chosen and inevitable outcome in these cases, enabling retrieval under ideal conditions represents a Pareto improvement: no one would be made worse off, and multiple lives might be saved,” they wrote.

While no jurisdiction is considering the practice, the authors say it deserves “open, transparent dialogue” as legalized euthanasia expands.

Winberg argued voluntary euthanasia raises ethical questions that did not exist when the dead donor rule was established.

“So, yes, broadly, we are asking whether retrieval could form part of the process that causes death, rather than always occurring only after death has been declared in this specific new context,” he said.

The proposal has drawn sharp criticism from other bioethicists.

“Death by organ donation is asking surgeons to take a living person into the operating room and to come out with a dead person, which I think is murder,” University of Rochester bioethicist Lainie Friedman Ross told NPR.

Bowman also voiced concern, arguing some “assisted suicide” patients change their minds and could feel pressured to proceed if organ donation has already been arranged.

“I would argue that [it] really erodes the voluntary element of it,” he said.

Bowman also worries vulnerable patients may feel obligated to donate because they see themselves as a burden, while clinicians eager to maximize organ availability could unintentionally influence those decisions.

“You really do need some firewalls,” he said. “Clinicians... have got to put the patient in front of them first at all times.”

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Author: Alex Dhaliwal

A major water main break shut down a stretch of southbound Macleod Trail during Calgary’s Thursday morning commute, causing significant traffic disruptions as crews worked to contain flooding and repair the damaged line.

The water main burst around 12:30 a.m., flooding southbound Macleod Trail and forcing traffic detours between 109 Avenue and Anderson Road.

One home and the nearby Anderson LRT station were left without water after the break, which appears to have occurred in an active construction zone, according to media reports.

The break also temporarily disrupted northbound traffic after knocking out signals at 109 Avenue.

“This break is a high priority, and we are working to determine the cause, make repairs, and restore water service as quickly as possible,” a city spokesperson said.

“Once the cause of the break has been confirmed, a plan for repairing the pipe will be determined and repairs underway.”

City crews are using acoustic equipment to pinpoint the damaged section of pipe. While most water main repairs are completed within 48 hours, officials say the timeline for reopening Macleod Trail will depend on the extent of the damage.

The latest break comes as Calgary continues replacing the Bearspaw South Feeder Main, a critical water line that ruptured twice over the past 18 months, triggering widespread flooding, traffic disruptions and water restrictions.

The city is spending $439 million to fast-track a replacement for the aging feeder main, which supplies roughly 60% of Calgary’s treated water. The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.

Calgary has experienced repeated major water main failures in recent years, with the Bearspaw South Feeder Main alone serving an estimated 1.5 million residents in Calgary and surrounding communities.

Reviews have linked the failures to aging infrastructure, corrosion, deferred maintenance and shortcomings in risk management.

An independent review commissioned by the city after the 2024 rupture concluded the system’s vulnerabilities developed over decades, with warning signs dating back to a 2004 water main break, including during former mayor Naheed Nenshi’s tenure.

City officials have warned additional breaks remain possible until the line is fully replaced, while the Alberta government continues its review of Calgary’s water infrastructure.

Michael Thompson, the city’s chief operating officer of water services, said the damaged main supplies the Anderson LRT station, leaving it without water.

He said crews are investigating the break and working to restore service and reopen Macleod Trail as quickly as possible.

Thompson added that Calgary experiences between 200 and 300 water main breaks annually across its more than 5,000 kilometres of water mains, with most repairs completed within 48 hours.

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Author: Alex Dhaliwal

The Gordie Howe Bridge deal is now public—and it confirms that Prime Minister Mark Carney misled Canadians.

Canada will send the U.S. 50 per cent of the bridge’s net revenues—after operating costs, but before Canada’s debt payments—for 15 years into a fund controlled exclusively by the U.S. government, despite Canada covering the bridge’s $6.4 billion construction cost while the U.S. and Michigan contributed nothing.

The agreement also gives Washington veto power over annual toll hikes above 10 per cent or rates outside comparable regional crossings—potentially benefiting the Trump-linked owners of the Ambassador Bridge.

The release comes a day after Prime Minister Mark Carney walked away from reporters without answering repeated questions about whether he had misled Canadians over the undisclosed concession.

“Did you mislead Canadians on the bridge deal?” a reporter called out as Carney abruptly ended the media availability and walked away. “Did you mislead Canadians, sir?”

The agreement follows weeks of mounting questions after U.S. officials openly celebrated securing a concession absent from the original 2012 deal.

“Before this deal we got nothing,” U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick wrote on Jul. 18. “Now the United States gets 50 per cent of net revenues until 2041 and a say in setting tolls. Our share is before interest and principal. This is the art of the deal in action.”

Under the original agreement, Canada financed the bridge’s entire $6.4 billion construction cost and retained all toll revenues. Carney acknowledged Canada would surrender part of that revenue but repeatedly declined to explain when, why or how much.

On Jul. 12, Carney said bridge revenues would first cover Canada’s debt and operating costs before any remaining revenue would be shared for 15 years.

When asked whether Canada had made any concessions, he replied: “No. It’s positive news.”

Four days later, Carney offered a different explanation, saying only operating costs—not construction debt—would be deducted before revenues were split with the United States.

“We expect after those costs for the first few years, net revenues will be modest,” Carney said. “In fact, we expect them to be negative, as traffic ramps up.”

He identified toll collection, maintenance and snow removal as examples of operating costs and said the U.S. share would be invested in economic development on the Michigan side.

But the newly released agreement confirms net revenues exclude operating expenses only, with no deduction for Canada’s construction debt or interest before half is transferred to the United States.

That discrepancy leaves a clear gap between Carney’s public explanation and the agreement ultimately signed before the bridge’s Jul. 27 opening.

The agreement also drew criticism after Infrastructure Minister Gregor Robertson insisted Canada would continue collecting all toll revenues.

“Canada will continue to collect all toll revenue, with half of net profits then going towards local economic development for 15 years,” Robertson wrote on Jul. 12, calling the arrangement “a win for Canada, the U.S., and our shared economy.”

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, meanwhile, accused Carney of misleading Canadians.

“You said: ‘Any sharing of the toll revenue won’t happen until all of the debt is repaid,’” Poilievre wrote on X.

“Yet we learned last night that you signed a deal giving the U.S. ‘50% of net bridge and crossing related revenues for the first 15 fiscal years of bridge operations’—before debt repayment.

“Just profit sharing on a bridge built entirely with Canadian tax dollars. The opposite of what you said. How do we trust anything else you say about dealing with the U.S.?”

The controversy comes as U.S. President Donald Trump threatens to impose 50 per cent tariffs on a range of Canadian goods beginning Aug. 19, including products covered by the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement.

Three proclamations signed Monday cite provincial bans on U.S. alcohol, Canada’s dairy supply management system, and tariffs and quotas on U.S.-built vehicles as justification.

The Gordie Howe bridge was completed last month and was expected to open in June before its ceremony was abruptly postponed. Carney dismissed the delay at the time as “no big drama.”

Media later reported Canada and the United States were quietly negotiating an opening date after Trump folded the Canadian-funded bridge into his broader trade complaints.

Construction on the Windsor-Detroit crossing began in 2018. When it opens Jul. 27, it will rank among the five longest bridges in North America.

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Author: Quinn Patrick

The gap between the Liberals and the Conservatives is closing in as the Carney government now only holds a six-point lead, with much of their support coming from Canadians aged 60 and older.

Their favourability remains the result of fears over U.S. President Donald Trump and other international threats.

According to the latest Abacus Data survey, the Liberals have the support of 44 per cent of decided voters, compared to 38 per cent for the Conservatives and 9 per cent for the NDP.

“The result is an electorate in which the Liberals’ national lead depends heavily on older voters. Among Canadians under 60, the two largest parties are effectively tied,” reads the survey.

The Carney government also enjoys the support of older Canadians, particularly those aged 60 and over, with a 20-point lead over the Conservatives in that demographic.

However, no other age group gives either party a “meaningful advantage.”

The Liberals hold particularly strong leads over the Conservatives in Atlantic Canada and Quebec, while the margin is much closer in British Columbia and Ontario.

Meanwhile, the Conservatives continue to dominate in Alberta, where they lead 55 per cent over the Liberals 30 per cent. In both Saskatchewan and Manitoba, they lead 51 per cent to 35 per cent.

“The national Liberal advantage is therefore built on competitive strength across the country’s largest seat-rich regions. The Conservatives have a large advantage in the Prairies, but the Liberals lead everywhere else,” reads the survey.

“Among those aged 18 to 29, the Liberals and Conservatives are essentially tied, at 38 per cent and 37 per cent respectively. The NDP receives 15 per cent and the Greens 6 per cent,” ,” reads the survey. “Among those aged 30 to 44, the Conservatives lead narrowly, 40 per cent to 38 per cent, with the NDP at 12 per cent.”

Canadians aged 45 to 59 are also nearly evenly divided, with the Liberals beating out the Conservatives by only one point.

“The Carney government advanced a new west coast pipeline, made the largest defence procurement decision in Canadian history, changed the approach to Senate appointments, and pursued new defence and economic partnerships abroad. Some of these decisions were ambitious. Others were controversial,” said Colleto. “None appears to have significantly altered how Canadians feel about the government or how they would vote.”

While 52 per cent of Canadians approve of the job the Ottawa is doing, approval is down two points since July 2, while disapproval is up one.

This is largely due to the fact that the Conservatives are better viewed to deal with many of Canada’s most pressing issues, such as cost of living, economy, housing affordability, immigration, crime and public safety, as well as job security.

Cost of living is the area where the Conservatives enjoy the strongest lead over the Liberals at 36 and 30 per cent, while they hold slight leads over the Liberals on all the above-mentioned issues.

“The Liberal advantage is overwhelming on Donald Trump and his administration. Among Canadians who identify Trump as a top concern, 63 per cent say the Liberals are best able to manage the issue, compared with only 15 per cent who choose the Conservatives. The Liberals also lead on healthcare, inequality and poverty, and artificial intelligence. The Greens have a slight advantage on climate change and the environment,” reads the survey.

“This data set underscores one of the main tensions in Canadian politics. The Conservatives are stronger on many of the domestic issues that affect household finances and public safety, among those who prioritize those issues. The Liberals have a commanding advantage on Trump, international threats, and several public-service and social-policy issues.”

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Federal NDP MP Heather McPherson and Alberta NDP MLA Janis Irwin are facing criticism after posting social media content referencing the now-viral “fascist pancakes” slogan that emerged from last week’s confrontation with Premier Danielle Smith at the K-Days Premier’s Breakfast.

McPherson posted a video to Instagram captioned, “Just enjoying my morning coffee,” while holding up a mug emblazoned with the phrase “F*** your fascist pancakes.” Joan Jett’s Bad Reputation plays in the background of the video.

The post quickly drew criticism online, with some accusing the Edmonton Strathcona MP of promoting divisive political rhetoric.

X user @terrynewman wrote, “This is very irresponsible. Politicians should not be implying other politicians are fascists. It is a form of dehumanization that implies that their opponents are evil and that their lives are therefore disposable.”

Others criticized the post directly in McPherson’s Instagram comments, with one user writing, “This is a Canadian MP…”

Meanwhile, Alberta NDP MLA Janis Irwin also referenced the slogan in social media posts promoting a community pancake breakfast.

Sharing a photo of herself holding a plate of pancakes on Facebook and Instagram, Irwin wrote, “Free pancakes in our community! Regular pancakes only, no fascist pancakes here.”

The posts reference last week’s confrontation at the K-Days Premier’s Breakfast at the Alberta Legislature, where an activist repeatedly shouted at Premier Danielle Smith before being escorted away by security.

During the exchange, the activist, known on TikTok as @mikaylaresists, repeatedly accused Smith of being a separatist before yelling, “F*** your fascist pancakes” as she was removed from the event. The video, which she later posted to TikTok, quickly spread across X and went viral.

The confrontation was not the activist’s first public incident. At an Alberta independence rally last October, she became involved in a heated exchange with a Juno News reporter after discovering the reporter worked for the outlet.

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Author: Clayton DeMaine

After a same sex couple launched a lawsuit against a surrogate mother for not aborting their baby after knowing the otherwise healthy baby was going to be born with a cleft lip, the Campaign Life Coalition is calling for laws to prevent “coercive abortions.”

In an exclusive interview with Juno News, Josie Luetke, the director of education and advocacy at Campaign Life Coalition, chimed in on the case, likening the incident to The Handmaid’s Tale because the couple “objectifies both women and babies.”

The same-sex Canadian couple filed the lawsuit in the Ontario Superior Court this May, two years after the birth of their son. The parents allege that the surrogate mother refused to abort the child after the couple requested her to do so because the baby was showing signs of being born with a “cleft lip and possible genetic abnormalities,” as per the National Post.

“I think it exposes how harmful and exploitative surrogacy is, in that it really showcases how, with surrogacy, the woman, the surrogate, is treated as a vessel, very much Handmaid’s Tale, and the child is treated as a product,” Luetke told Juno News in an interview. “The surrogate commented that the child was less than perfect, and so the couple complained.”

“You’re treating a human being like they’re a defective product that you didn’t get exactly what you wanted, and now you feel entitled to a lawsuit.”

The “Handmaid’s Tale imagery” gets employed by abortion advocates frequently, as a prominent element of the story is women being forced to go through with pregnancies. To Luetke, The Handmaid’s Tale imagery is extremely relevant for surrogacy.

“We don’t want anyone to be pregnant who doesn’t want to be,” She said. “Now, we don’t think that women should kill their children once they’re already pregnant, but this idea of vulnerable people being coerced into these arrangements and then being controlled by the couple that’s contracting their services-that is straight out of The Handmaid’s Tale.”

Luetke argued that the problems with the lawsuit are “inherent with surrogacy” but that the lawsuit highlights why the dynamic of surrogacy is “so problematic.” She noted that this was just one story that made headlines, but that thousands of abortions are committed for the same reason, which she said was “essentially eugenics.”

“Many of these abortions. I mean, this was a case where she was asked to abort at 22 weeks. So many of these abortions are taking place in the second or the third trimester, and our tax dollars are paying for it,” she said. “A lot of people go to Canada for surrogacy because our healthcare is covered here, but that also goes for abortions like these.”

According to a study by Patricia Maloney, a pro-life blogger using Freedom of Information requests to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, over a five-year period, there were over 6,380 abortions committed past 20 weeks of gestation in Canada, excluding Quebec.

According to another study of second-trimester abortions occurring in Quebec hospitals between 1989 and 2021 by the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 48.1 percent of second-trimester abortions were committed due to “fetal anomaly.” Between 2011 and 2021, the percentage was 66.8 per cent.

As there are no laws restricting abortion in Canada, many of these abortions carried out past the point at which a baby is viable outside of the womb are performed even for “anomalies that are compatible with life,” according to Luetke.

“We pay for 1000s of similar abortions like this, where a baby is ‘less than perfect,’ and so we kill them,” she said.

Luetke took aim at the surrogacy advocates featured in the National Post article, which first reported on the case. She noted that the advocates made the case for commercializing surrogacy, as in Canada, surrogate mothers are not allowed to get paid, like they are in the U.S., and can only invoice expenses related to the pregnancy.

“The claim in the article is that (commercialization) would help because these women are vulnerable. That to me seems like mental gymnastics,” Luetke said. “ It would just make this problem so much worse because you then have very vulnerable women, poor women who are getting into these unfair contracts simply because they need the money so desperately.”

She noted that the article mentions that there is approximately one surrogate mother per 100 couples looking to have a baby, and that, due to demand being so great, Canadians will likely see a push to legalize commercial pregnancies in the coming years.

“We need to say, actually, not only should we not commercialize surrogacy, but we should actually criminalize the practice because, as I said before, it is inherently exploitative,” Luetke argued. “ It treats women as objects, and it treats children as objects.”

Luetke also called for MPs to reexamine a failed 2010 private member’s bill, “Roxanne’s Law,” which was meant to prevent women from being coerced into getting an abortion.

“I think that it’s time to look at such legislation again, especially for surrogates who are particularly vulnerable in these arrangements. But really for anyone, because we see in practice that many women are pressured to abort,” she said.

“In this case, this surrogate was pressured, and thankfully, she ultimately decided to choose life and not abort. But it very easily could have gone the other way, especially if she’s not aware of what her rights are, especially if she’s worried about future legal action, and she’s worried about whether her future expenses will be covered.”

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Prime Minister Mark Carney has handed a nearly $2 billion military vehicle deal to the Canadian subsidiary of a U.S. defence giant despite pledging to prioritize domestic suppliers and end Canada’s military dependence on the United States.

Carney announced Thursday a strategic partnership with General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada (GDLS-Canada) to build 190 additional Armoured Combat Support Vehicles (ACSVs) over the next four years.

Speaking in London, Ont., Carney said the deal would ensure Canada’s Armed Forces receive the equipment they need while strengthening its industrial base.

“Through this new partnership, GDLS-Canada will design, build, deliver, and sustain the next generation of armoured combat vehicles here in Canada,” he told reporters.

The purchase will expand Canada’s ACSV fleet from 360 to 550 vehicles. Ottawa says the vehicles will be designed, built and assembled at GDLS-Canada’s London, Ont., plant using Canadian materials and suppliers, supporting more than 6,000 jobs annually through a supply chain spanning more than 600 Canadian companies.

When asked whether the jobs were new, Carney said workers would “get certainty” but provided no figures.

The announcement comes just days after the Carney government defended excluding U.S. manufacturers from bidding on a separate $4.9 billion contract for 1,600 light utility vehicles.

Defence Procurement Secretary of State Stephen Fuhr said Ottawa deliberately narrowed that competition to Canadian companies, leaving American firms AM General and Oshkosh Defense out of the running.

“If we can do it in Canada, I would suggest that we do it in Canada,” Fuhr told the Toronto Star. “Canada has unbelievable capability that’s gone largely ignored.”

Fuhr also suggested Ottawa could eventually replace U.S. software company Palantir with Canadian alternatives as part of the government’s “Build at Home” defence strategy.

Since taking office, Carney has repeatedly argued Canada must reduce its military dependence on the United States by directing more procurement toward domestic industry.

His government has pledged to meet NATO’s two per cent defence spending target, increase Canadian defence exports by 50 per cent and create 125,000 jobs through its new Defence Industrial Strategy.

The latest contract, however, raises questions about that message.

Although the vehicles will be manufactured in Ontario, GDLS-Canada is wholly owned by Virginia-based General Dynamics, one of the world’s largest U.S. defence contractors.

The announcement also designates GDLS-Canada as the first official “Strategic Partner” under Ottawa’s new Defence Industrial Strategy, giving the company a long-term framework to deliver, modernize and sustain Canada’s wheeled armoured vehicle fleet.

The government says the framework will streamline procurement and deepen partnerships with companies that invest in Canadian research, supply chains and workers.

The ACSV fleet is built on the Light Armoured Vehicle 6.0 platform and includes eight variants, including ambulances, command posts, engineer vehicles and maintenance vehicles.

The vehicles are already deployed with Canada’s NATO mission in Latvia under Operation REASSURANCE. Canada has also donated 89 ACSVs to Ukraine and pledged another 35 vehicles at the 2026 NATO Summit as part of more than $8.5 billion in military aid.

The General Dynamics deal is the latest in a string of major defence procurements under Carney.

Earlier this year, Ottawa selected Sweden’s Saab for up to 10 GlobalEye surveillance aircraft, saying the project will support 3,000 Canadian jobs with one-third of the aircraft built in Canada.

The government has also announced plans to purchase up to 12 submarines from Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS), a project expected to exceed $100 billion including long-term maintenance. TKMS estimates the contract could contribute $86 billion to Canada’s economy and generate more than 654,000 job-years over its lifetime.

While Ottawa insists it is rebuilding Canada’s defence industrial base, Thursday’s announcement highlights that one of its largest procurement deals is ultimately flowing to the U.S.-owned defence contractor, even as the government tells other departments to buy Canadian wherever possible.

The deal has raised accusations of hypocrisy because GDLS-Canada is owned by Virginia-based General Dynamics, despite Carney’s pledge to buy Canadian and reduce reliance on U.S. suppliers.

Ottawa says it is not abandoning American firms, citing recent multibillion-dollar deals with Lockheed Martin and Boeing. Fuhr said the goal is simply to keep more defence spending and jobs in Canada.

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A woman is going viral Thursday after repeatedly calling Premier Danielle Smith a “fascist” during a K-Days pancake breakfast at the Alberta Legislature.

The confrontation unfolded during the Premier’s Breakfast, held Thursday morning in Edmonton on the south lawn of the Alberta Legislature to mark the return of the annual K-Days celebration.

The incident began when a woman wearing a “Protect Trans Kids” shirt approached Smith and questioned her over Alberta’s AI data centre strategy and economic development.

“I’m just wondering about Alberta selling out to billionaires,” the woman said. “Do you actually think the Epstein class is going to protect you when it all goes down?”

Smith replied, “That’s a lot of unconnected things together.”

The woman continued pressing the premier, accusing her government of approving AI data centres while failing to protect the environment.

A second woman, known on TikTok as @mikaylaresists, then joined the confrontation.

“You’re selling us out to AI data centres,” she shouted. “You just went on a separatist podcast. Why are you platforming Berta Proud Dad?”

She repeatedly accused Smith of being a separatist before escalating her remarks.

“You’re a f***ing separatist,” she yelled. “You don’t care about us. You only care about selling us out for money.”

Security personnel then intervened, escorting the woman away from the event as she continued yelling, “F*** your fascist pancakes,” “F*** Danielle Smith,” and “Let me f***ing go.”

The video was later posted to TikTok by @mikaylaresists and quickly spread across X, drawing widespread attention.

The K-Days confrontation was not the activist’s first heated public exchange. Months earlier, she had a run-in with a Juno News reporter at an Alberta independence rally.

The activist initially agreed to an interview with Juno News while attending the Oct. 25, 2025, rally in Edmonton, where she voiced her opposition to Alberta independence.

“We have to realize we are treaty people and we are in partnership with Indigenous people,” she said, explaining why she opposed Alberta separating from Canada. “I don’t know why you would want to bring Trump-style politics to our country.”

However, after learning the reporter worked for Juno News, the interview quickly deteriorated.

“It would be so embarrassing to work for Juno News. You’re not even an accredited journalist,” she said before demanding the footage be deleted.

She also threatened to sue Juno News while continuing to criticize the outlet in front of other demonstrators.

As the confrontation continued, she turned her attention to other rally attendees, using the megaphone to mock those wearing blue clothing, telling them the colour looked like “fing s*** on you.”

The confrontation was captured on video by Juno News.

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Author: Clayton DeMaine

A Sikh influencer on TikTok has gone viral after recording an interaction with a Goodlife Fitness employee and alleging that the employee had “racially singled” him out after she asked him to leave the gym due to him wearing a ceremonial dagger while working out.

Gurpartap Singh Khalsa posted the video on Wednesday, decrying racism after the employee at the Windsor Douglas Goodlife Fitness centre in Windsor Douglas told him to leave for bringing a weapon into the gym.

The video shows “Khalsa” arguing with the employee who was alerted to the weapon after a customer raised concerns about their safety.

The TikToker mocked the staff member attempting to clarify whether she was “scared” he was going to “kill somebody” with his “religious symbol.” This comes nearly two months after the murder trial of a Sikh man in the U.K, Vickrum Digwa, who murdered teenager Henry Nowak with a Kirpan, a Sikh religious dagger.

The TikTok channel has nearly 20,000 followers, and his page shows multiple videos of him in the gym wearing the dagger.

The video, which now has over half a million views on TikTok, shows the man arguing with the employee who told him that he needs to leave for her safety and the safety of the other customers at the gym.

When he accuses her of being “scared” that he’s going to kill somebody with his “religious symbol,” the employee said the man has a weapon on his person, and that another member brought it to her attention.

“We’re a private gym, we are allowed to deny access,” the Goodlife staff member can be heard saying in the video.

When he started accusing her of not doing her job for telling him not to come into the gym with the dagger in the first place, the staff member said the TikToker was harassing her.

Commenters on social media platforms where the video was shared suggested that the 23-year-old Sudanese Sikh migrant, Vickrum Digwa, who killed 18-year-old Henry Nowak in Southampton last year, has made people nervous about the ceremonial daggers, despite repeatedly being told the ceremonial weapon would never be used to attack innocent people.

“Gurpartap Singh Khalsa” is controversial to some Canadian Sikhs. Several Sikh commentators have distanced themselves from Gurpartap Singh Khalsa for his many videos espousing his perspective on his faith.

In one video from his “dreambodygurp” account, Khalsa says that “everybody should be equal under the law” while “white people” commit crimes against Sikhs, but insists that he was singled out due to racism for bringing his dagger into the gym.

Other videos show him working out with the kirpan.

Another has him gesturing that he’s slashing a throat while calling himself a “Soormas,” which means warrior in Punjabi.

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Author: Alex Dhaliwal

Prime Minister Mark Carney and his entourage spent nearly $160,000 on in-flight catering during a single trip, dining on chicken chasseur, Chilean sea bass and “death by chocolate,” the Canadian Taxpayers Federation revealed.

“Carney spent more money on airplane food during one trip than the average family will spend on groceries in almost a decade,” said Franco Terrazzano, CTF Federal Director. “Carney keeps promising to spend less, but if he isn’t willing to cut back on airplane food, then what will he spend less on?”

The lavish bill comes despite government promises to cut costs and while other officials spent far less on in-flight catering.

Between March 2025 and March 2026, Mark Carney billed taxpayers nearly $1 million for in-flight catering, according to Defence Department records.

Carney and his 55-person entourage spent $159,800 on in-flight catering during a week-long trip to Athens, Abu Dhabi, Johannesburg and the Canary Islands in November 2025—about $2,850 per passenger.

It was the second-highest bill, behind a $175,248 tab for Carney and 72 passengers travelling to China, Qatar and Switzerland.

The government has not disclosed whether any costs were reimbursed. The trip’s catering bill exceeded nine years of groceries for an average family.

Flight menus obtained by the CTF show Carney’s entourage was served multi-course gourmet meals. Breakfast options included a sundried tomato and mozzarella omelette or French toast, while mains featured beef tenderloin, chicken supreme, and slow-roasted cod. Desserts included tiramisu, cheesecake, and a chocolate parfait dubbed “death by chocolate.”

“Carney says he will spend less, and the government told Canadians it would cut down on travel costs, so how can the prime minister justify billing taxpayers six figures for airplane food?” Terrazzano said. “If other politicians and bureaucrats can travel without racking up these outrageous bills, then Carney can spend less while flying abroad.”

On another trip, Carney spent just $9,270 on in-flight catering for himself and 62 others travelling to Poland, Germany and Latvia—showing international travel doesn’t have to come with a six-figure catering bill.

Other officials spent far less: Bill Blair’s entourage billed $2,350 on a 12-day trip, while a 2025 military delegation to Washington spent nothing on in-flight catering. Meanwhile, Carney routinely racks up five-figure catering bills despite promises to cut costs.

“It’s possible for the prime minister to travel internationally without billing taxpayers six figures for airplane food, so we need Carney to make sure these types of bills never happen again,” Terrazzano said.

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Author: Quinn Patrick

Alberta accounted for nearly 80 per cent of all jobs created across Canada over the last year, despite being home to only 12 per cent of the country’s total population.

According to Statistics Canada’s latest job report, the province has added 78,500 jobs in the past 12 months. That accounts for the overwhelming majority of the 99,000 total that was added across Canada.

The Labour Force Survey also noted that the vast majority of those jobs were in the private sector. Only 17,500 of the province’s 78,500 additional jobs were for public-sector positions.

There were 2,677,300 people employed in Alberta as of last month, up three per cent from last year, while total employment across Canada grew by only 0.5 per cent.

Meanwhile, Quebec and British Columbia shed a combined total of 67,000 jobs over that same period.

Ontario saw an uptick of roughly 65,000 new hires, but that marked a modest gain of less than one per cent for Canada’s most populated province. The majority of jobs lost, however, were in the labour sector as the province’s construction industry remains stagnant at best.

A large reason for Alberta’s success is tied to its growing population, as many Canadians have decided to move there in recent years. Calgary has repeatedly been Canada’s fastest-growing city.

Much of the draw for people is affordability compared to other major cities such as Toronto and Vancouver.

For example, the median price for a single detached home in Toronto is $1.2 million - in Calgary, it’s $700,000. In addition to better housing prices, Alberta has also led Canada in per capita housing starts both in 2025 and 2024.

About two-thirds of Alberta’s added jobs were in health care and social assistance industries, while employment in the province’s “forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying, oil and gas” sectors saw a decline of 4.6 per cent year over year.

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Author: Clayton DeMaine

While at the Calgary Stampede, Calgary’s mayor Jeromy Farkas posted an image after meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney and Liberal MP for Calgary Confederation, Corey Hogan, endorsing the Liberals, saying the two were his “favourite.”

Farkas also delivered a speech while at the Ismaili Muslim Stampede breakfast, defending the Liberals’ mass immigration policies and denouncing “anti-Palestinian racism” and “Islamophobia.”

Farkas posted the image on Reddit, promoting the two federal Liberal politicians, saying, “Got to spend time with my favourite Member of Parliament and favourite Prime Minister today.”

Another post, a video from the Stampede, featured Farkas promoting immigration, stating that immigrants are more likely to come to Canada to build housing than to “compete for housing.”

“One in three of us were from somewhere else and made this place home, and at the same time, we’re kicking butt on all of the metrics that matter,” Farkas said while discussing Calgary’s performance on education, job creation and business ownership.

“The facts say that the newcomer to Calgary is more likely to come here with the scarce building trades to come here to build you a house than they are to compete for housing.”

Despite this, an industry estimate of the building trades Farkas spoke about shows that just about 17 per cent of Alberta’s construction workforce is immigrants. In 2024, Open Alberta estimated, not including immigrants who are not in the labour force, that 28.5 per cent of the province’s labour force was made up of immigrants.

During the same talk, Farkas spoke about a recent conversation he had with the Muslim Council of Calgary and outlined his stance against “Islamophobia.”

“Islamophobia at this time is rising. It’s no longer hidden. It’s showing up in this community and elsewhere in the country, through harassment, through intimidation, vandalism, threats, and violence, we have seen mosques targeted,” Farkas said. “ We have seen Muslim families made to feel unsafe. We’ve seen anti-Palestinian racism. We’ve seen people dismissed because of their identity.”

He ended his speech by stating that “Islamophobia” and “anti-Palestinian racism” have no place in Calgary.

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Author: Quinn Patrick

Conservative MP Dan Albas has sponsored a petition opposing the Carney government’s $1.45 billion proposal to bail out condo developers in the Metro Vancouver area who are currently stuck with unsold units.

“Federal tax dollars are paid by Canadians across the country and should not be used to protect Vancouver-area condominium developers, investors or lenders from losses created by speculative over-building, inflated land values, weak demand or failed market assumptions,” reads the petition, first reported on by Blacklock’s Reporter.

“Metro Vancouver has record levels of completed and unabsorbed condominium inventory, and unsold units should be allowed to fall to prices that households can afford through open market discounts, credit or losses, or receivership before public acquisition is considered.”

Prime Minister Mark Carney has come under fire for his decision to bail out the developers, with some believing it to be benefiting private-sector interests.

On Tuesday, Liberal MPs voted 5-4 to bury a Commons ethics committee investigation into his bailout, which was supported across party lines by NDP, Conservatives and Bloc MPs.

Petitioners asked Ottawa to “refrain from using federal funds, guarantees, loans or other financial supports to purchase or finance unsold condominium units in British Columbia unless all acquisitions are publicly disclosed, independently appraised, priced materially below current market comparables or based on post-receivership valuations, protected by non-market affordability covenants and transferred to public, non-profit, cooperative or Indigenous housing ownership.”

Last month, the Carney government announced a plan to buy 2,200 unsold condos and convert them into “affordable housing.”

It’s part of Ottawa’s $1.6 billion pledge to cut B.C. development charges. However, there is no guarantee that said savings will reach buyers.

“We would be buying distressed condos,” Carney told reporters at the time. “Of course, developers aren’t going to admit that they are going to have distressed condos. We don’t care about the developer. We care about the person, the family that can potentially move into the home.”

The prime minister said the government intended to set up a rent-to-own structure.

“We will look at any opportunity across the country that gets more affordable housing to Canadians. We can’t do it all, but where we see dislocation, where we see opportunities, where that’s the best use of the dollar, we will look at that,” he said.

But that’s not the way petitioners see things, saying that condo developers have “benefited for decades from rising land values, public infrastructure, favourable planning decisions and strong private returns and should not shift downside risk onto taxpayers when market conditions change”

They believe that if their latest units go unsold, the failure should fall solely upon them and not the Canadian taxpayer.

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Author: Alex Dhaliwal

An Ontario judge tossed the mandatory five-year prison term for a man who sexually assaulted his biological sister, instead imposing house arrest after finding the law unconstitutional and “grossly disproportionate” for offenders with intellectual disabilities.

The 26-year-old man, identified only as D.C., was charged in 2022 with sexually abusing his sister for four years beginning when she was 12, as first reported by the National Post.

“Five years in a penitentiary is a tough sentence in any circumstances, and even more so for a first-time offender. When a developmental disability is added to that mix, in my view it becomes cruel and unusual,” Justice Anne Molloy wrote in a recent decision.

The sister, too, is intellectually disabled. She informed a school counsellor in May 2022 of her abuse, prompting police involvement and charges against D.C.

The judge convicted D.C. of two counts of incest and one count of sexual assault, sentencing him to two years less a day of house arrest followed by three years of probation.

Admittedly, Justice Molloy said conditional sentences for child sex offences are “rarely appropriate,” but found one justified here, ruling it would not endanger the community.

After the sister informed a school counsellor of the sexual assaults in May 2022, the counsellor immediately contacted police, leading to charges against D.C., who is six years older than the complainant.

Owing to D.C.’s impaired intellectual and “diminished moral blameworthiness,” he received a more lenient sentence.

A defence expert testified that, despite being an adult, his intellectual disability left him with the cognitive functioning of a nine- to 12-year-old.

Dalhousie University law professor emeritus Wayne MacKay called it “extremely rare” for judges to bypass mandatory minimum sentences, saying the gap between a five-year prison term and house arrest is “striking” and could make the ruling ripe for appeal.

“I think most people would find that problematic,” MacKay told the Post, arguing house arrest for sexually assaulting a child under 16 and committing incest sends the wrong message about the seriousness of the offences.

Justice Molloy also acknowledged that incest is “one of the most heinous” sex crimes with lasting impacts, but doubled down on the lenient sentence.

“He recognized he had caused pain and trauma to his sister and said it would never happen again,” she wrote. “It seems to me that D.C. now has insight into what he did, and the pain he caused.”

However, an audio-recording of one of the sexual assaults depicts the complainant telling D.C. she was in pain and also telling him to stop. It was entered into evidence.

“She referred to him ‘just forcing it in.’ It is clear that D.C. heard these protests and that he nevertheless continued, if anything, with increased intensity,” the judge wrote.

Despite the girl’s repeated protests, D.C. continued, claiming she “needed to know how these things felt” before marriage and pregnancy. He sometimes gave her money and candy, while modelling the abuse on online pornography.

The graphic recording aside, the judge cited D.C.’s “genuinely remorseful” attitude and ruled counselling—not prison—best supported his rehabilitation given his cognitive limitations.

“I see great potential for rehabilitation with D.C. and I fear that sending him to prison would endanger, rather than enhance, his prospects for the future,” she wrote in her decision.

As part of his conditional sentence, D.C. must live with his grandmother, remain under house arrest for the first year except for work and approved appointments, and observe a curfew in the second year.

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Author: Clayton DeMaine

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan gave personalized engraved pistols to NATO leaders at this week’s NATO summit, but it looks like Western countries’ laws around firearms and accepting gifts exceeding $1,000 mean Prime Minister Mark Carney can’t even use the gift.

As first reported by Reuters, the Prime Minister’s Office said Mark Carney immediately turned over the expensive revolver engraved with his name to the RCMP to be “deactivated.”

During this week’s NATO summit, Erdogan gave each of the NATO leaders a personalized revolver.

According to Reuters, Carney jokingly stated, “It struck me that ⁠my gift of maple syrup kind of undermatched” when presented with the Turkish leader’s revolver. The report also notes that the handguns came with up to 500 bullets.

The Prime Minister’s Office noted that the ammunition stayed in Turkey.

“I would like to reassure Canadians - they keep guns away from me,” Carney said at ​a press conference, noting that the gun was likely to end up at the National War Museum.

Liberal Bill C-21, which received royal assent in December 2023, “the handgun freeze,” makes it illegal to transfer handguns within Canada and to bring new handguns into Canada.

Anyone possessing a prohibited or restricted firearm without a required license is committing an offence in the Criminal Code of Canada.

Meanwhile, section 11 of the federal Conflict of Interest Act means that even if Liberal gun laws weren’t in effect, Carney still couldn’t keep the gift personally unless he was explicitly authorized to do so, as the gift exceeded $1,000.

Reports said UK Prime Minister Kier Starmer, similarly, had to decommission the revolver due to similar laws. And few leaders were able to keep the gift.

Peter Magyar, the Prime Minister of Hungary, posted that he received the “unusual gift” but didn’t indicate whether he would keep it.

Bart De Wever, the Prime Minister of Belgium, allegedly didn’t even know he received the revolver as a gift, which caused some trouble for him when he arrived at a Belgian airport.

“The prime minister was surprised and immediately handed it over to airport police so it could be placed in a secure safe and the matter was handled in accordance with relevant procedures,” a Belgian official said on Thursday.

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Author: Alex Dhaliwal

Parks Canada is facing criticism after an internal report described national parks as a “colonial injustice,” with critics arguing Canadians should instead be proud of them.

“For millennia Indigenous people have cultivated reciprocal relationships with land, water and ice guided by cultural practices, values and knowledge systems,” said the report Evaluation Of The Indigenous Guardians Initiative Internal Review.

The 2024 Parks Canada document says national parks displaced Indigenous people and barred them from traditional lands. It was quietly released Jun. 22, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.

Management admitted to withholding the unsigned report for two years. Parks Canada did not respond to a Juno News request for comment.

The controversial document says the creation of Banff National Park in 1887 barred the Stoney Nakoda from using their traditional lands, causing “historic and ongoing harm” and eroding Indigenous systems.

The agency, founded as the Dominion Parks Branch in 1911, now acknowledges its “harmful historical legacy” and its impact on Indigenous language, culture, laws and governance.

The report outlined $61.7 million over four years for up to 34 Indigenous-led park programs, including a Tsuut’ina bison harvest in Banff.

This is not the first time Parks Canada has criticized Canada’s founding history.

Released emails show Parks Canada staff privately questioned claims of 215 “probable unmarked graves” at Kamloops, later concluding the wording was inaccurate.

A 2019 cabinet framework directed federal commemorations to address the legacies of “colonialism, patriarchy and racism” across Canada.

“Nothing can be immune from review,” a Parks Canada agency, the National Historic Sites and Monuments Board, wrote in a 2019 report Careful Review Of Existing Designations. “Every designation can be re-evaluated.”

One example includes the 2024 rewrite of the Green Gables Heritage Place management plan, which called for greater representation of Acadian, Black, Indigenous and other communities at the former home of novelist Lucy Maud Montgomery, a red-haired orphan.

The agency also revised the Motherwell Homestead plan to highlight Prairie “inequities,” including the mistreatment of Indigenous people.

A True North exclusive previously revealed Parks Canada sought to “decolonize” Bellevue House with tours framing Sir John A. Macdonald’s home around racism, sexism and colonial guilt.

Conservative heritage critic Rachael Thomas called the designation “insane” in a post on X Thursday.

“Instead of celebrating Canada’s natural beauty and history, Parks Canada is reviewing heritage sites through an ideological lens,” Thomas said, adding that Canadians are “proud” of the country’s national parks and historic sites.

“They should be protected, preserved, and celebrated, not treated as something to be ashamed of.”

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Author: Alex Dhaliwal

Alberta’s top court has slammed the brakes on a sexual assault case, ruling that a deaf man who never acquired a language cannot constitutionally stand trial because he’s incapable of participating in his own defence.

The explosive decision leaves prosecutors with no legal path to try the case—and shines a harsh spotlight on a glaring hole in Canada’s justice system.

Most Albertans will never cross paths with Kendall Longclaws. Now in his 30s, he still lives with his parents on the isolated farm where he was raised with seven siblings, rarely leaving the property without them.

Deaf from birth, he cannot read, use a phone, understand a calendar, or communicate beyond a few gestures, grunts, the single spoken word “brother,” and writing his own name. He was never taught a language, according to the National Post.

Schooling failed. Unable to understand courts or the justice system, Longclaws had no idea what was happening when he was charged in 2021 with eight sexual offences involving three complainants.

The first two complainants were allegedly assaulted between 2012 and 2016, the third in 2021. Little is known about them. What is known is that their allegations will not be heard at trial.

The first attempt to prosecute Longclaws collapsed in 2025, when King’s Bench Justice Debra Yungwirth stayed the charges before trial. She ruled there was no constitutional way to proceed because, lacking any language, he could not be provided with a meaningful interpretation of the proceedings.

The Crown sought a fitness assessment that could have led to Longclaws’ detention in a psychiatric hospital. Yungwirth refused, ruling that his inability to communicate made any meaningful assessment impossible and that continuing the prosecution would prejudice “the integrity of the justice system.”

Yungwirth acknowledged that the stay denied the complainants their day in court, but concluded there was “simply no other remedy available.” Critics say the ruling effectively prioritized Longclaws’ Charter rights over the victims’ pursuit of justice and the public’s interest in safety.

Yungwirth’s ruling was among the year’s most controversial judicial decisions. Critics argued it left Longclaws beyond the reach of the criminal courts while foreclosing any avenue to remove him from society.

Any hope the appeal court would reverse course vanished Tuesday, when the Alberta Court of Appeal upheld the decision.

The appeal court largely agreed with Yungwirth. It rejected the Crown’s argument that Longclaws required a mental health assessment for “language deprivation syndrome,” finding the evidence insufficient, and did not engage with the Crown’s argument that the public interest favoured a trial given the nature of the allegations.

The victims’ last hope now lies with the Supreme Court of Canada. Unless it overturns the ruling, Longclaws will remain beyond the reach of criminal prosecution.

Critics warn the decision could invite similar arguments from other defendants with profound communication impairments, in Alberta and beyond.

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Author: Clayton DeMaine

The federal government pumped nearly $300,000 into a social worker-led podcast to open dialogue around euthanasia. Despite having the grant for over four years, the podcast has only garnered about 50 to 300 views per episode and has just over 70 subscribers.

The federally funded Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council awarded $289,226 to a Lakehead University research project titled Disrupting Death; An examination of Canadian Experiences with Medical Assistance in Dying, according to the podcast’s website.

Canadian armed forces combat veteran and anti-euthanasia advocate Kelsi Sheren highlighted the podcast in a recent post on X, claiming the grant was designed to “combat” her own show, which exposes and argues against Canada’s assisted death industry.

A look at the podcasts YouTube page shows that it has made 42 videos over four years after receiving the $289,226 start up grant.

The last video posted some seven months ago received only 49 views so far, with at least one of those views being from Juno News.

The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council is part of the innovation portfolio currently headed by Liberal minister Melanie Joly.

The grant for the show was part of an over $1 million package to Lakehead University in Thunder Bay for research projects in June 2022.

The description of the nearly $300,000 funding agreement on Lakehead University’s website states that the grant was for a five-year “insight grant” to examine Canadian experiences with Canada’s euthanasia program.

“Our research team is grateful for this funding and excited to use this podcast to have important conversations about MAiD and end-of-life. The goal of this research is to provide insight and contribute to improving the implementation of accessible, person-centered MAiD for Canadians,” the announcement reads.

​The university stated that the grant would be used to “Acquire a deeper understanding of the experiences of Canadians who are intimately impacted by MAiD, including three different groups of Canadians most intimately involved with MAiD, those who request it, those who accompany them, and those who provide the intervention.”

According to Health Canada’s “Sixth Annual Report on Medical Assistance in Dying in Canada,” Canada’s euthanasia deaths accounted for 5.1 per cent of total deaths in Canada in 2024.

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Author: Clayton DeMaine

During the first four days of the Calgary Stampede, the city got bombarded with 70 noise complaints. After investigations from community safety officers, Badlands, an electric dance music festival, was struck with tickets for failing to lower their music below the allowable decibel limit.

A spokesperson for the City of Calgary’s bylaw office told Juno News in an email that in the first four days of the world-renowned Calgary Stampede, the city received 70 noise complaints for various tents and events across the city.

According to the spokesperson, 40 noise complaints were made concerning the Cowboys Music Festival, though after an investigation, the Cowboys’ off-park music tent and festival were found to be below the allowable maximum decibel limit.

“Community Safety Peace Officers are out each night taking noise readings from nearby residential locations. We’re pleased to report that every noise reading taken for Cowboys Music Festival has been below their allowable maximum decibel limit as prescribed in their Noise Exemption Permit,” the spokesperson said.

Of the other noise complaints, 15 were directed at the Badlands Music Festival, another 15 originated from the National Saloon, five were directed at the Whisky Rose, and one complaint was made against Mexifest.

Wildhorse Saloon was among the few music events that did not receive any complaints.

The Badlands Music Festival tent, however, was the only tent to receive a ticket.

“After multiple warnings, a ticket was issued last night to event organizers at Badlands Music Festival tent for exceeding their allowable maximum decibel limit. That ticket is now under review,” the city spokesperson said.

Calgary bylaw “strongly encourages” event organizers to adjust their decibel levels to ensure that they are compliant with their respective noise exemption permits, “to avoid escalating enforcement action.”

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Author: Quinn Patrick

While many Canadians are outraged by U.S. President Donald Trump’s rhetoric about making Canada the 51st state, a new study shows that many would still consider relocating south of the border for better economic opportunities and tax incentives.

According to Statistics Canada, nearly 20,000 Canadians emigrated to the U.S. permanently in 2022, marking a 65 per cent increase from the year before.

A new study from the University of Calgary also revealed interesting findings about why Canadians were leaving for the U.S. While better job opportunities ranked as the number one reason, what followed shocked the study authors.

“We had this surprise finding that health-care access and quality was a very close tie (to jobs),” Neil Seeman, an associate professor at the University of Toronto told the National Post.

Access to better job opportunities was the most common driver at 27.7 per cent, but health-care quality and access came in a close second at 25.6 per cent.

Meanwhile, tax consideration and business taxes came in at 10.1 and 4.3 per cent, respectively.

“It’s entirely appropriate to be obsessed with the brain drain … to the United States,” said Seeman. “But at the same time, we should be equally obsessed with understanding why Canadians are … moving for health-care reasons.”

For example, roughly 78 per cent of Canadian immigrants in the U.S. have private health coverage, compared with 69 per cent of U.S.-born citizens.

While the study found mixed results regarding the benefits of U.S. health care, a majority of Canadians living in the U.S. agreed that access to greater opportunities was their primary motivator, particularly among entrepreneurs.

Seeman noted that entrepreneurs “find it very, very difficult to conceive, hatch and sustain a business in Canada.”

However, those who do emigrate don’t necessarily always remain state-side long term, with the study finding that 38 per cent of Canadian relocators remain open to returning home.

“We’ve got a really exciting opportunity,” Seeman said, “to return to that era where Canada was a magnet, and Canada was a place that people came and stayed.”

He noted that improved health-care access and quality must be a top priority for the Carney government, however, in addition to more competitive tax structures.

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