Moving into David Frum’s house to start an open-pit mine in his living room. Confident he won’t stand for “the country’s courts…inventing new obstacles to development.”

🇨🇦 Today in Canadian politics: Carney announces fresh aid for Ukraine. Carney's year-end interview with Global News. Charlie Angus vs 'the darkness.' 👉 Sign up free: open.substack.com/pub/canadano...

Carney on reviving Keystone XL: "If part of our objective as a country, which Canadians across this country tell me is and I believe is right, is to become more independent, to diversify from the United States, having another pipeline to the United States is less advantageous."

Carney on the duty to consult regarding a possible pipeline to the BC coast.

Carney on Canada becoming a leader in green technology: "You just have to look at where China and others are going. We have an enormous opportunity in this country to leapfrog the United States. The United States has taken its eye off the ball on this."

Carney on addressing climate change: "The policies that I inherited are not sufficient to meet our 2035 targets. And in part, because regulation in and of itself isn't sufficient, you need the investment alongside it."

Carney on Canada's role as a middle power in a shifting global order: "What I would say to Canadians, the good news is virtually everybody wants to do more with Canada."

CARNEY: "But there's negotiations about negotiations."

Carney on getting a trade deal with the U.S.: "If a good deal is there, yes we will sign it, but if it's not there we're not going to sign a bad deal."

CARNEY: "Well, certainly a strategy is not to rush into a bad deal. And that's what we've been very disciplined about. And every week that goes by, the more that we're developing our economic strategy at home, the more we're developing those relationships abroad, the stronger we get."

FRIESEN: You have managed to lure a couple of Conservative MPs to the Liberal Caucus. Are you courting others? CARNEY: Well, it's interesting. I wouldn't have chosen that verb – "luring" or "courting." What I would choose is they are attracted by what we are doing.

Bruce Fanjoy dunking on Pierre Poilievre will never get old.

right beneath our feet

🎄 Merry Christmas! Joyeux Noël! open.substack.com/pub/canadano...

absolutely giddy he avoided losing another MP

We also have a sh*t-ton of Canadian Geese, so I don't understand why every Canadian doesn't have down-filled pillows.

I gotta say, I've really been appreciating the work that @sarobertson.bsky.social has been doing in terms of collecting and uploading Canadian political clips, in much the same way as @atrupar.com does with US clips. It's a seriously valuable service. I suggest giving him a follow!

🇨🇦 Canadian politics holiday round-up: Prime Minister Carney named The Canadian Press Newsmaker of the Year. Michael Ma breaks his silence. Carney & Poilievre year-end interviews. 👉 Sign up free: open.substack.com/pub/canadano...

There are things that cause groceries to be more expensive, but only the things I talk about. No other things can cause groceries to me more expensive. Just my talking point things. So, what I say to your contention that other things can make prices higher is, bazinga!

What Poilievre is saying, and it echoes what the Alberta gov't believes, is that no group has veto power over their desire to ignore the human or property rights of those opposed to a pipeline on their territory. The right sees consent as veto power rather than executive autonomy.

Stephanie Levitz on Pierre Poilievre losing Justin Trudeau: "When you take away the villain, what happens to the fairy tale?"

Kory Teneycke: "What we're seeing now is not a polling problem for the Conservatives — it's a polling problem for Poilievre."

FRIESEN: Do you feel you have to do something differently? Or it's the same messaging as the last campaign? POILIEVRE: People, they know that I'm a fighter, but they have to know what I'm fighting for, my why. Why is the most important question.

POILIEVRE: First Nations support oil and gas. Liberals and liberal elites often try to stereotype and stigmatize First Nations as being opposed to pipelines. FRIESEN: I think we should let Indigenous leaders who oppose it speak for themselves.

POILIEVRE: "It's a really unfortunate stereotype to say that First Nations are against pipelines when the evidence is the overwhelming majority of them support it. Although I think the media sometimes tries to stereotype that they're all against it."

FRIESEN: What if, after those consultations, the answer is still no? POILIEVRE: The answer is given by the Prime Minister. F: If the Indigenous leaders say no? P: I will thank them for their input. At the end of the day, the Prime Minister has to decide... Nobody has a veto.

FRIESEN: Danielle Smith seems very happy with the potential of another pipeline under Mark Carney. POILIEVRE: She said that under my leadership we'd be well on the way to getting the pipeline done. F: But you didn't win the election. P: That's why I need to win the next one.

FRIESEN: Is it possible that in the last election many Canadians just thought you weren't the man for the moment and that it's your leadership that's the issue? POILIEVRE: Well my leadership got us a record number of votes.

VASSY: If you do ultimately lose another MP and the Liberals form a majority, will you stay on as leader? POILIEVRE: That will be up to the members of our party... they will decide in the convention if they want me to stay on.

POILIEVRE: "We should be the most affordable country in the world, yet why are we one of the most expensive? Government."

VASSY: If you, as promised, remove all of these [hidden taxes], will groceries become cheap? POILIEVRE: Everything should be dirt cheap in Canada because we have the most dirt.

Poilievre says food inflation can't be caused by "sporadic reasons that are scattered across the world" because there would be other things that would "cancel them out."

Carney says Steven Guilbeault knew the details of the Alberta MOU, despite public comments suggesting otherwise.

Carney on the "spectrum of MPs" attracted to the Liberal Party's agenda.

Carney on Trudeau-era climate policy: "We have too much regulation, not enough action."

Carney on the benefits of the MOU: "What the country is getting out of it is action. The country is getting investment, investment in clean energy, investment in nuclear, investment in carbon capture, investment in carbon capture."

Carney on the Alberta MOU and view he's backsliding on climate change: "I'm the same person, same values, care about the issue fundamentally and because I care about the issue fundamentally I care about what gets done."

Carney on China and trade diversification: "Never have all your eggs in one basket. We have too many eggs in the American basket."

Carney on the significance of his personal relationship with Trump: "He wants to be a great man like me — that's what he said in public. It's a good line. I enjoyed it at least."

Prime Minister Carney on strategic sectors and negotiating with the US: "The US needs to make a choice around these ... Does it view its competitors as Canada, or does it view its competitors as China?"

Prime Minister Carney on his closed door meeting with Presidents Trump and Sheinbaum at the World Cup draw and the upcoming review of CUSMA.

CARNEY: And yet we have the best deal of any country in the world, Rosemary. ROSIE: But that's not what you were elected on. You were elected to get a new... CARNEY: Was I not elected to get the best deal of any country...

ROSIE: Since the election you have dropped retaliatory tariffs, given up the DST and apologized for [Doug Ford's] ad. Canadians might want to know whether we are any further ahead for doing those things. CARNEY: Well, we are in a lot better position than we were nine months ago.

VELJI: “Canada fundamentally accepted a lot of conservative policies, accepted a progressive‑conservative–like prime minister in Mark Carney; they just rejected Pierre Poilievre.”

Greg MacEachern breaks down Prime Minister Carney's shuffle of deputy ministers and senior public servants.

RICHER: "[Pierre Poilievre] is giving Mark Carney an opportunity on a gold plate to say, 'you know what, you're right, I should call an election and get my majority'... And I don't think it's to Poilievre's benefit right now for Mark Carney to do that."

DeLOREY: “What I find kind of puzzling is that it took so long to get to this. Right after the election Carney seemed very happy with a minority, he didn't seem to get that he didn't have the full confidence of the House.”

Greg MacEachern suggests Pierre Poilievre's uncharacteristic lack of polish reveals he knows his floor-crossing complaints are weak.

Chantal Hébert on the Liberals forcing the Conservatives to pass the budget to avoid an election.

"look inside yourself, Rosemary"