Provincial and Territorial Update – April 5, 2025
Provincial and Territorial Update: An overview of the Provincial Legislative and Territories Legislative Updates for the week of April 5, 2025. Written by Wes McLean.
New Brunswick
- N.B. Power is asking the public to cool down after physical assaults on employees and verbal harassment during hundreds of calls to the utility over rising power bills. N.B. Power put out a release on Thursday about two assaults on employees in the field but gave no details. Spokesperson Dominique Couture said the utility would not release any details about them except that they happened in Shediac and Cap-Pelé.
- Just two hours after U.S. President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs Wednesday across much of the world, New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt was one of the first Canadian leaders to speak out. While Canada was spared the worst tariffs, “that uncertainty doesn’t go away,” Holt said at a news conference, calling the result for New Brunswick a continuation of the status quo.
- With supporters from across New Brunswick packed into the Fredericton Exhibition Grounds, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre gave a nearly hour-long speech Monday night, promising a stronger country to stand up to Donald Trump and occasionally seeming to echo the U.S. president. “We need to be a nation that stands on its own two feet, that supplies its own resources … we will stand up to President Trump from a position of strength,” Poilievre told the crowd estimated by party organizers at 2,000.
- At his first federal election campaign stop in New Brunswick, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said he would revive interest in building a pipeline to Saint John by reducing the regulatory uncertainty that killed Energy East. “Today, I’m announcing the Canada First National Energy Corridor,” Poilievre said. “A pre-approved corridor that will allow our incredible businesses to build pipelines, transmission lines, rail lines and countless other kinds of infrastructure that we need to break our dependence on the Americans and ship our resources to ourselves and overseas markets.”
Nova Scotia
- Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says while U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest tariff announcements aren’t a worst-case scenario, it’s still not great for the province. “The initial understanding is that some of our major industries have been spared new tariffs. The ones that were put in place before are still there. And certainly the Chinese tariffs are also having an impact on Nova Scotia,” Houston told reporters at a news conference in Westville, N.S., on Thursday.
- It remains unclear when a government-ordered review of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act will be complete and what will come of it. Earlier this week, a Justice Department spokesperson told CBC that the final report would not be ready until the fall. The former minister who ordered the work had said he hoped it would be delivered this spring. On Thursday, the department issued a statement attributed to Justice Minister Becky Druhan saying that she expected the review would be complete “in the coming months.”
- The federal riding of Halifax, where a by-election was called weeks before Parliament was dissolved, may stand out as being the longest campaign in this election. But the riding left vacant last year by Liberal MP Andy Fillmore is following a trend happening across the country: issues around housing, affordability and health care are being overshadowed by a trade war with the United States and questions over Canadian sovereignty. It’s a shift that has reshaped voting intentions dramatically over the past two months, according to pundits, and much of it at the expense of the NDP.
- Nova Scotia’s deputy minister of opportunities and social development says there was no talk of increasing income assistance rates in the lead-up to the most recent provincial budget, but there are other measures designed to help combat poverty. “Ultimately, we look at a broad spectrum of affordability options, and indexing rates would be one of those,” Craig Beaton told reporters Tuesday after an appearance at the legislature’s standing committee on community services.
Prince Edward Island
- Tuesday night was a roaring welcome to P.E.I. for Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who was met by hundreds of people packed shoulder-to-shoulder for a rally in Borden-Carleton. It was the first official visit by a party leader during the campaign running up to the April 28 federal election, and the crowd cheered Poilievre repeatedly during his nearly 50-minute speech at MacDougall Steel Erectors. The party estimates roughly 1,700 people were in attendance, including all four Island Conservative candidates were there.
- The P.E.I. Union of Public Sector Employees is raising concerns about a home-care program that it says is an example of health-care privatization — and seems to be millions of dollars over budget. It’s called the Self-Managed Care Program. According to a Health P.E.I. client handbook obtained by UPSE, it’s designed to provide funding for private support at home for seniors with needs that make them eligible for long-term care. That raises a red flag with UPSE executive director Jason Rendell.
- The provincial government says a review aimed at improving the reliability and affordability of Prince Edward Island’s energy grid will be released next month, after MLAs from all three parties represented in the legislature raised concerns. PC MLA Hilton MacLennan said the Island’s growing population is putting increased demand on the grid.
- P.E.I.’s Opposition leader continued to pressure the government Wednesday about the money it’s spending to attract visitors from the United States, taking a new tack on getting the province to scrap its controversial contract with the National Hockey League. The governing Progressive Conservatives’ multimillion-dollar deal with the NHL saw P.E.I. branded as the league’s official travel destination. It has come under fire from the Liberals, particularly as U.S. President Donald Trump wages a trade war with Canada and many other countries.
Newfoundland and Labrador
- The chief of Sheshatshiu Innu First Nation says the town continues to staff entrances into the Labrador community in an ongoing effort to prevent people from bringing in illicit drugs, and say plans are in the works to develop a detox centre for those seeking addiction treatment. Chief Eugene Hart told CBC News on Wednesday that the public has met four times since the community declared a drug crisis last week and installed safety officers at both of the town’s entrances.
- Newfoundland and Labrador’s Public Utilities Board says it accepts Newfoundland Power’s reasoning for spiking power bills that left customers fuming in March. After public outcry, the board requested Newfoundland Power review the measures it uses to “ensure billing accuracy and reduce billing volatility,” and whether other measures have been considered. The subsequent report found the discrepancies were due to colder than usual weather leading to higher power usage.
- Most Liberal MHAs have now declared their support for either John Abbott or John Hogan as the Newfoundland and Labrador Liberal leadership contest enters the home stretch. And if such a metric can be considered an indicator of a campaign’s momentum, Hogan has the advantage. Up to Wednesday, 10 MHAs have declared their support for Hogan. They are some of the most influential faces in the government of outgoing Premier Andrew Furey. Six MHAs — three cabinet ministers and three backbenchers — have sided with John Abbott.
- Workers in Newfoundland and Labrador seem to be safe for now from U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest round of tariffs, according to one Memorial University professor. Trump’s 25 per cent tariff on all foreign automobiles comes into effect Thursday morning– essentially ensuring that manufacturing happens solely in the United States, according to business professor Tom Cooper. Cooper said luckily for this province, Newfoundland and Labrador does not manufacture automobiles or their parts.
Quebec
- Premier François Legault says while Quebec may have been spared worse tariffs this week, the province needs to keep its guard up and diversify its economy away from the U.S. At an afternoon news conference Thursday held after a meeting between all of Canada’s premiers and Prime Minister Mark Carney, Legault highlighted the need for Quebec to find other markets. “The fact remains that whatever Donald Trump does in the next months and years, the top priority must be to diversify our economy, the economy of Quebec,” he said.
- Quebec’s premier believes Europe’s rearmament presents an “extraordinary opportunity” for his province as it tries to diversify trade away from the United States. Francois Legault told a gathering in Hannover, Germany, that Europe plans to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on defence in the coming years as U.S. President Donald Trump has signaled he may no longer be willing to protect Canada or the European Union. Legault says several Quebec sectors could contribute to the EU effort, including shipbuilding, aerospace, critical minerals and artificial intelligence.
- With the uncertainty caused by Donald Trump’s tariffs and the job losses that could ensue, Premier François Legault wants to put his foot on the accelerator for mining projects so Quebec can exploit its critical minerals more quickly. “We’re going to have to have shorter lead times. We need to get rid of all the work and bureaucracy involved in obtaining permits,” he said on Monday. “In the mining sector, we have a golden opportunity,” added the premier.
- The United States government has pinpointed Quebec’s Bill 96, “An Act respecting French, the official and common language of Quebec,” as a hindrance that could impact trade between the U.S. and Canada. The 2025 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers, published last month, highlights “significant foreign barriers to U.S. exports, U.S. foreign direct investment, and U.S. electronic commerce.” It outlines, country by country, what the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) believes to be “unfair trade practices [that] undermine U.S. exporters’ competitiveness and, in some cases, prevent U.S. goods from entering the foreign market entirely.”
Ontario
- Premier Doug Ford says a major auto assembly plant in western Ontario must quickly reopen after it announced a two-week shutdown in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest tariffs. Stellantis confirmed it would introduce a temporary shutdown of its auto assembly plant in Windsor, Ont., between April 7 and April 21 after Trump put 25 per cent tariffs on non-U.S. vehicles. The Windsor Assembly Plant produces the Chrysler Pacifica, Chrysler Grand Caravan, Chrysler Voyager and Dodge Charger Daytona.
- Ontario Premier Doug Ford visited the Orillia area on Friday to witness the damage that was caused by this past weekend’s ice storm. The day began with hundreds of Hydro One workers meeting David Lebeter, Hydro One CEO at approximately 7 a.m. at Casino Rama. Ford visited Orillia, Ramara Township and Oro-Medonte Township, spoke at the warming and evacuation centre in Orillia. According to Hydro One, the Orillia area was one of the most impacted communities by the ice storm. Nearly 50 per cent of the city was still without power as of Thursday afternoon.
- Canada got “the best of a bad deal” when the country was spared yet another volley of tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration Wednesday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford says. But that deal is still “totally unacceptable,” Ford was quick to add when speaking with reporters at Queen’s Park Thursday, noting the threat to the nation’s auto sector especially is still “very high.” “The only thing that’s acceptable is zero tariffs,” Ford said. “We’re going to continue targeting zero tariffs. “I do believe [in], and I would support, retaliation tariffs, very similar to what they have against us in the auto sector, but that is strictly up to the prime minister.”
- Weeks after saying his caucus would be too busy to get involved with the federal election, Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he gave Caroline Mulroney his blessing to endorse Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre. On Wednesday, Mulroney — who is president of the treasury board in Ford’s Ontario government — introduced Poilievre at an event in Toronto and endorsed him. “In my judgment, Pierre Poilievre is the one leader who can channel that emotion into action, into unity, purpose and a plan to rebuild our country,” Mulroney said before the Conservative leader took to the stage.
Manitoba
- Some Manitoba landlords say they’ll have no choice but to raise rents after the provincial government promised tax relief for at least some rental property owners under its overhaul of the education property tax system but failed to deliver. This is the first year in which the NDP government is providing homeowners with a credit, valued at up to $1,500, on their school taxes. Under the former Progressive Conservative government, the province instead offered a 50 per cent rebate on school taxes, but all residential property owners were eligible — not just homeowners.
- A day after Canada was largely spared in U.S. President Donald Trump’s long-feared plan to impose broad tariffs on imports from dozens of countries, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said there are still “no bottles being popped today,” as the province comes to terms with how it will be affected by industry-specific tariffs that are being imposed. That includes steel manufacturers like the Gerdau steel mill in Selkirk, which will continue to be affected by existing tariffs on steel and aluminum, and manufacturers who make products not covered by the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, or CUSMA, like oil.
- Labour legislation passed last fall in Manitoba is about to be tested by one of the province’s largest unions. The Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union has applied to the provincial labour board under new provisions of the Labour Relations Act to have the current contract dispute with two child and family services agencies resolved by an independent arbitrator. More than 300 members at Michif Child and Family Services and Métis Child, Family and Community Services are now in their second week of a strike, fighting for wage parity with other provincial workers who do similar jobs, MGEU president Kyle Ross says.
- Wally Daudrich, who is running to lead Manitoba’s Official Opposition, has asked a court to overturn a provincial decision to deprive his ecotourism business of permits to operate tundra vehicles in a wildlife management area east of Churchill during the upcoming polar bear viewing season. In February, provincial wildlife branch director Maria Arlt informed Daudrich that his company, Lazy Bear Expeditions, is no longer permitted to operate two tundra vehicles on the coastal plains of the Churchill Wildlife Management Area, where polar bears gather in large numbers each fall before the ice freezes up on Hudson Bay.
Saskatchewan
- The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) is reporting a sixth case of measles in the province. The latest case is an adult in southwest Saskatchewan who recently traveled through the U.S. and Mexico. They were not immunized for the disease. To date, there have been three confirmed measles cases in the southwest of the province, two in the southeast and one in the northwest. While the number of confirmed measles cases in Saskatchewan is still much lower than other provinces like Alberta and Ontario, the SHA is still warning the public of the threat it poses, and is strongly encouraging residents to get vaccinated for the disease.
- Saskatchewan teachers and the provincial government have signed a new collective agreement, officially bringing an end to the long-running labour dispute. Teachers in the province have been operating without a contract since August 2023. Last month, an arbitration board ruled that class complexity was required to be part of the new contract. However, the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation (STF) and provincial government were directed to hold further talks around class complexity provisions.
- Saskatchewan farmers, business leaders and trade experts offered a hesitant sigh of relief on Wednesday after Canada emerged largely unscathed from Donald Trump’s heavily anticipated tariff announcement. The U.S. president announced he will impose a baseline 10 per cent tariff on dozens of countries around the world as of Thursday, but will exempt items under the Canada-United States-Mexico Trade Agreement, or CUSMA. There were fears that exemption would expire on April 2, which would have further upended Canada’s trade relationship with the U.S. after months of on-again off-again tariffs.
- The Saskatchewan government is expanding coverage of advanced glucose monitors, which measure blood sugar levels, for young adult and senior diabetics in the province. Diabetes is a disease that affects how the body turns food into energy. By monitoring blood sugar levels, people can better manage the condition and prevent life-threatening emergencies. As of April 1, people between the ages of 18 and 25 and 65 and older will have their glucose monitors fully covered by the government. In the past, only children under 18 had the costs covered.
Alberta
- Alberta Premier Danielle Smith would like to have a tête-à-tête with Quebec Premier François Legault about asserting their provincial sovereignty, according to a letter Smith wrote last month. “I see an opportunity before us, as the democratically elected leaders of Alberta and Quebec, to chart a path toward a new era in Canadian federalism,” Smith said in a March 21 letter penned to her Quebec counterpart, in which she asked for a meeting. Smith was responding to recommendations contained in a report prepared last year for the Quebec government suggesting ways that the province could assert its provincial authority.
- Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she doesn’t want to be “exuberant about dodging the bullet” with U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest tariff announcement but that it might push a trade agreement renegotiation until after the April 28 federal election. The Trump administration went ahead Thursday with 25 per cent levies on all auto imports, which adds to existing 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports.
- Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is firing back against a poll that suggests the majority of Canadians support putting retaliatory tariffs on imported energy products. The survey, conducted by Nanos Research for CTV News and The Globe and Mail, found more than two-thirds of people in the Prairies support putting tariffs on oil, natural gas and electricity. “Well, I think it’s a garbage poll,” Smith said at an unrelated press conference on Tuesday. “What if we were to ask Albertans or Canadians this: ‘Would you support export tariffs if it meant the U.S. would retaliate by shutting off Line 5 and leaving Ontario and Quebec without gasoline or aviation fuel at all?’ I think you’d get a different answer.”
- Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says that after her conversation with controversial U.S. podcaster Ben Shapiro, he dedicated an entire episode the next day to discuss the detrimental impacts of tariffs on Americans. Speaking on the 880 CHED show Your Province. Your Premier on Saturday, Smith, who has been criticized by the Alberta NDP for attending the event at PragerU alongside Shapiro in Florida on Thursday, said the outcome of her trip and conversation did “exactly what we wanted to accomplish.”
British Columbia
- B.C. Premier David Eby says he wants to be able to bring in more immigrants from the United States to help bolster the local economy. He also revealed he will be meeting with Mark Carney in person next week, denounced the idea that western separatism could be an outcome of the current federal election campaign and called out a B.C. Conservative MLA accused of posting a graphic suggesting Western Canada could become a “protectorate” of the United States.
- B.C. Premier David Eby said Thursday he foresees ongoing “uncertainty” with respect to United States tariff policies despite U.S. President Donald Trump not including Canada on sweeping tariffs imposed across numerous countries. Eby said he will be meeting designated Prime Minister Mark Carney next week in B.C. to discuss the ongoing economic threats from the United States. “It’s important for the prime minister to understand the unique impacts of tariff policy on British Columbia,” said Eby, adding it appeared Trump has toned down his 51st state rhetoric following a call with Carney last week.
- British Columbia’s premier said Thursday he is encouraged to see a shifting tone in U.S. President Donald Trump’s talks with Canada, but concerns remain about how tariffs could devastate the province’s softwood lumber sector. Premier David Eby said at a media availability in Victoria that he will be travelling to Prince George in central B.C. to speak with forest industry representatives on Friday, in light of Trump’s repeated assertions that the United States doesn’t need Canadian lumber, among other threats against Canada since taking office.
- B.C. Premier David Eby on Thursday criticized a recent op-ed by former Reform Party leader Preston Manning in which he argued a vote for Mark Carney’s Liberals is a vote for Western secession. ‘We need to stick together to be successful as Canadians,’ Eby told reporters at a news conference in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping new tariffs.
Northwest Territories
- A lithium exploration company working in the N.W.T. says getting a mine ready for production could be anywhere from six to eight years away – but already, it’s evaluating how it would get the material refined and battery ready without relying on China. “It’s likely that Edmonton will be an obvious place for an energy hub for lithium processing in future,” said David Smithson, Li-FT’s senior vice president of geology. According to the International Energy Agency, worldwide demand for critical minerals – like lithium – is expected to double by 2040. Keeping the supply chain within Canada is one of the major tasks ahead.
Yukon
- The Yukon government is targeting Elon Musk’s businesses with its latest round of retaliatory measures to new U.S. tariffs against Canada. Premier Ranj Pillai said on Thursday that the territorial government was ending rebates for Tesla products, cancelling some of its Starlink accounts, and quitting the social media platform X. Musk, the chainsaw-wielding billionaire advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump, owns all those companies.
Nunavut
- A whooping cough outbreak in Igloolik, Nunavut, has ended about three and a half months after it was declared, according to the territory’s health department. In an advisory on Wednesday afternoon, the department said that there had been seven confirmed cases of the lung and throat disease since Nov. 7. The cases were in children under 15 years old, none of whom were hospitalized. There were also no deaths, the department said.