Provincial and Territorial Update – February 28
Provincial and Territorial Update: An overview of the Provincial Legislative and Territories Legislative Updates for the week of February 28, 2025. Written by Wes McLean.
New Brunswick
- Legal experts say a pending Supreme Court of Canada case about whether New Brunswick’s lieutenant governor must be bilingual could have much broader implications and be precedent-setting. These could include bilingualism requirements for other high-ranking positions in the country, including elected ones, and constraints on the powers of the Governor General and others in making appointments, according to two law professors.
- N.B. Power says it doesn’t see any flaws with its smart-meter program and billing system but is acknowledging it still can’t explain anecdotal evidence of unusually high electricity consumption in some residential bills. CEO Lori Clark told a committee of the legislature that early indications from an audit still underway are that the fault does not lie with the new units. “No issues have been identified,” she said.
- J.D. Irving Ltd.’s claim that “uncompetitive” electricity prices charged by N.B. Power are exclusively responsible for forcing it to close a production line at its east side Saint John paper mill has pushed the provincial utility and its rates into the spotlight. And N.B. Power is not taking the criticism quietly. “N.B. Power offers a competitive large industrial rate,” spokesperson Dominique Couture said Tuesday in an email, directly contradicting the company’s claim.
- Premier Susan Holt’s government finds itself in a dilemma after gasoline distributors and retailers warned that a key Liberal affordability promise could drive them out of business. Business owners warned a committee of New Brunswick MLAs that a bill to repeal the so-called “cost of carbon adjustor” would force those costs onto their books, putting their viability at risk. “We are held hostage because of this situation,” Peter Clark, the owner of Woodstock-based Clark Oil, told the legislature’s law amendments committee.
Nova Scotia
- Information about the number of people looking for a family doctor has been removed from Nova Scotia Health’s public reporting data website. Members of the NDP raised the issue during the question period on Friday at Province House. Data on the Action for Health public reporting website about the number of people seeking a family physician has not been updated since last June, when the health authority paused the updates to validate whether everyone on the list still needed a doctor.
- As the Nova Scotia government positions itself to take greater control over the province’s 10 universities, some within the university community say the potential changes are “short-sighted” and part of “anti-democratic,” “Trump-style politics” in the province. Last week, the Progressive Conservatives introduced a bill that would link the university’s funding decisions to the government’s social and economic priorities. Bill 12 would allow the minister of advanced education to appoint up to half of the members of the university’s board of governors and force a university into a revitalization plan. The legislation also would allow the Nova Scotia Community College to grant degrees.
- Nova Scotia has announced it will pay for the tuition of nearly 100 students training to support people with disabilities. Scott Armstrong, the minister of opportunities and social development, made the announcement on Thursday. He said the government is spending about $640,000 to fund the spots, which will open across the province in September.
- Progressive Conservative MLAs used their supermajority in the Nova Scotia legislature Wednesday night to change the rules governing debate in the House. Opposition leaders say the move risks weakening debate, while government MLAs have said the changes are intended to make the operation of the legislature more effective and efficient. Government House leader Brendan Maguire introduced Resolution 5 last week — the same day the provincial budget was tabled — without any advance notice to or consultation with opposition members.
Prince Edward Island
- A Prince Edward Island cabinet minister has become the first person to say he is running for the leadership of the provincial Progressive Conservative Party. Minister of Economic Development, Innovation and Trade Cory Deagle threw his hat into the empty ring on Wednesday. “I am excited to take this next step and am ready to put in the hard work needed to lead our party and province,” a news release quoted the Montague-Kilmuir MLA as saying. “Together, we can build a brighter future, addressing challenges head-on and creating new opportunities for all Islanders.”
- Many P.E.I. residents have taken to social media in recent weeks to raise questions about what they consider inexplicably high power bills from Maritime Electric. Brackley resident Kirk Harnish has been facing the threat of Maritime Electric turning his power off because he hasn’t paid his bill for the past two months. He’s convinced it’s not accurate. “The last little while, they’re getting just a little bit beyond. You can’t manage with electric bills like this,” he said.
- Premier Rob Lantz filled two vacancies in his cabinet Thursday afternoon, appointing a new education minister and giving Speaker Darlene Compton a different role. Souris–Elmira MLA Robin Croucher was announced as the province’s new minister of education and early years, a portfolio previously held by Lantz himself. Lantz was sworn in as premier on Feb. 21, a day after former premier Dennis King resigned. Belfast–Murray River MLA Darlene Compton, who had been acting as the Speaker of the P.E.I. Legislative Assembly, was announced as the province’s new minister of economic development, innovation and trade.
- Premier Rob Lantz says he was “very direct” with the prime minister Wednesday about the need to eliminate Confederation Bridge tolls and fees for the ferry service between P.E.I. and Nova Scotia. Lantz, who was sworn in Feb. 21 after Dennis King’s surprise resignation the day prior, met for the first time with his fellow Canadian first ministers, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, by means of a conference call. The premier said a good portion of the virtual meeting was spent talking about removing barriers to interprovincial trade.
Newfoundland and Labrador
- Andrew Furey — the 14th premier of Newfoundland and Labrador — has announced his resignation. The move came as a shock on Tuesday afternoon, as Furey addressed the media and his supporters on short notice, immediately following a caucus meeting at the Confederation Building in St. John’s. The province has been abuzz with rumblings of a forthcoming election for weeks. Instead, the premier announced he’d be returning to his job as an orthopedic surgeon.
- Grieg Seafood Canada says it’s putting a pause on completing a large-scale salmon farming facility in the Newfoundland and Labrador community of Marystown. That decision is largely driven by the inability to find a financing partner and the looming threat of economic tariffs from the United States. The construction of the 17,500-square-metre post-smolt facility has been delayed before — October 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Newfoundland and Labrador’s auditor general is warning the provincial government to keep an eye on its big financial incentives to lure and retain health-care workers. In a report released on Thursday, Auditor General Denise Hanrahan said the government began using bonus programs to tackle the health-care crisis and the lack of physicians and nurses in April 2022. “While it’s early days, it’s important to note that the monitoring of this program, which has already paid out over $50 million, seems to be insufficient,” Hanrahan told reporters on Thursday morning.
- Three possible contenders emerge to replace Premier Furey, just a day after he said he’s resigning. John Abbott and John Hogan say they’re considering a run at Liberal leadership. Siobhan Coady hasn’t ruled it out. Ashley Power-Stack, president of the Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador, said the process to find the next leader will likely start sooner rather than later. “We will be sure to have a process that’s fair, equitable, that’s able to reach as many people across the province,” she said.
Quebec
- Quebec Premier François Legault floated the possibility of altering hydro electricity exports to the U.S. should President Donald Trump impose tariffs. Legault made the suggestion on social media while congratulating his “friend” and newly reelected Ontario Premier Doug Ford. “We agreed to work together to increase trade between Quebec and Ontario,” Legault wrote on X. “If Mr. Trump imposes tariffs, we’re not ruling out jointly implementing retaliatory measures, including on electricity exported to the United States.”
- Quebec Premier François Legault replaced his cybersecurity and digital technology minister Friday after a scandal with the auto insurance board’s online platform forced the resignation of Éric Caire. Legault named backbencher Gilles Bélanger as Caire’s replacement after an explosive report by the province’s auditor general last week revealed cost overruns of at least $500 million in the creation of the online platform known as SAAQclic.
- The Quebec government might extend its ban on religious symbols following a report on the state of secularism in several public schools. Education Minister Bernard Drainville announced Friday he will table legislation to strengthen the province’s secularism rules, including expanding the scope of the religious symbols ban to school staff other than teachers.
- Quebec is taking steps to reduce the number of international students in the province, but can’t say by how much. On Wednesday, the government announced it will issue 20 per cent fewer acceptance certificates to foreign students this year compared to last year. The move is part of Quebec’s plan to limit the number of non-permanent residents in the province, which it pegs at around 615,000 people. “The goal is to slow the growth,” Higher Education Minister Pascale Déry told reporters in Quebec City. “There has been substantial growth … of foreign students in recent years.”
Ontario
- Doug Ford has won a third straight majority government, while the NDP will again form the official opposition in Ontario. The Liberals are regaining official party status despite Leader Bonnie Crombie’s loss in Mississauga. Addressing everyone at her campaign headquarters, NDP Leader Marit Stiles said that her party’s job will once again be “to hold this government to account” as the official opposition. “And that is the job that we are going to do with our usual fight and our determination, but also with love and hope and optimism,” Stiles said.
- Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie vowed to flip every Peel Region seat from PC blue to Liberal red when she won her party’s leadership at the end of 2023. Fast forward to her first provincial election — in fairness, one that took place more than a year earlier than anticipated — and she couldn’t capture her own riding of Mississauga-East Cooksville. “I know tonight isn’t exactly the result we were looking for, but you should be very, very proud of what we did tonight,” Crombie told the crowd at Liberal headquarters.
- Ontario Premier Doug Ford vowed Thursday to challenge Donald Trump head-on after capturing an historic, third-straight majority government in a rare mid-winter election that revolved around crippling tariffs threatened by the U.S. president. It took only minutes after polls closed for the media to project another majority for Ford’s Progressive Conservatives, making him one of the most successful premiers the province has seen.
- The province-wide, unofficial election results are available via the Elections Ontario website, which can be found here: READ MORE
Manitoba
- A potential strike by faculty at the University of Manitoba could begin March 10, according to the union, which represents more than 1,300 professors, instructors, and librarians. The U of M Faculty Association has set a bargaining deadline of next Thursday, March 6, at 11:59 p.m., with a potential strike to start the following Monday, the union said in a news release. Members have been without a contract since their collective agreement expired on March 31, 2024. The union’s members went on strike for five weeks in 2021 and for three weeks in 2016. Association president Erik Thomson hopes it doesn’t come to that this year.
- A union representing thousands of allied health-care professionals in Manitoba has issued a strike deadline of March 7 — the second time in less than two years the Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals has threatened job action. “It’s hard to believe we’re in this situation again, particularly after this government campaigned on fixing health care and repairing the relationship with front-line workers,” MAHCP president Jason Linklater said in an interview with CBC News.
- Manitoba has become the first province to sign a pharmacare agreement with the federal government. The province will be getting $219 million over four years for universal coverage for diabetes medication, contraceptives and other medical supplies. Manitoba already covers prescription birth control, so coverage for the new remaining products will begin in June, the province said.
- Elle Harris thought she might be ready when the news came, but when it did, her heart fell, and all she could think was,s “I want my mom.” Her mom, Morgan Harris, is one of two women whose remains were believed to be at the Prairie Green landfill north of Winnipeg after they were killed in May 2022 and left in dumpsters by Jeremy Skibicki. After a long fight to search the landfill for their remains, work started in December. And on Wednesday, the families of Harris, who was 39, and Marcedes Myran, 26, were notified that possible human remains had been found.
Saskatchewan
- Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says any pipeline projects that cross the province will now be considered “pre-approved.” While the proclamation is provocative, experts say it changes very little about the reality of building a pipeline in Canada. “Materially, this doesn’t mean anything, right? This is essentially nonsense. So this is political discourse,” said Amy Janzwood, an assistant professor of politics at McGill University in Montreal.
- Canada’s highest court has unanimously dismissed an appeal from the Saskatchewan government concerning a dispute with Métis Nation-Saskatchewan (MN-S) over whether the province properly consulted on a uranium project in northwestern Saskatchewan. The legal battle was sparked when NexGen Energy Ltd., based in Vancouver, applied to the Government of Saskatchewan for permits for a field mineral exploration project in March 2021. The project is located near Patterson Lake, which is about 636 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon.
- Amid the ongoing threat of U.S. tariffs, Saskatchewan’s Official Opposition party is urging people to shop local. The NDP launched its “Shop local, shop Sask” campaign Wednesday at SaskMade, a Saskatoon marketplace filled with products made in Saskatchewan. NDP Leader Carla Beck said the campaign was created in hopes of urging shoppers to put their money back into the pockets of people who live in Saskatchewan.
- The provincial government is taking action on its promise to make communities safer from illegal drug use and trafficking by introducing several new measures. The province announced Tuesday it will be making changes to legislation and regulations to crack down on drug trafficking and on people using fentanyl and methamphetamine. Police will be given more authority to remove anyone using fentanyl or meth in a semi-public space, such as libraries, malls, restaurants, parks and business entrances.
Alberta
- Alberta, Canada’s top oil-producing province, is projecting its first budget deficit after four years of surpluses as the prospect of a trade war with the United States weighs on the outlook for economic growth and oil revenue. The shortfall of $5.2 billion in the fiscal year starting in April would be driven largely by a $4 billion drop in bitumen royalties and a $1.2 billion drop in personal and corporate income taxes, according to forecasts released Thursday.
- The former head of Alberta Health Services, Athana Mentzelopoulos, tried to caution the government about the potential impact of chartered surgical facilities on the provincial health-care system months before she was fired, CBC has learned. Mentzelopoulos earlier this month, Mentzelopoulos filed a $1.7-million wrongful dismissal suit alleging she faced government pressure to sign off on commitments for new chartered surgical facilities (CSFs). One of those was an approval of a contract extension for one vendor, Alberta Surgical Group (ASG), despite concerns she had that the costs were high compared to other contractors.
- Another high-ranking Alberta Health Services official has been ousted, and hundreds of staff are being transferred to the province’s new acute care agency as the government continues its complete overhaul of the health system while embroiled in a contract procurement controversy. On Tuesday, 425 Alberta Health Services (AHS) staff members were told their positions would be transferred to Acute Care Alberta as of April 1. A memo, signed by AHS interim president and CEO Andre Tremblay and obtained by CBC News, reveals workers from a variety of teams are being moved, including those involved in surgical care, planning and performance, patient safety and some contracting and commissioning work related to chartered surgical facilities.
- One day after quitting cabinet and calling out his own government, Peter Guthrie returned to the house Wednesday, sat in the back row and looked at his phone while the Opposition NDP used his words to attack his colleagues. A day earlier, Guthrie announced he was quitting as infrastructure minister, saying his cabinet colleagues did not share his concerns about acting on issues surrounding questionable government purchasing practices. Those practices have been in the spotlight since the former head of Alberta Health Services sued the government on Feb. 12, alleging she was wrongly fired for investigating lavish contracts, favouritism and high-level government interference in multimillion-dollar health contracts.
British Columbia
- The British Columbia government is willing to enter bilateral agreements with other jurisdictions in order to boost interprovincial trade as looming U.S. tariffs threaten Canada’s economy, Premier David Eby says. The possibility of U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods and services has pushed provinces to look to each other as one way to diversify their markets and protect their economies and jobs. Despite the establishment of the Canadian Free Trade Agreement in 2017, many products are not traded freely among provinces and territories.
- Premier David Eby is continuing to discourage British Columbians from travelling south of the border until a pending trade war is resolved, despite a recent rally by residents of Port Angeles encouraging Vancouver Islanders to visit. “If you do have a choice about where you travel with your family, if you do have a choice about how you spend your money, [I] strongly discourage people from going to the States until this is resolved,” Eby said in a media availability Wednesday.
- BC Conservative leader John Rustad says the party is having “family” issues ahead of its annual general meeting, with his attorney general critic defying his wishes and a lack of unity on display in the legislature. But Rustad says the Opposition party supports free speech and free voting among its caucus, dismissing suggestions he could face a leadership contest at the weekend meeting. Five Conservatives voted against a motion on Monday condemning American tariffs that was supported by both the NDP government and the bulk in the Opposition ranks, including Rustad.
- There’s a new twist in the allegations of voting irregularities at a care facility in B.C.’s Surrey-Guildford riding, which was among the most hotly contested in last year’s provincial election. As the B.C. Conservatives continue sounding the alarm about ballots cast at Argyll Lodge – a group home for people with mental health and substance use issues – an employee has sworn an affidavit challenging some of the party’s concerns. In the affidavit, Hla Kathy Oo identifies herself as the Argyll employee who arranged to have mail-in ballots provided to residents, which she said was done at their request. She also indicated she cast her own ballot for Honveer Randhawa, the Conservative candidate who lost the riding by just 22 votes.
Northwest Territories
- N.W.T. MLAs are calling on the territorial government to declare a state of emergency in Norman Wells for humanitarian reasons. Sahtu MLA Danny McNeely brought the motion forward Thursday saying that rising food insecurity and heating costs, along with increasingly unreliable infrastructure for resupply, are making life and business in Norman Wells extremely difficult. The motion calls on the territory to recognize the town’s state of emergency and communicate that to the federal government. It also calls on the government to develop a procedure for responding to any “humanitarian state of emergency” in the territory.
Yukon
- Some Kwanlin Dün First Nation citizens are learning to speak Southern Tutchone for the first time. They are participating in a new Southern Tutchone Language Revitalization Program facilitated by Kwanlin Dün First Nation in partnership with the Yukon Native Language Centre and Simon Fraser University. The program is meant to encourage citizens to speak and share Southern Tutchone with their community. “I’ve always wanted to take language but I thought I was too old for it,” said Ron Thompson, one of the students in the program.
Nunavut
- Some Nunavut MLAs are wondering why a fleet of elder mobility vans, promised four months ago to five communities by the premier, are not yet in use. Premier P.J. Akeeagok said last October that the five vans, meant to help elderly residents get around in their communities, would be going to Iqaluit, Cambridge Bay, Coral Harbour, Pangnirtung and Rankin Inlet, at a cost of about $1 million. On Thursday, Akeeagok, who’s also the minister responsible for seniors, confirmed in the legislature that the vans aren’t operational yet.