Provincial and Territorial Update – June 6, 2025
Provincial and Territorial Update: An overview of the Provincial Legislative and Territories Legislative Updates for the week of June 6, 2025. Written by Wes McLean.
New Brunswick
- New Brunswick emergency room patients faced a typical wait of about four and a half hours in 2024-25, according to a new report by an independent public-policy think-tank. That median wait — the length of stay from arrival in the ER to discharge or admission to hospital — increased by nearly half an hour over the previous fiscal year and by nearly an hour over 2020-21, the report by the Montreal Economic Institute, known as MEI, says.
- New Brunswick’s rent cap, introduced after the Liberals won last fall, will remain at three per cent for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, Housing Minister David Hickey announced in the legislature Wednesday. “We’ve seen vacancy rates largely stay the same,” Hickey said when asked by reporters why he came to his decision.
- New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt is hoping to see plenty of movement toward free trade over the next month, but one business group says the province could be doing more. Following meetings with Prime Minister Mark Carney and other premiers in Saskatoon, Holt said she’s optimistic that common ground can be found to allow greater mobility of goods and skilled labour across the country. “New Brunswick’s been sort of at the table pushing the group at the federal, provincial and territorial table to move aggressively on this,” she told reporters Monday night.
- The licensing authority for New Brunswick cosmetologists says it won’t budge on rules that can make it difficult for hairstylists and other beauty-trade technicians elsewhere in Canada to set up shop in the province. The tight restrictions and the fees imposed by the Cosmetology Association of New Brunswick on hairstylists, estheticians and lash technicians are exclusive to the Maritimes, as Whitney Durelle learned.
Nova Scotia
- Ottawa has paid Nova Scotia several million dollars in health transfers that were previously withheld because of people paying out of pocket for private MRIs and ultrasounds. According to the federal government, no one in Canada should pay for medically necessary diagnostic imaging services, and it’s been clawing back money from Nova Scotia and other provinces for allowing it to happen.
- In response to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s bid to make Canada an “energy superpower,” Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston is floating the idea of dramatically ramping up the province’s nascent offshore wind energy industry. In an online video released earlier this week, Houston said he’s hoping Carney’s Liberal government will support a new megaproject the premier has dubbed “Wind West.”
- Nova Scotians have lost trust in the province’s largest electric utility, provincial politicians said Wednesday during a heated committee meeting that raised tough questions about the recent ransomware attack on Nova Scotia Power. The cybersecurity breach gave thieves access to personal and financial data belonging to 280,000 ratepayers — about half of the utility’s customers.
- With the provincial government launching consultation on whether to expand sales points for alcohol in Nova Scotia, interested parties are not waiting for a phone call. Organizations on both sides of the issue have started issuing news releases and open letters to Finance Minister John Lohr, whose department is overseeing the process. Lohr announced last week that Infuse Public Relations and Crestview Strategy will collectively manage the public opinion polling of 1,500 random people and stakeholder engagement with 194 groups. The contract for the work is worth $300,000.
Prince Edward Island
- At a time when large provinces such as Ontario and Alberta are not covering key procedures and therapies, advocates say Prince Edward Island has some of the best access to gender-affirming care in Canada. “On P.E.I., we should actually be really proud,” said Anastasia Preston, the trans community outreach co-ordinator at PEERS Alliance. “On policy, we have the best health care in the country outside of the Yukon. So out of all the provinces, we have the best health care, which I think is a huge boon for P.E.I.”
- David Jenkins says his third-party review of how the Public Schools Branch practices and policies played into the Matthew Craswell case should end in recommendations on how to make Prince Edward Island schools safer for children. But so far, the former chief justice of the P.E.I. Supreme Court told a legislative committee on Thursday, he is still getting settled in after beginning the project on June 2. He has no staff yet and is looking forward to getting a first look at documents he is requesting from the parties involved.
- The University of Prince Edward Island is increasing tuition fees in the face of falling international enrolments, with the hike being more significant than last year’s for both domestic and international students. UPEI’s board of governors approved a $202.9-million operating budget for the 2025–2026 fiscal year on Tuesday, with spending up about 11 per cent compared to the last budget.
- It’s been nearly a full school year since Prince Edward Island introduced restrictions on cellphone use for students, and teachers say they’re seeing positive results. Andy Doran, president of the P.E.I. Teachers’ Federation, said the changes have helped students focus better in class. “They were more engaged. There was better work being done. Students were asking more questions, and [there was] an overall improvement in the engagement of the students,” Doran told CBC’s Island Morning.
Newfoundland and Labrador
- Political opposition in Newfoundland and Labrador says the government is letting child-care operators down by not communicating updates for months, while NDP Leader Jim Dinn says it shows the province doesn’t understand the overall need for care. “I can’t help but think that the main reason for these delays is because they know they don’t have the funding for it, and they’re slowing it down and frustrating the people who are trying to move this forward,” Dinn told CBC News Thursday.
- Newfoundland and Labrador’s Liberal Party has started gearing up for a provincial election. On Wednesday, the party announced two acclaimed candidates and opened nominations for the districts of Conception Bay South and Ferryland — two seats currently held by PC MHAs Paul Dinn and Loyola O’Driscoll. Premier John Hogan was acclaimed for his district of Windsor Lake in St. John’s, and MHA Lucy Stoyles was acclaimed for her district of Mount Pearl North.
- It’s lights out at the Stephenville Dymond International Airport. Newfoundland Power confirmed Tuesday afternoon that work was underway to disconnect electrical service there. An aviation notice, called a NOTAM, was released at 4:07 p.m. NT saying the airport was closed. It will be in effect until June 9, at least. Last week, Newfoundland Power told CBC News it issued a seven-day notice to pull the plug due to what it called “outstanding account issues.” The airport has struggled financially for decades.
- Public confidence in police accountability is down, especially among Indigenous people in Newfoundland and Labrador. That’s one of the takeaways from a new survey on policing services in the province, released last month by the Police Transformation Working Group. According to the report, Indigenous respondents said they weren’t confident police would properly respond to and investigate reports of crime.
Quebec
- Quebec Premier François Legault says the economy is his top priority as the provincial legislature rises for the summer. Legault says he wants to see new projects launched across Quebec in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump’s economic threats, including in the mining sector. Legault’s government has been trailing in the polls for months behind the sovereigntist Parti Québécois. The premier’s Coalition Avenir Québec also struggled during this legislative session to change the channel on an embarrassing scandal involving cost overruns at Quebec’s auto insurance board.
- Quebec Premier François Legault says he will ask the federal government to help finance the transmission lines for hydroelectricity projects connecting his province and Newfoundland and Labrador. Carney has promised that his government will work with the provinces to fast-track projects of national interest. The premiers of Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador signed a new draft agreement between their provinces’ utility companies in December.
- U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest move on trade tariffs, penalizing the Canadian and Quebec economies, defies all logic, Premier François Legault said Wednesday. “Of course we are disappointed,” Legault said, sounding exasperated with Trump’s flip-flops and policy changes. “Putting 50-per-cent tariffs on aluminum and steel is completely illogical, particularly for aluminum.”
- At Quebec’s National Assembly and on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, pipelines have dominated the debates. The only issue? No projects involving the province are on the agenda. “I think there is a fixation on pipelines on (Prime Minister Mark) Carney’s part at the moment, not on the part of Quebecers,” said Bloc Québécois MP and former Greenpeace activist Patrick Bonin. Since taking office in May, Bonin has mentioned the pipeline issue more than 20 times in his speeches on the floor of the House of Commons. “We will not allow the government to build a pipeline through Quebec,” he said on Monday.
Ontario
- Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s government has given itself the power to suspend provincial and municipal laws for chosen projects in areas it deems to have economic importance. On Wednesday afternoon, the province passed Bill 5, the so-called Protect Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act, which has sparked a firestorm of anger among First Nations. The province has said the bill is needed to speed up large projects, particularly mines, in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war.
- Ontario Premier Doug Ford is urging Canada’s prime minister to retaliate against the United States after it doubled tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. But Prime Minister Mark Carney is holding off, arguing he’s close to striking a new trade deal with President Donald Trump. Ford and Carney aired their clashing approaches on Wednesday, as the Ontario premier accused the PM of being bullied by the U.S.
- Premier Doug Ford is doubling down on his vision to build a tunnel underneath Highway 401, telling reporters that “just because it hasn’t been done, doesn’t mean it can’t be done.” Ford made the comment during an unrelated news conference on Friday when asked to make his pitch on why the tunnel should be included on a list of new “nation-building” projects that Prime Minister Mark Carney hopes to fast-track with legislation tabled in the House of Commons earlier in the day.
- Ontario intends to designate the mineral-rich Ring of Fire as a so-called special economic zone “as quickly as possible,” Premier Doug Ford said Thursday. Ford said he and several ministers will consult all summer with First Nations about the new law that allows the Ontario government to suspend provincial and municipal rules before making the designation. “We need to start moving on that,” Ford said of the designation for the Ring of Fire.
Manitoba
- People in a town in northwestern Manitoba are being forced out of their homes after a wildfire put the community under a mandatory evacuation order on Friday. The Town of Snow Lake declared a local state of emergency on Tuesday and implemented a voluntary evacuation, giving people a chance to leave before further restrictions kicked in. Some residents have left since, but all those who remain in the town must now be out before noon Saturday, Snow Lake said in a social media post Friday. The wildfire threatening Snow Lake was still kilometres away from the town earlier this week, but west and northwest winds were pushing the blaze toward Snow Lake, choking the air with heavy smoke, the town’s mayor told CBC News on Wednesday.
- Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew says oil could be among the commodities shipped through Hudson Bay if Canada proceeds with a new or expanded port along the province’s coastline. Kinew has asked Prime Minister Mark Carney to support a northern trade corridor that would involve a new all-season road, a hydro-electric transmission line to Nunavut and potentially a pipeline to Hudson Bay.
- Manitoba Public Insurance is cutting its losses and killing Project Nova, the IT overhaul project that has bled money since it was first launched in 2019, and the province has requested an audit of “the decisions and management” around it. “It is clear that Nova has experienced significant missteps, and I would be even so bold to say failures,” MPI president and CEO Satvir Jatana said at a Thursday news conference.
- The Manitoba government has launched a campaign to attract health-care workers from U.S. border states as the province continues to face medical staffing shortages and political tensions have some American medical professionals looking north. The government said in a Wednesday news release it is actively courting health-care workers from North Dakota, South Dakota, Michigan and Minnesota. Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said the campaign — digital ads that will cost $50,000 over eight weeks — could broaden to other states, if needed.
Saskatchewan
- Strong winds pushing a wildfire toward the industrial park and Eagle Point areas, just northeast of the town of La Ronge, triggered an alert for the region on Friday morning. The community is already subject to an evacuation order, but any people who haven’t left those particular areas were told to get to a safe place. Tammy Cook-Searson, chief of the Lac La Ronge Band, said the situation is serious and unpredictable.
- Wildfires continue to rage out of control in northern Saskatchewan, and have now burned almost 1,000,000 hectares of the province’s forest so far this year and forced thousands of people from their homes. “Based on the estimates right now, we’re looking at over 900,000 hectares in the province so far this year,” Steve Roberts, vice-president of operations with the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA), said in an update Thursday when asked how much forest had burned this year so far. For context, the entire province of Prince Edward Island is about 568,000 hectares.
- The latest report from Saskatchewan’s provincial auditor outlines concerns around the growing opioid crisis, transitional housing for victims of interpersonal violence and oversight of school divisions. Tara Clemett spoke about her findings at a news conference Tuesday. Clemett pointed to the rise in drug toxicity deaths across the province due to the prevalent use of substances like fentanyl. She said people trying to get into outpatient treatment programs, including Opioid Agonist Therapy (OAT) and Rapid Access to Addictions Medicine (RAAM) — directly operated by the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) — are having to wait.
- The commander for the RCMP in Saskatchewan says she’s lost her job because of anonymous complaints. Rhonda Blackmore sent an email addressed to the staff of F Division, which polices Saskatchewan, on Tuesday morning. The email was then posted online. CBC has confirmed its authenticity. “It is with great disappointment I am writing today to advise you that as of this morning, Tuesday, June 3rd, I have been removed as the Commanding Officer ‘F’ Division. The decision was made by the Senior Executive at National Headquarters,” the email said.
Alberta
- Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said on Wednesday that there’s been a “breakthrough” in conversations with Americans on Canada’s role in the United States’ quest for energy dominance as President Donald Trump’s tariffs continue to cause uncertainty in the bilateral relationship. “We’ve managed to make a breakthrough on the discussion about energy dominance and how Canada can lend itself to that, whether its our oil, our gas, critical minerals, uranium from Saskatchewan, electricity from many of our provinces,” Smith said in an interview with The Canadian Press at the embassy in Washington, D.C.
- Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she is “encouraged” by the federal government’s change of tone when discussing energy following Monday’s meeting with fellow premiers and Prime Minister Mark Carney. Carney and Canada’s 13 premiers gathered in Saskatoon on Monday to discuss the federal government’s commitment to fast-tracking “nation-building” projects and breaking down internal trade barriers. He said there is “real potential” for an “oil pipeline to get to tidewater.”
- Alberta’s government has ditched a new fee schedule for breweries, which would have seen the province’s oldest beer maker pay significantly more in taxes. The schedule, introduced in February after Alberta tabled its budget, substantially lowered the production threshold breweries needed to meet before they paid the highest fee to the government, while also adjusting the production limits and fees building up to the cap. Before the change, breweries were able to produce 400,000 hectolitres — or 40 million litres — before they paid $1.25 per litre, which is the cap. The schedule in February lowered that threshold to 18 million litres.
- Alberta’s government says it is prioritizing emergency services, cancer care, and organ and tissue donation and transplantation in the province’s refocused health care system. According to provincial officials, three specialized areas of care – cancer care, organ and tissue services, and emergency health services – are now under the purview of Acute Care Alberta through the creation of three new provincial health corporations. The government says these corporations became legal entities on June 1 and will be fully operational later this year.
British Columbia
- B.C. Premier David Eby, who is on a 10-day trade mission to East Asia, said that Japanese conglomerates have expressed interest in the province’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) and critical mineral exports amid an uncertain global trade market. U.S. President Donald Trump’s increasingly protectionist stance and tariff threats have led the province to look at diversifying its trade relationships, given how much it historically relied on the U.S. as a trade partner.
- B.C. Premier David Eby says he won’t be throwing his support behind a new oil pipeline through the province, dismissing Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s suggestion that Eby would change his mind. Eby says in response to Ford’s remarks on Monday that the publicly-owned TMX pipeline is already running through B.C., and the province doesn’t support lifting the ban on oil tankers off British Columbia’s northern coast.
- An analyst is warning that John Rustad’s leadership of the B.C. Conservatives could be under threat after three members of his caucus decided to serve as independents after a division within the party over residential schools. The party is scheduled to hold a leadership review this fall, and some are already wondering openly whether he is the person to lead them to the promised land of government in four years time.
- Conservative Party of B.C. leader John Rustad says the time has come for the BCNDP and Premier David Eby to take responsibility for the growing number of homeless encampments sprouting up across the province, including the controversial encampment located near Fairview Road and the Penticton Channel Parkway. In an exclusive interview with The Herald, Rustad said encampments like the one in Penticton, which started with only a handful of homeless residents several months ago, have to be discussed and addressed and ignoring the problem isn’t acceptable.
Northwest Territories
- Yellowknife residents had a chance this week to learn more about a research project that’s looking at how a changing climate could affect the management and remediation of legacy mine projects, like Giant Mine. A drop-in session was hosted on Wednesday by a research group undertaking a three-year project focused on how the mining sector can adapt to climate change. The Climate Ready Mine project is being led by RFS Energy and the University of Guelph and is funded by the federal government with in-kind support from the Giant Mine Oversight Board.
Yukon
- Work on one of the Yukon’s biggest infrastructure projects has been halted over concerns about soil conditions. The Nisutlin Bay Bridge, which crosses Teslin Lake, is a 483-metre replacement for an existing bridge that’s more than 70 years old and nearing the end of its service life. Construction on the $160-million project began in 2021 and was supposed to be finished next year. But on Wednesday, Highways and Public Works Minister Nils Clarke said engineers found “concerns regarding soil conditions on the north side of the new bridge.”
Nunavut
- The government of Nunavut and the Nunavut Teachers’ Association have ratified a new collective agreement with several incremental wage increases until mid-2028. In a news release Thursday, Nunavut’s Department of Education announced the new agreement is effective from July 1 to June 30, 2028. Teachers will receive a nine per cent wage increase when the agreement comes into effect in July, and another three per cent increase in July 2026 and July 2027. Teachers will also become eligible for bonuses for continuous service, like other employees for the territorial government, and enhanced pay for Inuktut language skills.