Provincial and Territorial Update – November 16, 2025
An overview on Provincial and Territorial updates for the week of November 16, 2025. Written by Wes McLean.
New Brunswick
- The Sisson Mine project in rural New Brunswick looks poised to become a reality after Prime Minister Mark Carney named it as one of the country’s major projects on Thursday. University of New Brunswick earth sciences professor David Lentz called the project “long overdue” in an interview with CBC Radio’s Shift – NB. He said the mine’s location includes one of the largest tungsten and molybdenum deposits in the free world.
- The Holt Liberal government is sinking further into red ink this year, projecting an $834.7 million deficit that the finance minister acknowledges could go even higher. Revised projections for corporate and personal income tax revenue, and higher than projected spending in health care and social programs, led to the new calculation. In August, the projection was $668.7 million, which was itself worse than what Finance Minister René Legacy forecast in his first budget last March.
- Canada’s top court spent Thursday grappling with whether the Constitution requires New Brunswick’s lieutenant-governor to be bilingual — and what will happen if the answer turns out to be yes. Lawyers for the Acadian Society of New Brunswick argued that the position is subject to language-equality provisions of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and that the 2019 appointment of Brenda Murphy violated those guarantees. “The lieutenant-governor personifies the state,” lawyer Gabriel Poliquin told the nine justices of the Supreme Court of Canada.
- Housing Minister David Hickey says consultation could have been better when the province settled on a Fredericton housing site for homeless people and provoked a heated public meeting this week. The province recently announced plans for a 24-unit development of tiny homes for Forest Hill Road in the style of 12 Neighbours, another community of tiny homes in Fredericton. At a stormy meeting on Wednesday, many residents from the neighbourhood said the consultation was poor, and they lamented the fact that the province decided on the site before seeking public input.
Nova Scotia
- A new study paid for by the Nova Scotia government suggests electric trains could soon be running between Sydney River and Cape Breton University. CBU conducted the Cape Breton Regional Municipality Light Rail Transit Study, which found the first phase could be completed in three years at a cost of $143 million, if three levels of government provide the funding. Project manager Kent MacIntyre said most of the rail line already exists, left over from the community’s industrial coal mining and steel making history dating back to the last century.
- In the face of a projected record deficit, Finance Minister John Lohr has asked provincial government officials to look at the potential impacts of a 10 per cent cut to discretionary spending and program grants. Lohr confirmed the directive to deputy ministers during an interview on Friday. Although Lohr said there are signs of positive GDP growth for the province, the minister said government officials “remain very concerned” about the projected deficit of $1.2 billion.
- Premier Tim Houston says a change in the dynamic between federal government officials for Canada and China has opened the door to Nova Scotia representatives beginning to resume closer ties with the province’s second-largest trading partner. The province’s fisheries minister, Kent Smith, recently concluded a 10-day trade mission to China, where he attended the China Fisheries and Seafood Expo in Qingdao and the Canada-China Business Council annual meeting, among other events.
- The head of Nova Scotia Power says he thinks the utility has a strong case for increased rates for each of the next two years despite criticism about affordability. Peter Gregg, the utility’s CEO, made the comments in response to questions from financial analysts during a recent teleconference about Emera, Nova Scotia Power’s parent company. The highly criticized proposal includes a rate hike for residential customers of about 4.1 per cent for the next two years.
Prince Edward Island
- Although they’re mentioned in the federal budget, there’s currently no cost or timeline to replace two of P.E.I.’s aging undersea electricity transmission cables — but the premier says it’s a high priority. There are currently four subsea cables connecting the Island’s electric grid to the mainland. Two run from Cape Tormentine, N.B., to Borden-Carleton. Those were replaced in 2017 at a cost of more than $142 million. Two more cables run from Murray Corner, N.B., to Richmond Cove, P.E.I. They were installed in the late 1970s, and their lifespan is pretty much up.
- Maritime Electric customers on Prince Edward Island won’t have to worry about a rate hike in much of 2026 — at least not for now. The utility has not submitted an application to the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission for a general rate increase in 2026, the regulator confirmed. In an email to CBC News, IRAC said Maritime Electric’s rate applications have generally followed a “fairly regular pattern” in recent years, with filings often submitted in the summer months and new rates — when approved — typically taking effect by March of the following year.
- P.E.I.’s health minister confirmed the Provincial Addictions Treatment Facility in Mount Herbert will close when the government opens its new mental health and addictions campus in Charlottetown — sparking concerns among opposition MLAs about a lack of detox beds in the province. The Mount Herbert facility, just outside of Stratford, offers day programs for people with addictions and inpatient detox services, which will be transferred over to the new campus — located near the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown — once construction is complete. That’s now expected to be sometime in 2027.
- From this point on, all reports and investigations into P.E.I. land holdings will be made public. That’s after a private member’s bill brought forward by Green Party Leader Matt MacFarlane passed second reading unanimously in the P.E.I. Legislature on Wednesday. The amendment to the province’s Lands Protection Act will make all documents and reports related to Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission (IRAC) land investigations available to the public, including those that are currently underway.
Newfoundland and Labrador
- Former Newfoundland and Labrador premier Andrew Furey has waived cabinet confidence for a report Premier Tony Wakeham says will aid an independent review into the Churchill Falls memorandum of understanding. Wakeham wrote an open letter to Furey on Thursday requesting access to the final report of the 2041 Churchill River management expert panel. The panel was formed in 2022 as a recommendation by the Muskrat Falls commission of inquiry to help prepare the provincial government for when its contract with Hydro-Québec expires. The deal was set to expire in 2041, but a new agreement was proposed in December of 2024.
- A provincial Supreme Court justice has granted a Liberal Party request for a recount in the district of Topsail-Paradise — but rejected the party’s request in two other districts. The party had requested three recounts — in the districts of Topsail-Paradise, Placentia West-Bellevue, and Lewisporte-Twillingate. Dan Bobbett, Brian Keating and Derek Bennett were the Liberal candidates in each respective district. Bobbett lost his race to PC incumbent Paul Dinn, who held his seat in Topsail-Paradise with a 102-vote lead.
- The latest stock assessment of cod in Zone 3PS shows a stalled recovery effort and a stock still deep in the critical zone. Laura Kneeland, a stock assessment biologist with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, said researchers estimate there is about 27,000 metric tonnes of spawning stock biomass in the zone — far from the 66,000 tonnes needed to elevate the stock out of the critical zone. The size, growth and location of cod also differ for the worse when it comes to the stock, she told CBC News.
- In the wake of this summer’s devastating wildfires, protesters are calling for the province to take climate change seriously, with more definitive action. A vocal group of about 20 protesters chanted “Tony, wake up! Wake up, Tony!” on the steps of Confederation Building in St. John’s on Friday. Fridays for Future St. John’s is part of a global youth-led climate action movement. Their main demand for the newly elected Premier Tony Wakeham is for the government to declare a state of climate emergency in the province and take preventative measures against likely climate disasters to come.
Quebec
- Quebec Premier François Legault’s popularity has fallen to its lowest level yet, but the premier says he has no plans to step down. A new Léger poll finds that 71 per cent of Quebecers are dissatisfied with Legault’s performance, while 61 per cent believe he should resign. “What’s especially striking is the proportion of people who are either very dissatisfied or very satisfied — and now we have a ratio of 44 to one,” said Sébastien Dallaire, vice-president at Léger.
- Premier François Legault showed little openness to raising immigration levels, which the business community is demanding, on the sidelines of a speech on Monday about his economic strategy. “Companies want to have as many workers available as possible so they can pay the lowest wages, but we have to be careful,” Legault replied in a press scrum after his presentation at the Beauharnois hydroelectric plant. He reiterated the government’s target of welcoming 45,000 permanent immigrants. He argued that the economic slowdown is preventing a faster increase in the labour pool.
- The Quebec Liberals wasted no time in denouncing the Parti Québécois’ proposal to give an independent Quebec its own currency as the sovereigntist party wrapped up a weekend meeting. PQ Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon told reporters Saturday that an independent Quebec would have its own currency, a transition from the Canadian dollar that could take up to 10 years. Liberal Frédéric Beauchemin urged the PQ to stop “talking nonsense,” noting that separating from Canada would cut Quebec out of its current economic agreements and create economic instability.
- In the face of mounting pressure, the Quebec government is again trying to get groups representing doctors to get on board with the province’s health reforms — and says it’s open to negotiations. Health Minister Christian Dubé said Thursday that a controversial aspect of Bill 2 will not be applied to doctors. The legislation, which imposes a new remuneration system on doctors based on performance indicators, gives the province the power to have inspectors evaluate whether individual doctors are compliant with the new law.
Ontario
- Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s government is earmarking $210 million for municipalities to implement traffic-calming measures as its ban on speed cameras is set to take effect. Ford spent weeks railing against speed cameras, calling them a “cash grab” because of the revenue they generate for municipalities, then his government passed last month a ban on their use as of Friday. The premier has also said speed cameras don’t work to slow drivers down, but evidence collected by municipalities and Hospital for Sick Children researchers found they do.
- NDP MPP Chris Glover says Premier Doug Ford’s government is planning to take over Toronto’s Exhibition Place to build Ontario Place in what he describes as an “unconscionable land grab,” but one minister says that’s not the case. At a news conference on Friday, the representative for Spadina-Fort York said there’s a provision in the province’s fall economic statement, which he said was “buried” in the bill that was released last week, that allows the Progressive Conservative government to add properties to the Ontario Place project.
- Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s chief of staff is warning employees not to have any contact with a company that received about $40-million from the province, after the government referred findings from a forensic audit scrutinizing the business to the Ontario Provincial Police, according to an e-mail obtained by The Globe and Mail. The company, an online counselling platform, received more than $32-million from the Ministry of Colleges and Universities since 2020. It was also awarded $7.5-million in grants approved by Labour Minister David Piccini’s office from the Skills Development Fund.
- Toronto councillors have voted to voice their opposition to Doug Ford’s government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA), saying they threaten to weaken renters’ rights and increase homelessness in the city. Late last month, the Ford government introduced Bill 60, dubbed the Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, another series of proposed changes aimed at making conditions more favourable for builders in the province to address the housing crisis. Mayor Olivia Chow, who introduced the motion on Wednesday to oppose the bill, said the proposed legislation would be harmful to the roughly half of Torontonians who rent housing.
Manitoba
- As the sun rose over the Manitoba Legislature building, a large crowd gathered at Memorial Park in Winnipeg to see the Palestinian flag officially raised in Manitoba for the first time early Saturday morning. Culture and Heritage Minister Nellie Kennedy said the flag-raising — held on the anniversary of the date when the Palestinian Declaration of Independence was proclaimed in 1988 — was “a powerful statement of visibility, of resilience, and of belonging” during the 7:30 a.m. ceremony, which was attended by several provincial and federal politicians.
- Prime Minister Mark Carney laid a wreath at the grave of Louis Riel to mark the 140th anniversary of the Red River Métis leader’s execution at a ceremony in Winnipeg on Sunday morning. It’s believed to be the first time a sitting prime minister has attended the annual commemoration ceremony, said Manitoba Métis Federation Housing Minister Will Goodon. MMF President David Chartrand, the head of the Red River Métis’ national government, said it was “something of great significance” that Carney was there to mourn at the St. Boniface Cathedral Cemetery alongside dignitaries from the MMF, federal, provincial and municipal governments.
- The City of Winnipeg plans to significantly ramp up borrowing and spending on capital projects next year, with hundreds of millions more to fund major infrastructure projects like upgrades to the North End Water Pollution Control Centre and purchases of more buses. The city’s capital budget grew from $677 million in 2025 to $1.19 billion in its draft 2026 budget, released Friday — a 76 per cent increase. Most of that increase is due to the city’s commitment to fund one-third of the estimated $1.5 billion needed to build a nutrient removal facility, the third and final phase of the sewage treatment plant project. The 2026 budget will set aside $547 million for the project, to be financed through debt.
- Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew isn’t ruling out an early election and says he recently contemplated calling an early vote when legislation to detain highly intoxicated people longer looked like it might not pass into law quickly. “I was pretty close on Bill 48 when the [Progressive Conservatives] were playing games,” Kinew told reporters Thursday. “If they mess around with your public safety or your health care, yeah, I could see a scenario where we just go to the people and say, ‘You tell us. Do you guys want politicians to play games? Or do you want us to focus on what matters, which is health care and affordability?”
Saskatchewan
- The Opposition NDP wants the government to step in and save a Regina medical centre from closing down and leaving thousands of patients without a family doctor. The Gardens Community Health Centre opened in 2018, operating as a multi-disciplinary clinic giving patients access to doctors, nurses, pharmacists and therapists seven days a week. The province contributed $4.3 million in its first year and $3 million annually to help fund the clinic, which it said would reduce emergency room visits and “better serve patients with complex medical health issues.”
- Saskatchewan is now publicly reporting when an emergency department in the province has been closed. Every day at 4 p.m. CST, the province’s service disruptions website will publish the current or upcoming (within 24 hours) closures of any emergency room in the province. Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill has said the updates will give residents of the province the information they need the most.
- Residents from a village that spent two years plagued by the presence of a cult are asking for the provincial government’s assistance. Romana Didulo — better known as the “Queen of Canada” to her followers — set up residence in a converted school in the Village of Richmound for nearly two years. The village has a population of approximately 120 people and is located 365 kilometres west of Regina, near the Alberta border. Didulo and her followers disrupted the lives of many Richmound residents including Shauna Sehn, who came to the legislature on Wednesday.
- Saskatchewan’s governing party is hoping to regain support within the province’s two major cities — and its current leader insists he’s owning up to the losses in Saskatoon and Regina. The Saskatchewan Party won a fifth-straight majority in 2024 but was swept out of Regina and held on to only one Saskatoon riding. Premier Scott Moe’s government has 34 seats in the legislature while the Opposition NDP has 27.
Alberta
- Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says that Canada recently losing its measles elimination status is concerning, but her government may not have many other options on the table to help regain it. Smith, at an unrelated news conference in Calgary, said the highly contagious disease is difficult to control, especially since people can travel freely from province to province or from other parts of the world to Alberta. “I think it’s up to everybody to be vigilant in trying to make sure that this disease doesn’t spread,” Smith said Friday.
- Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said on Thursday that an agreement with Ottawa is expected to be signed in the coming days, addressing federal regulations she has repeatedly stated hinder private-sector investment in the energy industry. The Premier said she is also encouraged by the latest batch of projects announced by Prime Minister Mark Carney this week that will be fast-tracked through his government’s newly created Major Projects Office, headed by former Trans Mountain Corp. chief executive Dawn Farrell in Calgary.
- Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says a new plan to add more than 1,000 hospital beds and deliver 50,000 additional surgeries will ease pressure across the health-care system, while critics argue the announcement lacks clear timelines, workforce planning and transparency. Smith made the announcement in Calgary on Friday alongside Hospital and Surgical Health Services Minister Matt Jones, Assisted Living and Social Services Minister Jason Nixon and Mental Health and Addiction Minister Rick Wilson. The government says the plan is intended to improve patient flow, reduce bottlenecks, and connect care across emergency, surgical, inpatient, and community support services.
- Reintroducing coal-powered electricity to Alberta’s grid and restricting which flags are flown on public property are among dozens of new policy proposals being brought forward by grassroots members of Premier Danielle Smith’s United Conservative Party. The pitches, including one to make temporary residents pay for healthcare, were released recently by the party. They are to be debated and voted on at the month’s end at the party’s annual general meeting in Edmonton.
British Columbia
- Abusers are weaponizing B.C.’s housing affordability crisis, say domestic violence survivors who were interviewed by a Vancouver non-profit. Rise Women’s Legal Centre conducted interviews with more than 40 victims of intimate partner violence and, in a new report, it recommends legal reforms to ensure protection orders can be accessed more quickly, and an expansion of legal aid services so victims can exit relationships and find safer housing.
- Despite criticism from the labour movement and the environmental wing of the B.C. NDP, Premier David Eby received a strong endorsement by New Democrats during the party’s convention this weekend in Victoria. Just over 82 per cent of the 743 NDP delegates voted against having a leadership race, effectively accepting the status quo of Eby at the helm. “To everyone in this room — the members who are the beating heart of our movement — thank you,” Eby said in his speech to the delegates before the voting results were announced.
- The Law Society of British Columbia says it has become aware of lawyers receiving extortion threats for “substantial sums of money.” The legal profession regulator sent out a notice to its members that says lawyers have been targeted with threats to their physical safety, and it urges victims to contact the police. Society spokesperson Vinnie Yuen said in a statement that the reports the Law Society received are confidential and it could not reveal the nature or number of threats to lawyers, but “at the moment the issue is not widespread.” The notice was sent to Conservative MLA Steve Kooner, the Opposition attorney general critic, who’s a lawyer and a member of the society.
- British Columbia’s Human Rights Commissioner says the province is worsening the toxic drug crisis by treating substance use as “moral failings” or a criminal problem, calling the approach a violation of people’s rights. Kasari Govender released a position statement Thursday, urging the province to “put politics aside” and respond to the emergency with the urgency it demands. More than 16,000 people have died from toxic drugs since the province declared a public health emergency in 2016.
Northwest Territories
- Suicide rates in the Northwest Territories appear to have stabilized over the past two years, according to a new report from the territory’s chief coroner. But the rate is still much higher than the national average, and is second highest next to Nunavut. For context, the current rate in the N.W.T. translates to about 22 deaths per 100,000 people. The national average is about half that.
Yukon
- Since premier-designate Currie Dixon was elected to become premier in the 2025 general territorial elections, he has announced top leadership appointments to replace a 10-year public servant in two Yukon government departments. Justin Ferbey, who served for a decade in a range of deputy minister roles, including most recently in the Executive Council Office (ECO) and Economic Development department, no longer works with the Yukon government. His “leadership and commitment” are recognized in a Yukon government press release. The release indicates Ferbey has “concluded his tenure” with the Yukon government. Effective immediately, Dixon has appointed Kelvin Leary as ECO’s deputy minister, while Paul Moore will take over as deputy minister of the Department of Economic Development, according to the Yukon government press release issued on Nov. 7.
Nunavut
- Nunavut leaders say it was an exciting day to see a hydro project in Iqaluit on the federal government’s fast-track list. On Thursday, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced seven “nation-building” projects he’s recommending to speed up approval by the government’s Major Projects Office. The Inuit-owned clean energy company, Nunavut Nukkiksautiit Corporation’s (NNC) Iqaluit Nukkiksautiit Project is among those that made the cut. The plan is to build a 15- to 30-megawatt traditional water power plant, and NNC is eyeing a possible site located 60 kilometres northwest of Iqaluit, by the Kuugaluk River (McKeand River South).