Provincial and Territorial Update – October 31, 2025
An overview on Provincial and Territorial updates for the week of October 31, 2025. Written by Wes McLean.
New Brunswick
- New Brunswick women and children fleeing domestic violence are staying in emergency shelters longer because they can’t afford a safe place of their own. It’s a reality Renee Charron said she sees daily. Charron is the executive director of Crossroads for Women, the largest transitional housing service for women in the province. “Literally everything is at stake, including their lives,” said Charron. When women in crisis enter transitional housing at Crossroads for Women, it’s meant to be a safe haven for a few weeks until they can find long-term housing, Charron said.
- An increasingly heated labour dispute in Quebec could be good news for New Brunswick’s physician recruitment efforts. The François Legault government has been at odds with doctors over compensation for months, and drew renewed anger this weekend as it passed a bill in the Quebec National Assembly to force a compensation agreement that doctors oppose. As the conflict intensifies, New Brunswick is seeing significantly more interest from Quebec physicians.
- The Holt Liberal government is signalling that it won’t order a comprehensive environmental impact assessment of a controversial natural gas plant being proposed in Tantramar. Environment Minister Gilles LePage told the legislature Wednesday he hasn’t been convinced such a review is necessary. He said the regular process, known as a determination review, will consider all the questions and concerns people have expressed about the 500-megawatt proposed plant.
- New Brunswickers will see an eight-cent surcharge on a litre of gas eliminated on Dec. 1 after the Holt Liberal government repeals legislation that created the charge. It fulfils a key promise on affordability that Premier Susan Holt made during last year’s provincial election campaign. “This will save you money at the pumps,” Holt told a news conference, estimating the average household that fills up once a week will save $150 to $200 a year. The “cost of carbon adjuster” was adopted by the previous Progressive Conservative government.
Nova Scotia
- Nova Scotia’s education minister says a long-awaited update to guidelines on supporting transgender and non-binary students is no longer needed because a new code of conduct fills in the gaps. But a newly formed coalition of advocates disagrees, and is calling on the province to take a stronger position on the topic of gender. “It’s really important that right now our government takes a stand,” said Em Bailey, a spokesperson for the Gender Justice Coalition.
- Progressive Conservative MLAs used their majority on a legislative committee to vote down an opposition motion to recommend that the government not remove, downgrade or alter the protected status of any designated coastal protected area in Nova Scotia. Liberal MLA Iain Rankin made the motion Tuesday during a meeting of the natural resources and economic development committee.
- Less than a week after a surprise cabinet shuffle that saw her on the outside looking in, Lunenburg West MLA Becky Druhan says “a difference of principles” has prompted her to leave the Progressive Conservative caucus to sit as an Independent in the Nova Scotia Legislature. In an interview with CBC News, Druhan denied that her decision was motivated by Premier Tim Houston’s decision to remove her from the justice portfolio or by any type of policy disagreement. “This really wasn’t about that,” she said on Monday. “This is about a difference of principles between my views and those of the leadership.”
- Premier Tim Houston says his government was just trying to act quickly when, in the wake of its 2021 election win, an untendered contract went to a firm that employs people who used to work for him and supported his campaign. AllNovaScotia.com reported this week that the Atlantic branch of Enterprise Canada received an untendered marketing contract for $1.9 million related to the Nova Scotia Loyal program in 2022. The Halifax office of the communications firm opened not long after Houston’s team first formed government and held a launch party that coincided with Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative annual general meeting that year.
Prince Edward Island
- Health P.E.I.’s CEO says while the Island has made “tremendous” gains in bringing in more health-care staff, it’s still not enough — but “momentum” is building to put P.E.I. in a better position. The theme throughout Melanie Fraser’s speech at Health P.E.I.’s annual general meeting was that the provincial health authority is gaining traction across the system, particularly when it comes to recruiting staff. The agency’s budget now exceeds $1 billion and is expected to continue climbing. All provinces, however, are locked in a recruiting battle for the limited number of new health-care graduates in Canada.
- Holland College says it expects a nearly 50 per cent drop in international students compared to last year due to federal immigration changes, leading to millions in lost tuition revenue for the Prince Edward Island post-secondary institution. In a news release Thursday, the college said its 2025 enrolment numbers, presented to the board of governors last week, show the number of international students will fall from a high of 848 in 2024 to 446 this year — a 47 per cent decrease. It projects an additional loss of about 300 international students for the 2026-27 academic year.
- Prince Edward Island has launched a new online platform that residents can use to access government services. MyPEI is available on the provincial government’s website to residents aged 16 and over with a P.E.I. driver’s licence or voluntary ID. A news release from the province says it’s part of an effort to provide more options for residents accessing government services. Right now, the platform offers access to one service, MyHealthPEI.
- Hal Perry will stay on as leader of the Official Opposition when the province’s legislative assembly resumes sitting next week, despite the P.E.I. Liberal Party’s recent leadership change. Robert Mitchell became the leader of the party earlier this month, but he does not have a seat in the legislature. Perry, the MLA for Tignish-Palmer Road, became interim leader of the party in 2023 after Sharon Cameron resigned following the provincial general election that year, in which she failed to win a seat. “Obviously, Hal has done a super job over the last number of sessions inside the rail. He’s got a good ability to hold the government to account. When you look at all of those factors, there’s no reason not to continue that,” Mitchell told CBC News.
Newfoundland and Labrador
- A once heavily redacted resignation letter, now released by Premier Tony Wakeham, shows how accountant Michael Wilson raised concerns over the scope of the work asked of an independent panel tasked with overseeing energy negotiations between electric utilities in Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec. Wilson resigned from the panel — referred to in his letter as the IOP or Independent Oversight Panel — in May, but didn’t speak to the media about the decision until September. His resignation letter wasn’t released in full by the former Liberal government.
- Tony Wakeham, Newfoundland and Labrador’s 16th premier, established his inner circle by rewarding longtime MHAs with postings in a leaner cabinet, down from 17 under the previous Liberal government to 14 under the PCs. Most are familiar faces, including all three of the party’s elected representatives who are women. “I’m very proud that we have three women elected to our caucus and three women who will now represent this province in our cabinet,” Wakeham told reporters on Wednesday morning.
- Wearing a mask will be required — temporarily — in all clinical areas in hospitals and health-care facilities, including long-term care, across Newfoundland and Labrador in a bid to cut down on respiratory infections this flu season, says the provincial health authority. In a statement on Wednesday, Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services announced the mandate is in place effective Monday at 8 a.m. NT. “These precautions are in place to help keep patients, clients, long-term care residents, visitors, staff and physicians safe and to help in the prevention and spread of infection,” the statement reads.
- After weeks of consultation and a three-day vote, members of the Innu Nation fell short of ratifying what would have been a historic settlement with Hydro-Québec. The Tsheuatishiun Agreement would have seen Hydro-Québec pay $87 million to Sheshatshiu and Natuashish over 16 years, along with three per cent of the dividends the Quebec Crown corporation receives from Churchill Falls. But to ratify the deal, at least 50 per cent of eligible residents of both Sheshatshiu and Natuashish had to vote on the settlement, and negotiation committee member Peter Penashue says that count wasn’t met in Sheshatshiu.
Quebec
- Social Services Minister Lionel Carmant is leaving his position in the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government and says he will sit as an Independent. The longtime minister announced the decision, which he called difficult and “heart-wrenching,” alongside Premier François Legault on Thursday morning. Sonia Bélanger, the minister responsible for housing, will replace Carmant as minister responsible for seniors and social services, Legault announced Thursday afternoon. Caroline Proulx, who was previously responsible for seniors, will take on the housing file.
- Quebec’s professional order of physicians is calling for an immediate suspension of a provincial law that ties doctors’ pay to performance targets and threatens punitive damages over actions that affect patient care. In an open letter on Friday, the college says the law will have the opposite effect to what the government intends, adding that it will damage the health-care system and reduce accessibility. The Quebec government says the reforms are necessary to improve access to care, as 1.5 million Quebecers don’t have a family doctor. Passed one week ago, the law has faced strong opposition from the province’s doctor federations, which have denounced the measures aimed at ending their pressure tactics.
- Quebec Liberal Leader Pablo Rodriguez on Saturday pledged to be the premier of all Quebecers if elected next year, accusing Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon of showing a lack of respect for people who don’t believe in his vision of independence. “The first job of a premier is to unite their people, never divide them,” Rodriguez said in a passionate 35-minute campaign-style speech to 600 Liberals gathered at a party general council.
- The Quebec Liberal Party is considering suing PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon for claiming that Liberal governments were corrupt. Liberal MNA Marc Tanguay said Tuesday morning at the Quebec legislature that analyses are currently underway at the highest levels of the Liberal Party. According to Tanguay, his PQ opponent’s comments are defamatory, while his colleague, House Leader Michelle Setlakwe, added that they are unacceptable and unworthy. Tanguay added that St-Pierre Plamondon is demonstrating that he is not fit to be the premier of Quebec. The PQ leader stands by his comments.
Ontario
- Speed cameras are set to be removed across Ontario in two weeks, after Premier Doug Ford’s government passed legislation Thursday to ban them, though it’s unclear when the premier’s much-touted alternative traffic calming measures will replace them. Ford has said speed cameras don’t work to slow drivers down — though evidence collected by municipalities and Hospital for Sick Children researchers says otherwise — and believes measures such as speed bumps, roundabouts, and signs with flashing lights are more effective. However, Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria could not say when those measures would replace speed cameras.
- Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on the U.S. ambassador to Canada to apologize to the province’s trade representative, saying Pete Hoekstra’s behaviour was “absolutely unacceptable,” but added he felt he got “heated.” “Ford was referring to a report in the Globe and Mail that Hoekstra went on what was called an expletive-filled dressing-down against Ontario’s trade representative, David Paterson, at the annual Canadian American Business Council gala on Monday over a commercial Ford’s government released last week.
- Ontario’s rush to develop mines took two steps forward on Wednesday, while impacted First Nations warn they intend to assert their role as rights holders. A new infrastructure deal that includes a supply road in the Ring of Fire mineral deposit, and the first enactment of the province’s controversial Bill 5 legislation drew stern responses from First Nations leaders whose communities and territories stand to be impacted. In the morning, Premier Doug Ford and Indigenous minister Greg Rickford signed a $39.5-million agreement with Webequie First Nation, which includes $1.5-million for mental health supports, a new arena, training and meeting space.
- Renters, cyclists and environmentalists are expressing frustration with the Ontario government’s latest omnibus bill, legislation to speed up new home construction that also introduces potential changes to residential tenancy rules, bike lanes and municipal planning. Last week, Premier Doug Ford’s government introduced Bill 60, dubbed the Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act. The legislation is another series of proposed changes aimed at making conditions more favourable for builders in the province to address the housing crisis. But it amends 16 different laws, and NDP Leader Marit Stiles accused the government of “flooding the zone” to suppress pushback against the bill.
Manitoba
- The woman appointed to help steer the Manitoba government’s homelessness strategy is leaving the position after 10 months on the job. Tessa Blaikie Whitecloud said Thursday she’s accepted a position as president and CEO of the Collaborative Housing Alliance Real Estate Investment Trust. Blaikie Whitecloud, the former CEO of Siloam Mission, was hand-picked to become the premier’s senior adviser in the NDP government’s plan to end chronic homelessness within seven years in January.
- More work needs to be done to ensure all Manitoba children have a fair chance to learn how to read, a new report says. The Manitoba Human Rights Commission says students with disabilities particularly experience barriers preventing them from accessing a “basic and essential human right.” In a 137-page report released Thursday, the commission said that while the province has recently taken steps to improve literacy, including upcoming changes to the English language arts curriculum and a directive to implement universal early screening, there is room for improvement.
- The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says avian influenza has been found in five commercial poultry flocks in Manitoba, the first cases detected since early May. The farms are now undergoing culls of their birds. The CFIA didn’t say how many are impacted or specify the type of poultry infected. Chickens are the most common type raised, but poultry also includes turkeys, geese and ducks. Avian influenza (also known as bird flu) is highly pathogenic in birds and can cause severe illness and death. It circulates naturally in wild birds and waterfowl, and is spread by migratory birds, the CFIA said.
- Two Dakota First Nations in southern Manitoba are suing Manitoba Hydro, the province and the federal government, alleging the three have reaped billions of dollars in profit through hydro operations and other economic activities on parts of the First Nations’ ancestral land that was never surrendered to the Crown. In a lawsuit filed at the Manitoba Court of King’s Bench last week, Canupawakpa Dakota Nation and Dakota Tipi First Nation said they are direct descendants of the Oceti S’Akowin Nation, sometimes referred to as the Sioux — the original inhabitants of large swaths of land across southern Manitoba, reaching into parts of Saskatchewan and Ontario, the lawsuit says.
Saskatchewan
- The head of the Saskatchewan Health Authority says he agrees with the provincial government’s decision to scrap faulty scheduling software and revert to an old system. “Taking a step back on scheduling and finding a solution that works for our teams across the province is the right thing to do,” Andrew Will, the SHA’s CEO, said on Thursday. Will apologized to employees for the rocky rollout of the Administrative Information Management System (AIMS) scheduling software. On Wednesday, the province directed the SHA to halt implementation of the new scheduling software and revert to the old system it was meant to replace.
- The Saskatchewan Health Authority is changing how it updates residents about emergency room closures in the province. Beginning next week, the health authority is expected to begin posting daily updates of all reported disruptions to emergency services in Saskatchewan, improving on the current system that only provides updates on service disruptions that have been ongoing for a week or longer.
- Saskatchewan will have a “very important role” as Canadian yellow pea producers now grapple with tariffs in both of their major export markets, according to the province’s minister of trade and export. India will apply a new 30 per cent tariff on all imported yellow peas, beginning Nov. 1, The Canadian Press reported Thursday. That comes after China imposed a 100 per cent tariff on Canadian yellow peas, along with several other products, in March. Saskatchewan Trade Minister Warren Kaeding says the province’s trade office “is the highest-level office right now that is currently operating in India.”
- The Opposition NDP’s effort to establish an independent public inquiry into the government’s response to a wildfire that ravaged a northern Saskatchewan village this summer has been blocked. The motion put forward by Saskatchewan NDP MLA Jordan McPhail was defeated by the provincial government when it was introduced on Tuesday. McPhail has led the NDP’s push for answers about the wildfire that swept through Denare Beach, Sask., in June. More than 200 residences were destroyed as a result of the fire. The provincial government is instead highlighting the independent review of the 2025 wildfire season that it announced earlier this week.
Alberta
- The same day Alberta’s government invoked the notwithstanding clause to bring teachers back to work, Premier Danielle Smith boarded a plane. The premier was absent when her government tabled Bill 2, the Back to School Act, at the Alberta legislature on Monday afternoon. According to a media release sent out just after 3:30 p.m., Smith was heading to the Middle East for a work trip. She’s scheduled to be in Saudi Arabia, then the United Arab Emirates (UAE), until Nov. 5 for energy and technology investment discussions.
- Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is calling on the federal government to invoke the Charter’s notwithstanding clause to overturn a Supreme Court ruling on child pornography. The top court has ruled that one-year mandatory minimum sentences for accessing or possessing child pornography are unconstitutional. Smith says the minimum sentence is already too lenient for such a heinous crime and called on Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government to immediately invoke the clause. The rarely used stipulation gives governments the authority to override constitutional rights for up to five years on the grounds of balancing the roles of legislators and the courts.
- A new report card on the provincial government of Premier Danielle Smith suggests the government faces mounting reputational challenges in the wake of the first-ever provincewide teachers’ strike. The government’s education approval rating has slipped to just under one-quarter. At 24 per cent, it’s the lowest it’s been in the six polls taken since 2023. In the other polls, it’s hovered around the 30s. The Leger poll was taken Oct. 10-12, in the week following the start of the Oct. 6 teachers’ strike. The company gave them a margin of error no greater than ±3.0 per cent, 19 times out of 20, for the total Alberta sample.
- The Alberta government aims to make private colleges more transparent and accountable for students enrolled in a wide range of career-based programs, from cyber security to massage therapy. Bill 3, the Private Vocational Training Amendment Act, aims to strengthen the quality of training and programming at private post-secondary institutions and protect students against misleading financial information, the province said. Myles McDougall, Alberta’s minister of advanced education, announced the plan in a news conference on Monday.
British Columbia
- B.C. Premier David Eby did not rule out calling an early election if his government cannot pass the bill to support the North Coast Transmission Line. Bill 31, introduced last week, would fast-track construction of a multi-billion-dollar power transmission line that would double the amount of electricity that flows from Prince George to Terrace. “This is non-negotiable for us. This bill must pass,” Eby said. “I would stake our government on it. The last thing I want is an election but we’ll be prepared if it’s necessary.”
- B.C. Green Party MLA Rob Botterell says in a province where a third of residents are renters, it’s time to remove the ability for landlords to raise rent prices after evicting tenants. He introduced a private member’s bill this week, which he says will address this challenge through instituting vacancy control — a policy that would limit rent increases by tying them to a unit, not an individual tenancy. “We know that B.C. is the eviction capital of Canada, and we also know that 85 per cent of those evictions do not involve any fault on behalf of the tenant,” said Botterell, who represents Saanich North and the Islands.
- The daughter of a B.C. Conservative MLA is sharing her experience, years after someone shared an intimate image of her without her consent. Amelia Van Popta’s story was central to a change in B.C. law that gives other victims more time to seek justice in similar situations. Amelia was 15 years old when she shared an intimate photo with a boy she knew. Months later, she found out it had been shared widely. “An intimate photo that was never going to see the light of day was shared across three schools in my district,” said Amelia, who is now 20.
- Elections B.C. says British Columbia should extend the campaign period for fixed-date elections and byelections by having “writ day” and the close of nominations occur on Wednesdays instead of Saturdays. It’s among six “priority recommendations” in the election agency’s final report on the 2024 provincial election, released Thursday. The report also includes a series of “public policy considerations,” including possible minimum age limits for political donors after Elections B.C. saw cases of “very young children” making contributions. “This raises concerns about whether they are truly able to donate,” the report said. “It also raises the possibility that others — like family members — might be using these children’s names to get around contribution limits, breaking the rules.”
Northwest Territories
- A minister with the N.W.T. government says negative stories in the media around two recent wildfire evacuations did not reflect what he saw on the scene. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs Vince McKay spoke on Monday during a public briefing to the Accountability and Oversight Standing Committee on the government’s response to the 2023 after-action review. That review details a number of shortcomings with the government’s handling of the evacuation that year and lists a number of ways it could improve.
Yukon
- The Yukon’s top elections official says the majority of donations to political parties have been from people living and working in the Yukon. “There is no evidence of any large donations by big corporations or corporations from outside of Canada or outside of the Yukon that have raised red flags,” said Maxwell Harvey, the territory’s chief electoral officer. “The vast majority of contributions made to political parties and candidates here are made from the Yukon, by Yukoners.”
Nunavut
- A power outage on election night is just one example of how infrastructure in the territory needs to be improved, says one incoming Nunavut MLA. On Oct. 27, the night of the Nunavut election, residents of Rankin Inlet experienced a rotating power outage while the Quilliq Energy Corporation worked through generator issues. Annie Tattuinee, MLA-elect for Rankin Inlet South, wants to help expand her community, to bring in more housing and more facilities. But first, she says they need proper infrastructure — like power and water — to support that growth.