Last year, Canada pledged to spend roughly 24 billion Canadian dollars ($18 billion) in infrastructure by 2020 in an effort to spur growth. It also introduced tax breaks targeted at middle-income earners and households with children
.. Deficits will remain a mainstay in Canadian public finances for the foreseeable future. Ottawa projects a deficit of C$28.5 billion next year, or 1.4% of Canada’s gross domestic product, and remain in the C$20 billion range for each year through 2022. The debt-to-GDP ratio is expected to stay slightly above 31% over the next four years.
.. the government is also benefiting from stabilizing oil prices, which is lifting fortunes in the resource-rich region of western Canada.
.. suggest Canada’s economy has moved into a higher gear, following two years of lackluster growth because of the swift fall in commodity prices.
.. The government projects growth of 1.9% this year and 2% in 2018, which is below the Bank of Canada consensus.
.. Three quarters of Canada’s exports—or the equivalent of 20% of Canadian output — go to the U.S.
Canadian Factory Sales Post Surprise Increase
Petroleum and coal, and chemical industries led gains for January
Canadian factory sales unexpectedly increased in January, as roughly three-quarters of Canada’s manufacturing sector posted gains in the month, led by the petroleum and coal, and chemical industries.
Hamilton church volunteers denied entry to U.S. so they wouldn’t ‘steal American jobs’
“In general, mission teams do team-building, tour mercy ministries of the church (food pantries, re-entry programs, thrift shops, etc) and assist with neighbourhood cleanup projects,” said the second letter.
It was this last part that was interpreted as “work for hire,” says Hoeksema. Officers denied them entry after they had been stopped for more than two hours.
.. On this occasion, however, the group was told that, as foreigners, they would be taking American jobs, and that there was no pressing need for relief work anyway this long after Hurricane Sandy hit the region in 2012.
“Hurricane Sandy happened five years ago … but the unfortunate thing for people who live in poverty is that they don’t get over these things as quickly as others,” he explained.
“They obviously can’t afford to remove the barriers that are in front of them on their own, so they rely on volunteers coming. And that’s all we were trying to do, go help others.”
Kaper-Dale agreed, saying it takes an average of seven years to get an impoverished family back on its feet.
.. “If you can’t get a church van with 12 white folks through [the border], how much worse is it for any person of colour, any person born somewhere else, any person whose name sounds foreign to an [Immigration, Customs and Enforcement] officer, or any refugee?”
Why are Conservatives drawn to Kevin O’Leary?
There are so many good reasons for Conservatives to laugh off the prospect of Kevin O’Leary as their leader.
He does not appear to be terribly conservative, other than on some fiscal matters. His knowledge of how this country’s government works appears rudimentary at best. He has been the only candidate to duck debates in which he might have to attempt both official languages. His commitment to their party is so minimal, he has not bothered to move back to Canada full-time while running for its leadership, and not committed to seek a seat in Parliament if he wins.
.. If anything, he seems the sort of candidate – from outside the party’s mainstream culture, contemptuous of other politicians and liable to quarrel with caucus – to which a party might turn if it’s fallen on such hard times that it’s ready to blow things up. But the Conservatives have lost one election, not in terribly devastating fashion, after holding power nearly a decade.
.. They think he’ll beat (or at least beat up) Justin Trudeau
The most common explanation for Mr. O’Leary’s appeal revolves around antipathy toward the current Prime Minister so great among some Conservatives that it outweighs any policy-related priorities for their own party.
.. Loud and brash, he’s fashioned himself a tough guy spoiling for a fight with a rival he portrays – and many Conservatives see – as soft and ineffectual.
.. To some Conservatives, there has been too much politeness toward Mr. Trudeau from their side of the aisle – and Mr. O’Leary’s caricaturing of the PM as an air-headed “surfer dude” who serves as a front for his nefarious best friend Gerald Butts suggests he’d at least kick Mr. Trudeau in the teeth the way they’d like to do themselves.
.. Canadians used to buy tickets to see Mr. O’Leary, famous for judging business pitches on the reality shows Dragons’ Den and Shark Tank, work the speaking circuit.
.. Even more helpful is a social-media following, including more than 600,000 Twitter users, that allowed him to enter the race with an usually large list of targets.
.. a rival campaign organizer pointed to Mr. O’Leary portraying himself as the sort of success story – a self-made, risk-taking millionaire – that plays especially well with fiscal conservatives.
.. And again, comparisons with Mr. Trudeau enter play, with some Conservatives believing the best way to counter a celebrity Prime Minister is with a celebrity of their own – and with his campaign casting him as someone able to break through with millennials the way other Tories can’t.
.. He’s able to cut through the drone
In a leadership campaign with an unprecedented number of candidates, standing out from the pack is a bigger challenge than usual.
.. Even without opening his mouth, he’s so different in image and experience as to be easily distinguishable. And when he does talk, Mr. O’Leary’s television skills – his confident, concise, catchphrase-heavy manner of presenting himself – pierces the noise.