Early estimate finds that Canada’s emissions increased in 2025 as clean electrification lagged - 440 Megatonnes

SummaryThe Standing Senate Committee on National Finance (NFFN) requested that PBO estimate the cost of proposed changes to the Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) program. The request includes three components: Doubling the number of jobs created under the Canada Summer Jobs program from 100,000 to 200,000;

SummaryThe Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages requested that the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) provide an updated cost estimate of An Act for the Substantive Equality of Canada’s Official Languages, formerly known as Bill C-13 in the 44th Parliament. PBO previously published a cost estimate on Bill C‑13 in 2022. Following Royal Assent on June 20, 2023, the legislation amended the Official Languages Act (OLA) and established the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act (UFPBA). More recently, draft regulations have been released for the UFPBA and certain provisions of the OLA. The UFPBA will require federally regulated private businesses above a certain size in Quebec and in other regions with a strong francophone presence (RSFPs) to provide the employees with the right to work in French and provide consumers with the right to receive services in French. The Commissioner of Official Languages will be responsible for overseeing compliance and may intervene where a business subject to the UFPBA does not fulfil its obligations.

On Monday, Albertans vote on whether to stay in Canada or hold another binding referendum on quitting Canada. If the vote goes as polls suggest, a majority of Albertans will mark an X to stay in Confederation, and Premier Danielle Smith has said if that’s so, she expects everyone to accept it and move on. Leaders of the independence movement contest that. And political watchers are divided about whether separation — previously a fringe sentiment — will now be a prominent, permanent feature of Alberta’s political landscape, as in Quebec. Julian Castro-Rea, a political-science professor at the University of Alberta who studies the separation debates in Quebec and Alberta, believes as long as Alberta feels alienated from the Canadian capital — feeling that Ottawa benefits from Alberta’s resource economy without giving back — the movement will have fuel. “Even if the referendum is lost, the westernization will still be around, because it’s kind of a way which, traditionally, Albertans have related to the rest of Canada,” says Castro-Rea, who believes western alienation may remain indefinitely. Story continues below advertisement

It’s no secret the long-held Canadian consensus on immigration has fractured — pulled apart by a rapid increase in new arrivals post-pandemic and growing affordability challenges. Now, that fracture is starting to show up at the ballot box. The Parti Québécois won a minority mandate in Quebec on a platform that included promises of tighter immigration controls, which the party linked to protecting French culture and easing pressure on public services and housing. And when Albertans head to the polls Monday to vote on whether to hold a future referendum on separation from Canada, they’ll also be answering five separate questions on immigration being pushed by the government of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. Those questions include:— Should the province should have more say over economic immigration?— Should provincially funded services should be restricted to citizens, permanent residents and those with “Alberta-approved” immigration status? Story continues below advertisement