Pinky promise

Good morning. Ahead of what could be a wild winter, Canada is prioritizing weather safety. 

Environment and Climate Change Canada has launched a new colour-coded alert system meant to simplify inclement weather warnings. Yellow means moderate, orange means severe, and red means “batten down the hatches, some gnarly stuff is about to go down.”

Today’s reading time is 7 minutes.

Markets: Canada’s main stock index posted modest gains yesterday, but that was still good enough to keep its five-day winning streak going and secure another new record high. Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets were closed for American Thanksgiving.

Facing an oil pipeline conundrum, Ottawa is trying to kill two birds with one stone. Unfortunately, these two particular birds are flying in opposite directions. 

What happened: Alberta and the federal government have signed a memorandum of understanding (kind of like a bureaucratic pinky promise) that includes a pledge for a new oil pipeline to B.C., as well as commitments to reduce Alberta’s carbon footprint.

Why it matters: The structure of this pipeline pact is the first indication of how the Carney government plans to balance its goal of becoming a so-called energy superpower with the climate policies that the Liberals — and Carney himself — have long championed. 

Yes, but: B.C. Premier David Eby and Indigenous groups have staunchly opposed a new pipeline through the province. Eby said greenlighting the project would be like “explaining to a vegetarian that they’ll still be a vegetarian if they eat a few steaks.” 

Bottom line: Alberta and Ottawa will have to cough up some pretty major concessions to get B.C. and Indigenous groups to flip their tune. Maybe B.C. will get Jasper National Park in a trade?—LA  

Massive mining deal clears national security hurdle. Ottawa’s initial security review of Anglo American’s proposed $20-billion takeover of Canadian miner Teck Resources has lapsed without a renewal, a source told the Globe and Mail. This means that, by default, the megadeal has passed. The feds can still block the deal on economic grounds. (Globe and Mail) 

Vancouver proposes “beautification zone” for the World Cup. The city wants to temporarily change some bylaws during the FIFA World Cup next summer to get up to snuff on FIFA’s security and brand protection requirements. This includes designating an area in the downtown peninsula with fierce measures against graffiti and vendors of knock-off merch. (Globe and Mail) 

Quebec continues its secularism push. The provincial government tabled a bill today that aims to, among other things, ban prayer spaces at public institutions and bar workers at subsidized daycares and private schools from wearing religious symbols, such as hijabs or kippas. Critics say the bill, and previous ones like it, unfairly target religious minorities. (CBC News)—QH

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One of Canada’s top purveyors of watery beers (this isn’t a diss, watery beers are actually quite nice sometimes) is accusing an ex-employee of skimming some foam off the top. 

What happened: In a new lawsuit, beer giant Molson Coors Canada accused its former director of sales, Frank Ivankovic, alongside two vendors, of running an embezzlement scheme that siphoned at least $9 million from the company, per the Globe and Mail.

Zoom in: The suit claims that Ivankovic and two other workers he recruited approved fraudulent invoices charged to Molson Coors by the two vendors and pocketed a healthy portion for themselves. 

Why it matters: This suit is another headache for parent company Molson Coors, which has enough problems on tap as it tries to revive its flagging fortunes. The brewer has posted six straight quarters of declining sales and is laying off ~400 workers amid restructuring.—QH

🤝 Meet Vass Bednar. She’s the Managing Director of The Canadian SHIELD Institute, a new think tank focused on securing economic sovereignty. She is also the co-author of The Big Fix: How Companies Capture Markets and Harm Canadians, which was a finalist for the Writer Trust’s Best Policy Book of 2025 Award. 

We sat down with Vass to talk about Canada’s renewed push for economic sovereignty and the one move she’d make if she took the policy reins.

How is the Carney government doing when it comes to strengthening Canada’s sovereignty and responding to the U.S.?

I think that everyone is figuring this out as we go. I’m a little nervous about sovereignty-washing, like with the recent Nokia announcement. 

This moment — as stressful as it is — is a real opportunity for a rethink of the country. Strengthening Canada is going to be a relentlessly incremental process where we need to make sure that almost everything we do is in service of a more resilient country. And while Trump may be the boogeyman right now, it’s not clear whether the US poses the biggest sovereignty threat, or if we should be focused on the subjugation by the Magnificent Seven, more specifically. And I think because of the trade war, the Carney government has been constrained in terms of taking on Big Tech. Ironically, this is pretty much the perfect moment to do so. 

When basically all the plumbing of the internet runs through the U.S., and the internet is so embedded in our economy, how sovereign can a country like Canada really be?

Fundamentally, sovereignty is about governance and control. Due to much of the digital chapter in CUSMA (which I encourage people to read, perhaps with a stiff drink) it’s pretty much impossible for Canada to effectively govern our digital economy. If we aren’t going to be able to change that in CUSMA, then we need to think more seriously about building strategic alternatives, and yes, that includes a better internet - both in terms of infrastructure, but also the conditions for online commerce and information sharing (I am fun at parties). 

There’s this myth that online environments are a ‘free’ or ‘perfect’ market, or at least a policy afterthought. But these are highly regulated and moderated markets, just the rules are set by de facto private regulators (in their own interests). 

You're appointed Canada's sovereignty czar with the power to enact one (and only one) policy without regard for political consequences. What do you do?

I think that in this imagined universe, I’d stop any federal government funding from going to non-Canadian firms. For instance, many are relieved that there were long-overdue reforms to SR&ED promised in the budget. SHRED is a major federal tax incentive program administered by the CRA that provides over $3B in tax incentives annually to encourage businesses to conduct research and development in Canada. But right now, SHRED money could still flow to Amazon or Huawei. Should tax dollars incentivize foreign multinationals? What does ‘Buy Canadian’ mean when it comes to tax dollars, beyond procurement reform?

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Read the full conversation here. 

🦃 8 million. Estimated number of turkeys thrown out during American Thanksgiving yesterday, while about 40 million of them will be eaten on the holiday. Not a great ratio. 

🇨🇦 31,610. People in Canada who will see their postgrad work permits expire this year. CIBC estimates that one million people on expired temporary visas remain in Canada. 

🥃 $14 million. Value of the U.S. booze that Nova Scotia plans on selling off, getting rid of its old inventory. The province pulled American alcohol off its shelves back in March.

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