Canada

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/32514869

The idea of Canada joining the European Union is ambitious, but it follows a certain logic.

The European Union is Canada’s second-largest trading partner after the U.S. In 2023, the combined trade in goods and services between Canada and the EU reached a value of CA$157.3 billion. The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), in force since 2017, has eliminated 98 per cent of customs duties between the two partners, which has promoted sustained growth in trade.

[...]

Further integration would offer full access to the European single market, harmonization of standards and synergies in key sectors: green technologies, artificial intelligence, pharmaceuticals and cybersecurity. It would also give Canada access to major European programs such as Horizon Europe, a research fund of 95.5 billion euros (nearly $148 billion in Canadian dollars).

Furthermore, Canada possesses natural resources that are crucial to the European energy transition: lithium, cobalt and nickel. Enhanced collaboration would ensure a secure and sustainable supply to Europe while promoting strategic industries on both sides of the Atlantic.

[...]

Canada meets the Copenhagen criteria (rule of law, democracy, market economy) and shares the fundamental values of the EU. The main obstacles would be of a technical or political nature: geographical distance, the need for Canada to align its laws and regulations with all European standards (the Community Acquis) and to adapt its agricultural supply management system to European internal market rules.

But Canada doesn’t necessarily need to aim for immediate formal membership. A more flexible path could be a close strategic partnership, inspired by the Norwegian or Swiss models but adapted to Canadian realities.

Such a partnership could include enhanced access to European markets, participation in joint research, defence or energy transition projects and increased co-ordination within multilateral institutions.

The objective would not be strictly economic, but political and symbolic: to affirm a common commitment to democracy, international co-operation and respect for the global legal order. A strategic turning point for Canada

[...]

A rapprochement with Europe could also help revitalize the democratic debate in Canada and strengthen both national cohesion around a common project and its ability to face future crises, whether economic, security or climate related.

The time has come to start this discussion, which should not be considered a dream, but an exercise in strategic foresight. Canada’s future may well be shaped, in part, on the other side of the Atlantic.

Homeowners in the Rosemont neighborhood of Montreal successfully killed an affordable housing project that was supposed to add 50 condos on an empty lot. This is happening despite the housing crisis that the city is facing.

The proposal looked like this.

But the local homeowners opposed it.

They feared losing a sunny view and precious parking spots for their cars.

"Our entire neighborhood is only 3-storey buildings or smaller" says Hugo Didier, the leader of the local anti-housing movement. "We do not want tall buildings here. It is just too inconvenient" he said.

Local city council members in Rosemont-La-Petite-Patrie initially supported the project. « We are facing a major housing crisis, we need to do more » said mayor Francois Limoges. What they didn't expect was the opposition.

158 individuals signed a petition against the new project, demanding a neighborhood referendum. At least 200 people showed up at a public hearing. Under pressure, the council shut down the entire project.

Real estate developer Félix Péladeau-Langevin was behind the proposal. He planned to build 50 new condos. « The location is good. It's close to public transit and to a bike lane. I didn't plan to add any parking spot » he told us.

Péladeau said he was disappointed by the opposition from local homeowners. "They went door to door. They convinced everyone to put their name and signature against the proposal, demanding a referendum"

Protest leader Hugo Didier says he reached out to the developer and told him to compromise. Just build a small building.

« I look at the cost of the land and the cost of construction. If they don't want a multi-storey building, it's just not worth it » Péladeau said.

https://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/grand-montreal/2025-04-10/rosemont/50-logements-bloques-malgre-les-nouveaux-pouvoirs.php

Ontario is reporting 155 new measles cases over the last week, pushing the province's case count to 816 since an outbreak began in the fall.

The number of new cases has increased again after a few weeks of appearing to stabilize in the 100-per-week range, which public health physicians had taken as a sign of potential optimism.

Public Health Ontario says there have now been 61 hospitalizations — that's 11 more than last week — including 47 children. Unimmunized kids are the predominant group infected by the outbreak.

Most cases are still in Ontario's southwestern public health unit, but they spread to two more public health units this week, including Hamilton and Northeastern, which covers Timmins and Englehart.

The first, by Érick Duchesne of Université Laval and Mehdi of Université Grenoble Alpes, lays out a comprehensive case in favour of Canada joining the EU, or, at the very least, significantly strengthening its ties with Europe. They write: “Canada’s future may well be shaped, in part, on the other side of the Atlantic.”

Authors:

• Érick Duchesne | Professeur, Département de science politique, Université Laval

• Mehdi Abbas | Maître de conférence, Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA)

After months of political decline, the Liberal Party of Canada is showing signs of recovery, buoyed, some suggest, by a surge of national pride in the face of Donald Trump’s tariff war and threats to Canadian sovereignty.

But this apparent rebound obscures a more surprising political shift: the growing appeal of the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) among immigrants and their children.

Traditionally, immigrant and visible minority communities have supported the centrist Liberal Party. In the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), where over half of all residents identify as “visible minority” (the category used by StatCan), Chinese and South Asian Canadians have long formed a key part of the Liberal base.

Yet recent polling tells a different story. An October 2024 survey found that 45 per cent of immigrants had changed their political allegiances since arriving in Canada, with many now leaning Conservative.

Meanwhile, another national survey from January 2025 found that a majority of East Asian (55 per cent) and South Asian (56 per cent) respondents expressed support for the Conservative Party, far outpacing support for the Liberals or the NDP.

Nationally, racialized citizens now make up over 26 per cent of Canada’s population, with South Asians and Chinese Canadians the two largest groups.

While detailed racial breakdowns remain rare in Canadian polling, the few available data points suggest a meaningful shift. This pattern also reflects a broader trend: South Asian and Chinese Canadians in the GTA are increasingly politically active, with rising turnout and growing partisan diversification.

Author:

• Emine Fidan Elcioglu | Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Toronto