Juno News - May 12, 2025


Another riding flips Liberal


Episode Stats

Length

15 minutes

Words per Minute

155.1016

Word Count

2,341

Sentence Count

93


Summary


Transcript

00:00:00.000 Another riding has flipped to the Liberals nearly two weeks after the election.
00:00:08.980 The federal NDP are attempting to have Prime Minister Mark Carney bypass parliament rules
00:00:13.360 and grant them official party status, even though they don't have the required number of seats.
00:00:17.840 Reporters Without Borders released its Global Press Freedom Index,
00:00:21.560 and Canada has fallen several places, now ranking 21st.
00:00:25.080 Hello Canada, it's Monday, May 12th, and this is the True North Daily Brief.
00:00:28.960 I'm Isaac Lamoureux.
00:00:30.260 And I'm Noah Jarvis.
00:00:31.480 We've got you covered with all the news you need to know.
00:00:34.360 Let's discuss the top stories of the day and the True North exclusives you won't hear anywhere else.
00:00:43.140 A judicial recount of federal election results has landed the federal Liberals another seat,
00:00:48.820 won by a single vote nearly two weeks after the federal election.
00:00:52.640 The Quebec riding of Terrebonne has reportedly flipped back to the Liberals,
00:00:57.420 with candidate Tatiana Auguste winning by only one vote.
00:01:00.740 This brings the Liberal tally to 170 seats, just too short of the 172 required for a majority government.
00:01:08.200 The riding was originally called for the Liberal candidate Tatiana Auguste.
00:01:11.700 However, a validation process later shifted the result in favor of the Bloc Québécois incumbent candidate,
00:01:17.920 Nathalie Sinclair-Degagné, by just 44 votes.
00:01:22.800 After the recount, Auguste received 23,352 votes, while Sinclair-Degagné had 23,351.
00:01:32.100 The validation process, which found the discrepancy originally,
00:01:36.240 is a routine verification of numbers reported on election night.
00:01:39.880 Chief Electoral Officer of Canada, Stéphane Perrault,
00:01:43.160 announced Wednesday that due to the short 44 difference margin of votes,
00:01:47.180 a judicial recount would take place.
00:01:49.560 According to the announcement,
00:01:51.380 a judicial recount is automatically triggered if there is a 0.1% difference
00:01:55.880 between the two top candidates in a riding.
00:01:57.940 The recount was carried out on Thursday by Justice Daniel Turcotte
00:02:01.840 of the Superior Court of Quebec in the riding.
00:02:05.200 Recounts are still taking place in three federal ridings,
00:02:08.340 which ended in extremely close toss-ups between the Conservatives and the Liberals.
00:02:13.100 So, Noah, what other ridings are currently undergoing vote verification or judicial recounts,
00:02:17.900 and could we see a Liberal-majority government following these?
00:02:21.540 So, yes, there are other ridings that are undergoing judicial recounts.
00:02:25.340 For example, Elections Canada announced that the riding of Milton East Halton Hills South
00:02:30.360 would be undergoing a judicial recount after the validation process that is currently taking place.
00:02:36.660 Right now, Milton East Halton Hills South was won by the Liberal candidate,
00:02:41.420 and the Conservative candidate only trailed the Liberal by 29 votes.
00:02:47.020 So, it is definitely possible that the Conservatives could take that riding,
00:02:52.760 as we saw in the Terrebonne riding, that the Bloc Québécois,
00:02:57.060 they were up ahead of the Liberals by 43 votes,
00:03:00.860 and the Liberals managed to flip that riding back over to them.
00:03:05.160 There's also a recount that is currently taking place in Terra Nova, the Peninsulas,
00:03:10.560 a riding in Newfoundland and Labrador,
00:03:12.880 where the Liberal candidate just beat out the Conservative candidate by only 12 votes,
00:03:17.900 so even less than in the riding of Milton East Halton Hills South.
00:03:21.700 And on Friday, another judge ordered a recount for the riding of Windsor Tecumseh Lakeshore,
00:03:28.460 where the Conservatives stunningly beat the NDP and the Liberal candidates by a margin of 77 votes.
00:03:35.780 So, the outcome of these recounts definitely are very, very important.
00:03:41.240 It can mean the difference between a strong minority government by the Liberals
00:03:45.440 or a weak majority government by the Liberals,
00:03:47.860 which would change the dynamics in Parliament.
00:03:49.880 If the Liberals still are able to hold on to their strong minority
00:03:55.180 without being able to get over the 172 MP threshold of reaching a majority,
00:04:01.140 then they will have to rely on support from other parties,
00:04:04.960 whether that's just the NDP or the Bloc Québécois,
00:04:08.740 or even the Conservatives on certain measures.
00:04:11.760 Whereas, if they got up to 172 MPs in Parliament,
00:04:16.460 they would have a majority government,
00:04:18.680 and would not have to consult with any other parties in Parliament
00:04:22.020 in order to pass bills and other forms of motions and stuff like that.
00:04:28.120 And who will become the Speaker of the House of Commons also matters a lot.
00:04:32.440 The Green Party leader, Elizabeth May,
00:04:34.700 had offered herself up to become the Speaker of the House,
00:04:38.160 which would take away one vote from the left-wing alliance in Parliament.
00:04:43.940 But it would also mean that the Liberals are able to retain all of their MPs,
00:04:48.740 as the Speaker of the House of Commons is not able to vote on matters before the House
00:04:53.560 unless there is a tie.
00:04:55.080 And if, in the event that the Liberals are able to get one more riding from these recounts,
00:05:01.800 171 MPs, and then they manage to appoint an opposition MP to the Speakership,
00:05:09.640 whether they're from the NDP or the Conservatives,
00:05:12.800 I know that two Conservative MPs have already offered themselves up for the Speaker position.
00:05:18.720 If they manage to get one of those MPs to be the Speaker,
00:05:22.720 they would manage to put themselves in a much stronger position in Parliament.
00:05:27.760 So it remains to be seen whether or not the Liberals will still be held to a minority government
00:05:34.500 or whether they're able to grasp a majority of government,
00:05:37.300 either through these recounts or by convincing another MP to cross the aisle.
00:05:41.440 But it surely will matter a lot to how this country is governed in the next four-plus years.
00:05:48.300 The NDP interim leader, Don Davies, is appealing to Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney
00:05:57.200 to skirt Parliament rules and grant the NDP official party status
00:06:00.820 after the party suffered a devastating loss in the recent election.
00:06:04.400 According to the Canadian press, Davies is engaged in very early discussions
00:06:08.340 with Prime Minister Mark Carney, asking the party for official party status,
00:06:12.600 despite rules clearly stating that the party does not qualify.
00:06:15.460 To hold official party status in the House of Commons,
00:06:18.600 a registered party must have elected at least 12 members of Parliament.
00:06:22.520 The NDP lost 17 seats and ended up with just seven MPs,
00:06:27.220 meaning it lost its official status for the first time since 1993.
00:06:31.640 This loss came after Singh admitted that he had not triggered an election
00:06:35.380 while partnered with former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
00:06:38.220 to prevent the Conservatives from making significant gains.
00:06:41.740 Conservatives still posit that quote-unquote sell-out Singh,
00:06:44.820 delayed the election to secure his potentially $2 million pension.
00:06:49.340 Neither Davies nor the Prime Minister's office responded to Trude North's request for comment.
00:06:54.060 Davies said, quote,
00:06:54.840 I think one of my primary objectives is to make sure that our caucus has the resources we need
00:07:00.140 to discharge our functions in Parliament,
00:07:02.640 but more importantly, to advocate effectively for the 1.2 million Canadians who voted for us.
00:07:07.980 So we are actively working to try to make sure we get those resources for our caucus.
00:07:12.460 Davies argues that on the provincial level,
00:07:14.820 parties have been granted official party status despite failing to meet the threshold.
00:07:19.480 The report states that Davies is worried his party will have to, quote,
00:07:23.060 engage civil society to help with funding as the loss and lead up to the NDP collapse
00:07:28.420 have devastated the party's coffers.
00:07:30.540 So, Isaac, it makes sense that the NDP, or any party for that matter,
00:07:34.920 would be lobbying hard to ensure that they have the maximum amount of resources available to them.
00:07:40.700 But what sort of resources and benefits are parties afforded when they have official party status in the House of Commons?
00:07:46.000 Yeah, Noah, so by not having official party status, the NDP and any other parties in this category
00:07:52.520 would not have access to a lot of party funding for research,
00:07:56.500 specifically a research party office, along with other staff support for the party.
00:08:01.780 So the House of Commons has a members' allowances and services manual.
00:08:05.920 While the document is 343 pages long,
00:08:08.680 there is a budget formula following a general election section
00:08:12.120 showing that opposition party leaders' office budgets for parties with more than 12 members
00:08:17.340 get over $1.1 million, with no value for any party beneath that 12-member threshold.
00:08:24.280 They also get House leaders' office budgets,
00:08:27.240 Chief Whips' office budgets, and Caucus Chairs' office budgets.
00:08:30.720 The manual also lists an information technology budget allocation of $73,280,
00:08:36.820 a translation services budget allocation of $177,880,
00:08:43.200 a National Caucus meetings budget allocation of $65,470,
00:08:47.940 and a National Caucus research office budget of $744,630,000.
00:08:53.980 So these items alone add up to just over $2.5 million,
00:08:57.860 and they're smaller items as well,
00:09:00.440 like a smartphone and two Apple iPads per member,
00:09:03.580 which could cost up to like $2,500 each.
00:09:06.000 And we already know that the NDP was not flush with cash,
00:09:09.940 remembering the story of Jagmeet Singh having to bus around instead of fly on his campaign.
00:09:15.300 And then aside from funding,
00:09:17.180 official party status gives a party guaranteed time and question period debates
00:09:21.460 and statements by members.
00:09:23.700 It also gives the ability to sponsor opposition day motions
00:09:26.820 and participate more fully in parliamentary committees.
00:09:29.820 Canada's press freedom has reached a new low
00:09:35.560 after falling another seven spots in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index to 21st place globally.
00:09:42.540 Reporters Without Borders released its latest World Press Freedom Index,
00:09:46.680 an annual ranking of countries that evaluates press freedom in countries around the world,
00:09:51.440 taking into account journalists' ability to report freely,
00:09:54.400 accessibility of news and unrestricted internet access.
00:09:58.280 It also reviews government measures to protect the freedom of the press.
00:10:02.460 Canada fell by seven places this year compared to 2024
00:10:05.480 and currently holds a satisfactory rating.
00:10:08.540 Canada currently ranks two places behind Trinidad and Tobago.
00:10:12.640 As state control over media has increased,
00:10:15.360 Canada has dropped by 13 places since 2015.
00:10:19.180 Reporters Without Borders wrote,
00:10:21.420 media concentration is cause for concern in countries like Canada.
00:10:25.680 The organization said,
00:10:27.320 this growing concentration restricts editorial diversity,
00:10:31.380 increases the risk of self-censorship,
00:10:33.920 and raises serious concerns about newsrooms' independence
00:10:37.180 from the economic and political interests of their shareholders.
00:10:40.220 The Independent Press Gallery of Canada responded to the ranking
00:10:43.700 by criticizing the Liberal government's
00:10:45.740 expanded censorship through Bill C-11,
00:10:48.720 granting the CRTC power over online content,
00:10:52.200 Bill C-18,
00:10:53.160 which disrupted news access by forcing tech platforms
00:10:56.280 to pay government-approved media.
00:10:58.760 So Noah, are there any other recent measures
00:11:00.720 that have led to more censorship of the press
00:11:03.000 and less press freedom in Canada?
00:11:05.380 Well, you mentioned a few of those there.
00:11:07.260 I think the big one is Bill C-18,
00:11:09.920 the Online News Act,
00:11:11.560 which forces certain big media platforms,
00:11:15.300 whether it be Google or Meta platforms,
00:11:17.780 to pay media companies for the right
00:11:20.700 to post links on their platform.
00:11:22.900 It's really a sort of backwards measure
00:11:24.920 that has been criticized by a lot of people
00:11:27.480 working in the media space.
00:11:29.280 But that measure resulted in a backlash by Meta,
00:11:33.360 whereby Meta blocked all news content in Canada,
00:11:37.460 meaning that if you post a link to a news story
00:11:40.100 or you try to go on a news page in Canada,
00:11:44.500 whether that be Juno News
00:11:46.260 or you try to go even on like the CBC,
00:11:49.240 your access will be blocked.
00:11:50.840 It will show you an error message
00:11:53.100 and basically tell you that,
00:11:54.660 hey, you live in Canada,
00:11:55.780 therefore you cannot access news on Facebook,
00:11:59.300 which is patently insane.
00:12:01.240 A lot of Canadians are deeply upset with that.
00:12:03.940 And it limits media companies
00:12:06.000 the ability to market their products,
00:12:09.260 market their articles,
00:12:10.380 market their stories.
00:12:11.680 It limits their reach.
00:12:13.480 And ultimately,
00:12:14.620 it does a lot of harm to the media ecosystem
00:12:17.800 and the media companies
00:12:19.520 that the Liberal government
00:12:20.760 says that they're trying to champion
00:12:22.840 and says that they're trying to strengthen and help.
00:12:25.440 And also the Liberal government
00:12:27.200 has passed the Bill C-11,
00:12:29.940 which grants the CRTC power over online content
00:12:33.720 and allows them to basically rejig the algorithms
00:12:37.180 of platforms like YouTube, Netflix, or whatever
00:12:40.400 to push content that the government approves
00:12:43.420 that is quote-unquote Canadian enough for the government.
00:12:47.700 The other measures that the Liberal government
00:12:50.200 has put in to restrict press freedom
00:12:51.980 are in regards to subsidies to media.
00:12:54.040 The Liberal government has put out a number of programs
00:12:57.900 to help out legacy media companies
00:13:01.040 with large subsidies,
00:13:03.300 whereby the amount of quote-unquote reporters
00:13:06.860 that these legacy media outlets have
00:13:09.680 correlates to the amount of dollars that they receive.
00:13:12.480 And these legacy media companies
00:13:14.260 have bloated newsrooms.
00:13:16.420 They have a lot more people than, say, True North has.
00:13:19.620 And they are able to receive millions upon millions
00:13:22.920 of government dollars as a result
00:13:25.240 for having a bloated business model
00:13:28.380 whereby they are not really producing
00:13:31.300 as much content that Canadians want from them,
00:13:36.100 hence why their revenue has been going down
00:13:39.060 over the past decade.
00:13:41.220 Now, at the end of the day,
00:13:42.820 Canada is still a free country,
00:13:44.740 but when we are behind countries like Trinidad and Tobago
00:13:48.840 in world press freedom rankings,
00:13:51.280 I think that should be a little embarrassing for Canadians.
00:13:54.160 I know a lot of Trinney people are really great,
00:13:57.520 but no offense to the Trinidadians listening out there,
00:14:01.180 but Canada should be ranking above Trinidad and Tobago
00:14:03.980 on world press freedom metrics and rankings.
00:14:07.780 It is unacceptable,
00:14:09.160 and I believe that the concentration of the media
00:14:13.460 by the Liberal government
00:14:15.740 into a position where they require government subsidies
00:14:20.800 to operate and to be able to function
00:14:23.120 and they exclude certain media companies
00:14:26.000 that they do not like
00:14:27.340 based on their ideological positions from these subsidies,
00:14:30.960 I think it has a deleterious effect on media freedom.
00:14:34.440 And at the end of the day,
00:14:36.480 if Canada continues to go down this path,
00:14:39.120 we're going to see our rankings drop further and further,
00:14:42.320 and we're going to be compared
00:14:43.860 to some very unsavory countries
00:14:45.640 that we don't want to be mentioned in the same sentence as.
00:14:53.040 That's it for today, folks.
00:14:54.740 Thanks for tuning in.
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