mackaycartoons

Graeme MacKay's Editorial Cartoon Archive

  • Archives
  • DOWNLOADS
  • Kings & Queens
  • MacKaycartoons Inc.
  • Prime Ministers
  • Special Features
  • The Boutique
  • Who?
  • Young Doug Ford
  • Presidents

Saturday January 30, 2015

January 30, 2015 by Graeme MacKay

Saturday January 30, 2015Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday January 30, 2015

Stephen Harper discovers Ontario: Goar

(Written by Carol Goar) The biblical parable of the prodigal son

The moral of the story — to forgive those who treat you badly — is counterintuitive in this era of caustic partisanship but it is relevant, especially for Ontario.

Stephen Harper, like the prodigal son in the narrative, turned his back on the province of his birth 37 years ago. He became a proud westerner, adopting the anti-central-Canada mindset displayed by his Alberta compatriots. He changed parties — he was a Liberal in Ontario — and climbed the political ladder, eventually becoming prime minister. His goal was to make Canada a “global energy superpower.” His plan was to speed up the development of heavy oil and export Alberta’s black gold to a fuel-hungry world.

Of late, things haven’t been going well. Alberta’s petroleum is landlocked. Foreign buyers aren’t clamouring for Canada’s “dirty oil.” For the last seven months, international oil prices have been dropping, blowing a hole in Harper’s economic strategy and leaving Ottawa unexpectedly short of revenue.

Last week, the prime minister changed his tune  . “The oil industry isn’t remotely the entire Canadian economy,” he told an audience in St. Catharines after the governor of the Bank of Canada had called the 57-per-cent drop in petroleum prices since last June “unambiguously negative for the Canadian economy.”

Finance Minister Joe Oliver echoed his boss’s message: “We have a highly diversified economy. The manufacturing sector is something that we are proud of and will continue to be important to the Canadian economy.”

Other members of cabinet and federal officials are signalling that Ontario will be the focus of the government’s spring budget. Manufacturers and exporters are already benefitting from the drop in oil prices and the value of the Canadian dollar. With a little help from Ottawa, they could generate enough growth to stave off a deficit and save Harper’s reputation as an astute economic manager. (Continued: Toronto Star)

 

Posted in: Canada Tagged: 2015, Alberta, Canada, election, federalism, manufacturing, oil, Ontario, Stephen Harper
← Friday January 30 2015
Tuesday February 3, 2015 →

Please note…

This website contains satirical commentaries of current events going back several decades. Some readers may not share this sense of humour nor the opinions expressed by the artist. To understand editorial cartoons it is important to understand their effectiveness as a counterweight to power. It is presumed readers approach satire with a broad minded foundation and healthy knowledge of objective facts of the subjects depicted.

  • The Hamilton Spectator
  • The Toronto Star
  • The Globe & Mail
  • The National Post
  • Graeme on T̶w̶i̶t̶t̶e̶r̶ ̶(̶X̶)̶
  • Graeme on F̶a̶c̶e̶b̶o̶o̶k̶
  • Graeme on T̶h̶r̶e̶a̶d̶s̶
  • Graeme on Instagram
  • Graeme on Substack
  • Graeme on Bluesky
  • Graeme on Pinterest
  • Graeme on YouTube
New and updated for 2025
  • HOME
  • MacKaycartoons Inc.
  • The Boutique
  • The Hamilton Spectator
  • The Association of Canadian Cartoonists
  • The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists
  • You Might be From Hamilton if…
  • Young Doug Ford
  • MacKay’s Most Viral Cartoon
  • Intellectual Property Thief Donkeys
  • Wes Tyrell
  • Martin Rowson
  • Guy Bado’s Blog
  • National Newswatch
...Check it out and please subscribe!

Your one-stop-MacKay-shop…

T-shirts, hoodies, clocks, duvet covers, mugs, stickers, notebooks, smart phone cases and scarfs

2023 Coronation Design

Brand New Designs!

Follow Graeme's board My Own Cartoon Favourites on Pinterest.

MacKay’s Virtual Gallery

Archives

Copyright © 2016 mackaycartoons.net

Powered by Wordpess and Alpha.

Social media & sharing icons powered by UltimatelySocial
 

Loading Comments...