Ottawa – mackaycartoons

Tuesday May 12 2025

May 13, 2025 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday May 12 2025

Also published to The Toronto Star. Also to Reddit.

Mark Carney’s Rodeo: Can He Tame the Bull of Western Alienation and the Beast Across the Border?

April 9, 2025

Mark Carney’s entry into the political arena as Canada’s Prime Minister is akin to stepping into a rodeo ring, preparing to ride the proverbial angry bull of Western alienation. With a mandate from the recent election, Carney finds himself in a unique position to distinguish his leadership from the fraught relations that characterized his predecessor Justin Trudeau’s tenure, particularly with Alberta and Saskatchewan.

The political landscape Carney inherits is fraught with tension. Alberta and Saskatchewan’s grievances are deeply rooted in economic and political realities that have been exacerbated by federal policies perceived as dismissive of their contributions. The historical parallels with the 1930s, as highlighted in John Turley-Ewart’s article, show that ignoring these economic roots risks deepening the rift. Premier Danielle Smith’s openness to a referendum on Alberta’s independence underscores the urgency of addressing these concerns.

News: Alberta’s separatist angst has bone-deep economic roots. Ottawa cannot ignore it

October 22, 2019

Carney’s recent election victory provides him with the leverage to reset relations with the West. Unlike Trudeau, whose relationship with Alberta was often marked by conflict over environmental policies and energy sector restrictions, Carney has the opportunity to approach the provinces with a fresh perspective. His background as a central banker and advocate for green energy positions him uniquely to balance the need for economic stability with environmental commitments.

The advice from Marcus Gee suggests that Carney should focus on the strengths of Canadian federalism, emphasizing cooperation and decentralization. By showcasing how federalism can effectively address regional concerns, Carney can work towards mitigating separatist sentiments. His challenge will be to implement pragmatic policies that support a transition to renewable energy while recognizing the economic significance of the oil and gas industry.

Opinion: Carney rode a wave of national pride into office. Now he’s tasked with quelling rising separatism

January 17, 2025

Complicating Carney’s rodeo ride is the situation in the United States under Donald Trump, which poses its own set of challenges. The strained U.S.-Canada relations impact economic stability and require strategic diplomacy. Carney must balance Canada’s environmental goals with economic realities, leveraging Canada’s natural resources to strengthen economic ties amidst U.S. tariffs and protectionist policies. The unity required to address internal grievances must extend to a coherent national strategy for navigating the complexities of international relations.

Colby Cosh’s perspective that Alberta’s separatist movement is weak offers Carney some breathing room. However, the underlying support for separation cannot be ignored. Carney must navigate these sentiments carefully, ensuring that his government’s actions speak louder than words. His engagement with provincial leaders, as noted in reader comments, is a promising start, but it must translate into tangible outcomes that address both economic and political grievances.

Opinion: Colby Cosh: Alberta’s feeble separatist movement

May 7, 2025

Carney’s rodeo ride is not just about taming the bull of Western alienation but also managing the beast across the border. The stakes are high, and the challenge is multifaceted. Can he temper these forces? Only time will tell. What is clear is that Carney must harness the leverage of his fresh mandate to build bridges, promote dialogue, and demonstrate that Canadian federalism is not just a theoretical success but a practical one that can adapt to the needs of all its provinces while navigating complex international landscapes.

In this rodeo, Carney must hold on tight, navigate with skill, and ultimately steer Canada towards a future where regional grievances are heard, addressed, and resolved, and international relations are managed with finesse. His success or failure in this endeavour will define his legacy and the future of Canadian unity.

Western Separatism is as Canadian as Maple Syrup by The Graeme Gallery

Monday May 12, 2025

Read on Substack

Friday June 23, 2023

June 23, 2023 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday June 23, 2023

Marco Mendicino’s Political Future Hangs in the Balance

Liberal Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino faces an uncertain summer as doubts emerge regarding his ability to retain his position in a cabinet shuffle. With the start of the Parliamentary recess, Mendicino confronts numerous public safety challenges that may jeopardize his tenure.

April 27, 2023

At a recent dinner, jesting comments about his potential removal from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet spurred Mendicino to mock-charge the stage, defending his honor and signaling his determination to remain in his role. However, subsequent controversies, such as the mishandled transfer of murderer Paul Bernardo to a medium-security prison, have only intensified the scrutiny on Mendicino. The fact that he was uninformed about the transfer further weakened his standing.

The Bernardo debacle is the latest in a series of political setbacks for Mendicino. His proposed sweeping gun ban had to be rescinded, his justifications for using the Emergencies Act were questioned, and he faced criticism for the government’s handling of foreign interference. As the former immigration minister, he also dealt with the complexities of managing border closures during the pandemic and organizing evacuations from Afghanistan.

News: Justin Trudeau is preparing a summer cabinet shuffle — and all eyes are on Mendicino

October 26, 2021

These challenges have raised doubts about Mendicino’s future, with Trudeau yet to express confidence in his continuance. Although Mendicino became the MP for Eglinton-Lawrence without Trudeau’s explicit endorsement, his victory over Conservative Finance Minister Joe Oliver in 2015 demonstrated his political staying power.

Mendicino’s reputation as a capable communicator within Trudeau’s inner circle has suffered recently. Attempting to evade reporters’ questions and failing to address the Bernardo transfer have raised concerns about his transparency and accountability.

Despite his strengths, including humility and tenacity in rectifying mistakes, Mendicino faces an uphill battle. The controversies surrounding the gun bill and the Bernardo incident have provided ammunition to those advocating for his departure. Conservative critics question his ability to ensure public safety when trust in his words wavers.

As rumors of a cabinet shuffle circulate, Mendicino’s fate rests in Trudeau’s hands. Supporters highlight his intelligence, amiability, loyalty, and unwavering dedication to his work as reasons for his potential survival. Only time will reveal whether Mendicino will emerge victorious and “live to fight another day.” (AI) | Also published in the Toronto Star.

Saturday November 5, 2022

November 5, 2022 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday November 5, 2022

Where is Pierre Poilievre as the facts come out about the ‘Freedom Convoy’?

One story about the convoy protest is not aging well in 13 days of public hearings into events that rattled through Canada last winter.

October 20, 2022

This is the story — still embraced by some Conservative MPs and strident fans of the demonstrators— that the so called “Freedom Convoy” was merely a giant party that would have ended if the participants got a fair hearing from Justin Trudeau’s government.

One OPP intelligence assessment on Feb. 14, as the Star has reported, warned that “potential for conflict or an act of violence is likely increasing as the Ottawa blockade continues.”

This same assessment also served notice that some protesters “appear to be largely unconcerned about potential legal consequences, as they view the state’s institutions as illegitimate and their own ‘fight for freedom’ as all important. Some view themselves as being at war with the Canadian government and everything it represents.”

August 26, 2022

This may be why Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre hasn’t been seen anywhere near these hearings, giving the kind of support to the convoy he did last winter. Ditto for former leader Andrew Scheer or any of the other MPs who cheered on the protest, even after it was deemed a full-fledged occupation of Canada’s capital in its earliest days.

It may still remain an open question on whether Canada was in the throes of a full-fledged emergency when Trudeau’s government invoked the declaration to end the protest on Feb. 14.

But the notion that this was just an innocent protest romp — a cold-weather Canada Day with trucks and hot tubs — is simply unsustainable in the face of all the testimony to date at the hearings.

June 30, 2022

As recently as June, Poilievre was also still insisting on social media “that Trudeau could have ended the trucker protest in one day, if he’d had the guts to listen to the people — and let them go back to their jobs.”

But police and intelligence officials, from all levels and despite their internal spats, have testified that negotiation of any type had its limits, especially because there was no one overall group controlling the protest or demonstrators. Demands, such as they were, ranged from ridiculous (oust the prime minister) to totally unrealistic (end all vaccine mandates immediately.)

Poilievre and the Conservatives haven’t been asked yet how they square their support for the convoy in light of all that has been put on the record so far — the steady, sustained refrain from police and security officials that this was not a good episode for law and order in Canada. How this fits with the Conservative brand as law-and-order advocates remains to be seen too.

February 8, 2022

Now, the all-fun-and-games narrative may re-emerge during the rest of this week when the commission moves from police witnesses to testimony from the convoy organizers.

Lawyers for those organizers, when they’ve had a chance to cross-examine the police officers and political types, so far appear to be making the case that the convoy was mainly a peaceful winter carnival, with a few bad apples here and there.

Judging from mail I’ve received recently about the hearings, some Canadians still fiercely cling to that view too. “We travelled from Hamilton to see for ourselves, and you know what? We saw fun, happy, peaceful people from all backgrounds and regions in Canada. A DJ, pancake breakfast, bouncy castle, fun for the kids and not one instance of the terror, violence and fear you described,” one letter writer told me last Friday.

Unfortunately, that view of the convoy just isn’t standing up in the face of all the evidence presented to date. It isn’t the “Liberal media” or government operatives saying the convoy was dangerous — it is police and security officials, from all levels.

A national emergency? Maybe, maybe not. But just a fun party? That story no longer stands up. (The Toronto Star)

From sketch to finish, see the current way Graeme completes an editorial cartoon using an iPencil, the Procreate app, and a couple of cheats on an iPad Pro … These sped up clips are posted to encourage others to be creative, to take advantage of the technology many of us already have and to use it to produce satire. Comfort the afflicted. Afflict the comforted.

Friday September 23, 2022

September 23, 2022 by Graeme MacKay

September 23, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday September 23, 2022

First salvo between Pierre Poilievre, Justin Trudeau proves pair will be formidable opponents in Parliament

When Stephen Harper first appeared in the House of Commons as opposition leader in 2002, prime minister Jean Chrétien offered his congratulations, adding: “I want the new leader of the Opposition to have many, many years to learn how to do the job, on the job.”

December 7, 2012

Mr. Harper, in reply, said he was only four years old when Mr. Chrétien entered the House, and even then he remembered telling his mother: “Someone has to do something to stop that guy.”

On Thursday, Pierre Poilievre confronted Justin Trudeau for the first time as Leader of the Official Opposition. The Conservative Leader said “it is good to see the Prime Minister here, visiting Canada, to fill up the gas on his private jet.” (Mr. Trudeau was in Britain for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth and in New York for the United Nations General Assembly. On Saturday he flies to Japan to attend the funeral of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.) Mr. Poilievre then launched into a sharp attack on Liberal increases in carbon and payroll taxes, even as inflation continues to soar.

Having offered perfunctory congratulations, Mr. Trudeau soon went after Mr. Poilievre. “If Canadians had followed the advice of the Leader of the Opposition and invested in volatile cryptocurrencies in an attempt to opt out of inflation, they would have lost half of their savings.”

We live in harsher times.

June 14, 2022

Mr. Poilievre displays a level of confidence, command and control in debate that both of his predecessors, Erin O’Toole and Andrew Scheer, noticeably lacked. He speaks largely without notes, keeps his questions focused, presses his points relentlessly.

But after seven years as PM, Mr. Trudeau is every bit his equal, parrying the Conservative Leader’s thrusts and confidently promoting the Liberal record. These two will be formidable opponents in the House

Mr. Poilievre has been targeting inflation – or Justinflation, as he likes to call it – almost since the pandemic began. We can debate the merits of the economic supports that governments put in place when the pandemic arrived – to my mind, they saved the day – and whether those supports should have been wound down sooner.

But what matters politically is that people are hurting, and Mr. Poilievre has been pounding the inflation issue for years. High inflation, rising interest rates, a possible recession – these are not afflictions that a government this long in the tooth can easily survive.

May 20, 2016

But Mr. Trudeau has cards of his own to play: the cryptocurrency nonsense, Mr. Poilievre’s support for the protesters who occupied Ottawa, his tendency to play footsie with conspiracy theories.

The Prime Minister clearly believes that Mr. Poilievre is not simply a political opponent, but a threat to peace, order and good Liberal government. He sees the Conservative Leader as a wrecker. He aims to stop him. Historical precedent suggests he will fail. (Continued: The Globe & Mail)

From sketch to finish, see the current way Graeme completes an editorial cartoon using an iPencil, the Procreate app, and a couple of cheats on an iPad Pro …

Saturday April 30, 2022

April 30, 2022 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday April 30, 2022

Ottawa police chief vows to stop biker rally as city braces for potential protests

February 19, 2022

Ottawa’s police chief has vowed to stop an upcoming biker rally from reaching the city’s downtown core as residents brace for a potential rerun of the so-called “Freedom Convoy” anti-government protests that paralyzed the Canadian capital earlier in the year.

Thousands of bikers are expected to arrive in Ottawa on Friday for the “Rolling Thunder” rally purportedly called in honour of military veterans.

The rally’s organizer, Neil Sheard, has denied that the event is a protest, but prominent anti-vaccine figure Chris Sky has been advertised as a “special guest” speaker, and Veterans for Freedom, a group which opposes public health measures, is also part of the event.

Organizers had planned to march on Parliament Hill on Friday and then meet at the war memorial the following day. But the interim chief, Steve Bell, warned that a “heavy police presence” and road closures would instead greet the bikers.

The city is still reeling from the February protests, when hundreds of commercial trucks blockaded the streets in front of Parliament Hill, honking their horns at all hours of the day and night and defying multiple orders to leave the area.

February 15, 2022

That event began as a protest against public health measures, but quickly transformed into a broader anti-government movement, with protestors calling for Justin Trudeau’s government to face criminal prosecution.

After weeks of disruption, the federal government invoked the Emergencies Act, permitting officials to freeze bank accounts and suspend the commercial licences of truck drivers involved. On Monday, the federal government announced an inquiry into the use of the rarely-used legislation.

The protests ended after nearly a month when police stormed the blockades and arrested nearly 200 demonstrators. Ottawa authorities later revealed that the demonstrations cost the city more than C$36m (US$28m, £22m).

“I do not want our children, seniors and other vulnerable residents re-traumatized. Our businesses should not be forced to close again,” Ottawa city councillor Catherine McKenney wrote on Twitter Monday.

August 28, 2012

Zexi Li, a downtown resident whose exasperation with non-stop truck honking led to a C$306m class action lawsuit against the convoy, told the Guardian she and others fear that “mistakes will be made again” as officials attempt to prepare for the influx of bikers.

“Without a doubt, there was a loss of trust in the city, in our officials, in the police from the protests. We were just utterly disappointed by the people that were supposed to protect us,” she said.

Sheard warned earlier this week the event could turn into a “free-for-all” as bikers are forced to deviate from a previously planned route after police said they wouldn’t allow vehicles into the downtown core.

“We keep hearing that things never should have gotten as bad as they did if certain steps had been taken from the very beginning,” said Li. “Well, we know what those steps are now. So all the need to do, in theory, is take those steps.” (The Guardian)