Tomorrow (Thursday, May 21), I am hosting a fundraiser in Sherwood Park at Headquarters Restaurant & Bar.

This will be a great opportunity to connect with other local supporters and discuss some of the topics that matter most to our community. I will be giving a brief talk, and there will be a Q&A to follow.

It is only $20 per person to attend and support our important work, so come on out and invite a friend or two!

For more details and to register, click here:

Click here to register!

If you won’t be able to make it or if you are not from my riding but want to make a donation to support our work, you can do so by clicking here:

Click here to make a donation

Thank you, and I hope to see many of you tomorrow evening!

- Garnett

Next week, on Tuesday, January 20th, I will be attending a Townhall event in the GTA along with some of my Conservative colleagues to discuss Bill C-9 and the threat to free speech and religious freedom that it poses.

It’s crucial that we have a big turnout at this event. A strong show of support will send a clear message to the government about how important this issue is.

If you live in the GTA, I would strongly encourage you to attend and spread the word about this event with people in your network. If you aren’t in the area but know people who are, please let them know that this event is happening.

The event will take place at the Galaxy Grand Convention Centre (200 Advance Blvd, Brampton, ON L6T 4V4) beginning at 7:00 p.m.

Click here to RSVP for the event, and please consider sharing the details of this event with people in your network either directly or via social media.

Click here to RSVP

For more information about Bill C-9 and the threats to free speech and religious freedom in Canada, read my recent post about it here:

The Political Genuis

URGENT: Liberals and Bloc Launch New Major Attack on Religious Freedom

This morning, the National Post revealed that the Liberal government has struck a deal with the Bloc Québécois to remove religious exemptions from Canada’s hate-speech laws…

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6 months ago · 44 likes · Garnett Genuis

Thank you for helping to raise awareness about this important issue. I hope to see some of you in Brampton next week.

-Garnett

I wanted to send you a quick reminder about the opportunity to support my work through an end-of-year tax-deductible donation (must be received before the end of the day on December 31^st to count for 2025). I also wanted to share a bit of context about how we use your support.

This past year, right before the election, I worked with a number of other MPs to mobilize a group of committed passionate conservative young people to knock on doors and get the message out in critical Toronto-area ridings – ridings with strong candidates of good character.

Your support made this happen. We covered lodging expenses, a few air mattresses, gas, and other necessary expenses, and we got these young people to over 30,000 doors in the weeks leading up to the election. These interactions changed minds and changed results.

While you know the results of the election overall, this on-the-ground effort helped to achieve some key breakthroughs in key areas. And, I want to keep building on these efforts.

To put this in perspective – a cheap air mattress is about $30. Filling the gas tank on a van full of doorknockers is about $100. It is in these small details that elections are actually won or lost. We’d love for you to be part of our efforts in the year ahead, for the cost of a couple air mattresses and/or a couple tanks of gas.

If you’re in, please go to www.supportgarnett.ca now and get your donation in before the end of the year.

Click here to make a donation

Merry Christmas and best wishes for the new year!

-Garnett

As I prepare to do our vitally important end of year fundraising, I am confronted with an inescapable reality: politics can contain disappointments.

A year ago, a Conservative majority government looked almost inevitable.

Today, Liberals are trying to seize a majority – not through a democratic election, but by trying to pull unscrupulous individuals across the floor.

These efforts are based on the message, pushed by Mark Carney and many in the media, that the Liberals have “moved to the right” — that, after 10 disastrous years, the Liberals have suddenly transformed into a “new government”.

But, as we look at what Liberals are actually doing, I see a doubling down on the wrong direction. With these continuing problems, our fight to restore the country we love is more important than ever.

In the last two weeks, I have been working hard to fight Liberal Bill C-9. As a result of a secret deal between the Liberals and the Bloc, this bill now includes a serious attack on religious freedom through the removal of the religious defence to hate speech prosecution. I spoke late into the night to fight back and block changes from proceeding. The Bill C-9 attack on religious freedom underlines that the Liberals have not changed.

Liberals have tried to seem interested in pipelines. However, when the language of their own Memorandum of Understanding was put into a Parliamentary motion, they voted against it. Their opposition to this motion and their continuing support for anti-energy bills C-48 and C-69 show that the Liberals have not changed.

We have seen growing reports of government officials and health care providers pushing euthanasia/MAID on Canadians living with disabilities. I have been fighting back and calling for protection of the vulnerable, by stopping the practice of suggesting euthanasia/MAID to people who haven’t asked for it. The continuing pressure on people to end their lives in this country shows that the Liberals have not changed.

And Mark Carney has tried to double down on building relationships with autocrats and dictators, failing to address growing foreign interference in Canada or serious human rights abuses. The decision to once again cozy up to foreign bad actors shows that the Liberals have not changed.

We must be ready, willing, and able to defend our democracy, our freedom, our economy, our security, and the most vulnerable among us. We must have the resources to be ready, willing, and able to fight an election at any time and to win.

Despite setbacks, I have not given up. I am ready to fight for this country every day in the year ahead, and to fight on to victory.

But I cannot do it alone. I need your help. We need to be election ready in 2026, with the dollars we need to effectively spread the conservative message. If you are still with me, please click here to make a tax deductible donation (any amount).

Click here to make a donation

Your end of year tax-deductible donation made before December 31st will be claimable on your taxes right away.

This is our country, a country that needs principled conservative leadership now more than ever. Thank you for your support and for helping to make this happen.

I haven’t given up.

I hope you haven’t either.

Please share your support if you’re with me.

Sincerely,
Garnett Genuis

This is an unprecedented assault on religious freedom — for churches, synagogues, gurdwaras, and mosques alike. With this change to Bill C-9, faith communities that have worshipped freely for our entire history could find themselves at risk of prosecution simply for expressing their sincerely held beliefs. This opens the door to citizens being subject to state censorship and prosecution for quoting scripture or speaking on issues of faith.

Conservatives will fight tooth and nail against this reckless and unfounded attack on our fundamental freedoms. We will stand firm for your freedom to worship, speak, and live according to your faith.

We need your help.

• Share this message with everyone you know — your family, faith community, friends, and colleagues.

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• Speak up on social media and contact your MP to demand a vote AGAINST this dangerous amendment.

This is a direct assault on the very freedoms that make Canada home for people of all faiths. The time to raise the alarm is now.

Thank you for your help,
Garnett Genuis

The national budget will be tabled in 5 days. It is now becoming increasingly evident that the Liberals are plotting to engineer their own defeat on the budget and force another election. Mark Carney is already breaking his promises, but it seems he wants to force an early election now to distract from these failures and from the serious economic problems that his policies are causing. (You can click here for a bit more context).

A lot will be said over the next week about an early election, but there are two critical things I need you to keep in mind:

1. The Prime Minister has the power to cause an early election whenever he wants.

2. We must be ready to fight an election NOW, and to do so with almost no notice.

These realities create challenges for all candidates from all parties, who need to restart their campaign teams and replenish their campaign funds so quickly after the last election. But I know that Conservatives are deeply motivated to do the work that needs to be done and to replace the Liberals with a strong Conservative government under the leadership of Pierre Poilievre. Given the games that Liberals are playing, we must be ready.

If you support me and if you value the work I do in Parliament, please click here to make a donation right now and help ensure my election readiness. I need to know this weekend what resources we will have available if a snap election is called.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for your help. I know many of you are struggling right now, and also that you appreciate what a critical time this is for our country.

Once more unto the breach!

— Garnett

P.S. - I will be meeting with my campaign team this weekend to discuss our strategy. Your support today or tomorrow will help us to know what we have available and to make an effective election plan.

Charlie Kirk’s death should prompt (besides, first and foremost, empathy for his now-widowed wife and children) urgent reflection on the state of civil discourse and debate. Kirk was a staunch advocate for free speech, engaging in open dialogue even with those who vehemently opposed him. His death — an attack on an influential commentator without political office — raises questions about the future of free expression and how we can maintain an environment where open, honest disagreement thrives.

This assassination will likely lead to increased security measures for public figures, making it more difficult for them to engage in the kind of public debates Kirk championed. This risks further eroding understanding and solidarity across political divides, weakening the fabric of civil discourse.

These events underscore the fragile line between words and violence. In many times and places, differences have been settled through force. However, most of us would agree that talking things out is preferable. As Kirk pointed out in a newly re-popularized interaction, “When people stop talking, that’s when you get violence.”

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Free democracies have painstakingly built an alternative to violence: a system rooted in free speech, mutual respect, and democratic decision-making. While no one is fully satisfied with the outcomes of this process, it fosters a safer, more just world compared to resolving conflicts through violence.

Preserving this painstaking work and maintaining a sharp distinction between words and violence is critical. Some people today equate certain forms of speech with violence, blurring the line between the two. If speech is violence, then violence can be seen as a form of speech, justifying both censorship and political violence. We must firmly reject this notion. Speech is not violence, and violence is not speech.

Free democratic societies rest on the recognition of universal human dignity and the power of reason to address complex political challenges. Reason, not intimidation or force, offers the best path to solving our collective problems, and it is in the public square that ideas should be evaluated. Kirk sought to create fora for debates on contentious public issues. Whatever you think of his ideas, it is essential that we recognize the value of this difficult undertaking — of peaceful, nonviolent disagreement and debate.

Even among those who reject political violence, I see an increasing impulse to punish individuals for their ideas, through the imposition of personal or social consequences. While not equivalent to violence, this impulse is still troubling in a free society. Most people expressing political views are sincere, even if sometimes mistaken. A mature democracy distinguishes between ideas and the people who hold them, critiquing the former while respecting the latter.

Certain responses following Kirk’s assassination have revealed a troubling lack of empathy among some of those who disagreed with his views, failing to separate the person from his ideas. There were people in prominent positions who took to social media to celebrate Kirk’s death, even going as far as to call for more of the same violence against other people of his political viewpoint. These comments underline the potential fragility of every free democracy, and the need for constant vigilance.

I hope that in the aftermath of this tragedy, and while thinking of the family that Kirk has left behind, we can learn these valuable lessons and work to preserve and strengthen a climate in which our differences are resolved with words rather than violence.

Before it does, if you live in or near my constituency, I'd love to see you at our upcoming Newfoundland-themed fundraiser THIS FRIDAY with "Recount Rowe", our new Conservative MP who won his Newfoundland riding by only 12 votes. Come join us for some fish and good conversation. Click here for more details.

If you're not in the area, you can still make a donation to support my work. With the Carney Liberals limited to a minority, we're already getting to work campaigning, and your contribution helps us to keep getting our message out as we prepare to finish the job we started earlier this year.

With Parliament back in session, we'll also be relaunching our bi-weekly podcast and Parliamentary newsletter. Stay tuned for more updates on those as they come out.

Best wishes to you and your family in the season ahead!

-Garnett

Sherwood Park Bus to See Pierre

Tuesday, July 29^th (so TOMORROW), Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre is speaking at an all-candidates forum in Camrose, AB, for the upcoming by-election. We have organized a bus to go out from Sherwood Park to see him and cheer him on, as well as a special watch-party at his local campaign office.

The bus has limited capacity, so click here to sign up now.

Fundamental Freedoms Under Attack

The political left in Canada has once again shown how intolerant they are of different points of view. With Mark Carney’s Liberal MPs leading the charge, the political left has tried to foment panic over the fact that a Christian musician named Sean Feucht is playing concerts and leading worship services in Canada. Elite institutions are stirred up, while everyday Canadians are standing up for our fundamental freedoms.

The issue is that apparently Feucht has “unacceptable views”.

Notably, before this manufactured controversy, I don’t think most people had ever heard of Sean Feucht. This is a classic case of the Streisand effect – a phenomenon where efforts to censor information or ideas actually lead to the wider distribution of that content. This reality underlines how impotent and ineffective modern censorship efforts are. But still, the political left cannot help themselves.

Most egregious to date, a church in Montreal now faces a large fine from the city for allowing Feucht to lead a worship service “without a permit”. This is Canada! We have freedom of religion protected in our constitution. Worst of all, the city of Montreal explicitly admitted that they were targeting this church because of Feucht’s political views. I suspect the city will get soundly defeated in court for their unconstitutional action.

You might like Feucht or not, you might like his music or not, and you might like his politics or not. But, THAT’S NOT THE POINT. Freedom of religion and freedom of speech mean that governments do not get to block churches from holding events just because they do not like the political views of those who are featured. Public bodies are explicitly prohibited from religious discrimination in their decision making. It is amazing how the left is now eager to throw away constitutionally protected rights and freedoms (including those protected in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms) just because they dislike the person being censored.

Our constitutional framework in Canada sets certain limits on freedom, including with regard to things like the incitement of violence. But, if you try to cancel someone based on the sole argument that they hold “unacceptable views”, then you probably do not believe in freedom of speech or freedom of religion at all.

The current employment situation in Canada shows that these students are making a smart decision by pursuing a career in the trades. Youth unemployment is persistently high, Canada faces a significant shortfall in the availability of workers with vital trade skills, and a growing number of young workers have university degrees that have no direct relevance to their job. (There is nothing wrong with pursuing a university education for its own sake, but most people pursue education with the expectation that it will improve their job prospects. Sometimes it does, but sometimes it does not.)

I was surprised to find that none of the first-year electricians who I met with in this class had come straight out of high school. Most had worked other jobs and even had some other post-secondary qualification. They saw an opportunity in the trades that they had missed earlier on, and they wished they had grabbed it earlier.

One person told me honestly “I wish someone had told me about this opportunity earlier. But I’m not sure I would have listened if they had.” Kudos to them for making the hard sacrifice of doing something new – but juggling more life responsibilities with education is not easy.

This conversation highlighted critical insights about career building. Our labour market requires certain skills and building a successful career requires you to acquire skills that the labour market needs. Many of us have received the message to “study what you love”. If you have an abundance of time and money, you have the luxury of studying what you love. But in today’s tough economy (especially tough for young people), it’s better to get a set of skills that you find interesting AND that the labour market demands.

Fundamentally, it’s good to start early. My recommendation is that a person try to get serious about career planning by the time they turn 16. For many careers, there are early opportunities to start learning job-relevant skills that will set you up well to hit the ground running once you graduate.

A core reality of life is that most of us face an upward sloping responsibility curve. More time brings more responsibility, in terms of our financial obligations and the people and things that we have to take care of. Some of these things are predictable, but others can come as a sudden surprise. Acquiring labour market ready skills and starting on a good career path early saves you time, but it also allows you the freedom to acquire those skills when you have fewer competing responsibilities.

Students I spoke to entering the trades later in life were excited about the opportunity to earn more income but were struggling with the need to address present obligations at the same time.

Ten to fifteen years ago, there probably was more margin for Canadian young people to head towards their late 20s without a clear career plan. Today, particularly because of much higher housing costs and fewer job opportunities, young people tell me that that margin has narrowed. Paying rent, supporting a family, acquiring new qualifications, and saving for a down payment are nearly impossible to juggle all at once. Young people looking to navigate the present challenges should carefully study the job market as early as possible and should start building their long-term career by getting skills that will allow success in the marketplace.

There is no downside to early career planning. A person with labour market relevant skills and a stable income can still change careers later, and it is much easier to execute a career change if you have a strong foundation. It is much easier for an electrician who has a solid income to take university courses on the side than for someone with a university degree, student debt, and a minimum wage job to do trade school on the side.

Fixing the underlying economic situation facing young people is something that we as political leaders need to take on urgently. The latest job numbers show a persistent youth unemployment crisis. In the meantime, young people will need to find ways to adapt to the present realities. Getting an earlier start on career planning is one way to do that.

This piece was originally published at the Sherwood Park News and the Fort Saskatchewan Record for my biweekly local column. You can view the original online publication here.

It seems fairly normal and natural that people maintain a particular sense of concern for the well-being of their family's place of origin, alongside their concern for the wellbeing of Canada. For example, members of the Ukrainian diaspora probably on average pay more attention to what is happening in Ukraine than do non-Ukrainians. Moreover, it is good for all of us to have a strong sense of both national and familial attachment. Our national attachment as Canadians should be to Canada - to this people and this place we call home. And, our familial attachments vary depending on our origins, and often lead us to have particular connections to and concerns about events happening in other parts of the world.

This dynamic informs my own life. My wife's family are Christians from Pakistan. Naturally, I follow the situation of religious minorities in that part of the world with a greater level of attention than I follow events in many other places. My grandmother is a Holocaust survivor, and I pay particular attention to issues around antisemitism and genocide prevention, in part as a result of the stories I heard and lessons I learned growing up.

Conservatives would reject the idea that people should have to choose between national attachment and familial attachment. We believe that the family is the first school of patriotism, and that love of country is grounded first in the love of one’s family. We also believe that these particular loves should be conditioned by a commitment to universal justice. Love of family or country ought never be the basis for doing injustice, even to a stranger.

How should Canadians integrate these concepts of national attachment, familial attachment, and concern for universal justice, especially when they result in tension here in Canada? A primary way that we integrate them within our own society is through an emphasis on freedom of speech and the rule or law. People are free to make arguments about foreign conflicts and they must not practise or advocate for violence. The rule of law establishes a framework to ensure the security of individuals and communities, to express their opinions and to live their lives. Freedom of speech and the rule of law provide a framework within which people with different familial backgrounds and different ideas about justice can discuss their differences of opinion and seek resolution together as members of one national community.

Perhaps as a country we can hope for more than just freedom of speech and the rule of law - we can hope for a sense of shared national community across ethnic and religious lines. Freedom of speech and rule of law do not guarantee the emergence of such a community of shared interest and concern, but they do create the conditions for such community to emerge. A sense of national solidarity and shared experience cannot emerge in an environment where people are unable to debate ideas openly or are worried about threats and violence.

Questions about what can be done about foreign conflicts impacting our country should be resolved through reference to these fundamental principles of Canadian identity - freedom of speech and the rule of law.

One jumping off point for me thinking about this issue was a recent column by John Ivison about Sikh community involvement in Canadian politics. The column conflated a bunch of different issues that are very different - issues as varied as remembrance of past violence targeting the community, political party nominations, and the so-called Khalistani movement. The history of all of these things is interesting and important, and also distinct. But the simple answer to all of the points in this column in terms of the Canadian response can be the same - freedom of speech and the rule of law. How should Canadians feel about those who want to remember and reflect on past instances of violence against their community? Freedom of speech and the rule of law. How should Canadians feel about those who want to advocate for or against an independent Sikh homeland? Freedom of speech and the rule of law. How should we respond to objections raised by foreign governments about the activities of diaspora communities in Canada? Freedom of speech and the rule of law.

Another jumping off point for these considerations is the conflict in the Middle East and its implications for Canada. Rising antisemitism is undermining the rule of law, threatening the security of the Jewish community in Canada. In response, leaders must assert the critical importance of freedom of speech and the rule of law, creating the conditions in which differences of ideas and experience can be discussed and understood.

Leaders can do more to defend and advance these principles. They should crack down on crime, strengthen security protection for communities at risk, combat foreign interference, and publicly defend freedom of speech and the rule of law. In my opinion, the sense many Canadians have that foreign conflicts loom larger here than they once did flows from the failure of our government do these very things over the last 10 years.

First of all, though, it’s worth underlining that the regime in Iran is a menace to Israel, to the people of Iran, to the peoples of the region, and to Canadians. Israel is obviously particularly motivated to prevent this regime’s acquisition of nuclear weapons because the regime regularly calls for Israel’s destruction; but, most of the rest of the world should also be grateful for any action taken by Israel to prevent the nuclearization of this regime. Here in Canada the regime’s IRGC is now (finally) listed as a terrorist organizations. Nuclear capabilities for this regime would mark the first time that a nuclear weapon was in the hands of a recognized terrorist organization. This simply cannot be allowed to happen.

Now, back to the name. The old flag of Iran featured prominently a lion and the sun, ancient symbols evoking thousands of years of Persian culture and history. Following the revolution of 1979, however, this symbol was expunged from national life and removed from the flag. This kind of “cultural revolution“ is often associated with takeover by totalitarian regimes, who want to recreate or eliminate a nation’s historical memory to change the concept that a people have of themselves. (The most well-known example of this is the Cultural Revolution by the CCP in China.) The lion and the sun remain a powerful symbol for the Iranian people and Iranian opposition groups, asserting through that symbol that they remember their ancient and proud history and seek the restoration of their country after it is liberated from a regime that has sought to destroy it.

Incidentally, a few years ago, an Iranian activist gave me a baseball cap with the word Iran on it, along with a lion and the sun, and the old flag on the side. I wear the hat proudly, even though it does often garner surprised looks from those who don’t recognize it as anti-regime. It is a good conversation starter, and an opportunity to talk about how one can be pro-Iran and anti-regime at the same time.

Iranian freedom activists who I talk to are deeply aware of and proud of their history. If you are interested in understanding contemporary events in a richer context, I would recommend reading the epic book “Persian Fire” by historian Tom Holland. It’s an easy read, and provides a fascinating lesson in the ways that ancient Persia informed the development of our own society.

In particular, the Persian tradition of pluralism created the conditions in which the Jewish people could thrive and develop. Jewish scripture generally presents the people of Israel contending with hostile surrounding powers, however the Persians are a notable exception. Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Persian empire, allowed Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. He is praised and celebrated in scripture as a result. Ancient Persians and Jews also had much more in common in terms of basic religious beliefs - both worshiping one supreme, all-knowing and good creator. Even moments of conflict and difficulty under Persian rule (in the stories of Esther and Daniel), can be read as resulting from manipulation by outside forces. In both cases, relationship between the Persian monarchy and the Jewish hero are restored once the plot is uncovered and the manipulative outsiders are dealt with.

It is notable that a military operation in 2025 seems to have been intentionally given a name that evokes this history (while also evoking another section of Jewish scriptures that says “Behold the people shall rise up as a great lion”). The rising lion reference contains a reminder of the historic friendship between the Jewish and Persian peoples and an expression of hope that the regime in Iran will soon be replaced by a new government that restores that friendship, while restoring the lion as a proud national symbol that connects the people of Iran to their history.

The return of the old flag to official flagpoles in Tehran would indeed be a powerful instance of a “rising lion”. No doubt it should be one that all of us hope to see as soon as possible.

Sandra Cobena, newly elected Conservative MP for Newmarket-Aurora, will be updating Conservative members on how we achieved a major breakthrough in the Greater Toronto Area. To attend the AGM, you must be a Conservative member. Click here to renew your membership now.

Below are details of the barbecue. Drop-ins are welcome, and there is no need to RSVP.

I'd also recommend that you watch Sandra's first speech in the House of Commons. Once you see this speech, I think you'll understand why our board was so keen to invite her to speak in our riding.

Thanks, and I hope to see you at one or both of these events!

- Garnett

During my time in International Development, we (1) made progress on direction and control regulations, (2) passed important cross-party legislation aimed at enabling the delivery of development assistance to Afghanistan and other terrorist-controlled places, (3) worked to support Ukraine in many different ways, (4) put the spotlight on under-discussed conflicts such as in Burma, Sudan, and the DRC, and (5) advanced important human rights legislation such as S-223 and C-281.

To see some of the work I’m doing in my new portfolio, click here.

This week, I also tabled two important petitions on human rights issues in Cyprus and in Tibet.

As always, thank you for your interest in my work. If you would like to support my political activities, a great way to do so is by becoming a paid subscriber of this Substack. Paid subscriptions qualify as political donations, so you can get up to 75% back in tax credits.

Subscribe now

All the best,

Garnett Genuis

Are you interested in getting more involved in the fight for our country?

You might have already stepped up in the last election to door knock, put up signs, donate, or help your local Conservative candidate in some other way. Politics works best when good people like you are willing to step up and lend a hand.

We also need people who are prepared to take a step beyond campaign volunteering and participate in the day-to-day life of our Parliament. This could mean volunteering your time with a Parliamentary office or pursuing a career as a political staffer.

For many people, a career as a staff member or even elected official starts with an internship on Parliament Hill. Years ago, I took a summer internship in the office of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. I was not politically connected at the time, but this internship was the first step that I needed to learn and grow.

Would you or someone you know be interested in starting your political career as an intern on Parliament Hill? My office takes year-long paid interns starting in September. You need to be able to move to Ottawa and commit full-time.

Work in my office is tough, fast-paced, and meaningful. We will also help you acquire the skills to develop a long term and successful political career.

If you care about the issues that I care about, and if you are looking for a career where you can earn a living fighting for your beliefs, then this may well be the place for you.

To apply, just complete this application form.

Clcik here to apply!

If you know someone else who might be interested in an opportunity like this, please make sure to share this with them!

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Prime Minister Carney was in Rome this weekend for Pope Leo XIV's inaugural mass. His presence there has spawned some media commentary about his personal faith and about the possible implications of that faith for his activities in office.

I have some thoughts about this.

If Mark Carney wants to make changes to the relationship that has existed between the Liberal Party and the Catholic community, I would certainly welcome those changes. Up until this point those relations have been quite rough, for some easy to identify reasons.

To start with, in the last several years, this country has seen an alarming spate of violence targeting Catholic churches. This has included the complete destruction of various historic Catholic churches in Western Canada. While other instances of violence targeting houses of worship or religious communities have attracted immediate strong and universal condemnation from political leaders, NDP and Liberal politicians never proactively condemned attacks against the Catholic community. In fact, Gerry Butts, a senior advisor to then-Prime Minister Trudeau and now to Prime Minister Carney, has called these attacks "understandable". A good first step for a Catholic Prime Minister would be to reverse course and bring his party along in actually condemning acts of violence targeting the Catholic community.

A couple years ago, my colleague MP Arnold Viersen tried to bring the issue of these attacks on churches up for discussion at the Indigenous Affairs Committee. (This reflected the fact that a number of historic Catholic Churches in Indigenous communities had been targeted). Viersen's efforts to raise this issue were blocked on multiple occasions, including by at least one Liberal MP who is part of Mark Carney's Rome delegation. So, not a very good sign.

Beyond having nothing to say about violence targeting the Catholic community, Mark Carney has allowed the continuation of attacks from his party on the charitable status of Catholic charities.

In December, a report from a Liberal-dominated committee recommended stripping charitable status from all Catholic charities. (The report didn't name Catholic charities as such, but those are the clear implications of both recommendation 429 and 430, explained here). During the last election, Mark Carney's Liberal candidate in my riding was even more explicit, as you can see here.

We should expect that a Catholic Prime Minister could easily affirm the positive role played by Catholic churches and charities in our national common life, defend the charitable status of those institutions, speak out against violence targeting them, and defend freedom of conscience in general. So far, though, it's been business as usual for the Liberal Party. We'll be watching to see if "real change" actually occurs.

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With that in mind, I want to send you the simple encouragement to remember that the outcome of this election depends on the work that all of us are able to do. If you haven’t done so already, please get in touch with your local Conservative candidate or with one in your area and see how you can help.

If you live in or close to my constituency, you can contact my campaign here.

And wherever you live, you can donate to my campaign by becoming a ‘paid subscriber’ to The Political Genuis or by giving directly through my EDA website.

Charitable Status Under Attack

As I’ve written about earlier, one issue that should be getting more attention in this campaign is the pressing threat to charitable status from the Liberals and the NDP. If you missed that post, you can read it here.

Since writing that initial post, we’ve released a couple more updates on this topic — including this video in which Liberal and NDP candidates in my riding admit that they want to take charitable status away from faith organizations, and this video I shared yesterday about how the loss of charitable status actually means that an organization loses all its assets. The loss of the ability to write tax receipts is significant, but nothing compared to the forced disposal of assets.

This threat to charitable status comes at a time when many more Canadians are relying on charitable organizations than in the past. Please consider sharing this post — or the one specifically on charitable status — with leaders in your faith community, as well as family and friends. It’s critical that we get this message out to as many people as possible before election day.

Carney Spending Worse Than Trudeau

National debt has more than doubled under the Liberals over the last 10 years, primarily under Justin Trudeau with Mark Carney serving as an economic advisor.

But now, rather than control spending, Mark Carney is proposing to spend EVEN MORE. Carney’s Liberal platform proposes $130 billion in new spending. Canadians will carry that burden for generations. (Ironically, here is Carney himself advocating against the very same kind of fiscal recklessness he is now proposing…)

A Conservative government will move Canada back to fiscal sanity and common sense.

The promise of our country feels like it is slipping away under this Liberal government. A fourth term for the Liberals would mean more economic damage, more conflict and division, and more ideological attacks on the institutions that sustain our common life. We are in this fight because we love Canada and are committed to defending it against all threats.

If you live in or near my riding, I hope you can join me at Headquarters Restaurant on Monday night to watch the results.

Warm wishes to all. And May God Keep Our Land, Glorious and Free.

— Garnett

“Alarmingly Trudeau-esque”

The Liberals dropped their platform in the middle of the Easter long weekend, and it exposes the contradictions at the heart of the Liberal argument. While wanting to appear different from Justin Trudeau, Mark Carney is proposing the continuation of Trudeau’s approach to government. But moreover, he’s actually proposing a major INCREASE in the size of government and in government spending, over and above what Trudeau had already proposed. This will mean even more debt, even more inflation, and even less prosperity.

Out of the gate, this was revealed to basically be Justin Trudeau’s platform. (Specifically, that Carney “only had to tweak a couple of things”).

Carney’s approach is a bit sneaky though – he’s trying to redefine spending to create a separation between “spending” and “investment” in order to justify his higher deficits. This too is nothing new – Trudeau also wanted us to believe that his deficits were a form of investment, even though they left us poorer and more indebted than ever before.

In real terms, we are talking about a whopping $130 billion in new Mark Carney spending. Needless to say, this is not change. Liberals do not deserve a 4^th term to FURTHER increase already out of control government spending.

Read more

Last December, the Liberal-NDP dominated Finance Committee passed a recommendation calling on the government to strip charitable status from religious organizations (all faiths) AND from any organizations with pro-life convictions. Notably, these are two separate recommendations – the proposal is to strip charitable status from BOTH religious organizations AND from pro-life organizations (not just from organizations that happen to be both).

These proposals were made in December. As such, they could likely be implemented in a federal budget released this spring. A budget has not been proposed yet because of the election, but the election winner will likely propose a budget shortly after you vote. Whoever wins the election will decide what happens next. This means that, as I recently told the Catholic Register, charitable status is on the ballot.

Vote Conservative and Protect Charitable Status. If you vote Liberal, charitable status may be stripped from 40% of Canadian charitable organizations.

Facing pressure over this issue, a Liberal candidate in New Brunswick absurdly claimed that “there is no policy to remove charitable status from churches”. Well, sorry Karen Ludwig, just like with the stunt with the buttons, Liberals are spreading misinformation. But don’t take my word for it — see for yourself: the Finance Committee report with the recommendations can be found here. It was tabled in the House of Commons by Liberal chair Peter Fonseca on December 13^th, 2024 at 12:10pm. Specifically in the report, you’ll find Recommendation 429 and 430 regarding the stripping of charitable status, on page 58.

(Somewhat ironically, Recommendation 428 addresses tax havens — something that has also been a matter of discussion in this election.)

Some organizations have actually reached out to the government in hopes of getting clarity on this. However (as reported by the Catholic News Agency):

“Canada’s Finance Department has avoided providing a clear answer to a written appeal from the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) urging the federal government not to adopt budget recommendations that would strip charitable status from “anti-abortion” and “advancement of religion” non-profit organizations.”

As I wrote back in January in my local newspaper column, in the midst of all the challenges that Canadians are facing, it is bizarre to see the NDP and Liberals positioning for further attacks on charitable organizations. Charitable status should be accorded to organizations that do good work in Canadian communities, without ideological or religious prejudice. Stripping charitable status from religious organizations will gravely threaten the important work that they do, and worse, the wellbeing of those whose lives their charitable work is impacting the most.

Those who are involved in or care about the work of these charitable organizations should keep in mind — charitable status is on the ballot.

More on Charities

A recent study by Cardus, a non-partisan Christian think tank, found that the net-positive socio-economic contribution of all religious congregations in Canada is estimated to be in the ballpark of $16.5 billion. (‘Net’ meaning that this figure already accounts for tax exemptions and credits.) Their research suggests that, on average, religious congregations contribute more than 10 times the value that their charitable status “costs” Canadians. This value extends far beyond their respective congregations and deep into our communities, often in the form of soup kitchens, homeless shelters, group addictions counselling, and more.

For more information on this issue, you can also check out a podcast episode I did on this with some key leaders in the charitable sector:

We’re now past the halfway point in this critical national election. Here on my local campaign, we’re headed into a pretty busy week of activity.

This weekend we’ll be at the Sherwood Park Trade Show at Millennium Place.

This coming Tuesday there will be a local election forum.

Wednesday and Thursday will be the national leaders’ debates, and on Thursday we’ll be hosting a local meet and greet along with a watch party for the English debate. (See below for details.)

That brings us to Easter weekend, which is also when Advanced Polls will open. Regardless of where you live, you can click here to find your advanced poll location.

While these events are happening, we will still continue with regular doorknocking and phone calling, including our early morning 6-9am “Wake Up Canada” calls to ridings in Central and Eastern Canada. Click here to sign up to volunteer for my campaign, or click here to make a donation to support our work. Through these key events — and always! — we are looking for your assistance to help us restore this great country.

If you’d like to vote early but don’t want to go out on Easter weekend, you can also vote by Special Ballot. ANYONE can do this at ANY TIME. Click here to find out more about special ballot voting.

Local Events

The Sherwood Park Trade Show is a staple in our office calendar, but this is the first time it has happened during an election. We’ve had a great day today, and will be here Saturday and Sunday as well. (The kids have been around too, and always enjoy hanging out at my booth and running around the show to check out the others.)

Wake Up Canada

Gelila has been leading our early morning call team, which has been growing steadily. In the final two weeks of the campaign, we’d love to have your help. Sign up here, or just drop by the campaign office any weekday morning between 6-9 a.m. to help us make calls to ridings in Central and Eastern Canada.

Sherwood Park Forum

The election forum in Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan is usually quite well attended. This year the two chambers of commerce are teaming up for one joint forum. I’m looking forward to the conversation that will happen at the forum, and I would love to see you there. All of the details for the event can be found here.

Fort Saskatchewan Meet and Greet and Leaders’ Debate Watch Party

The official leaders’ debates will take place next week, and to coincide with the English debate on Thursday, April 17, we are planning a meet and greet and watch party! Join us at the Fort Saskatchewan Legion on Thursday evening from 4-7 p.m.

Please contact my campaign office, either by email or phone at (587) 982-9408, if you’d like to attend. Children are welcome.

Thank you all for your support throughout this process, and I look forward to continuing to update you on our local and national Conservative campaigns.

Wherever you live, you can support my re-election efforts by clicking here to donate.

Best wishes,
Garnett