Is This the End of the White Working-Class Democrat?

Democrats hoped to lose by less in blue-collar areas that had drifted toward Donald Trump. In many places, they may have lost by more.

Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio, second from left, at a campaign event last month in Lima, Ohio. He was one of several Democrats seen as longtime champions of blue-collar voters who lost this fall.

Credit...Maddie McGarvey for The New York Times

By Katie Glueck
Nov. 18, 2024,

In Ohio, Senator Sherrod Brown, a longtime champion of working-class voters, was toppled by a rich Republican former car dealer.

In Washington, President Biden — who won the Democratic nomination four years ago with the help of blue-collar voters — must now hand back power to Republicans and surrender leadership of a party increasingly dominated by highly educated voters.

And in Pennsylvania, Senator Bob Casey, whose family name has for years been synonymous with white working-class Democrats, is confronting the real possibility of defeat.

Eight years after fury among white working-class voters propelled Donald J. Trump to victory, Democrats swore that this time, they would try to do better with that group.

Instead, the party’s staggering challenges with blue-collar voters have only worsened. Widespread frustration with high prices and alienation from Democrats have turned the party’s lawmakers in Trump territory into an ever-more-endangered species.

“When the change doesn’t show up, the hope for change turns into anger,” said Representative Matt Cartwright, a battle-tested Pennsylvania Democrat from the Scranton area who narrowly lost this month. “The anger showed up.”

The new inroads Mr. Trump made this year with working-class voters of color, particularly Latino ones, have alarmed Democrats. At the same time, the party’s Trump-era Achilles’ heel — its struggle to earn the trust of white working-class voters — was even starker this year, especially in the Industrial Midwest, where the “blue wall” states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin all broke for Mr. Trump.

In many of those states’ blue-collar counties, Vice President Kamala Harris lost by greater margins than Mr. Biden did in 2020.

Certainly, a number of Democratic House and Senate candidates significantly outran Ms. Harris. She also contended with many political barriers Mr. Biden did not face four years ago, including racism and sexism, along with the extraordinary challenge of running a 107-day campaign after the unpopular president was forced out of the race.


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But she and other Democrats also faced a deepening, newly worrisome perception problem: a widespread belief among working-class Americans that the Democratic Party does not fully grasp their struggles — and in some cases, disdains them outright.

“This doesn’t have to be the end of white working-class Democrats,” said Justin Barasky, a Democratic strategist who was Mr. Brown’s 2018 campaign manager. “But it will be if we don’t start being more inclusive.”
Warring over words and culture

Image

In many rural and blue-collar areas across the country, Donald J. Trump beat Vice President Kamala Harris by more than he defeated President Biden four years ago.

Credit...Jon Cherry for The New York Times

Democrats have not been shy about offering diagnoses for their devastating losses.

Voters, sour about pandemic-era inflation and bothered by the migrant crisis, punished the party in power. Republicans effectively caricatured Democrats as overly liberal and “woke.” Democrats needed a stronger populist message. Misinformation thrived in a fractured news environment. The country was simply not ready to elect a woman, especially a woman of color.

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There is some truth to each theory, according to Democrats who have thought deeply about politics in blue-collar America.

But one of the biggest problems, these Democrats say, is that voters in white working-class neighborhoods now see the party as unresponsive to their most pressing daily troubles.

Representative-elect Kristen McDonald Rivet, a Michigan Democrat, won a district that is home to many white working-class residents, even as Ms. Harris struggled in many counties there.

Ms. McDonald Rivet said that for many voters in her area, high costs were not just an inconvenience. They raised “fear in people, right, about their ability to make it,” she said.

To those voters, she said, litigating other subjects — whether Mr. Trump was a “fascist,” for example, or the violence of the 2021 Capitol riot — simply felt less urgent.

“Those sorts of conversations don’t impact what is happening in their lives on a daily basis,” she said. “It comes down to, what is the price of a gallon of milk?”

Frustration with the cost of living was not unique to one demographic or one state, noted Patrick Murray, who directs the polling institute at Monmouth University. But it made it harder for Ms. Harris to meet a Democratic goal of holding or improving on Mr. Biden’s 2020 margins in strongly pro-Trump territory.

“There’s no question that she did not make up ground,” Mr. Murray said. “Not only were they not going to win over Republican-leaning voters, but they were having a hard time getting out their own voters.”

To some extent, voters signaled in interviews this year, Mr. Trump benefited from nostalgia for the prepandemic era — while the chaos of his previous administration receded for some.

“I don’t like the rhetoric from the Democrats,” said Jeff Markey, 66, a former airport technician from Wyoming, Mich., a more blue-collar city outside Grand Rapids. He said he had supported Democrats until Mr. Trump’s 2016 candidacy, and supported him again this year.

“I like how safe the country was when Trump was in, internationally and financially,” he added.

Senator John Fetterman, a Pennsylvania Democrat who campaigned for Ms. Harris in conservative areas, also conceded that Republicans were sometimes effective at painting the Democratic Party as out of touch.

He cited a widely aired, anti-transgender Trump ad that concluded: “Kamala’s for they/them. President Trump is for you.”

The ad was the “ultimate ear worm of this cycle,” Mr. Fetterman said. The last beat, he argued, could be interpreted by voters not just as anti-trans bigotry, which he deplored, but also as a subtler promise to help Americans economically.

“It’s reprehensible to weaponize and to pick on members of a marginalized community,” he said. But, he added, “I can understand why it was very effective.”

A pitch for populism

Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota repeatedly campaigned in white working-class areas across the country.

 Credit...Jeff Swensen for The New York Times

Ms. Harris and especially her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, campaigned in white working-class areas, promising that they did care about the struggles of those Americans.

In a barrage of advertising, Democrats also vowed to lower costs and protect working people, and attacked Mr. Trump as a plutocrat beholden to other wealthy Americans.

But some Democrats argued that efforts to engage moderate suburban Republicans who abhorred Mr. Trump’s style and saw him as threatening democracy came at the expense of a more full-throated populist message.

“They shied away from the populist economic stuff, which they thought would turn off those voters,” said Mike Lux, a longtime Democratic strategist who has spent years studying blue-collar workers. “That was a real mistake. Because it made all of those folks back in Bethlehem and Scranton and Erie think, ‘Well, I guess they really don’t care about me very much.’”

With nearly all of the returns in, Ms. Harris does appear to have improved slightly on Mr. Biden’s 2020 showing in some suburban areas.

But that was not enough to counteract the rightward shift in so many other places.

A Pennsylvania problem

Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania is headed to a recount in his re-election contest against David McCormick, a Republican.

Credit...Kent Nishimura for The New York Times

Perhaps nowhere were the challenges with white working-class voters more painful for Democrats than in Pennsylvania, the state of Mr. Biden’s birth and the one that cemented his 2020 victory.

This year, Ms. Harris lost the state, Republicans flipped two House seats and Mr. Casey is locked in a recount battle against his Republican challenger, David McCormick.

Mr. Casey’s struggle — even as Democrats prevailed outright in Senate races in Michigan and Wisconsin — was arguably the most striking reflection of the national headwinds the party faced, and how key slices of voters recoiled from its message.

Mr. Casey, a three-term senator, is a son of a popular former governor of Pennsylvania, Robert P. Casey Sr., and his family is an institution in state politics. For years, conservative Democrats were known in the state as “Casey Democrats.”

The younger Mr. Casey won his last race, in 2018, by 13 percentage points. This year, the recount was triggered because Mr. McCormick led Mr. Casey by less than half of a percentage point.

In an interview, former Representative Charlie Dent, a Pennsylvania Republican, reflected on the political realignment that has been especially vivid in his state.

Highly educated or more moderate Republicans have become more open to Democrats, while onetime culturally conservative Democrats have shifted hard to the right in the Trump era.

“‘Pro-labor, pro-life, pro gun’ — that was a big part of the Democratic Party in Pennsylvania,” said Mr. Dent, who supported Ms. Harris this year. “It seems that that population has migrated solidly into the Republican camp.”

Still, even some Democrats in Pennsylvania bucked the national trends.

Representative Chris Deluzio, a Democrat from Western Pennsylvania, noted that he improved his standing in Beaver County — a heavily white, working-class county — this year, though he did not win it.

He urged his party not to cede the “fighter” mantle, encouraging fellow Democrats to embrace a clear economic message that includes confronting corporate power and fighting to defend unions.

“We certainly have to have a national party that can win in the Rust Belt,” he added.

 

 

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Trudeau's immigration cuts could reduce housing gap by 45%, watchdog says

But Canada will still have a shortfall of 658,000 units

Author of the article:
Bloomberg News
Randy Thanthong-Knight
Published Nov 15, 2024 • 

A condo building under construction in Calgary. Canada needs to build 390,000 total units annually, on average, over the next five years to close a gaping housing shortfall by 2030. Last year, housing starts dipped to about 224,000 units. Photo by Todd Korol /Bloomberg

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s plan to restrict inflows of newcomers will narrow the country’s gap between housing supply and demand, according to a budget watchdog.

If Trudeau is successful in curbing immigration over the next three years, that would reduce the housing gap in 2030 by 534,000 units, or 45 per cent, said the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer, which provides independent analysis to help lawmakers scrutinize the government’s activities.

While the slowing population growth may help reduce the severity of shortages, Canada’s housing supply would still fall short of demand by 658,000 units in 2030, according to the office’s report published Friday. It highlights the ongoing challenge of under-construction in a country that’s home to some of the world’s hottest real estate markets.

Canada would require a total of 2.3 million housing completions by the end of this decade to close the housing gap, the watchdog estimates. That translates into 390,000 total units completed annually, on average, over the next five years. Last year, housing starts dipped to about 224,000 units.

Trudeau’s government last month reduced its annual permanent-resident target by more than 20 per cent and said it wants to halt population growth by shrinking the number of temporary residents — such as international students and foreign workers — through an exodus of more than a million people.

The office, however, noted there’s “significant risk” to the projection in the government’s plan, particularly the estimated outflows. “The plan assumes that 2.8 million temporary residents will leave the country over the next three years,” equivalent to 93 per cent of the group’s current population.

Immigration Minister Marc Miller said earlier this week that the government is focused on making sure “the people that don’t want to leave after due process actually do leave.” Miller cited record increases in the number of migrants removed from Canada this year as evidence that “enforcement is happening.”

The government has set a goal to more than double the pace of construction to add 3.9 million homes by 2031 as it tries to calm housing angst and reverse waning popularity. But pro-immigrant groups have warned that the migration curb could lead to shortages of skilled labor in sectors including construction.

—With assistance from Thomas Seal.

Bloomberg.com

Immigration cuts will help housing gap, PBO says, but less than government projects

November 16, 2024

The federal government is overestimating the impact its cuts to immigration will have on the country’s housing shortage, the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer said in a new report.

By Nick Murray

In the analysis published Friday, the PBO said its projections still indicate the country’s housing gap should fall by 45%, assuming the Liberal government’s own population projections in its immigration plan are accurate.

The PBO isn’t entirely convinced they are, saying “we judge that there is significant risk” to the demographic projections the government made in its 2025-27 immigration levels plan.

The PBO cautioned its model assumed some non-permanent residents, whose permits or visas would expire and not be renewed under the new plan, will actually leave the country.

“Both our estimated reduction in household formation and the housing gap under the (immigration levels plan) are uncertain and likely represent upper-bound estimates,” the PBO warned.

In October, the Liberal government announced it was cutting the number of permanent residents allowed into the country over the next three years.

The plan expects to see Canada’s population decline by 0.2% in 2025 and 2026, marking the first time Canada would see an annual decline in population, the PBO said.

The PBO now estimates Canada needs to build another 1.2 million homes by 2030 to close the housing gap.

In its report Friday morning, the PBO said the revised immigration plan will reduce that gap by 534,000 units — or 45% — by 2030.

The government’s projections, factoring in its new immigration targets, suggested the population estimates would reduce demand for housing by 670,000 units by 2027, well above the PBO’s estimates and three years earlier than the PBO’s timeline.

“This difference likely reflects several factors, such as the assumed age, region and household structure of the (non-permanent resident) outflows projected under the (immigration levels plan), as well as the time horizon and counterfactual population projection,” the PBO wrote.

In a statement, Immigration Minister Marc Miller’s office said the PBO report confirms the government’s immigration levels plan will reduce the housing supply gap, and that the report’s projections are in line with the department’s own expectations regarding the housing supply gap for this year.

“While an adjustment in immigration levels is helping to reduce the strain on our housing supply, it is also true that immigration and newcomers to Canada will continue to have an important role to play in helping us grow the housing supply,” Miller’s office said.

“Immigrants are not to blame for the housing crisis and they, like everyone who lives in Canada whether temporarily or permanently, deserve to be set up for success while they are.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 15, 2024.

 

Quebec announces province's first abortion access plan

It includes $7.5 million to be spent on information campaigns, improving access to abortion services, research and consultations.

ABORTION IS LEGAL IN CANADA BUT ACCESS TO IT IS DETERMINED BY PROVINCES

Author of the article:

Jack Wilson

Published Nov 18, 2024  • 

"We always need to be vigilant in defending the free choice of women," says Martine Biron, Quebec's minister for the status of women. Photo by Jacques Boissinot /The Canadian Press files

Article content

Martine Biron, Quebec’s minister for the status of women, unveiled the province’s first abortion action plan at a press conference Monday morning.

“Everywhere in the world, we’re seeing setbacks in women’s rights. A shock wave came in 2022 with the reversal of Roe v. Wade,” Biron said.

“Abortion is essential health care. All this reminds us that we can take nothing for granted. That we always need to be vigilant in defending the free choice of women.”

The plan includes $7.5 million of investments to be spent on information campaigns, improving access to abortion services, research and consultations.

Biron said she wants the plan to create awareness around the abortion pill, which she said is only used in 17 per cent of Quebec abortions, compared with 72 per cent in France and 32 per cent in Ontario.

PATRICIA BAKER: Voting imperative as democracies become more fragile

The right to vote brings with it the responsibility to protect freedom and never take it for granted

Author of the article: Patricia Baker
Published Nov 18, 2024 • Last updated 1 hour ago • 8 minute read

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Article content

As a Canadian and dedicated voter, I have become more and more concerned about the political landscape of this country. When I reached the age of majority many years ago, this milestone gave me the constitutional right to vote, and I have taken this right seriously.

I have submitted my ballot in every federal and provincial election ever since.

The right to vote brings with it the responsibility to protect freedom and never take it for granted. But we must remember that even if we vote, we may not get what we want. We may have to live with what most voters have chosen, even if we don’t agree.

This may be why some do not bother to vote. The adage we hear, “My party isn’t going to get in anyway, so why should I bother to vote?”

When you look at countries in the world that are controlled by dictators, communists or fascists, voting is in a realm of its own. Even if this privilege exists, which is questionable, the authentic will of the people can’t evolve or exist either.

Democracies have become more and more vulnerable to outside interference, so the urgency to stand and protect us from regimes that have intentions to infiltrate our security, and integrity should have the electorate on high alert.

It has come to be a very serious and insidious under current, especially when we are going about our everyday lives, and everything seems to be as we know it.

We quite often take our freedoms and constitutional rights for granted as we get on with our lives, but it should always be a little voice in the back of our heads that we should be wary that we could be on the hit list for foreign political infiltration.

We the electorate also have a responsibility to pay attention to the directions our elected Members of Parliament (MPs) and Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs) wish to embark upon and what their mandates and platforms for re-election are.

We may want change because we tire of the leaders and parties which have been in power for too long. But we also should be thinking about what we are changing to. In simple terms, prospective leaders may be telling us they will maintain social programs already in place or introduce new ones that are awaiting approval which will help with everyday living costs. They may also endorse funneling more funds into public health care or doing what it takes to address climate change by reducing dependence on fossil fuels.

The introduction of more liberal ideas for the curriculums in public schools while supporting dental or pharmacare for Canadians who are not financial able to access these health benefits are being put before us.

On the other side of the political spectrum, a more conservative approach to managing this country’s spending and programs may be presented as legitimate alternatives to moving this country too far to the left of centre.

Programs may be delayed, curtailed or abandoned altogether to become what is believed to be a more fiscally responsible approach to spending. The reduction of the deficit by spending more cost effectively on social programs, immigration and climate change initiatives for instance, could be presented as in a more cost-effective manner to eventually rail it in

Although the centre and left of centre political parties seem to have been more open than the right about their plans for Canadians if they are elected, voters may have to resort to reading between the lines until such time a more open dialogue is presented.

Having said that, it may be helpful to reflect on the federal parties and their past promises and performances in governments they formed after being elected. Look back at the relationships the federal and provincial governments have had with each other during their respective mandates.

Were you happy with what you got in any of the past respective governments, and did they fulfill those promises that were attainable and responsible? Did they present themselves on the world stage in a stately manner? Were they open to constructive dialogue? Did they present Canada’s value as a democracy and protect it?

Social programs such as dental, pharmacare and reproductive/abortion services are expensive to initiate and operate, but they are considered to promote healthier outcomes for those who do not have access to or cannot afford them.

The argument for acceptance is that many low even middle-income Canadians will be healthier in the long run. Ultimately these programs will save government
coffers money by reducing visits and admissions to hospitals. Poor dental hygiene and limited or no access to prescription drugs for diabetes and heart disease for example, have been correctly identified as very costly expenditures for the public health care system to sustain.

This is preventative medicine, and it has been proven over time that a healthy population is able to be much more productive and relies on health care much less than an ailing population with chronic diseases that they cannot afford to prevent in the first place.

Access and affordability are everything and yes fiscal responsibility is also required for a healthy prosperous economy to be able to grow into a stable asset. Being beleaguered under massive debt is very counterproductive.

On the other hand, if we are being promised balanced budgets, with cuts to climate change initiatives or social programs, will this in the long run balance the budget?

Will resisting calls for our reliance on fossil fuels to be harnessed and eventually over time replaced with clean energy eventually balance the budget and eliminate the deficit?

Can the effects of climate change destroy communities, flood and burn valuable land and resources while debts for restoration are handed down from one generation to the next?

Will social programs help those in need? What will happen if they are not enough?

If abortion rights are maintained at status quo, will this help women be safe and maintain their right to choose what they do with their own body?

Having said all of this, voters cannot be expected to abandon their own needs and struggles either. The economy, housing, health care, cost of living and immigration are the major issues facing Canadians.

The upcoming election could be coming sooner than later, it has not been determined, but all the parties in their unmitigated quest to govern this country are going to encourage the electorate to vote in their favour.

Promises will be made across the board, and voters will then be inundated with all sorts of information which may require serious thought and reflection. On the other hand, some voters and non-voters alike may just choose to tune it all out and change the channel.

Social media is an integral part of our lives, how we communicate, access information on a multitude of various levels and make decisions on the important aspects that affect our lives.

But social media may also provide misleading or inaccurate messaging to voters depending on which area of the political spectrum they support. The electorate has the right to base their affiliations with the parties and leaders who appeal to them on a personal level as well as those who try to address and alleviate their personal struggles.

Unfortunately, some politicians may have inclinations to bring us closer to mandates that are designed to minimize or curtail some of the rights and freedoms which citizens already possess. They may hinder the passage of laws that uphold these rights to strengthen these mandates.

Should these aspirations begin to evolve towards the erosion of the rights and freedoms of the people, this should be of great concern to the electorate. A slow but planned transition towards a government using their power to infringe and eventually eliminate the rights of their citizens can be elusive and go unaddressed until it may be too late to go back.

An example that could affect potentially half the population of Canada, would be access to abortion and reproductive services. Can these services continue to be viable and protected across Canada? Can they survive the pushback from those who believe that abortion should not be a viable choice for women?

We have seen how Roe Versus Wade, in law for over fifty years in the United States, has been challenged and overruled as each state sets its agenda. The question that still begs an answer on this side of the border is whether this could happen here.

Up until 1988, inducing an abortion in Canada was a crime and, in that year, the Supreme Court struck this ruling down calling it unconstitutional and therefore abortion was decriminalized.
It remains a publicly funded and registered medical procedure under the Canada Health Act. Women do have the Charter right to choose what happens to their bodies.

But there could also be increasing pressures on women to reconsider their decision to have an abortion based on information shared with them which they may not understand or is contrary to their wishes.

Women will seek to undergo an abortion for various reasons, many if not all have arisen from some very dark and unconscionable events. It cannot go without saying that if they are asking for the pregnancy to be terminated, it remains to be a very private matter.

There is always the possibility this choice could be influenced by some who feel she should proceed with the pregnancy, producing confusion and guilt for her even contemplating abortion.

The opioid and mental health crisis are very serious health care issues and solutions on how to treat them in a humane, yet effective program has formed a huge divide with politicians, health care providers and the electorate.

Wherever a voter’s support lies on such crisis or the political party they endorse, looking beyond personal affiliations is key to having enough science-based information available to look beyond political electoral promises.

From a left of centre approach, supervised consumption sites are promoted for homelessness and addiction. Right of centre believe Hart Hubs, which provide safety, treatment and recovery and possible mandatory admission without consent, are the way to treat this crisis.

But voters on both sides of these issues may also share support for both. There is so much to think about. But every vote counts and ultimately the electorate will decide. `

Patricia Baker is a Sault Star district correspondent, columnist and retired Sault Area Hospital nurse

Ontario NDP pitches sweeping municipal reform amid growing homelessness

By Isaac Callan & Colin D'Mello

Global News
Posted November 18, 2024

WATCH: Ontario municipalities renew calls for long-term, comprehensive approach to homeless encampments – Nov 3, 2024

The Ontario NDP is promising to meet the growing calls for change from municipalities if it wins the next election, pledging any government it leads would take responsibility for costs associated with things like housing, health care and transit.

Demands for change from towns and cities across Ontario have been increasing all year, with a visible rise in homeless encampments held up by local leaders as evidence the current formula is failing.

After the City of Toronto was handed a so-called new deal by the Ford government at the end of last year, with a package later announced for Ottawa, other mayors have said all municipalities need the current approach to be re-evaluated.

On Monday, the Ontario NDP — who form the Official Opposition at Queen’s Park — are set to unveil their plan to meet that request, if they form government after the next election.

The party will use an opposition day motion to focus on reversing the downloading of costs to local municipalities, a process where provincial governments increase the services and responsibilities municipalities have to take on.

The party is committing to taking on a series of services, and the costs associated with them — and urging the province to do so now.

On the housing front, the NDP promises it would take control of he costs and planning of affordable housing, shelter and homeless programs. It also said it would agree to a request from many municipal leaders to create a ministry in charge of the homelessness crisis.

The party said it would pay the vast majority of ambulance costs and cover 75 per cent of public health spending.

An Ontario NDP government would also promise to pay 50 per cent of transit operating costs and take over all former provincially controlled highways.

The opposition day motion the NDP is expected to unveil promising a new deal for municipalities stands almost no chance of passing in a legislature where the Progressive Conservative government controls the majority.

Parties use the function, however, to put pressure on the government to develop policy and draw attention to what they would do if they were to form the next administration.

B.C. pet photographer's labour of love leads to international award: 'I was stunned'

The woman behind Good Mutt Photography took home gold at the International Pet Photography Awards for an image of a husky mix captured last October at Chilliwack Lake

Author of the article: Sarah Grochowski

Published Nov 18, 2024 • 

Andrea Wafler took home gold at the International Pet Photography Awards for an image of husky-mix Everest, captured in October 2023 at Chilliwack Lake. 

Photo by HANDOUT/The Good Mutt Photograph

In just three years, Chilliwack’s Andrea Wafler has gone from filling prescriptions to earning recognition as a popular pet photographer, capturing canines in the B.C. wilderness.

On Monday, the 31-year-old behind The Good Mutt Photography took home gold at the International Pet Photography Awards for an image of husky-mix, Everest, captured last October at Chilliwack Lake.

“Everest was standing in the water, just after taking a drink, when, at the perfect moment, she looked up and glanced back at me. Her pose added a sense of wildness to the image, with her gaze toward the camera and her lifted paw,” Wafler said.

Wafler was also named a finalist for international pet photographer of the year.

Wafler, a pharmacy assistant, didn’t plan on becoming a pet photographer. Taking pictures of her golden retriever, Callie, had always been a hobby — something she was passionate about — but she never imagined it could turn into more than a weekend pursuit.

Andrea Wafler’s photograph of her six-year-old golden retriever-border collie mix Callie at Cannon Beach Oregon in March 2024. 

Photo by HANDOUT/The Good Mutt Photograph

“I was stunned. Receiving this level of recognition is something I never could have dreamed of when I first started pursuing this passion,” she said.

That all changed when her golden retriever-border collie mix, Callie, came into the picture.

It began with casual snapshots. Wafler would grab her digital camera and focus on Callie during their daily walks, experimenting with how natural light filtered through the trees and how her dog seemed to come alive in open spaces.

The portraits of Callie soon evolved into intentional, purposeful shots, said Wafler.

“We’d hop in the truck and explore the mountains, searching for beautiful backdrops for photos. From there, Callie became my everyday muse, and whenever we had the chance, we’d be outdoors, capturing these little moments of her.”

Wafler documented her journey on her social media account, The Good Mutt, which has more than 60,000 followers.

“People began reaching out, asking if I offered photo shoots. … It quickly dawned on me that this love for dogs and photography wasn’t unique to us, but something shared by countless pet parents everywhere.”

Since that time, Wafler has photographed nearly 100 dogs, with some owners travelling from Colorado, California and Kansas for the chance to have images of their pets captured through her lens.

By 2025, she hopes to make the transition to full-time pet photography.

For each outdoor portrait session, where dog owners accompany their pets on the excursion, Wafler charges $575, plus taxes.

“Many pet parents love showcasing their photos on social media, sharing them with friends and family, and it’s an easy way to keep their cherished images close at hand,” she said.

Some clients print the photographs, creating statement pieces to be framed for their homes.

“As someone whose dog means the whole world to them, I wanted to be the one to offer other pet parents this unique opportunity to freeze the moments in time.”

sgrochowski@postmedia.com

Stray dogs in Giza become tourist draw after 'pyramid puppy' sensation

by Menna Farouk

Nov 17, 2024

A pack of about eight dogs has made its home among the ancient ruins of the Giza Pyramids — Khaled DESOUKI

Beneath the blazing Egyptian sun, crowds at the Giza Pyramids gazed up at the ancient wonders, but some had their eyes peeled for a new attraction.

"There he is," one Polish tourist told his wife as they spotted a scrappy dog perched on one of the stones.

They were talking about Apollo, a stray who became an overnight sensation last month after being filmed scaling the Great Pyramid of Khafre, one of the seven wonders of the world.

The viral footage, captured by American paragliding enthusiast Alex Lang and shared online by his friend Marshall Mosher, showed Apollo fearlessly climbing the 136-metre monument, barking at birds from the summit.

"He was acting like a king," Lang told AFP.

As news of Apollo's daring climb spread worldwide, interest grew in the dogs who have long made their homes among the ancient stones.

"He is climbing over there," said Arkadiusz Jurys, a tourist from Poland, craning his neck for a better view.

"It is unusual," he added, describing Apollo as surveying the picture-snapping crowd from above.

Another visitor, Diego Vega from Argentina, felt a special bond with the dogs.

"Connecting with them feels like connecting with the pharaohs," he said, while petting a member of Apollo's pack.

- Sales up -

Apollo's newfound fame has even inspired local guides to include him and his pack in their stories for tourists.

"This is Anubis," one tour guide told two American tourists, comparing Apollo, now known as the "pyramid puppy", with the ancient Egyptian god of the dead, often depicted as a man with a jackal's head.

"He and his pack are now part of our tour conversations," said Sobhi Fakhry, another tour guide.

Businesses around the Giza plateau are also seeing a boost.

Umm Basma, a 43-year-old woman selling souvenirs near the Khafre pyramid, reported an increase in sales thanks to the influx of tourists eager to meet the so-called pyramid dogs.

"We've always seen these dogs climbing the pyramids, but we never thought they would become a blessing for us," she said.

One pyramid guard, who preferred to remain anonymous, also said that some celebrities had paid for permits to have their own dogs photographed with Apollo.

Apollo, a three-year-old Baladi dog, is part of a pack of about eight that has made their home among the ancient ruins.

The dogs, a local breed, are known for their resilience, intelligence and ability to survive in Egypt's harsh climate.

Ibrahim el-Bendary, co-founder of the American Cairo Animal Rescue Foundation, which monitors the pyramid dogs, described Apollo as the pack's "alpha male".

"He is the bravest and strongest in his pack," he said.

Apollo was born in a rocky crevice within the Khafre pyramid where his mother, Laika, found shelter. Sadly, some of Apollo's siblings did not survive the site's perilous heights.

A sympathetic guard eventually relocated Laika to a safer spot where Apollo now stands out with his distinctive curled tail and confident nature.

- Dog adoptions -

The initial focus of Lang and Marshall was the daring canine climber, but their visit led to a deeper connection with Cairo's stray dogs.

Intrigued by the challenges they face, Mosher decided to adopt a puppy from the pack: Anubi, who is Apollo's daughter.

Anubi will join Marshall in the US after she receives the dedicated care she needs in Egypt to grow up healthy.

At the pyramids, local animal care groups are now working with the government in order to set up food and water stations for the strays, as well as for other animals including camels and horses.

A permanent veterinary centre will be established at the pyramids with staff set to receive animal care training, said Egypt's tourism minister.

Vicki Michelle Brown, the other co-founder of the American Cairo Animal Rescue Foundation, believes that Apollo's story can make a difference.

"It sheds so much light on the dogs and cats that are here," Brown said.

"I definitely believe him (Apollo) climbing the pyramids can help all of the dogs in Egypt to have a better life."

TRUMP SOCK PUPPET

Danielle Smith '1,000 per cent' in favour of ousting Mexico from trilateral trade deal with U.S. and Canada

HOPES TO GET KEYSTONE PIPELINE BUILT

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith speaks at a news conference regarding a new Indigenous energy project with TC Energy in Calgary, Alta., July 30, 2024.

 THE CANADIAN PRESS/Todd Korol

Spencer Van Dyk
CTV News Parliamentary Bureau Writer, Producer
Follow |Contact
Updated Nov. 17, 2024 

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she agrees it could be time to cut Mexico out of the trilateral free trade agreement with Canada and the United States.

"Mexico has gone in a different direction, and it's pretty clear that the Americans have indicated that they want to have a fair trade relationship," Smith told CTV's Question Period host Vassy Kapelos, in an interview airing Sunday. "Mexico is not in a position to be able to offer that, especially with the investment that they have from China."

The trilateral deal was first inked in 1994, at the time called NAFTA, before being renegotiated during former president and now-president-elect Donald Trump's first term.

Trump in this last election campaign vowed to reopen the agreement when it comes up for review in 2026.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford, meanwhile, floated the idea earlier this week of ousting Mexico from the trilateral deal in favour of a bilateral one between just Canada and the U.S., a proposal of which Smith said she is "a thousand per cent" in support.

The majority of what Alberta sends to the U.S. is energy exports. According to Smith, Alberta has a $188-billion trade relationship with the United States, compared to the $2.9-billion trade relationship with Mexico.

"It's important, but our absolute number one priority is maintaining those strong trade ties with (the) United States, and if that requires us to do a bilateral agreement, then that's what we should do," she said.

On Tuesday, Ford accused Mexico of being a "back door" for China to get its products, namely vehicles, into North America, "undercutting" Canadian and American workers.

On Saturday, at the end of the APEC summit in Lima, Peru, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called Mexico a “solid trading partner,” but acknowledged concerns around Chinese investment in its economy that “need to be addressed.”

“I am hopeful that we’re going to be able to work constructively over the coming months and perhaps years to ensure that North America remains an advantageous place for North Americans, for our workers, for our middle class, and creates real growth,” Trudeau said.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters on Wednesday that she's heard concerns from both the outgoing Biden administration and people connected to the incoming Trump administration that "Mexico is not acting the way that Canada and the U.S. are when it comes to its economic relationship with China."

"I think those are legitimate concerns for our American partners and neighbours to have," Freeland said. "Those are concerns that I share."

Derek Burney, who was former prime minister Brian Mulroney's chief of staff when the original NAFTA was negotiated, said a Canadian push to exclude Mexico from the agreement would be "childish."

Burney — who later served as the Canadian ambassador to the U.S. — told Kapelos, also in an interview airing Sunday, that Canada should focus on its own relationship with the U.S., instead of concerning itself with Mexico.

"I don't think we need to be provocative," he said. "I think the Mexicans are doing things that are going to give them enough difficulty with the Americans without our help."

"So no, I wouldn't recommend that we take that action," he added.

Burney said the Canadian focus should be on areas of alignment and potential collaboration with the U.S., namely when it comes to energy, liquified natural gas and critical minerals.

"The Mexicans are going to have a boatload of problems to deal with, with the Americans," Burney also said. "They don't need our help, and they won't seek our help, so let them deal with their own problems with the Americans."

Burney in his interview also discussed the need for Canada to spend more on defence, and faster than it currently plans to, if it wants to be taken seriously on other issues when negotiating with the United States.

And Smith in her interview also discussed the federal government's oil and gas sector emissions cap — a policy she's vehemently opposed — and her efforts to work with the people Trump has announced he plans to bring into his administration.

Nova Scotia·

Halifax police say no evidence of foul play in death of employee at Walmart bakery

Warning: This story contains distressing details

CBC News · Posted: Nov 18, 2024 

Gursimran Kaur was remembered as a 'gentle spirit' at a vigil earlier this month. (Maritime Sikh Society Executive/GoFundMe)

Halifax police say the death of a 19-year-old woman found dead last month inside a large oven at a Walmart in the city's west end is not suspicious and there is no evidence of foul play.

The body of Gursimran Kaur, a Walmart employee, was found in a commercial oven in the store bakery on Oct. 19.

Halifax Regional Police offered a short update in a news release on the case Monday, but did not say how Kaur died, only that the death was not suspicious.

Const. Martin Cromwell said police conducted interviews and reviewed video footage to determine if there was any criminality.

"We do not believe anyone else was involved in the circumstances surrounding the woman's death," he said in a video message posted Monday afternoon.

He said he didn't expect the police force to release any further updates.

"We acknowledge the public's interest in this case and that there are questions that may never have answers," said Cromwell. "Please be mindful of the damage public speculation can cause. This woman's loved ones are grieving."

The Walmart on Mumford Road remained closed on Nov. 18. (Emma Davie/CBC)

Candlelight vigil held to remember employee who died at Halifax Walmart

Halifax Walmart removing piece of equipment after worker found dead

Kaur immigrated to Canada with her mother about two years ago. She was described as a "young beautiful girl who came to Canada with big dreams," in an online fundraising page organized by the Maritime Sikh Society.

The society said Kaur's body was found by her mother, who also worked at the store.

The Mumford Road store remained closed on Monday.

Nova Scotia's Department of Labour lifted a stop-work order for the store's bakery and a piece of equipment on Oct. 28.

Walmart said last week the bakery oven was being removed from the store. Removing the oven had always been part of a standard remodel program being implemented across the country, the company said.