Canada’s Least Productive Parliament, More Ukraine Aid, and Intifada Chants | Blendr Report EP146

Canada barely governs itself anymore, yet keeps expanding its global ambitions.

A historically unproductive year in Canadian politics is wrapping up. The House of Commons sat for only 72 days. Seven bills passed. A $586-billion federal budget oversaw a country of more than 40 million people—yet Parliament barely showed up.

Canadians were told that this was a moment of national urgency. That elbows needed to be up. That global instability demanded seriousness, discipline, and sacrifice. And yet, while that rhetoric played on repeat, MPs collected full salaries, extended breaks, and attended parliament less than any government since the 1930s.

When you run the numbers, the absurdity sharpens. A Parliament responsible for hundreds of billions in spending functioned at a rate of less than one bill per month. Meanwhile, comparable legislatures elsewhere passed dozens of bills in the same period.

That dysfunction sets the backdrop for everything else Canada is now struggling to explain.

Ottawa committed another $2.5 billion in economic assistance to Ukraine, pushing Canada’s total support to well over $20 billion once military, humanitarian, and financial guarantees are included. This came as Canada’s own economy stalled, per-capita GDP declined, unemployment crept up, and growth projections worsened.

The official language around this funding is careful—phrases like “loan guarantees” and “international financing mechanisms.” However, Canada is absorbing risk while receiving no meaningful return. Much of the assistance is non-repayable. The rest places Canadian taxpayers on the hook if Ukraine cannot meet its obligations.

The uncomfortable question isn’t whether Ukraine deserves support. It’s whether a country struggling to govern itself, house its citizens, or grow its economy is in a position to act as a financial backstop for global institutions.

Unfortunately, the instability is not confined within parliament.

On Boxing Day, shoppers at Toronto’s Eaton Centre found themselves inside a protest calling to “globalize the intifada.” Chants echoed through one of the busiest public spaces in the country during a holiday meant for families.

Slogans promoting violence once confined to distant conflicts are now being broadcast indoors, in Canada, at scale. The state’s response was telling. Heavy enforcement has been used on peaceful Canadian protestors—bank accounts frozen, protests dispersed, laws rapidly applied. Except when it comes to Palestinian causes, restraint prevails.

None of these developments exist in isolation. A dormant Parliament. Expansive foreign commitments. Rising tolerance for public disorder. A media environment that frames these as unrelated or inevitable.

They are not.

Together, they point to a deeper problem: a political system increasingly detached from accountability at home, yet eager to perform responsibility abroad. A country more comfortable managing narratives than governing outcomes.

That’s the conversation we unpack in this episode of The Blendr Report—not through outrage, but through numbers, incentives, and first principles. If you’re trying to understand where Canada is heading—and why so much feels stalled, misaligned, or weak—this episode is worth your time.

The Blendr Report EP145 on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Rumble.