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April 28, 2025

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Binding Commitments Received for A$1.0 Million under Convertible Note Placement

Investing 5 Mins Read

Nutritional Growth Solutions Limited (ASX:NGS) (‘NGS’ or ‘the Company’), is pleased to announce that it has received binding commitments for the issue of 1,000,000 convertible notes (Placement CNs), to be issued at $1.00 each (CN Placement).

HIGHLIGHTS

  • NGS has secured commitments of A$1.0 million under a placement of convertible notes.
  • Each investor who is issued with ordinary shares on conversion of the convertible notes will be issued with one option for each fully paid ordinary share that is issued on conversion of the convertible notes, with that issuance of options to take place on the same date as the ordinary share issuance date. This is expected to be within 10 business days of NGS shareholders approving that issuance of options including for the purposes of ASX Listing Rule 7.1. These options will be exercisable on a 1:1 basis into fully paid ordinary shares in NGS at an exercise price of $0.04 per option, and will expire 3 years following their issue date if they have not been exercised during that 3 year period.
  • The placement of convertible notes was supported by Australian sophisticated and professional investors.
  • Funds raised from the placement of convertible notes will be used to purchase inventory for retail expansion in CVS and Wakefern, as well as working capital and corporate expenses.

The offer of the Placement CNs was made to sophisticated and professional investors in Australia and successfully closed, achieving binding commitments of A$1.0 million.

Stephen Turner, NGS CEO and Managing Director, commented on the CN Placement:

“We are very pleased with the strong support shown by investors in this placement, which provides important growth capital to support our retail expansion into leading U.S. retailers, including CVS and Wakefern. We would like to thank our shareholders for their ongoing support as we execute our growth strategy and build on the momentum from our recent distribution achievements.”

The conversion of the convertible notes into fully paid ordinary shares in NGS will take place at a price of between A$0.03 and A$0.025 per ordinary share within 10 business days of NGS shareholders approving their conversion including for the purposes of ASX Listing Rule 7.1. NGS expects to convene a general meeting of its shareholders to consider whether to approve the conversion of the convertible notes into fully paid ordinary shares in NGS and whether to approve the issuance of options within the next few weeks.

Until the convertible notes are converted into ordinary shares or redeemed, they bear interest which is payable quarterly in arrear at either 10% per annum (if the holder of the convertible notes elects not to receive ordinary shares in NGS in lieu of cash interest), or 15% per annum (if the holder of the convertible notes elects to receive ordinary shares in NGS in lieu of cash interest). Issuance of ordinary shares in NGS in lieu of cash interest is subject to NGS being in compliance with the ASX Listing Rules. If the convertible notes have not been converted by the date that is 2 years after their issue date, they will be redeemed by NGS at their issue price.

Each investor who is issued with ordinary shares on conversion of the convertible notes will be issued with one option for each fully paid ordinary share that is issued on conversion of the convertible notes, with that issuance of options to take place on the same date as the ordinary share issuance date. This is expected to be within 10 business days of NGS shareholders approving that issuance of options including for the purposes of ASX Listing Rule 7.1. These options will be exercisable on a 1:1 basis into fully paid ordinary shares in NGS at an exercise price of $0.04 per option, and will expire 3 years following their issue date if they have not been exercised during that 3 year period (the CN Holder Options). Quotation of the CN Holder Options on the ASX will be sought.

USE OF PROCEEDS

The net proceeds from the issue of the convertible notes are planned to be used in the following areas:

LEAD MANAGER OPTIONS

The Company engaged GBA Capital Pty Ltd (AFSL 544680) to act as lead manager for the CN Placement (Lead Manager).

Under the terms of the mandate with the Lead Manager, the Lead Manager will be issued with 30% of the number of CN Holder Options (the Lead Manager Options). The Lead Manager Options will be exercisable on a 1:1 basis into fully paid ordinary shares in NGS at an exercise price of $0.04 per Lead Manager Option. The Lead Manager Options will expire 3 years following their issue date if they have not been exercised during that 3 year period.

The Lead Manager Options will be issued within 10 business days of NGS shareholders approving that issuance including for the purposes of ASX Listing Rule 7.1. NGS expects the Lead Manager Options to be issued at the same time as the issuance of the CN Holder Options. Quotation of the Lead Manager Options on the ASX will be sought.

Click here for the full ASX Release

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Stagflation Looms: Why Economists Are Warning of a Rare and Painful Economic Storm

Investing 8 Mins Read

The American economy may be heading toward stagflation, an environment characterized by high inflation, slowing growth and rising unemployment, US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell cautioned earlier this month.

‘Unemployment is likely to go up as the economy slows in all likelihood, and inflation is likely to go up as tariffs find their way and some part of those tariffs come to be paid by the public,’ Powell said during an April 15 appearance in Chicago.

While he was careful not to use the word ‘stagflation,’ experts have pointed out that the circumstances Powell outlined correspond with its definition, thrusting the term back into public discourse.

But what exactly is stagflation, and why is it such a concern for investors? Read on to find out.

What is stagflation?

Stagflation describes the economic scenario where inflation remains high even as economic growth slows and unemployment rises. Stagflation is a rare occurrence, and contradicts the foundational economic belief that inflation typically rises during economic booms and falls during recessions.

The term was coined by British politician Iain Macleod in 1965 and became infamous during the 1970s oil crisis, when a dramatic spike in oil prices triggered both rising costs and shrinking output across much of the global economy.

In simple terms, stagflation means you’re paying more for everything while earning less; at the same time, finding a new job, or even keeping your current one, becomes more difficult.

The misery index, created to measure such bleak periods, adds the unemployment rate to the inflation rate. During the worst of the 1970s, it exceeded 20. As of March 25, 2025, it stood at around 6.6, with inflation at 2.4 percent and unemployment at 4.2 percent. Many economists fear that number could rise quickly if current trends continue.

Why are experts sounding the alarm on stagflation?

A combination of geopolitical shocks, fragile supply chains and new economic policies — particularly a sweeping series of tariffs enacted by the Trump administration — has created a perfect storm, economists say.

The tariffs include a 10 percent universal tax on all imports, up to 25 percent duties on goods from Canada and Mexico and a staggering 245 percent tariff on imports from China. These are not minor adjustments — they are foundational changes to the pricing structure of the US consumer and business marketplace.

‘The level of the tariff increases announced so far is significantly larger than anticipated,’ Powell said in a written statement from his Chicago appearance that was published on April 16. ‘The same is likely to be true of the economic effects, which will include higher inflation and slower growth.’

In other words, the tariffs act as a supply shock: They make it more expensive to bring goods into the country, which businesses pass on to consumers through price hikes. At the same time, higher costs can lead companies to cut back on investment and hiring, slowing the economy and increasing job losses.

“The Trump White House tariff policy has certainly increased the risk of both higher inflation and lower growth,” Brett House, professor of professional practice in economics at Columbia Business School, told CNBC.

To better understand what’s at stake, economists are looking at the 1970s — a decade that was marked by an oil embargo, skyrocketing prices and stagnant economic activity.

In response, then-Fed Chair Paul Volcker aggressively hiked interest rates, with the federal funds rate peaking at nearly 21 percent in 1981. The move ultimately tamed inflation, but plunged the country into two recessions.

That painful cure became the playbook for handling runaway prices, with central banks committing to maintaining credibility and acting decisively, even at the cost of job losses.

“The Fed’s credibility in keeping inflation low and stable, won over decades, kept longer-term inflation expectations stable,” Fed Governor Adriana D. Kugler said in a recent statement.

Still, today’s economic landscape differs from the 1970s in critical ways. The US is no longer as dependent on foreign oil. And labor unions, once a powerful driver of wage spirals, now represent a smaller portion of the workforce.

However, these differences might not offer much protection. While oil prices are less of a concern today, tariff-induced uncertainty could have a similar chilling effect.

How does stagflation impact everyday life?

For most people, stagflation translates into economic whiplash.

Essentially, prices go up, wages don’t keep pace and job security becomes tenuous. According to Forbes, a rising misery index would create a whole new roster of challenges for the everyday person.

To illustrate, people will likely have to spend more to get the same quantity of food, clothes and gas. Employees’ chances of getting laid off or working fewer hours will increase. For recent college graduates, the job market could become especially brutal. For families, the cost of borrowing — whether to buy a home, finance a car or use a credit card — could rise steeply if the Fed chooses to raise interest rates to combat inflation.

Diane Swonk, chief economist at KPMG, described today’s environment as having a “whiff of stagflation,” where people feel less secure about their financial future, even if the economic statistics haven’t fully caught up to the sentiment.

Is stagflation a certainty?

Not all economists agree that stagflation is inevitable, or that it will reach the same severity as in the 1970s.

Still, concerns are growing. Michael Feroli, JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s (NYSE:JPM) chief US economist, issued a warning earlier this month, stating the bank now expects a recession in 2025.

He predicts unemployment will rise to 5.3 percent, while a core measure of inflation will reach 4.4 percent, which he described as a “stagflationary forecast.”

KPMG also projects a shallow recession, with inflation peaking at the end of the third quarter. But even a modest downturn could be painful for vulnerable workers and households already stretched thin by pandemic-era economic disruptions and the fading buffer of savings built up during that time.

What does stagflation mean for investors?

Stagflation presents a complex and often discouraging landscape for investors.

Unlike recessions, where bonds tend to do well as interest rates fall, stagflation often erodes the value of both stocks and bonds. In such periods, equities can suffer from declining corporate profits due to rising input costs, as well as weakening consumer demand, creating varied headwinds for the stock market.

At the same time, high inflation erodes the real value of future earnings, often leading to downward pressure on stock prices, particularly for growth-oriented companies whose valuations depend heavily on projected future cashflow.

Bonds, too, become vulnerable. Inflation eats into the fixed income stream provided by bonds, especially longer-term bonds. As inflation rises, the purchasing power of interest payments declines, and yields on newly issued bonds increase to compensate investors, driving down the market value of existing lower-yield bonds.

This was evident during the 1970s, the last prolonged period of US stagflation. At that time, both the S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) and US treasuries experienced prolonged periods of underperformance in real terms.

Gold, on the other hand, surged in value as investors sought assets that could maintain their purchasing power amid inflation and economic uncertainty. The price of gold increased more than 1,000 percent from 1971 to 1980, reflecting its appeal as a hedge during economic stress. Commodities more broadly — such as oil, agricultural products and industrial metals — have historically performed better in stagflationary conditions.

Since commodities prices are a direct input into inflation measures, they tend to rise during inflationary periods, particularly when inflation is driven by supply shocks. For instance, in the 1970s, oil prices quadrupled following the OPEC embargo, delivering significant gains for energy producers and commodity-focused investors.

Still, it’s worth noting that no single asset or strategy is immune to the pressures of stagflation. While diversification, inflation hedging and a focus on quality assets are time-tested approaches, the unique combination of rising prices and faltering growth challenges even seasoned investors.

Investor takeaway

Stagflation is not just an economic term from the past — it may soon be a lived reality for millions and even billions.

With tariffs reshaping trade dynamics in real time, inflation hovering stubbornly above the Fed’s target and job growth showing signs of slowing, the conditions are set for a troubling period ahead.

Whether or not future policymaking can steer the economy away from this outcome remains to be seen. For now, consumers, businesses and investors alike would do well to prepare for the reality that stagflation brings — not just a historical anomaly, but a modern economic threat.

Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

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Silver Crown Royalties Announces Closing of Final Tranche of its Non-Brokered Private Placement

Investing 6 Mins Read

(TheNewswire)

Silver Crown Royalties Inc. ( Cboe: SCRI, OTCQX: SLCRF, BF: QS0 ) ( ‘Silver Crown’ ‘SCRi’ the ‘Corporation’ or the ‘Company’ ) is pleased to announce that the Company has successfully closed the third and final tranche (‘ Final Tranche ‘) of its non-brokered offering of units ( ‘Units’ ) that was previously announced on February 6, 2025 (the ‘Offering’ ) and issued 89,400 Units at a price of C$6.50 per Unit, for gross proceeds of approximately C$581,100

Each Unit consists of one common share ( ‘Common Share’ ) and one Common Share purchase warrant ( ‘Warrant’ ), with each Warrant exercisable to acquire one additional Common Share at an exercise price of C$13.00 for a period of three years from the closing date. A total of 232,248 Units were issued in accordance with the Offering for cumulative gross proceeds of C$1,509,615.

The proceeds from the Final Tranche will be used to partially fund the second tranche of the Company’s silver royalty acquisition on the Igor 4 project in Peru, as well as general and administrative expenses. All securities issued are subject to a statutory hold period of four months plus one day from the date of issuance, in accordance with applicable securities legislation. The closing was subject to customary conditions, including the approval of Cboe Canada Inc.

Regarding the receipt of payments from the Company’s producing royalties, Silver Crown expects to receive cash payments equivalent to approximately 6,703 ounces of silver in the first quarter of 2025. This is driven by the early payment of the PPX/Igor 4 royalty as well as payments under the Elk Gold Royalty.

ABOUT Silver Crown Royalties INC.

Founded by industry veterans, Silver Crown Royalties ( Cboe: SCRI | OTCQX: SLCRF | BF: QS0 ) is a publicly traded, silver royalty company. Silver Crown (SCRi) currently has four silver royalties of which three are revenue-generating. Its business model presents investors with precious metals exposure that allows for a natural hedge against currency devaluation while minimizing the negative impact of cost inflation associated with production. SCRi endeavors to minimize the economic impact on mining projects while maximizing returns for shareholders. For further information, please contact:

Silver Crown Royalties Inc.

Peter Bures, Chairman and CEO

Telephone: (416) 481-1744

Email: pbures@silvercrownroyalties.com

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This release contains certain ‘forward looking statements’ and certain ‘forward-looking information’ as defined under applicable Canadian and U.S. securities laws. Forward-looking statements and information can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as ‘may’, ‘will’, ‘should’, ‘expect’, ‘intend’, ‘estimate’, ‘anticipate’, ‘believe’, ‘continue’, ‘plans’ or similar terminology. The forward-looking information contained herein is provided for the purpose of assisting readers in understanding management’s current expectations and plans relating to the future. Readers are cautioned that such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. Forward-looking statements and information include, but are not limited to, the proceeds from the Final Tranche will be used to partially fund the second tranche of the Company’s silver royalty acquisition on the Igor 4 project in Peru, as well as general and administrative expenses. Forward-looking statements and information are based on forecasts of future results, estimates of amounts not yet determinable and assumptions that, while believed by management to be reasonable, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual actions, events or results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to: the impact of general business and economic conditions; the absence of control over mining operations from which SCRi will purchase gold and other metals or from which it will receive royalty payments and risks related to those mining operations, including risks related to international operations, government and environmental regulation, delays in mine construction and operations, actual results of mining and current exploration activities, conclusions of economic evaluations and changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; accidents, equipment breakdowns, title matters, labor disputes or other unanticipated difficulties or interruptions in operations; SCRi’s ability to enter into definitive agreements and close proposed royalty transactions; the inherent uncertainties related to the valuations ascribed by SCRi to its royalty interests; problems inherent to the marketability of gold and other metals; the inherent uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses; industry conditions, including fluctuations in the price of the primary commodities mined at such operations, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates and fluctuations in interest rates; government entities interpreting existing tax legislation or enacting new tax legislation in a way which adversely affects SCRi; stock market volatility; regulatory restrictions; liability, competition, the potential impact of epidemics, pandemics or other public health crises on SCRi’s business, operations and financial condition, loss of key employees. SCRi has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers are advised not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. SCRi undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information except as required by applicable law. Such forward-looking information represents management’s best judgment based on information currently available.

This document does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, securities of the Company in Canada, the United States or any other jurisdiction. Any such offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy the securities described herein will be made only pursuant to subscription documentation between the Company and prospective purchasers. Any such offering will be made in reliance upon exemptions from the prospectus and registration requirements under applicable securities laws, pursuant to a subscription agreement to be entered into by the Company and prospective investors. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, the reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

CBOE CANADA DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS NEWS RELEASE.

Copyright (c) 2025 TheNewswire – All rights reserved.

News Provided by TheNewsWire via QuoteMedia

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Greenland’s prime minister says island cannot be bought, US has ‘not been respectful’

Politics 2 Mins Read

Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said Sunday that comments from U.S. officials about the Arctic island have been disrespectful and that the island cannot be purchased, in defiance of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly floated the idea of buying the strategic territory.

Nielsen said Greenland ‘will never, ever be a piece of property that can be bought by just anyone’ as he stood by Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen during a joint press conference at Frederiksen’s Marienborg official residence in Lyngby, Denmark.

The Greenlandic prime minister was meeting with Frederiksen on the second day of a three-day official visit to Denmark. Greenland is a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark.

‘The talks from the United States have not been respectful,’ Nielsen said. ‘The words used have not been respectful. That’s why we need in this situation, we need to stand together.’

Political parties in Greenland recently agreed to form a broad-based new coalition government amid Trump’s targets on the territory.

This, as the island has for years been leaning toward eventual independence from Denmark.

Nielsen’s three-day visit seeks to address future cooperation between the two countries.

‘Denmark has the will to invest in the Greenlandic society, and we don’t just have that for historical reasons. We also have that because we are part of (the Danish) commonwealth with each other,’ Frederiksen said.

‘We of course have a will to also continue investing in the Greenlandic society,’ she added.

Nielsen is scheduled to meet Denmark’s King Frederik X on Monday before returning to Greenland with Frederik for a royal visit to the island.

Frederiksen and Nielsen were asked whether a meeting had been planned involving them and Trump.

‘We always want to meet with the American president,’ Frederiksen said. ‘Of course we want to. But I think we have been very, very clear in what is the [Danish commonwealth’s] approach to all parts of the Kingdom of Denmark.’

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Times Square billboard pops up rallying around ‘historic’ Trump accomplishment during first 100 days

Politics 4 Mins Read

A nonprofit patient’s rights advocacy group has placed a billboard in New York City’s Times Square praising President Donald Trump for ‘delivering’ on a major healthcare promise within his first 100 days in office. 

The billboard, placed by PatientsRightsAdvocate.org, (PRA) will run from April 28 to May 4 and touts Trump’s executive order signed in February directing the departments of the Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services to make healthcare prices transparent.

‘President Trump delivers healthcare price transparency,’ the billboard, along with a picture of Trump resembling Superman says. ‘First 100 Days!’

Trump’s order directed the departments to ‘rapidly implement and enforce’ the Trump healthcare price transparency regulations, which he claims were slowed by the Biden administration.

The departments will ensure hospitals and insurers disclose actual prices, not estimates, and take action to make prices comparable across hospitals and insurers, including prescription drug prices.

PRA says that more than 1 in 3 Americans postponed or avoided care due to ‘fear of unknown costs’ and that 100 million Americans are in medical debt, which represents the country’s largest cause of personal bankruptcy. 

 ‘The magnitude of President Trump’s delivering ‘radical’ price transparency in healthcare is historic,’ Cynthia Fisher, founder and chairman of PatientRightsAdvocate.org, said in a statement. 

‘Patients soon will have access to actual prices, not estimates, before they receive care. Prices create a functional market where the consumer benefits from competition and choice to lower costs,’ Fisher continued. ‘Soon, patients will be able to shop for the best quality of care at the best price. Prices protect patients with remedy and recourse from overcharges, errors, and fraud. We are closer than ever to shifting the power to the consumer to live healthier and longer lives at a far lower cost.’  

Andrew Bremberg, former assistant to President Donald Trump and director of the Domestic Policy Council at the first Trump White House, also touted Trump’s executive order, saying that the president ‘built on his first term healthcare legacy and signed an even stronger price transparency executive order. 

‘His efforts to deliver real prices, not estimates, underscore his unwavering commitment to the American people. President Trump has a bold vision to transform the American healthcare system with price transparency as the catalyst.’ 

The executive order notes a number of concerns with current healthcare pricing, including that prices vary between hospitals in the same region.

‘One patient in Wisconsin saved $1,095 by shopping for two tests between two hospitals located within 30 minutes of one another,’ according to the statement.

The White House claims one economic analysis found Trump’s original price transparency rules, if fully implemented, could deliver savings of $80 billion for consumers, employers and insurers by 2025.

‘The hospital wanted me to pay $3,700 up front for a simple fibroid removal surgery,’ Arizona patient Theresa Schmotzer said in a statement at the time of the billboard’s placement. ‘Because that seemed high, I went looking for what it should cost. I found the actual price online and saw that my share was only $700 not $3,700. Because I had access to real prices, not estimates, I saved $3,000. President Trump’s executive order on healthcare price transparency will allow more people to find real prices and save.’  

States across the country have been pushing similar measures in the form of legislation to ensure that patients are given more transparency about the healthcare costs they are assuming, including in Ohio, where legislation was recently signed into law requiring hospitals to post exact prices in dollars and cents for all available services. 

‘They’ll be able to check them, compare them, go to different locations, so they can shop for the highest-quality care at the lowest cost,’ Trump wrote in a statement when he signed the executive order. ‘And this is about high-quality care. You’re also looking at that. You’re looking at comparisons between talents, which is very important. And, then, you’re also looking at cost. And, in some cases, you get the best doctor for the lowest cost. That’s a good thing.’

Fox News Digital’s Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.

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Trump threats boosted Canada’s Carney, hurt Conservatives as country votes for new leader

Politics 5 Mins Read

OTTAWA- In a dramatic reversal, the governing Liberals, who were trailing the official opposition Conservatives in the polls earlier this year, appear poised to win their fourth consecutive term in office thanks to President Donald Trump’s threats against Canada’s economy and sovereignty, according to election watchers.

‘It looks like there will be a Liberal government, which seems to be what the polls point to, and it would be a very big surprise if the Conservatives won,’ Angus Reid, founder and chair of the Angus Reid Institute, told Fox News Digital.

In an Angus Reid Institute poll released on Dec. 30, the Conservatives were in super-majority territory with 45% support, compared to the Liberals at 11%. The results of a poll released on Saturday had the Liberals at 44% with a four-point lead over the Conservatives at 40%.

‘This really has been an extraordinary election in that, by all rights, Canadians had it with the Liberals’ woke policies and with their misspending and didn’t like Trudeau,’ Reid said.

He explained that the political dynamic changed when Justin Trudeau announced his resignation as Canada’s 23rd prime minister and Trump was inaugurated as the 47th president in January, and former central bank governor Mark Carney succeeded Trudeau as prime minister and Liberal leader in March.

‘Between tariffs and threats of annexation, Trump became the single most important issue in the country overnight,’ said Reid. ‘That gave Mark Carney an opportunity to be the first out of the gate to say that we’re not going to put up with this – we’re a sovereign nation and we’re going to fight.’

The campaign has been a two-party race between the Liberals and Conservatives and led by two starkly different leaders who focused on strengths that their critics considered weaknesses.

Carney, a 60-year-old former senior executive at Goldman Sachs who never held elected office prior to winning the Liberal leadership, has called on voters to consider – during a time of economic crisis fueled by Trump’s threats – his experience, which includes running the central banks of Canada and England, and as the United Nations Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance. 

His detractors, however, have accused him of being out of touch and ‘not connected to the common man’ and has spent a fair amount of time outside Canada, as a former deputy national Conservative Party campaign manager told Fox News Digital last month.

Meanwhile, Poilievre’s message to voters is that he is the agent for ‘change.’ However, his opponents claim the 45-year-old Conservative leader is part of the political establishment, having spent almost half of his life as a member of Parliament since he was first elected in 2004 – and the change he touts came with a shift in Liberal leadership from Trudeau to Carney.

The results of an Ipsos poll conducted for Global News in Canada, released on April 21, showed a narrow three-point lead for the Liberals at 41% over the Conservatives at 38%. 

Darrell Bricker, CEO of Ipsos Global Public Affairs, told Fox News Digital that the Liberals were ahead of the Conservatives by 12 points in mid-April and have lost ground since ‘because of the effect of Donald Trump, both positive and negative.’

‘When Donald Trump is in the news saying 51st-state stuff, that brings the focus back to the major issue that the Liberals lead on, which is dealing with him,’ said Bricker.

‘But over the past two weeks, Donald Trump has kind of gone dark on Canada. He’s been focused on China, U.S. government funding of Harvard University, and to the extent he’s talking about trade, it’s about global trade deals.’

That, said Bricker, has resulted in many Canadians returning to their pre-Trump main issue of affordability, through the lens of the Liberals running the government over the past decade.

Ultimately, the outcome of Monday’s general election will be decided by geography, according to Bricker, whosaid that the national vote ‘will be won or lost’ in Ontario, particularly in Toronto and the surrounding so-called 905 region, which refers to the telephone area code, where there are 55 ridings (electoral districts) and about 4.5 million eligible voters.

‘The 905 voted overwhelmingly for Justin Trudeau’s Liberals three times,’ said Bricker. ‘If they do it again, the Liberals will win a fourth consecutive term in office.’

Last week, Carney said if he remains prime minister following the election that he would have a meeting with Trump ‘within days’ as part of an ‘ambitious and broad-ranging discussion’ on a new trade and security deal between Canada and the U.S.

Reid said that the Liberals’ improved showing was not just about Canadians warming to Carney, but also about Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s failure to turn the dial from focusing on a consumer carbon tax, which the Liberal leader canceled on April 1 in his first act as prime minister, and ‘still reflecting on Trudeau long after he had gone, instead of jumping right away onto the Trump threat and becoming something that he would lead the charge on.’

The irony, in Reid’s view, is that ‘Trump imperiled the campaign of an individual who could be in many ways his stepbrother in Canada,’ he said about Poilievre, who he called ‘mini-Trump,’ and his ‘anti-woke,’ smaller-government stance – ‘Trump-esque policies that the American right might want to see in Canada and certainly a lot of Canadians on the right want to see.’

According to Elections Canada, a record 7.3 million Canadians cast their ballots in advance polls over the Easter weekend. With the country having six time zones, the results aren’t expected to be known until late Monday evening.

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How a DOGE review can actually improve the programs that fight HIV/AIDS

Politics 5 Mins Read
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency have been aggressively overhauling the bloated and cumbersome U.S. federal bureaucracy by re-examining contracts, questioning what taxpayer dollars are funding and who that funding is going to. 

The public health sector hasn’t been immune, with the Trump administration poring over the layers of bureaucracy and freezing or canceling millions in grants. Countless programs within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), including those designed to target the treatment and spread of HIV/AIDS, are, or will be, in the crosshairs.

As a former White House director of national AIDS policy who was one of the chief architects of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the first director of the HIV/AIDS Bureau at the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), and as an LGBT conservative with a career in medicine, business, and public health, I believe HIV/AIDS advocates should embrace and support such a review. 

While it is critical that the United States’ demonstrably effective long-standing strategy tackling the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and the resources dedicated to it, remain intact, many of these federal programs have not been re-evaluated in years, nor have they been audited for waste, fraud or abuse. 

Advocates in support of maintaining the United States’ aggressive approach to the HIV/AIDS epidemic should welcome the review of HIV/AIDS specific initiatives to ensure that they are optimally designed to meet the needs of the current epidemic.

Take the Ryan White CARE Act, for example, which funds essential healthcare services for uninsured and underinsured individuals living with HIV/AIDS in the U.S. The program, which received $2.5 billion in federal funding in FY 2024, hasn’t been reauthorized by Congress since 2009. In that time, the expansion of healthcare coverage through Medicaid substantially reduced the number of people who needed Ryan White support for medical care and pharmaceuticals, yet its budget continued to grow. 

A reauthorization process would allow for a close look at spending priorities embedded in Ryan White – an initiative that was designed before highly effective HIV/AIDS therapy was even available. Surely, the HIV/AIDS community would do well to see if that funding might be better reallocated elsewhere, such as toward substance abuse and mental health services, or other needed care. 

DOGE can also remedy unnecessary bureaucratic overlap. The Ryan White program is run through the HRSA, and the Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative, started by Trump during his first term, is run through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Despite the programs’ complementary missions, they are siloed off into separate entities with their own budgets and staff, resulting in unnecessary administrative overhead costs and potentially wasteful spending. 

The Trump administration is reportedly looking to streamline these two initiatives into one program run through the HRSA to consolidate the resources and make them more efficient. Advocates for a strong public health response to HIV/AIDS should be open to considering these kinds of commonsense reforms and not wringing their hands or fearmongering to voters.

While efficiency is needed, it would be a grave mistake to deprioritize funding for the HIV/AIDS epidemic as national policy. While new cases of the disease are on the decline in the U.S. due to advances in treatment and prevention efforts, data has shown that cutting those efforts leads to spikes in new infections, which in turn burden the healthcare system with costlier care and treatments down the line. 

Another critical pillar of the U.S. approach to the epidemic is PEPFAR, which funds HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, and care globally. PEPFAR’s value is not only as a cost-effective success in saving millions of lives but also as a means of exerting significant diplomatic influence with dozens of partner nations. 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio granted PEPFAR a waiver from the initial suspension of global health initiatives in the first days of the Trump administration. That does not mean that PEPFAR should be immune from an audit for inefficiency. 

Like all federal programs, there must be improvements that can be made and waste that can be cut. PEPFAR’s strategy and tactics, however, are undeniably working with an incredible return on investment. Keeping the program efficiently funded should be a bipartisan priority.

It’s easy to panic over reports of specific cuts or reorganizations to HIV/AIDS programs. Opponents of the Trump administration have every reason to fearmonger around the issue, as federal funding for prevention efforts is generally popular. 

But, if we genuinely care about the fight against HIV/AIDS, we must recognize that these programs, like the federal government itself, are not perfect. These HIV/AIDS programs are long overdue for auditing, evaluation and perhaps reorganization, and as long as our commitment to fighting the disease remains intact, the United States’ efforts will be stronger for it.

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Politics

EXCLUSIVE: Trump has achieved more in 100 days than ‘most presidents’ in their lifetimes, Johnson says

Politics 3 Mins Read

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said President Donald Trump has accomplished more in the first 100 days of his tenure than ‘most politicians or presidents accomplish in their entire lifetimes.’

The top House Republican said this first period of a new GOP trifecta in government has been a ‘flurry of activity’ used to set the stage for the party’s plans to pass a massive piece of legislation setting up Trump’s priorities on defense, taxes, energy and the border.

‘o much of what we’ve done is leading up to the big reconciliation bill, and that is the legislative vehicle, as I’ve explained to people, it will help us, through which we will deliver the president’s America First agenda,’ Johnson told Fox News Digital.

‘We’ve done it with arguably the smallest margin in the history of the Congress, so challenges every day, but it’s been very rewarding to lead us through that.’

He noted that Trump and Congress had worked together on passing the Laken Riley Act, and on keeping transgender women out of biological women’s spaces.

But the speaker also acknowledged that Trump has acted quite a bit on his own, as well.

‘He’s issued, I think, 110 executive orders and many other executive actions. And we’ve been working to codify so much of that. It’s been kind of a partnership,’ Johnson said.

But not everyone views it as equal. Democrats have accused Republicans of acquiescing power to Trump on issues ranging from tariffs to government funding.

‘I don’t think we’ve ceded any authority. I think that he’s doing what is within his scope to do. There’s an assumption made by Congress that the administration, whoever is in the administration, will use the money that is appropriated to the executive branch as a good steward, that they will take every measure possible to prevent fraud, waste and abuse,’ Johnson said. 

‘And tariffs as well – the president, whomever is president, has a responsibility and I think an expectation from Congress that they will deal with unfair trade partners around the globe.’

He also pointed out that a significant number of Trump’s orders have targeted Biden administration actions or policies that were similarly enacted without Congress.

‘I don’t think the president has engaged in executive overreach,’ Johnson said. ‘So much of what he’s done by executive order is reversing executive orders of his predecessor. So, it looks like he’s doing a lot, but he’s unwinding the damage done by the previous occupant of the Oval Office. So, he certainly has latitude to do that.’

But Johnson, a former constitutional law attorney who styled himself ‘a jealous guardian of Article I,’ vowed he would raise his concerns with Trump if he ever felt Congress’ power was being infringed. 

‘I don’t think he’s crossed the line yet. If he does, or if he did, you know, I would address it with him personally as a concern, as a partner, and explain that I think it’s been overdone,’ he said.

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