News
Defence Investment Agency to be given new authority, oversight

Defence Investment Agency to be given new authority, oversight

OTTAWA -- A new government office tasked with purchasing the most expensive equipment for the military is about to be upgraded to give it new independence and oversight, according to the Liberal government's spring economic update.

Liberals target affordability to meet era of uncertainty in spring fiscal update

Liberals target affordability to meet era of uncertainty in spring fiscal update

The federal Liberals say they're getting a windfall from better-than-expected fiscal revenues and are largely putting that money back into circulation to support households and build up the economy. But Ottawa's spring economic update also sees some darker clouds on the horizon as uncertainty over the Iran war and U.S. tariffs threatens growth in the years ahead. Finance Minister Francois-Philippe...

Liberals table first fiscal document in seven years that won't need opposition votes

Liberals table first fiscal document in seven years that won't need opposition votes

The Liberal government released a spring economic update Tuesday closely focused on boosting investment and job training. While the document contains measures that likely would face pushback from the opposition, the Liberals — thanks to their new parliamentary majority — won't have to worry about securing opposition votes to pass it. The thin document served mostly to provide a mid-year...

Carney Liberals launching new skilled training strategy, deficit projected at $65.3B

Carney Liberals launching new skilled training strategy, deficit projected at $65.3B

In its first-ever spring economic update, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s newly minted majority government is promising to spend billions on a strategy to train more skilled workers to help deliver on its plans to build big. The revised fiscal outlook also shows that while the federal deficit is $11. 4 billion lower in the current fiscal year than what was...

Ottawa outlines plans to tackle financial crime, ban crypto ATMs

Ottawa outlines plans to tackle financial crime, ban crypto ATMs

OTTAWA -- The federal government plans to ban cryptocurrency ATMs as part of a suite of measures in its spring economic statement targeting financial crimes.

Liberals on better-than-expected ground, plan to spend billions on skilled trades in economic update

Liberals on better-than-expected ground, plan to spend billions on skilled trades in economic update

Projections put deficit $11.5B lower than November budget. Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne's spring economic update finds the Liberal government sitting in a better-than-expected position — driven by a resilient economy and surging oil prices — which it's using to justify billions in new spending to train up tens of thousands of skilled workers and set up a sovereign wealth fund...

Feds outline $4.3B for Indigenous education, health in spring economic update

Feds outline $4.3B for Indigenous education, health in spring economic update

OTTAWA -- The federal government is promising $4.3 billion for First Nations education, Inuit food security and Indigenous child welfare in its spring economic update.



Feds formalize enhanced oil recovery tax credit flip-flop in spring economic update

Feds formalize enhanced oil recovery tax credit flip-flop in spring economic update

OTTAWA -- The federal government's spring economic update today formalizes a pivot in climate policy that was first made in last year's energy agreement with Alberta.

Big spending, smaller deficit: key numbers from the spring economic update

Big spending, smaller deficit: key numbers from the spring economic update

OTTAWA -- Here's a brief look at some of the key numbers in the Liberal government's 2026 spring economic update:

Federal government to inject $755 million into Canadian sport over five years

Federal government to inject $755 million into Canadian sport over five years

The federal government had added $755 million in sport funding over the next five years, which drops to $118 million after that, as part of its spring economic update.

Defence Investment Agency to be revamped under 'new minister'

Defence Investment Agency to be revamped under 'new minister'

OTTAWA -- The Liberal government says the office tasked with making major purchases for the military is about to be upgraded to give it new independence and oversight.

Spring economic update includes plans to cut spending on consultants, protect whales

Spring economic update includes plans to cut spending on consultants, protect whales

OTTAWA -- The federal government tabled its spring economic update on Tuesday, projecting a $66.9 billion deficit for the fiscal year which ended on March 31.

Lawyer says Alberta premier exploiting loophole with referendum site, wants ad ban

Lawyer says Alberta premier exploiting loophole with referendum site, wants ad ban

An Edmonton lawyer is calling on Elections Alberta to close a loophole allowing Premier Danielle Smith's government to advertise in favour of her fall referendum on sweeping immigration reform. Provincial law prohibits the government from advertising or publishing certain information related to a referendum if the vote is taking place alongside a general or municipal election. Legislation passed last year...

United Arab Emirates says it will leave OPEC, a blow to the oil cartel

United Arab Emirates says it will leave OPEC, a blow to the oil cartel

The United Arab Emirates said Tuesday it will leave OPEC effective May 1, stripping the oil cartel of one of its largest producers and further weakening its leverage over global oil supplies and prices. The UAE's decision had been rumored as a possibility for some time, as it pushed back in recent years against OPEC production quotas it felt had...

Shell invests $22 billion in Canada's oilpatch and more deals could be coming

Shell invests $22 billion in Canada's oilpatch and more deals could be coming

'The tide is definitely changing here,' says analysts as foreign interest grows. After selling off a large chunk of its Canadian assets nearly a decade ago, U.K.-based energy giant Shell is now expanding its operations in Alberta and British Columbia by acquiring Calgary-based ARC Resources for $22 billion. It is the latest in a series of deals in the Canadian...

European Union top brass says Carney is off to Armenia this weekend for summit

European Union top brass says Carney is off to Armenia this weekend for summit

The European Union says Prime Minister Mark Carney will be in Armenia this weekend as part of a summit focused on strategic issues. Carney's office has not publicly confirmed the visit, but European Council President Antonio Costa says on social media that the prime minister will be attending. The European Political Community summit will take place in the Armenian capital...



Prime Minister Mark Carney promises 'good news' in spring economic update

Prime Minister Mark Carney promises 'good news' in spring economic update

Prime Minister Mark Carney says the Liberals are "good fiscal managers" — and he'll have the chance to prove it when the federal government tables its spring economic update Tuesday afternoon. The federal government typically tables mid-year updates between annual budgets to revise its economic and fiscal projections. These updates can include new spending and are sometimes referred to as...

Saskatchewan's Moe supportive of sovereign wealth fund, calls for easing regulations

Saskatchewan's Moe supportive of sovereign wealth fund, calls for easing regulations

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe is calling Ottawa's new sovereign wealth fund a good initiative. But Moe says if Prime Minister Mark Carney really wants to unlock investments in major projects, then the government should walk back a number of environmental policies he says are getting in the way. Carney says the fund will be used to invest in major Canadian...

State of 24 Sussex 'an embarrassment,' says Carney - PM says he wants to see his successors return to official residence

State of 24 Sussex 'an embarrassment,' says Carney - PM says he wants to see his successors return to official residence

PM says he wants to see his successors return to official residence. The state of 24 Sussex Drive is "an embarrassment," says Prime Minister Mark Carney, who suggested he wants a decision made about the future of the derelict residence meant for Canada's prime ministers. "You're not going to see me at 24 Sussex, but I would like to see...

Canada won't be 'chasing a small deal' to get U.S. tariff relief, Carney says

Canada won't be 'chasing a small deal' to get U.S. tariff relief, Carney says

Prime minister points to other countries he suggests are unhappy with agreements reached with U.S. Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada and the U.S. could resolve the ongoing tariff dispute within "days" if the U.S. side had the "bandwidth and the inclination to go through with it." The U.S. has maintained hefty import levies on a number of Canadian goods...

‘Rushed return’: with Liberals now in a majority, former cabinet staffers and past Grit MPs ‘want back in’

‘Rushed return’: with Liberals now in a majority, former cabinet staffers and past Grit MPs ‘want back in’

Former B.C. Liberal MP John Aldag wants his party to begin nominating candidates as soon as possible so they can start campaigning and fundraising for the next election. A significant number of exempt ministerial and MP staffers who left in 2024 expecting a Liberal defeat are now returning to Parliament Hill, as the party now holds a majority and Prime...

Liberals question Senate’s handling of bail reform bill

Liberals question Senate’s handling of bail reform bill

A senior government source told iPolitics that senators are slowing down a bill supported by the Liberals and Conservatives, as well as provincial and territorial premiers, and municipal police chiefs.

Prime Minister Mark Carney announces Canada's 1st sovereign wealth fund

Prime Minister Mark Carney announces Canada's 1st sovereign wealth fund

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the country's first national sovereign wealth fund on Monday, pitching it as a way for Canadians to invest in nation-building projects. Carney said the Canada Strong Fund will invest in major Canadian industrial projects in areas such as energy, infrastructure, mining, agriculture and technology. The prime minister said the federal government will put up funds...

Carney's trade advisory group meets for 1st time, welcomes new member

Carney's trade advisory group meets for 1st time, welcomes new member

Prime Minister Mark Carney's new advisory council on Canada--U.S. trade met for the first time today, ahead of trade negotiations with President Donald Trump's White House that are set to begin over the coming months. Carney recently struck the new committee in preparation for the scheduled review of the Canada-United States-Mexico agreement on trade, better known as CUSMA, which must...

Quebec premier meets U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Washington D.C.

Quebec premier meets U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Washington D.C.

Quebec's premier met today in Washington D.C. with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, an influential member of President Donald Trump's cabinet. Christine Frechette met Greer ahead of negotiations between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico on the continental free-trade pact, scheduled to begin July 1.


Canadian manufacturers call for tariffs on global imports of wood products

Canadian manufacturers call for tariffs on global imports of wood products

Canadian wood manufacturers are welcoming a trade inquiry into wood imports but say the investigation needs to be followed by immediate provisional tariffs on foreign-made goods entering the country. Earlier this month, Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said the government had directed the Canadian International Trade Tribunal to launch an inquiry into global imports of wood cabinets and vanities, hardwood flooring...

Business groups say new sovereign wealth fund another helpful tool

Business groups say new sovereign wealth fund another helpful tool

Business groups say the federal government's decision to establish Canada's first sovereign wealth fund could be helpful to get projects going, but is not a singular fix. Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the Canada Strong Fund on Monday, saying it will invest in major Canadian industrial projects in areas such as energy, infrastructure, mining, agriculture and technology with an initial...

Liberals formalize majority, move to limit debate on committee restructuring

Liberals formalize majority, move to limit debate on committee restructuring

The three Liberals who won the byelections that secured a majority government for Prime Minister Mark Carney earlier this month took their seats in the House of Commons on Monday. The government moved quickly to make use of its new majority powers by introducing a motion to limit debate on a change to the House rules that would enable the...

NDP leader says he won't run in Quebec byelection after Boulerice announces departure

NDP leader says he won't run in Quebec byelection after Boulerice announces departure

NDP Leader Avi Lewis said Monday he won't run in an upcoming Quebec byelection to fill a seat being left vacant by Alexandre Boulerice. Boulerice officially announced Monday he is leaving Parliament to run provincially for the Quebec solidaire after spending 15 years as an MP. He will sit as an Independent until he formally resigns his seat in the...

'Extremely sovereigntist': Alexandre Boulerice quits federal NDP to join Quebec party

'Extremely sovereigntist': Alexandre Boulerice quits federal NDP to join Quebec party

After 15 years in Ottawa with the NDP, Montreal MP Alexandre Boulerice says he is quitting federal politics to join Quebec solidaire -- a leftist, sovereigntist party -- ahead of October's provincial election. His departure had been an open secret for some time, and he made the official announcement Monday in the Montreal riding of Gouin, where he will seek...

What PM Carney is saying about affordability the day before the spring economic update

What PM Carney is saying about affordability the day before the spring economic update

On the eve of his first spring economic update, Prime Minister Mark Carney insists his government is focused on “doing more than one thing at one time” to increase affordability for Canadians. Carney made the comments in Ottawa Monday, speaking to reporters following his announcement that his government is creating Canada’s first national sovereign wealth fund. A sovereign wealth fund...

Conservatives call on auditor general to investigate $250 million PrescribeIT program

Conservatives call on auditor general to investigate $250 million PrescribeIT program

Conservative MPs are calling on the auditor general to probe the federal government's handling of a $250 million program which is reportedly set to be scrapped next month. PrescribeIT was launched in 2017 to modernize the way doctors send prescriptions to pharmacies and to phase out older technology, such as fax machines. Conservative MP Dan Mazier cites reporting by The...

Three newest MPs enter House of Commons after byelections

Three newest MPs enter House of Commons after byelections

The three Liberals who won the byelections earlier this month that secured a majority government for Prime Minister Mark Carney are taking their seats in the House of Commons today. Doly Begum, Danielle Martin and Tatiana Auguste were sworn in as members of Parliament on Saturday. Begum and Martin are newcomers who replaced outgoing cabinet ministers Bill Blair and Chrystia...

These voters are mad — and they’re wondering where their floor-crossing MP has gone

These voters are mad — and they’re wondering where their floor-crossing MP has gone

The sign on the door says “closed” and Jamie Morningstar is not happy. Clutching an envelope of income tax papers, he’s come for help to the constituency office of local MP Marilyn Gladu, who two weeks ago stunned the populace — and Parliament — by jumping from the Conservatives to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberals.

Lower-than-forecasted deficit, new affordability measures expected in spring fiscal update

Lower-than-forecasted deficit, new affordability measures expected in spring fiscal update

Finance minister says economic resilience and affordability are priorities. Finance experts predict Tuesday's spring economic update will contain a number of new economic measures aimed at tackling affordability and the wider economic challenges of the country, and they expect the update will show a smaller-than-forecasted deficit. "That'll be the headline number that will likely get a lot of attention," said...

Poll suggests Canadians want Carney government focused on affordability in next year

Poll suggests Canadians want Carney government focused on affordability in next year

A new poll from the Angus Reid Institute suggests Canadians are giving Prime Minister Mark Carney's government a passing grade in its first year of international relations, but it has failed to meet expectations on affordability issues. The poll asked 2,013 Canadians a series of questions about the government's performance since it won the election on April 28, 2025. Last...

338 Sunday Update: Conservatives Losing Ground. Not a Liberal surge - that came last winter - but a steady erosion of CPC support is widening the gap.

338 Sunday Update: Conservatives Losing Ground. Not a Liberal surge - that came last winter - but a steady erosion of CPC support is widening the gap.

Fresh off a by-election sweep and a newly formed (if thin) majority in the House of Commons, the federal Liberals have increased their lead over the Conservatives in recent days—not because Liberal support has surged, but because the Conservatives have slipped further back in the aggregate. In our latest episode of The Numbers (recorded Thursday morning), Eric and I discussed...

Oil producers to begin unveiling profits and spending plans

Oil producers to begin unveiling profits and spending plans

Canadian oil producers will provide a first glimpse this week of how the spike in energy prices is boosting their bottom line — and what they plan to do with the bumper profits. Companies are releasing financial results for the first three months of the year, covering a period when oil prices were relatively low in January and February before...

Carney expected to have more Western Canada candidates to pick from for Supreme Court seat

Carney expected to have more Western Canada candidates to pick from for Supreme Court seat

The deadline to apply for an open seat on the Supreme Court of Canada is Monday, and Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to have more candidates to choose from the West compared with the region’s previous vacancy on the top court. Justice Sheilah Martin, from Calgary, announced her retirement in mid-January. Her last day is May 30. Mr. Carney...

Carney to announce sovereign wealth fund to back major projects

Carney to announce sovereign wealth fund to back major projects

Prime Minister Mark Carney will announce plans to create a sovereign wealth fund Monday, a day ahead of the spring economic statement, according to a senior government official. The fund will be used to invest alongside the private sector in major projects that the Carney government has committed to building over the coming years, and the government also plans to...

Christine Frechette to begin first foreign mission as Quebec premier

Christine Frechette to begin first foreign mission as Quebec premier

Quebec Premier Christine Frechette will travel to Washington on Monday for her first official foreign mission. She will arrive there just as the U.S. capital has been shaken by what appears to be another assassination attempt targeting President Donald Trump. The visit comes just two months before trade negotiations begin on the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, scheduled for July 1.

Poilievre demands Carney cap federal deficit at $31B ahead of spring economic update

Poilievre demands Carney cap federal deficit at $31B ahead of spring economic update

Liberal government tabling new fiscal picture amid U.S. trade war, oil instability. Ahead of an important fiscal update this week, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is demanding Prime Minister Mark Carney cap the federal deficit at $31 billion, in part by eliminating big ticket items like a major rail project and the gun buyback program. "We should have no deficit," Poilievre...

Liberals must show results in spring economic update: former PBO

Liberals must show results in spring economic update: former PBO

Prime Minister Mark Carney will be under pressure to show results from his economic agenda when his government tables an update to its fiscal outlook on Tuesday. The spring economic statement comes one year to the day after the party secured a minority mandate in the federal election, a fourth win for the Liberals in a row, but the first...