Smiling broadly, Prime Minister Mark Carney welcomed MP Lori Idlout to the Liberal caucus on Wednesday after convincing yet another opposition member to defect to the governing party — a political coup that brings him one step closer to a majority government. Speaking briefly to reporters on Parliament Hill with Idlout by his side, Carney said the former New Democrat...
The Liberal government is one step closer to forming a majority as another opposition MP has decided to join its ranks. Former NDP MP for Nunavut Lori Idlout was accompanied into her first Liberal caucus meeting by Prime Minister Mark Carney who praised his new recruit as one of “Canada’s greatest constituency MPs.” Noting that she represents a riding the...
Nunavut MP Lori Idlout says having a say in decisions affecting her community at a critical time for Canada's North was a key factor in her decision to join the Liberal government. News that Idlout had become the first member of the NDP to join Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberal caucus broke late Tuesday night.
The Conservative leader’s first international trip last week marked a major shift in his attempts to present himself as a prime minister-in-waiting and promote his brand of free-market “stoicism” to Canada’s allies in Europe, say strategists, who note that whether it signals a messaging pivot or a return to philosophical form, how it’s received by a domestic audience is the...
Prime Minister Mark Carney told MPs in the House of Commons Tuesday that Canada is not involved in the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and "will never participate in it." The prime minister changed his schedule to attend Tuesday's question period after being criticized for not answering to parliamentarians about Canada's position on the war in Iran. Carney was asked few...
NDP MP Lori Idlout became the fourth MP to cross the floor to the governing Liberals during the 45th Parliament, adding more fuel to the debate about the politically controversial practice. NDP interim leader Don Davies said his party believes floor crossers like Idlout should have to “put that decision to the voters”, and most Canadians appear to agree.
When we last reported on the Carney government’s seven national priorities, the story was largely about early alignment. Canadians broadly agreed with the direction of the agenda, but were reserving judgment on delivery. The government had set clear goals. The public was waiting to see results. Now, roughly one year into Mark Carney’s leadership, that early period of orientation is...
Canada's housing agency says the country made "meaningful" supply gains last year thanks to record rental construction and more "missing middle" type housing, however short-term imbalances remain for several markets. Housing construction rose six per cent year-over-year in 2025 to 259,000 units, with activity exceeding the 10-year average across most major markets, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.'s spring...
Canadian border officials are concerned that “industry pressure” is slowing efforts to stop powerful animal tranquillizers from moving through the illegal drug supply. Criminal organizations are increasingly mixing veterinary sedatives like xylazine, also known as “tranq” or “zombie drug,” into fentanyl to prolong the opioids’ effects and increase value. But drug users often don’t know they’re taking these tranquillizers, which...
Monday is the 250th anniversary of Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations. Smith is probably the best-known and least-read economist, which explains why he is so often misunderstood. For example, if you google “Father of Capitalism,” Smith’s name pops up, but neither his Wealth of Nations nor The Theory of Moral Sentiments uses the word “capitalism.” He did not preach the...
The Liberals are most likely to win all three byelections, which would give then a slight cushion with a two-seat majority. Mark Carney moved one step closer to a majority government overnight as another MP crossed the floor to join the Liberals. This time it was a New Democrat, not a Conservative, who decided to join as Nunavut MP Lori...
Mark Carney’s majority dreams are in the hands of the normally separatist voters of Terrebonne, a suburban community north of Montreal. Carney won 169 of 343 seats in the House of Commons on election night last April, just three short of the 171 he needs to govern with full control of the chamber. Since then, he has lured three Conservative...
It has been less than two weeks since the joint US/Israeli bombing campaign on Iran began. It is past time to bring it to a quick conclusion. Conflicting messages abound: “unconditional surrender” and “the war is very complete” from Donald Trump, and “not a single drop of oil will leave the region” from Iran. There is now clear evidence, from...
In recent days, it’s been as rare to find Prime Minister Mark Carney in Parliament as it is to spot the elusive boreal owl in the woods around Ottawa. A nine-day foreign trip, on top of a prior mission to China, plus breaks in the parliamentary schedule, and important prime ministerial business have all kept him from the House of...
The prime minister has been flying all over the world lately, doing his best to drum up new business opportunities for Canada. No criticism there. It’s a huge part of how Canada will adapt to this strange new global order, and he’s probably better suited to it than most. But let’s not miss out on chances to find new opportunities...
Jean Chrétien’s fondest moment as prime minister was his refusal in 2003 to join the United States-led attack on Iraq. The decision, taken after all-night deliberations, spared Canada from participation in then-U.S. president George W. Bush’s ill-fated mission based on false claims that then-Iraq leader Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction.
Has the war in Iran torpedoed a federal election in Canada? Just two weeks ago, speculation abounded that Prime Minister Mark Carney might call a vote to capitalize on sky-high polling numbers and his desire for a majority mandate. But 10 days into Operation Epic Fury, the likelihood of Canadians going to the polls this spring has radically diminished. The...
This past week, a New York Times columnist argued that a Canadian-led change to norms of international governance called Responsibility to Protect was now a “weak spot” that risks being exploited by today’s aggressors. The Responsibility to Protect was described by historian Martin Gilbert as “the most significant adjustment to sovereignty in 360 years.” It holds that when a government...
After avoiding the media for several days during the India leg of his 10-day international trade trip, Prime Minister Mark Carney finally addressed the media and spoke to the controversy caused by the unnamed Privy Council Office official who erroneously claimed India was no longer involved in foreign interference or transnational repression in Canada. During the back and forth with...
Mark Carney repeatedly says he is prime minister of a new government, not simply a continuation of Justin Trudeau’s decade leading Liberals in power. New polling from the Pollara Strategic Insights firm suggests that more Canadians are buying the “new” title than those who don’t, especially among those who voted Liberal last year. Pollara shared the results exclusively with the...
It is progress that the Prime Minister’s Office is now letting Canadians know when Mark Carney speaks with President Donald Trump, but it would be much better if the read-out that followed didn’t subtract from the sum of human knowledge.
On March 9, the Honourable Wayne Long, Secretary of State for Financial Institutions, tabled the certificate of nomination in the House of Commons to ask members of Parliament to approve Annette Ryan as the next Parliamentary Budget Officer of Canada. Ms. Ryan, who currently serves as a deputy director at the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre, or Fintrac, is...
Three Toronto-area synagogues were hit by gunfire in the span of one week last week. No one was obtuse enough to express “shock.” These acts are not shocking when one Toronto synagogue has been vandalized 10 times in 18 months. When swastikas were spray-painted on three Jewish-owned businesses in Montreal – and on a synagogue in Winnipeg, and two in...
TORONTO—For the last week or two, any time the federal government has tried to explain what this country’s position actually is towards India, we haven’t come off looking great. There is a very simple explanation for this incoherence, but there is also a more alarming one, and I think that one is worth spending a minute thinking about. First, let’s...
After a few days of plaudits for sounding more mainstream, Poilievre reminds everyone he is a climate denier, and lacks an understanding of the global marketplace. The Trump administration has dented, but not ended, the drive towards emissions reduction. Capital investments in energy were expected to hit $3.3 trillion in 2025. Of every 3 dollars invested, 2 were going to...
Donald Trump’s third Gulf war will almost certainly decide the fate of his presidency and the Republican Party in the November congressional elections. As the conflict widens under the hardline leadership of Mojtaba Khamenei—the son and successor to Iran’s longstanding supreme leader—the humanitarian and global economic fallout are devastating. In an ironic twist, this colossal disaster may have just handed...
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s response to war in the Middle East has so far seemed hasty, morally queasy, intellectually convoluted and—attempts at clarification, notwithstanding—continues to be deeply disappointing to many Canadians. His first statement, within hours of the beginning of hostilities, stopped just short of full-throated support for the United States-Israeli campaign, surprising from a prime minister who lectured the...
In the world of global diplomacy, the distance between a targeted mission and a regional conflict is often measured in days. For those of us who have lived and worked in the Middle East, watching the current escalation is not just a matter of tracking headlines. It is a visceral experience. My stomach is in knots because I know what...
The clearest attempt at a line of demarcation during Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's speech on Canada-United States relations was an apparent rejoinder to Prime Minister Mark Carney's insistence that a "rupture" has occurred. Quoting a John F. Kennedy hymn about the geography, history, economics and necessity that have brought Canada and the U.S. ever closer, Poilievre said the former president's...
More than two decades ago, the United States invited Canada to join in a new Middle Eastern misadventure. The invitation was premised on a big lie about Saddam Hussein’s supposed weapons of mass destruction. Prime Minister Jean Chrétien declined to participate. It’s not that he foresaw the disaster to come — but he had a team of good advisers, as...
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) says the threat level in Canada from Iran or its proxies has not changed since the war in Iran began nearly two weeks ago, while adding that threat-related activities are “likely to continue.” “The level remains at ‘Medium,’ meaning that a violent extremist attack remains a realistic possibility,” a CSIS spokesperson said in a...
MPs will vote Wednesday afternoon on whether to advance a bill that would close a loophole in Ottawa's weapons export regime that allows Washington to send Canadian arms to countries that would otherwise be blocked. "We are living within a lie with our arms exports," NDP MP Jenny Kwan told a Tuesday press conference. Kwan tabled a private member's bill...
Nunavut MP Lori Idlout's decision to cross the floor from the NDP to the Liberals puts Prime Minister Mark Carney's government at 170 seats -- two short of a majority -- with three byelections still to come on April 13. Idlout said in a media statement that she decided to cross the floor after receiving feedback from constituents and her...
Nunavut NDP MP Lori Idlout will cross the floor to join the Liberals, inching Mark Carney’s Liberals closer to a majority government. In a statement late Tuesday night, NDP interim leader Don Davies announced Idlout’s defection from the party, saying he was “very disappointed” she had decided to join the Liberal caucus. “The position of the New Democrats on floor...
The Conservatives are proposing a private member’s bill to enable Canada Post to ship alcohol directly to consumers across the country – an idea that Internal Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc says he is open to. MP Dan Albas, who represents the British Columbia riding of Okanagan Lake West–South Kelowna, tabled Bill C-262 on Monday. If passed, the bill would amend...
Vote would mark first time some in caucus split from government line under Carney. When the NDP's arms-control bill that seeks to end largely permit-free Canadian military exports to the U.S. is put to a vote on Wednesday, it could garner the support of more than a dozen Liberal MPs. That would be the first time some in the Liberal...
Former CBC television reporter and anchor Travis Dhanraj told a House of Commons committee today that the public broadcaster "silenced and intimidated" him. When Dhanraj, who hosted "Canada Tonight," announced his departure in an email to CBC staff in 2025 he called out what he claimed was a culture of "retaliation, exclusion and psychological harm."
Vancouver City Coun. Sean Orr is suing Mayor Ken Sim for defamation after he accused Orr of distributing illegal drugs, comments the councillor said were made for political gain. The lawsuit filed in B.C. Supreme Court says Sim acted "deliberately, maliciously and in bad faith" when he told Chinese-language reporters on Feb. 6 that Orr had handed out drugs on...
A Manitoba politician has announced he is leaving the Progressive Conservative caucus and will sit as an Independent. Bob Lagasse has represented the Dawson Trail constituency east of Winnipeg since 2016. He rose in the legislature today and said he intends to sit as an Independent and run for re-election as an Independent in the next general election. He says...
U.S. President Donald Trump referred to Prime Minister Mark Carney as the “future Governor of Canada” in a Truth Social post on Tuesday. Trump’s post was in reference to working with other U.S. governors to “save The Great Lakes from the rather violent and destructive Asian Carp.”
Canada’s political landscape is settling into a clearer hierarchy. The latest Nanos tracking shows the Liberals consolidating their advantage, stretching their national ballot lead well into double digits over the Conservatives. What was once competitive has become asymmetrical. The gap is reinforced by leadership preference, where Mark Carney commands a striking margin over Pierre Poilievre, reaching a new high and...
Police say they will investigate any possible terrorism links as they search for two suspects who fired shots at the U.S. Consulate in Toronto early Tuesday morning. Speaking to reporters outside the University Avenue building on Tuesday, Toronto Police Deputy Chief Frank Barredo said officers were first notified of the shooting at around 5:30 a.m., about an hour after the...
A petition looking to oust Alberta Premier Danielle Smith from her seat in the legislature has failed. Smith is the second premier in Alberta's history to face a recall petition, with the other happening nearly 90 years ago.
The federal Conservatives are pushing to allow Canada Post to ship alcohol between provinces, saying the Liberals have failed to live up to their pledge to remove interprovincial trade barriers. B.C. MP Dan Albas, whose riding includes the Okanagan wine region, has introduced a private member's bill that would amend the Canada Post Corporation Act to remove restrictions on direct...
Prime Minister Mark Carney will attend question period Tuesday after a day’s worth of criticism from opposition MPs that he was hiding from a debate on his Middle East policy. Mr. Carney did not attend Monday night’s take-note debate on the hostilities in the region and Canada’s response, prompting criticism throughout the evening about his absence. The Conservatives, Bloc Québécois...
A federal department says it has launched a review of its media accreditation process following a now-reversed denial of an independent journalist’s request for comment, partially based on the government’s own criteria for qualified organizations’ eligibility for tax credits. “This isn’t just about my issues getting comments for a story I’m working on, as frustrating as it may be. It’s...
Ottawa's decision to let TikTok remain in Canada -- now with more security guarantees from the Chinese-owned firm -- reverses its previous decision to ban the company over national security concerns. The federal government banned TikTok from operating and having a physical presence in Canada in 2024, then recently asked the Federal Court to set aside the order to permit...
Bloc Québécois to focus on local issues — not blocking Carney’s majority — in Terrebonne. Bloc Québécois House Leader Christine Normandin dismissed the idea that her party may be the one to block Prime Minister Mark Carney’s path to forming a majority government in a crucial byelection held in the suburbs of Montreal next month. “The idea of halting a...
DND says country placed 'caveat' on U.S. intelligence-sharing for small-boat strikes. The Department of National Defence says it has safeguards in place to prevent intelligence from being shared with elements of the U.S. military that have carried out numerous lethal strikes on small boats in the Caribbean. In a statement to CBC News, the department said that intelligence gathered during...
Running 1 candidate in 3 upcoming races would cede a spending advantage to Liberals. Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet is laughing at the idea of fielding "fake" candidates in Toronto — even if it means ceding a financial advantage to the Liberals in a tight Montreal-area byelection. "We at the Bloc Québécois are funded by citizens, out of pure conviction...
Calgary Chamber of Commerce head says organization’s inbox inundated with concern. Ongoing discourse around the prospect of Alberta separation is emerging as a top concern for Calgary businesses, half of whom say the debate is already impacting the local economy, a new Calgary Chamber of Commerce survey suggests. In a survey the chamber released Monday, 28 per cent of respondents...
Prime Minister Mark Carney plans to travel to Norway on Friday to observe the Norwegian-led NATO Cold Response exercise above the Arctic Circle. Cold Response is run by NATO every two years and involves about 25,000 troops from 14 nations training together to perform land, air and sea operations in Arctic conditions. Canada, the United States, the U.K., Germany, Netherlands...
The Liberal government has nominated a senior official from the national financial intelligence agency as Ottawa's next fiscal watchdog. Wayne Long, secretary of state for financial institutions, tabled a nomination Monday asking MPs to approve Annette Ryan to take on the currently vacant role of parliamentary budget officer. The nomination is for a seven-year term.
With less than three weeks to go before the New Democrats choose their next leader, Avi Lewis holds a towering fundraising advantage over his chief rivals, making him the odds-on favourite to win the contest. Filings to Elections Canada show that Lewis has raised $1,229,484 from 10,407 contributors, giving him a greater than two-to-one edge over his nearest competitor, Edmonton...
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says his party will focus on affordability and the cost of living in three critical byelections happening next month. “We will be running candidates on the platform of making Canada affordable at home and stronger at home,” Poilievre said while speaking to reporters on Parliament Hill on Monday. “We think that the number 1 issue in...
As the federal government seeks to bolster its domestic defence industry, Industry Minister Melanie Joly announced more than $900 million for defence innovation in Canada, including money for drone technology with Bombardier. Joly made the announcement in Ottawa on Monday at the National Research Council (NRC), alongside National Defence Minister David McGuinty and Secretary of State (Defence Procurement) Stephen Fuhr...
Opposition parties from across the political spectrum are demanding clarity from the Liberal government on its position on the U.S.-Israel war on Iran as they prepare for a debate in the House of Commons Monday evening. The Prime Minister's Office has said Mark Carney won't be taking part in a take-note debate about the conflict and its impact on Canadians...
Oil prices continued to soar on Monday as the Iran war intensified, threatening production and shipping in the Middle East and pummeling financial markets. The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, surged to as high $119.50 per barrel early in the day but later was trading above $101 per barrel, up 9%. West Texas Intermediate, the...
The federal government is expected to nominate senior public servant Annette Ryan as the next Parliamentary Budget Officer, two sources say. The move would be a rejection of the advice from the Conservative Party, which had called for the person who recently acted as interim PBO to be hired permanently.
The Canadian government will face questions about its “confusing” stance on the Iran war when the House of Commons hosts a debate on the conflict tonight, according to former foreign affairs minister Lloyd Axworthy. “It’s still not clear about where Canada stands on the fundamental issue of the rule of law, which says aggression is an international crime,” Axworthy told...
MIAMI (AP) -- Voting technology firm Smartmatic is seeking to dismiss a criminal indictment for money laundering, blaming President Donald Trump and his allies for seeking its prosecution as part of a "campaign of retribution" against those they blame for his 2020 election loss.
PHOENIX (AP) -- The Republican leader of Arizona's state Senate said Monday he has handed over records related to the 2020 presidential election to the FBI in the latest sign that the Trump administration is acting on the president's longstanding falsehoods about a race he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump promised that 2026 would be a bumper year for economic growth, but instead it has kicked off with job losses, rising gasoline prices and more uncertainty about America's future.
ATLANTA (AP) -- Battery company SK Battery America Inc. laid off nearly 1,000 workers at a manufacturing plant northeast of Atlanta on Friday amid automakers' changing electrification plans and uncertain consumer demand for EVs.
DND says country placed 'caveat' on U.S. intelligence-sharing for small-boat strikes. The Department of National Defence says it has safeguards in place to prevent intelligence from being shared with elements of the U.S. military that have carried out numerous lethal strikes on small boats in the Caribbean. In a statement to CBC News, the department said that intelligence gathered during...
Oil prices continued to soar on Monday as the Iran war intensified, threatening production and shipping in the Middle East and pummeling financial markets. The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, surged to as high $119.50 per barrel early in the day but later was trading above $101 per barrel, up 9%. West Texas Intermediate, the...
The Canadian government will face questions about its “confusing” stance on the Iran war when the House of Commons hosts a debate on the conflict tonight, according to former foreign affairs minister Lloyd Axworthy. “It’s still not clear about where Canada stands on the fundamental issue of the rule of law, which says aggression is an international crime,” Axworthy told...
Saudi Arabia sharpened its warnings to Iran early Monday, telling Tehran it would be the "biggest loser" if it continues to attack Arab states. The Saudi statement came after a new drone attack apparently targeted its massive Shaybah oil field. The kingdom dismissed comments by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Saturday that Iran had halted its attacks on Gulf Arab...
The United States and Israel do not have a "blank cheque" in their bombing campaign in Iran, and are still bound by international law, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said on Friday, as the war in the Middle East approaches the seven-day mark.
War in energy-producing regions often reveals the hidden architecture of globalization. The ongoing US-Iran conflict is doing precisely that. Disruption around the Strait of Hormuz has begun transforming energy trade into “risk trade,” where freight insurance, shipping routes, and geopolitical exposure can become as decisive as underlying supply. For China and other Asia-Pacific importers, this shift has two strategic implications...
On October 9, 2025, the Quebec government, through Minister of Justice Simon Jolin-Barrette, tabled Bill 1, entitled the Québec Constitution Act, 2025, in the National Assembly. This unilateral action was taken against the backdrop of a deadlock in the multilateral process of negotiating amendments to the Canadian Constitution and reflects a recent trend toward constitutional unilateralism that is developing not...
Canada’s criminal justice system is failing its most basic test: keeping the public safe. A new report from the Macdonald-Laurier Institute reveals rising crime, falling clearance rates, and a bail system widely seen as broken. The result is a struggling justice system increasingly derailed by delays and struggling to deliver safety or accountability – eroding the trust of the Canadians...
A collection of SubStack publishing within Canadian public affairs.
For a moment there, it looked like Mark Carney would be the torchbearer for countries opposed to Trump’s big power politics. Now, not so much. In fact, it seems Prime Minister Carney is ready to embrace the “end of the international rules-based order” rather than oppose it – thanks to the confusing and contradictory statements by the Canadian government following...
On Thursday, the Liberal government finally got around to asking ordinary Canadians how to fix the country’s premier transparency law, the Access to Information Act. The Act, dating from 1983, empowers citizens to hold governments to account through requests for internal information.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was a monster. For close to thirty years, he presided over a police state that violated human rights at home and exported terror to the world. Now he is dead, crushed by the American assault on Iran that flattened his compound and sparked a regional war. From Tehran to Toronto, thousands of Iranians are celebrating...
Alright, you curiouser and curiouser Herle Burly-ites, The Chiefs join us today. They’re a regular feature on the pod now, showing up every couple of months to bestow a little governance wisdom upon us … 3 former Chiefs of Staff to some of Canada’s most accomplished heads of government: Brian Topp, Tim Murphy, and Ian Brodie. Alright, so today we’re...
Monday night was debate night in Ottawa about the country's position on the Iran War. The Conservatives called for the debate but it was the Liberals who have had some disagreement on what the country's position should be. Rob Russo and Althia Raj talk about that and lots more in this week's Reporter's Notebook.
The conflict in the Middle East is well into its second week, and just like rest of the world, Canadians are starting to see its impacts in our everyday lives - including at the gas station. Correspondence from the White House only seems to be making it worse, with oil prices heading in every which direction after a false claim...
Members of Canada’s Iranian community have been living through a complex set of emotions since the United States and Israel started a war with Iran nearly two weeks ago. They worry for their loved ones in Iran, but they want to see the Islamic Republic regime destroyed. Others are divided on whether a return to a monarchy or a newly...
