While National Newswatch does not keep an archive of external articles for longer than 6 months, we do keep all articles written by contributors who post directly to our site. Here you will find all of the contributed and linked external articles from Laura Stone.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s chief of staff is stepping down and will be replaced by a top aide with experience in Canada-U.S. relations. Patrick Sackville, who has spent eight years in government and was named Mr. Ford’s chief of staff in December, 2022, is leaving government on Friday and will be replaced by Travis Kann, the government announced on Monday...
Prime Minister Mark Carney and Ontario Premier Doug Ford have discussed the possibility of an early federal election in casual conversations about the importance of a majority mandate to deal with uncertain economic times, according to three sources. The sources said the Progressive Conservative Premier, who has forged a close relationship with the Liberal Leader, offered his opinion that the...
Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he only received a few hours’ notice about the federal government’s deal with China on electric vehicles, as he warned the move will hurt his province’s auto workers in the long term. Mr. Ford on Monday continued his criticism of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s deal to allow nearly 50,000 Chinese-made electric vehicles into Canada at...
Prime Minister Mark Carney will convene a virtual first ministers meeting on Thursday, his first since announcing an energy-focused memorandum of understanding with Alberta that has drawn sharp criticism from British Columbia. Audrey Champoux, a spokesperson for the Prime Minister, confirmed the virtual meeting will take place. She said Thursday’s agenda will include discussions on international trade, the domestic economy...
Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson travelled to British Columbia Friday for a meeting with Premier David Eby, who continued to express frustration over his province’s exclusion from negotiations for the landmark deal Ottawa signed with Alberta. The political fallout from the memorandum of understanding signed Thursday also continued internally for Liberals after the sudden resignation from cabinet of long-time environmentalist...
Ontario and Manitoba struck draft agreements with the federal government this week to streamline reviews for major projects, as part of a larger push by Prime Minister Mark Carney to fast-track resource development and infrastructure building in the face of U.S. trade uncertainty. The co-operation agreements will allow the provinces to take the lead role in environmental assessment and Indigenous...
Premiers from across the country are pressing Prime Minister Mark Carney for a meeting to update them on the status of trade talks with the United States, saying the public needs more information about the federal government’s plan. Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew and Ontario Premier Doug Ford say it’s time for the Prime Minister to hold a First Ministers’ meeting...
Prime Minister Mark Carney said he stands ready to resume trade negotiations with the U.S. and tried to reassure Canadians that he is taking steps to shore up the country’s economy after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to hike tariffs by another 10 per cent. Mr. Trump said this weekend he’s hiking tariffs on Canadian imports after an Ontario government...
U.S. President Donald Trump defended his tariff policy and said it has been effective at persuading companies to leave Canada for the United States, a day ahead of a White House meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney where the two leaders are expected to discuss trade. Mr. Trump, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Monday, celebrated his protectionist...
Prime Minister Mark Carney says his government will introduce legislation next month to tighten Canada’s bail system, making it harder for those accused of serious crimes to be released, after a series of violent incidents including assaults and home invasions. Mr. Carney, who wrapped up two days of meetings with his cabinet in Toronto this week, said at a press...
Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives have scheduled a party convention the same weekend as federal Conservatives will gather to test Pierre Poilievre’s leadership. The duelling conventions highlight the growing distance between the two parties that was laid bare during the recent federal election.
Prime Minister Mark Carney will present provincial and territorial premiers next week with the broad outlines of legislation that will impose a two-year approval process for major nation-building projects such as ports, critical mineral mines and trade corridors. The legislation contains measures to fast-track significant infrastructure projects through upfront regulatory approvals, and includes a framework to remove all federal barriers...
Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the federal Conservatives would be in a better position if his own campaign manager were in charge, defending criticism from Kory Teneycke about Pierre Poilievre’s election strategy. Mr. Ford on Monday weighed into the latest fracas between the provincial and federal conservative parties, speaking out in support of Mr. Teneycke who has accused Mr. Poilievre’s...
The Conservative Party is distancing itself from supporters who are questioning the veracity of federal election polls as Leader Pierre Poilievre said he will accept the results on April 28 no matter the outcome. Supporters of Mr. Poilievre’s campaign were seen at a rally in Brampton, Ont. on Wednesday evening wearing shirts and holding signs that said, “Do you believe...
Evan Weller, his wife, Amber-Dawn, and their three small children travelled for an hour and a half to attend Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s Monday night rally in Edmonton. The couple had never been to a political rally before. But as they stood in a line that snaked around a cavernous warehouse south of the city, they said they felt compelled...
Former prime minister Stephen Harper says Canada’s problems weren’t created by the Trump administration as he made an impassioned pitch for Pierre Poilievre to become Canada’s next prime minister and downplayed Liberal Leader Mark Carney’s role during the 2008 global financial crisis. Mr. Harper appeared at Mr. Poilievre’s rally in Edmonton on Monday night to introduce the Conservative Leader to...
Ontario Premier Doug Ford says U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told him that finished vehicles entering the United States from Canada containing more than 50 per cent U.S.-made parts – which would include much of this country’s automotive exports – would be exempt from U.S. tariffs. The Premier said he spoke with Mr. Lutnick late Wednesday night for about 2...
Senior Liberal MPs will meet Friday to discuss how to increase pressure on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to reveal whether he’s staying on as party leader. Two MPs told The Globe and Mail that regional caucus chairs plan to discuss whether national chair Brenda Shanahan should call a caucus meeting. They will also parse over what the rules could be...
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says the provinces are stepping in to fill a border leadership void caused by Ottawa’s inaction on border security. Speaking on Thursday, the day after an emergency meeting between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premiers over pledged tariffs from U.S. president-elect Donald Trump, Mr. Poilievre said Mr. Trudeau bears responsibility for problems at Canada’s borders, citing...
The minority Liberals have rejected a call from some of their own MPs to hold a caucus meeting in the wake of the party’s stunning defeat in the Toronto-St. Paul’s by-election, arguing that such a meeting is not logistically feasible. According to three sources, Liberal caucus chair and Quebec MP Brenda Shanahan confirmed late Thursday what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau...
Liberals have held the riding of Toronto-St. Paul’s for three decades, but heading into Monday’s federal by-election, people in the party say that while they expect to win, it will be a closer race than it should be. With national polls showing the governing Liberals badly trailing the Conservatives and issues such as affordability, Israel’s war with Hamas, and the...
The majority of Canadians have intensely negative responses to both Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, according to a new Nanos Research poll that finds the credibility of both politicians low. Even as Mr. Poilievre far outpaces Mr. Trudeau in public opinion surveys, almost six in 10 respondents in the Nanos poll say the Conservative Leader elicits...
