Peter Zimonjic

Peter Zimonjic

Feds will cut over half of housing spending, build only 26,000 homes: Budget watchdog

Government says report doesn't account for future spending, private investment. Spending on housing programs will decline by more than half over the next four years with the federal government’s $13-billion signature housing initiative leading to the construction of just 26,000 new homes, a new parliamentary budget officer (PBO) report says. The budget watchdog's report specifically looks at Prime Minister Mark...

Peter Zimonjic

Immigration minister denies knowledge of U.S. diplomatic directive to get Canada, allies to lower immigration

Federal Immigration Minister Lena Diab says she’s unaware of a directive that was reportedly sent to the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa from the Trump administration ordering its envoy to press Canada to lower most immigration levels. Asked if Canada takes advice from the U.S. when setting Canada's immigration levels, Diab said she consulted for months with economists, department officials and...

Peter Zimonjic

JD Vance blames immigration for Canada's 'stagnating' living standards

U.S. vice-president takes aim at CBC and Canada's political leadership in X posts. U.S. Vice-President JD Vance made a series of posts criticizing Canada’s political leadership, public broadcaster and immigration system, saying our living standards are “stagnating” because of all the “foreign-born” people living here. In posts to his X account Friday, Vance says Canada’s elected leaders have created “immigration...

Peter Zimonjic

Federal advocate for victims of crime says 'administration of justice is in open disrepute'

A report from Canada’s victims of crime advocate says survivors of sexual violence are being systemically betrayed by the criminal justice system as allegations are often disbelieved and cases are regularly delayed or dropped.

Peter Zimonjic

Federal prison watchdog leaving post early over 'frustrations' with lack of prison reform

A watchdog that investigates the fair and humane treatment of federal prisoners is leaving his post two years early after becoming exasperated with what he says is the government’s unwillingness to address systemic human rights issues.

Peter Zimonjic

Carney's budget needs 2 votes. Will this funding targeting opposition ridings get him there?

Some MPs will have to decide if the sweeteners merit letting the budget pass. Prime Minister Mark Carney insists the federal budget was crafted to contain a number of measures championed by MPs from other parties, and that those olive branches will become apparent in the coming days. With one MP already crossing the floor to join the Liberals, Carney...

Peter Zimonjic

High-level trade talks continue in Washington as Canada looks for breakthrough

High-level trade talks between Canadian and U.S. officials are trudging on this week in Washington, D.C., where Canada is looking to strike deals on specific economic sectors currently bedeviling trade relations between the two countries. Dominic LeBlanc, the minister of Canada-U.S. Trade, Privy Council Clerk Michael Sabia and other officials are specifically focused in the short term on securing deals...

Peter Zimonjic

Liberal government to deliver all future budgets in the fall as part of new framework

New capital budgeting framework will also break out capital spending from day-to-day operational spending. The Liberal government is ending a long-held tradition of presenting a spring budget and will instead adopt a relatively new tradition borrowed from the U.K. that will see all future budgets delivered in the fall, Finance Canada said Monday. As a part of the change, the...

Peter Zimonjic

Canada Post takes signing bonus off the table in latest offer to union

Canada Post's latest offer to the union representing 55,000 striking postal workers includes a number of measures from its last offer — while removing a signing bonus the corporation says it can no longer afford. "Due to the company's deteriorating financial situation, a signing bonus for employees is no longer on the table," Canada Post said in a statement Friday.

Peter Zimonjic

With end to firearm amnesty weeks away, minister says he's not ready to detail extension

Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree says his government is not ready to announce when and for how long its gun amnesty program will be extended, six weeks before the current extension is set to expire. "More information will be forthcoming as we announce the program," Anandasangaree said on his way into the Liberal caucus meeting in Ottawa Wednesday.

Peter Zimonjic

Asking price drops by over $2M for New York consul general's former residence

Listing on market for over a year after GAC bought new apartment on 'Billionaires' Row.' After being on the market for more than a year, the former residence of Canada's consul general in New York has still not sold and is now listed with over $2 million taken off the asking price. The now empty 12-room, five-bedroom apartment on Park...

Peter Zimonjic

Foreign interference didn't impact result of last federal election: Elections Canada

45th federal election cost Canadians an estimated $570M, slightly down from 44th election. The spring federal election saw its share of misinformation and disinformation as people tried to interfere in Canada's democratic process, but Elections Canada says none of those efforts had any impact on the outcome of the 45th general election. "Neither the agency nor the Security and Intelligence...

Peter Zimonjic

Carney unveils billions in funding, Buy Canada policy to combat Trump's tariffs

Prime Minister Mark Carney rolled out a series of measures on Friday that he says will transform Canada's economy into a force that can withstand the trade shocks of the Trump administration. The measures announced in the strategy have been targeted to specifically help workers and businesses that have been most impacted by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs and trade...

Peter Zimonjic

Trans Mountain board chair to lead new federal Major Projects Office based in Calgary

PMO says Alberta-based office will have outposts across the country. Dawn Farrell, chair of the board of directors of the Trans Mountain Corporation, has been named the CEO of the Liberal government's Major Projects Office, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Friday. "Canada has always been a nation of builders," Carney said in a statement announcing the opening of the office...

Peter Zimonjic

Green banking alliance Carney helped create pauses activities, holds vote on its future

Several members, including Canada's major banks, left group after Trump's re-election. An international green banking alliance that Prime Minister Mark Carney helped establish is now suspending its activities and holding a vote to determine its future. The Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) is the industry-led banking element of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) that was created when Carney...

Peter Zimonjic

Conservatives say the justice system favours non-citizens. Experts disagree

Immigration status is one of many factors considered during sentencing: law professor. The Conservatives want to change the Criminal Code to eliminate what they say is a double standard in the justice system that allows non-citizens to get lighter sentences than Canadians who have been convicted of the same crime. "When it comes to sentencing non-citizens, Canada has essentially adopted...

Peter Zimonjic

Poilievre says Carney's moving in the 'wrong direction,' pledges to 'legalize' pipelines

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says Prime Minister Mark Carney's development agenda is stalled — and he's promising to "legalize" pipelines through new legislation to speed things up. Poilievre said his party's Canadian Sovereignty Act, if passed, would ensure two pipelines, a new LNG project and a road to Ontario's Ring of Fire will have begun construction by March 14 —...

Peter Zimonjic

Carney tells premiers he's 'only going to accept the best deal for Canada' in U.S. trade talks

Prime Minister Mark Carney kicked off his meeting with Canada's premiers in Huntsville, Ont., promising to battle the Trump administration at the negotiating table to ensure the country gets a good trade deal, while also doing everything he can to strengthen the Canadian economy. "We are looking for the best deal for Canada; we are only going to accept the...

Peter Zimonjic, Kate McKenna

Scott Moe arrives at premiers' summit warning some U.S. tariffs are Canada's 'reality'

Canada's premiers arrived in Ontario cottage country on Monday eager to discuss Canada's ongoing trade crisis with the United States and settle into a plan for how they can work together with Indigenous leaders to strengthen the country's economy. On his way into the summit, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said it's becoming obvious Prime Minister Mark Carney's warning that it's...

Peter Zimonjic

Former Afghan interpreter details alleged sexual abuse by Global Affairs employee

Clutching a teddy bear and trembling through her story in the witness box, a female former Afghan interpreter who worked for Canada in Afghanistan detailed the harrowing sexual abuse she allegedly suffered at the hands of a Canadian government employee. For four days this week, the woman, whose identity is protected by a publication ban, recounted to an Ottawa courtroom...

Peter Zimonjic

Carney's plan to cut tens of billions in spending is tough but doable, experts say

Former privy council clerks say there are upfront costs to long-term savings. The federal government has started its comprehensive review of government spending, but what will it mean for Canada's public service, what balance will it have to strike and can the Liberals really cut so much? These are the questions facing Prime Minister Mark Carney as he embarks on...

Peter Zimonjic

Amid tariffs and falling sales, is Canada's EV mandate doomed?

Experts say Carney could make adjustments instead of ending mandate outright. With U.S. tariffs on steel, aluminum and light-duty vehicles continuing to batter the Canadian automobile industry, the CEOs of Canada's big three automakers are asking for a break. They met with Prime Minister Mark Carney this week to lobby for the elimination of the Liberal government's zero-emission vehicle (ZEV)...

Peter Zimonjic

Carney promised big changes by Canada Day. Will he deliver?

Tax cuts, European defence agreement, removing trade barriers among PM's goals. During the spring campaign, Prime Minister Mark Carney promised a re-elected Liberal government led by him would move fast to solve problems and meet challenges by Canada Day. After his victory, those promises left Carney a little more than 60 days to address issues that have bedevilled previous governments...

Peter Zimonjic

Giller Prize-winning author and senator David Richards joins Conservative caucus

'I’m proud to join the Conservative caucus and be part of a strong team that stands up for Canadians.'The formerly non-affiliated New Brunswick Sen. David Richards has joined the Conservative Senate Caucus. Richards, a bestselling author and one of only a handful of writers who has received a Governor General's award in both the non-fiction and fiction categories, was appointed...

Peter Zimonjic

King's visit to deliver throne speech will unleash 2 days of pomp and ceremony in Ottawa

When King Charles III and Queen Camilla visit Canada later this month for the monarch's reading of the speech from the throne, it will kick off two days of pomp and ceremony across the capital. The King's visit will mark the third time a British monarch has read the speech from the throne in Canada, with Queen Elizabeth ll having...

Peter Zimonjic

Carney shows 10 ministers from his first cabinet the door

Prime Minister Mark Carney's new cabinet has taken shape without 11 of the ministers he brought around the table barely two months ago. On the outs are former defence minister Bill Blair, former president of the Treasury Board Ginette Petitpas Taylor and former energy and natural resources minister Jonathan Wilkinson. All of those experienced ministers held numerous posts under former...

Peter Zimonjic

Trump says Trudeau 'wrongly' pushed Russia out of G8 — when Harper was in power

U.S. President Donald Trump said former prime minister Justin Trudeau led the effort to have Russia removed from the G8, even though the decision took place more than a year before Trudeau came to power. Speaking alongside FIFA president Gianni Infantino at a World Cup event in Washington on Tuesday, Trump said Trudeau and former U.S. president Barack Obama "didn't...

Peter Zimonjic

Poilievre promises to let police dismantle encampments, arrest occupants

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is promising to clean up Canada's streets and parks by giving police the power to dismantle encampments and arrest their occupants for setting up tents and shelters to live in. "Public spaces must be safe for everyone. We will take back our streets and restore order in our communities," Poilievre said during a campaign stop in...

Peter Zimonjic

Federal leaders remember Pope Francis as humble pontiff who moved reconciliation forward

Canada's political leaders are remembering Pope Francis as a humble leader with a deep moral obligation and the spiritual courage to help the world's most vulnerable. "Today, the world lost a man who profoundly touched the lives of billions of people," Prime Minister Mark Carney said during a campaign stop in Charlottetown on Monday.

Peter Zimonjic

Green Party dropped from leaders' debates for not running enough candidates

Leaders' Debates Commission says party's decision to remove candidates for strategic reasons led to decision. The Leaders' Debates Commission, which is tasked with organizing the French and English debates, has removed the Green Party from federal leaders' debates for failing to meet participation requirements. "Deliberately reducing the number of candidates running for strategic reasons is inconsistent with the Commission's interpretation...

Peter Zimonjic

Carney announces sweeping plan to crack down on crime, strengthen the border

Liberal Leader Mark Carney laid out his party's public safety plan on Thursday, promising to crack down on gangs, protect children, reduce intimate partner violence and tackle the illegal flow of drugs and guns coming from the United States. "Tariffs are not the only American policies that are threatening our economy and our society. They're also threatening the safety of...

Peter Zimonjic

Poilievre promises to raise $1B by cracking down on offshore tax havens

Conservative leader would offer whistleblowers up to 20% of recovered tax revenue. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is promising to crack down on the use of offshore tax havens and recover as much as $1 billion a year in lost revenues. In a video posted on X, Poilievre said the money recovered through the initiative will be used to help pay...

Peter Zimonjic

Fissure among Conservatives undermining Poilievre's pitch he's a national unifier: experts

'There is a fairly profound divide within the Conservative movement': University of Calgary's Lisa Young. Long-simmering tensions within the Conservative movement are bursting out into the federal election, experts say — undercutting Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's efforts to present himself as a unifier who can take on U.S. President Donald Trump. Those tensions materialized again after ex-Reform Party leader Preston...

Peter Zimonjic

NDP proposes reviving war-era Victory Bonds to raise money for trade fight with U.S.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says a government led by him will issue "Victory Bonds" to raise the money needed to strengthen the Canadian economy through the trade war with the United States. The plan would see the federal government offer five- and 10-year bonds that Canadians can buy through a payroll deduction. The NDP is promising that none of the...

Peter Zimonjic

Trump administration lists Quebec language law Bill 96 as trade barrier

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative released its annual list of global trade barriers Tuesday, and it includes Quebec's controversial language law Bill 96 as a trade irritant between the two countries. The nearly 400-page National Trade Estimate Report lists in almost encyclopedic detail all of the tariff and non-tariff barriers present in countries that import U.S. goods and...

Peter Zimonjic

Poilievre announces capital gains tax cut for investors putting money in Canada

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre announced his second tax cut of the campaign targeted at investors Sunday, promising to exempt capital gains from taxes if the proceeds are reinvested in Canada. "The current capital gains tax locks up investment in old assets, because selling them would force a big bill," Poilievre said in a statement.

Peter Zimonjic, Louis Blouin

Carney will ask Governor General to dissolve Parliament Sunday and call election, sources say

Voting day will either be April 28 or May 5, according to sources. Prime Minister Mark Carney will ask the Governor General to dissolve Parliament and call a federal election this Sunday, Radio-Canada has learned. The election campaign will kick off barely a week after Carney was sworn in as prime minister and appointed his cabinet.

Peter Zimonjic

Carney says Canada can stand up for its own sovereignty as European trip wraps up

Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada can stand up for its own sovereignty in response to annexation talk from the U.S. administration as he wrapped up his first international trip. Carney met with King Charles and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London on Monday evening after meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris earlier in the day. Speaking...

Peter Zimonjic

Trudeau's final weeks strike balance between cementing his legacy and managing a crisis

Liberal government signs new deals with provinces, Indigenous nations. As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau works through what is likely to be his last week in office, he and his government appear to be moving to cement his political legacy. Trudeau and his ministers have been making significant announcements on infrastructure, social programs and reconciliation. Trudeau has also made recent international...

Peter Zimonjic

Liberals face challenge of securing the vote while keeping leadership race accessible

Experts say criticism that some members couldn't vote is better than the alternative. The problems some registered Liberals are having with online voting in the party's leadership race shouldn't be a surprise and may even be a good thing, say some experts. "You can't have a wide open, hardly at all verified process for selecting the prime minister of Canada,"...

Peter Zimonjic

Canada's foreign minister says she gave Europe a 'wake-up call' on threat Trump poses to Canada

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly concluded her recent tour of Europe saying she delivered a "wake-up call" to Canada's allies across the Atlantic about the economic and political threat the Trump administration is posing to Canada. "Based on my conversations with many European colleagues, many of them are not necessarily completely aware of what is going on, first in the...

Peter Zimonjic

Trump claims the trade deficit with Canada is a $200B subsidy. Experts disagree

Economist argues U.S. could be worse off if it had a surplus with Canada. U.S. President Donald Trump's claim that his country subsidizes Canada with hundreds of billions of dollars every year has become a key plank in his argument for annexing the country. But do his numbers add up? His argument hinges on a belief that the deficit in...

Peter Zimonjic

Canadian veteran sues government to pay for rehab after 2023 Invictus Games injury

As athletes from 25 countries gather in B.C. this week to compete in the seventh Invictus Games, a Canadian veteran who suffered life-changing injuries in the previous games is suing the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) for $2.4 million. Scott Snow, a poster boy for Team Canada in Dusseldorf, Germany, in 2023, was injured during...

Peter Zimonjic

Trudeau tells business leaders at economic summit Trump's 51st state threat 'is a real thing'

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told business leaders at the Canada-U.S. Economic Summit in Toronto that U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to annex Canada "is a real thing." "Mr. Trump has it in mind that the easiest way to do it is absorbing our country and it is a real thing. In my conversations with him on…," Trudeau said, before the...

Peter Zimonjic

Trudeau is unlikely to recall Parliament at opposition's demand. Here's why

Experts say Trudeau has the powers he needs to deal with Trump without sitting MPs. As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with Canada's premiers and works with cabinet to craft his government's response to an unpredictable Trump administration, he's also batting away repeated demands from opposition leaders to recall Parliament.

Peter Zimonjic

Poilievre pitches plan to boost internal trade to counter Trump tariffs

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Monday that if he becomes prime minister he will implement a plan to boost internal trade in Canada that he says will increase the country's gross domestic product (GDP) by more than $200 billion. Poilievre said Trump's decision to slap 25 per cent tariffs on most Canadian imports, and 10 per cent on energy imports...

Peter Zimonjic

Liberal Party approves 6 candidates to run in leadership race

Six of the seven Liberal leadership candidates who submitted their nomination papers have now been approved by the party to run in the race to succeed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Former central banker Mark Carney, former finance minister and deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland, Nova Scotia MP Jaime Battiste, former government House leader Karina Gould and former Brampton, Ont., Liberal...

Peter Zimonjic

Poilievre won't say if he'll back tariffs on U.S.-bound oil to combat Trump's 25% threat

Conservative leader dodged question over whether he backs Alberta, or rest of provinces and federal government. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre won't say whether he backs the premiers and prime minister's threat to impose export tariffs or restrict the supply of oil and gas bound for the United States as a possible response to president-elect Donald Trump's promised tariff regime.

Peter Zimonjic

Mark Carney to launch bid for the Liberal leadership in Edmonton on Thursday

Carney soft-launched his campaign for the leadership on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Monday. Mark Carney will launch his candidacy for the Liberal Party leadership at an event in Edmonton on Thursday, according to a notice from Calgary Skyview MP George Chahal. The former governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England will join Ottawa MP...

Peter Zimonjic

Elon Musk praises Poilievre, mocks Trudeau as he steps into Canadian politics

As a giant of industry and the world's richest man, Elon Musk wields influence across the global economy. He's now leveraging that success to extend his influence into the democratic process in Canada and elsewhere. In the past week alone, Musk has dipped into Canadian politics on his social media platform several times; endorsing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, showering him...

Janyce McGregor, Peter Zimonjic

Ontario strikes $108.5M school food program deal with feds to provide 9.8 million meals a year

Ontario has reached an agreement with the federal government that will see $108.5 million roll out over the next three years to help fund a school food program in the province. Officials said the money represents a first round of funding, with federal support for the program in the years ahead still to be negotiated.

Peter Zimonjic

Jagmeet Singh asks premiers to match his pledge to remove GST from daily essentials

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he has written to Canada's premiers asking them to match his pledge to remove the GST from daily essentials by doing the same with their provincial sales taxes. "Working people are being gouged every time they pay their cell phone bill or stop at the grocery store to grab something for dinner," Singh said in...

Peter Zimonjic

Trudeau flying in and out of Bermuda Wednesday to deliver eulogy for Peter Green

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is flying in and out of Bermuda on Wednesday, where he will deliver a eulogy at the funeral for Peter Green, a close family friend. Trudeaus have been friends with the Green family since the 1970s. Pierre Trudeau was godfather to Peter Green's son Alexander, who delivered a reading at Trudeau's funeral in Montréal. Pierre Trudeau...

Peter Zimonjic

Poilievre pledges to remove GST from purchase of new homes sold for under $1M

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is pledging to eliminate the GST on new homes sold for under $1 million if his party wins the next federal election. The Conservative leader made the announcement early Monday morning in a campaign-style video released online and is holding a media event at 10:00 a.m. ET in Ottawa to provide more detail.

Peter Zimonjic

10 years after shooting, the debate over securing Parliament Hill continues

Ten years after a gunman died in a hail of bullets in Parliament's Centre Block, security on Parliament Hill is noticeably different — but the debate over how to safeguard Canada's national legislature is still going strong. The National Police Federation (NPF), the union that represents the RCMP, has been highly critical of the decision to end the RCMP's responsibility...

Peter Zimonjic

Health minister says he's on track to strike pharmacare deals with provinces by spring

It "absolutely is possible" for the federal government to strike pharmacare agreements with all the provinces by the spring, Health Minister Mark Holland said Friday. "I'm not saying this is going to be easy," Holland said from the G7 health ministers' meeting in Ancona, Italy. "Getting this bill adopted in the House and getting it through the Senate was incredibly...

Peter Zimonjic

Blanchet says Liberals have just days left to support the Bloc's demands

Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet says the Liberal government has only days left to secure his party's support in the House of Commons by agreeing to boost to some pensions and shield supply management from concessions in trade talks. "The solution is so simple. It is so simple that I do not know what more I could explain," Blanchet said...

Peter Zimonjic

Trudeau says it 'bugged' him when Singh ended governance agreement without calling first

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says it "bugged him" when NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh ended his party's supply and confidence agreement with the Liberals without calling first. "The relationship obviously wasn't what I thought it was," Trudeau said in a recent conversation with Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith on the Uncommons podcast. "I know that if I had chosen to end it...

Peter Zimonjic

France's Macron says leaders shouldn't 'abandon their values' in the face of bad polls

While French President Emmanuel Macron acknowledges that he — like Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — is facing sliding poll numbers and pressure from the political right, he says this is no time for national leaders to abandon their "principles." In a wide-ranging interview with CBC News and Radio-Canada last week in Ottawa, before his meeting with Trudeau, Macron said "tough...

Peter Zimonjic

Canada considering following U.S. in banning vehicle software and hardware from China, Russia

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said Tuesday she is "absolutely" considering following the U.S. move to ban vehicle hardware and software from China or Russia. "Our government has made it very clear that we take really seriously intentional Chinese overcapacity and we take very seriously the security threat from China," Freeland said in Ottawa. Freeland's comments come...