Despite Pierre Poilievre’s claims, Mark Carney’s majority is not an ill-gotten gain
The Conservative line of attack is questionable or inaccurate in several respects.
Tonda MacCharles
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 Tonda MacCharles.
Pierre Poilievre not expecting Conservative caucus revolt after latest defection, source says
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre does not expect his MPs to confront him with demands to step down at Wednesday’s caucus meeting, or any formal move to invoke caucus powers to trigger a secret ballot vote that could end his leadership, the Star has learned. A senior Conservative strategist and party insider, granted anonymity to speak freely, said last week’s surprise...
Up to 40 Conservative MPs fear Pierre Poilievre will cost them their seats, insiders say
Dissatisfaction and worries about their future under Poilievre’s leadership has many questioning whether or not a bolder move to spark change is required. Up to 40 Conservative MPs are worried that they could lose their seats if Pierre Poilievre leads the party into the next election against Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney, said two federal Conservative sources after the party...
Mark Carney urges restraint as Donald Trump threatens Iran with devastating strike
Hours after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to end “a whole civilization” in Iran with a deadly bombing planned today, Prime Minister Mark Carney urged “all parties” in the Middle East crisis to respect international law on war and humanitarian protections. Responding to media questions about Trump’s threat against Iran that warned “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to...
Pierre Poilievre takes to another U.S. podcast to sketch out his vision for Canada
First on the Joe Rogan Experience and next on Steve Bartlett’s Diary of a CEO, the Conservative leader fleshed out his political thinking in ways he rarely does in Canada. Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre — a longtime critic of mainstream media in Canada — has for the second time in a row urged Canadians to give him a good listening...
Carney government in talks with Saskatchewan to fast-track energy projects
Mark Carney’s government is in talks with Saskatchewan towards reaching an energy deal that could fast-track federal approvals of that province’s uranium mining projects, speed development of small modular nuclear reactors and build out its energy grid, the Star has learned. Much as it did with Alberta, the federal government is negotiating with Premier Scott Moe’s government to develop a...
Pierre Poilievre proposes new Anglophone alliance that excludes Trump’s America
Canada should align its trade and labour regulations with three of its “like-minded” anglophone allies excluding the U.S., says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre. Speaking in London at the Institute of Directors, a British business group, Poilievre on Tuesday revived an idea previously embraced by past Conservative leaders that Canada should strengthen its ties with its Anglosphere cousins that share the...
Pierre Poilievre pledges to ‘work together where we can’ with Carney government on trade challenges
In a wide-ranging speech, the Conservative leader set out important markers for the kind of co-operation he is willing to offer to the Liberal government. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says U.S. President Donald Trump is “wrong” to attack Canada on trade and security, and is offering to work “constructively” with Prime Minister Mark Carney to advance Canadian interests. In a...
Details behind Matt Jeneroux’s defection reveal contradictions. Here’s what we know
But new details on the backroom machinations behind that move reveal contradictions in what has been publicly revealed so far. On Wednesday, Edmonton MP Matt Jeneroux became the third Conservative to join the ranks of Mark Carney’s Liberals, ending speculation over whether the longtime MP would leave politics altogether or cross the floor to the government benches. But new details...
Conservative MP criticizes Carney government’s China deal after U.S. trip
Conservative MP Jamil Jivani has returned from Washington criticizing Canada’s tariff deal with China and questioning why Ottawa is lagging Mexico in trade talks, following a mission to the United States that both he and the Liberals are keeping under wraps. In an op-ed published in the National Post on Sunday, Jivani wrote that he met last week with U.S...
Mark Carney and Stephen Harper are both ‘the smartest guy in the room’ — and that’s not all they have in common
At times it is uncanny. It’s not just that Prime Minister Mark Carney’s tight-ship governing style is an abrupt break from that of his Liberal predecessor, Justin Trudeau. It’s that it is remarkably reminiscent of another modern prime minister’s — namely his Conservative predecessor, Stephen Harper. Mark Carney’s Rolodex is a trove of some of the most powerful political, business...
Mark Carney brushes off Doug Ford’s anger over China EV tariff cuts
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s response to Doug Ford’s criticism of Ottawa’s deal to reduce tariffs on Chinese EVs: he’s out to build the auto industry of the future, not the past. “Remember, this is a market that is the auto sector, which is evolving very rapidly,” Carney told reporters at a news conference. “We don’t want to be competitive in...
Mélanie Joly likes to talk tough. Now she has to deliver
Mélanie Joly — the lawyer and former foreign affairs minister now industry minister on the economic front lines of a trade war — talked tough all fall. She threatened to sue Stellantis after it halted Canadian auto production plans in Brampton. She warned a British mining giant poised to take over one of Canada’s last big diversified mining companies that...
Mark Carney says Donald Trump wants Canada to be dependent on the U.S.
U.S. President Donald Trump wants the relationship with Canada to be one of “dependence” on the United States, and is not talking about ripping up the trilateral free trade pact but renegotiating it, says Prime Minister Mark Carney. In a pair of French-language interviews marking the year’s end, Carney revealed for the first time details of his private conversation earlier...
Mark Carney wants the 2028 Francophonie summit to be in Ottawa
Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada will bid to host a 2028 summit of 90 francophone states and governments in the nation’s capital, a pitch that comes at a time of billions in cuts to foreign aid for an event that could be staged against the backdrop of a language-sensitive debate on Quebec sovereignty. Speaking mostly in English at a...
Conservative MP told Mark Carney about his planned resignation before announcing it, sources say
Conservative MP Matt Jeneroux spoke by phone with Prime Minister Mark Carney and told him he was vacating his seat before publicly announcing a bombshell resignation that cast further doubt on Pierre Poilievre’s grip on the Tory caucus, according to two sources with knowledge of the situation. The Carney-Jeneroux phone call came at the height of a political drama that...
Future of trade talks depends on Canada’s purchase of American fighter jets, U.S. ambassador says
The future of Canada-U.S. trade talks depends on how Canada’s review of its decision to buy U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets turns out, says President Donald Trump’s ambassador to Canada. Pete Hoekstra told a conference hosted by the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters on Wednesday that it will not be easy to restart the now-stalled trade talks, and urged Canada to “harmonize”...
There’s a reason Mark Carney isn’t talking to Donald Trump
Where Carney was once in nearly a 24/7 texting-back-and-forth relationship with Trump, the prime minister and the president have had no contact on trade since the APEC summit in Korea, his office confirmed to the Star Friday. Prime Minister Mark Carney and his team are so over it. From scampering in search of meetings with President Donald Trump and top...
Poilievre’s Conservatives struggling to stay united, source says, as Carney government survives a second budget vote
Mark Carney’s minority Liberals survived a second budget-related confidence vote on Friday, the day after easily defeating an earlier Conservative attempt to reject the budget as the Pierre Poilievre-led party grappled with another looming caucus departure from their ranks. The House of Commons voted 307 to 30 to defeat a Bloc Québécois motion that called on MPs to reject a...
As Carney government scrambles to lure support for budget, Poilievre’s Conservatives struggle to define the opposition narrative
Canada’s chaotic minority Parliament is at a critical juncture as Mark Carney’s Liberals scramble to lure more Opposition floor-crossers to secure support for the budget’s passage, and the Conservatives, reeling at Tuesday’s loss of an MP, struggle to frame themselves as the government-in-waiting. Political tribalism and parliamentary shenanigans were on display all day, starting first thing Wednesday morning when a...
Conservatives urged to soften stance after Poilievre’s comments on ‘despicable’ RCMP face backlash
The Opposition leader’s office instructed Conservative MPs on Monday to reinforce a more positive message about the nation’s police force. Under fire over Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s criticism of the RCMP senior leadership as “despicable,” the Opposition leader’s office instructed Conservative MPs on Monday to reinforce a more positive message about the nation’s police force. Talking points sent to Conservative...
From golf balls to trade talks: Mark Carney negotiates tricky path forward with Donald Trump
It was a token of thanks that was not intended to be cheeky. But it may have won Prime Minister Mark Carney that round of face-to-face talks with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on Tuesday. Trump and Carney last met at the United Nations more than two weeks ago, hours after Trump’s tirade against the UN at the General...
Lumber industry ‘deeply disappointed’ by Mark Carney’s silence on Donald Trump’s tariffs
The chummy Washington trip that saw Mark Carney dine with Vice President JD Vance and his family, and Dominic LeBlanc, Mélanie Joly and other top PMO advisers stay up smoking cigars with Howard Lutnick into the wee hours, left Canadian lumber representatives fuming. They say Donald Trump’s tariffs are crushing them yet didn’t even warrant a mention in the Oval...
Mark Carney in high demand ahead of UN General Assembly
More than 700 requests flooded in from foreign leaders, CEOs, company representatives and others who want to meet with the prime minister. More than 700 requests flooded in from foreign leaders, CEOs, company representatives and other groups who want to meet up with or invite Prime Minister Mark Carney to attend events in New York City on the sidelines of...
For Mark Carney, every decision has trade-offs — but that’s not slowing him down
If there is a Carney “doctrine” taking shape more than 100 days into the prime ministership of Mark Carney, maybe it is this: get it done, and damn the details. A few short months ago, Carney was blunt: “I am a pragmatist above all. So when I see something that’s not working, I will change it.”
‘It’s up to them’: Donald Trump says Canada will get a ‘much better deal’ if it becomes the 51st American state
The hustle is on. U.S. President Donald Trump says Canada will soon pay a lot of money in tariffs if it cannot reach a speedy trade deal, and faces a $71 billion entry fee to join the “Golden Dome” missile defence project as he claimed Prime Minister Mark Carney wants — or it could choose the no-cost option of becoming...
We found out how Mark Carney hopes to smooth differences with Donald Trump at the G7 summit. Here’s what we know
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s G7 summit is designed to find common ground and bridge — if not downplay — differences with a U.S. president viewed by many of the guests as disruptor-in-chief of the world’s economic prospects. With that in mind, as the Star reported last Saturday, organizers of the Kananaskis meeting are not working to produce a joint communiqué...
Mark Carney revives tough talk about America and warns ‘a new imperialism threatens’
Prime Minister Mark Carney, in unveiling $9 billion in new defence spending, revived tough talk against the United States Monday, describing America as hustling its allies to pay now or risk losing their ability to sell products to American consumers. Speaking in Toronto, Carney did not use words like “grift” or “hustle” but he also did not mince words when...
Mark Carney prepares for G7 summit littered with potential landmines
The Charlevoix curse looms over Prime Minister Mark Carney as he gets ready to host leaders of the so-called Group of Seven major western economies. Carney’s decision to invite India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the G7 amid an ongoing RCMP investigation into Modi’s government’s alleged role in the assassination of a Canadian citizen has stirred sharp criticism at home...
Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada are likely here to stay, U.S. ambassador insists
President Donald Trump’s envoy to Canada says some level of American tariffs on Canadian products is the new normal, holding out only slim hope that direct talks between Trump and Prime Minister Mark Carney could see them lifted entirely. U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra said in an interview with the Star that the president and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick are...
First Nations don’t have a veto over nation-building projects, Mark Carney’s justice minister says
Justice Minister Sean Fraser says the federal duty to consult and engage Indigenous people on major nation-building projects does not amount to granting those communities a veto. After the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) warned Prime Minister Mark Carney he must secure Indigenous Peoples’ consent to his plans to expedite massive infrastructure projects, citing the United Nations Declaration on the...
‘There’s a “Hunger Games” aspect to it’: Liberal insiders brace for Mark Carney’s cabinet appointments
With a successful election and a high-stakes trip to Washington behind him, Prime Minister Mark Carney is grappling with a tangle of considerations and big decisions as he launches his first governing mandate for Canada’s incoming minority Parliament.
Insiders say getting Donald Trump’s tariffs lifted is job one for Mark Carney
Prime Minister Mark Carney says his goal in meeting with President Donald Trump is to achieve a new comprehensive economic and security deal with the United States. Insiders say the first order of business is less ambitious: get the tariffs lifted.
Carney wins minority, not the ‘strong mandate’ he sought to deal with Trump for trade talks
U.S. President Donald Trump, the elephant in the room of the 2025 Canadian election, agreed to meet Prime Minister Mark Carney in the days ahead after calling to congratulate the Canadian leader who squeaked through with a minority win, not the “strong mandate” Carney sought for their looming trade negotiation. The congratulatory call from Trump came around midday, as Carney...
Conservatives pour resources into Pierre Poilievre’s riding amid fears of a tight race
The federal Conservatives are funnelling resources into Pierre Poilievre’s local campaign, shoring up volunteer support in the leader’s Ottawa-area riding over concerns that winning his seat is not guaranteed, the Star has learned. One Conservative source involved in Poilievre’s campaign told the Star that the leader appears to be in trouble in Carleton, the sprawling riding Poilievre has held since...
Mark Carney says he’s built to meet this moment of crisis. Is he ready for everything else?
The stakes for Carney, for the Liberals fighting for a fourth term, and for the country with Donald Trump’s eyes on Canada’s resources and sovereignty, couldn’t be higher.
Donald Trump may impose escalating tariff levels, and Canada could be on the lower end: Sources
Canada could be on the lower end of U.S. President Donald Trump’s threatened global tariffs next week, the Star has learned. Nothing, however, is guaranteed until Trump decides ahead of his April 2 deadline — which he’s dubbed “liberation day” for America — and no government officials are taking any assurances for granted, sources said.
Mark Carney claps back at Donald Trump’s claim he changed Canada’s political landscape
Canadians will decide their next government, Carney said at a Friday news conference, adding any trade talks will only come after the U.S. president shows respect for Canada’s sovereignty.
Mark Carney looking to Europe to boost Canada’s security in shift away from reliance on U.S., sources say
The prime minister’s call to review the purchase of U.S.-made fighter jets could hint at what Carney has set in motion after meeting with European leaders earlier this week, sources told the Star. In an effort to pivot away from Canada’s overreliance on the U.S., Prime Minister Mark Carney is looking to Europe to build new security alliances and a...
Mark Carney’s first day as prime minister shows he’s got the bones of a plan to manage crisis
Mark Carney marked his debut as Canada’s 24th prime minister by killing the Trudeau-era consumer carbon tax, paring back his governing cabinet, and promising a more businesslike approach to U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war. A rare unelected prime minister, Carney took up the top political office of the country after Justin Trudeau officially resigned Friday, ushering in new federal...
Canada is caught in a ‘double trade war’ — and one premier is urging Ottawa to drop its fight against China
On top of threatened U.S. tariffs, China has brought down another hammer on many Canadian farm and seafood exports, hitting them with a “double trade war” that industry leaders say will slam Canadian producers. In response, B.C. Premier David Eby called on Ottawa to drop its tariff fight against China, saying Canada got nothing out of trying to align trade...
‘Canada is killing our people’: Donald Trump, JD Vance demand Canada halt counter-tariffs, increase border security during heated call with Trudeau
Canada offered to delay its second phase of counter-tariffs against the U.S. if Donald Trump drops tariffs on all Canadian products — not just in the auto sector — that are covered by and comply with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Free Trade Agreement, the Star has learned. High-stakes talks continued between Canadian and U.S. officials with no word about whether there would...
Canada pushes back after Trump says 25% tariff will go ahead next week
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly responded in part to the U.S. president’s claims by saying the U.S. is a “net exporter” of illegal fentanyl, guns and migrants to Canada.
Donald Trump threatens to slap 25 per cent tariffs on all auto imports as Canada’s foreign minister warns of ‘wake-up call’ for Europe
U. S. President Donald Trump now says he will slap 25 per cent tariffs on all auto imports on April 2, accusing European countries — as he has Canada — of “unfair” trade practices. Trump’s latest trade comments, along with a surprising attack on the legitimacy of Ukraine’s president and assertion that Ukraine needs new elections, capped off several days...
Stephen Harper says Canada should ‘accept any level of damage’ to fight back against Donald Trump
U.S. President Donald Trump’s annexation threats should be met with determination to preserve this country’s independence at any cost, says former prime minister Stephen Harper. Speaking Tuesday in Ottawa at the launch of his latest history book, “Flags of Canada,” Harper welcomed a surge in Canadian nationalism including, he said, from the current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The inside story of a high-stakes call between Justin Trudeau and Donald Trump as the tariff deadline loomed
American President Donald Trump raised a long list of complaints against Canada and said the Canada-U.S. boundary could disappear when he spoke with the prime minister Monday, according to details Justin Trudeau revealed behind closed doors on Friday, the Star has learned. The Star first broke news that Trudeau told a group of nearly 200 business, industry and union leaders...
Donald Trump is forcing Pierre Poilievre and Liberal leadership front-runners to make the same pitch to Canadians
Keep calm, Canada. And bring it on. U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threat has galvanized a political shift in Canada, sparking not just impassioned public displays of patriotism in the True North but also forcing Liberals and Conservatives to reframe their electoral pitches with a strong dose of nationalism as they seek to replace Justin Trudeau.
Canada tariffs: Ontario cancels contract with Starlink, global markets in turmoil after Trump announces tariffs over the weekend
The onset of a U.S.-led tariff war with Canada, Mexico and China triggered turmoil in global markets and prompted Ontario to cancel its contract with Elon Musk‘s Starlink satellite company and to ban American companies from provincial contracts. “We’ll be ripping up the province’s contract with Starlink. Ontario won’t do business with people hellbent on destroying our economy,” said PC...
Reality check: Who will actually pay if Canada slaps tariffs on American imports?
It is a basic tenet of Tariffs 101, and an essential argument in Canada’s fight against Donald Trump’s 25-per-cent tariff threat: that consumers and businesses on your home turf are the ones who pay the cost of tariffs, or counter-tariffs, not the other country’s government or people. So it was baffling to see Chrystia Freeland, the former finance minister vying...
Canada is gearing up to counterattack Trump’s tariff threat, Justin Trudeau says. ‘Everything is on the table.’
Canada would not immediately match any U.S. tariffs with “dollar for dollar” penalties on American products coming into Canada — an approach that Ontario Premier Doug Ford views as not “proportional” or strong enough to counter Donald Trump’s threats, the Star has learned. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told premiers “everything is on the table” as he met them behind closed...
Mark Carney’s Daily Show interview revealed to Americans a side of the former banker he hasn’t shown Canadians
Mark Carney — who is not yet a marquee name in Canada — took to the stage of Jon Stewart’s U.S. satirical news and comedy show to reveal a side of himself to Americans that he has yet to show Canadians. But hey, it’ll go viral won’t it?
Jagmeet Singh calls for aggressive response to Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs
Canada should “cut off the flow of critical minerals” to the U.S. to exact a painful toll in response to Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs, says New Democrat Leader Jagmeet Singh. Singh called the incoming U.S. president “a threat” and a “bully” who is “not rational,” and only understands “force” and “pain,” at a news conference in Ottawa Monday, seven days...
Justin Trudeau had thought about resigning for a long time. The inside story of what finally made him quit
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau once considered quitting politics long before Monday. On the day he announced his coming resignation, Trudeau wrote his own first draft of history. He told the nation he is a fighter who never backs away from a fight — that he wouldn’t be stepping down if it weren’t for his internal caucus struggles that eclipsed his...
Who will replace Justin Trudeau as Liberal party leader? Here are some likely contenders
Let the political games begin. With Justin Trudeau’s decision to step down, the unofficial race to replace him is on. By convention in Canada’s parliamentary system of democracy, whoever leads the party that holds the confidence of the House of Commons becomes prime minister. So the stakes couldn’t be higher.
Inside Chrystia Freeland’s surprising resignation — and the fallout that has Justin Trudeau fighting for his political life
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is fighting once again for his political life, behind closed doors. At an emergency meeting Monday evening — called after Chrystia Freeland, Trudeau’s now former top deputy and one-time “minister of everything” quit as finance minister — the prime minister came face to face with Freeland along with an angry and bewildered caucus before he planned...
Justin Trudeau takes a swipe at Donald Trump ahead of first ministers’ meeting
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took an indirect dig at Donald Trump ahead of a first ministers’ meeting Wednesday on how to best handle the unpredictable incoming U.S. president-elect. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took an indirect dig at Donald Trump ahead of a first ministers’ meeting Wednesday on how to best handle the unpredictable incoming U.S. president-elect.
Canadians want a tough approach to Donald Trump — but some like him better than Justin Trudeau, survey shows
As Canadian politicians jockey to position themselves as the best to deal with a mercurial incoming U.S. president Donald Trump, a wary Canadian public is cool to any compromises and supports a tough approach, according to a pair of new polls.
Justin Trudeau’s team believes it can escape Donald Trump’s tariff threat
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s team came away from a Mar-a-Lago Friday night dinner with Donald Trump with no guarantee but believing it is possible for Canada to escape his 25-per-cent tariff threat if the Liberal government can address the president-elect’s concerns on border security. Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc who accompanied Trudeau to Trump’s resort in Palm Beach, Fla. told...
Trudeau government’s ‘Team Canada’ approach to Donald Trump is already on shaky ground. Here’s why
It’s Show-Don’t-Tell time. The Trudeau government’s strategy in the face of Donald Trump’s latest 25 per cent tariff threat is fourfold: prove Canada is a reliable neighbour bent on securing borders against illegal migration and drugs.
There are warning signs for Justin Trudeau and Pierre Poilievre in Donald Trump’s win
Don’t let anyone tell you the re-election of Donald Trump is not a jolt to Canada’s political landscape. Or that we’ve been there, done that. The fallout is about to overwhelm the Canadian government’s agenda for the next four years.