These are the 30 most read items on National Newswatch, from the last seven days.
Ontario MP Marilyn Gladu left the Conservative caucus to join Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberals on Wednesday, pushing the government closer to a majority ahead of three byelections next week. Carney welcomed her to the caucus in a meeting at his office Wednesday afternoon. "I couldn't be happier," he said alongside a smiling Gladu. He said Gladu was "one of...
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's communications director Katy Merrifield is resigning. Merrifield announced her departure in an email sent to the Conservative caucus Tuesday, adding her last day working in the Opposition Leader's Office will be Friday. The message says Micah Green will become the new communications director and Sam Lilly will be the new media relations director.
A former top aide to Stephen Harper says Marilyn Gladu's decision to leave the Conservative party for the Liberals is raising questions about Pierre Poilievre's leadership. "I think this floor crosser, more than the previous ones, weakens his leadership," said Dimitri Soudas, who was former prime minister Stephen Harper's director of communications. "Not just because of the fact that it's...
Liberal MP Chris d’Entremont, who crossed the floor from the Conservatives in November, says current Conservative MPs have “absolutely” asked him what it’s like being a Liberal. “They want to know what the caucus structure is, what we talk about, what kind of input that we have in decision making,” d’Entremont told host Mike Le Couteur in an interview on...
After losing another of his MPs to the Liberals, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says he personally supports recall petitions — a way for constituents to remove a representative if they garner enough local support. "When a member of Parliament goes back on the word they made to their constituents and switches parties, constituents should be able to petition to throw...
The dam has burst. Rigid messaging is ending. Long live the give-and-take of conversation. SUDDENLY, OUR POLITICS is all about the written and spoken word. Not so long ago, we had a prime minister who did his best to hide for weeks and an opposition leader who refused to take reporters with him on a national campaign. Now, the newish...
Iran, the United States and Israel agreed to a two-week ceasefire, an 11th-hour deal that allowed U.S. President Donald Trump to pull back from his threat to unleash a bombing campaign that would destroy Iranian civilization. Hours after the announcement, Iran and Gulf Arab countries reported new attacks Wednesday. It was not clear if the sporadic attacks would be enough...
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...
A veteran Canadian journalist facing unproven and disputed allegations that he is working as a pro-Russian operative was the subject of several interviews during an investigation involving the RCMP, the Star has learned. The exact purpose of the inquiries is unclear, but sources familiar with the probe said members of the RCMP-led INSET national security body had conversations with numerous...
Danielle Martin was going door to door meeting voters when a woman, newly released from the hospital, really wanted to show off her stitches. “I said, ‘I’m really sorry, but I don’t feel like that would be appropriate,’” Martin, a high-profile family doctor-turned-Liberal candidate, recalled with a laugh. “I’m not sure my insurance covers that.”
Brian Masse says the law needed to be modernized — but more regulation is needed. The former MP who spent more than a decade pushing to legalize single-event sports betting says he doesn't regret it — but says its implementation is in some ways "sad" and "deplorable." He also says more regulation is required to curb the volume and methods...
This has to be the worst of times for Donald Trump -- nothing is going right, and the US President looks increasingly unhinged on a daily basis. Even some of his base are abandoning him. With Chantal away, former Washington correspondent Keith Boag joins Bruce for some serious Trump talk. Plus, another Conservative crosses the floor, making a Liberal majority...
The policy debate at the Grits' upcoming convention seems intentionally designed to avoid being a distraction from the party’s core messaging as it sits on the cusp of a majority, but it's also not time for a victory lap, say observers. As Liberals from across Canada descend on Montreal this week, observers expect the party’s national convention to be light...
Two weeks before byelection day, pollsters Nik Nanos and Quito Maggi are predicting a Liberal advantage in the riding of Terrebonne, Que. The presence of 42 independent candidates and the use of a “write-in” or “adapted ballot” could prove decisive in the tightly contested April 13 byelection in Terrebonne, Que., say some Liberal sources and pollsters, adding that a close...
U.S. president was unaware Charles is Canada's head of state, Robert Hardman writes in new book. An upcoming book authored by a prominent royal commentator says U.S. President Donald Trump was primarily interested in annexing Canadian territory just above the U.S.-Canada border — and his respect for King Charles may have quashed that goal. The book, titled Elizabeth II: In...
Deputy minister of national defence Christiane Fox broke conflict of interest rules by hiring an old acquaintance when she was the deputy immigration minister, the federal ethics watchdog has found. Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner Konrad von Finckenstein published an investigation on Wednesday finding that Fox improperly influenced her department to hire Björn Charles in March 2023. Fox sent...
Swedish firm pitches centre as means to keep mission-critical data out of U.S. hands. As part of its pitch to lure Canada to buy Gripen-E fighter jets, Saab has offered to establish a secure, sovereign data centre in Montreal to house critical, top-secret mission data and intelligence, CBC News has learned. The company is framing it as a "unique advantage"...
Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada's next governor general will speak both French and English. In an interview with Radio-Canada, Carney answered "absolutely" when asked by radio host Patrick Masbourian whether he would commit to naming a candidate who speaks both of the country's official languages. Gov. Gen. Mary Simon speaks English and Inuktitut but has failed to become fluent...
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne has been unable to participate in decisions related to the federal government’s proposed high-speed rail line after setting up an ethics screen last year due to his partner’s ties to the Crown corporation behind the project. The screen means the finance minister has had to recuse himself from all discussions related to the Alto proposal for...
Pierre Poilievre was defiant on Thursday in the face of questions about his leadership of the Conservative party after a fourth member of his caucus defected to the Liberals this week. He reminded reporters that a "record-smashing 8.3 million Canadians" voted Conservative last year. "Our mandate, and my leadership, does not come from dirty backroom deals. It comes from the...
PM Carney says he's 'often the last to know' about floor-crossers joining his party. In the wake of another Conservative breaking ranks to join Prime Minister Mark Carney, Liberal MPs are sharing new details about how they successfully convinced the first floor-crosser — Nova Scotia MP Chris d'Entremont — to join their side. In an interview with CBC's The House...
Our latest Spark Insights polling (Sample 4026, nationwide, online, April 4-8) finds the Liberals (46%) well ahead of the Conservatives (32%) buttressed by a 19 point lead in BC, a 17 point lead in Ontario, and 20 points ahead of the BQ in Quebec. Underpinning this support is wide approval (65%) of the government’s performance. Liberal governments have historically faced...
By now, interested readers will be able to find all sorts of reminders that, before she crossed the figurative floor to the Liberals on Wednesday, Marilyn Gladu had a reputation in Ottawa as an eccentric at best, and a loose cannon at worst. Her Wikipedia entry features expressions like “hydroxychloroquine” and “conversion therapy.” Scanning reactions to the Sarnia MP’s defection...
Prime Minister Mark Carney visited the Montreal Canadiens dressing room after the team's 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in a thrilling game Thursday night. Carney was in Montreal for a Liberal party convention running through Saturday, attending the game following a day of media appearances and speeches across the city. He met with Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki, forwards...
Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon is pushing back on the Conservatives’ calls to cancel the proposed high-speed rail line between Toronto and Quebec City. Construction on the multi-billion-dollar infrastructure project, overseen by the Crown corporation Alto, is set to begin in 2029 or 2030. But, speaking to reporters this week, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre called the project a “boondoggle” and...
By the time you read this, U.S. armed forces may well have launched a ground war in Iran. Or they may have begun to withdraw from the region and go home. There could be a ceasefire, in exchange for Iran’s agreement to open the Strait of Hormuz. Or the war could have escalated further, with stepped-up U.S. attacks on Iranian...
As many as eight more opposition MPs are being courted to cross the floor, three Liberal sources told The Globe and Mail. Conservative and NDP MPs are in the mix, the sources said, though it remains unclear if any will make the jump – or when. The sources are all veteran Liberal organizers, and two are directly involved in reaching...
'It was a nonsensical operation from beginning to end,' national security expert says. Canadian Armed Forces members used their own personal social media accounts, computers and networks at home during the COVID-19 pandemic and gathered information about Canadians, violating intelligence-gathering rules, according to a newly released report. The internal military report obtained by CBC News provides a new look behind...
The office of the federal ethics commissioner says Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne’s personal relationship with a senior manager at the Crown corporation responsible for building high-speed rail does not constitute a conflict of interest. In an email seen by CTV News, an adviser from the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner (OCIEC) stated that “there is no...
Prime Minister Mark Carney issued a call on Saturday for political unity and for Canadians to dispatch with "politics as usual" as the country confronts a crumbling international order it once benefited gainfully from. Carney made the remarks to Liberal party rank-and-file in a speech to rally the troops on the closing day of the party's national convention in Montreal...