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These are the 30 most read items on National Newswatch, from the last seven days.

There’s a reason Mark Carney isn’t talking to Donald Trump

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 favourability hits lowest point of his leadership; Carney approval rises

Poilievre favourability hits lowest point of his leadership; Carney approval rises

Despite boos for the Prime Minister at the Grey Cup on Sunday, new data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute finds Carney approved of by 52 per cent of Canadians. He’s disapproved of by 39 per cent, putting his net approval rating at plus 13. On the other side of the house, the spotlight on Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre...

Liberals clear high-stakes confidence vote to pass federal budget, avoid holiday election

Liberals clear high-stakes confidence vote to pass federal budget, avoid holiday election

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s minority Liberal government narrowly survived its third confidence vote in as many weeks on Monday, passing the federal budget by a vote of 170-168 and staving off a holiday election. The vote was a make-or-break one for the Liberal government, which is two seats shy of a majority. Leading up to the vote, both the Bloc...

47% of those on the right believe it's best to choose a new leader for the Conservative Party

47% of those on the right believe it's best to choose a new leader for the Conservative Party

Betting on Poilievre is betting that someone who’s been in politics for 20 years will grow more popular, and the odds tell us that only rarely happens. The list of politicians who gain popularity after 20 years in public life is short. When it happens, it involves a major change in the politician, or a bigger change in the world...

Liberal MP insists he’s ‘not unhappy’ despite environmental policy shift, Poilievre claims

Liberal MP insists he’s ‘not unhappy’ despite environmental policy shift, Poilievre claims

B.C. Liberal MP Jonathan Wilkinson says he is “not unhappy” as a member of the Liberal government, despite a significant shift in environmental policies under Prime Minister Mark Carney. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, meanwhile, pointed on Wednesday to reporting from the Toronto Sun that says Wilkinson – who served as both environment and climate change minister and energy and natural...

House Speaker Scarpaleggia residing at an Ottawa hotel instead of official residence, ‘The Farm,’ for family reasons

House Speaker Scarpaleggia residing at an Ottawa hotel instead of official residence, ‘The Farm,’ for family reasons

It’s more economical for the Speaker to live at a hotel than at the official residence in Gatineau Hills, says spokesman Olivier Duhaime. Liberal MP Francis Scarpaleggia, who was elected as House Speaker in May following the last general election, has chosen not to reside at “The Farm,” the Speaker’s official residence in the Gatineau Hills in Quebec, opting instead...



‘Shame on you’: N.S. MP Chris d’Entremont booed during Remembrance Day ceremony

‘Shame on you’: N.S. MP Chris d’Entremont booed during Remembrance Day ceremony

A high-profile Nova Scotia politician was booed at a Remembrance Day event on Tuesday. Chris d’Entremont, the longtime Conservative MP who crossed the floor to join the Liberals last week, attended the ceremony at the legion in Annapolis Royal, N.S. When he laid a wreath in front of the stage, booing could be heard, sparking some grumbles from other members...

With an eye on the party's future, go-getter Tory MP Jivani says he doesn't have time for party infighting

With an eye on the party's future, go-getter Tory MP Jivani says he doesn't have time for party infighting

Jivani has lately been spending a lot of time meeting young Canadians. Conservative MP Jamil Jivani doesn’t yet have a critic assignment, but he’s still finding plenty of ways to keep himself busy. One glance at the link-heavy website for the Yale Law graduate’s new “Restore the North” initiative conjures up the image of an overachieving high school senior anxiously...

Nenshi’s NDP relaunch gets big outside help: NYC mayor's ad agency and Ottawa Liberals

Nenshi’s NDP relaunch gets big outside help: NYC mayor's ad agency and Ottawa Liberals

New party ad stresses Albertans' struggles on affordability, health — light on details of how to fix them. Nearly a year and a half after Naheed Nenshi began serving as Alberta NDP leader, and about two years out from the next scheduled election, his party has determined it’s time to reintroduce him to Albertans this week. The newly released video...

How the Conservatives helped pass Carney's budget, avoiding an election

How the Conservatives helped pass Carney's budget, avoiding an election

2 Conservative MPs didn't vote — and 2 more nearly didn't make it. Minutes before time ran out on Monday's budget vote, two senior Conservatives swooped into the chamber claiming their electronic voting app wasn't working and declared they wanted to vote against Prime Minister Mark Carney's first budget. MPs Andrew Scheer and Scott Reid, the party's House leader and...

Poilievre says no reflection on his leadership style following floor crossing and resignation

Poilievre says no reflection on his leadership style following floor crossing and resignation

In his first media availability since two MPs announced they’re leaving his caucus, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says he plans to continue leading the party as he has been. When asked by a reporter to respond to comments by former Conservative MP Chris d’Entremont — who last Tuesday announced he was crossing the floor to the Liberals and later blamed...

Budget, government’s fate up in the air as MPs prepare for crucial vote

Budget, government’s fate up in the air as MPs prepare for crucial vote

Liberals have already survived 2 confidence votes on the budget; final vote expected Monday evening. The House of Commons is set for one final vote on the main budget motion that will determine if the fiscal policy can go ahead and if the Liberal Party can keep governing. The Liberal government tabled the budget earlier this month. It calls for...

Swedish manufacturer says 10,000 new jobs could soon come to Canada

Swedish manufacturer says 10,000 new jobs could soon come to Canada

The Swedish manufacturer of the Gripen fighter jet, SAAB, says 10,000 manufacturing and research jobs could land in Canada if Ottawa adds the aircraft to its military fleet. SAAB President and CEO Micael Johansson confirmed to CTV News during an interview at the company’s headquarters in Stockholm that he has talked to Ottawa about making Gripens on Canadian soil. He...

Poilievre and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week

Poilievre and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week

Last week was an awful one for the Conservative Party. It should have been a time when Leader Pierre Poilievre and his team were critiquing Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first budget and laying out alternatives. Instead, they spent most of the week answering questions about Poilievre’s leadership as one of his Members of Parliament crossed the floor and joined the...

NDP prepares for election as its MPs decide whether to vote against Carney government’s budget

NDP prepares for election as its MPs decide whether to vote against Carney government’s budget

The NDP is considering how to fast-track its campaign readiness in the case of a snap election, sources say, as its MPs weigh a budget vote that could trigger the fall of the Carney government. The NDP is weighing how to fast-track its campaign readiness in the case of a snap election, sources say, as its MPs weigh a budget...

Carney refers one strategy, six initiatives to Major Projects Office

Carney refers one strategy, six initiatives to Major Projects Office

Three critical mineral extraction projects, a nickel mine in Ontario and a transmission line on the northern B.C. coast are among the new initiatives added to the growing list of projects referred to the Major Projects Office. Prime Minister Mark Carney says the “transformational” projects announced Thursday in northern B.C. represent more than $56 billion in new investment and will...

Conservative MP Stubbs defends missing budget vote after surgery

Conservative MP Stubbs defends missing budget vote after surgery

Conservative MP Shannon Stubbs missed Monday's critical budget vote because she is recovering from major surgery, a statement posted to social media said Tuesday. The budget motion passed by just two votes, allowing the minority Liberals to stay in power. Stubbs and Matt Jeneroux were the two Conservatives who did not vote on the budget. After rumours started circulating suggesting...

‘It’s none of their business’: Senators hit the brakes on new staff ethics code after political-disclosure rules make waves

‘It’s none of their business’: Senators hit the brakes on new staff ethics code after political-disclosure rules make waves

A new Code of Values and Ethics for Senate Staff—developed and adopted behind closed doors last spring—caught many by surprise when it was implemented earlier this fall, and its requirement for staff to disclose their political activities has sparked concerns among both Senators and their staff. Thanks to a motion from Conservative Senator Michael MacDonald (Cape Breton, N.S.) adopted by...



Poilievre should take a page out of Brian Mulroney’s playbook on caucus management, say political players: ‘an absolute master,’ it was his ‘secret sauce’

Poilievre should take a page out of Brian Mulroney’s playbook on caucus management, say political players: ‘an absolute master,’ it was his ‘secret sauce’

David McLaughlin says building and maintaining trust requires two-way communication. It's also political capital that leaders can draw upon in tough times. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre needs to reach out to his MPs individually, rather than through the House leader and the whip.

Former immigration minister says Canada's reputation on welcoming refugees is at risk

Former immigration minister says Canada's reputation on welcoming refugees is at risk

Former immigration minister Lloyd Axworthy, a prominent global champion for refugees, said he believes Canada is putting its reputation as a welcoming place for refugees at risk through recent federal policy shifts. Those shifts, he said, include the Carney government's new border security bill, C-12, which would limit the ability of individuals who have been in Canada for more than...

F-35 defenders launch counterattack against Swedish fighter jet proposal

F-35 defenders launch counterattack against Swedish fighter jet proposal

A dozen former high-ranking air force officers sent letter backing F-35 purchase. Former high-ranking officers of the Canadian Armed Forces are mounting a defence of the planned acquisition of 88 American F-35 fighter jets, hoping to put an end to the ongoing courtship between the Canadian government and the Swedish firm Saab. According to information obtained by Radio-Canada, a dozen...

Here are three scenarios — including a Christmas election — that could happen with Monday’s budget vote

Here are three scenarios — including a Christmas election — that could happen with Monday’s budget vote

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s minority government will face a crucial test on Monday, Nov. 17, as it will face a third and final confidence vote on his budget, Already, Conservatives and the Bloc Québécois have said their MPs would be voting against the government’s fiscal plan, leaving few options for the Liberals to find the two votes needed in the...

Forcing an election against this budget would be a big risk for opposition parties

Forcing an election against this budget would be a big risk for opposition parties

69% think the opposition parties should let the budget pass, including 73% on the left and 51% on the right. Hardly fertile ground for the NDP and the CPC. As the House of Commons approaches confidence votes on Mark Carney’s first budget, they know that to force an election would be to court the ire of the public. It may...

Transport Canada's aviation wing moving to DND with little explanation

Transport Canada's aviation wing moving to DND with little explanation

Transferring aircraft will help Ottawa meet NATO's new spending target. Transport Canada will be surrendering most — if not all — of its aviation wing to the Department of Defence in a plan that’s shrouded in secrecy. The move of the federal department’s “core aviation services” was flagged in the recent federal budget. It has the potential to affect the...

Ottawa, Alberta close to deal that includes oil pipeline to B.C. coast, sources say

Ottawa, Alberta close to deal that includes oil pipeline to B.C. coast, sources say

Ottawa and Alberta appear close to striking an energy accord long sought by Premier Danielle Smith to boost her province’s oil and natural gas sector, with Privy Council Clerk Michael Sabia playing a key role in the negotiations, two sources say. Two federal insiders said the broad outlines of the agreement, which would take the form of a memorandum of...

Some NDP leadership candidates report struggling to meet conditions to remain in race

Some NDP leadership candidates report struggling to meet conditions to remain in race

The first of three fundraising deadlines for the NDP leadership race landed Friday, with some candidates coming close to not meeting the requirements for remaining in the race. A campaign spokesperson for Tanille Johnston, a city councillor in Campbell River, B.C., said she will be able to make the $25,000 payment allowing her to stay in the race and appear...

Another truck convoy protest is in the works — this one sparked by farmers and feathers

Another truck convoy protest is in the works — this one sparked by farmers and feathers

As the dark days of winter descend, the thoughts of anti-government libertarians have once again turned to convoys. This year’s truck protest, planned for Saturday, is being organized to defend the rights of farmers against Big Government in the wake of a recent controversial cull of ostriches on a farm in southeastern BC.

Poilievre says he is not reflecting on his leadership style after MP defections

Poilievre says he is not reflecting on his leadership style after MP defections

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Wednesday he is not reflecting on his leadership style after two MPs announced they were leaving his caucus — including one who cited the leader's "negative" approach to politics as the reason why he's calling it quits on the party. Speaking to reporters in Calgary at his first press conference since the defections last week...

Conservatives won’t say if MPs will be forced to vote against budget

Conservatives won’t say if MPs will be forced to vote against budget

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and his office will not say if his caucus will be whipped by party leadership and urged to vote against Prime Minister Mark Carney’s budget next week — a vote that could trigger another election if the minority government falls. Asked by reporters in Calgary on Friday if he was confident that all his members of...

Prominent legal scholar detained at Canadian border while on his way to a conference on Palestine

Prominent legal scholar detained at Canadian border while on his way to a conference on Palestine

A prominent academic and former UN special rapporteur says he was detained by customs agents in Toronto while on his way to speak at a conference on human rights violations against Palestinians.