Trending

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

Conservative MPs bristle as Pierre Poilievre asks them to justify their roles

Conservative MPs bristle as Pierre Poilievre asks them to justify their roles

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is shuffling his deck, sending Elon Musk-style letters to his shadow ministers asking them to prove their worth. Monday’s email was referred to by one Conservative as “DOGE-like” — a reference to Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency,” which sent emails to U.S. federal government workers last year demanding that they list their past week’s accomplishments or...

Governor-General’s husband says the couple are planning their exit from Rideau Hall

Governor-General’s husband says the couple are planning their exit from Rideau Hall

Whit Fraser, a former journalist and the husband of Governor-General Mary Simon, says the couple are planning their exit from Rideau Hall. Mr. Fraser, who spoke with The Globe and Mail ahead of the release of his memoir, was reluctant to provide details about their wife’s plans, but the 84-year-old, whose official title is vice-regal consort, signalled that Ms. Simon...

'I was lynched': Why astronaut Julie Payette flamed out as governor general

'I was lynched': Why astronaut Julie Payette flamed out as governor general

It should not have ended this way. It should have ended with a national celebration of an amazing, vibrant, and still young woman who managed to surmount all the challenges in a mostly male world; who managed to storm through a mostly male engineering school right up to the day she graduated summa cum laude ; who managed to get...

Sources say senators planning to create sixth group as questions are raised about Carney’s vision for the Upper Chamber

Sources say senators planning to create sixth group as questions are raised about Carney’s vision for the Upper Chamber

One senator said the Liberals’ march towards a majority in the House is also motivating discussions around the future of the Senate, raising the possibility that Prime Minister Mark Carney will appoint the leader of the government in the Senate to cabinet.

Spy allegations against veteran Ottawa journalist drew attention from RCMP security unit

Spy allegations against veteran Ottawa journalist drew attention from RCMP security unit

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...

Candidate ends his bid for Conservative nomination in Poilievre's former riding

Candidate ends his bid for Conservative nomination in Poilievre's former riding

The man who announced he was seeking the Conservative nomination in Pierre Poilievre's former riding of Carleton in February now says he's dropping out of the race. Blair Turner, a police officer from the Ottawa area, ran for the Tories in Ottawa South in the federal election last April and lost to Defence Minister David McGuinty. Poilievre lost the seat...



U.S., Israel and Iran agree to a 2-week ceasefire as Trump pulls back on his threats

U.S., Israel and Iran agree to a 2-week ceasefire as Trump pulls back on his threats

Iran, the United States and Israel reached a two-week ceasefire Wednesday as U.S. President Donald Trump pulled back from his threats to destroy Iranian civilization. But questions emerged over what appeared to be dueling proposals to halt the regionwide war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with Iran insisting it would charge tolls to passing ships and continue to enrich...

Former MP behind sports gambling legalization says some results are 'deplorable'

Former MP behind sports gambling legalization says some results are 'deplorable'

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...

Why Pierre Poilievre Suddenly Won’t Stop Talking

Why Pierre Poilievre Suddenly Won’t Stop Talking

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...

Doug Ford praises Mark Carney and appeals for a majority government ahead of byelections

Doug Ford praises Mark Carney and appeals for a majority government ahead of byelections

The prime minister will secure a majority government if his Liberals win two of the three byelections. Premier Doug Ford is appealing for political “certainty” in Canada ahead of contentious trade negotiations with U.S. President Donald Trump. Ford, in Texas on a trade mission to promote Ontario, stressed “it was the right move” when he called an early Ontario election...

The winning ticket for the next federal election

The winning ticket for the next federal election

Now that the federal New Democrats have selected Avi Lewis as their leader, Canadians know the leadership offering that they will be presented by the major parties in the next campaign. Now the race is on between the parties to try to frame the ‘ballot question’ of the next campaign – whenever that may be. But at this moment, given...

Grits ‘throwing everything at that seat’ as 48 candidates and ‘adapted ballot’ could influence result of nail-biter Terrebonne byelection, say pollsters and Liberal sources

Grits ‘throwing everything at that seat’ as 48 candidates and ‘adapted ballot’ could influence result of nail-biter Terrebonne byelection, say pollsters and Liberal sources

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...

Trump's respect for King Charles possibly quashed desire to annex Canada, says royal commentator

Trump's respect for King Charles possibly quashed desire to annex Canada, says royal commentator

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...

Stellantis in Talks to Make Chinese EVs at Idled Canadian Plant

Stellantis in Talks to Make Chinese EVs at Idled Canadian Plant

Stellantis NV is discussing options for building electric vehicles in Canada with its Chinese partner, Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology Co., according to people familiar with the matter, a sign of how quickly the auto industry is being reshaped after Canada opened the door to companies from the world’s largest car market. The talks are in an early stage, said the people...

Liberals’ ‘historically significant’ Alberta polling holds as first MOU deadline passes, say pollsters

Liberals’ ‘historically significant’ Alberta polling holds as first MOU deadline passes, say pollsters

The Liberals have more than 30-per-cent support in the province, but trying to capitalize on those numbers without a good reason for an election would come at a cost, says Liaison Strategies' David Valentin. Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberals are holding steady in Alberta and enjoying a close and historically significant second place in one of the federal Conservatives’ last...

Finance minister recuses himself from Ottawa’s high-speed rail project

Finance minister recuses himself from Ottawa’s high-speed rail project

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...

‘Where do you live?’ sparks a byelection scrap as Nate Erskine-Smith eyes Ontario Liberal leadership

‘Where do you live?’ sparks a byelection scrap as Nate Erskine-Smith eyes Ontario Liberal leadership

It’s a flashpoint in the hotly contested race to become the provincial Liberal candidate in Scarborough Southwest. Where do you live?

Trump says Pam Bondi out as his attorney general, Blanche will serve as acting AG

Trump says Pam Bondi out as his attorney general, Blanche will serve as acting AG

President Donald Trump said Thursday Pam Bondi is out as his attorney general. Trump in a social media post named Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as the acting attorney general, though three people familiar with the matter have said he has privately discussed Lee Zeldin, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, as a permanent pick. It marks the end...



Conservatives call for federal relief at the pumps as Iran war pushes prices up

Conservatives call for federal relief at the pumps as Iran war pushes prices up

The Conservatives are calling on the Liberals to give Canadians some relief at the pumps by suspending federal taxes on gas and diesel for the rest of the year. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Thursday that lifting the fuel excise tax, clean fuel standard and GST surcharges from gas and diesel would save consumers about 25 cents a litre. That...

‘They used to think big’: transport minister slams Conservatives’ criticism of high-speed rail

‘They used to think big’: transport minister slams Conservatives’ criticism of high-speed rail

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...

'Absolute betrayal': First Nations blast Eby in leaked transcript of DRIPA meeting

'Absolute betrayal': First Nations blast Eby in leaked transcript of DRIPA meeting

A leaked transcript of a meeting between Indigenous leaders and British Columbia Premier David Eby, about his plan to suspend the province's Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, or DRIPA, shows them accusing him of "absolute betrayal" and colonialism. Speaker after speaker in the 17,000-word transcript of Thursday's meeting, obtained by The Canadian Press, criticize Eby's handling of...

The U.S. will emerge from the war with Iran as a lesser power

The U.S. will emerge from the war with Iran as a lesser power

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...

How Canadian military members violated intelligence-gathering rules during COVID-19

How Canadian military members violated intelligence-gathering rules during COVID-19

'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...

Canadians could face tax hikes as Ottawa scrambles to fund defence target: report

Canadians could face tax hikes as Ottawa scrambles to fund defence target: report

The federal government should consider a one-to-two-point increase in the GST and slower growth in non-defence spending to finance a massive jump Canada’s military budget, according to a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. “Some combination of tax increases, spending cuts, or taking on more debt is required,” wrote authors Colin Busby and Nicholas Dahir. The analysis warns that...

China seeks Canada’s help in joining Indo-Pacific trade pact, Senator says

China seeks Canada’s help in joining Indo-Pacific trade pact, Senator says

Beijing is pushing Ottawa to back its bid to join a major free trade agreement between Indo-Pacific nations, including Canada, Japan and Australia, according to a Canadian senator who just returned from a diplomatic mission to China. Senator Clement Gignac, who co-chairs the Canada-China Legislative Association, said he in turn urged his Chinese counterparts to lift travel sanctions on Canadian...

The NDP has an antisemitism problem

The NDP has an antisemitism problem

On Sunday, after his runaway victory in the federal New Democratic Party’s leadership race, Avi Lewis linked his own anti-Zionist views to an ancestor’s opposition to the creation of a Jewish state in the Middle East. “My great-grandfather was a leader in the [Russian anti-Zionist] Jewish Labour Bund,” said Mr. Lewis, who noted that it was founded in 1897, five...

A watchdog curtailed - Alberta Justice Minister set new limits for election regulator when his friend, Sam Mraiche, was under investigation

A watchdog curtailed - Alberta Justice Minister set new limits for election regulator when his friend, Sam Mraiche, was under investigation

Alberta Justice Minister Mickey Amery shortened the amount of time Elections Alberta has to penalize political finance violations while his friend and relative Sam Mraiche was under investigation by the regulator, a Globe and Mail investigation has found. In May, 2025, Mr. Amery pushed through a series of amendments he said would “strengthen public trust” in the integrity of the...

Poilievre strikes more measured note in new Conservative advertising push

Poilievre strikes more measured note in new Conservative advertising push

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is striking a softer tone as his party launches a new advertising campaign aimed at affordability and national sovereignty. New Conservative ads set to begin airing Tuesday across Canada, focuses on the Liberal record since 2015 and the rising cost of food since then. The ads accuse the Liberal government of making life less affordable under...

Supreme Court won't hear case contesting constitutionality of Canada's voting system

Supreme Court won't hear case contesting constitutionality of Canada's voting system

The Supreme Court of Canada will not hear an appeal challenging the constitutionality of Canada's first-past-the-post electoral system. The system, set out in the Canada Elections Act, sees the candidate who receives the most votes in a given riding become the member of Parliament. Fair Voting BC and the Springtide Collective for Democratic Society argued in court that the first-past-the-post...

Conservatives call for ethics probe of Champagne as questions raised over high-speed rail

Conservatives call for ethics probe of Champagne as questions raised over high-speed rail

Finance minister's partner is a VP of company running government-funded project. The Conservative Party is calling on the House of Commons ethics watchdog to launch an investigation into whether Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne breached ethics rules regarding his partner's involvement in a federal government-funded high speed rail project. In a letter to Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner Konrad von...