These are the 30 most read items on National Newswatch, from the last seven days.
Perhaps, we’ll soon call it Mark Carney’s democratic deficit. The prime minister has a penchant for centralizing power — one explored a few times in this column — and now the edict to his Liberal MPs is that he does not want to be challenged. Over the course of several caucus meetings now, Grit MPs report Carney lashing out at...
Alberta’s long-standing grievances will never be addressed within Canada, which means leaving is the only option, say four ex-Conservative MPs, including former Harper-era cabinet minister Jay Hill who now lives in Alberta. At least four former Conservative MPs, including a former chief government whip, are backing the Oct. 19 referendum in the hopes that a majority of Albertans will support...
Liberal Caucus Chair James Maloney is vehemently denying the prime minister has a caucus management problem, pushing back on reporting from this week citing unnamed Liberal MPs accusing Mark Carney of being dismissive of the concerns they were raising, and yelling. Several MPs told the Toronto Star this week that Carney has a penchant for lashing out at caucus members...
Economic concerns continue to dominate the public mood, though with less intensity. Mentions of jobs and the economy have eased from 24.2% to 21.0%, while inflation has risen from 10.8% to 13.4%, suggesting a shift in emphasis rather than a reversal of priorities. Healthcare (7.2%) and immigration (4.7%) have also inched upward, even as housing concerns have declined from 5.7% to 3.9%.
The Carney Liberals now have the support of half of Canadians, according to a new Postmedia-leger poll, the first time any governing party has hit that benchmark in popular support in more than two decades. The poll, conducted over the past week, found 50 per cent of decided voters said they would most likely support the Liberals “if federal elections...
Support for Alberta separatism has declined since the beginning of 2026, according to a new Ipsos poll conducted for Global News. The survey conducted between May 28 to June 1 found 19 per cent of Albertans said they would vote this fall to hold a separate binding separation referendum, while 72 per cent would check off the box to remain...
Albertans are set to head to the polls in October to vote in a referendum on whether to stay in Canada or start the process to hold a later, binding referendum on seceding. But, that's not the question separatists wanted to see on the ballot, who instead prefer the more direct language of Stay Free Alberta and Mitch Sylvestre's question...
38% of Albertans approve of Smith's job as premier and 33% like how she's handled separatism. A majority of Albertans disapprove of both Danielle Smith’s performance as premier and of her handling of the separatism issue, according to a new Ipsos poll that also found Albertans on both ends of the debate believe Smith supports the opposite side of their...
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith drops a political bomb, a financial bomb, a bomb dropped on the separatist assumptions of way more gain than pain by Alberta leaving Canada and striking out on its own. Almost $400 billion in start-up costs to set up an independent Alberta. Roughly $80,000 for every Albertan. Somewhere between $25 billion and $50 billion in yearly...
Behind the closed doors of a Liberal caucus meeting this spring, things grew heated between Prime Minister Mark Carney and Nova Scotia MP Jaime Battiste. The two traded responsibility for the government’s shaky relationship with Indigenous groups, in an intense exchange that played out in front of all the other Liberal MPs gathered on the second floor of West Block...
CBC uncovers 14 accounts from India, Pakistan, Indonesia posting on popular Alberta separatist groups. You might think, based on the volume of her Facebook posts, that Nieta Aqila is an Albertan who supports separation. "I signed the Alberta independence petition" because "Canada is not a great country anymore," an account in her name wrote in a popular Facebook group called...
With United States President Donald Trump increasing pressure on Cuba, his country’s State Department is looking to Canada to build support for regime change in Havana. Foreign Affairs deputy minister Arun Thangaraj was at the U.S. State Department last week where he met with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau. During that meeting, the topic of Cuba came up...
'Simply building a pipeline is not the complete answer,' said Manning. On the eve of the 1995 referendum vote in Quebec, Preston Manning rose in the House of Commons to ask the Liberal government of the day how it might be willing to change to convince a “soft sovereigntist or a discontented federalist” to vote against leaving the country. Article...
Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday his Liberal government will soon introduce legislation on forced labour in supply chains after the Trump administration proposed a 10 per cent additional tariff on Canada and other countries following an investigation into the issue. "Canada has a very strong legislative regime against forced labour in supply chains," Carney told reporters in Ottawa. "We...
GlobalEye supply chain could be used for major Gripen project as negotiations continue. The federal government is looking at expanding the military's fighter fleet beyond its original plan for 88 jets, according to industry and government sources. Negotiations are underway for the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) to acquire a larger mixed fleet of American-made Lockheed Martin F-35s and Saab Gripen-E...
In a letter to his counterparts in the United States and Mexico, Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc says he wants to renew the countries’ trilateral trade deal for another 16 years and opt out of an annual review process. “This agreement is highly beneficial to each of our countries and to the integrated North American economy,” LeBlanc wrote in a...
Other cabinet members lining up behind Smith's pledge to vote to stay. But Devin Dreeshen avoids answering. Alberta’s transportation minister declined on Friday to say whether he’d vote for or against his province remaining in Canada, becoming the first cabinet minister to publicly avoid taking what Premier Danielle Smith says is the anti-separation stance of her cabinet, caucus and party...
Carney says Canada won't react or respond to every post from the U.S. president. U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra said making Canada the 51st state would be "a great discussion for the president" and Prime Minister Mark Carney to have, as the White House resurrects the sensitive topic just as trade talks gear up. After backing off his annexation...
The Postmedia-Leger survey also found that Canadians think Alberta’s separation would have a greater economic impact than Quebec's. Fewer than half of Albertans are certain that they would continue living in their newly independent province should it separate from Canada, according to a new Postmedia-Leger poll, as a referendum later this year is set to decide if the province wants...
The federal government is going to take more time to consult on its proposals to change how major projects are reviewed. Ottawa last month released two discussion papers which proposed, among other things, approving major projects before they're reviewed and exempting certain projects from laws meant to protect species at risk. Critics, including Green Party Leader Liz May, have said...
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's United Conservatives have tapped a former federal conservative cabinet minister and lobbyist to help redraw the map marking electoral ridings across the province. Monte Solberg is one of four panel members appointed Tuesday by a legislature committee overseeing the new map-making process.
The unofficial authority on recession calls in Canada says it's too soon to use that word to describe the sluggish economy. Debate has raged on Parliament Hill over whether the country is in a recession since Statistics Canada reported last week that the economy contracted for two quarters in a row. The C.D. Howe Institute's Business Cycle Council is traditionally...
Canadian Identity Minister Marc Miller is defending the makeup and initial mandate of a faith advisory council Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on Monday, as it faces criticism from Opposition Conservatives and Jewish advocacy group B'nai Brith. "Part of this committee is to talk in a way that is open and frank and to tackle issues with a group of...
Liberal MP Nate Erskine-Smith has sent an email to supporters confirming he will resign his seat in the House of Commons and inviting volunteers to an event to celebrate his decade of public service. He was elected in Beaches-East York in 2015 and briefly served as housing minister in Justin Trudeau's final cabinet and Mark Carney's first cabinet. Erskine-Smith's email...
Liberal MP David Myles (Fredericton–Oromocto, N.B.) will stay on as parliamentary secretary for Canadian Identity Minister Marc Miller after cabinet approved an order-in-council shuffling him out of the position last week. Myles is currently listed as parliamentary secretary to Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin (Toronto–Danforth, Ont.), as well as secretary of state for nature Nathalie Provost (Châteauguay—Les Jardins-de-Napierville, Que.)...
When Avi Lewis was elected leader of the New Democratic Party just over two months ago, he issued a boast that was almost Trumpian in its braggadocio. "Canada, mark your calendar. The NDP comeback starts now," he said. But it turns out, he was right. A Liaison Strategies poll released on Monday had NDP support at 15 per cent, with...
As this country seeks to diversify trade partners amid strained relations with the United States, a former top Canadian soldier is warning the Canadian government against pivoting to China at the expense of Ottawa’s relationship with Washington. “Geography matters,” said retired Gen. Wayne Eyre, former chief of the defence staff, said in an interview on CTV’s Question Period airing Sunday...
The U.S. expects European NATO allies and Canada to swiftly increase the number of manned and unmanned aircraft and ships they contribute to the alliance’s defence plans as Washington steps back in these areas, a top U.S. general said on Wednesday. The statement by U.S. Air Force General Alexus Grynkewich, NATO’s top commander and the head of U.S. forces in...
Some are being more vocal than others. Former Alberta finance minister Travis Toews says it is important for federal Conservatives in Alberta to publicly state their position about remaining a part of Canada, but acknowledged there are “various levels of comfort in entering the debate” in the party's caucus...
While Prime Minister Mark Carney acknowledged weaknesses in the Canadian economy, he also defended the federal government’s economic agenda on Tuesday and did not use the word “recession.” “This government’s been in the process of laying the foundations for a stronger, more resilient, more independent Canadian economy,” Carney said Tuesday when asked directly by reporters in Ottawa about whether Canada...