These are the 30 most read items on National Newswatch, from the last seven days.
MP says Conservatives felt like ‘part of a frat house rather than a serious political party.’ Nova Scotia MP Chris d’Entremont says pushing and yelling from Conservative Party leadership "sealed the deal" on his choice to cross the floor of the House of Commons to the Liberals this week. After d’Entremont’s musings over a possible defection were reported by Politico...
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...
In a stunning upset that has left the Liberal caucus “kicking ourselves,” the Conservatives have ousted a senior Liberal MP as co-chair of the powerful Canada-U.S. Inter-Parliamentary Group. At the Oct. 29 meeting held to elect a new co-chair, Conservative MP Richard Bragdon (Tobique-Mactaquac, N.B.) defeated four-term Liberal MP and cabinet minister Terry Duguid (Winnipeg-North, Man.) for the position. The...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Conservative MPs facing questions about party loyalty are enduring unfair “harassment” fuelled by rumours and Liberal attempts to earn a majority in the House of Commons through convincing opposition members to defect to the government, a senior Tory claims. In an interview with the Star, Conservative whip Chris Warkentin bemoaned how MPs in his caucus are being repeatedly asked whether...
The second round of major so-called nation-building projects will be announced this Thursday in Prince Rupert, B.C., Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Monday. Carney confirmed the date during a press conference in Fredericton, following a meeting with New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt. “We’ve got big strategies that then also have implications for provinces across the country,” Carney said, when...
Canadian politics has never been for the faint of heart. Every party has its fractures, leadership wars, and moments of chaos. But what’s happening inside the Conservative Party under Pierre Poilievre isn’t normal turbulence. It’s institutional decay disguised as discipline. Let’s be clear: what’s unfolding inside the halls of Ottawa isn’t strategy — it’s rot. When an MP from Atlantic...
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...
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...
Expert says event exemplifies worrying overlap between martial arts and extremism. Some of the country’s most prominent white supremacist groups gathered in Vancouver this summer for a secretive neo-Nazi conference that also included martial arts gym owners, coaches and trainers. Held at the Scottish Cultural Centre in the city’s south end, the event was organized by a group called Exiles...
Reimagining this country is not only possible, it is essential. I present the following thought exercise to you: if some overeager, industrious journalist were to write an obituary for Canada, how would it read? Today, the world marked the passing of Canada, younger than most, older than some. Canada, on her best days was a beacon in the world for...
Peterson Spring court filing claims it can’t afford to ship parts below cost to produce them in Woodstock. Stellantis and one of its Canadian auto suppliers are battling in court over the price of brake rotors in a dispute that threatens to shutter multiple auto assembly plants in the U.S. Peterson Spring says in a court filing it can’t afford...
Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to make announcement in Prince Rupert, B.C., on Thursday. Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to announce a second set of “nation-building projects,” including at least two focused on critical mineral extraction, one for exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) and at least one transmission project, sources told CBC News. They said there will be...
A group of riding executives and former candidates with the Conservative Party of B.C. have become the latest voices to call for an end to John Rustad's leadership, writing to the party's legislators to urge them to oust him. Corey Brooks, president of the riding association for Burnaby-North, says in an interview the party will "continue bleeding" support and won't...
Former Conservative leader Andrew Scheer insisted Friday that no one is interested in palace intrigue. But after his party saw a floor crosser, a resignation, allegations of bullying and threats levied against MPs, and rumours of more Conservative caucus dissenters now too afraid to make a move, who isn’t interested? Ottawa hasn’t seen this kind of daytime soap opera since...
Conservative House leader denies any pressure on Tory MPs to stay in caucus. B.C. NDP MP Gord Johns says he’s “very confident” none of the seven New Democrats in the House of Commons will cross the floor to the Liberals — even as he admits he’s regularly approached by the Liberals. “Oh, that’s an everyday conversation they have with me...
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...
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...
CPC Leader Pierre Poilievre’s leadership review will go down on the former site of Stampede Wrestling. That may be appropriate. Article content The storied grappler nights rumbled for decades in the old Stampede Corral. It was demolished in 2020-21 to make way for the new BMO Centre. Thousands of Conservative Party of Canada delegates will pour in there Jan. 29-31...
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...