Canada
Trudeau says Liberals are 'strong and united' after caucus meeting
Despite Prime Minister Justin Trudeau facing criticism from some Liberal MPs about his leadership during a private caucus meeting, he emerged to say his party is "strong and united." Mackenzie Gray reports on what was said during the critical caucus meeting, why some Liberal MPs want to give Trudeau the boot, and what could happen if he decides to stay on.
Rogue Liberal MPs give Trudeau ultimatum deadline — what's next?
A group of Liberal MPs is calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to step down. David Akin explains the deadline those rogue caucus members have given Trudeau, when the prime minister could address his critics, and whether that could make a difference.
Bank of Canada cuts key rate by 50 basis points in oversized step
The Bank of Canada delivered an oversized interest rate cut of half a percentage point on Wednesday, focusing now on boosting the Canadian economy amid signs inflation is well under control. The central bank’s policy rate now stands at 3.75 per cent. Wednesday’s decision is the fourth consecutive drop in interest rates since June and is the Bank of Canada’s largest rate cut since the global financial crisis in 2009, outside the COVID-19 pandemic. Anne Gaviola has the story.
Liberals set to announce immigration system changes, sources say
Canada has planned to admit 500,000 permanent residents in 2025 and had planned to maintain this target in 2026. The number of permanent residents admitted on an annual basis has increased by 59 per cent since the Liberals first came to power.
The Provinces
Manitoba begins next stage of landfill search for remains of Indigenous women
Two years after serial killer Jeremy Skibicki murdered Rebecca Contois, Morgan Harris, Marcedes Myron and a fourth unidentified woman community leaders have named Mashkode Bizhiki'ikwe or Buffalo Woman, the Manitoba and federal governments have committed money to search the Prairie Green Landfill for the remains of three of the victims. Melissa Ridgen looks at how much the Prairie Green Landfill search will cost, and what it means for the families of the victims.
B.C. Green leader spoke with NDP's Eby, but didn't pick up when Conservatives called
She said she spoke briefly with NDP Leader David Eby on Wednesday and described the exchange as a "conversation," while a call from B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad went unanswered.
The tide goes out for Blaine Higgs, anti-politician
As premier, which he became in 2018, he remained a maverick. He included the three opposition party leaders on a cabinet advisory committee on COVID-19, an unusual move that helped forge public trust. But after Higgs won a majority government in 2020, the iconoclastic approach began to clash with his fondness for calibration and discipline.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante won’t seek re-election in 2025
Valérie Plante was first elected to the city's top job in 2017, beating out then-mayor Denis Coderre. In 2021, she won a second mandate.
Elsewhere
G7 finalizes US$50B loan for Ukraine backed by frozen Russian assets
The U.S. intends to divide its share of US$20 billion between aiding Ukraine’s economy and military, with distribution of the money set to begin by year's end.
Media
The Atlantic responds to Elon Musk sharing fake image of magazine
On Tuesday evening, Musk reshared a fake image on X that showed an article from the magazine reading “Trump Is Literally Hitler.” The article was never written for or published by The Atlantic, but Musk appeared to take the image as truth, commenting, “They are literally foaming at the mouth 😂.” The day after Musk posted the message, which had amassed over 20 million views, The Atlantic said in a statement that it did not publish an article with that headline.
Science and tech
At TED AI 2024, experts grapple with AI’s growing pains
The second annual conference, organized by Walter and Sam De Brouwer, marked a notable shift from last year's broad existential debates and proclamations of AI as being "the new electricity." Rather than sweeping predictions about, say, looming artificial general intelligence (although there was still some of that, too), speakers mostly focused on immediate challenges: battles over training data rights, proposals for hardware-based regulation, debates about human-AI relationships, and the complex dynamics of workplace adoption.
The Calendar
- 0815 ET: 415 Wellington - Indigenous and Northern Affairs (INAN) | Meeting 125 - S-16
- 0815 ET: 035-B West Block - Agriculture and Agri-Food (AGRI) | Meeting 114 - Impact of Border Carbon Adjustments and Reciprocity of Standards on Canadian Agriculture
- 0815 ET: 330, Wellington - Industry and Technology (INDU) | Meeting 141 - Credit Card Practices and Regulations in Canada
- 0815 ET: 430 Wellington - National Defence (NDDN) | Meeting 121 - Briefing on Threat Analysis Regarding the Middle East
- 0945 ET: Washington, DC - Deputy PM and Fin Min Chrystia Freeland attends the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting.
- 1030 ET: HoC Foyer - PM Trudeau and Immigration Min Marc Miller speak about immigration policy.
- 1100 ET: 410 Wellington - Veterans Affairs (ACVA) | Meeting 110 - Recognition of Persian Gulf Veterans and Reviewing of: (a) the definition of “War”, “Wartime Service”, and “Special Duty Service“; and (b) the Difference, the Process of Determining, and Criteria for Veteran’s Benefits
- 1100 ET: 035-B West Block - Government Operations and Estimates (OGGO) | Meeting 148 - Indigenous Procurement
- 1100 ET: 415 Wellington - Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities (HUMA) | Meeting 131 - Advancements in Home Building Technologies
- 1100 ET: 430 Wellington - Justice and Human Rights (JUST) | Meeting 117 - Drafting report.
- 1100 ET: 125-B West Block - Official Languages (LANG) | Meeting 116 - Minority-Language Education Continuum
- 1100 ET: 410 Wellington - Veterans Affairs (ACVA) | Meeting 110 - Recognition of Persian Gulf Veterans and Reviewing of: (a) the definition of “War”, “Wartime Service”, and “Special Duty Service“; and (b) the Difference, the Process of Determining, and Criteria for Veteran’s Benefits
- 1200 ET: Washington, DC - Deputy PM and Fin Min Chrystia Freeland speaks at a Council on Foreign Relations event.
- 1530 ET: 330 Wellington - Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics (ETHI) | Meeting 135 - Impact of Disinformation and of Misinformation on the Work of Parliamentarians
- 1530 ET: 025-B West Block - Finance (FINA) | Meeting 160 - Pre-Budget Consultations in Advance of the 2025 Budget
- 1530 ET: 420 Wellington - Foreign Affairs and International Development (FAAE) | Meeting 122 - Briefing on the Current Situation in Lebanon
- 1530 ET: 225-A West Block - Health (HESA) | Meeting 134 - C-277
- 1530 ET: 415 Wellington - Public Safety and National Security (SECU) | Meeting 125 - Russian Interference and Disinformation Campaigns in Canada
- 1530 ET: 035-B West Block - Science and Research (SRSR) | Meeting 104 - Drafting report.
- 1530 ET: 125-B West Block - Transport, Infrastructure and Communities (TRAN) | Meeting 133 - Drafting report.
