Canada
Trudeau, premiers discuss easing interprovincial trade barriers
U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff threats and the growing push to support Canadian industries are top of mind for Canada's premiers. There’s also growing pressure for the federal and provincial governments to work together on scrapping interprovincial trade barriers. On Global National David Akin explains which two premiers are pledging to scrap those barricades and the issues Canada's first ministers want addressed.
Ukraine ‘must’ be part of peace talks, Trudeau says in call with Zelenskyy
The call was held amid increasingly hostile rhetoric toward Ukraine by U.S. President Donald Trump and concerns the U.S. is negotiating a peace deal directly with Russia.
Course à la direction du PLC | Dominic LeBlanc appuie Mark Carney
Un pilier du gouvernement Trudeau se rallie à la candidature de Mark Carney dans la course à la chefferie du Parti libéral du Canada (PLC). I've been trying to keep count of caucus support for each candidate and, with LeBlanc, Carney now has 64 MPs endorsing him for leader; Freeland has 21; Gould has two, and Baylis and Dhalla have zero.
Poilievre, Carney and the Ballot-Question Question
Geoff Norquay: Four recent events have upset the Conservatives’ ballot-question applecart: Justin Trudeau’s resignation, the resulting Liberal leadership race, Donald Trump’s threat to impose a 25% tariff on all Canadian exports to the U.S. and his continuing and aggressive trolling of Canada to become the 51st American state. These factors have completely redrawn the Canadian political landscape in a matter of weeks and pushed the reset buttons for all parties’ ballot questions, but particularly the Conservatives. The surge of Mark Carney’s numbers, both in the Liberal leadership race and on the larger question of who is best equipped to take on Trump, hasn’t helped.
Internal military report blames botched shooter drill on poor organization
During the drill, which took place on Nov. 12 at a service depot at CFB Longue-Pointe in Montreal, military police also confused a racialized employee with a drill participant playing an active shooter and wrestled him to the ground. What a debacle!
Anita Huberman seeking Conservative nod in Surrey Centre
The former long-serving CEO of the Surrey Board of Trade is seeking the Conservative nomination in that riding, where Liberal MP Randeep Sarai is seeking a fourth term in office. Model this morning has Surrey Centre as a comfortable hold for the LPC's Sarai.
NDP announces four candidates seeking local nomination
“It is encouraging to see such high caliber candidates put their names forward” said Cannings, “We will need an experienced and adept representative to navigate the challenges that will face our next Parliament. Each of these candidates brings substantial experience and a strong voice to advocate for our unique region.” The four candidates are Herb Alex, Harpreet Badohal, Miguel Godau, and Linda Sankey.
The Provinces
Prince Edward Island Premier Dennis King resigning from ‘most difficult job’
Prince Edward Island Premier Dennis King says he will resign as premier and leader of the Progressive Conservative party effective Friday.
N.S. auditor general says proposed changes would ‘erode’ watchdog’s independence
Nova Scotia's auditor general Kim Adair says she has 'respectfully requested' that proposed changes to the province's Auditor General Act be withdrawn.
Ontario NDP candidate who said she wanted to ‘be a Black woman’ drops out of election
Amanda Zavitz, [a white woman] the NDP candidate for Elgin-Middlesex-London, was recorded on a Zoom presentation for the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in March 2024.
Elsewhere
Trump could target Canadian lumber with spring tariffs
Speaking to the media onboard Air Force One, Trump said his administration was eyeing some time around April for the latest announced duty. Trump is going to make it more expensive to re-build North Carolina and California.
U.S. says all NATO members should meet 2% defence spending target by June
The demand further ramps up pressure on allies like Canada, which has long missed the spending target and doesn't plan to meet it for another seven years.
The Death of the World America Made
Stewart Patrick: On February 4, 2025, President Donald Trump signed a sweeping executive order with the potential to upend decades of American global engagement. The directive mandates a comprehensive review within 180 days of all current multilateral organizations of which the United States is a member and all international treaties to which it is party. The explicit purpose of this exercise is to determine whether such support should be withdrawn. The clock is thus ticking on a distinctive and momentous aspect of post-1945 American internationalism ...
Media
Heritage minister pitches CBC/Radio-Canada overhaul and a major funding hike
While pitching a program that is unlikely to be enacted by the current government given the likelihood of a federal election sometime soon, St-Onge said American "billionaire tech oligarchs" are tightening their grip on the flow of information and Canada needs to revive its nearly century-old public broadcaster to "tell our own stories," saying it's a "national security issue" that so much of what Canadians consume is generated elsewhere.
Science and tech
Bill Gates and the New Trumpian Tech Oligarchs
The Microsoft founder discusses vaccine skepticism, his fellow-billionaires’ political pivots, and his dinner with the President at Mar-a-Lago. Really interesting discussion. Strongly recommend.
The Calendar
- 0815 ET: Shawinigan, QC - Innovation Min François-Philippe Champagne speaks to the chamber of commerce.
- 0900 ET: Saint-Jérôme, QC - LPC MP Annie Koutrakis makes a funding announcement
- 1000 ET: London, ON - Labour Min Steven MacKinnon and LPC MPs Peter Fragiskatos and Arielle Kayaboga make a funding announcement.
- 1000 ET: Winnipeg - PrairiesCan Min Terry Duguid makes a funding announcement
- 1000 ET: Sydney, NS - LPC MPs Jaime Battiste and Mike Kelloway make a funding announcement
- 1230 ET: Summerside, PE - LPC MP Bobby Morrissey makes a funding announcement
- 1430 ET: Mississauga, ON - Labour Min Steven MacKinnon and LPC MPs Iqwinder Gaheer* and Iqra Khalid** make a funding announcement.
- 1430 ET: Saskatoon - Crown-Indigenous Affairs Min Gary Anandasangaree speaks about specific claims settlements.
