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Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first budget is being billed by the government as a “generational” investment in Canadian infrastructure and productivity in a time of “rupture” in global trade and the international order. The question now is whether Carney’s decision to simultaneously run a sizeable deficit while slashing public service jobs will find support among opposition parties, or send Canadians to a second general election this year.“The speed, scope and scale of change that we’re seeing in Canada and around the world is quite unprecedented,” said Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne in an Ottawa news conference Tuesday.“This is not a transformation. This is a generational shift, and we need to meet this moment with generational investment. To weather the storm of uncertainty,...

Ontario Premier Doug Ford appears to be falling in line behind Prime Minister Mark Carney as the federal government asserts its authority over high-stakes trade talks with the Trump administration. Ford and Carney have been at odds over Ontario’s anti-tariff commercial featuring Ronald Reagan’s stance on protectionism, which raised the ire of the U.S. president and led to the suspension of tariff negotiations.Carney, who apologized to Trump for the commercial, has underlined his expectation that the federal government would be responsible for the negotiations — a signal to Canada’s premiers to avoid actions that would interfere in the discussions.“It is the sole responsibility of the government of Canada to have those discussions with the United States, and it’s the best way forward,” Carn...

Parts of U.S. airspace could be shut down as soon as next week if the U.S. government shutdown drags on and air traffic controllers continue to not get paid, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned on Tuesday. There have been growing flight delays and cancellations across the U.S. because of a shortage of air traffic controllers, creating safety concerns that force the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to slow down or temporarily stop traffic.Duffy said those workers are being forced to make difficult choices to keep feeding their families the longer the shutdown lasts, and said there could be “mass chaos” after air traffic controllers miss their second paycheque next Tuesday.“You will see mass flight delays, you’ll see mass cancellations, and you may see us close certain parts ...

As Prime Minister Mark Carney looks to sell Canadians on his first-ever budget — one that he’s billed as containing both once-in-a-generation capital spending projects and austerity measures — Liberals say he picked the right salesperson for the job. Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne takes the spotlight Tuesday to present the Carney government’s first fiscal blueprint — a document delayed by half a year during the ongoing tariff war with the country’s closest trading partner.That tariff battle threatens the country’s economy and forms the backdrop of the entire budgetary plan.Champagne will be engaging in down-in-the-weeds discussions with his former bank governor boss — a politician famous for his focus on policy details over politics — while also selling Main Street on what co...