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Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly will press Canada’s case against damaging tariffs with the new U.S. secretary of state in Washington next week, after U.S. President Donald Trump repeated a demand Thursday for allies to vastly increase their military spending. Trump is threatening to impose 25 per cent across-the-board tariffs on imports from Canada starting on Feb. 1. Joly said things are still in flux because Trump hasn’t confirmed his new commerce secretary.“There will be lots of rhetoric,” Joly told reporters on Parliament Hill on Thursday.“We will hear a lot of different versions coming from south of the border. We need to put our head down, we need to be united and we need to defend Canadian jobs.”Joly spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio for half an hour by phone Wedn...

To build or not to build: that’s the question facing Canadian politicians, oil and gas experts and industry leaders when it comes to domestic pipelines, as U.S. President Donald Trump continues to tout plans for American energy independence. In a wide-ranging virtual address to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday, Trump made an array of comments, including repeating his statement of not needing Canadian cars, lumber, or oil and gas amid the threat to impose 25 per cent across-the-board tariffs on Canadian imports. 1:30 Trump claims U.S. economy will thrive without Canada: ‘We don’t need them’ His statements in recent we...

Ontario Premier Doug Ford will call a general election on Jan. 29, Global News has learned, setting the stage for a Feb.  27 vote. The confirmation comes after weeks of rampant speculation Ford would head to the polls early, amidst a threat of tariffs from the United States that has allowed the premier to take a national leadership role. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Ford has repeatedly claimed he needs a fresh mandate from the electorate to potentially spend tens of billions of dollars if tariffs hit Canadian imports to the United States and hurt the provincial economy.Opposition leaders, however, have said they would suppor...

Liberal lawmakers defended their endorsements of candidates to replace outgoing leader Justin Trudeau on Thursday, after the deadline for joining the race passed. Liberal MPs said they have party unity, President Donald Trump’s tariff threats and the economy top of mind as they decide on their next leader. Most have rallied around the two presumed front runners: former finance minister Chrystia Freeland and former central banker Mark Carney.The federal Liberal caucus huddled on Parliament Hill Thursday to discuss next steps as leadership aspirants wined and dined party members at social events in Ottawa.Dozens of MPs and cabinet ministers have now announced which horses they’re backing. Roughly 20 are supporting Freeland — they include Justice Minister Arif Virani — and more than 30 have l...

By Staff The Canadian Press Posted January 23, 2025 3:28 pm 1 min read Descrease article font size Increase article font size Nova Scotia MP Jaime Battiste has joined the Liberal leadership race, confirming Thursday that he has submitted the required documents and a $50,000 deposit to the federal party. Battiste is the only First Nations candidate in the race to replace Justin Trudeau, and the first Indigenous candidate ever to be in the running to become prime minister of Canada.Speaking in Halifax Thursday, the Mi’kmaq politician from Cape Breton was surrounded by Mi’kmaq and Wolastoqey chiefs and councillors from across Atla...

The federal government is no longer moving forward with its plan to redistribute the wealth of Nova Scotia’s baby eel harvest from large licence holders to individual fishers after receiving backlash from the industry. A statement from Fisheries Minister Diane Lebouthillier’s office said the minister reached the decision after listening to feedback from stakeholders in consultations held by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) in recent weeks.“Minister Lebouthillier is proud to have spearheaded the successful effort to add stronger regulations and enforcement mechanisms to the toolbox available to DFO for this fishery,” Lebouthillier’s acting communications director Andrew Richardson said.“However, the 2025 elver fishing season will not include the pilot program to expand commercia...

U.S. President Donald Trump took another swipe at Canada on Thursday, calling the long-standing ally “tough to deal with” and claiming the U.S. doesn’t need Canadian oil and gas. Speaking virtually to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump also said he will press NATO members to increase their defence spending target to five per cent of GDP — more than triple Canada’s current spending.Trump said his administration would be “demanding respect from other nations” that trade with the U.S. and quickly brought up his escalating feud with Canada.“Canada has been very tough to deal with over the years, and it’s not fair that we should have a [US]$200 billion or $250 billion [trade] deficit,” Trump told the Davos crowd during a discussion moderated by several financial executives. ...

Canada’s plan to reduce the number of immigrants over the next three years will result in a 1.7 per cent drop in the country’s gross domestic product  (GDP) by 2027, according to the federal fiscal watchdog. The report from the parliamentary budget officer (PBO), Yves Giroux, on Thursday also said that new immigration targets released by the federal government last fall will slash the country’s population by 3.2 per cent or 1.4 million people over the next three years.The PBO report comes days after Statistics Canada reported this week that Canada’s population could reach up to 80 million in 50 years, with migratory increase a “key driver of population growth.”The PBO report said that the federal government’s new target to reduce immigration levels would lead to 1.3 billion fewer hours wor...