Politics

It’s been one week since U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s threat to put tariffs on Canadian imports unless Canada addresses border security concerns, and questions are mounting on exactly what the government will — or should — do. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre on Sunday called for a border security plan that includes increased border patrols and technology to cut down on illegal drug trafficking, as well as partnerships between provincial law enforcement and the RCMP and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).His call came after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made an unscheduled trip to Florida to meet with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate Friday evening.A senior government source told Global News that Trudeau was ready to beef up border security by buying new helicopters to patrol th...

Ontario is urging the federal government to amend proposed electricity regulations after an analysis by the province’s system operator concluded the rules would mean $35 billion in additional costs by 2050. A new analysis by the Independent Electricity System Operator looking at upcoming regulations around restrictions on emissions from electricity generation found that Ontario would have to add twice as much new generation as it is already planning, which is “not feasible” in that time frame.But if the province were to somehow do so, building enough new electricity generation to make up for restrictions on natural gas would add $35 billion in costs by 2050, increasing residential bills by $132 to $168 per year starting in 2033, the IESO said.Ontario Energy Minister Stephen Lecce has writt...

The ongoing Canada Post strike is having a significant impact on Canadian businesses during the busy holiday shopping season, costing firms at least $76.6 million per day, according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. After 17 days of a nationwide Canada Post strike, small- and medium sized businesses have lost out on an estimated $765 million in earnings, CFIB said in a statement on Monday.If the strike continues, it will have cost the sector more than $1 billion by Wednesday, the group warned.More than 55,000 Canada Post workers went on strike on Nov. 15, halting mail and parcel services across the country. Some post offices have also been shuttered amid the job action.There are calls from some, including CFIB, urging the federal government to step in to end the labour di...

President Joe Biden pardoned his son, Hunter, sparing the younger Biden a possible prison sentence for federal felony gun and tax convictions and reversing his past promises not to use the extraordinary powers of the presidency for the benefit of his family. The Democratic president had previously said he would not pardon his son or commute his sentence after convictions in the two cases in Delaware and California. The move on Sunday night comes weeks before Hunter Biden was set to receive his punishment after his trial conviction in the gun case and guilty plea on tax charges, and less than two months before President-elect Donald Trump is set to return to the White House.It caps a long-running legal saga for the younger Biden, who publicly disclosed he was under federal investigation in ...

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has demanded the federal government present a plan before Parliament to beef up border security as U.S. president-elect Donald Trump threatens to impose stiff tariffs on Canada. The plan should include measures to increase patrols and technology to crack down on illegal drug trafficking, as well as tightening visa rules and working with provincial law enforcement, Poilievre told a news conference on Sunday.“The reality is that Trudeau has lost control of the deficit, of immigration and of our border. In less than two months, President Trump will come into office. He’s threatened the possibility of imposing tariffs unless there is action to address Trudeau’s broken border,” he said.With gridlock in Parliament set to continue, Poilievre said Conservatives...

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she wants to see a unified approach to U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s economic threats toward Canada, but that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “hasn’t made it easy” — and that Alberta is prepared to secure its own interests in Washington. Speaking to Mercedes Stephenson in an interview that aired Sunday on The West Block, Smith said she wants to ensure that oil and gas from Alberta is exempted from the 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian imports that Trump has threatened, but that Trudeau’s policies — including carbon pricing and a proposed cap on oil pollution that Alberta says amounts to a production cap — stand in the way.“We’re saying to the Americans, we are your solution to energy security. We are your solution to energy affordability. You can’t tak...

President-elect Donald Trump says a surprise meeting with Justin Trudeau at his Florida home was “very productive,” after the prime minister flew down to discuss the growing threat of American tariffs on Canadian goods, the border and national defence. On Friday evening, Trudeau landed in Florida and travelled to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club for a hastily arranged dinner and discussion with the United States’ incoming president that a senior Canadian government source said was successful.In a post on his social media site, Truth Social, Trump said the meeting between the two had gone well.“I just had a very productive meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, where we discussed many important topics that will require both Countries to work together to address,” Trump wrote.He said t...

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau flew to Florida on Friday to have dinner with President-elect Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago club after Trump threatened to impose sweeping tariffs on Canadian products. Trump threatened to impose tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico if they don’t stop what he called the flow of drugs and migrants across their borders. He said he would impose a 25 per cent tax on all products entering the U.S. from Canada and Mexico as one of his first executive orders.A person familiar with the details called it a “positive wide-ranging dinner that lasted three hours.” The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, said topics included trade, border security, fentanyl, defense, Ukraine, NATO, ...

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has flown to Florida to meet with U.S. president-elect Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate, Global News has learned. The trip comes days after Trump threatened to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all imports from Canada and Mexico unless the two countries stop migrants and illegal drugs from crossing the border.Flight data showed the plane regularly used by the prime minister for travel landed in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Friday evening, which is the closest airport to Mar-a-Lago.Global News has learned Trudeau is staying overnight in West Palm Beach and will fly back to Canada on Saturday morning. He is not staying at Mar-a-Lago.Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc is also in attendance, Global News has also learned. Story continues below advertisem...

As Canada braces for sweeping tariffs on Canadian goods threatened by incoming U.S. president-elect Donald Trump, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says that threat should be taken seriously. Trump sent shockwaves earlier this week when he announced that he plans to sign an executive order imposing a 25 per cent tariff on all products coming into the United States from Canada and Mexico once he comes into office.Trump has said the tariffs will remain in place until both countries stop drugs, in particular fentanyl, and people from illegally crossing the borders.As uncertainty and concern looms over the potential impact this could have on Canadian industries, Trudeau warned Friday that there is “no question” that Trump plans on seeing this measure through.“One of the things that is really impor...