Politics

Industry groups in sectors hurt by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada are asking Prime Minister Mark Carney to step in urgently to protect Canadian jobs. Carney was sworn in as Canada’s 24th prime minister on Friday morning with the shadow of a trade war looming over his transition from Justin Trudeau, who resigned earlier in the day.The United Steelworkers Union, which has 225,000 members in the steel industry across Canada, welcomed Carney to the top job.The union said Carney’s ascension in the middle of an escalating trade war calls for urgent action.“The federal government must immediately strengthen support for affected workers by fixing Employment Insurance (EI) and introducing direct wage subsidies with job guarantees to keep people employed. Canada also needs bold inve...

Mark Carney has been sworn in as Canada’s 24th prime minister just five days after taking the reins of the federal Liberal Party from Justin Trudeau, who had announced his plans to resign in January. Carney now enters a political landscape without a seat in the House of Commons as he’s set to lead a government trying to negotiate with U.S. President Donald Trump, who has launched a trade war against Canada.As he headed into his swearing-in ceremony, Carney said he and his new cabinet were “going to get straight to work,” adding they were a “very focused government.”A total of 24 people were sworn in, Carney included, with 23 ministers set to serve with him.Following the swearing-in ceremony, Carney delivered his first remarks as prime minister of Canada. Story continues below adver...

The top diplomat of the U.S. government on Friday defended U.S. President Donald Trump’s repeated call to make Canada the 51st state, calling it an economic “argument” that “stands for itself” while speaking on Canadian soil. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was repeatedly pressed by reporters at the conclusion of the G7 foreign ministers summit in Charlevoix, Que., about whether he agrees with Trump’s comments, which have escalated amid a growing trade war to include calling the Canada-U.S. border an “artificial line.”“The Canadian government has made their position, how they feel about it [annexation] clear, and the president has made his argument about why he thinks Canada would be better off joining the United States for economic purposes,” Rubio said.“There’s a disagreement between the ...

The United States wants to pursue “fair trade” with Canada but says its goal is to “eliminate the status quo” of trade measures it says restrict American exports, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in a statement after meeting Canadian officials on Thursday. Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc, Ontario Premier Doug Ford, Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne and Canadian Ambassador to the United States Kirsten Hillman met with Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Thursday.Lutnick said in a read-out issued Thursday night: “By building balanced and fair relationships that eliminate the current status quo of overwhelming trade deficits and crushing foreign restrictions, the Trump Administration will help U.S. companies, large and small, prosper in the global m...

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly gave a closing news conference at the G7 summit she hosted in Charlevoix, Que., Friday, saying her European Union counterparts initially thought U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to Canadian sovereignty were a “joke.” Canada hosted the two-day gathering of G7 foreign ministers in the resort town of La Malbaie, Que., where delegates focused largely on the war in Ukraine and efforts to secure a ceasefire deal.But U.S. tariffs and Trump’s repeated pledge to make Canada the 51st state loomed large, despite not being on the official agenda.“The reaction of my colleagues coming from Europe about this absurd threat of annexation was really, ‘Is that a joke?’” Joly told reporters.“I said to them, ‘This is not a joke.’ Canadians are anxious. They’re proud p...

Descrease article font size Increase article font size Canada will have a new prime minister on Friday as Liberal Leader Mark Carney is set to be sworn in. Carney, a former Bank of Canada and Bank of England governor, will officially take over from outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as Canada’s 24th prime minister at a swearing-in ceremony at 11 a.m. eastern at Rideau Hall in Ottawa.Gov. Gen. Mary Simon will preside over the ceremony, which will also see Carney reveal his cabinet, which sources have told Global News is expected to be a much smaller group than Trudeau’s cabinet.Current ministers primarily dealing with the U.S. are expected to keep their roles.Carney, who is not a member of Parliament, will then be expected to seek a seat in...

The European Union’s foreign policy chief says tariffs between Western countries only serve China’s interests and is calling for higher defence spending to keep Russia in check. “If the United States is having a trade war with Canada, Mexico or the European Union, then who is really benefiting from this is China,” Kaja Kallas said in an interview Thursday with The Canadian Press.Kallas, the former prime minister of Estonia, is overseeing the EU’s approach to an alarming new geopolitical climate — one where the U.S. hints at scaling back its commitment to defending NATO allies and pursues a trade war against Europe and Canada.“We are trying to keep a cool head,” Kallas said.“We are also ready to really defend our interests — but it would be our wish that we didn’t have to deal with this, be...

Eighteen years ago, Prime Minister Stephen Harper issued a rallying cry for Canadians.“Canada has a choice when it comes to defending our sovereignty over the Arctic,” he said on the shores of Esquimalt Harbour, B.C., while announcing plans for a fleet of new Arctic offshore patrol ships (AOPS) and a deep-sea port to be used as their base.“We either use it or lose it.” Prime Minister Stephen Harper announces the construction of Arctic Offshore Patrol Ships at CFB Esquimalt on July 9, 2007. (CP PHOTO/Deddeda Stemler) Canada. Canadian Press But two decades later, amid a flurry of Arctic-focused announcements, one project still languishes unfinished, more than a decade past its completion date — an unwelcome reminder of the challenges...

Critics are calling on Quebec Premier François Legault to take a firmer and more public stance against U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs and follow Ontario counterpart Doug Ford‘s lead. Opposition parties and experts in Quebec are accusing Legault of being noticeably absent from the public and not vocal enough during the economic crisis when it comes to publicly defending the province and country amid the trade war.This comes as Premier Ford was headed to Washington Thursday for a meeting with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and Legault took to X to call on Liberal Leader Mark Carney to meet with all premiers “to better plan the retaliation against the U.S.” once he’s sworn in as prime minister, which is set to happen Friday.“He is the only one who can defend and protect our in...

U.S. President Donald Trump’s nominee for ambassador to Canada on Thursday reaffirmed the importance of the U.S.-Canada relationship and Canadian sovereignty, despite escalating attacks from the White House. Pete Hoekstra said during his confirmation hearing in front of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee that Canada remains an important ally on intelligence and national security issues, which can be maintained and strengthened while addressing matters around trade.Yet senators voiced concern about Trump’s repeated calls to make Canada the 51st U.S. state, which the president has said he will use “economic force” to achieve.“Canada is a sovereign state,” Hoekstra said.He appeared to attribute Trump’s rhetoric to the frosty relationship he has with outgoing Prime Minister Justin Tru...