Politics

Prime Minister Mark Carney says he’s hopeful the unsteady ceasefire between Iran and Israel will provide an “opportunity” for an end to hostilities in Gaza and ultimately broader Middle East peace, including a “Zionist” Palestinian state committed to Israel’s security. In an interview with CNN International that aired Tuesday ahead of the NATO summit at The Hague, Carney said U.S. President Donald Trump “has the potential to be decisive” after he displayed “U.S. power” by bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities over the weekend.That action and the resulting ceasefire announced by Trump on Monday, Carney said, “does create the possibility of moving forward” on stabilizing Gaza as well.“Can there be a lasting peace in the Middle East without peace in Gaza, that takes into account Gaza and West Ban...

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Tuesday praised U.S. President Donald Trump for his “decisive action” against Iran and pushing allies to boost defence spending in a text message that Trump made public and NATO confirmed was legitimate. Trump posted screenshots of the lengthy text message to his Truth Social website as he headed to Brussels for the two-day NATO summit at The Hague, with the conflict in the Middle East expected to loom over the talks.The message appeared to have been sent by Rutte on Signal.A NATO spokesperson confirmed to Global News that the screenshots were of “a message the Secretary General sent to President Trump earlier today.”“Mr. President, dear Donald,” the text begins. “Congratulations and thank you for your decisive action in Iran, that was truly extraordina...

Prime Minister Mark Carney begins a two-day stop Tuesday in the Netherlands, where NATO alliance members are prepared to decide whether to more than double the defense spending target. The main talks in The Hague won’t happen until Wednesday, with Carney first set to take part in several bilateral meetings.Carney will meet with the President of Latvia Edgars Rinkēvičs and the Prime Minister of the Netherlands Dick Schoof. He will also meet with leaders of Nordic countries for talks focused on Arctic and transatlantic security.The prime minister will also meet with King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands.Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand is set to speak to reporters twice today, first in The Hague at around 7:15 am ET and then virtually at 8:30 am ET. Story cont...

Canada and the European Union opened a new era of transatlantic co-operation Monday with the official signing of a security and defence partnership at a joint summit in Brussels. The agreement commits Canada and Europe to collaboration on defence and is a step toward Canada participating in the continent’s massive new defence procurement program, known as ReArm Europe.Prime Minister Mark Carney, who travelled to Brussels for the Canada-EU Summit, is pursuing more options for defence procurement as Canada seeks to reduce its reliance on the United States.Carney met with European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the summit, before the final deal was signed.Costa said Canada and the EU are “looking at the world through the same lens” an...

Iranian Canadians and Jewish groups turned worried eyes to the Middle East on Sunday, as U.S. strikes against three Iranian nuclear sites raised fears of escalating violence. Nimâ Machouf, a member of a Montreal Iranian women’s association, said family members in Iran are living “from one bomb to another.”“I’m very worried because this will only accelerate the violence in the region,” she said in a phone interview. “It will further aggravate the problem and take us further away from peace.”Machouf, who is also an epidemiologist and former NDP candidate, believes the strikes will only hurt the people who are fighting to free themselves from Iran’s repressive regime.Attacks from other countries means that Iran’s people “are not protected by their government, nor protected by others, by the i...

In the aftermath of the U.S. airstrikes on Iran Saturday, Prime Minister Mark Carney has called for a de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East and for parties to “return immediately to the negotiating table.” “Iran’s nuclear programme is a grave threat to international security, and Canada has been consistently clear that Iran can never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon,” he wrote in a statement shared to X Sunday morning. “While U.S. military action taken last night was designed to alleviate that threat, the situation in the Middle East remains highly volatile. Stability in the region is a priority.“As G7 leaders agreed in Kananaskis, the resolution of the Iranian crisis should lead to a broader de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, including a ceasefire in Gaza,” h...

The World Sikh Organization says multiple Sikh leaders in Canada have received notice from the RCMP that their lives could be in imminent danger. But WSO spokesperson Balpreet Singh told The West Block’s Mercedes Stephenson that the national police force shared few details about who was behind the threats — and little in terms of protection or assistance.“What happens is that you’re approached by law enforcement and they give you a piece of paper that says that your life is in imminent risk of being targeted, that you could be killed,” Singh said in an interview.“They take that paper back and then they ask you, ‘Well, where do you think this threat is coming from?’ And it’s really surreal to think that the police have approached you, and now they’re asking you, ‘Where do you think the thre...

Prime Minister Mark Carney will depart for Europe on Sunday for back-to-back summits where he is expected to make major commitments for Canada on security and defence. Carney will be joined by Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand, Defence Minister David McGuinty and secretary of state for defence procurement Stephen Fuhr at the EU and NATO summits, where military procurement and diversifying supply chains will top the agendas.The international meetings come as Canada looks to reduce its defence procurement reliance on the United States due to strained relations over tariffs and President Donald Trump’s repeated talk about Canada becoming a U.S. state.Carney will fly first to Brussels, Belgium, starting the trip with a visit to the Antwerp Schoonselhof Military Cemetery where 348 Canadian s...

Interest has spiked in the Canadian military, with recruitment levels hitting their highest point in a decade. But as more people walk in the door, thousands of enlisted members are deciding to walk out. Numbers obtained by Global News show the retention crisis worsened year over year, as Prime Minister Mark Carney who is attending the NATO summit in Brussels, vows to rebuild the Armed Forces and reduce Canada’s dependence on the U.S.“The reason why retention has not been improving is because the military has been putting all of his eggs in the recruitment basket,” said Charlotte Duval-Lantoine, a defence analyst with the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. 0:45 ‘A real end’: Trump says he wants...

Descrease article font size Increase article font size U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that his Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, was wrong in suggesting there is no evidence Iran is building a nuclear weapon. Trump contested intelligence assessments relayed earlier this year by his spy chief that Tehran was not working on a nuclear weapon when he spoke with reporters at an airport in Morristown, New Jersey.“She’s wrong,” Trump said.Gabbard testified to Congress in March that the U.S. intelligence community continued to judge that Tehran was not working on a nuclear warhead.Trump’s comments came as the president has said he would weigh involvement in the Iran-Israel conflict over the next two weeks.Israeli Prime Mini...