Brennan MacDonald

Brennan MacDonald

Alberta premier condemns anonymous social media account reportedly targeting Globe reporter

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she condemns an anonymous social media account that reportedly posted photographs of a Globe and Mail reporter, who is investigating allegations of political interference at Alberta Health Services. The Globe reported Monday that an X account called The Brokedown was posting photographs of Calgary-based reporter Carrie Tait meeting with two women who were former political...

Brennan MacDonald, Rachel Hanes

Brookfield registered entities to Grand Cayman address Obama called ‘largest tax scam in the world’

Liberal Leader Mark Carney’s former firm Brookfield has registered more than a dozen business entities to an infamous address in the Cayman Islands that former U.S. president Barack Obama once described as either “the largest building in the world or the largest tax scam in the world.” CTV News reviewed U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings between 2015 and 202...

Brennan MacDonald, Vassy Kapelos

More Brookfield business entities registered to Bermuda building that houses bike shop

Several entities of global investment giant Brookfield Asset Management’s core business are registered to an address in Bermuda that also houses a local bike shop, CTV News has learned. Liberal Leader Mark Carney previously served as chair of Brookfield’s board, from August of 2022 until mid-January of this year, when he resigned to run for the party leadership. Last week...

Brennan MacDonald

Canada won’t drop tariffs on Chinese EVs, despite trade war with U.S.: minister

The federal government is not considering dropping tariffs it imposed last year on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), steel and aluminum, despite Beijing’s retaliation and U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to launch a trade war with Canada, according to the industry minister. Ottawa imposed a 100 per cent import tax on Chinese EVs and a 25 per cent import tariff on...

Brennan MacDonald

White House says sweeping 25% tariffs on Canada moving ahead ‘pending ongoing negotiations’

U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to impose sweeping 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian trade products is moving ahead as scheduled on March 4, but a White House official says that could change “pending ongoing negotiations.” “But as of now, we don’t have any developments or progress to share, so they are still moving ahead as the president indicated,” a...

Brennan MacDonald

‘Things have changed’: Minister Champagne says Canada may need West-East pipelines

As Canadian officials grapple with U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to launch a trade war, Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne says this country may now need a pipeline connecting Alberta’s oil and gas sector to the East Coast. Champagne’s comments come amid calls from Alberta Premier Danielle Smith to resume talks on major pipeline projects that could connect the province’s oil...

Brennan MacDonald

'If it were me, I'd be leaving': Longtime Liberal New Brunswick premier Frank McKenna on whether Trudeau should go

Former New Brunswick Liberal premier Frank McKenna says if he were in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s shoes, at this point in the government’s mandate, he would step down. “If it were me, I would,” McKenna told CTV’s Question Period host Vassy Kapelos, in an interview airing Sunday.

Brennan MacDonald

RCMP alleges Indian officials in Canada connected to extortion, homicides

The RCMP is alleging Indian diplomats and consular officials based in Canada engaged in clandestine activities linked to serious criminal activity in this country, including homicides and extortions. The stunning allegations are the latest in an escalating confrontation between India and Canada that kicked off publicly last year when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada was investigating credible allegations that...

Brennan MacDonald

Health minister 'not worried' as Liberal MPs gather after tumultuous summer

Health Minister Mark Holland says he isn’t worried about Liberal electoral fortunes despite a tumultuous summer in which his party suffered a devastating byelection loss in Toronto, the party’s national campaign director resigned and the Liberal-NDP supply-and-confidence agreement collapsed. Holland made the remarks as Liberal MPs gather in Nanaimo, B.C. for their annual caucus retreat.

Brennan MacDonald

Bill Morneau: Canada needs to spend more on defence faster to make inroads with next U.S. administration

As the Canadian government seeks to make inroads with the next U.S. administration, former Liberal finance minister Bill Morneau says Canada needs to take U.S. security concerns seriously and accelerate the timeline by which Canada will hit NATO's defence spending obligation. Morneau made the remarks in an exclusive television interview with CTV News chief political correspondent Vassy Kapelos at the...

Brennan MacDonald

Being here 'means something': Why one federal party leader is attending the DNC

While the stakes for Canada may be high in the upcoming U.S. presidential election, only one Canadian federal party leader has actually attended either the Republican or Democratic national conventions. Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet says he was invited to attend the Democratic National Convention (DNC), and he is using the opportunity to listen to what officials close to the...

Brennan MacDonald

Dominic Cardy officially launches new federal political party

Independent New Brunswick MLA Dominic Cardy officially launched a new centrist federal political party, aiming to win the support of disillusioned Liberal and Conservative voters. The Canadian Future Party, Cardy says, will be a fiscally responsible, socially liberal party that will offer a new political home to Canadians fed up with extremism on both the right and left.

Brennan MacDonald

With Trudeau's Liberals in trouble, is Mark Carney the answer?

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberals remain deeply unpopular, currently trailing Pierre Poilievre's Conservatives by as many as 17 points in the polls, after more than a year of lagging behind. If an election was held today, the Conservatives would likely trounce the Liberals and cruise to a majority government, with polling aggregator 338Canada projecting the Conservatives would win 212 seats...

Brennan MacDonald

A report claims certain parliamentarians colluded with foreign states — could they be charged?

Stunning allegations triggered outrage and distrust on Parliament Hill — but what can be done? Some parliamentarians were accused this week of conspiring with foreign governments, but their exact numbers and their identities remain a mystery to the public — and to many of their colleagues.

Brennan MacDonald

PM says he doesn't 'understand' NDP's climate stance as Singh appears to shift on carbon tax

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he sympathizes with NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh but no longer understands his party's position on climate change after Singh appeared to waver on his support for the consumer carbon tax. "I feel for the NDP and for Jagmeet. This is a hard moment. There are political headwinds," Trudeau told reporters Friday at a press conference...

Brennan MacDonald

Faced with a possible second Trump presidency, French PM says Europe needs security independence

As the world braces for an election that could return Donald Trump to the White House, the prime minister of France says he doesn't want his country's security, or the security of the European Union, to depend on voters in the United States. Trump, who has long been a critic of the the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), has sown...

Brennan MacDonald

Failure to communicate: what week two of the foreign interference inquiry revealed

Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue's mandate for the foreign interference inquiry is sprawling — but one of her key tasks is to examine and assess the flow of information related to alleged meddling in the previous two federal elections. Testimony and documents published during week two of the inquiry's public hearings suggest Canada's approach to safeguarding those elections was plagued by failures...

Brennan MacDonald

AI could have catastrophic consequences — is Canada ready?

Nations — Canada included — are running out of time to design and implement comprehensive safeguards on the development and deployment of advanced artificial intelligence systems, a leading AI safety company warned this week. In a worst-case scenario, power-seeking superhuman AI systems could escape their creators' control and pose an "extinction-level" threat to humanity, AI researchers wrote in a report...

Brennan MacDonald

Canada confirms it will resume funding United Nations relief agency for Palestinians

The Canadian government has confirmed it will restore funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees. International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen is set to confirm the move at a press conference Friday in Mississauga, Ont. Canada suspended funding to UNRWA in January after Israel alleged 12 employees of the aid agency were involved in some capacity...

Brennan MacDonald, Catherine Cullen

Ambassadors raise alarm as government staff abroad struggle to access health coverage

All of Canada's top diplomats have taken the extraordinary step of writing a joint letter to their superiors warning of an "untenable" situation as their health insurance provider fails to process claims for Canadian staff working abroad. The letter, obtained by CBC News, is written on behalf of all Canada's heads of mission and ambassadors around the world.

Brennan MacDonald

Poilievre calls Trudeau's stance on genocide case against Israel 'incomprehensible'

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre slammed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's position on South Africa's genocide claim against Israel on Monday, calling it "incomprehensible" and accusing the prime minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly of deliberately giving answers no one can understand. Trudeau told reporters two weeks ago that Canada's "wholehearted" support for the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which is...

Brennan MacDonald

Families of PS752 victims push for government action against Iran on anniversary of deadly crash

As families of Flight PS752 victims mark the fourth anniversary of the aircraft's destruction, the federal government isn't ruling out designating the entire Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization — a measure the families have demanded for years. PS752 was shot down by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) shortly after taking off from Tehran on Jan. 8...

Brennan MacDonald

MPs call for new measures to rein in Canadian pension investments in China

The House of Commons special committee studying Canada-China relations is urging the federal government to introduce new measures to prevent Canadian pension funds from investing in Chinese companies implicated in human rights abuses, corruption or threats to national security. The committee's report, tabled in the House of Commons this week, calls on Ottawa to, in partnership with provinces, look at...

Brennan MacDonald

Canada will support 'accountability system' to investigate Israeli military conduct, says Joly

Canada eventually will support an "accountability system" to investigate Israel's military conduct during its war against Hamas, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said Monday. Joly also called for an end to the violence in Gaza but stopped short of demanding a ceasefire. She said Canada was still looking at different versions of an expected ceasefire resolution that the United Nations...

Brennan MacDonald

Alberta premier's arguments on increasing oil and gas production 'logically incoherent': Wilkinson

Federal Energy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson says Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's claim that Canada can achieve carbon neutrality in 2050 while simultaneously increasing oil and gas production is "incoherent." Smith has long argued that carbon neutrality is about a transition away from emissions and not a transition away from oil and gas production, a source of energy she insists will be...

Brennan MacDonald

NDP should have pushed for a shorter supply and confidence deal with the Liberals, Broadbent says

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh should have pushed for a supply and confidence agreement with the Liberal government that was a year shorter, says former NDP leader and social democratic stalwart Ed Broadbent. The party and the Liberals signed an agreement in March 2022 that secures NDP support for the minority Liberal government in exchange for a commitment to act on...