While National Newswatch does not keep an archive of external articles for longer than 6 months, we do keep all articles written by contributors who post directly to our site. Here you will find all of the contributed and linked external articles from John Paul Tasker.
Conservative leader 'pandering' to Ontario and Quebec and 'we're sick of it': separatist. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's path back to the House of Commons runs through a rural Alberta riding that has become a hotbed for Western discontent and the independence movement — a potentially tricky situation to navigate for a leader with national ambitions. Poilievre, a Calgarian by birth...
'I don't know what will occur,' says government's Senate representative. Prime Minister Mark Carney's point-person in the Senate is pressing for the swift passage of the government's landmark "nation-building" projects bill, but he isn't certain he can get it over the finish line before the upper house is scheduled to break for the summer. In an interview with CBC News...
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte praised U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to order what he called "truly extraordinary" military strikes on Iran in a series of text messages before the military alliance meets in the Netherlands. Those messages, which Trump posted to his social media platform, Truth Social, reveal Rutte was impressed that Trump decided to hit Iranian nuclear sites...
Bill to fast-track development has 'massive support among Canadians,' minister says. Prime Minister Mark Carney promised during the election campaign to "build big, build bold" and the legislation that would enable federal fast-tracking of major projects appears poised to clear the House of Commons despite some Indigenous opposition. The legislation, Bill C-5, essentially gives cabinet the ability to pick certain...
Prime minister was peppered with questions at closing newser. Officials in Prime Minister Mark Carney's office are retracting comments that the U.S. wanted to water down a statement about Russia's war in Ukraine on the final day of the G7 summit in Alberta. Tuesday afternoon, an official from the Prime Minister's Office told reporters from multiple outlets that a joint...
This summit could be one of the most consequential in years: experts.Prime Minister Mark Carney will welcome leaders of the world's most powerful democratic countries Sunday for the start of a three-day meeting in the Rocky Mountains — a high-stakes summit that longtime G7 observers say could be one of the most consequential in years. Carney's priorities for this gathering...
Asked about U.S. President Donald Trump's contentious relationship with parts of the American judiciary, Supreme Court of Canada Chief Justice Richard Wagner said Tuesday "the rule of law and judicial independence is under attack" around the world.
Some observant royal watchers thought King Charles looked emotional at times throughout his trip to Canada last week — and a Buckingham Palace spokesperson confirms to CBC News that the normally stoic monarch found delivering the throne speech to be a particularly poignant moment.
'Strong and free' defence sees more Canadians backing the Crown: pollsters. King Charles is enjoying a popularity boost and there is considerably more support for maintaining Canada's ties to the Crown now than when he assumed the throne, according to public opinion polls released this week around his two-day visit to deliver a historic throne speech. After the long-reigning and...
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Wednesday the Canadian government invited her to come to Alberta for next month's G7 leaders' summit but she hasn't yet decided whether she will go. She told reporters at a news conference that she's also not sure if she would meet with Trump if she does decide to attend.
Charles says he's heartened to see revival of 'national pride, unity and hope' in Canada. King Charles delivered a historic speech from the throne Tuesday and he used that platform to praise Canada as a force for good that will remain "strong and free" as its relationships with longtime partners are "changing." Charles, who delivered the speech seated next to...
Canada's monarch will read speech from the throne in visit crafted to affirm Canada's sovereignty. King Charles and Queen Camilla arrived in Ottawa Monday for a two-day visit designed to show U.S. President Donald Trump that Canada is not a prospective American territory but a distinct constitutional monarchy with its own identity, culture and history. The King's visit, which is...
Carney's ministry includes 24 new people — and 13 of them were just elected. Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled a major overhaul of his cabinet Tuesday as he looks to remake the Liberals in his image and turn the page on the last government. Carney's new ministry, which includes 28 cabinet ministers and nine secretaries of state from every province...
A lot of the chatter was about foreign policy — and Carney pressed Trump on tariffs. After their Oval Office encounter under the glare of the TV lights, Prime Minister Mark Carney and his U.S. counterpart retreated to the Roosevelt Room for a working lunch on Tuesday. Much of the mealtime chatter was about foreign policy issues, according to a...
Canada's new PM meeting face-to-face with a hostile American president. Prime Minister Mark Carney will meet his U.S. counterpart Tuesday for a high-stakes White House meeting — a face-to-face that comes as bilateral relations are at their lowest point in decades and with a trade war raging. Carney triumphed in last week's election in part because of his promise to...
Tory House leader says party will stand with Carney in U.S. trade war despite partisan differences. After a fractious federal election campaign focused on perceived Liberal failures, the Conservative House leader is now signalling the caucus may be willing to support some of Prime Minister Mark Carney's legislative agenda when the House of Commons returns later this month. In an...
Caucus sources say Poilievre's leadership is on solid ground even after falling short in Monday's vote. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has been on the phone with caucus members and party supporters in the hours since the election, trying to shore up his position after he delivered uneven results, Conservative sources told CBC News. Poilievre, who has made it clear he...
Conservative leader goes down to defeat in his Ottawa-area riding and fails to unseat Liberals nationwide. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre delivered mixed results for his party in Monday's election — boosting the Tory vote-share to a generational high with breakthroughs among new voting blocs, while at the same time failing to unseat Mark Carney and the Liberals from government and...
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre painted a gloomy picture of Canada in his closing pitch to voters on Thursday, saying life will get worse if voters return a Liberal government in this election. After sounding a more optimistic and hopeful tone earlier this week around the release of his party's platform, Poilievre reverted to form at a news conference in Halifax...
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Monday his party will release its costed platform on Tuesday, giving voters a sense of what a government led by him would do and where it would cut to pay for it all. The platform release comes the day after advance polls close and less than a week before election day. Poilievre is the last...
Conservative leader noncommittal about what he would do with Liberal firearms policy. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre dodged questions Sunday about whether he would repeal the federal government's handgun ban, a measure brought in to tamp down on the diversion of legal firearms into the hands of bad actors. Poilievre hasn't said much during this campaign about what he would do...
Conservative leader blasts Carney for big spending promises but hasn't released a plan of his own yet. With about a week left before election day and well over two million ballots cast so far, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre still hasn't released a costed platform outlining his vision for the country and how he'd pay for his multibillion-dollar commitments. Conservative campaign...
'I'm a very different person from Justin Trudeau,' Liberal Leader Mark Carney says. With polls showing Liberal Leader Mark Carney is the front-runner in this federal election, the other three main party leaders on stage for Thursday's English-language debate spent much of the contest trying to tear him down. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre took aim at Carney early on in...
Liberal says he's 'not Justin Trudeau' and criticisms of past government aren't on him. Liberal Leader Mark Carney faced jabs from his opponents at Wednesday's French-language leaders' debate, with accusations he's out of touch with working people and won't offer enough change from his unpopular predecessor. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Carney was former prime minister Justin Trudeau's "economic adviser"...
The number of cross-border travellers going from Canada to the U.S. dropped by nearly 900,000 in March compared to the same month last year, according to the latest U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data — easily one of the worst year-over-year drops recorded outside of the COVID-19 health crisis. The border figures show 4,105,516 travellers crossed the U.S. northern...
Liberal Leader Mark Carney has renounced his British and Irish citizenships, a spokesperson for the campaign told CBC News on Monday. Carney, who was born in Canada, acquired Irish citizenship decades ago through his family ancestry and got his U.K. passport in 2018 while working overseas as the governor of the Bank of England. Carney's wife is also British-born. "His...
Conservative leader says Carney is using U.S. president and his economic threats as a campaign 'distraction.' Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre took aim at his Liberal opponent Thursday over his handling of the Canada-U.S. relationship, saying Mark Carney has so far "failed" to secure any tariff relief for Canada, even as other countries get something of a break. Carney, meanwhile, said...
Liberal leader says U.S. recession is likely after Trump tariffs prompt a 'financial crisis.' Liberal Leader Mark Carney said Monday he has a plan to prop up the Canadian economy as the U.S. careens toward a recession resulting from President Donald Trump's aggressive tariff actions, creating what Carney called a "financial crisis" that has the potential to undo the international...
Liberal Leader Mark Carney said Thursday U.S. President Donald Trump's move to levy tariffs on virtually every country will "rupture the global economy," torpedo economic growth and prompt devastating consequences for workers and businesses in this country and around the world. Carney said Trump's tariffs against Canadian goods are "unjustified, unwarranted and misguided," and the country must hit back.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced Wednesday his long-awaited plan to impose what he's calling "retaliatory" tariffs on imports coming from dozens of countries — but the White House said there will be no more levies applied to Canada than what has previously been announced. Trump said however that he is going ahead with a 25 per cent tariff on "all...
Conservative leader says his election campaign won't be about the U.S. threat alone. On the day U.S. President Donald Trump is poised to hit Canada with a slate of new tariffs that could torpedo cross-border trade, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre laid out his plan to take on the Americans and help this country get through what's expected to be a...
Conservative leader says couples running out of time to start families due to unaffordable housing. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is facing criticism for saying too many young people can't buy affordable homes before their "biological clocks" have run out — a comment he's made in the past, but one that's igniting online pushback now as he faces more scrutiny in...
Conservatives eye NDP seats, but Trump threatens to upend everything. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre spent much of the first week of this election campaign targeting NDP-held ridings that could be up for grabs now that polls suggest New Democrat support is in free fall — but the recent Liberal surge has upended those plans. The big political story of the...
Conservative leader is acting too 'Trump-y' and needs to make a change, says strategist. One of the country's top Conservative strategists who just helped Ontario Premier Doug Ford win a sizable majority government says Pierre Poilievre urgently needs to make a pivot and start talking more about the issue voters care about most — the U.S. threat — or he...
The Conservative leader's proposed TFSA top-up means Canadians could contribute $12K a year. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre announced Thursday that a government led by him would allow Canadians to contribute $5,000 more a year to their tax-free savings account (TFSA) — as long as that extra cash is being invested in Canadian companies.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre defended his campaign's decision to block journalists from travelling on the party's campaign plane during the election, saying it's an opportunity to hear from more local reporters instead of the political ones that cover him full time. Poilievre's party announced a plan to block political reporters and other journalists from travelling on the Conservative campaign plane...
The number of trips hasn't been this low since the COVID-19 era. Nearly 500,000 fewer travellers crossed the land border from Canada into the U.S. in February compared to the same month last year, according to data from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the latest sign that President Donald Trump's taunts and tariffs have shaken bilateral relations. The...
King Charles presented his Canadian personal attendant and messenger with a new ceremonial sword at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday, a symbolic gesture that carries added meaning as the country stares down U.S. President Donald Trump and his increasingly forceful annexationist taunts. It's the latest move by Charles, the country's head of state, to show solidarity with Canadians as Trump repeatedly...
U.S. President Donald Trump put a 25% tariff on Canadian steel and aluminum earlier this morning. The federal government is expected to announce later this hour a plan to slap tariffs on $29.8 billion worth of American goods to hit back against U.S. President Donald Trump after he imposed punishing tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum early this morning, a...
Senior Canadian official says order will be studied before country reacts. U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday he is again pausing his tariffs on some Canadian goods, offering the country yet another roughly month-long reprieve from a punishing 25 per cent levy. Trump's actions are a welcome development for the country, given just how damaging tariffs that big could be...
Talks between 2 sides to continue throughout the afternoon. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrapped up a call with his U.S. counterpart midday Wednesday, a senior government official told CBC News. It's the first time the two have spoken since U.S. President Donald Trump launched a trade war yesterday with devastating tariffs on all Canadian goods. The details of what the...
PM says Trump is trying to make it easier to annex Canada — but it won't work. An unbowed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday that Canada will hit back hard at the U.S. after President Donald Trump launched a North American trade war by slapping devastating 25 per cent tariffs on virtually all Canadian goods. Speaking to reporters at...
Commitment comes after a week of chaotic messaging from U.S. president. U.S. President Donald Trump says he will end a month-long pause and slap a 25 per cent tariff on most Canadian goods as of March 4, claiming he needs to take action because "drugs are still pouring into our country" despite evidence that a crackdown at the border is...
The Canada-U.S. relationship is at its lowest point in more than a century with President Donald Trump's near-daily threats to ruin the Canadian economy and undermine the country's sovereignty. With the U.S. losing its long-held place as Canada's most trusted partner, the country's leaders are now clamouring to revive ties to like-minded countries, most notably historic allies like Australia, New...
'The tariffs are going forward on time, on schedule,' U.S. president says. U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday he will go forward with a 25 per cent tariff on most Canadian goods next week, saying Canada has ripped off the U.S. for too long and it's time to put a stop to it. Speaking to reporters at a White House...
Liberal leadership contender Mark Carney is pulling in more money from more contributors than any of his competitors in the race to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — and it's not even close, according to Elections Canada filings released Tuesday. Carney hauled in an impressive $1.9 million in donations from 11,260 contributors, a figure that easily dwarfs the $226,661 former...
Quantity of drugs seized by Canadian officials at U.S. border has doubled in 2 years. President Donald Trump claims he's targeting Canada with punishing tariffs on all our goods because he's concerned about the country's supposedly lax approach to fentanyl and migrants. But new data from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) shows Canada has a reason to worry about...
Finance minister says he wants new spending geared to shoring up Canada as it grapples with U.S. threats. Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc has asked his fellow ministers to draw up a list of ideas he can deploy in the planned spring budget to fight back against U.S. protectionism, a threat that shows no signs of going away even if Canada...
Trump says he will speak again to the prime minister at 3 p.m. ET. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke to U.S. President Donald Trump early Monday morning about the forthcoming trade war that has the potential to inflict economic pain on workers and businesses on both sides of the border — and they are expected to speak again later today...
Canadian retaliation comes after U.S. President Donald Trump slapped 25% tariffs on goods. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced late Saturday the federal government will hit back against the U.S. after President Donald Trump launched a trade war this weekend with punitive tariffs on all Canadian goods.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said Tuesday he is open to working with the Liberal government to pass relief measures for workers if U.S. President Donald Trump moves ahead with devastating tariffs on Canadian goods. Singh has said for weeks he and his MPs will vote to bring down the government and send Canadians to an election at the earliest opportunity...
Liberal leadership contender calls for Canada to form coalition of countries targeted by Trump. Liberal leadership contender Chrystia Freeland released Monday what she's calling her "plan to stand up to Trump" — a policy document that includes the threat of big tariffs on U.S. goods to make the Americans pay if they go after the Canadian economy.
Karina Gould vows to halt carbon tax increase, revisit capital gains hike and make GST break partly permanent. Liberal leadership contender Karina Gould said Thursday the government she was a part of for years mishandled the affordability crisis and did not effectively respond to Canadians who were crying out for relief at a time of high inflation. While criticizing the...
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the country's premiers met again on Wednesday to continue crafting a strategy to hit back at President Donald Trump as the threat of U.S. trade action becomes more acute. The first ministers met virtually to discuss developments south of the border this week, including Trump's initial decision to hold off on imposing tariffs through an...
U.S. President Donald Trump suggested that he could still hit Canada with tariffs as early as next month. When asked about tariffs on his return to the Oval Office on Monday night, Trump repeated concerns about the borders with both Canada and Mexico and mused about slapping tariffs on both countries on Feb. 1.
Harvard-educated Carney pitches himself as someone who can lead Canada through economic uncertainty. After months of speculation about his future, former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney launched his campaign to replace Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader on Thursday with a promise to build the fastest-growing economy in the G7 if he's elected. Carney, 59, kicked off his campaign to...
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith won't sign plan to take on Trump. Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Wednesday the country's leaders must put Canada first and forcefully hit back against president-elect Donald Trump if he goes ahead with punishing tariffs on all of our goods while also singling out Alberta Premier Danielle Smith for her reluctance to go all-in on retaliation...
PM also has been working the phone, speaking to confidants about his own future. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will shuffle his cabinet Friday, multiple sources have told CBC News. He's got big gaps to fill on his front bench after a series of resignations in recent months, including Chrystia Freeland's bombshell departure earlier this week. While Trudeau is facing pressure...
'He's delusional if he thinks we can continue like this,' says Liberal MP Wayne Long. Some Liberal MPs said Tuesday Prime Minister Justin Trudeau can't carry on as party leader after the humiliation of Chrystia Freeland's public resignation from cabinet and another bruising byelection loss in B.C. The calls for Trudeau to resign are coming from some of the same...
After Chrystia Freeland's shocking resignation as finance minister, Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc was sworn in Monday to replace her as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau turns to a close confidant to try to shore up his shaky government and restore some stability. LeBlanc, who has been friends with the prime minister since childhood, has long been one of Trudeau's most...