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 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...
'We're going to use every tool in our toolbox to defend Ontarians and Canadians,' premier says. Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Thursday he's dead serious about withholding energy exports to the U.S. if president-elect Donald Trump goes ahead with his plan to hit Canadian goods with steep tariffs that could cripple the economy. Speaking to reporters at Queen's Park, Ford...
Emergency Preparedness Minister Harjit Sajjan didn't go to the Taylor Swift concert in Vancouver he was set to attend with free tickets he got from a B.C. Crown corporation, a spokesperson for the minister told CBC News on Monday. After facing fierce criticism for accepting tickets to the in-demand event for himself and his family, Sajjan decided it was best...
Trudeau to brief Poilievre, other party leaders on Mar-a-Lago visit with Trump. President-elect Donald Trump joked at one point during his dinner with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday night that if Canada can't handle the economic effects of a punishing 25 per cent tariff on its goods, it should become the 51st state of the U.S. Public Safety Minister...
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says there's a 'personal animus' between Trump and Trudeau — and it's a concern. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the premiers met Wednesday to discuss strategy as president-elect Donald Trump threatens to upend the bilateral relationship with punitive tariffs on everything Canada sends to the U.S. Trudeau has sought to reassure the country that Canada is...
There's been a sevenfold increase in refugee health care costs in the last eight years. The federal government is asking Parliament to approve hundreds of millions of dollars in new spending to cover the health-care costs of eligible refugees and asylum seekers — a budget line item that has soared in recent years as the number of these newcomers reached...
GST/HST holiday will last from Dec. 14 to February. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday a suite of new measures meant to alleviate some of the affordability pressures people have been experiencing in the post-COVID era — including a two-month GST holiday on some goods and services. The Liberal government will also send $250 cheques to the 18.7 million people...
Alberta MP under fire over allegations about business dealings. Alberta MP Randy Boissonnault has resigned from cabinet amid allegations about his business dealings and criticism of his shifting claims about his Indigenous ancestry. "The prime minister and MP Randy Boissonnault have agreed that Mr. Boissonnault will step away from cabinet effective immediately. Mr. Boissonnault will focus on clearing the allegations...
One of the most revered days in the Canadian calendar was caught up in controversy this week as a debate raged over the appropriateness of playing an Arabic song and invoking the transatlantic slave trade during Remembrance Day ceremonies. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has accused some event organizers of being too "woke" and defiling a day meant to mourn war...
PM says Trump's trade concerns are focused on China. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sounded an upbeat note Tuesday on the prospect of working with U.S. president-elect Donald Trump, saying Canada has dealt with his trade threats before and can do so again. Trudeau said Trump's trade rhetoric is mainly focused on China — and Canada already has shown a willingness...
As people gather to remember those who fought and died to protect this country in past wars, a new poll suggests many Canadians know little about their country's history. That's likely because high school students in most provinces and territories are not required to take a Canadian history class before graduating, experts say. Many Canadians are in the dark about...
Cédryk Coderre was one of dozens of travellers left stranded on a Via Rail train for 10 hours earlier this year.As the government-owned passenger railway struggled with a mechanical failure, passengers on board Train 622 on Aug. 31 were left hungry and thirsty and forced to contend with sometimes inoperable toilets that belched out foul odours.
'We will be the best friend you've ever had if you get your house in order,' former envoy says to Canada. Kelly Craft, Donald Trump's former ambassador to Canada, says the country should prepare for what could be a more antagonistic bilateral relationship with the U.S. if her old boss wins Tuesday's presidential election. Trump's focus on building up American...
The Liberal Party is preparing to launch an ad campaign to fight back against the high-flying Conservatives and close a polling gap that suggests it's on track to lose big if an election is called soon. Liberal MPs heard today from Andrew Bevan, the party's recently appointed campaign director, about what the party has planned to try and claw its...
MPs who wanted the prime minister to resign by today are now calling for a quiet vote on his future. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau rebuffed calls to step aside last week — but that doesn't mean the disaffected Liberal MPs who called on him to quit have given up the fight. Some of the MPs who said the prime minister...
Prime minister says he won't leave even after 24 MPs called for him to go. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday he's staying on as leader even after 24 of his own MPs signed a letter calling for him to step down to save the party from what polls say could be a resounding defeat in the next election. Speaking...
Some Liberal MPs issued an ultimatum to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Wednesday: decide in the next few days if you want to stay on as leader or face some unspecified consequences. For weeks, anti-Trudeau MPs have been meeting in secret to convince caucus members to band together and push Trudeau out of the top job to save the party from...
Immigration Minister Marc Miller today called efforts by disaffected Liberal MPs to oust Prime Minister Justin Trudeau "garbage" and said it would be better for the team to pull together to take on their main opponent: Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre. "Any minute spent on this garbage is a minute that's not spent on Pierre Poilievre and what he wants to...
Pressure is building on the prime minister and his office as a growing number of anxious Liberal MPs are coordinating efforts to force Justin Trudeau to step down as Liberal Party leader, multiple sources have told CBC News. Disgruntled Liberal MPs have held a series of meetings to discuss a path forward for the party since the surprising Toronto-St. Paul's...