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 Stephanie Ha.
Microsoft vice-chair and president Brad Smith insists his company can protect digital sovereignty in Canada, regardless of who is leading the U.S. government. This week, Microsoft announced it will invest $7.5 billion in Canada over the next two years as part of a data-centre expansion, bringing its total investment in this country to $19 billion between 2023 and 2027. But...
After the Liberals convinced another Conservative MP to cross the floor, Government House leader Steven MacKinnon says there are more Conservative members who are “extremely frustrated” with the leadership of the party. “All of my colleagues here have the same experience of speaking to Conservative members, unfortunately a group which is in the minority in their group, who are extremely...
Conservative MP Michael Ma, who represents the Ontario riding of Markham-Unionville, is crossing the floor to the Liberal Party, according to a statement released Thursday night. Ma, who was first elected in this year’s federal election, now brings the Liberals one seat shy of a majority with 171 seats. “After listening carefully to the people of Markham–Unionville in recent weeks...
Kirsten Hillman, Canada’s ambassador to the U.S., is stepping down in the new year as the country’s top diplomat in Washington, according to a statement on Tuesday. “After over eight years in Washington, including six years as Canada’s ambassador to the United States, I have advised Prime Minister Mark Carney that I will be ending my tenure in the United...
The Liberal government will vote against a Conservative motion on Tuesday that calls for the federal government to support a bitumen pipeline, a senior government source tells CTV News. The opposition motion, which is non-binding, explicitly calls for the support of “one or more pipelines enabling the export of at least one million barrels a day of low-emission Alberta bitumen...
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May is leaving the door open to support the Liberal government, despite recently calling her vote in favour of the federal budget a “mistake.” “It certainly seems that way, but I’m a bridge builder, and I never say never,” May said in an interview with CTV Question Period airing Sunday, when asked if Prime Minister Mark...
Job and Families Minister Patty Hajdu is defending the federal government’s decision to provide Algoma Steel with nearly half a billion dollars in loans, despite knowing the company would be issuing layoff notices. “At the end of the day, we have to save this sector, and I think we went into this eyes wide open, knowing there was going to...
Former environment minister Steven Guilbeault, who resigned last week from Prime Minister Mark Carney’s cabinet over a “profound” disagreement in climate policy, says it will now be “impossible” for the federal government to reach its 2030 emissions targets in the wake of the energy deal with Alberta. “I think that my government needs to be honest with Canadians,” Guilbeault said...
The federal and Ontario governments are defending their decision to loan hundreds of millions of dollars to Algoma Steel, despite knowing the company’s business plan to lay off workers. “What I know is that without federal support, Algoma would not be in the position that they are today,” Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said while speaking to reporters on Parliament Hill...
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she wants to work with British Columbia on a potential new pipeline but still hopes to convince that province to lift the federal tanker ban. “I’m sensitive to the fact that we don’t want to see the entire coast of British Columbia, that has extensive port infrastructure. I understand that,” Smith told reporters in Calgary...
Prime Minister Mark Carney shuffled his cabinet on Monday following the resignation of Steven Guilbeault last week, and has brought back a familiar face from the Justin Trudeau era. Marc Miller, who last served as the minister of immigration under Trudeau, has been appointed as minister of Canadian identity and culture and minister responsible for official languages. Miller was first...
B.C. Premier David Eby – who has vehemently opposed Alberta’s pursuit for a new bitumen pipeline to the West Coast – says he is open to a pipeline project in his province if the tanker ban remains in place. “No, I think we can have those conversations,” Eby said in an interview with CTV Question Period airing Sunday, when asked...
Amid the ongoing trade war with the United States, Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced a slate of new measures to help and protect the steel and lumber industries. Among the new measures is further limiting foreign steel imports from countries without a free trade agreement with Canada — from 50 to 20 per cent of 2024 levels — a...
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says he believes there is a “way forward” for Canada and China to resolve its trade dispute, as both countries work to recalibrate relations. “There is a path for us to negotiate our way forward,” Moe said in an interview with CTV Power Play on Monday. “I have confidence that the federal government is finding their...
B.C. Premier David Eby says he wants any potential energy deal between Alberta and the federal government to include a cap, or potentially a ban, on the use of taxpayers’ dollars to build a pipeline. “(Prime Minister Mark Carney) has outlined to me that the agreement with Alberta is not finalized yet, and I took the opportunity of our conversation...
The prime ministers of Canada and India have agreed to launch negotiations towards a new Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), according to a senior government official. Today, Prime Minister Mark Carney and Indian President Narendra Modi met on the sidelines of the G20 summit. The two countries – who are in the midst of a reset of a strained relationship...
As the federal government and Alberta work towards an agreement that could include support for a new pipeline, B.C. Premier David Eby is calling out a pair of Western premiers who he says should “know better.” Multiple provincial and federal government sources tell CTV News that Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and the federal government could be days away from an...
As Canada and Sweden look to strengthen economic and security ties, Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf says the renewed partnership comes amid a changing world. “If you think upon the situations in the world, it’s changed. It’s quite dramatic in the world,” Carl XVI Gustaf said on Wednesday in an exclusive interview with CTV National News Chief News Anchor Omar...
One day after the House of Commons passed the federal budget, Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon says federal public service job cuts will be “minimal.” “I believe that the impact on people – involuntary departures – will be minimal, and that is certainly a desirable thing,” MacKinnon said in an interview with CTV Power Play with Vassy Kapelos on Tuesday...
Interim parliamentary budget officer (PBO) Jason Jacques says he will be applying for his job on a permanent basis, now that the posting is officially up. “Oh absolutely,” Jacques said in an interview with CTV Question Period airing Sunday. “From my own perspective, having worked in the office since the beginning, I think it’s important that parliamentarians have the choice.”...
B.C. Liberal MP Jonathan Wilkinson says he is “not unhappy” as a member of the Liberal government, despite a significant shift in environmental policies under Prime Minister Mark Carney. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, meanwhile, pointed on Wednesday to reporting from the Toronto Sun that says Wilkinson – who served as both environment and climate change minister and energy and natural...
As Canada looks to recalibrate relations with China amid the ongoing trade war with the U.S., former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig is warning against making China “the core” of its economic diversification strategy. “Making China the core of that strategy (is) not a good idea, because it’s not geopolitically a reliable partner,” Kovrig said in an exclusive interview with CTV’s...
Alberta Conservative MP Matt Jeneroux says he’s resigning as a member of Parliament, but Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says the resignation won’t come into effect until “next spring.” “I ran in the last election hopeful that Canadians would put faith in a team led by Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives, offering a chance to change Canada’s perception in our own country and...
After Prime Minister Mark Carney and Chinese President Xi Jinping met face-to-face in South Korea, China’s ambassador to Canada is suggesting the two countries “triple” trade with one another if the market allows. “I think it depends on the market, on the products. Is there enough competitiveness or not,” Ambassador Wang Di said in an interview with CTV’s Power Play...
In what will be a high stakes meeting on Friday, Prime Minister Mark Carney and Chinese President Xi Jinping will sit down across from each other to recalibrate a relationship between their countries at a time when the United States has pushed Canada to the sidelines in trade negotiations. The meeting will take place on the margins of the summit...
Prime Minister Mark Carney says trade talks with the U.S. “had been making progress” until President Donald Trump suddenly ended negotiations with Canada over Ontario’s anti-tariff ad. “There were a series of very detailed, very specific, very comprehensive discussions ... up until the point of those ads running,” Carney said Monday while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the...
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has responded to the U.S. president’s announcement it would cut off negotiations with Canada over an anti-tariff ad. “Canada and the United States are friends, neighbours and allies. President Ronald Reagan knew that we are stronger together. God bless Canada and God bless the United States,” wrote the premier Friday morning on social media.
While India continues to dismiss allegations linking Indian diplomats to homicides and extortions, RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme says it’s important to “build relationships with India.” When asked directly by reporters in Ottawa on Thursday if the RCMP was receiving more evidence on those cases from India, Duheme wouldn’t answer directly. “That file is before the courts, so I’m not going...
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s pre-budget address on Wednesday in Ottawa is set to focus on “the new government’s economic plan,” a source familiar with the speech tells CTV News. Carney is scheduled to speak to a group of university students on Wednesday evening, and the source sought to frame the rationale for that audience being that they are the generation...
As India and Canada work to reset relations, India’s new high commissioner to Canada is dismissing allegations — made by both the RCMP and former prime minister Justin Trudeau — that linked Indian diplomats to homicides and extortions in this country. Instead, High Commissioner Dinesh Patnaik says renewed conversations between the two countries have focused on “the entire security situation,”...
As the federal government works towards its next batch of major projects, Prime Minister Mark Carney is not ruling out a new pipeline to the B.C. coast or lifting environmental policies like the tanker ban and emissions cap. “This government believes in nation-building projects, in both clean and conventional energy,” Carney said when asked directly by reporters in Ottawa on...
Former parliamentary budget officer (PBO) Yves Giroux says it’s likely too early to tell whether Canada’s fiscal outlook is as precarious as his successor is warning. “I would probably, personally, wait until we see what’s in the budget before making such a statement,” Giroux said during a panel discussion airing Sunday on CTV Question Period. “I think, for my part...
Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to head to Washington early next week to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump – his second visit since becoming prime minister – with a source telling CTV News that movement is expected on steel and aluminum tariffs. Carney will leave for Washington on Monday evening and will meet with Trump on Tuesday, in...
While Alta. Premier Danielle Smith says her province plans to lead an effort to build a new oil pipeline, she won’t say the maximum amount of taxpayer funding she is willing to commit to the project. On Wednesday, Smith announced Alberta is committing $14 million to be the proponent of, and to fund the initial planning stages for a proposed...
Government Transformation, Public Works and Procurement Minister Joël Lightbound says while the federal government plans to reduce the size of the federal public service through attrition, he also concedes “there will be adjustments.” “The objective is through attrition, but there will be adjustments,” Lightbound said in an interview with CTV Power Play on Thursday when asked by host Vassy Kapelos...
While Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree pushes back against calls for him to resign or be fired following leaked audio that in which he can be heard questioning the federal gun buyback program he oversees, Prime Minister Mark Carney says he has “confidence” in his minister. “I have confidence in the minister, he is doing important work,” Carney said when...
As the federal government prepares its long-anticipated budget in November, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says he would like to see “billions of dollars” in cuts. “There needs to be billions of dollars of reductions in the federal bureaucracy,” Poilievre said in an interview with CTV Question Period airing Sunday. Poilievre also said the federal government “should cut the budget for...
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says there is not a specific level of support he is looking to secure in his upcoming leadership review next year. “No, I don’t believe in magic,” Poilievre said when asked by CTV Question Period Host Vassy Kapelos if he has a “magic number” in mind. Poilievre is set to face a mandatory leadership review after...
Amid concerns of potential job cuts, Prime Minister Mark Carney says any reduction of the size of the federal public service will “happen naturally through attrition.” Carney made the remarks while speaking to reporters at a housing announcement in Ottawa on Sunday. When asked whether he will keep the Liberal Party’s election pledge to cap and not cut the public...
Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon is warning the federal government will have to make “tough choices” ahead of the fall budget that is set to be unveiled in October. “The government has run a large deficit since the pandemic, when we were there to support Canadians, and now we have some choices to make so that we can get our...
Secretary of State Wayne Long, who oversees the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), is describing service delays with the agency as “completely unacceptable,” but won’t commit “one way or the other” on the potential for future job cuts. “Let’s call a spade a spade. We hit rock bottom. It can’t get much worse than it is now,” Long said in an...
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a nine-part strategy to support sectors impacted by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, which includes a review of the federal government’s electric vehicle (EV) mandate and a “Buy Canada” policy. Carney made the announcement on Friday in Mississauga, Ont., following a two-day cabinet-planning forum this week that was largely focused on the economy. Multiple government...
Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says the federal government will table a budget – the first under Prime Minister Mark Carney – in October, describing it as an “ambitious plan to Canadians” amid U.S. tariffs and global economic uncertainty. “This is rethinking Canada fit for the 21st century, at a time where our neighbour and friend decides to have a very...
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre will have to hold the government accountable while showing he can appeal to a wider set of Canadian voters, as he gets ready to head back to the House of Commons following his resounding byelection win, experts say. After losing his seat in the Ottawa-area riding he’d held for two decades to a political rookie in...
Ahead of the First Nations summit to discuss the federal government’s controversial major projects bill getting underway, Assembly of First Nations Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak is calling for “more listening” from Prime Minister Mark Carney. “We’re going to give him the benefit of the doubt that he produces tomorrow,” Woodhouse Nepinak told reporters in Ottawa on Wednesday. “I think that...
Canada’s former ambassador to the U.S. says the federal government’s self-imposed deadline to reach a new economic and security deal with the U.S. is “not realistic at the present moment.” “I don’t think that we’re going to reach anything of a significant breakthrough by the 21st,” David MacNaughton said in an interview with CTV News on Thursday. “I think one...
As the federal government undergoes a spending review, Prime Minister Mark Carney is aiming to find $25 billion in savings over the next three years, according to a senior government source who spoke to CTV News. News of the target figure comes after Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne, along with Treasury Board President Shafqat Ali, issued letters to Carney’s cabinet on...
Prime Minister Mark Carney is committing that Canada – along with other NATO allies – will invest five per cent of GDP on defence by 2035, a pledge that will mean billions more in spending per year. All 32 NATO members made the new commitment at the alliance’s annual leaders’ meeting in The Hague on Wednesday. The five per cent...
RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme is describing ongoing talks with Indian officials over the killing of a Canadian Sikh leader as “good” after India previously refused to cooperate. “We are rebuilding these relationships. The conversations have been positive, and we’re looking at planning other meetings with them as well,” Duheme said in an exclusive interview with CTV’s Power Play on Thursday...
U.S. President Donald Trump issued a proclamation Tuesday, doubling tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from all countries, including Canada. According to the proclamation, Trump says, “the increased tariffs will more effectively counter foreign countries that continue to offload low-priced, excess steel and aluminum in the United States market.” The tariffs are set to take effect on Wednesday. In a...
Former prime minister Jean Chrétien – who was noticeably absent from King Charles III speech from the throne on Tuesday – is recovering from minor heart surgery after receiving a stent. “Yesterday, former prime minister Jean Chrétien was admitted to the Ottawa Civic hospital after feeling unwell. He has since been transferred to the Ottawa Heart Institute, where he received...
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s chief of staff Marco Mendicino will soon be leaving his position in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), according to a statement released Thursday. “As we prepare for the Throne Speech, I have asked Mr. Mendicino to stay into the summer in order to support the launch of the government’s mandate in Parliament and to lead the...
After Prime Minister Mark Carney explicitly said he supports building a pipeline if the consensus in Canada exists for one, members of his newly formed cabinet appear to have differing views on the issue as they gathered for their first meeting on Wednesday. When asked whether pipelines will continue to be a source of tension between Ottawa and Alberta, former...
While previously touting his pledge to make Canada an “energy superpower,” Prime Minister Mark Carney went further on Tuesday, explicitly saying he supports building a pipeline if the consensus exists for one. “First off, I’ve said repeatedly: yes. First point,” Carney said in an exclusive interview with CTV News’ Chief Political Correspondent Vassy Kapelos on Tuesday, his first since becoming...
Following years of diplomatic and trade tensions, China’s ambassador to Canada, Wang Di, insists the two countries can move past what he characterizes as “normal” differences. “For China and Canada to bring our relationship back onto the right track, we need to seek common ground while reserving differences in a constructive way,” Wang said through a translator in an exclusive...
The Conservative Party caucus is set to meet for the first time since losing the federal election with a meeting set for next Tuesday, according to an internal memo obtained by CTV News. The meeting is being called to “exercise provisions set out in the Reform Act contained in Section 49 of the Parliament of Canada Act,” the memo reads...
Former Conservative leader and Conservative-Saskatchewan Elect Andrew Scheer says Pierre Poilievre will “absolutely” stay on as the party’s leader, despite losing his own seat and leading the party to its fourth failed attempt to defeat the Liberals. “Pierre is a fighter, and he’s doing it for the people who have been left behind for this government. That’s really what inspires...
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says Jagmeet Singh cannot continue leading the party if the NDP loses official status in Parliament, as some polling suggests could happen. When asked directly by CTV Power Play host Vassy Kapelos on Tuesday if Singh can remain at the helm in that scenario, Mulcair simply said, “No.” “Mr. Singh knows what the results are...
U.S. President Donald Trump’s former trade representative Bob Lighthizer says Canada will “benefit” from the United States’ current attempt to overhaul trade around the world – while also claiming the relationship between the two countries “is not fraught,” despite trade tensions. “If the president is right, and if it works out the way it should work out, we will find...
With the federal election less than a month away, the Conservative Party has dropped a fourth candidate in just two days – this time over alleged social media activity. Late Wednesday, the party confirmed to CTV News that Don Patel will no longer be running to represent the party in the riding of Etobicoke North and shared a screenshot of...