Author: Globalnews Digital
Prime Minister Mark Carney had a brief audience with Pope Leo XIV Sunday afternoon at the Vatican following the pontiff’s inaugural mass in St. Peter’s Square.
Carney was seated in the second row with his wife Diana for the mass, in a section amongst other world leaders and heads of state.The prime minister, who is a devout Catholic, was one of the few world leaders to kneel during the blessing of the Eucharist, and was spotted at two instances taking a picture of the Pope on his phone to mark the occasion — before the mass started and after it had concluded.After the mass, he briefly met the Pope inside St. Peter’s Basilica, alongside his wife and their daughter Cleo.
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Global National: May 17
Carney also met other world leaders at the same time, adding to his growing list of official introductions over the weekend. He held spoke with the prime ministers of Australia, Croatia and Ireland, as well as the presidents of Israel and Nigeria. Story continues below advertisement
Carney had a bilateral meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz earlier Sunday before driving to the Vatican. He had similar meetings with leaders of Italy, Ukraine and the European Union Saturday.
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Thirteen Canadian MPs also attended the mass, including Jaime Battiste, who was part of a reception with Canadian Catholic Cardinals on Saturday evening in Rome alongside the prime minister.The Nova Scotia MP said he was looking forward to hearing how the Pope “sets the tone” for how he will lead.“It’s kind of like our version of the speech from the throne as members of Parliament,” Battiste told reporters outside Canada’s Official Residence.Pope Leo — the first American to hold the title — called for unity in his homily.“In this time, we still see too much discord, too many wars caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference, and an economy that exploits the Earth’s resources,” he said.
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Carney arrives in Rome for Pope Leo XIV’s inaugural mass
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Indigenous leaders have long called on the Vatican to repatriate thousands of Indigenous artifacts taken from communities in Canada. The late Pope Francis had expressed a willingness to return colonial-era artifacts in the Vatican Museum. Story continues below advertisement
Battiste said the return of the artifacts came up in his meeting with the Cardinals, and their return is an important step toward reconciliation.“I’ve always said that reconciliation is a journey, not a destination, and we all have steps to take on that journey,” Battiste said.“I was proud to see our prime minister was talking about reconciliation between Indigenous communities and the Catholic church.”Quebec MP Jean-Yves Duclos is also part of the Canadian delegation to the Vatican.He said the church plays an important role in fostering peace between countries. Last week Leo offered to host peace talks at the Vatican between Russia and Ukraine.“We need more peace in this world, and I think we will be hearing more of that on the part of the Pope,” Duclos told reporters.“I think (hosting peace talks) is a very important thing that the church can do. The church is not an armed country, it’s a small state … with a lot of influence. To try to bring people together, as opposed to divide our humanity, is the right thing to do.”
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Some outdoorsy Canadians are planning to build their tents with elbows up this summer as the season unofficially kicks off this long weekend.
Sally Turner says she and her husband plan to do their camping, canoeing and biking this year in Canadian national parks, including at Jasper National Park this weekend, because of the U.S. trade war and U.S. President Donald Trump’s calls to make Canada a 51st state.“I have, in the past, camped in the United States, but that’s not going to happen in the near future,” Turner said while shopping for camping gear in Edmonton.“Most of the people I know are very much choosing to camp in Canada. Elbows up.”
Many Canadian campers say Donald Trump’s tariffs and his comments about making Canada the 51st state have convinced them to cancel trips to the U.S. this summer in favour of camping north of the border.
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Albertan Travis Pegg, however, said he’s indifferent to the trade war. Story continues below advertisement
“The price of fuel and the cost of getting to the States would have more influence on whether I camp there or not, not the tariff war,” said Pegg, a resident of Wainwright, a town southeast of Edmonton.“I don’t worry about anything I can’t do anything about. It just causes stress. I just try to survive.”Summer plans for some children have also been affected by the tariff war, says the head of the Canadian Camping Association, which accredits and oversees youth summer camps across the country.
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Executive director Matt Wilfrid says fewer children are being enrolled in summer camps this year due to the economic uncertainty Trump’s tariffs have created.Wilfrid said more parents have been asking about refund policies and payment plans at their camps.He said an increasing number of camps are struggling with budgets for the summer as the cost of food, activities and staffing has become unpredictable.“Running a summer camp is akin to planning a wedding for thousands of people who don’t know each other,” Wilfrid said.
It’s still early in the camping season, but Alberta Parks has seen a 25 per cent increase in reservations compared to the same time last year.
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During his election campaign, Prime Minister Mark Carney was among the Canadians calling for people to celebrate the country after Trump’s threats by going to its national parks. Story continues below advertisement
He pledged to create a “Canada Strong Pass” that would make access to national parks free for the summer.“Whether it’s trips to national parks and historic sites, spending the day at a national art gallery or museum, or hiking Canadian trails, my new government will help the next generation discover all Canada has to offer this summer,” he said.“We are a proud country – and united, we will strengthen our Canadian identity in the face of this crisis.”Carney’s office did not respond to questions about the status of that pledge.
Small business owners that cater to the tourism industry, such as these ones in small community of Bragg Creek, west of Calgary, are excited about the increase in visitors.
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Back on the Prairies, Alberta Parks says it has seen around a 25 per cent increase in bookings through its camping reservation system for both March and April compared to the previous year. Story continues below advertisement
But Alexandru Cioban, press secretary for Forestry Minister Todd Loewen, has said it’s difficult to say whether the increase is due to the tariff war.Ontario Parks says it’s on track to have very similar booking numbers as recent years — roughly 12 million.“I do not have any live stats readily available in terms of U.S. visitors, but (I) can say that well over 90 per cent of our visitors come from within Ontario,” spokesman Dave Hunt said in an email.Parks Canada said demand for camping reservations continues to be strong this summer.It says 17 per cent of parks visitors came from the United States in 2023-24, and 16 per cent came from overseas.“The steady interest highlights the enduring appeal of the natural heritage in Canada and the importance of protecting these sites for future generations,” it said in an email.
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By David Baxter
The Canadian Press
Posted May 16, 2025 11:51 am
Updated May 16, 2025 12:50 pm
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Liberal Kristina Tesser Derksen says she found out just before midnight on May 15 that a judicial recount had confirmed her victory in the federal Ontario riding of Milton East—Halton Hills South.
The margin narrowed from 29 votes to 21 with the recount.Elections Canada ordered the recount last week after the vote validation process showed Tesser Derksen won the riding over Conservative Parm Gill a slim margin.A judicial recount is ordered automatically when the top two candidates are separated by less than 0.1 per cent of the valid votes cast.
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Gill was declared the victor on election night but the riding flipped to the Liberals after the results were validated by Elections Canada.This recount leaves the Liberals two seats shy of a majority government, with 170 MPs. Story continues below advertisement
This is a corrected story. An earlier version of this story said the Liberals had won 169 ridings. The correct number is 170 at this time.
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Elections Canada investigates mail-in ballot miscount in Quebec’s Terrebonne
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By Allison Jones
The Canadian Press
Posted May 16, 2025 11:37 am
1 min read
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TORONTO – Ontario’s integrity commissioner says a former top staffer to Premier Doug Ford broke lobbying rules.
Amin Massoudi now runs Atlas Strategic Advisors, but previously served as Ford’s principal secretary until 2022.Integrity Commissioner Cathryn Motherwell’s office posted a notice of non-compliance on its website this week, saying Massoudi failed to comply with lobbying rules during a phone call in 2023.The notice says Massoudi failed to register after lobbying a public office holder about a client request during a call.
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Posted May 15, 2025 12:53 pm
Updated May 15, 2025 12:55 pm
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Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Thursday the lack of a federal budget sends “a bad signal” to investors and credit rating agencies.
Poilievre told a press conference on Parliament Hill that he wants Prime Minister Mark Carney to “steal his ideas” and offered to help him draft a budget.The Conservative leader listed off policies his party campaigned on in the recent election, such as cutting what he calls “wasteful” spending on consultants and foreign aid and offering a “real” middle class tax cut.“Mr. Carney said during the election campaign that he had a plan, and he took great delight in saying that a slogan is not a plan,” Poilievre said, citing a line the Liberals used to attack the Conservatives.“Well, a budget is a plan. And if he does indeed have a plan, if he does know what he’s doing, then he would introduce a budget so that Canadians know exactly what the finances are.” Story continues below advertisement
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The last time the federal government failed to deliver a budget around the start of the fiscal year was in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said Wednesday that the government will not put forward a budget until after the fall economic update.The Liberal government has said it plans to introduce its “middle class tax cut” and focus on the May 27 throne speech.Carney signed a decision note after Wednesday’s cabinet meeting instructing the Canada Revenue Agency to begin preparing for a one per cent reduction to the lowest income tax bracket on July 1.Champagne said that this would save the average two-income family about $840 annually.Champagne said he plans to table a ways and means motion to introduce the tax cut shortly after the House of Commons reconvenes on May 26. Story continues below advertisement
Poilievre said his party supports tax cuts but the Conservatives will need to see the specific wording of that motion before deciding whether to vote for it.
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Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet said Thursday the party plans to launch a legal challenge after losing the federal riding of Terrebonne by a single vote.
Blanchet said the party wants a court order to run the vote again because a mail-in vote from a Bloc supporter was returned to sender, which would have brought his party into a tie with the Liberals.Elections Canada admitted this week that a misprint on an envelope used to mail a special ballot from Terrebonne led to one Bloc voter’s mail-in ballot being returned to her. The misprint contained an error in the last three digits of the postal code for where the ballot should have been sent.Despite the error, Elections Canada said Wednesday the result of the judicial recount in the riding was final. However, Blanchet said the party will contest the result in Quebec’s Superior Court. Story continues below advertisement
“Elections Canada, as an institution, does not have the jurisdiction to itself order a do-over of the election. But it has admitted the error raised by the citizen,” Blanchet told reporters in French, saying a judge would need to make such an order.The party said it will file its court application in the coming days.
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Elections Canada investigates mail-in ballot miscount in Quebec’s Terrebonne
Liberal candidate Tatiana Auguste initially won the riding, but it flipped to the Bloc candidate Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné after a validation process which verifies the addition on the counted ballots. A judicial recount completed on May 10, however, concluded the Liberals had won the riding by one vote.
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“The situation is quite clear. The judge has established that the Bloc Québécois would have lost the riding by one vote. The vote appeared in the hands of a citizen in a very clear fashion,” Blanchet said. Story continues below advertisement
“In that situation, the law requires the election to be done all over again. This is what we expect.”
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The returned Bloc vote isn’t the only irregularity in the Terrebonne contest — though it is the one upon which the Bloc is basing its court challenge.Elections Canada said on Thursday five other ballots, which also contained erroneous postal codes on the return envelopes, were received at the local returning office after the deadline.
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“There is no information as to whether the delay was due to the incorrect postal code. We note that voters signed the declaration late in the election period,” Elections Canada said in a statement.Blanchet said the party is not asking for an injunction on the result, but wouldn’t go so far as giving his blessing for Auguste to sit in the House of Commons when Parliament resumes on May 26 — if the court hasn’t come to a decision yet.Instead, Blanchet said it was up to Prime Minister Mark Carney to make a call on whether Auguste sits, though Blanchet hadn’t discussed it with Carney.“I will ask nothing of Mr. Carney. I will let him manage on his conscience, considering the impact that an MP — from a contested election on very clear grounds — could have an influence on votes in the House,” Blanchet told reporters in French. Story continues below advertisement
“Now, we’ll see at what moment that influence comes to fruition. If it doesn’t make a difference in a vote, there’s no real danger. But it could make a difference in an important vote.”
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By Staff
The Canadian Press
Posted May 15, 2025 7:51 am
Updated May 15, 2025 7:52 am
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Elections Canada says officials have vowed to work through the weekend if necessary to complete a vote recount in a central Newfoundland riding.
Spokesperson Matthew McKenna says all the ballots cast in the Terra Nova-The Peninsulas riding – more than 41,000 – have been counted for a second time.He says the judge overseeing the process must now hear and consider arguments from the parties about which of the roughly 1,000 disputed ballots should be included in the final count.
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Elections Canada investigates mail-in ballot miscount in Quebec’s Terrebonne
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McKenna said it is hard to tell when a winner might be determined. Story continues below advertisement
Elections Canada ordered the recount when the initial tally for the April 28 federal election showed Liberal Anthony Germain winning the riding with just 12 votes more than Conservative Jonathan Rowe.The margin was close enough to trigger an automatic judicial recount, according to Elections Canada rules.
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Canadian Culture Minister Steven Guilbeault said Wednesday Canada needs to maximize its use of existing pipelines before building more — a day after Prime Minister Mark Carney indicated an openness to new pipeline construction.
Speaking to reporters ahead of the first meeting of Carney’s new cabinet, the former environment minister claimed less than half of the Trans Mountain pipeline’s capacity is being used.“So I think before we start talking about building an entire new pipeline, maybe we should maximize the use of existing infrastructure,” Guilbeault told reporters.“And, the Canadian Energy Regulator, as well as the International Energy Agency, are telling us that probably by 2028-2029, demand for oil will peak globally, and it will also peak in Canada.”The actual utilization rate of the Trans Mountain pipeline is contested. According to data from the Canada Energy Regulator, utilization appeared to be up around 76 per cent as of December 2024. Story continues below advertisement
Guilbeault served as the Liberals’ environment minister for four years before Carney moved him out of the post in March. He is now the Canadian culture minister with responsibility for Parks Canada, nature and biodiversity.
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Guilbeault’s comments on pipelines came a day after Carney indicated in an interview with CTV News that he’s open to building more pipelines if there is consensus across the country in favour of it.
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Carney also opened the door to making changes to the emissions cap on oil and gas production and to the federal legislation for reviewing projects, the Impact Assessment Act.On his way out of the cabinet meeting, Buckley Belanger, the newly appointed secretary of state for rural development, dismissed suggestions of mixed signals.
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“We’re all united on that front and I think it’s fantastic for the oil and gas sector. Don’t forget, folks, we’re third worldwide in terms of production of oil and gas,” Buckley told reporters. Story continues below advertisement
“We want to build on that success. So clearly, I think Alberta and Saskatchewan have a great opportunity to build on their … expertise in oil and gas and join the rest of Canada in strengthening our trade worldwide. Simple as that.”Carney said during the election campaign he would keep the emissions cap in place, though Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said Carney struck a different tone in a meeting with her around the same time.Canada’s oil and gas sector has indicated no desire to build new pipelines under the current regulatory environment. Following the election, 38 Canadian oil and gas CEOs wrote to Carney calling on him to repeal the assessment law and scrap the emissions cap regulations.
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Elections Canada says the result of a recount in the federal riding of Terrebonne is final, despite a misprint that led to one special ballot being returned to sender.
Elections Canada says there was an error on the envelope used to mail a special ballot from Terrebonne, a Quebec riding the Liberals won by a single vote after a recount.Preliminary results indicated that the Liberals had won the riding, but the seat flipped temporarily to the Bloc Québécois after the results were validated.After a recount that gave the seat back to the Liberals, however, CBC News reported that a Bloc voter saw her mail-in ballot returned to her.The agency says an analysis confirmed that part of the return address on the envelope destined for a local Elections Canada office – the last three characters of the postal code – was incorrect. Story continues below advertisement
Despite the error and questions about the possibility of another recount or a byelection, Elections Canada spokesperson Matthew McKenna said “the result of the recount is final.”“The Canada Elections Act does not explicitly provide for the appeal of a judicial recount and Elections Canada is unaware of any appeals brought to a court following a recount,” said McKenna.
2:11
Recount sees Liberals take Quebec riding of Terrebonne by single vote
Elections Canada said this is only case they know of in the recent election of an envelope containing a marked ballot being returned to a voter because of an incorrect address.
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McKenna said the returned vote was never part of the recount.“Any vote that doesn’t get to us on time to wherever it’s meant to go, whether it’s the local office or to our accounting facility in Ottawa, the law basically dictates that it can’t be counted,” he said. “So even if it’s something that happens as a result of an error on our part, there’s really no mechanism for that to be counted.” Story continues below advertisement
McKenna said the only thing that could lead to a change in the result is someone officially contesting it.“Anyone can make an application to a judge to say that they want the results of the election to be reviewed,” he said. “There’s a possibility that that happens … as far as I’m aware, nobody’s put forward such an application yet.”Liberal Tatiana Auguste was initially projected to win the riding by 35 votes after the April 28 election, but on May 1, following the required postelection validation process, Bloc Québécois candidate Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné, who was first elected in 2021, moved ahead by 44 votes.
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The win was returned to Auguste following the judicial recount, with Auguste receiving 23,352 votes and Sinclair-Desgagné receiving 23,351.
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Canada Election 2025: Recount in Terra Nova-The Peninsulas set for Monday
A judicial recount is automatic when the number of votes cast for the candidate with the most votes and the number of votes cast for any other candidate is less than 0.1 per cent of the valid votes cast. Story continues below advertisement
A validation process is done by the returning officer, who reviews the cumulative addition of votes in a riding from every poll, based on the counts determined at every polling station in the presence of party scrutineers and election officers. It does not recount the ballots, or review ballots that were deemed to be invalid.A judicial recount looks at all the ballots again, verifying the ones that were initially accepted and reconsidering ballots that were rejected. It takes place in the presence of a judge from a Superior Court in the affected province or territory.Sinclair-Desgagné wrote on Facebook Monday that she owed it to herself to “evaluate all the options before us.”The final result brought the Liberals to 170 seats in the House of Commons, two shy of the 172 needed for a majority government. The Bloc seat count fell to 22.Other judicial recounts are ongoing in the ridings of Windsor–Tecumseh–Lakeshore, Milton East–Halton Hills South and Terra Nova–The Peninsulas.—With files from Cassidy McMackon and Morgan Lowrie
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By Dylan Robertson
The Canadian Press
Posted May 14, 2025 7:30 am
1 min read
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Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to meet with his new cabinet this morning.
The meeting is scheduled to take place at 10 a.m. Eastern on Parliament Hill.Carney shook up his cabinet Tuesday by moving some key players into new positions and promoting 24 new faces in a move meant to signal change at the top.While some members of his team were prominent figures in former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s government — including Dominic LeBlanc, Mélanie Joly, Chrystia Freeland and François-Philippe Champagne — Carney froze out other prominent members of his predecessor’s cabinet.Carney named 28 full ministers to his cabinet and also appointed a second tier of 10 secretaries of state.
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Carney’s new cabinet blends fresh faces with veteran names
The prime minister has dropped several cabinet veterans from the Trudeau years, including former natural resources minister Jonathan Wilkinson and former defence minister Bill Blair.
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Carney said he sought to balance new perspectives with experience in picking his team and noted half of the ministers are new to the front bench.
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Carney vowed Parliament will move at a rapid pace once it starts up again on May 26 and said his government will deliver on its promises with “urgency and determination.”Carney told reporters Tuesday that his government’s priorities include standing up to the U.S. and developing the “best possible” security and economic relationship.He said his government will build a single Canadian economy, “reinforce bridges” across labour, business and civil society and advance nation-building investments that will support the “core mission” of creating the strongest economy in the G7.— With files from Kyle Duggan
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