Juno News - Mark Carney is heading to the White House on Tuesday

00:00:00.000 Prime Minister Mark Carney will be meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House

00:00:08.780 tomorrow. Alberta has filed a constitutional challenge to Ottawa's net zero electricity

00:00:13.540 regulations. Conservative MP Damien Couric has announced his intention to step down from his

00:00:19.300 seat in Battle River Crowfoot to trigger a by-election and allow Pierre Polyefre to be

00:00:23.840 re-elected to Parliament. Hello Canada, it's Monday, May 5th, and this is the True North

00:00:28.440 Daily Brief. I'm Isaac Lamoureux. And I'm Noah Jarvis. We've got you covered with all the news

00:00:33.760 you need to know. Let's discuss the top stories of the day and the True North exclusives you won't hear

00:00:38.580 anywhere else. During his first press conference after being elected, Prime Minister Mark Carney

00:00:47.960 shared details about the upcoming throne speech and a plan to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump

00:00:53.200 on Tuesday. Carney will select his cabinet on May 12th, followed by a May 26th recalling of Parliament

00:00:59.260 concluded with a May 27th throne speech with the involvement of King Charles III. The involvement

00:01:04.640 of King Charles III will mark the first delivery of the throne speech by Canada's sovereign since 1977.

00:01:11.060 The throne speech will be the first motion of confidence of the Liberal minority government

00:01:14.680 under Carney, marking the third straight minority parliament led by the Liberals. Carney said Canada's

00:01:20.660 relationship of steady integration with the United States is over, a remark he made previously during

00:01:27.020 the campaign. Carney said, quote, it's important to get engaged immediately, which has always been my

00:01:32.220 intention, which has always been Trump's intention. I'm pleased to have the opportunity for a quite

00:01:37.120 comprehensive set of meetings that will take place on Tuesday. Carney reaffirmed his July 1st deadline to

00:01:42.540 remove all trade barriers between provinces. By that same deadline, he said his middle class income tax cut

00:01:48.320 will also be implemented. Carney mentioned that a new cap on temporary workers and international

00:01:53.360 students would be set at less than 5% of Canada's population down from the previous 7.5%. Carney's

00:02:00.500 remarks did not include any mention of balancing the federal budget. So Noah, has U.S. President Donald

00:02:06.660 Trump commented on the upcoming meeting since Carney's press conference on Friday? And has the

00:02:11.240 president directed any comments towards Canada over the weekend?

00:02:14.580 He has. So over the weekend, President Trump did an interview with NBC's Meet the Press, where he was

00:02:21.780 asked about the meeting that he has upcoming with Prime Minister Mark Carney. And President Trump

00:02:27.900 reiterated his comments about making Canada the 51st state. He said that it just makes sense to make

00:02:34.500 Canada the 51st state, given the fact that the United States has a trade deficit with Canada. He made the

00:02:40.600 claim that it was a quote-unquote subsidy of over $200 billion annually. And when he's referring to the

00:02:47.380 trade deficit, the trade deficit is a not that large. And having a trade deficit is not a subsidy.

00:02:54.520 However, he said that given this fact and given the fact that Canada has not been pulling its fair share

00:03:01.820 in military spending, which is true. Canada is part of NATO. And NATO nations are mandated

00:03:08.800 to spend at least 2% of their GDP on defense spending. And Canada has consistently been under that

00:03:15.420 threshold since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. And even before him, this threshold had not been met.

00:03:22.940 So President Trump pretty rightfully said that he would like to see Canada step up and manage its own

00:03:29.900 defense. He said that he would still defend Canada against foreign attacks. But at the end of the

00:03:35.560 day, Canada needs to do what it can to pull its weight. He ruled out the idea of militarily invading

00:03:42.980 Canada and annexing Canada that way. And I think he has previously said that he would rather annex

00:03:49.600 Canada if that is in the cards through economic force. But he didn't rule out such a thing for

00:03:54.060 Greenland. But on Canada specifically, President Trump really is not backing down from these claims,

00:04:01.760 the claims that he had been making before he was inaugurated. But it does seem as if he has far

00:04:07.800 more reverence for Prime Minister Carney than he does for Justin Trudeau, at least for now. Before he

00:04:14.320 would say that Justin Trudeau and his government had been mean to him and that they had been really

00:04:21.300 trying to strike a hard bargain, especially in reference to the negotiations over the USMCA.

00:04:26.520 But he has described Mark Carney as a nice man, as someone that he's looking forward to working

00:04:33.320 with. He has previously said that Mark Carney does have challenges to work with, given the fact that

00:04:42.040 he has a minority government. But he does seem a bit more spry and a bit more willing to work with

00:04:48.040 Mark Carney compared to Pierre Poliev, who he said was too anti-Trump and really did not like him. And

00:04:55.300 because Pierre didn't like him, he doesn't like Pierre in turn. So yes, Donald Trump continues to talk

00:05:03.480 about Canada, continues to talk about many of the grievances that he has with Canada. And Mark Carney

00:05:11.020 did in the past say that he would not meet with Trump if he continued to go on with his 51st state

00:05:18.320 rhetoric. I guess he is going back on that. But it remains to be seen whether or not Mr. Carney is

00:05:24.800 able to rebuild and repair relations with the United States, able to develop and negotiate and ratify a

00:05:32.280 trade agreement with the United States that still benefits Canada and does not make too many

00:05:37.680 concessions to the Americans. And whether or not there will be an appetite for Mark Carney to make

00:05:45.280 those concessions, because in the campaign that we just went through, he did market himself strongly

00:05:51.460 as a strong leader who will not back down, not meet any concessions that Donald Trump has against

00:05:59.060 Canada. But would he, for example, concede to matching tariffs with the United States against China?

00:06:06.100 That might not be something that Mark Carney wants to do, but it might be something that the Trump

00:06:10.880 administration demands. So we'll see what comes from this meeting that will be happening tomorrow.

00:06:16.820 There's sure to be a lot of news coming from it. But I think Mark Carney's team definitely wants to

00:06:22.660 avoid the worst case scenario that they might see as like a potential Zelensky 2.0 situation where the

00:06:30.480 prime minister is berated by the American president in front of the media.

00:06:37.460 Alberta Premier Daniel Smith and her government formally launched a constitutional court challenge on

00:06:42.500 Thursday, filing a reference case against the federal government's clean electricity regulations with the

00:06:47.640 Alberta Court of Appeal. Smith said, quote,

00:06:50.260 The federal government refused to work collaboratively or listen to Canadians while developing these

00:06:55.320 regulations. The results are ineffective, unachievable, and irresponsible and place

00:07:00.000 Albertans' livelihoods and, more importantly, their lives at significant risk. The province previously

00:07:05.500 threatened a court battle in March 2025. The United Conservative government has referred the

00:07:10.360 regulations to the Alberta Court of Appeal, arguing they threatened energy reliability, drive up

00:07:15.900 electricity costs, and intrude on Alberta's exclusive authority over power generation under Section 92

00:07:22.000 of the Constitution. Smith said, quote,

00:07:24.160 Our government will not blindly accept unconstitutional net zero regulations that put Albertans in harm

00:07:29.840 way. We will always stand up and fight for our province, and we will not let Albertans freeze in the

00:07:34.960 dark. The most recent court challenge comes after years of failed negotiations with Ottawa and warnings from the

00:07:40.960 Alberta Electric System Operator, which concluded the regulations would make Alberta's

00:07:45.740 net zero grid more than 100 times less reliable than the province's supply adequacy standard.

00:07:51.420 Smith previously used Alberta's sovereignty within the United Canada Act in November 2023 to oppose the

00:07:57.300 regulations and warned in December 2024 that a court challenge was imminent despite the Feds shifting their

00:08:03.240 target from 2035 to 2050. The regulations, finalized by the Liberals in December 2024, set strict emission limits

00:08:11.020 on fossil fuel power generation to push provinces toward a net zero grid by 2050.

00:08:16.700 Smith cited a previous report from the AESO, which highlighted that the regulations would cost

00:08:22.660 Albertans $30 billion between 2024 and 2049, adding that the rules would increase electricity costs by 35%.

00:08:30.700 She added that Albertans would see hundreds of dollars more in electricity costs annually, money they

00:08:36.220 cannot afford to lose amid a worsening cost of living crisis. Alberta's Justice Minister Mickey Amory

00:08:41.820 explained that the Constitution clearly gives exclusive jurisdiction to the provinces to manage their

00:08:46.420 electrical energy to account for the unique needs of each province.

00:08:50.220 So Isaac, in the run-up to the election, we've seen concerns over national unity and the potential for the West to assert their sovereignty in much the way that Quebec has been doing for decades, but it doesn't seem as if the start of Prime Minister Carney's tenure as Prime Minister has been marred by great national unity and great relations with the West.

00:09:12.100 So how much can Canadians expect Prime Minister Mark Carney's term to be defined by conflicts with Western Premiers?

00:09:18.900 And has he started off on the right foot when it comes to interprovincial relations?

00:09:23.220 Yeah, Noah, this is a tough question because Western Canadians are used to being used and abused by Ottawa, so residents might already be expecting the worst.

00:09:32.300 Also, when I talk about Western Canada, I'm, of course, primarily referring to Alberta and Saskatchewan,

00:09:38.220 whose Premiers have teamed up numerous times in the past to try and protect their resources and their provincial jurisdiction.

00:09:44.780 While Canadians might see Alberta as the most conservative place in Canada, we'll remember that Saskatchewan actually went more blue in this most recent federal election,

00:09:52.940 with only one seat going to the Liberals and the rest being conservative, whereas in Alberta, I think it was three.

00:09:58.860 Of course, the neighbouring provinces, BC and Manitoba, are both run by NDP Premiers and less partnership has been seen between them and Alberta and Saskatchewan.

00:10:09.340 But we saw Premier Smith call for a, quote, reset with Ottawa and then Moe called for a reset as well.

00:10:15.020 But more interestingly, Smith met with Carney on Friday and told Albertans how that went.

00:10:21.300 She said they spoke about policies and legislation holding back Alberta's economy and proposals for projects and reforms that would increase the oil and gas market.

00:10:30.980 She said they also discussed the ongoing trade war with the US and how they can work collaboratively in the provinces and the country's interests.

00:10:39.620 Smith said, quote, repairing the damage to Alberta's economy caused by Ottawa's last 10 years of anti-resource legislation and policies will take tremendous effort and cooperation.

00:10:50.020 However, today's conversation was a positive first step.

00:10:54.100 Although on Saturday, the very next day, Smith announced that she would be delivering a live address to the province and its future with the federal government on Monday night.

00:11:03.060 This announcement followed her meeting with her caucus on separation.

00:11:06.740 So I'm sure Albertans and maybe even people from outside of the province will be tuning into that tonight

00:11:11.700 to see how Smith will be positioning herself with the separation movement.

00:11:15.380 Conservative Damien Couric announced he will step down as MP for Battle River Crowfoot to allow party leader Pierre Polivre to run in a by-election following a narrow and controversial loss in his own Carleton riding.

00:11:30.420 Couric was re-elected with nearly 80% of the vote.

00:11:34.260 Couric said in a statement, quote,

00:11:36.340 Polivre lost his longtime riding of Carleton to liberal newcomer Bruce Fandroy by a margin of approximately 2,000 votes.

00:11:54.260 He held the riding since 2004, marking over two decades of a conservative presence in the Ottawa region, often dominated by liberals in recent years.

00:12:03.060 The contest garnered national attention after more than 90 candidates appeared on the ballot, creating confusion and unprecedented challenges for ballot counters.

00:12:13.460 Citing the need for strong leadership in the House of Commons, Couric said he believes it is in the best interest of his constituents and the country to allow Paulivre a path back into Parliament.

00:12:25.060 Couric said, quote,

00:12:26.180 I know we need Pierre fighting in the House of Commons to hold the liberal minority government to account.

00:12:30.740 This is what's best for Canada and it's what's best for Battle River Crowfoot. 0.87

00:12:35.940 Couric also pointed to the party's strong national showing under Paulivre, noting that the conservatives earned their highest share of the popular vote since 1988 under Brian Mulroney.

00:12:46.740 One thing also I saw about Couric, which is very interesting, is he was apparently six months away from qualifying for his pension.

00:12:54.260 So that really contrasts with what we saw from NDP leader Jagmeet Singh hanging on to powers until he could collect his pension and the subsequent downfall of his federal party, now set to lose their official party status.

00:13:07.060 But Noah, does Conservative leader Pierre Polivre have any roots in Alberta?

00:13:10.980 He does.

00:13:11.460 So Pierre Polivre, even though he has the French sounding name, he was actually born and raised in Calgary.

00:13:17.060 He was a Calgarian for much of his adolescent life, went to school there and he got involved in politics there.

00:13:26.660 He went to some federal conservative meetings.

00:13:30.340 That's how he got his toe dipped into politics.

00:13:33.220 And then he worked with the reform party when the PCs split into two factions.

00:13:41.220 And during his time working in campus politics, he was sort of a rival to the PC party on the University of Calgary campus, actually butting heads with Patrick Brown a few times, one of the people that he ran up against in the conservative leadership race.

00:13:59.220 Patrick Brown is currently the mayor of Brampton, but Pierre Polivre definitely has some strong ties to Alberta.

00:14:05.220 That is where he is from.

00:14:06.740 And sure, he moved to Ottawa and became an Ottawa area MP.

00:14:12.100 I'm pretty sure that, you know, he still has much greater roots in Alberta, definitely more than Mark Carney, who says that, sure, he spent some time in Edmonton.

00:14:22.180 But not only did he spend much of his adult life elsewhere, he also spent much of his adult life in another country in the UK.

00:14:32.180 So Pierre Polivre is definitely an Albertan.

00:14:34.340 He's a Calgarian, so he's not, maybe not be as familiar with this rioting and their communities.

00:14:40.980 But I'm sure that he understands their grievances, that he understands their culture, has an understanding of the type of people and their customs and their, like, just how they, how they are.

00:14:53.700 And Pierre Polivre is more than likely going to win this seat with flying colours, because the Conservatives, they won this rioting with over 80% of the vote in this past general election, some would say by Saddam Hussein numbers, as a joke.

00:15:10.680 But it is unlikely that the Liberals or the PPC or anyone else is going to be able to provide a spoiler to Pierre Polivre in this rioting.

00:15:20.160 These people really like the Conservatives, like Pierre Polivre, like his message, and even if, say, someone like Maxime Bernier decided to run in the by-election to try to provide a right-wing alternative to the Conservatives,

00:15:33.680 that strategy didn't work in previous by-election and the PPC, their popularity was significantly diminished in the 2025 election.

00:15:43.700 We saw their vote share go below 1% lower than their 2019 showing of about 1.8% and their 2021 showing of over 5%.

00:15:52.940 So the Conservative leader is going to have an easy time in this rioting.

00:15:58.120 And just to circle back on Couric, I mean, yes, he did make a significant sacrifice in getting elected, putting in all that hard work and that time that goes into canvassing a rioting that big and winning re-election.

00:16:14.040 And he decided to step away for Pierre Polivre.

00:16:17.280 It wasn't a multi-term MP since, say, 2015 who already has their pensions secured.

00:16:23.860 Couric was a few months away from securing his pension, and he decided to step down irrespective of those circumstances.

00:16:32.600 It was truly a selfless act, as it was viewed by many Conservatives.

00:16:37.240 He got a lot of plaudits on social media and just by other Conservative commentaries.

00:16:42.460 And I think that he does have a future in the party, or whether that's in provincial politics, because of the character that he showed by allowing Pierre to take his seat.

00:16:52.220 And Prime Minister Carney did indicate that he would not be playing any games, that he would call the by-election as quickly as possible to try and get the Conservative leader back into the House of Commons.

00:17:02.720 So at least there was some goodwill shown by the Prime Minister in allowing his main opponent to reclaim or claim a seat in the House of Commons as quickly as possible.

00:17:13.860 That's it for today, folks.

00:17:19.360 Thanks for tuning in.

00:17:20.520 You can stay on top of new episodes every weekday by subscribing to The Daily Brief on iTunes and Spotify.

00:17:25.820 Also, while you're at it, make sure to hit us with a five-star rating and please leave a review.

00:17:30.540 Thank you.

Juno News - May 05, 2025

Mark Carney is heading to the White House on Tuesday

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