First Nations threaten highway blockages over Ford government’s Bill 5

The leader of an Ontario First Nation is warning the Ford government it could face lawsuits, protests and disruptions of major Toronto-area highways if the province passes the controversial Bill 5 into law.

The legislation, which critics say gives the premier and his cabinet extraordinary powers to create “no law zones” across Ontario, is set to be fast-tracked this week before MPPs break for the summer.
#Ontario
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💰Ottawa collects extra $617M from import duties in March as counter-tariffs hit U.S.

Ottawa collected an extra $617 million in import duties this past March compared to a year earlier as counter-tariffs against U.S. trade restrictions came into effect.

The federal government’s latest fiscal monitor report, published late last week, shows revenues from customs import duties topped $1 billion in March, more than double the figure from a year earlier.

In March the federal government slapped retaliatory tariffs on billions of dollars in U.S. goods entering Canada — costs that are paid by Canadian businesses importing the items.
#US
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💸🗳 Up to 10k fine for individuals guilty of electoral misinformation

Starting in July 2026, anyone who impersonates an election candidate or spreads false information about the electoral process with the intent to deceive will be liable to a fine of up to $10,000.

A person guilty of spreading misinformation will also be prohibited from voting and running for election for a period of five years.

An organization or company that spreads misinformation could be fined up to $30,000.
#Quebec #election
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🏦 Bank of Canada holds key rate at 2.75% as tariff uncertainty persists

The Bank of Canada held its benchmark interest rate steady at 2.75 per cent Wednesday as policymakers keep waiting for more clarity on how tariffs will impact the economy.

Uncertainty remains high. At this decision, there was a clear consensus to hold policy unchanged as we gain more information.

Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem said after the release of the rate decision.

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🇦🇺 Canadians among 7 arrested in Australian drug-trafficking probe

Authorities in Australia say two Canadians are among seven men facing charges following a months-long investigation into an international organized crime ring believed to have been using “trusted insiders” to help smuggle cocaine, methamphetamine and tobacco into the country.

The Canadian nationals, aged 24 and 31, were not identified by the Australian Federal Police. Both men have been charged with participating in a criminal group and attempting to possess commercial quantities of border-controlled drugs, according to the agency.

"Canadians".... always the same story.

#Australia
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Liberals' throne speech adopted without a recorded vote

The Liberal government avoided its first confidence vote Wednesday evening as MPs adopted the throne speech.

When debating legislation in the House, the Speaker will ask if MPs request a "recorded division," or a standing vote. If no MP asks for one, the motion is deemed adopted.

No MP asked for recorded division on the throne speech when the time to vote came, meaning it was passed without MPs standing to vote.

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💰Carney's spending promises will require 'significant cuts' to the public service: PBO

Capping the public service will not be enough to pay for Prime Minister Mark Carney’s tax cut and defence spending promises, says Yves Giroux, Canada’s parliamentary budget officer.

Carney has promised to pass a tax cut for the middle class by Canada Day, reducing the lowest marginal tax rate from 15 to 14 per cent. The cut is expected to cost the government $27 billion over five years.

Giroux said that the promise of a cap on the public service will not be enough to mitigate Carney’s additional spending. He said he expects higher deficits, and as a result, higher debt servicing charges over the next few years.

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📝 First Nations, environmental groups denounce passing of Bill 5 in Ontario

Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s government has passed its contentious legislation known as Bill 5, which gives the province sweeping powers to speed up mining or other development projects but has faced widespread backlash from First Nations and environmentalists.

The bill, which would create “special economic zones” that give the government power to suspend any provincial or municipal bylaw for chosen projects, has been sharply criticized by Indigenous groups who accuse the province of trampling on their treaty rights and failing to consult them.

First Nations leaders, at Queen’s Park for the vote Wednesday, warned of protests and even blockades of mines or highways like those seen during the Idle No More movement a dozen years ago. Mr. Ford was not in the chamber when the bill passed.
#Ontario
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📉 Quebec considers slashing permanent immigration targets to 25,000

Quebec is considering a significant reduction in its annual permanent immigration targets, potentially as low as 25,000 people.

This marks a sharp decrease from the projected 64,000 for 2025. Immigration Minister Jean-François Roberge outlined three potential scenarios: 25,000, 35,000, or 45,000 immigrants annually. The move is driven by rising unemployment, a worsening housing crisis, and concerns over preserving the French language in Quebec.

Additionally, the province aims to cut the number of temporary immigrants under federal programs from over 400,000 to 200,000.
#Quebec #immigration
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🇺🇸 Carney and Trump are holding private talks to drop tariffs

Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump are having discussions out of the spotlight to reach a trade deal and lift tariffs.

Sources with knowledge of the conversations first confirmed the calls with CBC/Radio-Canada and Industry Minister Mélanie Joly later told reporters that Carney and Trump are talking to each other.

A source, who spoke on the condition they not be named, said the two leaders have had a few phone calls in the evenings and exchanged text messages about trade since Carney's visit to the White House last month.
#US
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Liberals introduce ‘citizenship by descent’ legislation

New legislation introduced today would extend citizenship by descent rules beyond the first generation.

Bill C-3, An Act to amend the Citizenship Act, would automatically give citizenship to anyone who would be a citizen today if not for the first-generation limit. Under the current rules, a Canadian citizen born outside Canada cannot pass their citizenship to their kid if that child was also born outside the country.

The new legislation would allow access to citizenship beyond the first generation so long as the parent has spent at least 1,095 consecutive days, or three years, physically in Canada prior to the birth of their child.

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📝 Liberals poised to table bill to knock down internal trade barriers

The Liberal government is poised to table landmark legislation to break down internal trade barriers and increase labour mobility within Canada.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has pledged to break down internal trade barriers by Canada Day to create one economy — although the time left on the parliamentary calendar suggests the legislation will not gain Royal Assent by the time the House rises for the summer.

Several other provinces, including Ontario and Quebec, have also tabled such legislation to remove interprovincial barriers to the trade of goods across the country.

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🚫 Company that worked on ArriveCan app barred from government contracts for 7 years

Ottawa says it has banned the largest contractor that worked on the ArriveCan app from entering into contracts or real property agreements with the government for seven years.

Public Services and Procurement Canada has announced that GC Strategies Inc. has been deemed “ineligible” after an assessment of the supplier’s conduct.

Last year, the department suspended the security status of GC Strategies, which the auditor general says was awarded more than $19 million for the project.

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Canada’s unemployment rate in May at almost 9-year high outside pandemic years

Canada’s unemployment rate in May jumped to its highest level in almost nine years, excluding the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, with 1.6 million jobless people in the country, data showed on Friday.

The unemployment rate ticked up to seven per cent in May from 6.9 per cent in April, a third consecutive monthly increase, Statistics Canada said, adding that the total of jobless people in May was almost 14 per cent higher than a year ago.

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🇺🇸🪖Nearly 2 in 3 say Canada should not join Trump’s Golden Dome defence system: Nanos

A majority of surveyed Canadians are against joining U.S. President Donald Trump’s “Golden Dome” missile defence system, new polling from Nanos Research shows.

🔹63 per cent of respondents said Canada “should not be part of the American Golden Dome,” and should instead prioritize spending “on the capability of Canadian Armed Forces.”

Roughly 17 per cent of respondents supported paying the required costs to join the Golden Dome, with 20 per cent telling pollsters they were unsure.
#US
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🇺🇸 U.S. Ambassador dismisses concerns over Canadians facing device searches at border

U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra dismissed concerns about Canadians facing device searches and detainment at the U.S. border, calling these incidents "isolated". Ottawa’s updated travel advisory in April warned of potential scrutiny. Hoekstra emphasized the U.S. is welcoming, noting some Americans face similar issues in Canada.

The CBSA stated its officers must treat travelers professionally. Despite assurances, travel between the two countries has declined.
#US
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🔥 Saskatchewan RCMP charge two in wildfires; Manitoba fires force 1,000 more to evacuate

Saskatchewan RCMP charged two individuals in connection with wildfires: an 18-year-old woman from Montreal Lake Cree Nation and a 36-year-old man from Pelican Narrows. The woman is accused of starting a fire near La Ronge that forced 7,000 people to evacuate, while the man allegedly set fires near Snowden.

In Manitoba, the town of Snow Lake was evacuated as a wildfire east of Flin Flon grew to over 3,000 square kilometres, bringing total evacuees in Manitoba to 19,000. Both provinces are under states of emergency.
#Saskatchewan #Manitoba #wildfires
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Alberta Premier Smith ‘going to convince’ B.C.’s Eby to build pipeline through their provinces

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she’s ready to convince her counterpart in British Columbia to support building a pipeline to transport oil from her province, through his, to tidewater.

B.C. Premier David Eby said last week he won’t support a new pipeline, arguing the Trans Mountain Expansion Project is already in place.

Smith’s comments come after Prime Minister Mark Carney kicked off the week with a much-anticipated first ministers’ meeting on Monday, focusing largely on identifying so-called nation-building projects. Among them: a potential oil pipeline to tidewater.
#Alberta #BritishColumbia
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🔥Canadian Armed Forces deployed to assist northwestern Ontario wildfire evacuations

The federal government is deploying members of the Canadian Armed Forces to help evacuate a northwestern Ontario First Nation as wildfires rapidly spread in the region.

Prime Minister Carney said in a social media post that Ottawa has accepted Ontario’s urgent request for assistance in and around Sandy Lake First Nation, and the military will help with emergency airlift evacuations.
#Ontario #wildfires
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🇺🇸 U.S. crackdown on illegal immigrants is sending a surge of refugees to Canada

The number of refugee seekers processed by the Canadian Border Services Agency has shot up by 87 per cent between January and April.

In April, 494 ineligible refugee claimants from the U.S. were turned back at the Canadian border under the Safe Third Country Agreement, which bars most people from seeking asylum in Canada at the border. That’s up from 280 in January — a 76 per cent increase.

Growing refugee traffic at the Canadian border this year has emerged amid a looming clampdown on illegal immigration in the U.S. that experts say could trigger a flood of asylum seekers to Canada.
#US #border #immigration
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🪖Carney to announce Canada’s defence spending will hit NATO’s target of 2% of GDP this fiscal year, sources say

Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to announce what his government is billing as the largest increase in defence spending since the Second World War, measures that sources say would enable Canada to meet NATO’s 2-per-cent military expenditure target this fiscal year, well ahead of any previously announced schedule.
#NATO
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