Federal Government: 1)Carney calls Israel’s treatment of flotilla ‘abominable,’ as Ottawa summons envoy; 2)Simcoe Auto Mayors pitching Canadian vehicle brand identity initiative to federal government; 3)(Updated) PBO says Canadian governments to spend $1 billion to host World Cup
1)Carney calls Israel’s treatment of flotilla ‘abominable,’ as Ottawa summons envoy
Courtesy Barrie360.com Canadian Press
Prime Minister Mark Carney is calling Israel’s treatment of people aboard an intercepted flotilla “abominable” and “unacceptable,” and says Ottawa is seeking assurances about the safety of Canadians involved.
The prime minister made the comments on social media Wednesday, after Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand told reporters she directed officials to summon Israeli Ambassador Iddo Moed over the “mistreatment of civilians” aboard the Gaza-bound flotilla.
Activists say 12 Canadians were among those detained when Israel’s navy intercepted hundreds of people on 41 boats involved in the Global Sumud Flotilla in international waters near Cyprus on Monday.
Anand said video shared by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir is “deeply troubling and absolutely unacceptable.”
“This is a matter we take very, very seriously,” Anand told reporters on a virtual conference call from Estonia.
“It’s a matter of humane treatment of civilians and I can assure you that we are acting with absolute urgency on this very serious matter.”
The videos showed Ben-Gvir walking among kneeling activists who had their hands tied behind their backs, and telling them they should be imprisoned for a long time.
Anand said Canada has already sanctioned Ben-Gvir for his repeated incitement of violence and that he is banned from travelling to Canada.
Anand also said she has not received a response to the summons from the Israeli embassy.
The Israeli embassy in Canada did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
NDP MP Jenny Kwan had called on Tuesday for Ottawa to press for immediate consular access and protection for the Canadians involved in the flotilla.
Turkey, Greece and Italy have also condemned the treatment of the activists.
2)Simcoe Auto Mayors pitching Canadian vehicle brand identity initiative to federal government
Courtesy Barrie360.com
By Julius Hern, May 21, 2026
Surrounded by other members of the Simcoe Auto Mayors, County of Simcoe Deputy Warden and Springwater Mayor Jennifer Coughlin signs a letter to the federal government pitching the Canada North Vehicles initiative, alongside Simcoe Auto Mayors chair and New Tecumseth Mayor Richard Norcross at New Tecumseth Town Hall, May 21, 2025. Photo—Julius Hern/Barrie360.
A group of eight Simcoe County mayors is pushing the federal government to do more to support domestic auto manufacturing, protect associated jobs, and enhance Canada’s global competitiveness in the sector.
The Simcoe Auto Mayors — representing Springwater, Adjala-Tosorontio, Innisfil, Bradford West Gwillimbury, Essa, Clearview and Penetanguishene — signed a letter Thursday during a ceremony in Alliston outlining their pitch for the Canada North Vehicles initiative.
Officials say the initiative aims to create a unifying symbol and identity for Canadian-made vehicles.
“Canadian vehicles are uniquely durable, and we all know they’re built for extreme conditions,” coalition chair and New Tecumseth Mayor Richard Norcross said during the announcement. “This is a global advantage that we have over other manufacturers.”
Alongside other members of the Simcoe Auto Mayors not pictured, Adjala-Tosorontio Mayor Scott Anderson (left) County of Simcoe Deputy Warden and Springwater Mayor Jennifer Coughlin (middle) and Simcoe Auto Mayors chair and New Tecumseth Mayor Richard Norcross pose for photos next to the symbol associated with their proposed Canada North Vehicles initiative at New Tecumseth Town Hall, May 21, 2025. Photo—Julius Hern/Barrie360.
The symbol would be seen on any Canadian-made vehicles and other related products (like tires) as a way to market the Canadian auto industry.
Officials described it as both a branding effort and policy advocacy campaign aimed at strengthening domestic automotive manufacturing.
“The average Canadian doesn’t know which models are built here in Canada and which are built abroad,” Devin Ramphal, director of growth and innovation for the Town of New Tecumseth, said. “That’s where we see an opportunity.”
The announcement comes a week after Honda announced it was indefinitely suspending plans for a proposed $15-billion electric vehicle complex in Alliston that had the potential to create 1,000 additional manufacturing jobs.
Norcross said Honda remains “a great corporate citizen” in the region, adding the initiative had already been in development well before the automaker’s decision. However, he acknowledged the announcement accelerated the coalition’s decision to go public with its plans.
The coalition says it hopes to help spur a national discussion about how Canada approaches its automotive sector moving forward.
“We want to protect what we have, but we need to grow what we have,” Norcross told Barrie360. “We want to make sure that as our children grow up, and new people move here, there are good paying jobs, and it’s a great place to live.”
Simcoe Auto Mayors chair and New Tecumseth Mayor Richard Norcross speaks as he unveils the proposed Canada North Vehicles initiative at New Tecumseth Town Hall, May 21, 2025. Photo—Julius Hern/Barrie360.
Norcross said the coalition hopes to meet with both federal and provincial governments in the near future, with one of its primary goals being to change how hybrid vehicles are treated under Ottawa’s new greenhouse gas emissions standards strategy.
In his remarks, he specifically called on Prime Minister Mark Carney to include hybrid models in the EV sales metrics that will be measured under the new framework.
“Governments must align policy with how the market is evolving, not where it was years ago,” he said. “Manufacturers have told us they cannot honour that mandate, and if we don’t change it, there won’t be investment in Canada. As a matter of fact, we’ll lose jobs.”
In February, Carney announced Ottawa would scrap the previous EV sales mandate introduced under former prime minister Justin Trudeau in favour of a new greenhouse gas emissions standards system aimed at having electric vehicles account for 75 per cent of new vehicle sales in Canada by 2035.
The new standards, targeting the 2027 to 2032 model years, would set a maximum of 74 grams of carbon dioxide emissions per mile — or its equivalent — representing a 56.9 per cent reduction from the current federal tailpipe emissions standard of 172 grams per mile.
Under the new strategy, automakers would be incentivized to improve fuel efficiency in gas-powered vehicles while also increasing EV sales over time to meet the standard.
The coalition’s is focused specifically on integrating Canada North Vehicles into the third and fourth pillars of the federal strategy.
Devin Ramphal, director of growth and innovation for the Town of New Tecumseth speaks as he unveils the proposed Canada North Vehicles initiative at New Tecumseth Town Hall, May 21, 2025. Photo—Julius Hern/Barrie360.
Officials argue that including hybrid models in the sales metrics would make Canada’s auto sector more competitive internationally.
“The best-case scenario is the strategy works and we’re able to unlock international markets and promote domestic sales of Canadian vehicles,” Ramphal said. “The worst-case scenario is we’ve collectively raised awareness for the industry.”
Ramphal also pointed to Canada’s longstanding reputation as an auto manufacturing country, particularly in comparison to the United States.
Norcross added that the Simcoe Auto Mayors coalition has received support from multiple automakers operating in Ontario, though he declined to identify them.
3)(Updated) PBO says Canadian governments to spend $1 billion to host World Cup
Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press
By Anja Karadeglija, May 20, 2026
Canada will spend just over $1 billion to host the World Cup this summer, the federal budget watchdog said Wednesday.
That sum includes money from all levels of government. The federal government’s contribution is expected to be $473 million.
The $1.066 billion total averages to $82 million per game for the 13 games that will be played in Toronto and Vancouver.
The parliamentary budget officer says that’s roughly in line with what previous host countries spent. Canada is co-hosting this year’s tournament with the United States and Mexico.
In April, the federal government said it was allocating up to $145 million for security at the World Cup, with the money going toward resources for law enforcement agencies.
Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said at the time that welcoming World Cup crowds will require a massive co-ordinated effort, and that the international soccer tournament is one of the biggest and most complicated sporting events Canada has ever hosted.
Ottawa previously said it would allocate up to $320 million for hosting the tournament.
More than a hundred matches are scheduled to take place across all three countries between June 11 and July 19.
Most of the money will go toward hosting costs in the two cities. Vancouver will host seven games and Toronto will host six.
“As of April 2026, the most recent municipal and provincial budgets had indicated that, including federal grants, the City of Toronto intended to spend a total of $380 million on its city-level hosting costs while the Province of British Columbia intended to spend a total of $578 million,” the parliamentary budget officer said.
The PBO noted there may be changes to the expected costs for municipal and provincial governments because “updates to municipal and provincial spending plans may be announced in the coming weeks.”.