Federal & Provincial leaders:1)Carney, premiers say they’re ‘united’ ahead of upcoming CUSMA review 2) Carney skips question period on Parliament’s first day back, meets with Premier Ford

1) Carney, premiers say they’re ‘united’ ahead of upcoming CUSMA review

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Canadian Press Staff, January 30, 2026

Prime Minister Mark Carney and the premiers said Thursday they’re maintaining a united front under the long shadow of the upcoming negotiations for the review of North America’s key free trade agreement.

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, in a reference to the viral Canadian TV show, said people “want there to be a heated rivalry between (Ontario Premier) Doug Ford and I, but we’re on the same team.”

Kinew has protested Ford’s plans to pull Crown Royal whisky, made in Gimli, Man., from Ontario government-run liquor store shelves. 

But on a media callback after Thursday’s meeting between Carney and the premiers in Ottawa, Kinew said that if the company that produces the whisky can give Ford some kind of win in the near future, the premiers can turn their full attention to the broader picture.

“Hopefully in the next few weeks we’ll be able to see some path forward there that takes the temperature down and allows us to focus on the bigger threat to our economy, which is just all this uncertainty right now,” he said.

Canada, the United States and Mexico are starting a review this year of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement on trade, better known as CUSMA, and the U.S. is expected to posture aggressively over the coming months.

U.S. President Donald Trump recently threatened to impose 100 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods and referred to Carney as “governor.”

Kinew told reporters after the meeting that Trump is trying to throw Canada off its game ahead of those crucial trade negotiations.

“It seems like what a lot of what Mr. Trump is doing, from Venezuela to Greenland to taking shots at our prime minister, is to put us on the back foot while we’re negotiating, and we need to find strategically a way to get back on our lead foot,” he said.

According to a joint statement issued after Thursday’s meeting, Carney updated the premiers on Ottawa’s plans for the coming review and committed to monthly meetings to update the premiers once CUSMA review talks officially begin.

But Carney was tight-lipped on trade strategy when speaking in public Thursday, batting away a reporter’s question after the meeting about whether he would consider extending generous proposals to the U.S. — such as increased external trade policy alignment or even a customs union.

“I find one of the most effective ways to negotiate is not to negotiate in public, so we’ll wait until we have the broader discussions with the United States as part of a review,” Carney replied.

In the meantime, Trump’s sector-specific tariffs continue to damage key Canadian industries such as steel, aluminum and softwood lumber, and apply pressure to the premiers.

New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt said Thursday morning she wasn’t seeing a lot of U.S. “movement or interest” in resolving the softwood lumber dispute, meaning a deal on duties outside of the CUSMA review process is unlikely.

“We are constantly looking at ways to make it clear to the U.S. administration how the U.S. lumber producers are suffering under a low price,” Holt said.

Carney told reporters the leaders will remain focused on what they can control: building resilience and broadening global partnerships.

“In a more divided and uncertain world, we choose a united, a strong and an ambitious future for Canada,” Carney said.

The prime minister said the leaders agreed to create a “Team Canada” trade-and-investment hub with federal, provincial and territorial representatives to support trade missions and business delegations.

As Canada searches for new trade partners abroad, Carney and the premiers also pledged to continue working on removing interprovincial trade barriers. Carney said internal trade ministers will meet again in March.

Kinew said after the meeting that internal trade was a “significant topic of conversation” during Thursday’s meeting, along with building “megaprojects.”

Carney said the government will release a draft of its national electricity strategy in the coming weeks to “complement provincial and territorial leadership,” with an overall goal of doubling the size of Canada’s electricity grid.

In prepared remarks before the meeting, Carney boasted that the country is now “more united and ambitious than it has been in decades” and it is “incumbent on us to seize this moment and build big things together.”

Bloyce Thompson, premier of Prince Edward Island and chair of the Council of the Federation, said a “big part” of Thursday’s discussion was about growing the economy and creating good jobs.

The meeting marked the fourth time first ministers convened in person since last March.

2)Federal Vs. Ontario: Carney skips question period on Parliament’s first day back, meets with Premier Ford

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Alessia Passafiume, January 26, 2026

After a globe-hopping mission to secure new trade deals and foreign investment, Prime Minister Mark Carney was back in Ottawa Monday as Parliament resumed — but not for very long.

Carney visited an Ottawa grocery store Monday morning where he announced a 25 per cent hike to the GST credit to help lower-income consumers deal with the high cost of groceries, before leaving town to meet with Ontario Premier Doug Ford in Toronto.

Their meeting followed Carney’s trip to China earlier this month, where the prime minister announced the federal government would allow some Chinese-made electric vehicles to enter the Canadian market following a nearly two-year trade dispute.

Ford, whose province has been hit hard by U.S. tariffs on autos from the United States, reacted angrily to the deal and said Carney never told him it was coming.

Speaking at a Pizza Nova restaurant in Etobicoke, Ford was asked if he and the prime minister had reconciled.

“We never had a problem,” Ford said with a big smile.

“Listen guys, we’re a big family. And sometimes brothers and sisters may disagree, but at the end of the day, make no mistake about it, we are one country. We are team Canada, both of us.”

Carney has been circling the globe — and country — in an effort to strengthen the Canadian economy in the face of tariffs from the United States on key Canadian sectors.

He was present in the House of Commons for 24 days from May to December last year — just three days less than former prime minister Justin Trudeau spent in the Commons over the same period in 2024.

Trudeau, however, answered significantly more questions from opposition members than Carney did — largely due to Trudeau’s policy of being the sole government voice in question period on Wednesdays.

Carney did not adopt that policy when he became prime minister last year.

“It strikes me that the prime minister doesn’t necessarily think that a lot of business gets done in the House — at least not that has to directly involve him,” said Dalhousie University political science professor Lori Turnbull.

“How often does taking questions in question period actually lead to real accountability?”

Carney’s travel schedule has been targeted by the Conservatives, who have accused the prime minister of spending more time travelling abroad than on addressing the affordability crisis at home.

Carney has spent time in China, Qatar, France and Switzerland since the beginning of the year.

He’s expected to make trips to India, Brazil, France, Turkey, the U.S. and Antigua and Barbuda by the end of the year.

During question period on Monday, the Conservatives grilled the Liberals over how they intend to make “life more affordable” for Canadians.

Question period, which generally lasts about an hour, allows the opposition parties to hold the federal government to account each day while the House of Commons is sitting. Parties attempt to push forward their agendas through question period, and clips of the typically testy exchanges are used on social media and for party fundraising purposes.

Speaking to Ford about their plans for the day at the pizza restaurant in Etobicoke, Carney said “you’re going to Queen’s Park, I’m going to Parliament” and joked about taking a “little nap” during question period.

Turnbull said question period acts as a “democratic check and balance” on a government — and if prime ministers get in the habit of ducking it, it undermines public trust.

But skipping out on question period could be a political strategy itself, she said — especially since opposition parties often struggle for attention when the House isn’t sitting.

“Parliament has a way of equalizing the power between the government and the opposition, especially when it’s a minority (government),” Turnbull said.

“Not as many people are going to watch question period if (Conservative Leader Pierre) Poilievre is talking to himself.”

Poilievre is set to face Conservative party members this week for a vote on whether he can continue as party leader — a vote he is expected to survive.

Turnbull said Poilievre is likely to point out when Carney isn’t attending question period or when he’s out of the country.

“But the part (of his messaging) that’s going to resonate with voters — if anything of does — is going to be, ‘Carney’s agenda is not helping me,’ as opposed to ‘Carney wasn’t present on Tuesday again.'”