Hello, welcome to Politics Insider. Let’s look at what happened today.
The Bank of Canada held its benchmark interest rate steady today. However, in the midst of a global price shock that risks reigniting inflation, it said it’s prepared to adjust monetary policy if needed.
Mark Rendell reports that, as widely expected, the central bank’s governing council kept the policy rate at 2.25 per cent for the third consecutive time.
The rate decision was made against the backdrop of a sharp rise in energy prices caused by the war in the Middle East. Iran has largely closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of global oil supplies typically travel.
Benchmark oil prices have risen more than 40 per cent in recent weeks, and the average price of gasoline in Canada has jumped more than 30 cents a litre. This will push up the rate of inflation in Canada in the coming months.
“Governing council will look through the war’s immediate impact on inflation but if energy prices stay high, we will not let their effects broaden and become persistent inflation,” Governor Tiff Macklem said in a press conference after the rate announcement.
In other news, Canada’s population declined by more than 100,000 people in 2025, marking the first annual decline in records that date back to the 1940s.
The result comes as the federal government tries to rein in the number of temporary residents in the country.
Vanmala Subramaniam reports that the population decreased by 103,504 people, or 0.25 per cent, between Oct. 1, 2025, and Jan. 1, 2026, according to new estimates from Statistics Canada.
This followed a decline of roughly 76,000 in the third quarter.
Because of modest growth in the first half of 2025, this amounted to a population decline of around 102,000 last year. The current population stands at 41,472,081 people.
The decline is being driven by a continued exodus of temporary residents from the country, a result of a series of measures introduced by Ottawa in 2024 and 2025 to curb the number of non-permanent residents.
Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem at a news conference in Ottawa, on Wednesday.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
What else is going on
U.S.-Canada trade talks lagging behind Mexico negotiations, says Trump official: U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer today told Fox Business that talks are moving ahead with his Mexican counterparts as the Trump administration negotiates changes to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, but added, “Canada is behind on this.”
Ottawa spending $1.4-billion to ramp up domestic ammunition production capacity: Actions announced today include the establishment of new facilities to manufacture supplies such as artillery shells and nitrocellulose, a compound used in a range of military munitions.
Brian Stewart, Maggie Helwig among finalists for Shaughnessy Cohen Prize: The Writers’ Trust of Canada released its short list today, with jurors saying On the Ground: My Life as a Foreign Correspondent features Stewart’s “extraordinary perspective on our times and on Canada’s place in the world.”
PEI cabinet minister dies: Mark McLane, the former health minister, has died at 56 after a serious illness.
Danielle Smith says she took private flight on behalf of Saudi government last fall: The Alberta Premier confirmed the flight publicly at a legislature committee meeting this week in response to budget questions put to her by Opposition NDP leader Naheed Nenshi.
Canadian computer scientist wins Turing Award: Gilles Brassard, a professor at the University of Montreal, and Charles Bennett, of IBM Research in Yorktown Heights, N.Y., will share the prestigious award in computer science.
A U.S. invasion of Canada is still far-fetched. Canadians are preparing anyway: From demonstrating peacefully to getting gun licences, Canadians are considering how to stand up for their nation.
On our radar
Commons Break: The House of Commons is on a break this week. Members return March 23. The Senate is also on a break, with the next fixed sitting day on March 24.
Prime Minister’s Day: Mark Carney has no public events today.
Party Leaders: Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who has been on a tour of the United States this week, did an interview with Joe Rogan for his Texas-based podcast, considered to be one of the most popular in the world. Poilievre made the announcement on social media Wednesday, posing for a photo with Rogan. “Fought for Canadian workers and Canadian interests on the world’s biggest podcast,” he wrote, describing an “amazing conversation” with Rogan. There was no indication about when the podcast featuring Poilievre would be released. No details were released for other party leaders.
Ministers on the Road: In the Ontario town of Ingersoll, Defence Minister David McGuinty held a news conference about investments in ammunition production in Canada.
In Edmonton, Emergency Management Minister Eleanor Olszewski launched a call for proposals for the Search and Rescue New Initiatives Fund to increase the effectiveness, efficiency, economy and innovation of search-and-rescue activities across Canada.
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand is in London and met with British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper for discussions on the Middle East, Ukraine and Sudan.
Guillon’s journey’s end: Terry Guillon has announced his retirement after a decade as the senior lead media advance for the Prime Minister’s Office. Guillon took on the job in 2016 and dealt with logistics at locales around the world to allow the media to report on trips involving Justin Trudeau and Mark Carney.
Guillon, who became head of the Canadian Parliamentary Press Gallery in 1985, figures he travelled to about 100 countries and all of Canada’s provinces and territories during his prime-ministerial assignment. He said in an interview today that he now plans to return to some of those countries to engage with friends he made along the way. He will also find more time for golf.
Asked why he is leaving his job, Guillon said, “It’s been 47 years of doing this, including the gallery, and I am not getting any younger. I turned 66 this year. And I also think it’s time that I get back to spending time with my wife, who has been very patient for all of these years.”
Public Opinion: Angus Reid has released its latest measure of the popularity of premiers. Among its findings is that B.C. Premier David Eby’s approval rating has declined 16 points year over year. Quebec Premier François Legault, who has announced his exit from politics, is at the bottom of the list. Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew is at the top.
Quote of the Day
“Congratulations for shooting this guy. Should have shot him a couple more times as far as I am concerned.” – Ontario Premier Doug Ford, during a news conference today in Township of Wellington North, offers praise to a homeowner in Vaughan, north of Toronto, who shot an intruder.
Question period
On this day in 1892, Frederick Stanley announced the donation of a challenge cup in hockey that would later come to be known as the Stanley Cup. But what was the name of the cup offered by Stanley?
Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter for the answer.
Perspectives
A minority government is best suited to manage Canada in a crisis
What we need at this time is not government by ramrod, but genuine consensus-building. We have some tough decisions to make, it is true. All the more reason to ensure that those on the losing side of these decisions feel they have been heard, their concerns understood, their losses compensated.
— Andrew Coyne, Columnist
Antisemitism has reached alarming levels. Now what?
Yes, this is another column about antisemitism. If you’re wondering, why are they on about this again, have a peek at the news. If you’re grumbling – enough already! – maybe there’s a different question you should ask yourself.
— Marsha Lederman, Columnist
Don Cherry doesn’t fit the Order of Canada profile. But we shouldn’t ignore his legacy
The Conservatives knew what they were doing – well, sort of – when they announced a petition to nominate former hockey commentator Don Cherry to the Order of Canada.
— Robyn Urback, Columnist
Go deeper
- Follow along for our stories on Canada-U.S. relations as news develops
- Get the latest insight and analysis from our political opinion writers
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The answer to today’s question: Stanley, the sixth governor-general of Canada, offered the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup in a message read by his aide at the Rideau Club in Ottawa. According to the Canadian Encyclopedia, Stanley’s message stated, in part: “I have for some time been thinking that it would be a good thing if there were a challenge cup which should be held from year to year by the champion hockey team in the Dominion of Canada." Eventually, it came to be known as the Stanley Cup.