Ottawa police near Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Sunday.Spencer Colby/The Globe and Mail
Good morning. King Charles III will open Parliament tomorrow. The royal visit will of course feature pomp and pageantry, but Canada’s eyes are on the economic agenda. More on that below, but first, a look at today’s biggest news:
In the news
Canada Post: Talks between Canada Post and union negotiators are expected to resume over the next few days, its union said Sunday. The union has issued a national ban on overtime work as talks drag on.
Telecoms: Slowing growth and higher interest rates are among factors that have pushed up debt ratios to uncomfortable levels at Canada’s four giants.
Banking: TD’s new CEO Raymond Chun faces the mountainous task of rebuilding trust. Can he make peace with investors, employees and regulators?
Resources: President Donald Trump wants the U.S. to dominate uranium production. What does that mean for Canada’s miners?
On our radar
If you sought treatment for mental health, you could struggle to get life insurance.
- The wrap: Experts say that if someone has been prescribed medication or received counselling for mental-health issues they could be denied privately purchased life insurance coverage.
- The stat: More than five million Canadians aged 15 and older suffer from a mood disorder, anxiety, or substance-use disorder, according to Statistics Canada’s 2022 data.
- The options: Speaking to multiple potential insurers is key, and it requires planning. Even one denial stays on an applicant’s record, so consider applying for a simplified plan or guaranteed life insurance.
Also read: Inside the $2-million loophole that lets corporations own pharmacies in Ontario.
Ottawa Police Service cruisers are seen near Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on May 25, 2025.Spencer Colby/The Globe and Mail
In focus
Ottawa prepares for royal business
Hi, I’m Nojoud Al Mallees, an economics reporter in The Globe’s Ottawa bureau.
King Charles is set to open Parliament tomorrow with a Throne Speech that lays out the federal government’s priorities under PM Carney.
The historic visit will mark the first time a monarch has opened the Canadian Parliament in nearly 50 years and comes during a period of strained relations with the United States as well as heightened economic uncertainty.
Much of the speech is expected to focus on the economic agenda Carney ran on in the federal election campaign, which he echoed in a mandate letter for his government released last week.
That agenda includes establishing a new economic and security relationship with the U.S., while simultaneously building stronger economic ties with other allies. Here at home, Carney has promised to knock down interprovincial trade barriers and support the construction of more energy and infrastructure projects.
And then there’s the government’s ambitious goal of doubling homebuilding, its pledge to find savings in its own operations and its plan to increase defence spending.
There’s no doubt that Carney has set out ambitious goals for his government, and the royal visit will likely draw more eyes to the reopening of Parliament. But Canadians still have few details on how he will accomplish his agenda and there are already signs it may take longer than promised.
Parliament is expected to sit for only three weeks before breaking for the summer and the federal government won’t release a budget until the fall. In the meantime, Carney has said his government will table legislation to cut the tax rate for the lowest income bracket to deliver immediate help with the cost of living.
The Prime Minister is also scheduled to meet with premiers on June 2 in Saskatoon to discuss the list of infrastructure projects provinces want to advance, as well as efforts to reduce interprovincial trade barriers.
But what kind of projects and how many of them will the federal government support? How much will they cost? How will those projects be selected? Those are some of the questions on my mind.
On the international front, it’s unclear what comes next in Canada’s relationship with its southern neighbour, or when businesses may see tariff relief. The G7 finance ministers’ meeting concluded last week with little news on the trade front. (In fact, trade was only mentioned once in the officials’ communiqué.)
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said he gets along great with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, but there was no word on next steps to cool trade tensions.
So Tuesday will set the tone and expectations for the next Parliament. But as Carney has said himself, Canadians will judge his government based on results.
Read more
- First Nations leaders to urge King Charles to protect treaty rights
- You said: Readers shared their thoughts on the royal visit
- Shannon Proudfoot said: The King’s visit is a Commonwealth flex with an audience of one
Elsewhere in Ottawa
Yesterday was the Liberal‘s first caucus meeting. Ahead of it, Carney addressed MPs, pledging the government will be guided by new fiscal discipline including measures to cut personal income taxes and the GST on housing, and to speed up “projects of national interest.”
But with a minority government, some worry about Carney’s ability to keep his campaign promises.
At the meeting, Liberal MPs voted against having the power to oust Carney as leader despite months of internal frustrations last year that they couldn’t kick out Justin Trudeau.
Charted
Pandora’s block
As B.C. became the epicentre of a nationwide opioid crisis, fentanyl brought misery to Pandora Avenue in Victoria. About a third of the storefronts are shuttered. In the past decade, the area has morphed into one of the largest open-air drug markets in Western Canada. Civic leaders warn it could get worse.
Bookmarked
On our reading list
IYKYK: Stop overpaying on overseas purchases with a no-foreign exchange credit card.
FWIW: Rare tobacco tin goes for $55,000 at Ontario auction, five times what it had been estimated to bring.
ICYMI: A Chinese billionaire mall owner in B.C. won the bidding for up to 28 Hudson’s Bay store leases.
Morning update
Global markets rose after U.S. President Donald Trump extended his threatened deadline for 50-per-cent tariffs on EU goods, marking a temporary reprieve in his erratic trade policy.
Wall Street and TSX futures were higher.
Trading is expected to be thin with markets in the United States and Britain closed due to public holidays.
Brent crude July futures lost 16 US cents to US$64.62 a barrel while U.S. West Texas Intermediate lost 0.19 US cents at US$61.34 a barrel.
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.98 per cent in midday trading. Germany’s DAX rose 1.62 per cent and France’s CAC 40 increased 1.12 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 1 per cent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1.35 per cent.
The Canadian dollar traded at 72.91 US cents.