Hello, welcome to Politics Insider. Let’s look at what happened today.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said she and David Eby share “common ground” on plans to further expand the Trans Mountain pipeline and pledged to keep the B.C. Premier in the loop as she prepares to release a new pipeline proposal in June.
Smith made the comments after meeting with Eby and Prime Minister Mark Carney Wednesday on Parliament Hill.
The meeting took place as all of the premiers huddled throughout the day in a downtown Ottawa hotel.
Carney is hosting a first ministers’ dinner this evening and will meet the premiers again on Thursday.
Smith said her province and B.C. share “a lot of common ground,” pointing to the development of LNG, further integration of their electricity markets and the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline.
“And we’ve got some work to do, of course, and consulting with First Nations, but we’ve pledged to keep the Premier in the loop as those conversations go on,” she said.
Smith said Alberta will have further details about plans for the pipeline later this year.
“As I mentioned, we’re going to have our project in in June, and so, there’ll be a little bit more clarity about what the route is. And I think that that will go a long way toward getting the support from First Nations, which I think is really important, not only to [Eby], but it’s also very important for the country, that First Nations have an ownership stake,” she said.
Eby later described the tone of the meeting as very civil and “borderline friendly,” even though he maintains that a new pipeline to Northern B.C. would create environmental risks and compromise relations with First Nations that are currently working with B.C. on other resource projects.
“I am not engaging in negotiations about this pipeline project proposal from Alberta. It is their responsibility. It’s their baby,” he said. “They understand my concern.”
The Globe’s Bill Curry and Ian Bailey have more on this story here.
As well, Ottawa and Seoul have signed a memorandum of understanding intended to bring South Korean auto sector manufacturing and investment to Canada, according to a document reviewed by The Globe and Mail.
The MOU stems from the Asian country’s campaign to win a multibillion-dollar contract to build up to 12 submarines for the Royal Canadian Navy.
Industry Minister Mélanie Joly and her counterpart, Kim Jung-kwan, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, signed the memorandum this week as a government delegation from South Korea visits Canada to talk about the submarine bid. The ceremony took place Tuesday, a government official said.
The Globe is not naming the official because they were not authorized to speak on the matter.
Senior parliamentary reporter Steven Chase has more here.
British Columbia Premier David Eby and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith meet in Ottawa on Wednesday.Patrick Doyle/Reuters
What else is going on
Former B.C. chief electoral officer tapped to head Foreign Influence Transparency Registry: Anton Boegman’s selection, which is being run past the opposition parties for informal approval, comes more than a year after the previous Liberal government promised to name an independent commissioner to lead the registry.
India no longer views Canada as “younger brother” of U.S., envoy says: Dinesh Patnaik, the Indian high commissioner to Canada, says that in India’s view Prime Minister Mark Carney has been carving out a more independent role for Canada, including with his much-lauded Jan. 20 speech at the World Economic Forum.
Ottawa in talks with Meta about restoring news to Facebook: The possibility comes as the Online News Act – which prompted the tech giant Meta to end access to journalism on its platforms – is put on the table as part of trade negotiations with the United States.
Vancouver mogul Jim Pattison’s company under fire for proposed sale of U.S. property to ICE: The proposed sale has sparked opposition on both sides of the border as the U.S. federal agency faces intensifying scrutiny for its aggressive enforcement tactics and what critics describe as a growing culture of impunity.
Nearly half of members of Women Veterans Council quit: The veterans, all retired members of the Canadian Armed Forces, decided to tender their resignations after a meeting earlier this month with Veterans Affairs Minister Jill McKnight.
On our radar
Prime Minister’s Day: Mark Carney attended the Liberal caucus meeting. With premiers in Ottawa for a Council of the Federation meeting, he then met with B.C. Premier David Eby, and later with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Eby. Carney also met with Yukon Premier Currie Dixon. In the evening, he hosted a First Ministers’ working dinner ahead of a Thursday First Ministers’ meeting.
Party Leaders: In Ottawa, Green Party Leader Elizabeth May attended Parliament in person, and also attended a vigil for Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse who was shot dead in Minneapolis by U.S. Border Patrol agents. The vigil was organized by the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario in a park across from the U.S. Embassy. Interim NDP leader Don Davies held a news conference with his caucus on the party’s priorities for the spring session.
Ministers on the Road: In India, Energy Minister Tim Hodgson is visiting Goa and New Delhi.
Quote of the Day
"NATO’s focus must also be on the North and the North Atlantic, and Canada will continue to stress the importance of NATO’s gaze northward as well as eastward." - Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand, speaking today at the Nordic-Canadian Arctic Symposium.
Question period
Forty-six years ago this week, the Canadian government and the CIA facilitated the exit, from Iran, of American diplomats who escaped the seizure of the U.S. embassy in Tehran after the Iranian revolution. Aspects of the situation were covered in the Oscar-winning, 2012 film Argo. How many U.S. diplomats were spirited out of Iran as part of this effort?
Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter for the answer.
Perspectives
Carney has solidified the Liberal base, but he hasn’t expanded it
This may be Mr. Carney’s chief contribution to the Liberal cause. For all his personal popularity, he has not yet succeeded in making inroads among traditional Conservative voters. Rather he has allowed the Liberals to hold onto their own supporters. He has solidified the base, rather than expanding it.
— Andrew Coyne, Columnist
In Minneapolis, Native Americans show how community care is done
Ms. Vizenor described a city under siege, where anyone who isn’t white is particularly at risk of being targeted by ICE. She told me about how she doesn’t know what to say when her three kids ask her why people are being taken away or killed on the streets, like Alex Pretti, the Minneapolis nurse who was shot to death on Saturday.
— Tanya Talaga, Columnist
An old idea for North American trade would be bad for Canada
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer is reputed to have the toughest job in Washington: translating President Donald Trump’s often incoherent views on trade into coherent policy.
— Drew Fagan is a professor at the University of Toronto and visiting professor at Yale University
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: Six. There’s a Global Affairs account of the escape here.