Hello, welcome to Politics Insider. Let’s look at what happened today.
NATO says Canada’s military spending has finally hit the alliance’s target of 2 per cent of gross domestic product, a benchmark set by members years ago.
Steven Chase reports that it’s a long-overdue accomplishment for Canada, which has long lagged the spending goal conceived by members in 2006 and then confirmed in 2014.
The federal government’s fiscal 2025-26 spending represents the first time in roughly 35 years that Canada has devoted 2 per cent of its GDP to defence. The last time Canada reached this rate of military spending was at the end of the Cold War.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization issued a report today on military spending among 32 member countries. It noted Canada is now spending more than $63-billion annually on defence.
The impetus to hit the mark followed shortly after Prime Minister Mark Carney took office in 2025. Canada faced fresh accusations from U.S. President Donald Trump that it was not shouldering enough of the defence burden.
Carney marked the NATO achievement today in Halifax, where he toured a Royal Canadian Navy vessel and made a defence spending announcement.
In other news, Ontario is projecting a larger-than-expected $13.8-billion deficit for the coming fiscal year while again pushing back its plan to balance the books, as the province’s sluggish economy feels the effects of U.S. tariffs.
Jeff Gray and Laura Stone report that Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy delivered a budget today that he says is prudent but still includes spending increases for key priorities, including health care, and new tax breaks for small businesses.
The $13.8-billion deficit the province now anticipates for 2026-27 is $6-billion more than Ontario had projected just last fall.
Ontario also expects to remain $6.1-billion in the red in 2027-28, when it had previously said it expected a surplus that year. The province now says it won’t run a surplus until 2028-29.
And Bill Curry reports that the Procurement Ombud has identified a sweeping failure by the federal government to enforce its own rules in preventing abuse in an Indigenous business contracting program – and says Ottawa is being disingenuous in boasting about how much work it directs to such ventures.
In a report released today, Procurement Ombud Alexander Jeglic said a review of the Procurement Strategy for Indigenous Business found widespread problems with federal oversight of the program, which is meant to benefit Indigenous entrepreneurs.
The PSIB is a 30-year-old program that is part of a broader and more recent federal government pledge to award 5 per cent of federal contracts to Indigenous businesses. Ottawa says this works out to more than $1.6-billion in contract work.
Jeglic criticized “the disingenuousness” of the 5-per-cent figure, which he said is overstated because it includes work that is subcontracted to non-Indigenous companies.
Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks aboard HMCS Margaret Brooke at HMC Dockyard Halifax, where he marked the NATO achievement made a defence spending announcement.Darren Calabrese/The Canadian Press
What else is going on
Ottawa plans $1.7-billion boost in housing transfers to provinces, territories: Bill C-26, the Improving Housing Supply Act tabled in the House of Commons, is a short bill that authorizes a one-time payment of $1.713-billion to increase new housing supply.
Air Canada CEO 'deeply saddened’ his lack of French proficiency has caused distraction: Michael Rousseau apologized in a statement released in both English and French on newswires early today. In other news, the bodies of the two pilots killed in the crash in New York have been brought home to Canada.
B.C. Conservative MLA charged with assault, removed from caucus: The BC Prosecution Service says Hon Chan, the member for Richmond Centre, was charged with assault, assault by choking and uttering threats.
Anti-hate bill that provoked bitter debate over religious freedom passes the Commons: Bill C-9 would make it a crime, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, to obstruct someone from accessing a place of worship or other sites where Jews, Muslims and other identifiable groups gather.
Tumbler Ridge shooting victim’s mother says UFC boss offering to fund care: Cia Edmonds, the mother of 12-year-old Maya Gebala, said in a social-media post that Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White has offered to pay for Maya to be treated at a “top-tier” hospital in Los Angeles with an “extensive brain trauma clinic and more resources.”
On our radar
Prime Minister’s Day: In Halifax, Mark Carney toured a Royal Canadian Navy vessel and later announced measures to strengthen the Canadian Armed Forces. He also visited an aerospace and defence manufacturing facility. Carney’s office also said the Prime Minister participated as a special invitee in a a virtual meeting of the Joint Expeditionary Force, a coalition of 10 like-minded countries, hosted by Finnish President Alexander Stubb, alongside leaders from Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Britain, as well as a representative from Denmark. The discussion involved the evolving security environment in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic. In the evening, Carney attended a Liberal fundraising event.
Party Leaders: In Thornhill, north of Toronto, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre attended a party fundraising event. In Ottawa, Green Party Leader Elizabeth May attended the House of Commons, and later spoke at a Global Sumud Canada press conference. She also attended a luncheon reception hosted by the Aga Khan and, later, a retirement ceremony for Parks Canada president and CEO Ron Hallman. No schedule released for other leaders.
Ministers on the Road: In Cameroon’s capital, Yaoundé, International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu was at the 14th World Trade Organization ministerial conference, where he hosted an Africa business roundtable with senior executives.
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand is in Paris and was headed for Vaux-de-Cernay outside the French capital to attend a G7 foreign ministers’ meeting.
In Toronto, Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty announced $738.9-million in funding for health services, governance and emergency management for First Nations across Canada.
B.C. Deputy Premier in Ottawa: Niki Sharma, the B.C. Attorney-General and the province’s Deputy Premier, was in the national capital on a two-day visit that ended today to meet with several federal ministers, largely on the issue of online harms. “As somebody that’s from B.C., what we are finding is being in person and advocating for things that are important to us makes a difference,” Sharma said.
Of interest was the federal government legislating and regulating platforms, including AI chatbots, a point of particular interest for the province given the tragedy in Tumbler Ridge. “The key point is, especially when it comes to children and safety, that there needs to be a standard set, whether it’s a ban, an age-related ban on social media and platforms, that it can’t be voluntary. It has to be legislative.” She said B.C. would be interested in showing support and advocating, depending on what’s in the legislation. Sharma said she met with Justice Minister Sean Fraser, Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon and Canadian Identity Minister Marc Miller. (She also met with Rechie Valdez, the minister of women and gender equality and secretary of state for small business and tourism.)
Bravery decorations presented by the GG: Mary Simon presented 31 Decorations for Bravery during a ceremony at Rideau Hall. The stories of the recipients are here.
Public Opinion on Poilievre/Rogan: Abacus Data has polled Canadians on Pierre Poilievre’s appearance last week on Joe Rogan’s podcast. Among the findings, 56 per cent of respondents say they were aware that Poilievre did the interview. About 16 per cent said they watched or listened to at least some of it.
Quote of the Day
“They know better, and this has been an important incident inasmuch as people have recoiled from its lack of sensitivity, especially given that one of the two victims is a francophone.” – Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon, also the government house leader, responds to the controversy over Air Canada’s CEO during a news conference ahead of Question Period.
Question period
How much did the Canadian government pay for Rideau Hall, the residence of the Governor-General?
Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter for the answer.
Perspectives
Lots of other countries have charters of rights. None has anything like the notwithstanding clause
The Supreme Court spent most of this week hearing oral arguments in what is widely known as the Bill 21 case, after the infamous Quebec law banning the wearing of religious symbols in much of the public sector – effectively a hiring bar on observant members of certain religious minorities. Only it isn’t really Bill 21 that is at issue.
— Andrew Coyne, Columnist
B.C. is becoming a wolf in sheep’s clothing on Indigenous rights
Land rights – who owns what and who is entitled to what – is a topic of intense conversation in B.C. right now, and the outcomes are being watched around Canada. But the principles of UNDRIP and DRIPA do not equate to land grabs.
— Tanya Talaga, Columnist
Lytton burned down five years ago. Its rebuild has been a disaster, too
Taxpayers in B.C. will likely never know what happened to millions of dollars sent to Lytton for its rebuild. For the NDP government, which is piling up debt at historic rates, this isn’t likely a huge concern.
— Gary Mason, National Affairs Columnist
Go deeper
- Follow along for our stories on Canada-U.S. relations as news develops
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The answer to today’s question: $82,000 in 1868. It was initially built in 1838 by stonemason and contractor Thomas MacKay. The property has been expanded over the years. Charles Stanley Monck, a native of Ireland and member of Britain’s House of Commons, was Canada’s first governor-general, and the first to live there.