Hello, welcome to Politics Insider. Let’s look at what happened today.
Prime Minister Mark Carney delivered a state of the nation speech today, urging Canadians to pull together to confront the economic challenges ahead while lauding the country as a beacon to a world increasingly tilted toward authoritarianism.
Stephanie Levitz and Robert Fife report that before meeting with his federal cabinet to plan for Monday’s return of Parliament, Carney offered a short history of the country’s progress and his hopes for the future.
He issued a call for national unity in the face of global threats but made no mention of the possible sovereignty referendums in Alberta and Quebec.
“When we are united, unity grows. When we are Canadian – inclusive, fair, ambitious – Canada grows,” he said.
Carney also appeared to respond to a jab by United States President Donald Trump that was directed at a speech the Prime Minister delivered in Davos, Switzerland this week. In that address, the Prime Minister said the rules-based world order had fractured as a result of great powers using economic integration and tariffs as leverage.
In response, Trump said Canada should be grateful to the United States. “Canada lives because of the United States,” the President said.
Carney said in a speech today, “Canada doesn’t live because of the United States. Canada thrives because we are Canadian.”
The speech took place in front of journalists at La Citadelle, a historic military fortress built in the 19th century to secure Quebec City against a potential invasion.
The Prime Minister acknowledged that the Liberal government must act quickly to solve the pressing economic and cost-of-living problems facing the country as a result of Trump’s tariffs.
The Conservative opposition has criticized Carney for his travels in pursuit of trade deals and investments and for talking about rebuilding the country – with little results to show.
“Now we need to execute. Fairly and fast,” Carney said. “We are building one Canadian economy and launching nation-building projects that will connect and transform our country.”
In other news, federal officials have drawn up plans to include a ban on social media for children under the age of 14 in the government’s coming online harms bill.
The proposed legislation is part of a suite of possible measures aimed at protecting young people in the digital space, three sources told The Globe and Mail.
Marie Woolf reports that the proposal follows a social-media ban for young people under 16 that took effect in Australia in December. The move has caused other countries, including Canada and Britain, to consider following the Australian example.
In Canada, there is currently a ban on social-media use by children under the age of 13, though many children circumvent it by pretending they are older.
The proposal to raise the cutoff age to 14 would first need cabinet approval. Ministers are expected to consider the measure as early as next month, according to two of the sources.
They said there have also been discussions between civil servants in government departments in recent weeks about whether a new regulator would be required to police the ban.
Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks at the beginning of a cabinet retreat at the Citadelle in Quebec City on Thursday.Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press
What else is going on
Ottawa open to Chinese investment in Canada’s food processing, manufacturing industries: Agriculture Minister Heath MacDonald says he sees “lots of opportunities” under new trade agreements signed with Beijing for Chinese investment in varied areas.
Chinese carmaker Chery eyes expansion into Canadian EV market: Chinese car company Chery Automobile Co. Ltd. is jockeying to be the first Chinese car company to sell mainstream passenger cars in Canada.
Marineland seeks permits to ship remaining whales and dolphins to U.S.: But the Niagara-region theme park also gave Ottawa an imminent deadline to issue export permits, or it will proceed with its backup plan to kill 30 belugas and four dolphins.
Huge disparities in housing approvals and development fees found across Canadian cities by Senate report: The study by the standing Senate committee on banking, commerce and the economy is calling for federal funding to be contingent on cities proving that they can fast track housing projects and lower builder fees.
A Toronto hospital’s mass-casualty war game puts Canada’s health-care system to the test: Seventy-nine participants, including health care workers, Armed Forces members and government officials gathered to plot out how Canada’s health care system might respond to a conflict abroad that could see an influx of patients sent to this country for treatment.
On our radar
Commons on a Break: The House of Commons will sit for the first time this year on Jan. 26. The Senate sits again on Feb. 3.
Prime Minister’s Day: Mark Carney is in Quebec City for a two-day meeting of his cabinet. He delivered a speech in the afternoon before attending the first day of the meeting.
Party Leaders: In downtown Toronto, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre held a party fundraising event at First Canadian Place. Green Party Leader Elizabeth May met with constituents in her Saanich-Gulf Islands riding and, in the evening, was scheduled to hold a community meeting in Sidney. Interim-NDP Leader Don Davies is in the Nunavut community of Rankin Inlet for a caucus meeting. No schedule released for Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet.
New diplomats arrive: At a ceremony at Rideau Hall, Governor-General Mary Simon accepted the credentials of six new diplomats from El Salvador, Sierra Leone, Panama, the Federated States of Micronesia, Laos and Qatar.
Quote of the Day
“Canada doesn’t live because of the United States. Canada thrives because we are Canadian.” -During a speech in Quebec City today, Prime Minister Mark Carney responds to U.S. President Donald Trump’s assertion this week that “Canada lives because of the United States.”
Question period
Prime Minister Mark Carney delivered a speech today at La Citadelle, a historic military installation in Quebec City. What were the Quebec Conferences, held at La Citadelle, and who were the key attendees?
Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter for the answer.
Perspectives
Canada’s Armed Forces must be freed to fight
Pulling regular soldiers away from their normal duties to work the fire-line is a poor use of resources. Any able-bodied person can fight a fire. Soldiering is a specialized skill. The basic function of a military is fighting. To defend a country requires fighting, or at least the willingness and ability to do so.
— The Globe and Mail Editorial Board
Conservative MP Jamil Jivani is tight with JD Vance. Carney should enlist his help
Before he does, the Prime Minister’s Office should correct its mistake in ignoring him and enlist his help. The Carney team likely declined the offer because it would muddy the waters. They want to speak with one voice in Washington, something they haven’t been able to do given Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s contentious interventions.
— tktk author name
Don’t lose sight of the Americans trapped in the Donald Trump nightmare
The most disturbing sense I got from my American friends is their fear that the vehemence and the violence in the “us-versus-them” attitudes are now permanent. And their greatest fear is ICE. They see Mr. Trump’s people using it as his own private militia, with its own set of laws, above the justice system, answerable only to his loyalists.
— Dick Gordon worked as a reporter for CBC and as a National Public Radio host based in Boston and Chapel Hill, N.C.
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: The meetings on strategy for the Second World War were held in 1943 and 1944 and held at La Citadelle. The key participants were Canadian prime minister Mackenzie King, British prime minister Winston Churchill and U.S. president Franklin Roosevelt.