P.E.I. Premier Dennis King in the House of Commons on Feb. 5, 2020, in Ottawa.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Hello, welcome to Politics Insider. Let’s look at what happened today.
Prince Edward Island Premier Dennis King has announced he will step down as Premier and leader of his party effective noon Friday.
The Progressive Conservative has been Premier of the island province since 2019. He led his party to a second term in 2023.
King, 53, told a news conference in Charlottetown today that the news of his resignation may be shocking to some, but he didn’t want to be a “lifer” in politics.
He also said the challenges of U.S. tariffs and threats to Canadian sovereignty called for someone with more sustained focus than he could provide.
“I knew that I had more runway behind me than I did, perhaps, in front of me,” he said, noting that he had privately ruled out running again.
King was set to succeed Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford as chair of the Council of the Federation assembly of premiers and territorial leaders.
Alto today, federal Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge said the CBC and Radio-Canada should be barred from running ads during news programming.
St-Onge said that, in turn, the government would increase the public broadcaster’s funding and make it more stable.
She also announced that she will not be running in the next election.
Meanwhile, The Globe and Mail reported Thursday that the Liberal Party of Canada sent a list of questions to leadership candidate Ruby Dhalla that raise concerns about possible foreign interference from India and alleged campaign irregularities.
But the party said Thursday that its concerns about her campaign are not related to foreign interference from India.
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What else is going on
Nova Scotia to eliminate interprovincial trade barriers: Premier Tim Houston made the announcement today during a surprise appearance at an Ontario provincial election campaign event with Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford, where Houston called on all provinces and territories to do the same.
Ottawa lists seven criminal organizations as terrorist entities: The move, announced today, is the government’s latest measure to bolster security and policing in response to U.S. criticism.
Canada helping South Africa endure U.S. meetings boycott, Mélanie Joly says: The Foreign Affairs Minister says Canada is working to mobilize support for South Africa at the G20 level after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced this month that he will not attend 20 ministerial meetings, which begin in Johannesburg today.
Loblaw expects U.S. tariff threats to boost sales for in-house brands: Per Bank, the president and CEO of the grocery giant, says customers are seeking to buy more Canadian products.
Alberta’s health authority demanded medical supplier prove it was fulfilling contract: The company had a contract to import millions of doses of pain medication from Turkey. AHS accused it of doing very little work after being paid tens of millions of dollars.
Perspectives
Is the real Pierre Poilievre the one we saw on Flag Day, or the one we’ve known until now?
These and other incidents give rise to an uneasy sense that important norms and conventions are unsafe with Mr. Poilievre; that his ethics, as much as his judgment, are hostages to expedience.
— Andrew Coyne, Columnist
In facing an imperialist neighbour, Ukraine offers a cautionary tale for Canada
Ukraine’s struggle shows the dangers of underestimating authoritarian threats, of relying too much on U.S. protection, and of failing to build strong alliances.
— Lloyd Axworthy, former foreign affairs minister
Canada’s biggest political comeback could well be in the making
If the Liberals were to come from being marooned at 20-plus points behind the Conservatives and in just four months elect a new leader who wins a general election, it would merit that extraordinary distinction.
— Lawrence Martin, Public Affairs Columnist
On our radar
Prime Minister’s Day: Justin Trudeau, in Ottawa, hosted a virtual meeting with provincial and territorial premiers. He was also scheduled to speak with Italy’s Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Pierre Poilievre: The federal Conservative Leader held a news conference in Toronto.
Jagmeet Singh: The federal NDP Leader, in Edmonton, spoke to the political action conference of the Canadian Labour Congress and took media questions.
LeBlanc backs Carney: Federal Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc says he is backing Mark Carney for the leadership of the federal Liberals, noting in an X posting that the former central banker has the experience to steer a G7 economy “through choppy waters.” Meanwhile, leadership candidate Frank Baylis released a platform document in Ottawa, and Karina Gould, also seeking the leadership, held an event in Saskatoon.
Question period
After 42 consecutive years of governing Ontario, the Progressive Conservatives lost power in 1985. The Liberals, under David Peterson, and the NDP, under Bob Rae, teamed up to oust the PCs, with Peterson serving as premier with NDP support . What was the name of the PC leader at the helm as that iteration of PC governance ended?
Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter for the answer.
Go deeper
- Keep track of who’s in the Liberal leadership race to replace Justin Trudeau
- Follow along for our stories on Canada-U.S. relations as news develops
- Like a long read? Check out the fall of Justin Trudeau and the making of Pierre Poilievre
- Take a look at the history of immigration reporting and great political scandals from A Nation’s Paper, a book about The Globe and Mail’s role in Canadian history
Got a news tip that you’d like us to look into? E-mail us at tips@globeandmail.com. Need to share documents securely? Reach out via SecureDrop.
The answer to today’s question: Frank Miller, a veteran cabinet minister under Premier Bill Davis, who served as Ontario’s 19th premier for four months in 1985.