Hello, welcome to Politics Insider. Let’s look at what happened today.
Quebec Premier François Legault says opinion is changing in Quebec, where there’s traditionally been significant opposition to oil and gas pipelines.
The current crisis in relations between Canada and U.S President Donald Trump’s administration has triggered a national debate about building new pipelines across the country to send more oil and natural gas to overseas markets. There has been resistance in Quebec to any new lines crossing provincial territory.
Legault, speaking at a meeting of premiers with Prime Minister Mark Carney Friday in Ottawa, said he knows other provinces want to talk about building more pipelines.
“We’re open to these kind of projects,” he told reporters. He said Quebec has always maintained that a prerequisite for new pipelines that cross its territory must obtain “social acceptance from Quebec population.”
Meanwhile, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said his phone call this week with federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre was the first time the two of them had ever spoken.
But both men said today that the call did not involve a request for Ford to help out Poilievre’s campaign.
Prime Minister Mark Carney, front left, walks alongside François Legault, Premier of Quebec, as they are joined by first ministers and members of the federal government at the National War Museum in Ottawa on March 21.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
This is the daily Politics Insider newsletter, written by Ian Bailey. It is available exclusively to our digital subscribers. You can sign up for more than 20 other newsletter on our signup page.
What else is going on
Mark Carney confirms Liberals will drop planned capital gains tax change: The Prime Minister’s Office says a plan to hike the inclusion rate on capital gains, first pitched in the federal budget last year, will not move forward.
Liberals revoke Arya’s nomination, after removing him from leadership race: Chandra Arya 62, had already been nominated in Ottawa’s Nepean seat, a riding he has represented since 2015.
New Brunswick Premier proposes ‘free-trade zone’ in Atlantic Canada: In a letter to the three other Atlantic premiers, Susan Holt said she wants the East Coast to “work freely and seamlessly within one Atlantic market.”
Pierre Poilievre outlines plan to boost apprenticeships, training for trades workers: Speaking at a news conference in Ottawa today, the federal Conservative Leader said his plan for “more boots, less suits” will expand training halls and provide direct grants and faster access to employment insurance for apprentices in licensed trades.
Inside Biblioasis and Mark Bourrie’s mad rush to get a Pierre Poilievre bio on shelves: After just nine months of gestation, Mark Bourrie’s 437-page book Ripper: The Making of Pierre Poilievre are back from the printer and hitting shelves in Ontario this week, nearly a month ahead of its originally planned April release.
Perspectives
Mark Carney turns the page on Justin Trudeau’s postnational Canada
It may have been just a coincidence that Prime Minister Mark Carney named a new Minister of Canadian Culture and Identity the same week that Hudson’s Bay Co. went belly-up. But such synchronicity does move one to ponder the very meaning of Canada, does it not?
— Konrad Yakabuski, Columnist
Canada needs to develop its own nuclear program
Canada is an enormous territory, and we have at the moment about 65,000 active duty troops. What once was a ludicrous idea is becoming an important question: Should Canada explore developing nuclear weapons?
— Jean-François Bélanger, assistant professor of Military Operations at the Royal Danish Defense College.
Can Canada-U.S. defence ties survive Trump?
Perhaps more resistance to Mr. Trump’s plans will emerge as the economic downsides of tariffs begin to bite the American public, but it is disturbing that many political leaders in the United States have been unwilling to categorically declare that annexing Canada is just wrong.
— Peter Jones is a professor at the University of Ottawa. Philippe Lagassé is an associate professor at Carleton University and the Barton Chair at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs.
On our radar
- Prime Minister’s Day: In Ottawa, Mark Carney met virtually with leaders of national Indigenous organizations and, in the afternoon, chaired a meeting of the first ministers.
- Party Leaders: Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet delivered a speech in the Montreal suburb of Mont-Saint-Hilaire on Quebec’s economic future, given the threat of tariffs. In Ottawa, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre held a news conference. Green Party Leader Elizabeth May travelled from Kitchener to Ottawa. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh attended the convention of the Ontario School Board Council of Unions in Ottawa.
- Duncan exits: Liberal MP Kirsty Duncan, a former sport minister, has announced that she will not run again in the Etobicoke-North seat she has held since 2008. “Serving you has been the greatest honour of my life,” Duncan said in a letter to constituents, published on X today. Duncan has been on a medical leave since 2023 as she deals with cancer.
Question Period
When was the first televised leaders’ debate for a national election in Canada? Bonus point: Who were the participants?
Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter for the answer.
Go deeper
- A federal election will take place in the coming months. Follow for updates.
- 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: That groundbreaking debate was held on June 9, 1968. Participating were Liberal leader and prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Robert Stanfield, the leader of the Progressive Conservatives, as well as NDP leader Tommy Douglas and Réal Caouette, leader of the Ralliement créditiste party.