Hello, welcome to Politics Insider. Let’s look at what happened today.
A Supreme Court of Canada ruling today allows a prime minister with a majority government in Parliament to curtail the free speech of MPs and senators in narrow circumstances.
David Ebner reports that the 8-1 decision released today focused on a constitutional challenge launched eight years ago in the lower courts by one Lakehead University law professor.
In 2017, the federal government created a special committee of Parliamentarians with top-secret clearance to review national security and intelligence operations.
It reports to the prime minister. But it included a compromise: Committee members cannot reveal what they learned to their colleagues in Parliament unless they are authorized by the prime minister.
This was considered an abrogation of the centuries-old right of MPs and senators to speak freely in Parliament, without fear of any legal consequences. That right is a fundamental pillar of Canada’s democracy. But the security committee law meant that revealing secrets in Parliament – even those in the obvious public interest – could lead to the arrest and jailing of MPs or senators.
Prof. Ryan Alford at Lakehead in Thunder Bay, Ont., took the federal government to court in 2018. He argued there is an absolute right of free speech in Parliament imbued in the Constitution. He won at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in 2022 but lost in 2024 at the Ontario Court of Appeal.
Today, Justice Malcolm Rowe, writing on behalf of the 8-1 majority that included Chief Justice Richard Wagner, stated that the Constitution allows Parliament and provincial legislatures to define their privileges.
This includes imposing some limits on free speech in arenas such as the House of Commons. This means a prime minister with a majority government can set the rules.
In other news, the federal government plans to quadruple to $1-million the maximum fine for airlines that repeatedly violate passengers’ rights.
Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon said today that fining airlines is a last resort but the current system isn’t working.
The Canadian Transportation Agency, which handles passenger complaints, is facing a backlog of more than 97,000 cases.
The agency ordered $1.4-million in fines last year to airlines that violated the air passenger protection regulations.
The Supreme Court of Canada building in Ottawa in 2022.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
What else is going on
Carney says Canada won’t ‘leverage’ energy or critical minerals in U.S. trade talks: In an interview with The Canadian Press, Prime Minister Mark Carney rejected the notion that Canada might use energy or critical minerals as “leverage” in coming trade talks with U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.
Elections Alberta says provincial law change slowed probe into alleged misuse of personal data: Premier Danielle Smith’s government last year raised the threshold for Elections Alberta to launch investigations, imposing a standard that the watchdog says prohibited it from probing an early tip about the alleged misuse of personal information for 2.9 million residents.
Chinese envoy warns Canada against sending MPs to Taiwan or warships through Taiwan Strait: The new “strategic partnership” that Prime Minister Mark Carney struck with China this year would be damaged if Ottawa sends more military vessels through the Taiwan Strait or if Canadian parliamentarians keep meeting with officials in Taiwan, Beijing’s envoy says.
Russia is targeting Canada with disinformation, Senate report warns: The Senate committee on national security studied the impact of Russia’s disinformation on Canada and found that Moscow is deliberately disseminating false information in attempts to push pro-Russian narratives to Western audiences, particularly to justify its war in Ukraine.
Indigenous leaders say they’re an afterthought in Ottawa’s new sovereign wealth fund: The federal government has to engage with First Nations on the country’s new sovereign wealth fund before any investments are made, the Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak says.
Health Canada approves generic Ozempic from country’s largest drug maker: Apotex Inc., Canada’s largest drug manufacturer, has won Health Canada approval to sell a generic form of the blockbuster Ozempic.
FIFA congress in Vancouver exposes rifts weeks before Canada hosts World Cup: The 76th annual gathering convened all but one of FIFA’s 211 member associations to vote on key issues and shape the future of the sport.
On our radar
Prime Minister’s Day: Mark Carney had no public events today.
However, Carney’s office said the Prime Minister spoke with Argentina’s President Javier Milei about such issues as talks toward a free-trade agreement between Canada and Mercosur, the trade bloc collectively representing the world’s fifth-largest economy, and the FIFA World Cup.
On Saturday, Carney is travelling to the Armenian capital of Yerevan for the European Political Community Summit at the invitation of the European Council President António Costa and Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. His trip ends Monday.
Party Leaders:
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May attended the House of Commons and asked a question during Question Period.
No schedules provided for other party leaders.
Ministers on the Road:
In Toronto, Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Rebecca Alty delivered remarks at the First Nations Major Projects Coalition Conference.
In Oshawa, Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree, with, among others, Oshawa Mayor Dan Carter, highlighted skills training measures in the federal government’s spring economic update.
In Winnipeg, Northern and Arctic Affairs Minister Rebecca Chartrand highlighted skills training programs for young people in the spring economic update.
In Edmonton, Emergency Management Minister Eleanor Olszewski discussed skills-trades training and apprenticeship systems provisions of the federal government’s spring economic update.
In Vancouver, Housing Minister Gregor Robertson announced a federal investment of up to $9.8 million to support the planning, design and pre-construction of Canada Soccer’s planned national training centre.
Downtown Ottawa high-speed rail station: Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon says he is not ruling out a new downtown train station for the nation’s capital as part of the high-speed rail project. There has been talk about the city’s former downtown station, now the home of the Senate, returning to its rail role.
But MacKinnon told a news conference in Ottawa today that the building faces geotechnical challenges, including its proximity to the historic Rideau Canal. He recalled a 2016 incident with a sinkhole on nearby Rideau Street during the construction of the city’s LRT line.
“The geology of that area can be very problematic,” he said. He noted that Ottawa has an existing station, opened in the 1960s, about four kilometres from downtown. “I would not rule out exploring other sites closer to downtown or more convenient. We’ll be taking a look at that. We’re a little while away from a decision at this point,” he said.
CSIS Report: Canada’s spy agency, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, has released its 2025 report on Canada’s current national security environment and the impact of the demands on CSIS.
Quote of the Day
“We cannot have an immigration system that swings between excesses and that’s what it’s starting to look like and I know that the Prime Minister understands this and I need his immigration minister to be delivering actions that are going to benefit British Columbians.” – B.C. Premier David Eby, during a news conference in Burnaby today, raises concerns about the national immigration system.
Question period
Fifteen years ago this weekend, the federal Conservatives won a majority in that year’s election with 167 seats. The election also sent the youngest MP in Canadian history to the Commons. Who was he and old was he?
Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter for the answer.
Perspectives
Antisemitism is quantifiably bad in Canada. Are Canadians just going to accept that?
“Do we want Canada to be the nation that succumbed to the forces of hate and abandoned its Jewish community in their time of need?” writes B’nai Brith Canada’s Richard Robertson. “Is that the narrative that we want to symbolize this chapter of our collective history?”
— Marsha Lederman, Columnist
Canada should back away from carbon capture and storage and focus on infrastructure like pipelines
Canadians still care about climate change and we want to do our part. The CCUS project could still be an important project for Canada in time, but not right now.
— Martha Hall Findlay is director of the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy and holds the Palmer Chair in Public Policy.
How selling off Canada’s airports could build tens of billions of dollars of public transit
The world’s largest pools of patient capital, including Canadian pension funds, have taken ownership stakes in airports around the world. Just not in Canada. It’s not an option here. Our airports are publicly owned, mostly by Ottawa.
— Tony Keller, Columnist
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
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: Pierre-Luc Dusseault, elected as a New Democrat from Sherbrooke in Quebec, was 19. He was defeated by a Liberal in the 2019 election.