Hello, welcome to Politics Insider. Let’s look at what happened today.
Prime Minister Mark Carney says there will come a time to ask important questions and have difficult conversations about the mass shooting in the B.C. community of Tumbler Ridge.
“But today, however, is for grieving and remembrance,” Carney told the House of Commons as party leaders delivered remarks on the tragedy that has left nine people dead.
“Today is for the people of Tumbler Ridge and the Peace River region – for a community enduring the unimaginable.”
MPs rose to applaud each of the party leaders who spoke about Tuesday’s events, followed by a moment of silence and an early end to Commons business.
Official Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre said children who should have been thinking about homework and hockey were instead thrown into terror, grief and unbearable uncertainty.
He spoke of the nightmare experienced by parents at the loss of their children.
“As a father, I can only imagine the phone call or visit that brought the news, the panic, the helplessness, the heartache that followed. No parent should ever have to fear that their child will not return home from school,” he said. “No parent should ever bury their own child.”
He said his party would do everything it could, working with the federal and B.C. government to support the residents of Tumbler Ridge.
Other party leaders spoke to the tragedy. Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet said Quebec and British Columbia have never been closer than today. “All Quebeckers who have a child at school today are with British Columbia,” Blanchet told the Commons.
“Everybody is asking today, `What kind of world do we live in?’”
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May and Interim-NDP Leader Don Davies also spoke on the tragedy
Speaker Francis Scarpaleggia said members of the Commons were united in their shock, sorrow and thoughts for the people of Tumbler Ridge, and those impacted by the violence.
“We struggle to find the right words because there are none. Nothing we say here today can change the events of yesterday. We can only hope that our words will, in some small way, lessen the burden of sorrow of those who have lost their loved ones,” he told MPs.
The Prime Ministers Office said Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree and Housing Minister Gregor Robertson, a former Vancouver mayor, were travelling to Tumbler Ridge to offer assistance.
In the wake of the incident, Carney cancelled a planned trip to Germany this week for the Munich Security Conference.
The PMO said that Defence Minister David McGuinty, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand and Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon would travel to Munich Carney’s behalf to advance key government security priorities.
Carney said he has asked for the flags on Parliament Hill to be lowered to half-mast for the next week.
“We will get through this, we’ll learn from this, but right now, it’s a time to come together – as Canadians always do – in these situations, these terrible situations, to support each other, to mourn together and to grow together,” Carney told reporters as he arrived at the Commons today.
Live updates on the aftermath of the shooting are being posted here.
Prime Minister Mark Carney observes a moment of silence with Members of Parliament in the House of Commons on Wednesday.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
What else is going on
The Bank of Canada says path for interest rates hard to predict: The bank’s governing council says it’s difficult to see where interest rates are headed as it faces increased risks to its economic outlook because of geopolitical turbulence and trade uncertainty.
NATO’s new Arctic Sentry protective mission should be permanent, Anand says: Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand sees the mission as part of a greater focus on the North for the Western alliance.
Auto thefts fell 18 per cent last year, report finds: But there were still almost 47,000 such thefts reported and more than a third of those were never recovered, says a new report by Équité Association.
Federal `axe the fax’ e-prescription service built with Telus Health to shutter: The end for PrescribeIT comes after more than a quarter of a billion dollars was spent on the initiative.
Government in talks with Conservatives to amend budget bill: The Conservatives’ acknowledgment that they are willing to back the budget bill highlights the rapidly changing dynamic of the minority Parliament as talk of a potential election hangs in the air.
Those fleeing Venezuela struggle to find a legal pathway to Canada: For the past decade, Ottawa has assumed a muscular position on Venezuela’s ruling government. But that hasn’t always been matched by concrete support for those trying to flee.
On our radar
Prime Minister’s Day: In Ottawa, Mark Carney attended the regular Liberal caucus meeting. In light of the events in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., the Prime Minister cancelled plans to travel to Halifax for a defence announcement then Germany for the Munich Security Conference.
Party Leaders: Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet, and other party leaders, delivered remarks on events in Tumbler Ridge in the House of Commons. Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre attended his party’s caucus meeting. Green Party Leader Elizabeth May and NDP Interim Leader Don Davies participated in a news conference to mark National Kindness Week.
Quotes of the Day
“This morning parents, grandparents, sisters, brothers in Tumbler Ridge will wake up without someone they love – the nation mourns with them, Canada stands by them.” – Prime Minister Mark Carney, arriving for today’s Liberal caucus meeting.
“As a father, I can’t even imagine the phone calls that parents might have received. I can’t imagine heartache and hell that they are living through at this moment. This is a time for all Canadians to unite, to support the families and the community at large.” -Official Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre, arriving for today’s Conservative caucus meeting
Question Period
Mark Carney was scheduled to attend the Munich Security Conference in Germany this week. His trip has been cancelled given events in Tumbler Ridge. Which prominent European politician is the incoming chair of the venerable conference, which was first held in the fall of 1963?
Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter for the answer.
Perspectives
Trump’s threat to sign a bilateral deal with Mexico is so 2018
Unfortunately, the Trump show is turning into a mini-series starring an over-exposed reality TV star.
— Rita Trichur, senior business writer and columnist
Some thank yous for helping us through a day of horror
It is impossible to comprehend what happened in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., on Tuesday. Even with some information confirmed, an inability to grasp what has transpired remains. Nine people dead, most of them children, most of them found in the high school library.
— Marsha Lederman, Columnist
Why Canada should have a mixed fleet of fighter jets
In short, if intelligently deployed, a mixed fleet can be a force multiplier. An RCAF fleet of some 30 to 40 F-35s dedicated to the NORAD mission and 70 to 80 Gripens supporting Arctic defence in Canada and also dedicated to NATO, might cost more to operate than an all-F-35 fleet. But that is not at all certain given the difference in flying costs.
— Peter Jones is a professor in the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa.
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: Former Norwegian prime minister Jens Stoltenberg, now that country’s Finance Minister. Stoltenberg was also the secretary general of NATO from 2014 to 2024.