Good evening readers,

What a difference a Parliament makes.

At the tail end of the 44th Parliament, the Conservatives were aggressively attacking the NDP for propping up the minority Trudeau government, and calling for a “carbon tax” election.

Fast-forward some 16-20 months and suddenly everyone wants to be seen as cooperating.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says he wants to help this government break the logjam in Parliament to pass legislation to cut costs for Canadians and strengthen bail laws.

Prime Minister Mark Carney says he also wants to work together but the Conservatives should get on board with his government’s budget implementation bill, and stop holding back its anti-hate bill, which the Conservatives have filibustered over an amendment that removes the religious beliefs exemption for the crime of inciting hate.

The two men met today at West Block and that cooperation was certainly the word of the day.

In a statement distributed to media, the Conservatives described it as a “good meeting” and said Poilievre pushed the prime minister to “introduce fast-track policies for an affordable, safe and self-reliant Canada” and lower taxes.

Carney said in a post on X about the meeting that it’s “an important time to be working together, and to pass the legislation Canadians are counting on.”

Marco Vigliotti reports.

Jamil Jivani is heading south.

The Conservative MP said he’d head to Washington to help out in Canada’s trade stalemate.

After all, he’s pals with Vice President JD Vance.

But PM Carney is doubting Mr. Jivani’s altruism.

When asked about the Bowmanville-Oshawa North MP’s trip to the U.S. capital to meet with political and business figures, the PM pointed out that Jivani is neither the minister of international trade nor the Conservative trade critic.

Carney said Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc did brief the Conservative MP before his departure.

When asked why he believed Jivani was making the trip, Carney suggested it may have to do with the possibly of attracting media attention.

“I think it might have something to do with all of you,” he said, referring to the assembled reporters at West Block.

The Canadian Press has this one.

Bye-bye EV sales mandate, we hardly knew you.

And that’s kind of true.

The never implemented mandate was suspended last fall.

But the Canadian Press reports that it will finally be put out to pasture soon, and instead, the government will put in place new vehicle emissions standards and revive consumer rebates for EV purchases.

Government and industry sources also say Ottawa will also launch a $1.5 billion EV infrastructure fund.

The auto industry was never a fan of the policy, arguing the Liberals’ target of having EVs account for at least 20 per cent of sales across Canada this year — a target which would have increased to 100 per cent by 2035 — wasn’t realistic.

Maybe Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston should head to Washington to nab us a deal.

After all, he was in Boston on Wednesday to sign an agreement with the state of Massachusetts that could see Canadian offshore wind power supply the New England electricity grid. 

Houston and Gov. Maura Healey reached a memorandum of understanding committing the two governments to work together on developing their respective offshore wind sectors. 

The agreement spells out how both parties will collaborate by sharing knowledge and expertise. 

It also states they will explore opportunities for coordination on transmission planning and grid integration. 

The idea is that offshore wind energy from Nova Scotia could eventually help power New England’s grid. 

Aya Dufour has this one.

Back in Ottawa, the federal Liberals are brushing off Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s threat to withhold funding to support new judicial appointments if Ottawa doesn’t give the province a say on who is picked.

In a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney made public Tuesday, Smith says the appointment process for judges needs reform and called for the creation of a joint committee to make recommendations to fill vacancies in her province.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Justice Minister Sean Fraser said no changes were forthcoming and he would “maintain the process” which has led to “stellar candidates being appointed,” including in Alberta last week.

He added that the existing selection process protects the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law.

“We need to rigorously adhere to the boundaries of the Constitution, including the need to protect the independence of the judiciary,” Fraser said before the weekly Liberal caucus meeting.

Vigliotti has this one too.

In Other Headlines

Internationally

President Donald Trump‘s administration is reducing the number of immigration enforcement officers in Minnesota after state and local officials agreed to cooperate by turning over arrested immigrants, border czar Tom Homan said Wednesday.

But Homan did not give a timeline when the operation might end in Minnesota after weeks of turmoil in the Twin Cities and escalated protests, especially since the killing of protester Alex Pretti, the second fatal shooting by federal officers in Minneapolis.

Homan said a widespread withdrawal will only occur after people stop interfering with federal agents carrying out arrests and setting up roadblocks to impede the operations.

The border czar has pushed for jails to alert Immigration and Customs Enforcement to inmates who could be deported, saying transferring such inmates to ICE is safer because it means fewer officers have to be out looking for people in the country illegally.

AP has this one.

Meanwhile, nuclear talks between Iran and the United States will take place Friday in Oman, the Iranian foreign minister said, as tensions between the countries remain high following Tehran’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests last month.

The announcement by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday came after hours of indications that the anticipated talks were faltering over changes in the format and content of the talks.

”I’m grateful to our Omani brothers for making all necessary arrangements,” Araghchi wrote on X on Wednesday evening.

Earlier Wednesday, a regional official said Iran was seeking a “different” type of meeting than that what had been proposed by Turkey, one focused exclusively on the issue of Iran’s nuclear program, with participation limited to Iran and the United States. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.

AP has this one too. 

In Other International Headlines

The Kicker

The CIA World Factbook is gone.

The spy agency announced Wednesday that after more than 60 years, it is shuttering the popular reference manual.

The announcement posted to the CIA’s website offered no reason for the decision, but it comes after Trump’s pick to lead the agency, Director John Ratcliffe, has vowed to end programs that don’t advance the agency’s core missions.

AP has this one.

Have a great night!