dailynewsnblog
Ottawa woke up under a heavy fog today with quite low visibility… but Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is trying to cut through it with his vision for Canada’s economy.
Speaking to a business crowd at the Canadian Club Toronto today, Poilievre says Prime Minister Mark Carney has not delivered on his economic promises after more than a year in office.
The Conservative leader largely repeated his pledges to cut taxes and regulations in his speech, and promised to get government out of the way of free enterprise.
Poilievre said Canada is poorer, weaker and more expensive to live in after a year of Carney in power and cited a new report from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business describing an “entrepreneurial drought,” where more businesses are closing than opening.
He attacked Carney’s record as governor of the Bank of England and accused the prime minister of failing to live up to promises to move rapidly on nation-building projects like a new oil pipeline in Alberta.
The Canadian Press has more on this.
The Senate saga may have come to an end as talks on a new breakaway group could be fizzling out. The Independent Senators group say its members are united after discussions on “internal methods.”
Senate sources told iPolitics Thursday that discussions around a new group led by Senator Hassan Yussuff have quieted after a closed-door meeting of members of the ISG.
One Senator, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share their concerns freely, said it appeared “cooler heads had prevailed.”
Another Senator, also speaking on the condition of anonymity, said there was a meeting on Tuesday where members were able to “talk things out,” but it wasn’t clear if those efforts to create a new group had ended definitely.
Sen. Yussuff’s office didn’t respond to a request for comment.
In a statement on Thursday, ISG said members had taken the “opportunity to have a thoughtful reflection of our internal methods to ensure we continue to serve Canadians in the current political environment.”
Marco Vigliotti has more.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is brushing off speculation that former industry minister Navdeep Bains could enter the Ontario Liberal leadership race, saying he remains focused on governing.
As QP Briefing first reported, Navdeep Bains is being courted to enter the race to lead the Ontario Liberals. But Ford declined to weigh in on Bains’ possible candidacy.
The premier and Bains worked together during the COVID-19 pandemic when Bains served in Justin Trudeau’s cabinet.
“My thoughts are focusing on Ontario, making sure that we create more jobs, building transit, infrastructure,” Ford said. “That’s up to them [the Ontario Liberals.] I’m just focused on Ontario. A hundred per cent.”
Pressed on whether Bains could pose a tougher challenge than the other names floated around so far to run for the position, the premier wouldn’t commit.
“Everyone’s a champion,” he said. “But I’m focused on Ontario… I’ll let them decide who’s going to be running.”
iPolitics’ Queen’s Park reporter Barbara Patrocinio’s got this one.
In Other Headlines
Internationally
Elsewhere, Pope Leo XIV has said that the world is being “ravaged by a handful of tyrants” who spend billions on war, in comments that will be seen as another sharp escalation in his almost week-long feud with the White House over the US-Israel war on Iran.
The first American-born pontiff did not mention Donald Trump by name, but used his speech in Cameroon on Thursday to denounce world leaders that invoke religion to justify violence against other nations.
His comments came as US bishops offered their full-throated support to the head of the Catholic church, who has been under fire from Trump for days after speaking out against the Iran war.
“Woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic and political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth,” Leo told a gathering at Saint Joseph Cathedral in the western city of Bamenda.
“They turn a blind eye to the fact that billions of dollars are spent on killing and devastation, yet the resources needed for healing, education and restoration are nowhere to be found.
The Guardian has more.
Meanwhile, Cuba’s president says his nation does not want war with the United States, but he vows that, if attacked, Cubans would defeat American forces.
Dressed in military fatigues, Miguel Díaz-Canel addressed a crowd of government supporters commemorating the 65th anniversary Thursday of the start of the US-backed Bay of Pigs invasion. The failed attempt by a CIA-trained force of Cuban exiles to oust Fidel Castro prompted the Cuban revolutionary leader to openly declare his support for socialism for the first time, setting up a Cold War-era standoff with the US that endures to this day.
The 1961 debacle at the Bay of Pigs, one of the CIA’s most conspicuous failures, has been enshrined ever since by Cuban officials as the David vs. Goliath moment that cemented support for Castro’s revolution.
Read more from CNN.
In Other International Headlines
The Kicker
The time to chase that sticky maple syrup is coming to an end, as Vanier’s sugar shack head into its final days.
The annual tradition closes on April 19, so consider this your last call for maple taffy and sugar bush detour close to Ottawa’s downtown.
Despite the end, to this newsletter writer, it comes as a sure sign that summer is just around the corner.
Have a great evening!
