As the midsummer mark approaches, there is once again no word on just what might be on Prime Minister Mark Carney’s agenda ahead of the now-imminent August long weekend holiday, but he did finally file the necessary paperwork to trigger the first three of the seven and counting by-elections that are expected to be held before the end of the year.

On Sunday morning, his office announced that Carney had duly requested that the writs be drawn up to allow voters in Beaches – East York, Ont., North Vancouver — Capilano, B.C. and Chicoutimi — Le Fjord, Que., to collectively make the call on who will fill the respective vacancies left by departing Liberal MPs Nathaniel Erskine Smith and Jonathan Wilkinson, who resigned their seats shortly after the House shut down for the season, as well as now former Conservative MP Richard Martel, who was appointed to the Senate earlier this month.

As per the release, the vote will take place on Aug. 31, 2026.

Last weekend, the Liberal Party announced that Carney’s now former deputy chief of staff, Braeden Caley, will be carrying the party banner in North Vancouver – Capilano, B.C., , while Tanveer Shahnawaz, who has spent the last few years working in Erskine Smith’s constituency office, edged out three other local hopefuls to become the party’s candidate-in-waiting in Beaches — East York, Ont.

A few days later, the Liberals added another candidate to the lineup: Daniel Gobeil, a “respected agricultural leader” who “most recently served as Chair of Les Producteurs de lait du Québec as well as Les Producteurs de lait du Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean,” according to the party-issued release.
“Daniel also owns the Ferme du Fjord in La Baie, a family farm originally purchased by his grandfather where three generations now work together,” it notes.

Whatever may or may not be on his to-do list this week, Carney and his staff will almost certainly be following up on the latest trade-related threats from U.S. President Donald Trump, who served notice last week that he’s prepared to impose a 50 per cent tariff on Canadian products, with the new levy currently slated to go live on Aug. 19.

Speaking with reporters after a high-level closed-door talks with his fellow first ministers in Charlottetown last week, Carney stated that “everything’s on the table” in the event that Canada isn’t able to secure a deal to dodge the 50 per cent hit, as reported by Canadian Press.

“The prime minister says that while Canada has options, there’s no reason to respond to the tariffs before they’re imposed next month,” and said the “high level of engagement with U.S. trade officials this week has created an opportunity to advance trade talks between Canada and the U.S,” the wire service noted.

Meanwhile, in a letter to the prime minister released on Sunday, newly appointed Conservative Canada – U.S. trade critic Shuv Majumdar is challenging the government to “table its written plans” for the ongoing negotiations at  an “emergency meeting” of the House INTERNATIONAL TRADE committee.

“Conservatives have called for an emergency meeting of the Standing Committee on International Trade next week,” the letter notes.

‘”We demand that your government table a written plan at those hearings in the next two weeks to get tariffs removed and negotiate a win for our people and our workers at the bargaining table, as you promised. In March of last year, you said, ‘a plan beats no plan.’ Over a year and a half later, it’s long past time to present yours.”

As yet, there is no indication that the committee chair, Liberal MP Judy Sgro, intends to heed the request, which would only be binding if co-signed by at least four MPs representing at least two recognized parties.

The Conservatives were notably more successful in their bid to convince caucus colleague Kelly McCauley to use his authority as chair of the GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS AND ESTIMATES committee to hold a mid-recess meeting to consider his party’s call for an “urgent investigation into the details of the Gordie Howe bridge deal,” as well as the “misinformation provided to Canadians about it,” as he explained in a posting to X last week.

“As their chair, I will convene a meeting on Wednesday, July 29 to allow the committee to get to the bottom of the matter,” he announced.

According to the parliamentary website, that meeting has been duly added to the schedule, although without the support of at least one Liberal MP, the Conservatives won’t be able to secure the necessary majority support to proceed with their proposed probe into the deal. (Wednesday p.m.)

Also on the radar: Later this week, the Supreme Court of Canada will hand down its verdict on a legal challenge that, as CBC News reported earlier this year, “could bring sweeping changes to how Canadians hold their elected officials accountable” — or, alternately, establish a new precedent limiting the power of the court to review decisions made by the federal ethics and conflict of interest commissioner. (Thursday a.m.)

As CBC notes, the question currently before the court stems from an earlier attempt by advocacy group Democracy Watch to trigger a judicial review of a controversial 2021 ruling by then-ethics commissioner Mario Dion that cleared then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of breaching the conflict of interest rules.

“That ethics finding stemmed from the Liberal government’s decision to give WE Charity a $43-million contract to run a $912-million student grant program amid family connections Trudeau and then finance minister Bill Morneau had with the organization,” the broadcaster noted in its coverage of the hearings.

“(Dion) found Morneau breached the Conflict of Interest Act when he failed to recuse himself from cabinet deliberations on the contract, but concluded Trudeau did not,” which prompted Democracy Watch to file its initial request for review, which was subsequently dismissed by the Federal Court of Appeal.

“If (Democracy Watch) wins, the decision would not only force a review of Dion’s 2021 Trudeau WE Charity finding, (but) would include opening the door to allow any watchdog decision to be challenged in court,” CBC points out.

Hitting the ministerial circuit this week:  

• Canadian Identity Minister Marc Miller teams up with Vancouver-area Liberal MP Patrick Weiler to host what Miller’s office is billing as an “in-person roundtable discussion” on his government’s proposal to “improve online safety, ensure that digital services are transparent and accountable for the risks their services create (and) support victims of online harms,” as outlined in the Safe Social Media Act, which made its debut appearance on the floor of the House of Commons shortly before the summer recess. (Monday a.m.)
• As per the notice, most of that conversation will take place behind closed doors, but reporters “are invited to attend the conclusion of the roundtable discussion, which will include remarks summarizing the discussion,” and will also get the chance to question both the minister and “participating stakeholders” after the session wraps up.
• Elsewhere on the West Coast, Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree joins New Westminster Mayor Patrick Johnstone and local Liberal MP Jake Sawatzky to share the details of new federal funding to “support efforts in preventing gun and gang violence” throughout the region. (Monday a.m.)
• Secretary of State (Sport) Adam van Koeverden heads to Calgary to kick off two days of back-to-back funding reveals, including a fresh tranche of “transformative infrastructure investments” aimed at “supporting athletes from playground to podium,” (Monday a.m.) and a new joint bid with the City of Calgary and Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities to encourage “community soccer.” (Tuesday a.m.)
• Rounding out the roster, Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Rebecca Alty and Northwest Territories Housing Minister Lucy Kuptana highlight a planned affordable housing project in Yellowknife. (Monday p.m.)