Conservatives call on Liberals to back ’emergency fuel relief plan’

What’s happening on (and off) Parliament Hill, plus the news you need to start your day.

With the avowedly sovereigntist Parti Québécois poised to form government for the first time in more than a decade, the potential for a dramatic shift in the federal-provincial dynamics will undoubtedly be on the agenda when Prime Minister Mark Carney convenes his weekly closed-door huddle with his front bench team this morning. (10:30 a.m.)

In an X post last night, Carney congratulated “premier-designate” Paul St-Pierre Plamondon on his “election victory,” which “captured 59 seats after the votes were counted late Monday, falling short of the 64 needed to form a majority in Quebec’s legislature,” as Canadian Press notes.

“Building a stronger Québec is core to our mission of building a stronger Canada,” Carney noted in his post.

“I look forward to working with you to support Québec’s businesses and workers impacted by tariffs, create more good jobs, work to end homelessness, and get more homes built across Québec.”

Carney also thanked Coalition Avenir Quebec leader Christine Frechette, whose party failed to win a single seat, for her “service to Quebec and Canada” during her brief tenure as premier.

“We got a lot done together — from Churchill Falls to one of the largest infrastructure investments in Québec’s history,” he noted. “I wish you all the best in what comes next.”

For his part, Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc offered his congratulations to St-Pierre Plamondon “and his entire team,” and noted that he “looks forward to working with the new Quebec government to build a stronger economy, protect our workers and make life more affordable for all Quebecers.”

Government Transformation Minister Joël Lightbound, who also serves as Carney’s Quebec lieutenant, also pledged to “continue” working with the incoming government “on what matters to Quebecers: lowering the cost of living, building more housing, and creating a strong economy,” while Industry Minister Mélanie Joly served notice that she, tool, is “ready to work together to continue building Quebec, defending our industries, and protecting our workers, especially during the current trade war.”

Back in the chamber, Conservative MP Carol Anstey is set to kick off the first opposition-controlled debate of the season, which, as flagged in What We’re Watching, challenges the government to support her party’s proposed “emergency fuel relief plan,” which “provides for emergency pre-permitting and tax relief for the construction of diesel infrastructure, such as refineries, pipelines, rail and storage, eliminates all taxes on diesel consumption until at least Canada Day (and) permanently eliminates taxes on diesel production.” (10 a.m.)

Before heading into the House of Commons, she’ll join her Conservative caucus colleagues Andrew Scheer, Richard Bragdon and Jason Groleau in the West Block Foyer to brief reporters on the non-binding motion — which, it’s worth noting, could go to a vote as early as later today after MPs unanimously agreed to extend today’s sitting until midnight, clearing the way for another round of debate on Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon’s omnibus bid to further streamline the project approval process and overhaul federal labour laws, which is currently working its way towards a make-or-break second-reading vote.

Later this afternoon, Conservative MP Luc Berthold will initiate the final round of debate on his backbench proposal to give the courts the power to require youth offenders to “participate in an addiction treatment program,” which was reported back from committee with amendments before the House broke for the summer and is now up for report-stage approval.

As flagged by iPolitics AM yesterday, Government Transformation Minister Joël Lightbound is on track to introduce legislation that, as per an advance report from The Globe and Mail, will formally convert the stand-alone Defence Investment Agency created by the then-newly-installed federal Liberal government last year into a crown corporation, a move that “will empower the organization and chief executive Doug Guzman with far more authority in terms of decision-making,” the paper notes.

“The government is making the move more than three weeks after Mr. Guzman sent a mass e-mail to staff informing them he intends to remain CEO of the DIA and has no intention of quitting, despite reports he was frustrated and ready to leave,” the Globe adds.

Defence Minister David McGuinty and Secretary of State for Defence Procurement Stephen Fuhr will brief reporters on the proposed changes this afternoon. (1 p.m.)

Outside the chamber, PROCEDURE AND HOUSE AFFAIRS members will get an update on the rollout of the Foreign Influence Transparency Registry, courtesy of its commissioner, Anton Boegman. (11 a.m.)

Also on the radar: The Parliamentary Budget Office will publish what the advisory describes as a “primer” on “Canada’s defence spending commitments.” (9 a.m.)

ON AND AROUND THE HILL

Sen. Kristopher Wells teams up with representatives of “over 40 queer, trans and allied organizations from across Canada,” including Queer Momentum, Rainbow Railroad, Egale Canada, LGBT YouthLine, Black Pride Canada and Dignity Network Canada, to urge the government to “renew and expand the Federal 2SLGBTQI+ Action Plan,” which, as the advisory notes, is current due to expire next March.” (9:30 a.m.)
International Downtown Association Canada chair Paul MacKinnon, who also serves as CEO of the Downtown Halifax Business Commission, will brief reporters on the need for “stronger federal action and investments to address the pressures facing downtown communities.” (9 a.m.)
Senior representatives of “leading Canadian freshwater organizations,” including AquaAction, IISD Experimental Lakes Area, Oceans North and Fondation de Gaspé Beaubien, “unveil new national polling” that, as per the notice, “provides a timely look at what Canadians expect from the Strategy, including their priorities for freshwater protection and investment, perceptions of water’s importance to the economy, support for freshwater science and conservation, and significant gaps in Canadians’ knowledge about the water systems they depend on.” (9:30 a.m.)
Equal Routes co-directors Andrew Dumbrille and Elissama Menezes join Indigenous leaders, including Wet’suwet’en Nation Hereditary Chief Na’Moks, as well as members of the Georgia Strait Alliance, Environmental Defence Canada, Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment and Environmental Action Germany and other environmental advocates to share the details of a new legal challenge that, according to the advisory, targets “public financing for maritime LNG infrastructure” by Export Development Canada. (10 a.m.)
A coalition of Black community leaders team up with representatives of Tropicana Community Services, WomenatthecentrE, Enchanté Network, Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund and the National Council of Canadian Muslims to challenge the federal government to “renew and expand Canada’s Black Justice Strategy” in the upcoming budget by commitging $500 million in federal funding over the next five years to boost “Black-led and community-based organizations providing prevention, diversion, reintegration, youth and victim-support services.” (11:30 a.m.)