After touching down in Beijing on Wednesday evening, Prime Minister Mark Carney kicked off the first full day of his three-day visit to China with an afternoon meeting with Zhao Leji, the current chair of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress.

According to the readout distributed by Carney’s office, “both sides emphasized the importance of ongoing parliamentary exchanges and opportunities for enhanced understanding and communication between the two countries” during what the advisory notes was the first between the two leaders, and “underscored their ongoing support for robust people-to-people relations and cultural exchanges, and welcomed engagement to deepen cooperation, expand trade, and engage pragmatically.”

Following an “official welcoming ceremony” at the Great Hall of the People, Carney was also booked in for a one-on-one chat with Chinese premier Li Qiang, after which he was scheduled to “witness a signing ceremony” before heading to an official dinner hosted by Qiang.

Back in Canada, Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin teams up with St. John’s Mayor Danny Breen to unveil what her office is billing as “major investments in projects across the country to strengthen climate resistance” during a morning visit to the Johnson Geo Centre at Memorial University, which is “cut from the ancient rock of Signal Hill.” (9:30 a.m. NST)

Also hitting the ministerial circuit today:

• Housing and Infrastructure Minister Gregor Robertson and Jobs and Families Minister Patty Hajdu join Alstom Americas CEO Michael Keroullé for an “infrastructure announcement”on Hajdu’s political home turf of Thunder Bay, Ont., with her fellow Northern Ontario Liberal MP Marcus Powlowski, Ontario transport minister Prabmeet Sarkaria and Thunder Bay Mayor Ken Boshcoff also expected to be in attendance. (9 a.m.)
• Although the advisory offers no additional information on either the venue or the nature of the planned reveal, local media outlet TBNewsWatch reports that the event will take place at the local Alstom plant, and will “announce details of a contract to build dozens of new six-car subway train sets for the Toronto Transit Commission,” which has been under negotiation since August.
• “Precisely how much of the assembly work will be assigned to Thunder Bay remains unclear, as Alstom also operates a plant in Kingston,” the story notes.
• An “echo infrastructure announcement” is slated to be held in Toronto later this afternoon with Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon, Secretary of State for Labour John Zerucelli, Toronto Transit Commission CEO Mandeep Lali and Alstom Canada president Souheil Abihanna. (1 p.m.)

Rounding out the roster, Veterans Affairs Minister Jill McKnight will “welcome an important investment in support of building Canada’s clean economy” during an on-camera appearance in Delta, B.C. (10 a.m. PST)

IN THE CHAMBER

The House of Commons and the Senate are currently on hiatus. Regular parliamentary business will resume on Jan. 26, 2026.

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