Amid a swirl of speculation over the possible imminent exit of one of his party’s most outspoken environmentalists, Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to go before the cameras this morning to outline what the advisory describes as “new measures to make Canada more secure and prosperous.” (8:30 a.m.)

According to his office, his appearance — which, as per the advisory, will take place somewhere in the National Capital Region — will include a “brief media availability” that will likely kick off with a flurry of questions about the rumoured departure of longtime Quebec Liberal MP Steven Guilbeault.

In addition to a lengthy stint as environment minister under his predecessor, Guilbeault also served in Carney’s cabinet until last fall, when he resigned his post over his objections to the then newly-struck deal between Ottawa and Alberta, which led to the implementation deal unveiled earlier this month that would roll back planned increases to the industrial carbon price, as iPolitics notes.

Citing multiple sources, the Toronto Star reports that, while Guilbeault is expected to go public with his intentions later today, it’s not clear exactly when it would take effect.

“One senior government official with direct knowledge of Guilbeault’s plans said the Montreal MP is expected to step down after Parliament breaks for the summer,” the paper notes.

“A second government source said they understand Guilbeault will announce his intention to resign, and that he plans to stay in the Liberal caucus until he officially vacates his seat. A third source also confirmed that Guilbeault is expected to announce his resignation.”

His anticipated announcement comes as B.C.-based Ksi Lisims is poised to unveil a new deal to export liquified natural gas to Germany, as iPolitics’ own Aya Dufour reported yesterday.

“A source with knowledge of the matter told iPolitics the proposed B.C. liquified natural gas project is expected to announce a supply agreement with SEFE, an international energy company headquartered in Germany,” she notes.

For his part, Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson is slated to be in Vancouver for the announcement later today. (8:30 a.m. PT)

Meanwhile, Carney will join his Liberal caucus colleagues at the weekly closed-door huddle this morning, but is not planning to be in his front-and-centre seat in the chamber this afternoon.

He will, however, “celebrate the athletes from the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games” at a midday reception, and “take part in an activity with members of Canada’s Olympic and Paralympic curling teams” before jetting to New York for a two-day trade mission.

Later this afternoon, MPs will vote on the latest non-binding Conservative-initiated call for the government to drop all federal fuel taxes until the end of the year, which is all but guaranteed to go down to defeat, before kicking off second-reading debate on Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne’s omnibus proposal to roll out additional measures outlined in his inaugural budget bill last fall.

Also on the radar: New Democrat leader Avi Lewis joins a contingent of labour leaders, including International Longshore and Warehouse Union president — and erstwhile leadership rival — Rob Ashton, CUPE Air president Natasha Stea, Canadian Union of Postal Workers president Jan Simpson and Canadian Labour Congress executive vice-president Siobhan Vipond, to highlight New Democrat MP Leah Gazan’s proposal to repeal the section of the Canadian Labour Code that “allows the federal government to suspend the constitutionally-protected right to strike, undermining workers’ bargaining power and tipping the scales in favour of big employers,” which will make its second-reading debut on the floor of the House of Commons this afternoon. (9:30 a.m.)

Later this afternoon, Calgary-area Conservative MP David McKenzie will brief reporters on his backbench pitch to repeal the moratorium on oil tanker traffic along B.C.’s northern coast, which clocked in its first hour of second-reading debate yesterday afternoon, and which the Liberals, Bloc Québécois and New Democrats have already served notice that they intend to oppose when it goes to a vote. (4 p.m.)

Meanwhile, Industry Minister Mélanie Joly is booked in for a midday appearance on the main stage at CANSEC, the annual conference and trade show hosted by the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries, which bills itself as “Canada’s leading defence, security and emerging technology event.” (12 p.m.)

ON AND AROUND THE HILL

• Vision Health Partners’ Coalition CEO Jennifer Urosevic teams up with representatives of the Canadian Council of the Blind and Canadian Ophthalmological Society to urge the government to provide the necessary funding to establish a “national strategy for eye care,” as proposed in a backbench bill sponsored by Liberal MP Judy Sgro that, as the notice points out, was signed into law in November 2024. (9 a.m.)
• Montreal Institute for Global Security executive director Kyle Matthews hits the West Block press theatre to promote the release of a new report that, according to the advisory, “examines how the Chinese Communist Party conducts foreign influence and interference activities across G7 democracies” via what it describes as a “broad network of affiliated organizations and intermediaries operating across political, economic, academic, media, and societal domains in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan.” (11 a.m.)
• Representatives of the Pacific Salmon Foundation, Watershed Watch Salmon Society, David Suzuki Foundation, Living Oceans Society and Canadian Aquafarms Inc. hold a joint press conference to “voice support for the federal government’s Nature Strategy,” as well as explain how “restoring wild salmon and transitioning to a land-based aquaculture industry … can open economic opportunities in British Columbia.” (1 p.m.)

OUTSIDE THE PRECINCT

Health Minister Marjorie Michel starts her day in Scarborough, Ont., where, alongside local Liberal MP Michael Coteau, she’ll unveil the latest movein her government’s latest move towards “strengthening (Canada’s) response to the illegal drug supply” with the launch of the Canadian Drug Analysis Centre, which, according to the initial release announcing its creation last year, will “allow for more specialized analysis of synthetic drug samples (that) will go beyond identifying the components of a sample and look at forensic markers to help determine how and where these substances were manufactured.” (11 a.m.)

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