It looks like MPs will have to wait at least one more day to cross-examine Prime Minister Mark Carney over the “forward guidance” he provided in the nearly ten-minute video released by his office over the weekend, during which he promised that he would “never sugar-coat our challenges,” and served notice that he “plans to regularly update Canadians with a frank assessment of efforts to diversify away from the U.S.,” as Canadian Press reports.

“Carney’s comments come days after forming a majority in Parliament, and as the Conservatives push Carney to deliver a U.S. trade deal, which was among his promises in last year’s election,” the wire service notes.

“The Liberals have repeatedly said they will not ink a bad deal with the U.S., while openly stating that investment into Canada is dropping. Carney noted that state of events, adding that American tariffs are threatening sectors such as lumber, steel and automotive work.”

According to his office, Carney is not expected to be in his front-and-centre seat in the House of Commons this afternoon.

He is, however, booked in for a mid-morning tête-à-tête with visiting New Brunswick premier Susan Holt. (11 a.m.)

As flagged in What We’re Watching, MPs are start the week by circling back to Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree’s latest bid to overhaul the laws on data access for law enforcement and intelligence agencies, which has already clocked in three days on the floor since making its second-reading debut last week. (12 p.m.)

As yet, there’s no word on whether a cross-aisle deal is in the works to wind down that debate to allow a vote on whether to send it to committee for further study, although it appears to be on track to secure the preliminary support of the Conservatives, and possibly the Bloc Québécois as well, although both parties have made it clear that they expect the committee to conduct a comprehensive review of the text and are already considering possible amendments.

Before the parliamentary spotlight shifts to lawful access, Liberal MP Gurbax Saini will wrap up the opening round of debate on his backbench pitch to establish a “national framework for food price transparency,” including the development of “unit price display practices to assist consumers in making informed decisions when purchasing food and other household goods,” which will be added to the queue for a make-or-break second-reading vote on Wednesday afternoon. (11 a.m.)

Meanwhile, Defence Minister David McGuinty hits the West Block Foyer to “highlight progress” in the Canadian Armed Forces’ ongoing recruitment campaign (9 a.m.), with the minister’s on-camera media availability to be followed by a “technical briefing” at National Defence headquarters, during which senior defence officials will “share enrolment statistics” for the current fiscal year, as well as its “recruiting objective” for the next one, according to the department. (9:30 a.m.)

McGuinty’s appearance is set to take place just hours before Deputy Auditor General Andrew Hayes is scheduled to brief the PUBLIC ACCOUNTS committee on the latest report on military recruitment, which was released last fall and concluded that the CAF “did not recruit enough members to meet operational requirements,” and warned that “continuing gaps (in) personnel” could affect Canada’s ability to “respond to threats, emergencies, or conflicts.” (11 a.m.)

According to the notice, a trio of high-ranking defence officials, including current deputy minister Christiane Fox, personnel chief Erick Simoneau and vice-chief of the defence staff Stephen Kelsey are also expected to be at the committee table.

Also on the radar: INDUSTRY AND TECJNOLOGY members get an update on the “economic and supply chain impacts of U.S. tariffs on Canada’s metallurgical and advanced manufacturing sectors” from representatives of the Laval Tool and Mould Ltd., Liard Industries, Cap-Thin Molds, Cavalier Tool and Manufacturing Ltd. and the Canadian Association of Moldmakers, which put out a statement last week to highlight a recent move by the United States that “expanded tariffs to include molds,” and shifted the application to cover the “full price of the product,” leaving the industry facing costs that “cannot be absorbed (or) passed on.” (3:30 p.m.)

Elsewhere on the committee circuit: Members of the SCIENCE AND RESEARCH committee continue to explore the “implications” of a preliminary deal to allow a limited number of Chinese-made electric vehicles to be sold in Canada during back-to-back panel discussions with Sinopsis senior fellow Charles Burton, Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association CEO Brian Kingston, Global Automakers of Canada CEO David Adams, Accelerate: Canada’s ZEV Supply Chain Alliance interim CEO Andrew McKinnon, Electric Mobility Canada CEO Daniel Breton and Transition Accelerator CEO Moe Kabbara. (3:30 p.m.)

OUTSIDE THE PRECINCT

Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson embarks on what her office is billing as a “key international mission to promote Canadian seafood in European market,” starting in Barcelona, where she will “lead the Canadian delegation at Seafood Expo Global (SEG) 2026, showcasing Canada’s high-quality fish and seafood products, advance trade diversification, and strengthen commercial and government partnerships across the world,” before heading to Brussels later this week.

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