Good evening, readers.

So, we got another press conference featuring the prime minister.

And once again, he was faced with pressing questions about his response to the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran.

Oh and yeah, his latest comments are also generating some strong opinions.

The issue today? Carney saying Canada can’t rule out military participation in the escalating conflict in the Middle East.

Speaking to reporters at a joint news conference with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Canberra, Carney said the question around Canada’s potential future involvement is a “fundamental hypothetical,”  adding the conflict can spread very broadly.

“One can never categorically rule out participation,” he said.

“We will stand by our allies, when it makes sense. There’s a distinction between the offensive actions that were taken and are being taken by the United States and Israel, that were taken by them without consultation with Canada, with other allies, and we’re not party to those actions.

“But we will always defend Canadians, we will always stand by and defend our allies when called upon.”

Over the weekend, Carney said he supports the U.S. action in Iran, but that Canada will not get directly involved in the conflict after American and Israeli militaries launched an attack on the Middle Eastern country that left its leader dead.

His latest comments have drawn criticism from the Conservatives, who are accusing the prime minister of flip-flopping.

The Official Opposition says there should be a parliamentary debate before any sort of Canadian military deployment.

“It should be up to Parliament itself to say yea or nay on whether or not we’re ever going to be deploying our troops into a conflict,” Conservative defence critic James Bezan told reporters on Thursday in Ottawa.

“Let’s have the conversation where it should be, in public so there’s transparency, in the House of Commons.”

The Canadian Press have both these stories.

As for Carney, he’s already on the move, set for the final leg of his world tour — Japan.

Also making the rounds today is news that Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc is heading head to Washington, D.C., for meetings on Friday.

LeBlanc’s visit lands with the review of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico agreement on trade in full swing.

Carney said during a media availability in Australia yesterday that Canada’s free trade pact with the United States “effectively has been broken in the short-term by U.S. actions.”

He said certain protocols under CUSMA weren’t followed when the United States imposed tariffs on Canada.

Carney said Canada is looking to this year’s CUSMA review as a process to “re-establish the trust” individuals, businesses and investors need to guide trade between the nations.

Meanwhile, Canada’s secretary of state for defence procurement says the government is planning to choose just one company to build the country’s next fleet of submarines.

Stephen Fuhr says the Canadian position has not changed, despite media reports this week suggesting the government might split the contract.

Two companies are in the final stages of a heated competition for a multi-billion dollar deal to build up to 12 submarines.

Germany’s TKMS and South Korea’s Hanwha Oceans submitted final proposals this week and both are sponsoring a major defence and security conference in Ottawa.

CP has both of these pieces.

Back to the domestic politicking, a new Leger poll has the Liberals opening up their biggest lead since 2016.

The Liberals were the top choice of 49 per cent of decided voters, a 14-point gap over the Conservatives.

Looking at the regional numbers and things appear just as rosy for the Liberals, who have a 23-point lead in Quebec and a 16-point advantage in Ontario.

In Alberta, the Liberals aren’t as close as they were in the Mainstreet survey but are only 19 points behind, a big improvement from the nearly 36-point gap seen in last spring’s election.

In Other Headlines

Internationally

In an interview with Reuters, U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. must be involved in choosing the next leader of Iran.

Trump said in a telephone interview that he thinks the next leader is unlikely to be the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s son Mojtaba, who has emerged as a frontrunner to succeed his father.

“We’re going to have to choose that person along with Iran. We’re going to have to choose that person,” Trump said.

On leadership succession, Trump drew a parallel to Venezuela, where U.S. forces removed President Nicolás Maduro in January.

It left his number two Delcy Rodríguez in charge, and Trump said she “has done a wonderful job.”

“We want to be involved in the process of choosing the person who is going to lead Iran into the future, so we don’t have to go back every five years and do this again and again. We want somebody that’s going to be great for the people, great for the country,” Trump said.

Asked whether exiled Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, the son of the last shah, was a possibility, Trump said, “I think everybody’s in the mix. It’s very early.”

Keeping with Trump, he’s making more waves on Thursday by firing his embattled Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, after mounting criticism over her leadership of the department, including the handling of the administration’s immigration crackdown and disaster response.

Trump said he would nominate Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin in her place and make Noem a “Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas,” a new security initiative that he said would focus on the Western Hemisphere.

AP has this one.

In Other International Headlines

The Kicker

Here’s some good news!

An injured mother manatee and her calf were rescued this week from a river in Florida and taken to SeaWorld Orlando for rehabilitation, officials said.

Drone pilots provided the rescuers with an aerial view, guiding their boat toward the manatees on Wednesday, then buzzing overhead to document the animals being pulled from the Orange River near Fort Meyers.

AP has this one.