After spending the last few days off the radar, Prime Minister Mark Carney will be making the rounds in southwestern Ontario today, starting with a tour of an unnamed “defence manufacturing facility” (11 a.m.) and share the details of what the itinerary describes as “new measures to strengthen Canada’s defence capabilities.” (11:45 a.m.)

He’ll also likely face a flurry of follow-up questions from reporters on the still-unreleased fine print of the cross-border deal that cleared the way for the long-awaited opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge.

Since last week’s joint announcement by the Canadian and United States governments, the two countries “have offered only limited details that have painted different pictures of the terms,” Bloomberg News reported yesterday.

“Carney told a Canadian television network that debt costs would be factored into the calculation of the bridge’s profit,” the wire service noted.

“That’s important because Canada paid the entire C$6.4 billion ($4.6 billion) construction cost. Annual interest on that amount would be hundreds of millions of Canadian dollars. Deducting interest would reduce the profit and, therefore, the U.S. share ..  A U.S. official, however, contradicted Carney’s account and said that neither loan interest nor depreciation would be included in the calculation. That view suggests fewer expenses to offset the revenue and, thus, a larger share for the US.”

Back in Ottawa, a full contingent of ministers are set to hit the stage to address First Nations and Indigenous leaders as the annual general meeting of the Assembly of First Nations heads into its third and final day, including Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc, Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Rebecca Alty, Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty, Northern and Arctic Affairs Minister Rebecca Chartrand, Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree, Energy and and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson and Secretary of State (Rural Development) Buckley Belanger. (9 a.m.)

Meanwhile, two more Team Carney front benchers are booked in for closed-door talks with their respective provincial and territorial counterparts today: Jobs and Families Minister Patty Hajdu, who will join her colleagues in Halifax to “discuss Canada’s labour market outlook and collaborative approaches to workplace developments” before making a “significant national announcement” this afternoon (4:10 p.m. AT) and  Women and Gender Equality Minister Rechie Valdez, who is set to wrap up three days of high-level meetings in Moncton, where, as per her office, she’s also scheduled to unveil “renewed support to address gender-based violence” this morning. (10 a.m. ADT)

Elsewhere on the ministerial circuit:

• Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon teams up with his West Coast counterpart, Mike Farnworth, Tsawwassen First Nation Chief Laura Cassidy Vancouver Fraser Port Authority CEO Peter Xotta and Veterans Affairs Minister Jill McKnight, for what the advisory is billing as a “significant announcement regarding the Port of Vancouver.” (9 a.m. PT)
• Rounding out the roster, Secretary of State (International Development) Randeep Sarai and Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke stop by Holland Park for a mid-morning infrastructure announcement. (11 a.m. PT)

Also on the political radar: Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet joins area Bloc MPs Yves Perron and Andréanne Larouche in Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot—Acton, Que., to reveal their party’s candidate-in-waiting for the as yet unscheduled byelection to fill the vacancy created by the departure of their former caucus colleague, Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, who is set to run for the Parti Québécois in the upcoming provincial election. (1 p.m.)

Later today, card-carrying New Democrats in the Montreal-area ridings of Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie and Laurier–Sainte-Marie are set to assemble for what the party is billing as an “exciting joint nomination meeting” to choose “strong, progressive candidates” to carry the orange banner in the respective races to replace longtime New Democrat MP Alexandre Boulerice, who will hit the provincial hustings for Quebec Solidaire this fall, and one-time Liberal environment minister Steven Guilbeault, who has served notice that he intends to resign later this summer. (5 p.m.)

IN THE CHAMBER

Both the House of Commons and the Senate have shut down for the summer, with regular parliamentary proceedings set to resume in September.

HOT OFF THE WIRES

Committee highlights courtesy of our friends at iPoliticsINTEL