Hello, welcome to Politics Insider. Let’s look at what happened today.
Mark Carney’s government is promising an early and “substantive” fall economic statement amid criticism from economists and opposition MPs over indications the Liberals will not table a federal budget this year.
After the re-elected Liberal government’s first cabinet meeting Wednesday, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said his focus is on presenting a fall update as the next public accounting of federal finances.
Bill Curry reports that it would be unusual to have a budget within a few months of a fall update, meaning the next budget likely won’t be presented until 2026.
Audrey Milette, a spokesperson for Champagne, said the government is planning to release a fall statement that will be more than a simple fiscal update.
“We will have a fall economic statement that will be substantive,” she said, adding that it would be released in the “early fall” after the House of Commons’ scheduled return in mid-September.
Also, Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet said today the party plans to launch a legal challenge after losing the federal riding of Terrebonne by a single vote.
Liberal candidate Tatiana Auguste initially won the riding, but it flipped to Bloc candidate Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné after the validation process, which verified the addition of the counted ballots. A judicial recount completed on May 10, however, concluded that the Liberals had won the riding by one vote.
Meanwhile, the Ontario government is forecasting a deficit almost 10 times larger than it predicted last fall for the coming fiscal year – at $14.6-billion – as the province wrestles with the impact of U.S. tariffs.
In its budget introduced today, the province dramatically increased the amount of red ink it expects in 2025-26, blowing away its previous estimate of a $1.5-billion deficit from last November, which was based on economic projections predating U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war.
Jeff Gray and Laura Stone report that the Ontario budget is the latest fiscal plan issued by a Canadian province to show the damage the tariffs are expected to do to government balance sheets, with Alberta, B.C. and Quebec also among those posting ballooning deficits in recent months.
Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
B.C. hires former Ontario attorney-general to review services provided in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside: Michael Bryant, former attorney-general of Ontario, was hand-picked by Premier David Eby for the task, with the Premier saying Bryant’s “lived experience” with addictions and recovery, combined with his legal training, makes him an ideal candidate.
Manitoba Premier declares a state of emergency near Whiteshell Provincial Park over wildfires: The park is south of where two people were killed because of an out-of-control wildfire this week.
Why Carney picked a political veteran as Finance Minister over an executive: Insiders say the role of finance minister is a political beast and it is not for the uninitiated.
`We are not a priority’: Disability advocates say lack of a minister sends a message: The Prime Minister announced his smaller, “purpose-built” cabinet meant to deliver change on Tuesday, but the 38-member team doesn’t include anyone explicitly responsible for representing the interests of Canadians with disabilities.
B.C. Premier to visit Asia on trade trip to reduce U.S. reliance: David Eby will be visiting Japan, South Korea and Malaysia between June 1 and 10 as part of a business delegation that will also include B.C. Agriculture Minister Lana Popham.
Prime Minister’s Day: No schedule released for Mark Carney.
Party leaders: Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet held a news conference on Parliament Hill about the outcome of voting in the Terrebonne riding. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre held a news conference on Parliament Hill, covering various subjects. No schedule released for other party leaders.
New Chief Government Whip: MP Mark Gerretsen has been appointed to the post, which involves keeping party members informed on House business and ensuring their attendance in the House or at committees.
“It has been an emotional roller coaster. We went from being ahead to losing by one vote.” – Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné, the Bloc candidate who lost by one vote in the Montreal-area riding of Terrebonne after a judicial recount.
What happens to marked ballots cast in a federal election?
Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter for the answer.
There is something deeply wrong at the CRTC. It does not seem to understand that the most important cultural industry in Canada faces major challenges. It seems more preoccupied with processes designed to delay decisions and avoid controversy than solving the problems at hand.
— Richard Stursberg is the former head of English services at the CBC, former executive director of Telefilm Canada, past CEO of the Canadian Cable Television Association, past chairman of the Canadian Television Fund, and former assistant deputy minister of culture and broadcasting.
So no, the rest of Canada is not to blame for Alberta separatism, in the sense of having provoked it. It is, rather, our long history of indulging the pernicious idea that it is a legitimate response to a complaint of ill treatment, real or imagined, to blow up the country – or to threaten to.
— Andrew Coyne, Columnist
Danielle Smith is against forest fires, but she’ll leave this lighter right here
Alberta’s Premier has thus taken up the most yellow-bellied position possible: she’s against separatism, but with a wink; she’s entertaining separatism, but with plausible deniability. She’s poking these caged roosters with a stick, but she’s too pusillanimous to actually own what she’s doing.
— Robyn Urback, Columnist
Got a news tip that you’d like us to look into? E-mail us at tips@globeandmail.com. Need to share documents securely? Reach out via SecureDrop.
The answer to today’s question: After the votes are counted, the marked ballots are placed in a sealed bag and kept in a secure location at the returning office until they are returned to Elections Canada. Special ballots cast by electors from outside their riding are all sent back to an Elections Canada counting facility in Ottawa. Ballots are kept for 10 years. According to an Elections Canada social-media posting that explains this process, if there is a recount, only officials authorized by the Elections Canada CEO can handle the materials in the poll bags.
Representatives from Australia's resources industry have fiercely argued against introducing a 25 per cent on…
As Chinese President Xi Jinping called for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz this…
Palantir CEO Palantir CEO Alex Karp has published a sweeping 22-point manifesto aimed at Silicon…
In a viral reel that has garnered over 7.2 million views, IndiGo pilot Pradeep Krishnan…
For over a century, Minnesotans have defined Northfield by its cows and colleges. Now, the…
HOUSTON — Piling his shopping bags into his vehicle's trunk outside a Houston grocery store…
