Carney says he expects U.S. to 'respect Canadian sovereignty' after Alberta separatists meet with Trump team
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January 29
2 hours ago
Separatism tensions dominate post-meeting questions
Colin Harris (https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/author/colin-harris-1.4793276)
Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters after his meeting with Canada's premiers that they were working on finding ways to 'come together and build'.
But other topics emerged as the focus of reporters' questions.
Before the meeting began, news that the Trump administration had met with Alberta separatists led B.C. Premier David Eby to say that such activities amounted to 'treason'.
And Ontario Premier Doug Ford reiterated his stance that a separatist government being elected in Quebec this fall would be a 'disaster' for Canada.
Carney offered a limited response following a meeting where he wanted to focus on boosting trade and building projects. He said he expected the White House to 'respect Canadian sovereignty' — comments also made by Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.
We did get a bit of news on the major projects front, however. Smith said the oil pipeline that she's advocating to be built to the B.C. coast would not terminate at Kitimat because the area is too 'complex' for oil tankers to navigate.
We're bringing this live page to a close. For more on this story, go to cbc.ca/politics.
2 hours ago
PM also pushed removing provincial trade barriers
Jenna Benchetrit (https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/author/jenna-benchetrit-1.6075392)
Hi, I'm the senior business writer for CBC News in Toronto.
The prime minister mentioned today that Ottawa and the premiers need to keep working together to remove interprovincial trade barriers — the rules and regulations governing the movement of goods and services across provincial lines.
Some argue they're needed to protect regional industries, but critics say it shouldn't be so difficult to do business between provinces.
The barriers can also affect labour mobility, making it difficult for a lawyer or a nurse in one province to practise in another, for example.
A recent report from the IMF estimated Canada's economy could gain about seven per cent in GDP — around $210 billion — in the long term by removing those barriers, especially in service-oriented sectors like health care and education.
I wrote about the report this week. You can read more here (https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canadian-economy-report-imf-interprovincial-trade-9.7062567).
3 hours ago
No 'heated rivalry' between the premiers, Kinew says
Sarah Petz (https://www.cbc.ca/author/sarah-petz-1.4295580)
Wab Kinew jokes there’s no 'heated rivalry' between provinces, feds
At the end of Prime Minister Mark Carney's news conference with Canada's premiers, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew joked that while these meetings often highlight divisions, leaders at the provincial, municipal, Indigenous and federal levels are all on Team Canada.
Of course, no news conference would be complete without a reference to Heated Rivalry (https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/heated-rivalry-team-canada-fleece-9.7064421).
Carney and the premiers were asked another question about the upcoming Quebec election and whether they were concerned that the Parti Québécois is currently leading in the polls.
In response, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew pointed out that there are francophone communities across the country.
'When we talk about a united Canada, yes, Quebec is central.… But francophones are all across Canada and we have to work together,' Kinew said.
He went on to suggest that while reporters always seem to be looking for signs of rifts between the premiers after these meetings, they're all ultimately working toward the same goals.
'I love the fact that we come out here at every press conference and there's always, you know, [questions] trying to find the divisions and trying to find the things that we're not united on,' Kinew said.
'They want there to be a heated rivalry between Doug Ford and I, but we're on the same team. We're going into the corners together.'
That seemed to get a laugh from everyone at the table, including Ford (though the news conference ended before he could respond).
3 hours ago
Smith rules out Kitimat for pipeline destination
Darren Major (https://www.cbc.ca/author/darren-major-1.4462710)
Kitimat 'is not on the table' for proposed oil pipeline to West Coast, Alberta premier says
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith told reporters Thursday that she is not considering Kitimat, B.C., as a port for the proposed oil pipeline to the West Coast as detailed in an agreement with Ottawa. Smith said she's weighing other options for the route, saying 'we're willing to go in every direction.'
Smith told the news conference that she is ruling out Kitimat, B.C., as a final landing spot for her proposed oil pipeline to the West Coast.
The northern B.C. community was one of the destinations that was being considered as an end point for the pipeline project.
The local Haisla First Nation has backed a liquefied natural gas (LNG) pipeline in the area in the past but has been opposed to a bitumen project. Smith met with Haisla Chief Maureen Nyce in November.
'I heard the concerns about the original routing … and Kitimat it's not on the table as one of the ports we're looking at. There's too many channels that have to be navigated. It's too complex,' Smith said Thursday.
3 hours ago
Majority of Quebecers do not want sovereignty referendum: Legault
Sarah Petz (https://www.cbc.ca/author/sarah-petz-1.4295580)
I'm a senior writer in Toronto.
Carney and outgoing Quebec Premier François Legault were just asked to respond to Ford's comments that the election of a separatist party in Quebec would be a 'disaster' for Canada.
Ford was responding to a question on Wednesday about what it might be like to sit around the first ministers' table with a separatist premier. The Parti Québécois (PQ)'s Paul St-Pierre Plamondon is currently leading in opinion polls ahead of the fall provincial election in Quebec.
'That's how the system works,' Carney said today in French.
Responding to the same question, Legault also said that the choice is ultimately up to Quebecers.
But he added that currently, he believes the 'majority' of Quebecers do not want Quebec sovereignty — a stance that matches recent polling — and that an even bigger majority do not want a referendum on the issue because it would create economic uncertainty.
'But it's up to Quebec to decide — only Quebecers,' Legault responded in French.
3 hours ago
Carney weighs in on Alberta separatists meeting with U.S. officials
Darren Major (https://www.cbc.ca/author/darren-major-1.4462710)
The prime minister was asked twice early in the news conference how he viewed the meetings between Trump officials and an Alberta separatist group.
Carney didn't directly touch on the meetings in his first response, instead focusing on his work with the premiers and other levels of government.
'The governments that are going to make a difference to Canada, to Alberta, are at this table,' he said, while also mentioning municipal governments and Indigenous groups.
When asked again if he viewed the meetings as 'foreign interference,' the prime minister echoed Smith's comments, saying the U.S. 'should respect Canadian sovereignty.'
3 hours ago
Smith, Carney say they expect U.S. would respect Canadian sovereignty on Alberta separatism
3 hours ago|
Duration 1:06
Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith were asked their response to an Alberta separatist group seeking support from U.S. officials ahead of a potential referendum. Smith said she expects the U.S. 'would confine their discussion about Alberta's democratic process to Albertans and to Canadians.'
Smith told reporters that the U.S. should stay out of Alberta and Canadian politics, when asked about reports that Trump officials took meetings with Alberta separatist groups.
'I would expect that the U.S. administration should respect Canadian sovereignty and that they would confine their discussion about Alberta's democratic process to Albertans and to Canadians,' she said.
Smith said she would ask her government's delegate in Washington to raise her concerns with the Trump administration.
Earlier today, Eby condemned the meetings as 'treason' and doubled down on that description during the news conference.
'Those who would solicit a foreign government to try and come in and take over our country or break it up … that's not part of our vision for Canada,' he said.
Still, Smith said she didn't want to 'demonize' her fellow Albertans and argued that the policies of former prime minister Justin Trudeau fuelled separatist sentiments in her province.
She said she aimed to give her province hope that 'Canada can work' and pointed to the memorandum of understanding she signed with Carney as an example.
4 hours ago
Premiers need unity to do big things: Kinew
Padraig Moran (https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/author/padraig-moran-1.6468739)
18:43Premier Wab Kinew says 'stop listening to naysayers' think big
As the 13 premiers meet in Ottawa today, Manitoba's Premier, Wab Kinew, weighs in on tensions between the leaders and on why Churchill deserves truckloads of money to beef up its port.
Hi there, I'm Padraig Moran and I work at The Current on CBC Radio. On Wednesday, we spoke to Kinew, who said that premiers 'don't have to agree on everything in order to do the big things together.'
'We can still have differences of opinion or debates, arguments even on certain topics, while still being resolute in our commitment to stay united for Canadian freedom and independence,' Kinew said.
That includes working together to help the average Canadian 'deal with the cost of living, the price of groceries and all the other economic pressures that people face,' he added.
Kinew recently disagreed publicly with Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who has threatened to pull Crown Royal whisky off the province's liquor store shelves. Parent company Diageo is closing a bottling plant in Ontario, and the whisky is distilled in Manitoba.
Ultimately, Kinew said that premiers advocating for their own priorities also have to work together for the bigger picture — like a hockey team.
'You take a kid from the Rockies, a kid from the Prairies, a kid from Quebec, a kid from Ontario, kid from the West Coast, kid from the North … put them together and then they go win an Olympic medal on the ice hockey sheet, right?' he said.
4 hours ago
U.S. calls meeting with Alberta separatists 'routine' engagement
Catharine Tunney (https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/author/catharine-tunney-1.3035857)
The U.S. State Department confirmed officials have met with members of the Alberta separatist movement.
In a statement, the department said it 'regularly meets with civil society types.'
'As is typical in routine meetings such as these, no commitments were made,' it said.
4 hours ago
Carney to meet with premiers monthly during CUSMA review
Darren Major (https://www.cbc.ca/author/darren-major-1.4462710)
The prime minister just told reporters that he plans to meet with the premiers monthly once trade talks with the U.S. and Mexico begin in earnest. All three countries are preparing for a CUSMA trade deal review this year.
