Hello, welcome to Politics Insider. Let’s look at what happened today.
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand has asked her Omani counterpart for use of the country’s airspace to evacuate Canadians from the Middle East, if necessary.
Marie Woolf reports that, speaking in Toronto today, Anand said a top priority for the federal government is helping the 100,000 Canadians who are stranded in the region.
The minister said she had spoken to her counterparts in several Middle Eastern and Gulf states – including Oman’s Foreign Minister, Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi – about helping Canadians.
Oman still has an open airspace “and so I requested use of that airspace if necessary for Canadian citizens to get out.”
She added that the “protection of civilians and the assistance to Canadian citizens themselves, who are being advised to shelter in place” is a key part of Canada’s foreign policy.
In other news, Steven Chase reports that Defence Minister David McGuinty said Iran’s deceased leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was “a force for evil,” as McGuinty defended the Liberal government’s decision to back U.S. and Israeli air strikes on Iran.
Ayatollah Khamenei, 86, was killed in U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran Saturday, a pre-emptive attack that critics say may have violated international law.
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government, however, issued a strong statement in support of the attacks only hours after air strikes began, saying Tehran is the main source of instability in the Middle East and must never be allowed to possess nuclear weapons.
Former Liberal cabinet minister Lloyd Axworthy has criticized this decision, saying the attack on Iran was not authorized by the United Nations.
McGuinty, speaking to reporters in Sydney during Carney’s visit to Australia, said Canada’s position toward Iran has been toughening for years.
Also today, India’s Ministry of External Affairs has dismissed a Globe and Mail report that said Canadian national-security officials were presented with evidence that Indian consular staff in Vancouver had supplied information to assist in the assassination of Canadian Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
The Globe reported that an Indian intelligence officer, Kanwaljit Singh, had worked as a visa official in the consulate while also gathering information about Nijjar from members of the Indian diaspora in Surrey, B.C., according to a law-enforcement source.
Greg Mercer, Mike Hager and Steven Chase report that Periasamy Kumaran, a senior secretary in India’s Ministry of External Affairs, told reporters Monday in New Delhi that his country strongly denies any involvement in the 2023 slaying that frayed India’s relationship with Canada.
“India categorically rejects allegations of involvement in transnational violence or organized crime. These claims are baseless, politically motivated and unsupported by credible evidence,” he said.
Canada’s federal leaders, who were in India on the last day of a trade mission when the report was published, did not respond to the revelations, which detail for the first time the role consular officials are accused of having played in the killing.
Anand declined to comment and Carney cancelled a planned news conference with reporters travelling with him.
Open this photo in gallery:
A plume of smoke rises following a U.S.-Israeli military strike in Tehran on Tuesday.Vahid Salemi/The Associated Press
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What else is going on
B.C. chief coroner to hold inquest into Tumbler Ridge mass shooting: Dr. Jatinder Baidwan announced the inquest today, calling the killings “a senseless act of violence” and listing the victims by name.
Quebec’s Bill 21 violates Charter rights, say challengers at Supreme Court: Challengers to Quebec’s Bill 21 argue the law infringes on several sections of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, according to new legal filings at the Supreme Court of Canada.
Advocates call for public inquiry into alleged corruption within Toronto Police Service: Investigators said members of organized crime were buying data and addresses from Toronto Police Service officers, then using the information to co-ordinate shootings and other crimes.
Most of B.C. to adopt daylight saving time permanently: Premier David Eby announced B.C. is ending the twice-yearly ritual of adjusting the clocks, noting that the time change is difficult for families and businesses.
Signs of PQ weakness have opponents circling: The Quebec Liberals have a steep hill to climb, with just months to go until an election the PQ has seemed set to win.
Ontario investigated 900 allegations of OSAP fraud last year: Premier Doug Ford has cited the alleged misuse of public funds as part of his reasoning for making changes to the Ontario Student Assistance program in February.
On our radar
Commons Break: The House of Commons is on a break this week. MPs will return March 9. The Senate is also off for the week.
Prime Minister’s Day: Mark Carney arrived in Sydney, Australia, today. Carney departed Canada on Feb. 26 to visit India, Australia and Japan, and returns to Canada on Saturday. Also today, Carney spoke with United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan about the conflict in the Middle East.
Party Leaders: Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is in London today as part of a trip to Great Britain and Germany this week. He met with MPs and delivered the Margaret Thatcher Lecture at the Centre for Policy Studies. Green Party Leader Elizabeth May is in her Saanich-Gulf Islands riding, where she was scheduled to be a speaker at the evening St. Mary’s Metchosin’s 10th annual Metchosin Challenge in Victoria. No schedules released for other party leaders.
Ministers on the Road: In Halifax, Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon announced $8.5-million to support 40 AI projects across Atlantic Canada.
In Toronto, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand gave a keynote address at the Toronto Region Board of Trade and participated in a fireside chat on “Canada’s Global Strategy: What It Means for Business.”
Also in Toronto, Energy Minister Tim Hodgson was at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada convention, where he was scheduled to announce investments in Canadian critical minerals. He also held a news conference.
And Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon, also the government House Leader, and Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Rebecca Alty were scheduled to make an announcement at the prospectors and developers conference in Toronto.
In Winnipeg, Industry Minister Mélanie Joly, Northern Affairs Minister Rebecca Chartrand and Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony marking the official opening of New Flyer’s all-Canadian facility for building transit buses.
Tory rules out return: Former Toronto mayor John Tory says he won’t launch a bid to regain the post despite being broadly encouraged to do so. He was mayor from 2014 to 2023, stepping down after he admitted to having an affair with a member of his staff during the pandemic. In a statement on X today, Tory said he does not feel he can put his family through the inevitable attacks on his personal life that would come with a bid. “I’m not asking you to feel sorry for me,” he wrote, adding he is not ruling out the possibility of endorsing a candidate. “I would encourage those who feel they can contribute meaningfully to improving the city to put their names forward.”
Quote of the Day
“Our foreign policy is now principles imbued with pragmatism, that we now need to say, `How can we, from a foreign-policy standpoint, grow the domestic economy?’ The two are linked now in a way that they have not traditionally been linked. Diplomacy today is not only about meeting new friends in far-off places. It is also about ensuring that our relationships around the world add value to domestic, economic growth.” – Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand, during her keynote address today to the Toronto Region Board of Trade.
Question period
Today in 1980 was a big day for Pierre Trudeau. What happened?
Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter for the answer.
Perspectives
No time for truth in this reset with India
Actually, the cancellation of the press conference has been predictable since last Wednesday, when a government official made a comment that raked up the interference issue again. And, as it turned out, Mr. Carney was able to clear Indian airspace before being drawn on questions that might tick off Mr. Modi.
— Campbell Clark, Chief Political Writer
Alberta’s oil inheritance is being pilfered (by Albertans)
Albertans loathe the notion of a provincial sales tax almost as much as meddling from Ottawa. Perhaps there is a made-in-Alberta solution that can avoid a PST. If so, the provincial government should lay out that plan: Future Albertans are owed that, and much more.
— The Globe and Mail Editorial Board
Does Donald Trump want regime change in Iran? Or a Venezuela Solution
How does the Iran war end? The Trump administration may have decided that its preferred course is not regime change but, to borrow an Israeli analogy, “mowing the grass.”
— Tony Keller, Columnist
Go deeper
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The answer to today’s question: After leading the Liberals to victory in the 1980 election, Pierre Trudeau was sworn in as prime minister on March 3, 1980. He would go on to serve as PM until June of 1984. Trudeau was previously sworn in for a run as PM from April 1968 to June 1979, when his Liberals were defeated by the Progressive Conservatives led by Joe Clark.
