Weekly Roundup - April 10, 2026
Top Federal Stories
Another week, another floor crossing. Conservative MP Marilyn Gladu joined the Liberal caucus on Wednesday, marking the fifth opposition member to defect to Prime Minister Mark Carney's government since the April 2025 election, bringing the Liberal seat count to 171, just one short of a majority.
Gladu’s crossing foreshadows a likely Liberal majority government. If the Liberals win in the two Toronto-area byelections happening next week, they would secure a two-seat majority that would free the government from reliance on the Speaker to break ties. Both ridings are considered safe Liberal seats. The third byelection in Quebec (Terrebonne) will be closer, though recent polls have shown the Liberal candidate with a slight advantage. Winning Terrebonne would provide some cushion in the event of more Liberal MPs resigning, a plausible scenario given MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith is likely to depart to pursue the Liberal leadership in Ontario, and MP Jonathon Wilkinson could still depart to accept the Ambassador to the EU role offered to him last September.
As their tent expands, the governing party is gathering in Montréal this week for their national convention, running from April 9 to 11. It is the first convention under Carney's leadership and comes at a high-water mark for the party’s overall approval, with Liberals currently sitting at 45 per cent support nationally according to recent polling aggregations. Delegates will debate 24 policy resolutions touching on health-care reform, the use of the notwithstanding clause, social media and AI restrictions for minors, and electoral reform. Carney is scheduled to address the convention on Saturday afternoon.
On the Conservative side, Pierre Poilievre's communications director, Katy Merrifield, announced her departure this week in an email to the Conservative caucus. Merrifield joined Poilievre's office in 2025 and is widely credited with steering him away from the bumper-sticker messaging and media-avoidance that defined the party’s strategy leading up to the 2025 campaign. Under her watch, Poilievre began granting interviews to mainstream outlets, attended the Parliamentary Press Gallery dinner for the first time, and swapped tight T-shirts for business suits.
On trade, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Tuesday that he does not expect negotiations on the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement to be resolved by the July 1 deadline. Greer acknowledged that talks with Canada are lagging behind those with Mexico, where formal negotiations launched last month. Formal negotiations between Canada and the United States have not yet begun. Greer's office released its trade estimate report last week, flagging provincial alcohol rules, federal Buy Canadian procurement policies, and supply management, among other issues.
Responding to President Trump’s threats to target civilian infrastructure in Iran, Carney reiterated that all parties should respect international law and avoid targeting civilians or civilian infrastructure. He did not specifically name President Trump, who posted inflammatory warnings that "a whole civilization will die tonight" if a deal is not reached to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Pierre Poilievre wrote to the Prime Minister demanding a pause on federal fuel taxes, arguing that windfall revenues from higher oil prices could cover the cost of suspending the tax. Carney said his government is examining ways to cushion the blow for Canadians but offered no specific commitments.
On a lighter note, Carney spoke with the Artemis II crew on Wednesday evening, congratulating Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen on becoming the first Canadian to travel into deep space. The mission broke the distance record for human spaceflight, reaching over 406,000 kilometres from Earth and surpassing the distance record set by Apollo 13 in 1970.
Top Alberta Stories
Premier Danielle Smith gave a state-of-the-province address to the Rotary Club of Downtown Calgary this week, where she spoke on a range of topics, including the economy, health care, immigration and Alberta’s relationship with the federal government. While not the focus of her speech, the possibility of Calgary or Edmonton bidding to host a future Olympic Games drew considerable attention. The idea follows Calgary’s decision not to proceed with a bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics after a public plebiscite in 2018. In her address, Smith pointed to potential investments that could support the future bid, including passenger rail connections between Calgary and Edmonton and Calgary and Banff, as well as new or upgraded sports and entertainment facilities in both cities. She also referenced broader tourism and recreation infrastructure, noting that any future proposal would need to better manage costs and make greater use of existing and upgraded facilities.
During the event, Smith also addressed questions around a referendum tied to the “Forever Canadian” petition that asks, “Do you agree that Alberta should remain within Canada?” She said a committee will review the legal considerations of whether such a question could proceed, with its first meeting scheduled for April 21, and noted she is watching both the courts and the ongoing signature campaign linked to a pro-separatist effort.
Three First Nations groups have completed arguments in an Edmonton court challenging the proposed referendum on Alberta separating from Canada. Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation is seeking an injunction related to changes to the Citizen Initiative Act, while Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation and the Blackfoot Confederacy are pursuing judicial reviews to overturn approval of the independence petition and pause the referendum process. They argue the petition process could lead to irreparable harm by setting Alberta on a path toward separation, which would alter treaty relationships and territorial boundaries. The Alberta Government maintains the legal challenges are premature, arguing the current stage is limited to signature collection and does not trigger a duty to consult, as no direct impact on treaty rights has occurred.
Alberta’s Opposition New Democrats also made noise about separation this week, launching a provincewide campaign branded “For Alberta, For Canada” focused on mobilizing volunteers and making the case for remaining in Confederation. Leader Naheed Nenshi said the campaign is designed to proactively engage Albertans, emphasizing the need to highlight the political, economic and social risks of separation.
The Province is advancing efforts to strengthen its international trade relationships, particularly with China. Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation RJ Sigurdson is leading a trade mission aimed at expanding export opportunities, attracting investment and reinforcing Alberta’s position as a supplier of high-quality agri-food products. In parallel, Alberta has established an Alberta-China Advisory Committee to provide strategic advice on trade and investment opportunities, with a focus on strengthening market access and guiding long-term engagement. China remains a key market for Alberta, with exports valued at nearly $9.6 billion in 2025, including $1.4 billion in agri-food products, underscoring its importance to the province’s economic diversification strategy.
Alberta’s education system is set to undergo a review of school safety measures following a deadly mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., that left nine people dead and dozens injured in February. Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides said school boards across the province will be directed to audit their existing security protocols, while the province conducts a broader review to ensure consistent minimum safety standards are in place. The process is expected to identify gaps such as outdated equipment, malfunctioning communication systems, and issues with building security. While officials emphasize that schools remain safe overall, the review is intended to address emerging concerns and strengthen preparedness.
Top Ontario Stories
Queen’s Park was quiet this week during constituency break, leaving the Ontario news cycle to ministerial announcements and a polling slump that finally caught up with the Premier. First up, Energy Minister Stephen Lecce announced what he billed as Ontario’s biggest renewable energy move in a decade, confirming the province has selected 12 new solar projects and two wind farms to come online by 2030, with enough capacity to power the equivalent of 350,000 homes. The procurement targets forecast electricity demand from industrial electrification, data centres, and population growth. For a government that spent its first term tearing up renewable contracts and treating wind and solar as a political punchline, the U-turn to place intermittent generation as a centrepiece of its energy strategy is a welcome pivot for clean-tech, renewables, and grid-services organizations.
More city councils are staring down the barrel of the provincial government's municipal governance reform. The Better Regional Governacne Act, 2026, tabled last week by Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Rob Flack, would shrink Niagara Regional Council from 32 members to 13 and Simcoe County council from 32 to 17. It would also empower the province to appoint regional chairs in Durham, Halton, Muskoka, Peel, Waterloo, and York, with “strong chair” powers analogous to those held by Toronto’s mayor. Flack has framed the changes as a way to make regional government more nimble on housing and infrastructure approvals. For development, infrastructure, and housing organizations, the new strong-chair powers are the latest move meant to streamline projects across the GTA’s largest regional municipalities.
The same centralizing push runs through education. Education Minister Paul Calandra has signalled he intends to table broader school board governance legislation when the legislature returns from the break. With supervisors already in place at boards covering roughly a third of Ontario’s schools, the looming bill is expected to formalize and expand provincial authority over local school administration. Meanwhile, Global News reported that one of the eight provincial supervisors appointed to oversee Ontario school boards billed roughly $240,000 for six months of work. The figures landed alongside news of hundreds of teaching cuts at the Toronto District School Board.
Two pollsters dropped sobering numbers on the Premier this week. Angus Reid’s cross-Canada Weighted Government Performance Index ranked the Ford government dead last among provincial governments, scoring 18 out of 100, the worst result in the country and an 11-point drop from last year. Abacus Data put PC support at 39 per cent, the party’s lowest rating in nearly two years, with the Liberals at 31, NDP at 21, and Greens at 5. Abacus chief David Coletto told the Toronto Star that the FOI changes embedded in Bill 97 are punching a hole in the Premier’s brand. However, the cushion under Ford remains substantial; 34 per cent of Ontarians report that Doug Ford is their preferred choice for premier, and the PC fundraising machine continues to maintain a healthy lead over the opposition parties. All told, a weakened Premier with a strong majority, a weak opposition, and a full war chest is unlikely to face serious legislative resistance on the files moving through the legislature in the weeks ahead.
The New West Team is ready to guide clients through this uncertain time in Canadian politics.
