
Just over 1 million Canadians returned from the US by car in February, the lowest level in nearly four years.
Statistics Canada data published Tuesday shows Canadian travel to the US continues to decline, even as trips overseas increase.

Just over 1 million Canadians returned from the US by car in February, the lowest level in nearly four years.
Statistics Canada data published Tuesday shows Canadian travel to the US continues to decline, even as trips overseas increase.

When the NDP’s arms-control bill that seeks to end largely permit-free Canadian military exports to the U.S. is put to a vote on Wednesday, it could garner the support of more than a dozen Liberal MPs.
That would be the first time some in the Liberal caucus split from the government’s position on legislation under Prime Minister Mark Carney.
“By my count, so far, I think there may be somewhere between … nine to 16 Liberal members who may support the bill,” said the NDP’s Jenny Kwan, the bill’s main sponsor, at a news conference on Tuesday.

U.S. President Donald Trump referred to Prime Minister Mark Carney as the “future Governor of Canada” in a Truth Social post on Tuesday.
Trump’s post was in reference to working with U.S. governors to “save The Great Lakes from the rather violent and destructive Asian Carp.”
h/t Patti Jo
For Lisa Mcbean, buying American-made snacks and traveling to the U.S. was second nature. That changed for the Ontario resident starting in early 2025.
Since then, the 54-year-old has checked if products are made in Canada before buying at the grocery store. Mcbean canceled multiple trips to the U.S. she had planned for concerts. Once-common jaunts across the border to shop are out of the picture.
*snort* 😏 https://t.co/7iG3LjXFJq
— Auntie Polly (@auntie_polly) March 9, 2026

There is a comforting idea making the rounds in Canada: stay neutral, keep everyone calm, and we will be fine. We can distance ourselves from the United States (US) without losing the benefits of the alliance and let markets and multilateral forums do the heavy lifting.
It sounds smart. It is also risky.
OTTAWA — Liberal House leader Steven MacKinnon says Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government has proposed to debate the turmoil in the Middle East on Monday evening, following a weekend meeting of ministers that discussed the issue.
Steven MacKinnon, who is also transport minister, said in a Sunday post on X the government has proposed to opposition parties that a debate on the hostilities in Iran and the impact for Canadians abroad be held in the House of Commons.
WTF?
In case anyone wanted to click the link to be enlightened;
Here is the “summary”…
Thanks for the transparency, Libs. pic.twitter.com/alIBud8RDL
— Cold Lampin (@bozmag) March 9, 2026
h/t Mauser

China scholar and former Canadian diplomat Charles Burton says Beijing expects that its strategic partnership with Ottawa means Canada will refrain from disrupting its espionage and foreign interference operations.
The partnership suggests Canada “won’t disrupt China’s operations in Canada, and espionage and influence operations, so that they can continue to expand their influence in Canada for the future when, from their point of view, China becomes the dominant power on the planet,” Burton said.
Carney will do whatever Xi says.

Complaints about misleading “Made in Canada” claims on food products have skyrocketed since the United States signaled tariffs on Canadian goods, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
Inspectors say the surge reflects growing consumer awareness of country-of-origin labeling.

The clearest attempt at a line of demarcation during Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s speech on Canada-United States relations was an apparent rejoinder to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s insistence that a “rupture” has occurred.
Quoting a John F. Kennedy hymn about the geography, history, economics and necessity that have brought Canada and the U.S. ever closer, Poilievre said the former president’s “insight captures a reality deeper than any temporary dispute.”

One year into the trade war, Canadians are feeling more patriotic and more convinced the United States is a worse place under Donald Trump. And as the president dangles the fate of North American free trade above a wood chipper, a split has emerged between business leaders worried about bottom lines and Canadians who are simply over the president’s provocations.
Bear in mind that Politico called on a former hack from the universally despised Trudeau government to provide insight.

For the first time since U.S. President Donald Trump called off negotiations last October — ostensibly over a TV ad — Prime Minister Mark Carney’s point man on trade met face to face with his White House counterpart.
Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc was in Washington, D.C., on Friday to meet U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
When LeBlanc emerged from the meeting, CBC News asked him what happened in the talks, but his only comment before getting into a waiting vehicle was “Have a good weekend.”

A study released by the Montreal Economic Institute estimates the federal government’s “Buy Canadian” policy could increase the cost of large infrastructure projects by more than $12 billion per year.
The study states that, among Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, total expenditures on public procurement accounted for 12.9 per cent of gross domestic product in 2021.

Let’s begin with a blunt question: Does Donald Trump hate Canada?
There is no evidence that he does. During his presidency, he did not sever diplomatic ties, cancel trade outright or threaten military action. What he did do, repeatedly and unapologetically, was put American interests first. He drove a hard bargain in trade negotiations, imposed tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum, pressured NATO allies (including Canada) to increase defence spending and used language that many Canadians found abrasive, even offensive.

There is a way the U.S. could play hardball with Canada, if the Liberal government of Prime Minister Mark Carney decides it wants to limit its purchase of F-35s in favour of the Gripen.
Critics who favour the Lockheed-Martin stealth fighter have long argued that the Swedish-built Gripen would not be interoperable with American aircraft and the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD).
That’s not what you see at the NATO air policing mission in Iceland, where Danish-owned F-35s have been training and operating alongside Swedish JAS-39 Gripens-Cs.

Between February 18 and 23, 2026, Abacus Data surveyed 1,500 Canadian adults to understand how Canadians view Prime Minister Mark Carney’s approach to dealing with President Donald Trump and how they see the risks and stakes as the 2026 CUSMA joint review approaches.
The results point to a striking and potentially underappreciated dynamic.