From Markets to Mandate: Carney Begins New Chapter in Canadian Politics
Carney Displays Political Finesse in Debut Press Conference
Canada is hitting back at President Donald Trump’s repeated assertions about making Canada the 51st state by calling on King Charles to personally deliver Canada’s throne speech on May 27. Prime Minister Mark Carney, who will meet Trump at the White House on Tuesday, said he asked the monarch to perform the ceremonial role, underscoring Canada’s sovereignty. “It’s a very clear message being sent to other countries around the world. And it’s an honor for us,” Carney said in French in his first press conference since the Liberals won a minority government in Canada’s federal election on Monday. The invitation to the monarch, who is Canada’s head of state, is a dramatic example of the country’s “elbows up” defiance of Trump’s repeated insults and annexation threats. “On Monday, Canadians elected a new government to stand up to President Trump and to build a strong economy,” Carney said. Carney said he expects “difficult, but constructive” conversations with Trump and senior administration officials next week, brushing back suggestions he might face an embarrassing dressing down similar to what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky faced in March. Carney said he would be opening talks on how to lift Trump’s various tariffs on Canada, but made clear the meeting is only a start to a negotiation of a larger economic and security agreement with the U.S. “Do not expect white smoke out of that meeting,” said Carney - Politico
My comment: Mark Carney couldn’t have played his first press conference as prime minister more deftly. The media were, frankly, eating out of his hand. He struck a tone of unity, reconciliation, and Team Canada strength—clearly aiming to reset the national mood. A new cabinet will be sworn in on May 12, with Parliament set to resume May 26, followed by a Throne Speech delivered by King Charles on May 27—the first time a reigning monarch will do so since 1977. In a notable gesture, Carney said he wouldn’t block a by-election that could allow his main rival, Pierre Poilievre, to re-enter Parliament. And in a subtle rebuke to Trump-era isolationism, Carney’s choice to have the King deliver the Throne Speech also sent a clear message about Canada’s place on the world stage.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Vice President JD Vance expressed uncertainty over the chances of reaching a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine one day after Washington and Kyiv signed a deal that gives the United States access to Ukraine’s mineral resources. "I think we know where Ukraine is, and we know where Russia is right now…. They're closer, but they're still far apart," Rubio said on Fox News on May 1. Vance, speaking in a separate interview on the network, went further, saying the war in Ukraine is not going to end "any time soon." Rubio said if there isn't a real breakthrough on the war in Ukraine in the near future, US President Donald Trump will have to decide how much more time to dedicate to the negotiation process. The United States had already warned that negotiations had reached a "critical" phase, and a lack of progress could mean it would walk away from its efforts to broker an end to the conflict. Rubio said last week that, while "real progress" had been made in talks to end Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, "those last couple of steps of this journey were always going to be the hardest ones, and it needs to happen soon." Trump, who began his second term as president in January, has made ending the war a top priority. He has called for an immediate and full cease-fire and demanded that Russia stop its indiscriminate attacks on Ukrainian cities. Vance said he was "optimistic" about securing a halt to fighting but it would ultimately be up to Kyiv and Moscow. "They're the ones who have to take the final step," he said. It is "going to be up to the Russians and Ukrainians now that each side knows what the other's terms for peace are. It's going to be up to them to come to an agreement and stop this brutal, brutal conflict…It's not going anywhere…. It's not going to end any time soon," Vance added - RFE/RL
The United States says it intends to scale back its role as mediator, the US State Department has said. "We are not going to fly around the world at the drop of a hat to mediate meetings; that is now between the two parties, and now is the time that they need to present and develop concrete ideas about how this conflict is going to end," spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters. The announcement marks a significant shift in Washington's approach and comes after months of stalled diplomatic efforts to get Kyiv and Moscow to agree to a deal to end Russia's war, now in its fourth year - Euronews
The head of PBS said Friday that President Donald Trump’s executive order aiming to slash public subsidies to PBS and NPR was blatantly unlawful. Public Broadcasting Service CEO Paula Kerger said the Republican president’s order “threatens our ability to serve the American public with educational programming, as we have for the past 50-plus years….We are currently exploring all options to allow PBS to continue to serve our member stations and all Americans,” Kerger said. Trump signed the order late Thursday, alleging “bias” in the broadcasters’ reporting. The order instructs the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and other federal agencies to “cease Federal funding” for PBS and National Public Radio and further requires that they work to root out indirect sources of public financing for the news organizations. The White House, in a social media posting announcing the signing, said the outlets “receive millions from taxpayers to spread radical, woke propaganda disguised as ‘news.’” The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funnels public funding to the two services, said that it is not a federal executive agency subject to Trump’s orders. The president earlier this week said he was firing three of the five remaining CPB board members — threatening its ability to do any work — and was immediately sued by the CPB to stop it - AP
Syrian authorities have condemned the Israeli attack near the presidential palace in Damascus, describing it as a “dangerous escalation” against state institutions and national sovereignty. “The Syrian presidency calls on the international community and Arab states to stand with Syria in the face of these hostile assaults that violate international laws and treaties,” Syria's presidency said in a statement. “These attacks − whether foreign or domestic − target Syria’s unity, but they will not succeed in weakening the will of the Syrian people” The statement also urged all parties to commit to dialogue and co-operation in the interest of national unity. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Friday that he spoke with the spiritual leader of the Druze community in Israel, Sheikh Muwafeq Tarif, who thanked him for his "directive to act decisively to protect the Druze in Syria in recent days, including his decision last night to bomb the presidential palace complex in Damascus…Sheikh Tarif said that the strong actions ordered by the Prime Minister sent a deterrent message to the Syrian regime regarding Israel's commitment to the Druze community in Syria,” according to the statement - The National
Watch my hot take for Times Radio of London on the U.S.-Ukraine minerals deal
The journals…
