Carney returns to Ottawa to discuss U.S. tariffs, financial markets with cabinet
Prime Minister Mark Carney, speaking on Friday from Parliament Hill following a meeting with the cabinet committee on Canada-U.S. relations and national security, says the developments on the U.S. tariff policy this week, Chinese retaliation, and the financial markets were discussed at the meeting.
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A GM assembly plant in Ingersoll, Ont., will be temporarily shutting down, affecting 500 jobs.Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, campaigning on his economic plan today in St. Catharines, Ont., posted on social media that he is “incredibly saddened” by the layoffs.We’re waiting on reaction from other leaders.Earlier, Prime Minister Mark Carney met with the cabinet committee on Canada-U.S. relations, telling media afterward that U.S. tariffs are already affecting Canada’s economy.NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh just spoke to media in Ottawa, where he urged Canadians to elect more New Democrats to hold the government to account.Updates
April 11
6 minutes ago
‘GM wants to be here long-term,’ says Ingersoll mayor
Verity Stevenson
The General Motors CAMI Assembly plant in Ingersoll, Ont., will shut down next month with plans to reopen in the fall at half capacity. (Andrew Lupton/CBC)The GM plant shutdown in Ingersoll, which is about 40 kilometres east of London, Ont., is due to a decline in demand for the electric delivery trucks it assembles, according to the town’s mayor Brian Petrie.
Petrie says he was told General Motors would be working to come up with another product for the plant.
“That is what I’ve heard and I welcome that,” Petrie told CBC News’ Andrew Nichols. “I know GM wants to be here long-term.”
Petrie said the company has operated in the community since 1986. While the shutdown may not be directly related to auto sector tariffs for the moment, Petrie said the tariffs are “always concerning with everything changing.”
He said “it’s not a good day” for his community, but added that Unifor, the union representing workers at the plant, has set up an action centre to help laid-off workers.
“I know that they’re going to be taken care of and we’re going to be there to help do it,” Petrie said, adding he’s also reaching out to the Ontario government, which had invested in the GM plant.
1 hour ago
GM says plant’s temporary closure due to market
Verity Stevenson
Since 2022, workers at GM’s CAMI Assembly plant in Ingersoll, Ont., have worked to build the BrightDrop electric-powered delivery van. (Andrew Lupton/CBC News)Hi, Verity here, working on your afternoon live updates. My colleague Alessio Donnini is reporting more details about the GM plant shutdown in Ingersoll, Ont., which is causing hundreds of layoffs.
The General Motors CAMI Assembly plant will shut down next month with plans to reopen in the fall at half capacity.
The company said in a statement today that production is coming to a halt as a direct result of the market.
The CAMI plant employs approximately 1,200 workers. The union said today that layoffs will start Monday, with some production continuing into May. After that, production will stop until October.
Once production resumes, it will only be with one shift “for the foreseeable future,” the statement said, leading to the layoff of 500 workers.
Two models of the BrightDrop Zevo electric delivery vehicle are made on site, and sales have lagged behind the competition with numbers released by GM showing a total of 427 vehicles sold in Canada in 2024, and 1,529 in the United States.
You can read more here.
2 hours ago
Poilievre reacts to GM plant closure
Holly Cabrera
In response to the news of the upcoming temporary closure of GM’s CAMI Assembly plant in Ingersoll, Ont., Poilievre said he is “incredibly saddened by the layoffs.”
He said he spoke with Unifor Local 88 GM Plant chairperson Mike Van Boekel to express his commitment to protecting Canadian autoworkers.
“We will keep them working, so they can keep their jobs as we fight through this mess,” Poilievre said in a social media post. “A Conservative government will push hard to put an end to these tariffs and get a quick but fair deal that protects our sovereignty and our economy.”
He noted that U.S. President Donald Trump is “betraying America’s closest friend and attacking our economy.”
3 hours ago
Some grim news for the auto sector
Holly Cabrera
Employees work at GM’s CAMI EV Assembly in Ingersoll, Ont., in 2022. (Carlos Osorio/Reuters)GM’s CAMI Assembly plant in Ingersoll, Ont., will be temporarily shutting down, sources connected with the industry have told CBC’s David Cochrane.
The plant will be shut down in May and stay closed until at least October. When it reopens, it will have just one shift.
The net result is that 500 people will be receiving layoff notices, Cochrane reports.
The news was first reported by CTV.
3 hours ago
Singh takes aim at Carney for Brookfield’s ties to tax havens
Holly Cabrera
Singh said he worries Carney won’t crack down on offshore tax havens, amid new reports that Brookfield Asset Management, which Carney chaired before running for the Liberal Party, registered entities in the Cayman Islands.
“There’s more evidence that Mark Carney has chosen to not contribute to Canada when he was managing these funds. And here’s another example in the Cayman Islands,” Singh said.
Dodging a question about whether he believed that Carney is using his role as prime minister to his advantage in the middle of the campaign, Singh said Carney should be more transparent in his decisions.
Singh said employment insurance should be increased to help Canadians make ends meet. For some workers, EI only covers half of their salary, which is not enough for them to get by, he said.
“People need to see investments in our health care. They need to see protections for our workers. And that’s what New Democrats are going to fight for,” Singh said.
3 hours ago
Singh says it’s best ‘one party doesn’t have all the power’
Jenna Benchetrit
Jagmeet Singh adapts his message to keep NDP relevant
The NDP is fighting for every single vote in this election campaign, forcing party leader Jagmeet Singh to adjust his message in order to remain relevant to Canadians. He’s stopped saying he’s running for prime minister and instead says he wants more NDP MPs elected.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is urging Canadians to send more New Democrats to Ottawa to hold the future government to account. In recent days, he’s stopped saying that he’s running for prime minister.
“Because people voted for us, we were able to hold the government to account,” Singh told reporters today in Ottawa. He pointed to instances when the NDP pushed for the minority Liberal government to proceed with social programs like dental care and pharmacare.
“In all of this, I think Canadians know it’s best [when] one party doesn’t have all the power,” he said.
Singh was also asked if the election is over, and if he’s conceding that the Liberals will win. According to CBC’s aggregated Poll Tracker, the NDP appears to be on track to lose most of its seats and the Liberal Party is poised to win a majority government.
Singh didn’t answer, nor did he say whether he’ll stay on as NDP leader.
“I think campaigns matter,” he said. “I want Canadians to know that your vote does matter.”
4 hours ago
‘Our core strategy is to fight’
Holly Cabrera
Carney returns to Ottawa to discuss U.S. tariffs, financial markets with cabinet
Prime Minister Mark Carney, speaking on Friday from Parliament Hill following a meeting with the cabinet committee on Canada-U.S. relations and national security, says the developments on the U.S. tariff policy this week, Chinese retaliation, and the financial markets were discussed at the meeting.
Carney said members of the Canada-U.S. relations cabinet committee had a “good long discussion” on reactions from other countries to U.S. tariff policy. They also discussed initial signs of slowing in the global economy and impacts on the Canadian economy.
“We reviewed our response to those [U.S.] tariffs. Our core strategy is to fight, to protect and to build,” Carney said during his brief remarks to media.
“We left instructions for officials to ensure that the next government, whichever government Canadians choose, will be in the best position for negotiations with the United States, which [U.S. President Donald Trump] and I have agreed will be from the start of May.”
4 hours ago
Carney says tariffs already impacting Canadian economy
Jenna Benchetrit
Mark Carney, left, and U.S. President Donald Trump. (Frank Gunn, The Canadian Press/Associated Press)The prime minister, who is off the campaign trail today, just spoke after the meeting of his cabinet committee on Canada-U.S. relations and national security.
He told reporters that tariffs are already having an impact on the Canadian economy. We’ll have more to say on his remarks shortly.
Carney, who left the campaign trail to convene the cabinet committee meeting, didn’t take any questions from media. It’s the third time he has stopped campaigning to return to Parliament Hill.
4 hours ago
Blanchet calls for border minister
Holly Cabrera
Blanchet speaks to reporters in the foyer of the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Nov. 25, 2024. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet wants the federal government to create a border minister to oversee security.
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) currently reports to the minister of public safety and emergency preparedness.
Speaking in Montreal, Blanchet said that a federal minister specifically dedicated to border control would improve accountability.
He also took aim at former immigration minister Marc Miller.
“There are many ministers whose only answer to Parliament is that [the CBSA is] an agency, it’s independent,” Blanchet said in French.
Blanchet said a new border minister would make someone “personally responsible” if they don’t do their job properly.
4 hours ago
What’s on today’s cabinet committee meeting agenda
Holly Cabrera
Today’s meeting of the cabinet committee on Canada-U.S. relations and national security will focus on Chinese retaliation, financial markets and the Quebec border, sources told CBC News.
Border officials said earlier this week that there has been a steady increase since the start of the year in the number of people seeking asylum at Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle — a border crossing south of Montreal.
Asylum claims at that point of entry reached a high of 1,356 applications in March. For April, there were 557 claims as of Saturday.
The increase comes amid concerns that Trump administration policies could lead to a rush of crossings into Canada. It coincides with the looming expiration of the temporary status of hundreds of thousands of migrants in the United States.
