CTV National News: Carney heading to Rome for Pope Leo's inaugural mass
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Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to have an audience with Pope Leo ahead of attending his inaugural mass in Rome. Abigail Bimman has more.
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CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Interim NDP leader says party will vote against throne speech
Prime Minister Mark Carney is seen outside his office prior to a cabinet meeting on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick OTTAWA -- Interim NDP Leader Don Davies says New Democrat MPs will vote against the government's throne speech today. Davies says the NDP caucus met Wednesday morning and decided that the party will vote 'no.' He says 1.2 million Canadians sent New Democrats to Parliament to advocate for working families and those priorities aren't reflected in the speech. Davies says the speech lacks details about health care and housing. A speech from the throne is traditionally a confidence matter, which means it would be the first real test of Prime Minister Mark Carney's government. If the government loses a confidence vote, it could be defeated. House Leader Steven MacKinnon said before the party's caucus meeting earlier today that the Liberals are confident the throne speech will pass. -- With files from David Baxter This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 4, 2025. Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press
Globe and Mail
an hour ago
- Globe and Mail
Auto industry hit by China's rare earth export curbs as worldwide concerns grow
Some European auto parts plants have suspended output and Mercedes-Benz is considering ways to protect against shortages of rare earths, as concerns about the damage from China's restrictions on critical mineral exports deepen across the globe. China's decision in April to suspend exports of a wide range of rare earths and related magnets has upended the supply chains central to automakers, aerospace manufacturers, semiconductor companies and military contractors around the world. China's dominance of the critical mineral industry, key to the green energy transition, is increasingly viewed as a key point of leverage for Beijing in its trade war with U.S. President Donald Trump. China produces around 90% of the world's rare earths, and auto industry representatives have warned of increasing threats to production due to their dependency on it for those parts. 'It just puts stress on a system that's highly organized with parts being ordered many weeks in advance,' said Sherry House, Ford's finance chief, at an investor conference on Wednesday. She said China's export controls add administrative layers that are sometimes smooth, and sometimes not. 'We're managing it. It continues to be an issue, and we continue to work the issues.' EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic said on Wednesday that he and his Chinese counterpart had agreed to clarify the rare earth situation as quickly as possible. 'We must reduce our dependencies on all countries, particularly on a number of countries like China, on which we are more than 100% dependent,' said EU Commissioner for Industrial Strategy Stephane Sejourne. 'The export (curbs) increase our will to diversify,' he said as Brussels identified 13 new projects outside the bloc aimed at increasing supplies of metals and minerals essential. Europe's auto supplier association CLEPA said several production lines have shut down after running out of supplies, the latest to warn about the growing threat to manufacturing due to the controls. Of the hundreds of requests for export licenses made by auto suppliers since early April, only a quarter have been granted so far, CLEPA added, with some requests rejected on what the association described as 'highly procedural grounds.' It did not identify the companies but warned of further outages. While China's announcement in April coincided with a broader package of retaliation against Washington's tariffs, the measures apply globally and are causing worry among business executives around the world. Earlier on Wednesday, Mercedes-Benz production chief Joerg Burzer said he was talking to top suppliers about building 'buffers' such as stockpiles to protect against potential threats to supply. Mercedes was currently not affected by the shortage. BMW said that part of its supplier network was disrupted but its own plants were running as normal. German and U.S. automakers have complained that the restrictions imposed by China threaten production, following a similar grievance from an Indian EV maker last week. Mathias Miedreich, board member for electrified propulsion at German automotive supplier ZF Friedrichshafen, said the company has largely been able to get needed permits from China. In a media briefing on Tuesday, he said he worries though that the situation eventually could resemble the computer-chip shortage during the COVID-19 pandemic, which wiped out millions of vehicles from automakers' production plans. Many are lobbying their governments to find a quick solution but some companies only have enough supplies to last a few weeks or months, Wolfgang Weber, CEO of Germany's electrical and digital industry association ZVEI, said in an e-mailed statement. Swedish Autoliv, the world's biggest maker of airbags and seatbelts, said its operations are not affected, but CEO Mikael Bratt said he has set up a task force to manage the situation. There are few alternatives to China. Automakers from General Motors to BMW and major suppliers like ZF and BorgWarner are researching or have developed motors with low- to zero rare earth content in a bid to cut their reliance on China, but few have managed to scale production to bring down costs. BMW has deployed a magnet-free electric motor for its latest generation of electric cars, but still requires rare earths for smaller motors powering components like windshield wipers or car window rollers. 'There is no solution for the next three years except to come to an agreement with China,' said Andreas Kroll, managing director of Noble Elements, rare earths importer for medium-sized companies and startups without their own inventories. 'China controls practically 99.8 per cent of global production of heavy rare earths. Other countries can only produce these in minimal quantities, virtually on a laboratory scale.' China's slow pace of easing its critical mineral export controls has become a focus of Trump's criticism of Beijing, which he says has violated the truce reached last month to roll back tariffs and trade restrictions. Trump has sought to redefine the United States' trading relationship with its biggest economic rival by imposing steep tariffs on billions of dollars of imported goods in hopes of narrowing a trade deficit and bringing back lost manufacturing. He imposed tariffs as high as 145% against China only to scale them back after a selloff in stock, bond and currency markets over the sweeping nature of the levies. China has responded with its own tariffs and is leveraging its dominance in key supply chains to persuade Trump to back down. Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to talk this week to try to iron out their differences and the export curbs are expected to be high on the agenda. In a social media post on Wednesday, Trump said that Xi is 'VERY TOUGH, AND EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL WITH,' highlighting the fragility of the deal.
National Post
2 hours ago
- National Post
'Albertans know that they have options': Alberta Tory MPs warn Carney not to ignore threat of separatism
OTTAWA — With the House of Commons back in full swing, Conservative MPs from Alberta are sounding the alarm on rising separatist tensions in the province, warning Prime Minister Mark Carney to tackle the problem or reckon with a fractured country. Article content Calgary MP Shuvaloy Majumdar blasted Carney on Tuesday for leaving the first ministers' meeting in Saskatoon without giving Alberta a firm commitment on oil and gas pipelines and other energy infrastructure. Article content Article content Article content 'Yesterday, the prime minister committed to more rhetoric, more lofty words, and no actual (oil and gas) project,' said Majumdar in Tuesday's question period. Article content 'Alberta's heard all this before. We don't need headlines, we need results.' Article content Majumdar told the National Post it's time for Carney to back up his words with actions, after campaigning on an implicit promise to repair the rift between Ottawa and Alberta created by his Liberal predecessor Justin Trudeau. Article content 'This is all about the pressure of resentment that has built up after (Trudeau spent) 10 years attacking the energy industry in Alberta,' said Majumdar. Article content 'The prime minister ran on addressing those issues, lifting things from the Conservative playbook… The solution here is for (him) to deliver what he's promising, lest he risk a constitutional crisis.' Article content Newly elected rural Alberta MP David Bexte said in his maiden speech last week that 'Alberta separatism is no longer a fringe idea.' Article content 'I heard (separatist talk) at the doors more times than I can count, and I'll tell you plainly… Albertans know that they have options,' said Bexte. Article content 'If this House continues to insult, neglect and abuse Alberta… than the future of this country is not guaranteed.' Article content Bexte declined a request to be interviewed for this story. Article content Departing Battle River—Crowfoot MP Damien Kurek sounded the same warning in his farewell speech to Parliament, imploring all members of the House to 'fight for Canada.' Article content 'We face a national unity crisis. It is not something that can be flippantly dismissed by those in other parts of the country that would suggest that Alberta, for example, should simply pay up and shut up,' said Kurek. Article content 'Alberta deserves a fair voice in the federation, just like every province.' Article content Kurek announced shortly after April's election that he would vacate his seat to give Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who lost his own Ottawa-area seat, an opportunity to run in a byelection.
