Carney leads Canadian delegation to the Vatican for Pope's inaugural mass
ROME — Prime Minister Mark Carney is at the Vatican today, leading a Canadian delegation attending the inaugural mass of Pope Leo XIV.
Carney, a devout Catholic, will be among a number of world leaders and heads of state in attendance who will all have a brief meeting with the pontiff inside Saint Peter's Basilica after the mass.
Carney met a number of them on Saturday on his first official visit to Italy, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who he hosted at Canada's Official Residence to the Italian Republic.
Thirteen Canadian MPs will also attend the mass, including Jaime Battiste, who was part of a reception with Canadian Catholic Cardinals on Saturday evening in Rome alongside the prime minister.
The Nova Scotia MP says he's looking forward to hearing how the Pope 'sets the tone' for how he will lead.
'It's kind of like our version of the speech from the throne as members of Parliament,' Battiste told reporters outside Canada's Official Residence.
Indigenous leaders have long called on the Vatican to repatriate thousands of Indigenous artifacts taken from communities in Canada. The late Pope Francis had expressed a willingness to return colonial-era artifacts in the Vatican Museum.
Battiste said the return of the artifacts came up in his meeting with the Cardinals, and their return is an important step toward reconciliation.
'I've always said that reconciliation is a journey, not a destination, and we all have steps to take on that journey,' Battiste said.
'I was proud to see our prime minister was talking about reconciliation between Indigenous communities and the Catholic church.'
Quebec MP Jean-Yves Duclos is also part of the Canadian delegation to the Vatican.
He said the church plays an important role in fostering peace between countries. Last week Leo offered to host peace talks at the Vatican between Russia and Ukraine.
'We need more peace in this world, and I think we will be hearing more of that on the part of the Pope,' Duclos told reporters.
'I think (hosting peace talks) is a very important thing that the church can do. The church is not an armed country, it's a small state … with a lot of influence. To try to bring people together, as opposed to divide our humanity, is the right thing to do.'
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 18, 2025.
Nick Murray, The Canadian Press
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Toronto Sun
18 minutes ago
- Toronto Sun
LILLEY: Carney's Liberals hiding immigration data as questions mount
Prime Minister Mark Carney attends a working session during the Group of Seven (G7) Summit at the Pomeroy Kananaskis Mountain Lodge in Kananaskis, Alta. on June 16, 2025. Photo by LUDOVIC MARIN/POOL / AFP via Getty Images The Carney Liberals have been hiding immigration data from Canadians for months. Now, after being called out on it, the government says it's all in the name of openness and transparency. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Normally, government numbers on the number of new arrivals, the number of asylum seekers and more are released on the government's open data portal. As of now, the government hasn't released any data since May and that information only covers until the end of March. The news was made public in a statement last week by Conservative Immigration Critic Michelle Rempel-Garner. 'How many illegal border crossings have we had? How many more asylum claims have piled on to an already backlogged waitlist? How many more permits have the Liberals handed out that continue to overwhelm our housing, health-care system and job market?' Rempel Garner asked. 'Whatever they are, Canada has a right to know.' She's right: We do have a right to know, especially since the Liberals have made such a disaster of the immigration system. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. For decades, under both Liberal and Conservative governments, Canada's immigration system was considered a model in the world. Because of its orderly nature, public support remained quite high for high immigration levels. A few years ago, that changed. In April 2022, the Trudeau Liberals made several changes to allow a massive deregulation of the program of the Temporary Foreign Workers program. Under the changes announced then, seasonal industries could hire under the TFW for the full year while the cap on an employer having only 10% of their workforce come from the TFW program was lifted to 20% in most industries but higher in others. The feds raised the cap to 30% for manufacturing, food and accommodations, hospitals and nursing homes. They also got rid of a stipulation that if unemployment was above 6% then TFW approval would not be granted. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. They did this at the same time as they were dramatically increasing the number of permanent residents allowed into Canada each year. The official Liberal immigration plan called for an increase to 465,000 new permanent residents in 2023, 485,000 in 2024 and 500,000 in 2025. Recommended video Of course, as we later learned, they also opened the floodgates for international students and then opened up their ability to work and take jobs. A growing problem prior to the government halting their release of official data was the increasing number of foreign workers and international students who would claim asylum rather than return home after their visas expired. It's hard to assess that kind of issue if you don't have data because the government is hiding it. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. My colleague Bryan Passifiume asked Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada for a comment on the issue last Wednesday and didn't hear back anything until late Friday. Even at that, their statement was vague and not overly reassuring about what was happening. They said that monthly data was still available upon request but that they were in the process of updating how the data would be presented. 'The goal is provide clearer explanations of trends and greater context to help Canadians better understand data about key IRCC programs,' the statement read. 'The Liberal government just admitted that they have purposefully withheld raw immigration data from the public, and intend on replacing it with heavily edited information that will likely be packaged with Liberal spin,' Rempel-Garner said in response to the statement. It's an understandable apprehension for her to have. This kind of data is normally provided in raw form so business and academic researchers, or journalists, can interpret it. Now it seems after months of hiding the data, they want to release information only after it has been massaged. Given the Liberal track record on immigration over the past several years, we all have reason to be concerned. Celebrity World World Canada MLB
Globe and Mail
29 minutes ago
- Globe and Mail
Ontario appeals court upholds ruling requiring Ukrainian airline to pay families of victims on Flight PS752
Ontario's highest court has upheld a ruling that found Ukraine International Airlines legally responsible to pay full compensation to families of victims who died in the downing of Flight PS752. On Jan. 8, 2020, the plane was shot down by two Iranian missiles just minutes after taking off from Tehran, killing all 176 people on board. Most of the passengers were bound for Canada, including 55 Canadian citizens and 30 permanent residents, while many others had connections to Canada. Under the Montreal Convention, an international law governing air travel, airlines are responsible for proven damages up to US$180,000. Airlines are also responsible for claims above that amount unless the airline can prove the incident did not happen due to its own negligence. Iran admits 'disastrous mistake': Its military accidentally shot down Flight 752 Last year, an Ontario court found that Ukraine International Airlines was negligent because it failed to conduct a proper risk assessment for the flight out of Tehran, and the court found that decision meant the airline could not limit the amount of compensation it provided to families. The Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed the airline's appeal in a decision released Monday. Joe Fiorante, a lawyer representing some of the families in the case, called the ruling 'an important result' for those who lost loved ones in the incident. 'The ruling of the Court of Appeal brings a small measure of justice for the families,' Fiorante said in a press release. A joint statement by lawyers Paul Miller and Jamie Thornback, who also represent families in the case, called the ruling 'a landmark decision.' 'At a time of heightened conflicts around the world, the judgment sends a clear message to international airlines that open airspace cannot be assumed to be safe airspace,' they said in a press release. 'Airlines must exercise extreme caution and diligence when operating in or near a conflict zone.' Iran is targeting Canadian relatives of Flight 752 victims, RCMP tells foreign interference inquiry Monday's ruling comes after the Supreme Court of Canada decided last year that it would not hear an appeal from victims' families who were trying to enforce a 2021 default court judgment against Iran for $107 million plus interest and costs. The families had taken steps to enforce the ruling by targeting Iran's properties and bank accounts in Canada. But an Ontario judge had dismissed that motion, finding that the Iranian property was protected by diplomatic immunity under Canadian law. The top court upheld that decision on appeal last year. For years, Canada, along with international partners including the United Kingdom, Sweden and Ukraine, has vowed to seek answers about the crash and hold the Iranian regime accountable for violations of international law. Global Affairs Canada says Iran has not claimed full legal responsibility for the incident, and current proceedings against Iran under international law will likely take several years before a resolution is reached.
Vancouver Sun
an hour ago
- Vancouver Sun
Majority of Canadians are in favour of federal public service cuts: poll
OTTAWA — More than half of Canadians think the size and cost of the federal public service should be reduced in the coming years, a new Leger poll suggests. The poll indicates that 54 per cent of respondents want the federal bureaucracy cut, 24 per cent want it maintained and four per cent say it should get bigger. The poll suggests 17 per cent of respondents were not sure what should happen. The poll, which was conducted online and can't be assigned a margin of error, cites federal records that indicate the government has added almost 99,000 employees since 2016 and personnel costs have increased by more than 70 per cent. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Conducted by Leger for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, the poll suggests that half of Canadians say the quality of federal services has declined since 2016. Almost a quarter of Canadians polled say they believe the quality of services has remained stagnant, while 11 per cent say those services have improved and 16 per cent are unsure. While Prime Minister Mark Carney promised during the election campaign to cap — not cut — the size of the public service, most departments and agencies have since been asked to find program spending cuts of up to 15 per cent by 2028-29. A recent report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives said the public service could shed almost 60,000 jobs over the next four years as Ottawa looks to cut costs. Andrew Enns, Leger's executive vice-president for Central Canada, told The Canadian Press that the poll is timely given the planned fall budget and 'noise' from the federal government about looking at the size of the public service. He said the poll suggests there is a widespread belief among Canadians that the civil service is 'on the large side' and needs to shrink. Enns also said Canadians don't feel they're getting great value in exchange for the increase in the size of the public service and there's a strong sense that 'something has to happen.' The poll suggests that Quebecers and Albertans are most strongly in favour of reducing the size and cost of the public service, at 62 and 61 per cent. Half of Ontarians and 53 per cent of people in B.C. also said they'd like to see a reduction. Just over a third of respondents between the ages of 18 and 34 said they'd like to see a reduction in the size and cost of the public service, compared to almost half of people aged 35 to 54 and 71 per cent of those aged 55 and older. Enns said those older voters, who played a large role in Carney's election win, are 'pretty strongly convinced' the public service is too large and isn't performing as it should. 'In that sense, the argument is probably even stronger for the government to take some action here,' Enns said. Franco Terrazzano, federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said the size of the federal bureaucracy has 'ballooned' since 2016 and the cost to taxpayers has gone 'extremely high.' He said the polling shows that a bigger public service doesn't equate to better services for taxpayers. 'The government has to cut spending and the government has to shrink the cost and size of its bloated bureaucracy,' Terrazzano said, adding that his organization will continue to push for spending cuts. Arguing that 'the government is broke,' Terrazzano pointed out that Carney promised to balance the operating budget in the recent election and that interest charges on the federal debt are costing taxpayers. 'Prime Minister Mark Carney, he should look at these polling numbers, he should listen to Canadians and he should know that Canadians support cutting the size and cost of Ottawa's bureaucracy,' he said. The polling industry's professional body, the Canadian Research Insights Council, says online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error because they do not randomly sample the population. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
