logo

Statement by Prime Minister Carney on la Fête nationale du Québec Français

Cision Canada24-06-2025
OTTAWA, ON, June 24, 2025 /CNW/ - "I wish all Québecers a happy Fête nationale. This day is an opportunity to celebrate Québec's culture and heritage, the vitality of the French language, and the rich history of la Belle Province.
"Canada's new government will strengthen and modernize our public broadcaster, CBC/Radio-Canada, to ensure rich and varied programming in French and to showcase voices from Québec and across the country.
"Today, I invite all Canadians to recognize Québec's essential contribution to our country's collective identity."
This document is also available at https://pm.gc.ca
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Poilievre calls on Canada to designate Bishnoi gang a terrorist group

time24 minutes ago

Poilievre calls on Canada to designate Bishnoi gang a terrorist group

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has added his voice to the list of politicians calling on the federal government to declare a gang based in India a terrorist organization in Canada. Speaking in Surrey, B.C., on Wednesday, where police say they've received 10 extortion reports in six months, Poilievre asked for the Lawrence Bishnoi gang to be added to Canada's list of terrorist organizations. There's evidence now that their violence is linked to terror and to political motivations, Poilievre said. Police in B.C. have said members of the province's South Asian community are being extorted for cash under threat of death or violence, and the Lawrence Bishnoi gang has been linked to some of those threats. For example, a Surrey businessman has received threats demanding $2 million (new window) while businesses he's associated with have been targets of gunfire three times. The Bishnoi gang is also tied to cases of extortion and targeted shootings in Ontario's Peel Region, Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown previously said. WATCH | Bishnoi gang has 'terrorized communities,' Poilievre says: Poilievre said designating the Bishnoi gang a terrorist entity will give police greater authority to crack down on the group's activities. Law enforcement has spoken out about the organized chaos and violence this group has done in our country, and that is why mayors across the country, premiers have also said … this organization should be put on the list of banned terrorist entities, he said. Other political leaders calling for the terrorism label include Brown, B.C. Premier David Eby and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. The Conservatives asked for the designation last week, but Wednesday was the first time Poilievre has addressed the matter publicly. There can be serious criminal and financial consequences to any group labelled a terrorist entity. Banks can freeze assets and police can charge anyone who financially or materially supports such a group. Enlarge image (new window) Police officers escort Lawrence Bishnoi, right, inside a courthouse in New Delhi, India, on April 18, 2023. Photo: (Rahul Singh/ANI/Handout via Reuters) Simon Lafortune, press secretary for the public safety minister, didn't say if the Bishnoi gang is being considered for inclusion on the terrorist list, explaining the government's "national security experts independently evaluate and provide recommendations on whether any entity meets the thresholds set out in the Criminal Code. That process is rigorous and ongoing, and all potential threats are continually assessed to ensure we are keeping Canadians safe, he added. The federal government has taken similar action against seven criminal organizations including cartels and street gangs involved in fentanyl trafficking (new window) . Among them are the Jalisco New Generation and Sinaloa cartels, two of Mexico's largest and most powerful organized crime groups. Canadian police sources have told CBC News (new window) the Bishnoi gang is one of a number of criminal enterprises in northern India that have spread into North America in recent years. The group's founder, 32-year-old Lawrence Bishnoi, has been in Indian prisons since 2014, but his network is wide and vast to this day, Poilievre said Wednesday. His organization takes orders from him and carry out extortions and other crimes around the world, the Conservative leader said. Indian media outlets have described extortion as one of the gang's biggest sources of income, at home and abroad. Wednesday's news conference was Poilievre's first media availability since winning a byelection Monday in the rural Alberta riding of Battle River-Crowfoot. He used his stop in Surrey to condemn the Liberals' response to crime. Poilievre supports mandatory jail time for people found guilty of extortion. He also wants the government to repeal Bill C-5 (new window) , which expanded the availability of conditional sentences (new window) , allowing some convicted criminals to serve time under house arrest, and Bill C-75 (new window) , which requires judges to release some people charged with a crime while on bail at the "earliest reasonable opportunity (new window) and with the least onerous conditions."

Carson Jerema: I want Canada to become a part of Alberta
Carson Jerema: I want Canada to become a part of Alberta

National Post

time24 minutes ago

  • National Post

Carson Jerema: I want Canada to become a part of Alberta

EDMONTON — Alberta is the best province in Canada. Despite relentless efforts by the federal government to kill the oil and gas industry, the province remains the wealthiest (per capita) in the country. The fact that energy companies earn growing, often record profits is not, as Liberal boosters claim, evidence that Ottawa is not targeting Alberta. It is, instead, evidence that markets find a way, and a reminder of how much more wealthy all of Canada would be if the federal government just ended its onslaught. Article content Article content Instead of Alberta separating from Canada, a better solution would be for Canada to join Alberta. By this I don't necessarily mean moving the capital from Ottawa to Edmonton, and I don't necessarily mean I want Alberta to annex the rest of the country, but Canada should become more like Alberta. Article content Article content Article content Albertans pay zero provincial sales tax, enjoy the lowest income and corporate taxes in the country, as well as among the lowest regulatory burden in Canada. Markets find a way in the province because, by and large, government gets (relatively) out of the way and regular people get to keep more of the money they earn. Having lived in Manitoba and southern Ontario before moving to Edmonton in 2013, there is a noticeable culture of individualism here. Even in the somewhat socialist-friendly city I live in. It is an attitude that is more open to business, to hard work, and more skeptical of government solutions and infringements on personal liberty, or unnecessary intrusions into the family. Central Canadians may look at Premier Danielle Smith as a kooky extremist. People here are more likely see her as the sensible moderate. Yes, there's liberal and left-wing opposition in this province not only to the government, but to the culture and ethics that make this place great. But unlike elsewhere in Canada, they do not hold the de facto 'correct' position in the province. Article content

Carney visits Montreal to talk housing, tariffs with Plante — in French
Carney visits Montreal to talk housing, tariffs with Plante — in French

Montreal Gazette

time39 minutes ago

  • Montreal Gazette

Carney visits Montreal to talk housing, tariffs with Plante — in French

In his first meeting with the head of a Canadian metropolis since he took office in March, Prime Minister Mark Carney met with Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante Wednesday. After posing for pictures on a red carpet rolled out on the steps of Montreal's ornate city hall, the two engaged in a 30-minute closed-door meeting to discuss housing, public transit and combatting tariffs. The conversation took place entirely in French with the fluently bilingual Plante. The mayor said she took it as a positive sign for both Montreal and Quebec that Canada's new leader chose her city for his first visit, and that he opted to converse in the official language of the province. 'I'm very honoured that (his first meeting with a mayor) took place in Montreal,' Plante said in a news conference after the meeting. Carney, who was travelling to Quebec City in the afternoon to meet Premier François Legault, did not speak with journalists. 'What came out essentially is that the priorities of the federal government are largely the same as those I have always defended as mayor, with the question of housing being extremely important.' During the meeting, the federal government issued a statement pledging $84 million to go toward Montreal's infrastructure needs, be it for housing, public transit, sewage or other maintenance. Plante said she appreciated that Carney left the question of how the money will be spent up to Montreal, as the city has numerous developments in the works. Plante said Carney expressed support and interest in Montreal's plans to increase the percentage of its housing stock that is social, affordable or off-market housing to 20 per cent, from its current seven per cent. Roughly four per cent of Canada's total housing stock is composed of affordable housing. Plante said her main priority for the federal government was infrastructure support for large-scale housing developments planned for the Montreal area. They include the Bridge-Bonaventure project bordering the St. Lawrence River in the Sud-Ouest borough, where Plante has pledged 13,500 housing units in tall residential towers, with 40 per cent composed of affordable or social housing units. Another is the Namur-Hippodrome redevelopment project, where the city plans to build 20,000 housing units on the 75-hectare former site of the Blue Bonnets racetrack. The latter site will require an estimated $1.4 billion in urban infrastructure, such as water pipes, sewers, roads and sidewalks, before housing development can begin. Carney arrived just after 1 p.m., pulling to the front of city hall in a cortege of black fortified SUVs. Plante was at the bottom of the stairs to greet him. Dozens of spectators gathered across the street to get a glimpse of the prime minister and mayor. Among them were a handful of protesters demonstrating against the war in Gaza, one bearing a Palestinian flag. In addition to his visit with the mayor, Carney was in Montreal for a series of economic meetings, including a roundtable discussion on artificial intelligence and innovation and to meet with business leaders. On Monday, Carney met with Ontario Premier Doug Ford in Ottawa to talk about tariffs imposed by the United States. The two leaders emphasized Canada's global competitiveness rather than the conclusion of a trade agreement with the U.S. Plante noted Wednesday's meeting with Carney marked the first time a head of state had visited Montreal's city hall since the completion last year of renovations that took five years and cost $211 million. It was fitting Canada's leader was the first, she said. She described the meeting of the two as very amicable, and said she hoped to meet with him again before her tenure as mayor ends in November. 'He was very nice,' Plante said. 'It was really easy to talk to him. He knew about the projects in Montreal, so I felt like he was conscious and aware, and he wanted to do the meeting in French, which I do appreciate. 'If I get the chance to meet him again before I leave, I would be very happy. 'I would go for a beer with him, you know. He's nice like that.' This story was originally published August 20, 2025 at 4:30 PM.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store