RECAP | Carney to return to Ottawa, Poilievre condemns Trump as tariff fallout hits campaign

That’s it for today. Trump didn’t mention Canada after his cabinet meeting, instead mostly focusing on his qualms with China, as the two countries exchange fire amidst a global trade war.

He also said he wouldn’t rule out extending the 90-day pause on some of his global tariffs, a respite that he announced yesterday.

If you’re looking for more election coverage, here are some stories that were published by our colleagues today:

• John Paul Tasker, a senior reporter in the CBC’s parliamentary bureau, wrote about Poilievre questioning Carney’s ability to handle Trump and his tariffs.
• Daniel Leblanc, an investigative journalist who covers politics for Radio-Canada, wrote about a third Brookfield fund registered in a tax haven while Carney was leading the firm.
• And senior business reporter Sophia Harris has a story about Canadians avoiding travel to the U.S. for fear of being detained or questioned by border security.

Until tomorrow!

Speaking to reporters in Victoria today, B.C. Premier David Eby said he is aiming to cancel all government contracts with American companies, except where it is absolutely essential.

He said he's given an order to all provincial ministries, health authorities and Crown corporations to review their suppliers to decrease dependence on the United States.

This includes cancelling subscriptions to U.S. newspapers and magazines and non-essential software, and avoiding non-essential cross-border travel.

I'm Lauren Battagello, a producer with CBC Toronto.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford appeared on CNN once again this morning with Wolf Blitzer to push back against Trump’s tariffs.

Blitzer asked if Canada would consider rolling back the tariffs as an “olive branch to the Trump administration.”

Ford responded, “Well, as long as we know the tariffs are going to be dropped against Canada as well. If we have a mutual understanding, if they feel comfortable with us going first.”

He reiterated that Canada didn’t start the trade war, and that the tariffs need to end.

Ford also met with Utah Governor Spencer Cox at Queen’s Park this afternoon.

“My hope is that we can get to a place where those tariffs are removed,” the Republican governor told reporters. “I believe in the importance of free trade, especially with our Canadian partners, that we can have fair and level trading between our country and your country.”

Ford is next scheduled to be on Fox Business at approximately 3:25 p.m. ET.

Carney and Singh weren't the only ones to do interviews with a YouTube personality.

Quebec personality and beach club owner Olivier Primeau released a 48-minute French-language interview with Poilievre yesterday.

The pair talked about Quebec nationalism, the economy and the struggles young people face today, including saving enough money for a down payment, let alone retirement.

Poilievre said Quebec nationalism was an important part of Canadian identity.

"They show their flag, sing their songs, share their history," he said. "That's how Canada should be."

Much of Primeau’s content on platforms like TikTok and Instagram, where he has hundreds of thousands of followers, include fast-food reviews and concert and tourism trip reports.

You can watch the full interview here.

My Radio-Canada colleague Daniel Leblanc is reporting today that a $5-billion investment fund created under Mark Carney's leadership at Brookfield Asset Management was registered in the Cayman Islands, a tax haven.

“That's in addition to two other funds totalling $25 billion that were registered in Bermuda, another offshore tax haven, when the Liberal leader headed the firm from 2020 to 2025,” wrote Leblanc, who was the first to report on the initial two funds.

“In all three cases, the structures are legal, respect international tax standards and are commonly used by investment firms. They also ensure Canadian investors pay taxes on the profits from their investments in Canada, and not in foreign countries.”

You can read the full story here.

Trump had a cabinet meeting this morning, and spoke about his administration’s tariff regime. Yesterday, he paused many of his global tariffs, but raised levies on China.

The U.S. clarified today that it raised levies on China to 145 per cent, not 125 per cent, as was widely reported.

“We’re doing, again, what we should have done many years ago. We let it get out of control,” said Trump. “And we allowed some countries to get very big and very rich at our expense … it’s not a sustainable formula.”

Canada’s circumstances were left unchanged yesterday, but we’re listening in to see if he mentions this country specifically.

I’m Kate McKenna, a senior reporter covering the Canada Strong and Free Network Conference, an event for conservatives to meet, network and exchange ideas. Many still refer to it by its former name, the Manning conference.

Some conservatives in the hallways have expressed concerns that an event like this risks becoming a political liability for the Conservative party in the middle of an election.

They noted the agenda has undergone a number of last-minute changes. A senior adviser for Donald Trump, Chris LaCivita, was dropped from the speakers’ list, as was a panel dedicated to cryptocurrency. A keynote address from Trump’s former U.S. trade representative, Robert Lighthizer, will be closed to the media. Lighthizer was an architect of Trump’s pro-tariff agenda.

Conservative sources say people working on the campaign were instructed not to attend this event.

Later today, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith will be giving an address at the event and is expected to speak to reporters afterwards.

I've been talking to voters in Belleville and hearing lots of interesting perspectives.

I met Taylor Russett, a 25-year-old who owns Lafferty's Menswear. He said he's lucky he was able to buy a business at such a young age and he'd like to hear from the party leaders how they will support young entrepreneurs.

"How can young people, marginalized communities get into business ownership?" he asked. "We need to look at succession planning, and how that transfer of wealth will happen from the older demographic, to my demographic.”

Over at Meyers Creek Brewing Company, I met friends Darren and Marty, who both said they don't traditionally support the Liberal Party, but likely will this time because they believe Mark Carney has the experience to handle the trade war with the United States.

"In a normal environment, I wouldn't necessarily want a banker in charge of the country," said Darren, "but considering that we are entering an economic war with what was once our closest ally, I can think of no better person to run the ship.”

One man expressed skepticism that Carney has scrapped the consumer carbon tax for good. "The day after the election, if it's the same government, I think it's coming right back. But maybe I'm a cynic by nature,” he told me.

Two voters spoke about immigration — one wanting levels to go back up, one concerned that population growth due to immigration has been too quick.

One patron told me he thinks this is one of the most important elections Canada has had in a long time, and urged his fellow Canadians: "Go vote!"

CBC’s aggregated Poll Tracker has been updated by TheWrit.ca’s Éric Grenier, who had this to say about the latest numbers:

“The Liberals have been holding a steady lead over the Conservatives in the polling average and would be heavily favoured to win a majority government if an election were held today,” he wrote.

“While there is some variation between pollsters concerning the size of the Liberal lead, every pollster now has the Liberals ahead by at least three points. The New Democrats and Bloc Québécois are on track to suffer significant seat losses.”

I’m a senior producer with the Parliamentary bureau’s digital team.

The Vancouver-based music journalist Nardwuar the Human Serviette, known for his extensive research on guests and eccentric interviewing style, traditionally asks party leaders to join him in a round of a game called hip flip.

Past Liberal leaders Jean Chretien, Paul Martin and Justin Trudeau all did the hip flip with him, but former Conservative leader Stephen Harper did not.

Nardwuar gained popularity through appearances on MuchMusic in the 1990s, but he also has an online following among younger generations thanks to his many interviews with hip-hop artists. Clips of the Carney and Singh interviews have already racked up hundreds of thousands of views on social media.

You can watch the full Carney interview here and the Singh one here.