RECAP | From Trump to Poilievre to the King, what came out of Carney’s 1st post-election news conference

Today, Carney held his first news conference after the federal election. The prime minister re-committed his campaign promises and set some policy deadlines, namely passing the middle-class tax cut and slashing internal trade barriers by July 1 — Canada Day.

Carney also revealed two big, short-term plans: he’s meeting with Trump at the White House on Tuesday, and King Charles will deliver the throne speech in Parliament, instead of Gov. Gen. Mary Simon.

The prime minister offered some policy olive branches to Conservatives, and said he'd call a byelection as soon as the party requests one, after an MP steps down for Poilievre to run in their place. We now know that riding will be Battle River-Crowfoot in Alberta.

For more on what governing with a minority government could look like for Carney, our colleague Aaron Wherry wrote about where the prime minister might find common ground with other parties.

Scheer confirmed the Conservative caucus plans to meet on Tuesday to talk about who might serve the party as interim leader of the Official Opposition, since Poilievre won’t be in Parliament.

He wouldn’t say who might serve in that role or whether he’d put his own name forward.

"We'll get together, we'll have these discussions, we'll make a decision together as a team. Out of respect for that process, I'm not going to speculate as to what might come out of that,” he told Power & Politics host David Cochrane.

“I don't even want to tiptoe down that road at all."

Saskatchewan MP and former federal Conservative leader Andrew Scheer said the party’s caucus is still united behind Poilievre, after leading them to a higher vote share in this election — even though he couldn’t unseat the Liberals.

"This incredible result, while disappointing that we didn't win, is just a fantastic base to build on for the next election,” Scheer said on CBC’s Power & Politics.

He said the party isn’t deterred by Poilievre losing his own seat in the Ontario riding of Carleton.

“There's a tremendous amount of support for Poilievre and we're very grateful to Damien Kurek and the people of Battle River-Crowfoot because Pierre is going to be back in the House in no time leading the fight to hold this government to account,” Scheer said.

There's also some criticism coming out about Carney's other big first move, which is to meet with Trump on Tuesday.

Peter Donolo, who was a communications director to former Liberal prime minister Jean Chrétien, says that holding this meeting before Carney has named a cabinet is "a high-risk thing."

"I think Canadians wanted a prime minister … who is very tough and unyielding. And if the only way to get into [Trump's] good graces is to suck up … then I think that's a problem," Donolo said on CBC News Network.

Carney has used tough language against Trump since he was elected Liberal leader and throughout the federal election campaign.

"He said he wasn't going to sit down with Trump until Trump showed Canada respect," he said, noting Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum has only met the U.S. president over Zoom so far.

"Trump's M.O. is to dominate and humiliate his guests in the Oval Office," he said. "Maybe [Carney] will prove me wrong and he'll come out of there looking like a hero and put Trump in his place, but nobody's managed that so far."

Jeremy Ghio, a former Liberal staffer and a political analyst, called the decision "weird.”

"I was a little bit surprised by that because Quebecers, especially, gave Mr. Carney his victory," Ghio, who is based in Montreal, said on CBC News Network earlier today.

The Liberal vote in Quebec this election was the strongest it's been in decades, with the Bloc losing support in favour of Carney's party.

Nationalist Quebecers, Ghio noted, are known to reject the monarchy "and Mr. Carney makes one of his first acts to invite the King to Canada.… I'm still ambivalent about this."

The invitation is a costly one for taxpayers, Ghio added. Charles's last visit in 2022, which lasted three days, cost Canadians more than $1 million.

The Bloc Québécois says inviting King Charles to open Parliament at the end of the month is "strange."

In a statement issued in French, the party suggested that inviting a “foreign” monarch to highlight Canadian sovereignty by inaugurating Parliament is contradictory. As Canada is a constitutional monarchy, Charles is the country’s head of state, though the role is largely ceremonial.

It said Carney's decision is "revealing of Liberal values," and those are "irreconcilable with those of Quebecers, who reject [the monarchy] and are attached to the values of democracy and modernity."

That didn’t take long. Poilievre has announced in a post on X that he’s taking up Kurek’s offer:

“It is with humility and appreciation that I have accepted Damien Kurek’s offer to resign his seat in Battle River-Crowfoot so that I can work to earn the support of citizens there to serve them in Parliament,” the Conservative leader said.

“Damien’s selfless act to step aside temporarily as a Member of Parliament shows his commitment to change and restoring Canada’s promise.

“I will work to earn the trust of the good people of Battle River-Crowfoot and I will continue to hold the Liberal minority government to account until the next federal election, when we will bring real change to all Canadians.”

I'm a senior producer who helps run the CBC/Radio-Canada Decision Desk. If Poilievre chooses to run in the newly-vacated Alberta riding of Battle River-Crowfoot — which is highly likely — there are fewer safer seats for Conservatives to find in the country.

The sprawling rural riding extends north of Medicine Hat along the province’s eastern border. Kurek carried the seat with 81 per cent of the vote share on Monday and has never received less than 71 per cent as long as he’s held the riding.

Damien Kurek, the Conservative MP-elect for Battle River-Crowfoot, just announced he's stepping down to allow Poilievre to run in a byelection.

The riding, which Kurek has held since 2019, occupies a vast territory in Alberta between Calgary and Edmonton and has been a Conservative stronghold since it was created 10 years ago.

Kurek was first elected in the riding in 2019. In an emailed statement, Kurek said the decision is temporary, saying he'd hand over his seat to Poilievre "for the remainder of this Parliamentary session" and "run again here in Battle River-Crowfoot in the next general election."

It's unclear what that means for Poilievre afterward.

"Pierre Poilievre just finished a remarkable national campaign that received the highest vote share since 1988," Kurek said in the statement.

"An unstoppable movement has grown under his leadership, and I know we need Pierre fighting in the House of Commons to hold the Liberal minority government to account."

King Charles and Queen Camilla will visit Canada from May 26 to May 27, according to a release on the Royal Family’s official website.

“Their Majesties will attend The State Opening of the Parliament of Canada, in Ottawa,” it says. They last visited Canada in May 2022.

Gov. Gen. Mary Simon, who is the King’s representative in Canada, said in a statement that she will be “delighted” to welcome them.

“Our Canadian identity is deeply rooted in our Constitution and this visit highlights the enduring relationship between Canada and the Crown,” the statement reads.

“Now more than ever, we need to come together to ensure a future that builds on our shared global values of democracy, equality and peace.”