Sarah Mills: Throne speech was a big moment for Canada - and King Charles
Sarah Mills says no monarch can ever surpass Queen Elizabeth II, but if there was moment to finally feel that King Charl...
Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed…
Government’s priorities to be outlined in today’s throne speech
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s vision for nation-building and economic growth is expected to form the main thrust of the throne speech when King Charles reads it today in the Canadian Senate. In a speech to his caucus Sunday, Carney laid out his governing agenda for the re-opening of Parliament. Carney said his government’s immediate focus will be on affordability measures, such as quickly passing the tax cut he promised during the campaign. He said the Liberal government had been elected to do nothing less than define “a new economic and security relationship with the United States.”
Parade, throne speech on Royal tour today
King Charles and Queen Camilla will wrap up their whirlwind visit to Canada with a bit of royal pomp today including a parade through downtown Ottawa in a horse-drawn carriage. The royal couple arrived in Ottawa Monday afternoon and spent time at a local farmers market as well as holding private audiences with Prime Minister Mark Carney and Gov. Gen. Mary Simon. Today, they are set to arrive at Parliament Hill in a landau escorted by mounted members of the RCMP and ride a parade route where Royal watchers can catch another glimpse. King Charles is set to read the speech from the throne to open Parliament, making him the first reigning British monarch to do so since his mother Queen Elizabeth II delivered the speech in 1977.
Here’s what else we’re watching…
Carney has work cut out as NATO eyes 5% target
An expert in transnational defence says Canada should be trying to convince the U.S. that investing more in the military becomes much harder when there’s a global trade war going on. Laval University international relations professor Anessa Kimball says Ottawa should leverage U.S. President Donald Trump’s calls for Canada and other NATO members to hike their military spending and use them to press the case against his tariff agenda. Trump has said for months he wants to see NATO countries increase their defence spending budgets to the equivalent of five per cent of GDP — a massive hike from the current alliance target of two per cent.
Defence to finish cross-examining hockey player at ex-teammates’ trial
Defence lawyers are expected to finish cross-examining a former member of Canada’s world junior hockey team today at the sexual assault trial of five of his ex-teammates. Brett Howden, who now plays in the NHL for the Vegas Golden Knights, began testifying by videoconference last Tuesday at the trial of Michael McLeod, Alex Formenton, Carter Hart, Dillon Dube and Callan Foote. All five of the accused have pleaded not guilty to sexual assault, and McLeod has also pleaded not guilty to an additional charge of being a party to the offence of sexual assault.
Judge set to deliver sentence in E. coli outbreak
A commercial kitchen is facing a sentencing hearing today after an E. coli outbreak at Calgary daycares in 2023 that saw hundreds of children fall ill. Fueling Minds Inc. pleaded guilty to four bylaw offences in April following charges stemming from the outbreak. Over the course of two months in the fall of 2023, 448 people were infected with E. coli and among them, 39 children and one adult were hospitalized. A report by Alberta Health Services last year said the outbreak was likely tied to meat loaf, but that it might never be determined how the bacteria got there.
B.C. orders Hobo Hot Spring restored
The British Columbia government has ordered the restoration of free natural hot spring pools that were mysteriously filled with dirt and boulders last fall. But even as the government says it’s working with the nearby Harrison Hot Springs Resort to repair the stream, the community’s mayor says a new fence has been erected around the natural spring, making it unavailable for public use. The government launched an investigation into the damage to the free natural spring and Crown resource, known as the Hobo Hot Spring, last October. Harrison Hot Springs Mayor Fred Talen says the resort is complying with the order to remove rocks and boulders placed in the public pools, but he’s “really disappointed” a new fence was put up around the stream on the weekend.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 27, 2025.
The Canadian Press
