In the news: P.M. leaving for overseas trip, Telefilm Canada looking for a spark

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed …

Carney follows up Davos speech with Asia trip

Prime Minister Mark Carney leaves Thursday for a 10-day visit to India, Australia and Japan — his first international trip since his headline-making speech in Davos that called for middle powers to band together.

It will give Carney a chance to put that speech into action as he visits three “powerhouses of the region,” Asia Pacific Foundation vice-president Vina Nadjibulla said in an interview.

“The Indo-Pacific is where the centre of gravity for geopolitics and economic growth … is increasingly converging,” she said.

In his speech to the World Economic Forum in January, Carney urged middle powers to work together against “American hegemony” and the efforts of great powers to coerce and subjugate smaller countries.

OECD criticizes delay in naming budget watchdog

An international economic group is criticizing the federal government over “persistent delays” in appointing new parliamentary budget officers, just as the current officer’s interim term is set to expire on Monday with no successor named.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, better known as the OECD, released its analysis of Canada’s parliamentary budget office earlier this week as part of a series on fiscal monitors among member countries.

The OECD report gave a largely glowing review to Canada’s PBO, which it called a “non-partisan, credible and effective” office that boosts fiscal transparency in the federal government.

Canada ranks first among all OECD countries on the organization’s Fiscal Advocacy Index for the PBO’s contributions to fiscal accountability.

Inside the wind-down of the first EV rebates

Transport Canada officials were aware funding for the popular electric vehicle rebate program was at risk of running out several months before the department told the public about it in January 2025, documents about the program suggest.

The documents also show officials were seemingly caught off guard by how quickly the funds did, in the end, dry up.

The sudden pausing of the program in January 2025 left dealerships on the hook for millions of dollars in outstanding claims — though the government would rectify it months later — and left customers with the impression the rebates would return, sending a chill through the EV market as sales plummeted.

“It was particularly shocking to those dealers that had not had a chance to file claims,” said Huw Williams, a spokesperson for the Canadian Auto Dealers Association. “Nobody in the industry could have ever anticipated they would slam the door overnight.”

Commercial real estate demand expected to increase

A new report says commercial real estate activity is expected to pick up this year in part due to return-to-office mandates, however momentum within the industrial sector has softened amid ongoing trade disruptions.

Royal LePage’s 2026 commercial real estate report forecasts a gradual recovery to continue for the office sector, with leasing activity increasing across major cities as fewer companies stick to remote work models implemented during the pandemic.

Two-thirds of Royal LePage commercial real estate market professionals across the country who were surveyed said they expect demand for office space to modestly increase or stay the same in their respective markets in 2026. Five per cent expect demand will increase significantly.

The survey found 42 per cent of respondents expect vacancy rates for office space to decrease in their market this year.

Big deficit on tap as Alberta introduces budget

It’s budget day in Alberta, and the overarching question is not whether the budget will show a deficit, but exactly how many billions of dollars in the red it will be.

Premier Danielle Smith has signalled for weeks that the deficit is going to be, in her words, “significant” but has not provided a dollar figure.

She says the main culprit is low oil prices but has also pointed to the costs associated with sharp population growth, blaming the previous federal government for allowing immigration levels to spike.

Despite the red ink, Smith has said her government won’t look to tax hikes and “deep” service cuts to balance the books.

Telefilm wants to redefine Canadian film success

Telefilm Canada says a nearly 41 per cent drop in box-office revenue for Canadian films last year reflects the volatility of the theatrical market, not a crisis of quality.

At the same time, the agency is expanding its definition of success beyond ticket sales.

In a report released this month, the federal funding body found revenues for Canadian features fell sharply year-over-year. But Francesca Accinelli, Telefilm’s chief program officer, cautions against reading too much into a single year.

“The way that independent cinema in Canada works, it’s really driven by a small number of key titles,” Accinelli said in an interview.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 26, 2026

The Canadian Press