In the news today: Trudeau taking time to reflect: Liberal minister

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

Trudeau taking time to reflect: Liberal minister

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is taking some time to reflect after Chrystia Freeland’s bombshell resignation as finance minister, Energy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said Tuesday.

That comes as the number of Liberals who are calling for Trudeau to step aside appears to have grown.

The House of Commons is now on its holiday break, giving Trudeau a few weeks to decide on his next move before MPs return to Ottawa on Jan. 27.

Freeland’s decision to walk away from the top cabinet job came three days after Trudeau had informed her she would be moved out of the finance portfolio in the next cabinet shuffle. The news came out just hours before she was set to present the government’s fall economic statement in the House of Commons.

That kicked off a day of turmoil on Parliament Hill that began with an unexpected cabinet meeting, followed by hours of confusion about which minister might table the important financial update, or if it would be introduced at all.

Several Liberal MPs demanded an emergency caucus meeting, and during that evening gathering, some of them called for Trudeau to step aside as party leader.

Here’s what else we’re watching…

The global bank looking to branch out in Canada

It’s not every day, or even every decade, that a big foreign bank decides to have a go at Canada’s retail banking market.

But Spain’s Banco Santander — which has already shown an ability to attract customers, with more than 168 million of them worldwide — is poised to be among the few that have tried as it nears the all-clear to expand in Canada.

A fresh international challenger has the potential to add competition to the country’s banking oligopoly, though experts warn it won’t be easy to shake up the status quo.

Santander hasn’t said much about its plans yet, and didn’t provide comment for this story.

It has kept a low profile as it works to secure a banking licence that will allow it to take those deposits and expand its services. In April, the finance minister approved its application, but it still needs the go-ahead from the banking regulator, which has a year from the minister’s approval to make a decision.

Voters head to polls in Alberta byelection

Voters head to the polls today to pick a new legislature representative in Lethbridge-West.

The legislature seat was left vacant after NDP MLA Shannon Phillips resigned July 1.

Early numbers from Elections Alberta show 18 per cent of the 37,000 eligible voters have cast advance votes, down from 28 per cent in the 2023 general election.

Three candidates are vying for the seat: the NDP’s Rob Miyashiro, the United Conservatives’ John Middleton-Hope and the Alberta Party’s Layton Veverka.

The UCP has 49 seats in the 87-seat legislature compared with 37 for the NDP.

Inside Metro’s supply chain transformation

Metro is heading into 2025 with renewed capacity to grow its business after reaching the final milestone in its seven-year, almost billion-dollar supply chain transformation, which added new automation technology across its warehouses in Quebec and Ontario.

In an increasingly competitive industry, Metro needed to scale up its supply chain in a way that could keep it adaptable and able to continue growing its business.

The company’s distribution network had hit its limit for inventory, delivery volume and assortment, leaving it “struggling to serve” its stores, Metro’s supply chain vice-president Yanick Blanchet said.

The completion of Metro’s supply chain revamp, which began in 2017, was marked this year by the opening of the final phase of its new automated fresh distribution centre in Etobicoke, Ont. It comes after Metro opened an automated warehouse for frozen products also in Etobicoke in 2022, while in Quebec, the company opened a new automated fresh and frozen centre in Terrebonne last year and expanded its fresh produce centre in Laval.

“It’s a major investment that will allow us to support the growth over the next years,” said Blanchet in an interview at the new Etobicoke fresh distribution centre.

Toronto rec soccer team calls for gender inclusion

A recreational soccer team in Toronto says controversy surrounding its league’s gender policy, which temporarily excluded non-binary players from women’s teams, has sparked a bigger conversation about accessibility and support for LGBTQ+ athletes.

Evergreen FC co-captain Riley Yesno says her team, composed of female, LGBTQ+ and gender diverse members, has been playing in the women’s division of Stadium Sport Leagues since 2022.

But last month, the league sent Yesno’s co-captain an email saying any members of Evergreen FC who are not registered as “female” would only be permitted to play on a co-ed team.

In followup emails Yesno shared with The Canadian Press, the league said it had to enforce its “gender inclusive policy” because it received complaints from some players who said they didn’t “feel safe” playing against Evergreen FC. The league said in those emails that its policy is in line with other adult recreational sport leagues in the region.

Yesno said in an interview that her team, which she describes as “fully queer,” hadn’t received any yellow cards or disciplinary action that would have warranted such a complaint. She also said the league’s email to the team goes against a policy she helped write in order to foster inclusion.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 18, 2024.

The Canadian Press