In the news: Liberals to talk leadership, Trump threats spark concern

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

Liberals huddle ahead of leadership race

Liberal MPs are meeting in Ottawa today for the first time since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced he will step down.

The national caucus meeting, set to take place both in person and online, was originally set to last six hours to give MPs time to discuss Trudeau’s previous refusal to resign.

Read More:

• How Justin Trudeau captured the zeitgeist, and how he lost it
• Notable Canadians speak out on Trudeau’s decision to resign as prime minister
• Sask. leaders react to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s resignation

Now, the focus will be on next steps for the party as it begins a national search for a leader who can hold their own against popular Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.

Some from the party caucus, including cabinet ministers Jonathan Wilkinson, Steven MacKinnon and Karina Gould, are fielding calls from members of the party rank-and-file and seriously considering leadership bids.

Experts respond to Trump’s ‘economic force’ threat

Incoming U.S. president Donald Trump’s threats to use “economic force” against Canada and its industries are sparking worry and disbelief.

Speaking at a press conference Tuesday, Trump said he could use economic levers to push Canada toward becoming part of the United States, while also once again raising issues with the trade deficit and saying the U.S. doesn’t need to buy Canadian lumber, dairy or automobiles.

Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association, said Trump’s comments show he doesn’t understand how interconnected the Canada-U.S. auto business is.

Trump has threatened to impose a 25 per cent tariff on goods coming in from Canada and Mexico, citing border security concerns.

How Justin Trudeau lost his cool factor

In his early days as prime minister, Justin Trudeau was “cool.” In the year that followed his majority sweep into power, he appeared in the pages of Vogue, on the cover of a Marvel comic book and on “The Daily Show,” chatting with an up-and-coming Hasan Minhaj.

But the same strategy experts and observers say put him in the public eye and won him the youth vote in 2015 may have brought damning scrutiny as political tides changed, particularly as his rivals adopted his online style.

And though sentiment has changed over the years, 28-year-old Albert Burgesson, who sat on the Prime Minister’s Youth Council from 2019 until 2021, said Trudeau helped many young people feel seen and heard.

What Americans in Canada think of Trump’s threats

Incoming U.S. president Donald Trump has been courting controversy in Canada since his election victory, with threats to impose whopping tariffs on Canadian goods and musings about the country becoming “the 51st state.”

While Trump’s comments have drawn anger and fear among Canadians, the reaction from Americans who live, study or work in Canada has been mixed – and largely influenced by how they voted in the presidential election.

Jacob Wesoky, the executive vice chair of Democrats Abroad Canada, who is studying political science at McGill University in Montreal, said he is “extremely” disappointed by the president-elect’s approach to his country’s “closest” ally.

“As an American living in Canada, it is really sad to watch,” said Wesoky, who voted for Trump’s rival Kamala Harris.

College labour dispute off to binding arbitration

The bargaining agent for Ontario’s 24 public colleges and the union representing faculty have agreed to enter into binding arbitration, avoiding a strike.

The College Employer Council and the Ontario Public Services Employees Union met this week in Toronto for mediation following months of bargaining.

The union, which represents more than 15,000 faculty members across the province, had said some form of labour action could have begun on Thursday after it gave five days’ notice last week.

It said Tuesday that “significant benefit gains” were agreed upon with the employers but that the sides otherwise remained at an impasse, with the outstanding items to be resolved by the arbitrator.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 8, 2025

The Canadian Press