Prime minister Mark Carney took a last-minute trip to Egypt over the weekend to attend the Middle East peace summit, where he did things like praise the release of hostages, and commend the “leadership” of Trump in reaching this moment (which ignores a whole lot of what has happened up until this point). But a lot of things about this trip were unusual. For one, he ended up chartering a private plan because no military aircraft were available on short notice, which is odd in and of itself (and I can’t wait for the pearl-clutching when the Access to Information request is released about the costs of said charter). For another, he did not alert the media to the trip until he was taking off, and no accredited journalists accompanied him on the trip.

Statement from the president of the Parliamentary Press Gallery:

— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2025-10-14T23:14:12.452Z

This is a very big warning sign about how Carney is treating the office, and his obligations to transparency. Perhaps more egregiously was the fact that the PMO comms team spent the long weekend emailing journalists and pointing them to links to his posts on Twitter, as though that was some kind of substitute. It’s not. Social media posts are carefully curated and present a very stage-managed view of the world, which is not a substitute for journalism. In fact, it’s usually a form of propaganda, because it delivers a carefully crafted message in a way that is intended to influence the voting public in a certain way.

To be clear, Carney is not the first prime minister who has tried to limit media access in favour of his in-house photographers and media team, and these photographers and videographers are given privileged access to both document history, and set up carefully curated narratives. And yes, the press is going to complain about it because it’s our job to present a wider view than what the PMO wants us to see, and the public expects more transparency, which has been in retreat under Carney’s leadership because he still thinks that this is like being a CEO where you don’t say much because it might affect your stock price. That’s not how you behave in the top political office of the country, and he needs to get that message.

Ukraine Dispatch

Russian glide bombs hit a hospital in Kharkiv in the early morning hours of Tuesday, while attacks on the energy grid continued. A UN humanitarian convoy in southern Ukraine was also hit by Russian drones. Ukrainian authorities have ordered the evacuation of dozens of villages near the city of Kupiansk given the deteriorating security situation, while Russia claims they took control of another village in Donetsk region. President Zelenskyy says that Ukrainian troops have advanced in their counter-offensive in the Zaporizhzhia region.

Good reads:

• Mark Carney had a call with president Zelenskyy on Saturday, and condemned the renewed attacks on Ukraine’s power grid.
• Carney has defended hiring two agency CEO with salaries higher than his own, saying they are taking pay cuts from the private sector.
• Meanwhile, Carney has been borrowing a lot of art from the National Gallery for his office and residence for undisclosed terms.
• Anita Anand was in India to meet with Narendra Modi and continue normalising relations, apparently without assurances they won’t kill more people on our soil.
• Mélanie Joly is trying to pressure Lockheed Martin to giving Canada more economic benefits if we stick with the F-35 purchase.
• Gregor Robertson says plans for reducing municipal development charges will be coming in the budget.
• The government’s plans to renew their national security strategy was derailed by the fact that the underlying assumptions no longer hold true. (You think?!)
• General Jennie Carignan says that the military is proceeding with preparations for acquiring the F-35s until told otherwise, at which point they’ll adapt their plans.
• NSIRA says that CSIS has been using new intrusive technology without properly disclosing it to either the minister or a judge issuing warrants.
• Many First Nations are being inundated with requests for comment on project proposals for which they don’t have capacity, which will lead to further delays.
• Here’s a look into why the modular housing industry is facing financing issues, supply chain constraints and the problems of unequal provincial regulations.
• Here is a look back at New Brunswick’s first election in 1785, held 240 years ago this week, and the riot that resulted as part of it.
• Senator Amina Gerba says that she was involuntarily sterilised during a surgery in Quebec in 2005.
• Liberal MP Jaime Battiste says the Senate shouldn’t amend Bill S-2 without consulting the Commons. (Does he need a civics lesson?)
• Doug Ford bragged that he threatened to beat an alleged shoplifter in the parking lot of Home Depot, and I wish I didn’t type that sentence. Honest to Hermes…
• Danielle Smith is trying to goad Carney into approving a pipeline over BC’s objections, because of course she is.
• David Eby wants more attention paid to softwood lumber tariffs as he says the industry is on the “razor’s edge.”
• Anne Applebaum writes about why María Corina Machado deserved to win this year’s Nobel Peace Prize.
• Applebaum also points out the Trump regime’s use of visuals with their ICE raids and how they craft them into propaganda that looks like video game trailers.
• Applebaum laments the loss of democracy in America as the loss of a culture of spreading democracy abroad, even when they didn’t live up to their own ideals.
• Stephen Saideman points to the media trying to manufacture a civil-military conflict in Canada, in part because this government is incapable of communicating.
• Shannon Proudfoot calls out Poilievre for inventing promises he claims Carney broke, imaginary agreements, and treating voters like they’re stupid.
• Althia Raj highlights ten pieces of private members’ business on the Order Papers of both Chambers in the current parliament.
• Paul Wells ponders Quebec’s decision to pursue a written provincial constitution, and the dynamics that are playing out around it.
• My weekend column looks at how the increasingly toxic immigration discourse is based on cherry-picking causes and uncritically repeating scapegoating.

Odds and ends:

For National Magazine, I take a deeper dive into the proposed Quebec Constitution, and the problem the government faces by not having done any consultations.

New episodes released early for C$7+ subscribers. This week I'm answering your #cdnpoli questions.

— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2025-10-14T02:12:35.714Z

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