Prime minister Mark Carney held a press conference yesterday to pat himself on the back for his government’s accomplishments over the spring sitting, but as with most of these exercises, the real interest was in his responses to questions, which he doesn’t do very often. So, what did we learn?

• That big call with Trump this week with the extremely vague readout was mostly about Iran and NATO, and not about trade.
• We’re still a long way away from any kind of trade deal with Trump.
• The six upcoming by-elections will likely be spaced out.
• We finally got more details on that condo purchase in Vancouver, which is 90 percent provincial funding/10 percent federal, and is intended as rent-to-own.
• He will be going to Stampede, and plans to defend national unity, and is using Brexit as a cautionary tale (as well he should be).
• We are sending aid to Venezuela after the earthquakes, and while it might be useful to have some kind of consular services there or in Iran, we’ll go through partners.

Shortly afterward, Pierre Poilievre gave his own press conference to decry the state of the Canadian economy and blame Carney for it, as though Trump wasn’t a factor, or that climate change isn’t affecting things like food prices. In fact, he pretty much admitted he’d accept a bad deal with Trump for the sake of getting a deal. So there’s that.

"It's all an illusion."

— Scott Robertson (@sarobertson.bsky.social) 2026-06-25T19:54:15.597Z

My Latest:

For National Magazine, I delve into the Supreme Court of Canada’s increasing caseload, and why the Chief Justice’s explanation of cleared backlogs doesn’t hold.

Ukraine Dispatch:

Sevastopol in occupied Crimea faces power cuts to households while occupied parts of neighbouring Kherson region are also without power after Ukrainian strikes.

Noteworthy:

• Indigenous communities in BC say that the timelines around any consultations for any proposed pipeline project are not feasible.

Erskine-Smith ruling out provincial politics, which is not surprising after so many in the provincial party establishment lined up against him. That's a loss for Queen's Park. We need more principled and thoughtful leaders at all levels.

— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2026-06-26T03:17:30.908Z

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