5 things you need to know this morning: April 11, 2025

Start your day off right with five things you need to know this morning.

Five things you need to know

1. Carney's former firm registered funds at notorious address that Obama said was 'largest tax scam in the world'

Brookfield Asset Management, the corporate giant headed by Mark Carney up until January, has registered more than a dozen funds at a Cayman Islands address that Barack Obama once said was either “the largest building in the world or the largest tax scam in the world.” The Cayman Islands, a British territory in the Caribbean, is a notorious tax-dodging jurisdiction since it charges no corporate – or income – taxes.

A fund led by Mark Carney is registered in a five-story Cayman Islands building that houses 18,000 companies.

Even more concerning?

He won't say this kind of tax avoidance is wrong.

Only New Democrats will fight to make corporations like Brookfield pay their share. pic.twitter.com/z5MB88BNx5

— Jagmeet Singh (@theJagmeetSingh) April 11, 2025

2. As US's trade war rages on, EU and China discuss dropping tariffs on EVs

China and the European Union have agreed to discuss setting minimum prices for Chinese electric vehicles, replacing the tariffs Brussels put in place last year. It comes amid a global trade war started by Donald Trump, with some analysts speculating that the president's belligerence could push the likes of the EU, China, Canada and India away from the US and closer to each other.

China and the European Union have exchanged views on strengthening their economic and trade cooperation in response to U.S. tariffs, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said on Thursday. https://t.co/G0cA4VrpRO pic.twitter.com/7z0jxzsXBN

— Reuters (@Reuters) April 10, 2025

3. Tories and Liberals telling fibs about their crowd sizes, academic claims

The CBC has asked an academic at a British university to help them count the crowd sizes at recent Conservative and Liberal rallies. Despite not having comprehensive evidence, the "visiting professor of crowd science" told the national broadcaster that it was "not possible" that the Tories attracted 15,000 people at their Edmonton rally, about which the party has done much boasting. The Liberals were also said to have been fibbing about their crowd sizes, with a rally in Richmond supposedly attracting only 800 people rather than the 2,000 claimed by the party.

Liberals and Conservatives said their rallies drew thousands. We decided to count. Hand-counted images of rallies yield significantly smaller numbers https://t.co/L6Bal8THKs

Find out more at https://t.co/1zbPY5GAhV pic.twitter.com/4xpDiV2Vza

— National Newswatch (@natnewswatch) April 11, 2025

4. Michelle Obama says she and Barack aren't divorcing, blames 'society' for rumours

In more Barack Obama news, the former president's wife has said the couple's marriage is not, as rumoured, about to dissolve. Michelle Obama blamed "society" for questioning her absences from a number of high-profile events attended by Barack.

Michelle Obama breaks silence on divorce rumours https://t.co/WfIlZUwaU6

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) April 10, 2025

5. Tories on track to lose due to 'campaign malpractice' and Trump-style politics: Conservative strategist

Conservative strategist Kory Tenycke, who once worked with former prime minister Stephen Harper, has again expressed his fears that the Tories are on track to lose the election due to "campaign malpractice." He said the party "blew a 25-point lead," accused Pierre Poilievre of acting like Donald Trump and said the leader's recent interaction with a female journalist was "gross."

Ontario Premier Doug Ford's campaign manager Kory Teneycke is accusing his federal Conservative counterparts of "campaign malpractice at the highest f—king level."

He joined Power Play to elaborate: "When I talk about campaign malpractice, blowing a lead that big, and your… pic.twitter.com/ZqCvY8iqwk

— CTV Power Play (@CTV_PowerPlay) April 10, 2025

Thumbnail photo credit: X/Pierre Poilievre