Start your day off right with five things you need to know this morning.
Five things you need to know
An exceedingly rare and fascinating event has occurred in Canada: the prime minister has given an interview to a domestic news outlet. Speaking to the CBC during a 29-minute sit-down, Mark Carney said the US-Canada trade dispute provoked by Donald Trump's tariff regime could be resolved in a matter of "days" if the White House was so inclined, but stressed he's more interested in "a good deal in the right time" rather than "a small deal that disadvantages us." Carney also said deals other countries have made with the US are worthless, claiming leaders of those countries say as much in private.
Mark Carney's government is tabling its spring economic update this afternoon, a day after the prime minister said it would contain "good news" because he and his team are "good fiscal managers." Carney's first budget projected a $78.3 billion deficit for the last fiscal year, an exceptionally high figure that sparked consternation among some officials and analysts. The update comes amid increased revenues from Canada's largest export sector, fossil fuels, amid rising prices due to the Iran war.
Prime Minister Mark Carney suggests there will be “good news” about Ottawa’s fiscal situation when the federal government tables its spring economic statement Tuesday.https://t.co/6Lu0XCGIev
— CHCH News (@CHCHNews) April 28, 2026
Some foreign automakers will abandon the US market if the CUSMA trade deal is abrogated or watered down, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. "US automakers cannot continue to produce affordable options for American consumers without the certainty and scale provided by a trilateral USMCA," Jennifer Safavian, CEO of foreign carmaker group Autos Drive America, said. The report highlighted that eight of the 10 cheapest cars in the US market are made by foreign companies.
Exclusive: Foreign carmakers are threatening to pull their cheapest models out of the U.S. market if the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement isn’t renewed or is watered down https://t.co/4BDJu1BKpC
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) April 28, 2026
The Liberal Party has moved rapidly to cement its control of the House of Commons following its achievement of a narrow majority courtesy of defections from the Tories and NDP. The party passed a motion on Monday night to give them a majority of seats on committees, limiting the ability of opposition parties to scrutinize the government's actions.
Floor-crossers @LoriIdlout & @MarilynGladuSL join gov’t caucus in voting 173 to 163 to invoke closure on motion granting cabinet majority control of all Commons committees.
— Holly Doan (@hollyanndoan) April 28, 2026
“Why is it urgent that we close down debate? — @ElizabethMay https://t.co/buLpuFuRcj #cdnpoli… pic.twitter.com/KptudHbYTU
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said the US is being "humiliated" by Iran as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz continues to wreak havoc on the global economy. He added: "The Iranians are obviously very skilled at negotiating, or rather, very skillful at not negotiating, letting the Americans travel to Islamabad and then leave again without any result. An entire nation is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership, especially by these so-called Revolutionary Guards. And so I hope that this ends as quickly as possible." In related news this morning, the United Arab Emirates has made an announcement about cartels. No, not the Canadian variety, but OPEC, a group of major oil-producing nations that has influenced world oil prices for decades. OPEC was created in 1960 by five countries – among them Iran – and the UAE joined in 1967. Saul Kavonic, chief of energy research at MST Financial, said it was "the beginning of the end of OPEC."
The US is being “humiliated” by Iranian leaders as President Trump struggles to negotiate an end to the war, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Monday (translation via AP) https://t.co/x4hz7GQJ56 pic.twitter.com/cDr1bQ3Ec9
— Bloomberg (@business) April 27, 2026
