Start your day off right with five things you need to know this morning.
Five things you need to know
Mark Carney's going abroad again. This time the prime minister is heading to India, Australia and Japan. His office said the trip will begin on Thursday and end on March 7, with the PM aiming "to unlock new opportunities for Canadian workers and businesses across trade, energy, technology, and defence."
Prime Minister Carney will travel to India, Australia, and Japan, where he will work to forge new partnerships to unlock new opportunities for Canadian workers and businesses across trade, energy, technology, and defence. Learn more: https://t.co/jiIYaBvsC6
— Prime Minister of Canada (@CanadianPM) February 23, 2026
Dozens of troops have been killed amid an explosion of violence in Mexico following the killing of Jalisco New Generation Cartel boss "El Mencho." Visitors to some of the country's tourist towns, including Puerto Vallarta in Jalisco, have been told to barricade themselves inside their hotel rooms while security forces attempt to restore order. Global Affairs Canada has told Canadians in Mexico to "exercise a high degree of caution" and warned the situation "could deteriorate rapidly."
BREAKING: 25 Mexican National Guard troops were killed in Jalisco after cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes was killed by army. https://t.co/dkISzOM2YC
— The Associated Press (@AP) February 23, 2026
Transport Canada has quietly certified two American aircraft mentioned by Donald Trump last month when the US president threatened to punish Canada's aeronautical industry by targeting Bombardier. General Dynamics’ Gulfstream G500 and G600 business jets are now good to fly in Canada, having been approved on Feb. 15, but the G700 and G800 models are yet to receive the green light. In the aftermath of Trump's threat, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said the federal government would not intervene in Transport Canada's approval process, explaining: "The process of certification that Canada has is envied by countries around the world because of its comprehensiveness and the fact that it emerges from a very stable and reputable set of institutions." In its coverage of the development, however, the Wall Street Journal explained: "The threat against Bombardier hit a nerve in central Canada and among senior policymakers. Bombardier is considered a crown jewel of Canada’s aerospace industry, and has benefited from decades of government financial support—due in part to its stature in Québec and the political heft that the province of Québec plays in Canadian politics."
Canada just cleared certification for Gulfstream jets after Trump threatened 50% tariffs on Bombardier.
— Pascal Anglehart đŽâ ïž (@DemosKratosCA) February 21, 2026
Amazing how fast our bureaucracy moves when it’s properly motivated. đhttps://t.co/fWvWTcaLPP
Tory Leader Pierre Poilievre has denounced a ruling by the BC Human Rights Tribunal ordering a former school trustee to pay $750,000 for what it called "hate speech" directed at transgender people. Poilievre said the decision to fine Barry Neufeld was "insane and Orwellian," adding: "Governments and kangaroo courts now chill freedom of expression instead of fighting crime, censoring people who dare to speak their minds ... Enough is enough. We must defend the truth and free speech against these mad censors." In the tribunal's decision, it explained that "if a person elects not to 'believe' that gender identity is separate from sex assigned at birth, then they do not 'believe' in transpeople. This is a form of existential denial." It added: "A person does not need to believe in Christianity to accept that another person is Christian. However, to accept that a person is transgender, one must accept that their gender identity is different than their sex assigned at birth."
This is insane and Orwellian.
— Pierre Poilievre (@PierrePoilievre) February 22, 2026
Governments and kangaroo courts now chill freedom of expression instead of fighting crime, censoring people who dare to speak their minds. Just ask the B.C. school board trustee who got slapped with a $750,000 fine for saying there are two genders.…
The BBC has apologized for failing to edit out a racial slur shouted by a man with Tourette's syndrome at the BAFTA Film Awards ceremony in the UK. The man who shouted the word, John Davidson, is one of the most famous Tourette's sufferers in the UK, and his condition has been documented many times, but that didn't stop high-profile individuals condemning him, with American actor Jamie Foxx leading the charge.
BBC sorry for airing racial slur shouted by guest with Tourette's at Baftas- I wonder if John Davidson has an invite to the Oscars? https://t.co/leJyR2sEUd
— Robert Martin (@AndyGraysdouble) February 23, 2026
