Start your day off right with five things you need to know this morning.
Five things you need to know
Chrystia Freeland, a Canadian MP, former senior federal minister and Ottawa's special representative to Ukraine, has been appointed as an economic adviser by Ukraine's president. Neither the Liberal Party, federal government nor Freeland herself has attempted to explain how it's in Canada's interests to allow a Canadian official to work for a foreign country's government.
Today, I appointed Chrystia Freeland @cafreeland as an Advisor on Economic Development. Chrystia is highly skilled in these matters and has extensive experience in attracting investment and implementing economic transformations. Right now, Ukraine needs to strengthen its internal… pic.twitter.com/2WOl27MyVA
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) January 5, 2026
Dozens of people have been protesting outside the US embassy in Ottawa following the Americans' capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. They condemned the US and urged the Liberal government to reject the abduction and prosecution of Maduro. In his latest statement on the matter, Mark Carney instead condemned Maduro's "brutally oppressive, criminal, and illegitimate regime," adding that he supports "a peaceful, negotiated, and Venezuelan-led transition process."
Protesters in Canada hold different opinions of Nicolás Madurohttps://t.co/k7kJUz4b0D
— CityNews Halifax (@CityNewsHFX) January 5, 2026
With the removal of Venezuela's president, many geopolitical and economic analysts immediately claimed Canada was in trouble since the South American country's enormous oil reserves are of the same quality as Canada's, namely heavy oil. But a political scientist at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute think tank, Heather Exner-Pirot, reckons now is not the time to panic, but rather to stay competitive.
Canada's oil sector shouldn't panic, stay competitive after Maduro's seizure: expert https://t.co/aqugGstw2m
— insauga (@insauga) January 5, 2026
Individuals and groups could be fined as little as $50 or up to $1 million for failing to comply with the federal government's foreign influence registry. That's according to proposed regulations published by Ottawa. The registry was sketched out in legislation passed in 2024, but has not yet been implemented.
Ottawa proposes fines of up to $1M for violating foreign influence registry rules.https://t.co/sTnwS6d3or
— Globalnews.ca (@globalnews) January 3, 2026
The horror could be coming to an end. Airlines in Canada could soon be forced to offer more to passengers as Ottawa loosens restrictions on the number of flights coming from Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Aviation expert John Gradek said Middle Eastern airlines are the "envy of the world" and could force Canadian airlines to "up their game" if they want to compete.
Canada is reopening its skies to Middle Eastern airlines, and that shift is about to test how competitive Canadian carriers really are.
— Flightdrama (@flightdrama) January 5, 2026
Ottawa has approved a sharp increase in passenger flights from the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, easing limits that were imposed after… pic.twitter.com/Z64An8a0Nz
