Start your day off right with five things you need to know this morning.
Five things you need to know
Time's up for Interim PBO Jason Jacques: he has not been given the job on a permanent basis, and nor has anyone else. It comes after Jacques was praised by some and lambasted by others for pointing out that Ottawa's finances were in a "stupefying" state. The OECD, meanwhile, rebuked Canada last week for failing to appoint a PBO.
With no budget officer installed, the office itself cannot publish any reports or accept new requests from parliamentarians to scrutinize federal finances.https://t.co/lCpnimpe2O
— Globalnews.ca (@globalnews) March 2, 2026
Mark Carney is Down Under. The prime minister is set to meet business leaders in Sydney today as he attempts to boost relations with Australia. Defence Minister David McGuinty, meanwhile, said there is a “new openness here in Australia to work with Canada.” He added: “I would say that the prime minister’s outreach and indicating that there is another way for middle powers to come together and collaborate on the economy, on defence, on security, is a message that resonates very strongly.” Carney, however, has not spoken with the press in days as he continues his policy of minimal interaction with the media.
Carney in Australia to deepen trade and defence ties with 'natural partner' https://t.co/mUKXqnNkUP
— CTV News (@CTVNews) March 3, 2026
The federal government has insisted its recognition of the Musqueam First Nation's Aboriginal title over a large chunk of the Greater Vancouver Area will not have an effect on private property. The Conservatives, however, have called on the Liberal government to release documents related to the agreement so that "Canadians can know what commitments their government has made behind closed doors.” Premier David Eby said he hadn't been briefed about the agreement, but then his office appeared to contradict him hours later by saying he had attended the signing ceremony and that "this was not done in secret."
What we know about Ottawa's land rights deal with the Musqueam First Nation
— National Post (@nationalpost) March 3, 2026
An agreement between Ottawa and the First Nation ‘recognizes’ the Musqueam's rights within a wide swathe of land including much of Vancouverhttps://t.co/4x3O4n1H8l pic.twitter.com/TJjYl8KNsT
Energy Minister Tim Hodgson has said he's been getting calls from foreign leaders inquiring about the availability of Canadian energy because the world is "feeling incredibly insecure" amid the war in Iran. But Hodgson said "you don't change the amount of production of LNG or oil in days." Tory Leader Pierre Poilievre said Canada should be in a position to step in as LNG supplies are threatened in the Middle East "but Liberals killed 17 proposed LNG terminals in the last 11 years." Former PM Justin Trudeau said in 2022 that there has "never been a strong business case" to build LNG facilities in Eastern Canadian to export gas to Europe.
Nervous nations calling Canada's energy minister after Iran strikes
— Heather Exner-Pirot (@ExnerPirot) March 3, 2026
(They’re calling producers too)
Attacks underscore the need to develop Canada's natural resources, says energy ministerhttps://t.co/AhbkdYLKzJ
New Abacus Data polling suggests fewer than half of Canadians see the end of CUSMA as “bad for Canada,” a finding that cuts against the views of most economists and business leaders. Remarkably, 36 per cent of respondents said they thought the termination of Canada's free trade deal with Mexico and Canada – on which the vast majority of Canada's international trade depends – would be a "good" or "very good" thing. Just 45 per cent thought it would be a "bad" or "very bad" outcome.
