Start your day off right with five things you need to know this morning.
Five things you need to know
He's changed his mind again. Mark Carney, who initially responded to the US-Israeli attack on Iran with full-throated support, before then saying he did so with "regret" because it appeared to breach international law, has now said he can't "rule out participation" in the war. Speaking alongside Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Canberra, Carney said: “We will stand by our allies, when it makes sense ... we will always stand by and defend our allies when called upon.”
Carney says Canadian military participation in Middle East war can’t be ruled outhttps://t.co/aeqUCJ0rcY
— CityNews Halifax (@CityNewsHFX) March 5, 2026
But the Iran war is not all bad news for Canada's confused prime minister: the Bank of Nova Scotia has said a sustained increase in oil prices as a consequence of the conflict would boost the country's economic growth. In its analysis, the bank said a $10-a-barrel lift in West Texas Intermediate's price would add an extra 0.5 percentage points to Canada's GDP, though that would come with a 0.2 percentage-point increase in inflation. The bank added: "Higher oil prices represent a sizeable nominal income transfer into Canada. Energy sector profits and investment rise, supporting employment and eventually household spending."
A sustained rise in oil prices would lift Canada’s economic growth and inflation outlook, Bank of Nova Scotia says https://t.co/OVloeGnyIo
— Bloomberg (@business) March 2, 2026
The North American Aerospace Defence Command – NORAD – has said it detected two Russian TU-142 reconnaissance planes near Canadian and American airspace on Wednesday. NORAD responded by despatching two US F-35s, two F-22s, four KC-135s and one E-3 AWACS. Canada sent two CF-18s and one CC-150 tanker. NORAD added in a statement: "The Russian aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace."
PETERSON SPACE FORCE BASE, Colo. – The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) detected and tracked two Russian TU-142 military aircraft operating in the Alaskan and Canadian Air Defense Identification Zones (ADIZ) on March 4, 2026.
— North American Aerospace Defense Command (@NORADCommand) March 5, 2026
NORAD launched two U.S. Air Force…
The majority of Canadians surveyed by debt relief firm Spergel said they have skipped meals or reduced portion sizes in the last six months because they can't afford to eat. Rob Kilner, a partner at Spergel, said: “In my 20 years of doing this, I never thought I’d see the day that food would be the thing that people are struggling with." The small survey of 269 Canadians also found that 53 per cent of respondents said they went into debt to buy food at some point in the last six months. Kilner added: "There’s something fundamentally wrong when we have to rely on credit just to survive.”
Rising grocery costs forcing Canadians to cut meals and rely on credit, survey says https://t.co/zPTenE2Npo
— The Food Professor (@FoodProfessor) March 4, 2026
David Eby is urging Washington, Oregon and California to follow his lead after he declared that BC will, starting Sunday, adopt daylight time on a permanent basis. His decision will mean BC is an hour behind the US states between November and March. Separately, some sleep specialists have said Eby's move could have negative health implications and have argued for a permanent switch to standard time instead. That's because standard time matches the sun's natural movement across the sky, while daylight time shifts the clock ahead by an hour, which means gloomier mornings and sunnier afternoons. One scientist told CBC News: "That means that most children will walk to school in the dark. Most office workers will commute in the dark and also will not get an opportunity for any morning light exposure."
B.C.'s Eby is urging West Coast governors to fall in line with daylight time change https://t.co/F8v3WiZ409
— BIV News (@BIVnews) March 4, 2026
