In the news today: Trudeau steps away, Carney steps in, and G7 foreign ministers meet

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/03/2025 (244 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed…

Carney set to name his cabinet this morning

Mark Carney will be sworn in as prime minister this morning at Rideau Hall, where he will also reveal his new cabinet.

Carney won the Liberal leadership race last weekend with an overwhelming 86 per cent of the votes from Liberal members.

He officially takes over from Justin Trudeau as prime minister in today’s ceremony.

His first cabinet is expected to be smaller than Trudeau’s 37-member team, and some ministers are set to lose their positions.

They include Jean-Yves Duclos, who was public services and procurement minister and Trudeau’s Quebec lieutenant.

Outgoing PM Trudeau says he’s ‘proud of Canadians’

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a farewell message to Canadians Thursday as he marked his last full day in office.

In a video posted to several social media platforms, including X and Facebook, Trudeau said he’s proud to have served a country full of people who stand up for what’s right, rise to every occasion and “always have each others’ backs when it matters most.”

Liberal Leader Mark Carney will be sworn in as Canada’s 24th prime minister at a ceremony at Rideau Hall Friday after Trudeau’s formal resignation. Carney became Liberal leader on Sunday at the party’s leadership convention.

Trudeau said that while he’s leaving office, he will always be “boldly and unapologetically Canadian.”

He said his only wish is that, no matter what the world throws at Canadians, they will “always be the same.”

Joly to address media as G7 ministerial ends

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly is set to address media this morning after gathering her counterparts from the U.S., Europe and Japan.

She has been hosting the Group of Seven foreign ministers’ meeting in the Charlevoix region, northeast of Quebec City.

Joly had pledged to raise U.S. tariffs with her American and European counterparts but publicly has instead focused on matters for collaboration between partners.

Her office says she discussed “the impact of tariffs” with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in their one-on-one meeting Thursday, but has not specified how the talks went.

EU official says trade war only benefits China

The European Union’s foreign policy chief says tariffs between Western countries only serve China’s interests and is calling for higher defence spending to keep Russia in check.

“If the United States is having a trade war with Canada, Mexico or the European Union, then who is really benefiting from this is China,” Kaja Kallas said in an interview Thursday with The Canadian Press.

Kallas, the former prime minister of Estonia, is overseeing the EU’s approach to an alarming new geopolitical climate — one where the U.S. hints at scaling back its commitment to defending NATO allies and pursues a trade war against Europe and Canada.

“We are trying to keep a cool head,” Kallas said.

Is online grocery shopping here to stay?

Before COVID-19, it might have been unthinkable to have a stranger picking out bananas or selecting the perfect pork roast for your Sunday dinner.

But the pandemic prompted many Canadians to turn to grocery e-commerce for the first time, as the weekly grocery shop became a source of fear and stress amid society’s widespread shutdown.

“If you asked Canadian consumers before the pandemic how often they shopped online, whether or not you said groceries, it would be a much smaller portion of the general population. And certainly when you talk about grocery, that would be even smaller,” said Lauren Steinberg, executive vice-president and chief digital officer at Loblaw.

“Obviously that changed quite quickly.”

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 14, 2025