Scott Robertson

Charlie Angus to US Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra: I just want to ask you about what you think your role in Canada is ... there was a time when an ambassador's job was to secure jobs, to ensure trade, to protect American interests and working people's futures by building a solid alliance.

Wab Kinew on US booze ban: No CUSMA, no BOOZMA.

Wab Kinew: I reject the idea that we have to be slaves to surveillance capitalism in order to participate in the modern economy.

Heather McPherson: I think what Danielle Smith is doing in Alberta is weaponizing and giving fuel to a separatist movement ... It's a mistake. It's a premier that is trying to distract from her failures.

China's Foreign Ministry rebukes US SecState Rubio over comments on Tiananmen Sq.: The US' erroneous remarks constitute a distortion of historical facts ... stop inciting ideological confrontation, and stop interfering in China's internal affairs under the pretext of democracy and human rights.

PM Carney on the guiding principles of his government's AI strategy: We will protect your data, your privacy, and your children.

PM Carney: In his recent encyclical, Pope Leo warned that the scale and speed at which AI is developing, and I quote, "Never has humanity had such power over itself." And he set the challenge of whether we would use that power for the common good.

China's Foreign Ministry calls out the U.S. over its blockade of Cuba: "Fabricated narratives and smearing can never justify U.S.'s blockade and illegal sanctions against Cuba."

David Herle: "There's no independent Alberta. This little landlocked area sitting there in the middle of the continent. They're either part of Canada or they're part of the US and they need to get their heads around that. If they think they're neglected now, they should ask North Dakota."

Steven Guilbeault: "You're right, it's going to come back. The public's going to impose the issue [of climate change] upon politicians to say, 'This needs to be your priority.' And who knows, I might be called upon to serve King and country again. And I'm certainly not closing the door to that."

Steven Guilbeault on the MOU and Alberta separatism: "When you look at the support for separatism in Alberta, contrary to popular belief it didn't flame up when Justin Trudeau was Prime Minister — it stayed pretty stable, it has been pretty stable for the last 20 years or so."

Steven Guilbeault on his decision to resign from cabinet and the Liberal caucus: "I could not see how I could defend that proposal with Alberta, the MOU, and then eventually a couple of weeks ago when I saw the result of those negotiations, I felt that it was time for me to leave."

Steven Guilbeault on losing the communications battle to the Conservatives on the consumer carbon price: "We lost that communication battle and we lost about 15-20% of the population's support. They were very good at their communications. We were very bad."

Steven Guilbeault on former PM Trudeau introducing him to former President Biden: "At COP26 in late 2021, that's how he introduced me as a 'real activist,' as 'someone who's been arrested four times for his environmental activism.' That's how I was introduced."

David Cochrane presses CPC trade critic Adam Chambers on 'full-blown' recession claims: "You're the only group calling it a full-blown recession. Part of being a credible steward of the economy as a government in waiting is to properly analyze, assess, and define what is happening in the economy."

Pierre Poilievre: Will the leader of the only G20 country in recession please stand up? Francis Scarpaleggia: That is not a question, it's a request. We'll go on to the next question.

PM Carney tears apart Pierre Poilievre over campaign promises: "Once again, we have to correct the official record of Parliament. I made a number of promises during the election campaign. The first was to save Canadians from the terrible policies of the Leader of the Opposition."

PM Carney on CRTC's decision to increase streamers' financial contributions: "This is not the time to raise the cost for Canadians."

Pete Hoekstra: "As the president's representative to Canada, I present the president's views, the United States' views to Canada. Mechanically, I don't do all the reposting and retweeting myself. My understanding is we repost 100% of the president's tweets that deal with Canada."

Marit Stiles on Doug Ford's priorities: "They focused on buying a luxury private jet for the Premier. They focused on hiding the Premier's records. They focused on expanding the island airport. OSAP cuts. None of that helps anybody."

Marit Stiles on Doug Ford hiding his phone records: "As soon as the courts ruled that the Premier needed to share those records, he passed a law to prevent it ... [People] deserve to know who the Premier is talking to, who these deals benefit, because it sure isn't benefiting them."

Marit Stiles on Doug Ford's 102-day break after just 30 days of work: "It's much longer than we've seen in many, many, many years. We won't be coming back until, just imagine, Thanksgiving."

John Fraser on why the Ford government is avoiding the legislature: "They don't want to be held accountable for the things that are happening because it's a government that's eight years in. It's tired, out of touch and losing its way."

John Fraser on the Ontario Legislature rising for 5-month break: : "The government doesn't want to be held to account. The reason that we're here, it's where the government and all of us are held accountable. So we usually spend about half the year doing that. The government's cut that in half."

Marit Stiles on the Ford government's priorities: "They have chosen to prioritize purchasing a private luxury jet for the Premier. They have prioritized hiding the Premier's cell phone records ... That has been their priority instead of the things that matter to people."

Marit Stiles: "The government wants to get out of there as fast as they can and I think it's likely because the Premier is having a very bad time right now."

Marit Stiles on the Ontario Legislature rising for 5-month break: "We've had an extremely short session. 29.5 days, less than a month that the House has been sitting since January 1st ... there's really important work that needs to be done, it's outrageous."

PM Carney on US forced labour tariffs: "This is not a surprise, it's something the US has been planning for months ... Canada has a very strong legislative regime against forced labour. We have been preparing ways to reinforce the regime. We'll be proposing that to the House in the coming weeks."

Don Davies on his private members' bill requiring MPs who cross the floor to obtain the consent of their voters in a by-election: "When parliamentarians cross the floor to sit with another party other than the one that they are elected for, the will of the people who elected them is altered."

Don Davies: "Mark Carney has become the first Prime Minister in Canadian history to assemble a majority government through floor crossing instead of through the ballot box."

Don Davies on AI: "This is a classic example where I think government has a very critical role to play. We can't just leave it up to the 10 multi-billionaires of the world to pursue unbridled, unlimited AI for a personal, private profit motive."

PM Carney on negotiating with the US after Trump's latest 51st state post: "In another world it would be strange. But in the current world, well, this is really one aspect of negotiating with the Americans."

PM Carney on Trump's 51st state post impacting trade negotiations: "The president is an exceptionally active user of social media. You probably can chart his usage of it. It's only gone up in recent months and we're not going to respond or react to everything that he posts."

PM Carney says he's not considering expelling US Ambassador Pete Hoekstra over Trump's latest 51st state post, adding that "it's an administration that we have to work with ... We take the administration as it is."

PM Carney meets with PWHL team Montreal Victoire to celebrate their Walter Cup win

Marie-Philip Poulin: "To see you on the ice with the Ottawa Charge, with the prime minister of Finland, was unbelievable. We know we have you behind us, to support us, and it was unbelievable."

Scott Reid on Trump easing some 232 tariffs: "The move to lower these tariffs is a clear concession, a clear admission on the part of the president, that he is under withering domestic political pressure, that he needed to do this because it will save jobs and lower prices in the US."

François-Philippe Champagne: "Everything we do now has a component of national security."

François-Philippe Champagne: "Canada has a place and a role to play as a trusted energy partner in the world where the word "trust" is probably what matters the most. People look for stability, predictability, and trust in how they're going to be engaging with energy partners."

Pierre Poilievre: "Mark Carney has led us into the only recession in the G7 ... Mr. Carney has created this weakness ... they are not in recession, Canada is because of Mark Carney ... the recession that he caused." (-0.036% is doing a lot of heavy lifting for Pierre here)

PM Carney on Canada-US trade negotiations: "For us, there's the more fundamental structural issues, which relate to the 232 tariffs on automobiles on steel, aluminum, forest products. And there we're looking to determine whether there's a possibility of a new partnership there."

PM Carney on the economy: "The data's going to be uneven and we see some weakness in part because of clear decisions by the government ... But we're also seeing at the same time the foundations coming into place, settling in for that stronger, more resilient economy."

PM Carney: "Canada was summoned into being by peoples who learned imperfectly and over time to hold their differences in common. It hasn't always been easy, and we have at times failed ... Each failure has taught us something about what it means to be the country we aspire to be."

Anita Anand: "Collectively, Canada and our like-minded friends in Europe, in Australia, in Japan, and Korea, for an example, represent a larger GDP than the United States ... Purpose-built coalitions can make a difference so that we, as middle powers, can drive prosperity together."

Anita Anand: "Middle powers like Canada will remain secure and prosperous only by building our own capabilities at home and combining our strengths with trusted partners abroad."

Anita Anand on opening Canada’s new consulate in Nuuk, Greenland: “As I was raising the Canadian flag, the crowd that had assembled there … broke into singing our national anthem. Not prompted, not because it was on the program, but because the moment called for the singing of our national anthem.”

Q: Polls show that despite the bleak picture that you're painting, Canadians trust Mark Carney to deal with the economy. Why do you think that despite what you're saying, your pitch is not resonating with them? Pierre Poilievre: THE ILLUSION

Pierre Poilievre: "Frankly I've done a lot more in opposition than Mr. Carney's been doing in government to promote tariff free trade. While the Mexicans have been in formal talks, Mark Carney has been gallivanting around giving speeches filled with dazzling buzzwords that achieve nothing."

Pierre Poilievre: "Ten years ago, under the Conservative government of which I was a part, support for separation was zero."

Pierre Poilievre: "I would encourage Liberals to stop the divisive rhetoric and work on uniting Canadians. I know the Liberal Party survives and thrives on divide and conquer politics."

Swedish PM Ulf Kristersson: "We joke in Sweden and say that Canada is the most Nordic country in the world outside the Nordics. For us it's really a way of saying that we appreciate Canada because we think we have so many common denominators."

"Doug Trump" -- fantastic Freudian slip from Mélanie Richer

German Ambassador blows up Pierre Poilievre's Geography-101 take on the feasibility of Canada-Germany LNG deal

Avi Lewis on Lori Idlout: "I think Lori was under a lot of pressure from her community to deliver material benefits. And maybe she and they must have thought that she could do that better from the government side. I hope it works."

Avi Lewis: "First Nations need to see action. We're not in a position to deliver as the NDP, and we have to be honest about that. So we will use our voices until we shake some of this justice loose from the bubble tree here in Ottawa."

Avi Lewis: "We talk about Truth and Reconciliation in this country. We haven't even gotten started on the whole truth and nothing but the truth. There's a lot of truth to be told, and that entails justice."

Reporter: We have economists saying that today's numbers are so nominal they could be forecasted away and revised away. So aren't you jumping the gun a little bit calling this a full-blown recession? Pierre Poilievre: Which outlet are you with?

Avi Lewis: "Carney has been inspired by the worst of the worst politicians like Doug Ford who are in a pocket of big corporations."

Avi Lewis: "Canada is now living a new chapter of the shock doctrine story. It's also known as the political strategy of flooding the zone. The Carney government right now is pursuing an agenda of shocking scale and speed."

Avi Lewis: "Some of you know that I'm married to a brilliant writer named Naomi Klein. In fact, the most popular buttons on our leadership campaign were the ones that said, 'I'm voting for Naomi Klein's husband.'"

Avi Lewis: "Leadership that brings back internationalism, that fights imperialism, that says Canada must come to the defence of Cuba and use our place on the world stage to fight for a free Palestine. That's the kind of leadership that I hope to deliver."

Dominic LeBlanc on Pete Hoekstra whining about the booze ban: "Let's remind ourselves David, the provincial governments made those decisions in response to the American tariffs which didn't respect the free trade agreement. Retaliation on a retaliatory measure."

Dominic LeBlanc on US trade negotiations: "We think that they were zeroing in on a potential agreement and then circumstances change ... but he actual outcomes from the United States administration are something that they'll have to speak to."

Dominic LeBlanc says the CRTC's decision to triple streamers’ financial contributions is about "protecting Canadian cultural industries and Canada's cultural sovereignty."

Dominic LeBlanc: "The US publish every year the National Trade estimates book. It's a big book of how every country around the world is doing things that their trade representative office doesn't like. But we also have a list of things that Canada wants."

Mélanie Joly: "We're a stable country, we're able to respect our word and when we look investors in the eyes and we shake hands, we will follow the deal."

Mélanie Joly: "Prime Minister Carney is in contact with President Trump constantly ... and they will be meeting each other very soon as the G7 will be hosted in France in June, so very shortly."

PM Carney: "It's our strong view, and we've been clear about this, that a fortress North America in autos, in steel, in aluminum, that's in everyone's interest."

PM Carney: "The cutting edge of defence, defencive warfare, is in Ukraine."

PM Carney: "Russia's losing 35k troops a month. 22-23k, depending on the month of those troops are killed. They are not gaining territory. Ukraine is able to strike, as you see, increasingly deep into Russian territory. The balance of force is moving in the Ukrainian's direction."

PM Carney on his meeting with Xi Jinping: "I raised with him the Thucydides Trap."

PM Carney on Chinese EVs: "Historically they're all Teslas. It looks like most of the ones that will come in are Teslas as well in the short term. Now over time we're going to get lower cost, broader range of things, but in a controlled way."

PM Carney on the future of the US: "That future should include a new partnership with Canada, a true partnership that reimagines cooperation in specific sectors that are deeply challenged by global competition. A partnership with a different Canada, a stronger Canada, a more confident Canada."

PM Carney sells Canada to US on critical sectors: "With America's growing energy needs because of the incredible transformation here, does it really make sense to build the gigawatts here needed to replace Canada?"

PM Carney: "Canada Strong will help Make America Great Again."

PM Carney: "We're blessed with many commodities in Canada but we have earned the most valuable one which is trust."

PM Carney: “We're diversifying our partnerships abroad. We've signed more than 20 economic and security deals across five continents in the past 12 months. Our existing free trade accords already provide access to 1.5 billion consumers from the EU through to the CPTPP.”

PM Carney on developing Canadian energy: "That is what an energy superpower looks like when it decides to really act as one."

PM Carney: "Led by the US, technological change is accelerating at a pace we have not seen in our lifetime. The US is transforming all of its commercial relationships, as is its right. The world is becoming more divided and dangerous. And Canada recognized these developments earlier than most."

Vassy: [Danielle Smith] has defended her position by pointing to 100k+ signatures, characterizing it as a democratic imperative Wab Kinew: I think there's always a moral imperative to do the right thing. And in this case, I love Canada, so I would never have a referendum to break this country up

Steven Guilbeault: "I think I was a very convenient scapegoat for some people and I think unfortunately the issue of climate change is now caught in this culture wars that we're seeing in the US with the MAGA movement, and we're certainly seeing it in Canada as well."

Steven Guilbeault: "We bought a pipeline in 2018 hoping that it would help to alleviate some of those tensions. That did not help at all. We lost all of our seats in Alberta the following election. We lost our seats in the prairies following that election."

Steven Guilbeault: "So by saying it's not about regulations, it's about results -- regulations are very important in the banking sector for example. We wouldn't think of saying, 'oh let's remove all of the regulations in the banking sector.'"

Steven Guilbeault: "If you look at our campaign platform during the last election, commitments that we made to Canadians, mentioned climate change 28x. It did not mention pipelines once. So I think rightfully so, some people are wondering what is happening."

Corey Hogan on the political risk of Alberta referendum: "This is not a consequence-free musing."

Corey Hogan on the timing of the Alberta referendum: "We're going to have to decide this in 145 days, summer's in the way, feels like you're going to make a decision based on the last two Facebook posts you saw on the way to the polls, and we just don't know what that means."

Corey Hogan on Michelle Rempel's criticism of PM's Brexit comments: "The PM has expertise on Brexit. I think of all of the people in government he's the one you want to look at when you're talking about that comparison and we're all making that comparison."

Wab Kinew: "There's so much to love about this country. There's so many unique cultural aspects of this place. And we're the first nation of hockey."

Wab Kinew: "I just love Canada and I don't want to see talk about breaking this country up. And just the nature of how I want to practice politics is to speak up about what I think is the right thing to do."

Wab Kinew on fact-checking Danielle Smith: "Somebody's got to stick up for Canada. And I love this country so much ... if there is going to be a referendum, I don't want fake news to be framing it up."

Steven Guilbeault: "I would argue that there are more, certainly more than 14 people [in the Liberal caucus] who are worried about some, not everything on the environment."

David Cochrane: We've heard about these 14 Liberal MPs who signed this letter to the Prime Minister. I don't know. I'm going to assume you're one of the 14, right? Steven Guilbeault: You could assume that.

Steven Guilbeault: "I was recruited by Prime Minister Trudeau to come and help his government advance the fight against climate change, nature conservation ... I will continue to work on these issues in one way or the other."

Steven Guilbeault: "There is no way we can reach our 2030 targets."

Steven Guilbeault on the Conservatives' 'keep it in the ground' delusion: "If you look at the numbers, oil production in the oil sands increased more rapidly under the Justin Trudeau government than it did under the Stephen Harper government."

Steven Guilbeault: "It sort of sends the message that if you want something from the federal government then you should threaten separation."

Steven Guilbeault on Danielle Smith pushing ahead with a referendum despite major concessions from Ottawa: "It makes me question whether or not she is a reliable partner when it comes to supporting Canada and being there for Canada."

Steven Guilbeault on Danielle Smith: "I'm puzzled why we would put so many eggs in the basket of a premier who has not shown to other provinces frankly and the federal government and Canadians that she can be a reliable partner."

Steven Guilbeault : "I think it's a respectful disagreement with the Prime Minister and the government on how to approach climate change."

Steven Guilbeault: "I think I really started thinking about leaving politics when I left Cabinet. But at the time I wanted to give myself a chance to try and have, see if I could have some influence over a number of upcoming decisions that I felt were important."