In the news today: Liberals advance voting begins, Carney still frontrunner

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

Liberals to start casting ballots for leadership

With the debates now done, Liberal party members can start casting advance ballots today to select their next leader a little under two weeks from now.

Read More:

• Liberal leadership candidates face off in English debate Tuesday night
• Poll shows Freeland a close second on first ballot in Liberal leadership race
• Liberal party confirms Ruby Dhalla’s disqualification from leadership race

They can cast their ranked ballot choices by mail or in some instances by phone, and each electoral district counts for 100 points in the race.

Former central bank governor Mark Carney, former finance minister Chrystia Freeland, former government House leader Karina Gould and Montreal businessman Frank Baylis all made their pitches to Liberal voters in the only two debates of the race on Monday and Tuesday.

Carney is widely perceived to be the front-runner in the race by far.

What the rules say about Carney’s assets

The Conservatives are calling on Liberal leadership candidate Mark Carney to disclose his personal assets to the country’s conflict of interest and ethics commissioner before the race is over on March 9.

But they admit he isn’t breaking any rules.

Candidates do not have to disclose their personal assets to the ethics commissioner until they are elected as M-Ps or become cabinet ministers.

If Carney wins the Liberal leadership race, he will be appointed prime minister.

The ethics commissioner’s office says he will then have 120 days to make disclosures.

Two Atlantic provinces search for new leaders

Two Atlantic provinces are looking for new premiers after the resignations of Dennis King last week in P.E.I. and Andrew Furey Tuesday in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Their resignations came as the two provinces, like the rest of the country, face the threat of crippling 25 per cent tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump, who said Monday the tariffs are going forward on Canadian and Mexican goods next month.

Furey emerged as a leader among premiers in his stance toward Trump, urging his counterparts to take seriously the president’s threats of using economic force to make Canada the 51st state.

After a trip to Washington earlier this month, Furey said it was clear the president was attacking not just Canada’s economy but its sovereignty, and he said it was time to re-evaluate the Team Canada strategy.

Last day of campaigning before Ontario election

Ontario’s main political party leaders are making multiple stops across the province today with their final pitches to voters ahead of election day on Thursday.

Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford is set to start the day with an announcement just outside of Windsor, the city where he launched his re-election campaign last month.

Ford will end his day in Mississauga East-Cooksville, the riding Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie is hoping to win to secure a seat in the legislature.

Meanwhile, NDP Leader Marit Stiles has campaign events scheduled from Toronto to Niagara that include meetings with nurses and teachers.

Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner will be in Kitchener.

Labour congress hosting meeting to talk tariffs

The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) is hosting an emergency meeting Wednesday night to discuss the impact of U.S. tariffs on workers and communities.

The meeting will be held virtually at 8 p.m. EST and will be attended by leaders from unions representing over three million workers from all sectors across Canada.

A representative from the CLC’s U.S. counterpart, the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, will also participate to speak about the challenges facing American workers.

Media companies ask CRTC to ease up on regulation

As the Canadian broadcast system is upended by streaming, old-school media and telecom companies say they’re struggling to compete, and they want the country’s broadcast regulator to take a lighter touch.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) is holding consultations on how the Canadian broadcasting system can survive the shift away from traditional TV to international streamers.

It’s a part of the regulator’s work on implementing the Online Streaming Act, which updated broadcasting laws to capture online platforms.

Ontario drag performers win defamation case

A Thunder Bay drag performer who successfully sued a Facebook blogger for defamation over baseless accusations of pedophilia says she hopes the case serves as a cautionary tale to those who traffic in anti-LGBTQ+ slurs and hate speech.

“I want them to know that they need to be afraid to be bigots again, because we’re tired of it,” said Felicia Crichton, one of the three drag performers who won their cases against the administrator of a Thunder Bay Facebook page.

Brian Webster was ordered to pay $380,000 in combined damages to drag performers and a Dryden, Ont.-area LGBTQ+ non-profit after a judge found he falsely and recklessly accused them of being “groomers” in posts about drag story time events at libraries in northwestern Ontario.

Crichton said the ruling was a relief and a sign people who peddle in hate will not find impunity on social media.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 26, 2025

The Canadian Press