Start your day off right with five things you need to know this morning.
Five things you need to know
Three by-elections are being held today as the Liberal Party sits on the brink of winning a majority government. Two of the elections are being held in Liberal strongholds in Toronto, while the other is in the Montreal suburb of Terrebonne. The Liberals have 171 seats heading into the elections, but need 172 for a technical majority and 173 for a working majority.
Toronto voters are going to the polls in two federal byelections today. Here’s why they matter https://t.co/LD1XFRYZyo
— CP24 (@CP24) April 13, 2026
US President Donald Trump has launched a ferocious attack against the head of the Catholic Church in Rome, blasting Pope Leo as "weak on crime" and accusing him of "catering to the Radical Left." The president, who is also making news today for instructing US forces to blockade Iranian ports in the Persian Gulf, claimed Pope Leo, who is American, was only elected pontiff because the Vatican wanted to curry favour with the Trump administration.
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 13, 2026
The Canadian Rangers completed its largest-ever patrol on Friday, with 1,300 personnel travelling 5,200 kilometres across the Arctic along a route that has not been used for eight decades. But it wasn't a perfect mission, with some troops suffering from food poisoning, a failed howitzer test, one frostbite case and another involving a cracked rib.
Frostbite is least of worries for Canada forces grappling with new Arctic reality https://t.co/j3WVBEzTM3
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) April 12, 2026
The head of Canada's armed forces, meanwhile, has told the British press that the country must "get ready for large-scale conflicts," including by establishing a reserve force of 300,000 people. General Jennie Carignan said the "obvious" threat to Canada in the future is from missiles from the likes of Russia and North Korea. She also said she is not planning for, and cannot foresee the possibility of, the US using military force against Canada.
'We have to get ready for large-scale conflicts,' says Canada's military chief https://t.co/tEbzNejwdx
— Sky News (@SkyNews) April 11, 2026
The petition in favour of holding an independence referendum in Alberta this year has been paused after a judge said there are serious questions about whether First Nations would be harmed by the process. Justice Shaina Leonard's judgment, which was issued on Friday, does not prevent separatists from collecting signatures. Elections Alberta, however, will have to pause its verification process until the legal challenge, led by a group of First Nations, has been heard.
“The stay contemplated here would be in effect for approximately one month while this court reviews and considers the voluminous materials provided, the oral submissions heard over two days and makes a final determination."https://t.co/VHUqowgJCV
— Edmonton Journal (@edmontonjournal) April 11, 2026
