Start your day off right with five things you need to know this morning.
Five things you need to know
Mark Carney released a campaign-style video on Sunday touting his government's policies and his own experience as US-Canada trade talks stall and the Canadian economy wobbles. The prime minister said he will "never sugar-coat our challenges" and claimed that Canada's relationship with the US has become one of the country's "weaknesses that we must correct." He also claimed he "developed" the concept of forward guidance, a decades-old policy at central banks around the world whose creation is not attributed to the prime minister.
Canada's talks with the Mercosur bloc of South American nations have progressed and an agreement could be signed by the end of this year, according to Brazilian official Paula Barboza. She said there has been a "political push" from the Canadian side. The deal is touted as a way for Canada to boost its access to the market in areas including cars, aluminum, IT, chemicals and lumber. Barboza, meanwhile, said Mercosur, whose dominant trading partner is China, is looking to diversify.
Canada, Mercosur aiming to sign free trade deal this year: Brazilian official https://t.co/yVGwIhBmIX
— CP24 (@CP24) April 20, 2026
Catherine McKenna, who served as Justin Trudeau's environment minister between 2015 and 2021, has lashed out at Canada's oil and gas sector, accusing its leaders of being close to Donald Trump and "taking us for fools." McKenna said the industry is "largely foreign-owned" and has been "increasing our emissions" while "demanding subsidies." She added: “How about get people off fossil fuels, get them into EVs? Why are we still heating our homes with oil and gas?”
Former minister Catherine McKenna blasts the heads of Canadian oil companies https://t.co/4p6pS5cLCz
— CTV London (@CTVLondon) April 20, 2026
Former Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz has warned Canada faces a 30 per cent risk of recession amid an energy shock caused by war in the Middle East. He also said Canada needs to find "replacements" for the US as a consequence of the Trump administration's tariff regime. But he added: “Canada may get a little bit luckier than others, because we’re a big producer and net exporter of oil ... That doesn’t mean we can just suddenly walk away and not have a recession with everybody else, but it means it’s mitigated by the revenue flows from the oil.”
Former BoC Governor Stephen Poloz tells Vassy Kapelos that Canada has about a 30% chance of falling into a recession pic.twitter.com/uLBZJGBV34
— cbcwatcher (@cbcwatcher) April 19, 2026
BC Premier David Eby has backed down once again on his pledge to reform his government's implementation of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, which has led to court decisions affecting property rights in the province. Eby's office said the BC NDP government "will not be introducing legislation on DRIPA during this session." Numerous First Nations groups have expressed outrage at the planned changes, which Eby said were designed to protect private property rights.
First Nations say Eby backs down again, now seeks joint path on B.C. Indigenous lawhttps://t.co/525QjkONgH
— Don Richardson (@Don_Richardson) April 20, 2026
