Start your day off right with five things you need to know this morning.
Five things you need to know
Tim Hortons has announced a plan to hire 10,000 "local team members" after reporting that the proportion of temporary foreign workers it employs "has steadily declined since 2024." The firm, which is owned by multinational firm Restaurant Brands International, said on Monday that out of its 110,000 employees, 4,000 were hired through the controversial temporary foreign worker program. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company was one of many to pressure the Liberal government to make it easier to hire temporary foreign workers, complaining of "staffing challenges." Due to high levels of youth unemployment in Canada, however, the firm said that "lobbying for expanded access is no longer necessary.”
Public pressure is working. Optics of hiring temp workers with youth unemployment this high has changed big time-->
— Ben Rabidoux (@BenRabidoux) May 25, 2026
Tim Hortons to dial back use of Temporary Foreign Worker program, aims to hire 10,000 locally https://t.co/i3SNTMEbCz
Tory Leader Pierre Poilievre has said that if a person chooses to burgle a home, "the homeowner should have the right to take you out." Speaking in Surrey to emphasize his opposition to the Liberal Party's policies on the criminal justice system, Poilievre said: "If someone comes into your home, you should be allowed to use any force you believe necessary, including lethal force, to stop them." Separately, Ontario Premier Doug Ford – who has made similar comments about self-defence in the past – told a press conference: "Gun owners, protect your guns. Simple as that: don't ever give them away." He made the comment in the presence Liberal federal minister Melanie Joly, whose government is busily trying to take possession of guns it declared illegal in the aftermath of the mass shooting in Nova Scotia in 2020, which was carried out by a man using illegally obtained guns.
A Canadian academic has warned that the cancellation fee built into the Alberta-Canada carbon tax scheme is "not a big enough liability" to dissuade Alberta from abandoning the agreement down the line. Professor Nicholas Rivers said: "The big concern that this doesn’t properly address is that pipelines are irreversible and policy is very reversible." According to the Alberta government and Energy Minister Tim Hodgson, the total liability for abandoning the deal is capped at $1.2 billion.
Ottawa-Alberta carbon price, pipeline deal will have $1.2-billion liability cap critics say is too low https://t.co/iABxVnUzgc
— Globe Politics (@globepolitics) May 25, 2026
Energy Minister Tim Hodgson, meanwhile, has said he's "highly confident" that Canada's oil firms can absorb the extra costs of doing business in Canada – carbon tax and carbon capture – compared with elsewhere in the world. He also admitted that the oil sector was not involved in talks about the carbon tax and carbon capture schemes. Hodgson's comments come after Cenovus Energy CEO Jon McKenzie joined other oil executives in attacking the Liberal Party's commitment to the schemes, warning: "Things like the industrial carbon tax are things that make us uncompetitive. And those are the things that need to be reformed or removed if we’re going to form capital in this industry and grow in a meaningful way."
Canadian Energy Minister Tim Hodgson said he’s “highly confident” that Alberta oil sands companies can absorb the cost of building carbon capture https://t.co/s7ZNhmUAFl
— Bloomberg (@business) May 25, 2026
In the world of polling, meanwhile, it's happy days for the Liberals. According to Abacus Data – the pollster that recently warned other pollsters that they were significantly undercounting Conservative support – Mark Carney's party holds a 12-point lead over the Tories. The poll also found the Liberals enjoy a 13-point lead over the Conservatives among voters who prioritize affordability, while 47 per cent of all respondents said they think Canada is on the right track – the highest rate recorded by Abacus since 2017.
The political opinion environment for Mark Carney keeps getting better.
— Abacus Data (@abacusdataca) May 24, 2026
Our latest Abacus Data poll finds:
📈 59% approve of the federal government
📈 Liberals at 47%, Conservatives at 35%
📈 Carney at +30 net favourable
📈 Canada right direction hits highest point since 2017…
