Start your day off right with five things you need to know this morning.
Five things you need to know
Former Liberal cabinet minister Steven Guilbeault has announced his intention to resign as an MP, deflecting criticism of his hardline policies as attempts to make him into a "scapegoat." The former environment minister also associated criticism of his anti-industrial policies, which he calls "climate policies," with the "MAGA movement" in the US.
Canada has tumbled down the "Best Countries" rankings created by US News and World Report, falling from second in 2023 to 19th in the latest list. To add insult to injury, Canada was even below the US. The rankings are decided using 100 statistical indicators from the likes of the UN and OECD, including economy, governance and health. Eric Litke, managing editor at US News and World Report, said its reformed ranking criteria help move the list from "reputation to reality."
Canada dropped in the world’s best countries list. Here’s what the data says https://t.co/YKo3aL0cga
— CTV News Winnipeg (@ctvwinnipeg) May 28, 2026
Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree has said the Liberal government will "clarify" its contentious lawful access bill after a furore about encryption and metadata. Anandasangaree said the law "was never meant to breach encryption." He added: “We would ensure that the metadata piece is in line with our U.S. counterpart’s language in their bill that essentially speaks to lawful access." Opponents of the bill, from giant tech firms to civil liberties groups, have accused the Liberals of trying to open up a backdoor to citizens' digital information.
Ottawa to amend encryption, metadata elements of contentious lawful access bill https://t.co/MW541Eyo2j #nationlnewswatch via @natnewswatch
— National Newswatch (@natnewswatch) May 27, 2026
A new report has warned of China's "systemic" interference in other countries, including through agents of the Chinese Communist Party embedding themselves in foreign societies. The Montreal Institute for Global Security's report comes as the Liberals continue to grow closer to China, with the country's foreign minister visiting Ottawa today. Kyle Matthews, the executive director at Montreal Institute for Global Security, said: “We’re dealing with states that have murdered Canadian citizens, that have harassed Canadian citizens, states that have stolen some of our top intellectual property."
"We do have economic interests to expand. However, we cannot be blind," one of the report's authors said.https://t.co/nSD8DYuvoZ
— Globalnews.ca (@globalnews) May 27, 2026
The CBC appears to have woken up to the fact that the Liberal government has failed to reach a trade agreement with the United States close to a year after Mark Carney said one would be signed off. In an article titled "It's crunch time for Canada's trade deal with the U.S. and Mexico," the broadcaster writes: "The slow pace of negotiations, along with the way U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff regime has punched holes in the free-trade deal, have combined to raise doubts about the fate of an agreement that is crucial to the Canadian economy."
It's crunch time for Canada's trade deal with the U.S. and Mexico | CBC News https://t.co/sMigsHuv4a
— Ken J Haley (@KenJayHaley) May 28, 2026
