Plus: Trophy of the day
IN TODAY’S EDITION
1️⃣ Canada’s new PM takes flight |
2️⃣ Why Libyans are googling their education minister |
3️⃣ Trophy of the day |
Hi Intriguer. I think of two things when I think of Canada. The first is that time I visited Banff and Calgary for the 100th anniversary of the Stampede. It was there that I got into a ‘You’re Welcome’-off with the waiter at a local restaurant (the Canadian out-niced me).
The other is of canoe camping (yes, you read that right) during ‘fall leaf peeping’ season just outside of Ottawa. My local friend assured me that the temperatures would still be “balmy” in October (he lied). I was both frozen and breath-taken by the nature.
More recently, Canada conjures up for me: Trudeau’s Love Actually-esque response to US tariffs, a Canadian goose fighting off a bald eagle, and many hockey chants involving maple syrup. We touch on some of these things in today’s look at Canada’s new PM in a Trump 2.0 world.
Israel resumes strikes in Gaza.
After weeks of haggling with Hamas over a truce extension and further hostage releases, Israel has resumed airstrikes in Gaza, where locals have now reported hundreds more dead. Netanyahu has blamed Hamas and its refusal to release more Israeli hostages, while Hamas has accused Israel of acting to “overturn the ceasefire agreement”.
Another Trump-Putin call due today.
The US president has confirmed he’ll hold a call with his Russian counterpart today (Tuesday), stating, “Many elements of a Final Agreement have been agreed to, but much remains.”
Alphabet in renewed talks to buy Wiz.
Google’s parent company is again in talks to buy cybersecurity firm Wiz for ~$30B, according to The Wall Street Journal. The acquisition would be Alphabet’s largest-ever and could bolster its cloud-computing business. Wiz turned down a smaller offer from Alphabet last year.
Trump says Xi Jinping could visit US soon.
The US president has told the JFK Center for the Performing Arts board that China’s president could visit the US in the “not too distant future”. Reports suggest the two leaders could meet as early as June.
Astronauts finally return to Earth.
Two Nasa astronauts are finally on their way home after mechanical issues converted their week-long International Space Station visit into a nine-month odyssey.
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TOP STORY
Canada’s new PM takes flight
Canada’s Mark Carney.
Sports fans might’ve heard the term ‘hospital pass’ — it’s where a player gets passed a ball they can only catch by subjecting themselves to a brutal tackle (then hospital visit).
And it’s hard to think of a tougher hospital pass than the one just caught by Canada’s new prime minister, Mark Carney, who’s now bracing for some big hits at home and abroad.
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Let’s start at home
Carney, the highly regarded former central banker for Canada (and England!), secured the ruling Liberal Party’s leadership and formally took the reins from Justin Trudeau on Friday. He now has to call elections by October, though will likely pull the trigger sooner:
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Some lawmakers argue he’s got no mandate until he goes to an election, and
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Others were already threatening to force a vote after his party’s decade in power.
But while any race will still be tough as voters assess his party’s record on the economy, housing, immigration, and beyond, Carney still stands a real chance partly due to…
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What’s next for Canada abroad
Specifically, Canada’s conservative opposition has now lost a 30-point lead, with polls calling this a close race and even placing Carney ahead as preferred prime minister.
And the trigger seems to have been less any change of leader in Canada, and more the change of leader in the US, with Canadians rallying around the flag as Trump 2.0 brings:
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a) blanket tariffs that put hundreds of thousands of Canadian jobs at risk
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b) talk of somehow making Canada into America’s 51st state, both leading to
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c) a chilling sense that Canada’s ally, trade partner, and neighbour can’t be trusted.
And so it’s with that in mind that Prime Minister Carney’s first few days have focussed on…
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Options
Canada’s prosperity and security are closely intertwined with its proximity to the US, with the world’s largest economy and military. So sure, there’s a certain logic in diversifying that, particularly as trust collapses.
That’s why, days after taking the oath of office, Carney was on the prime ministerial jet heading not south to DC or Mar-a-Lago, but across the Atlantic to London and Paris.
And while he highlighted shared heritage and values at each stop, Carney also has the world’s third-largest proven oil reserves; the world’s largest uranium deposits; critical minerals like graphite, lithium, and cobalt; and so on. That all gives Carney cards.
But unlike most other world leaders, 75% of his exports still head to the US. And that level of integration with — and reliance on — the US makes diversifying away fraught. If you’ll forgive the flawed analogy, it’s almost like pivoting your solar panels away from the sun towards distant Proxima Centauri instead. But Trump’s tariffs mean Carney must try.
INTRIGUE’S TAKE
There was an interesting moment in Carney’s London press conference last night, when reporters pressed him on whether the UK’s Starmer or France’s Macron offered any help in dealing with Trump 2.0. Carney’s answer? Canada doesn’t need saving.
That response suggests his trip abroad was about signalling both:
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a) to folks back home, his ability to lead, and
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b) to leaders abroad, a readiness for whatever world order Trump 2.0 brings.
But keep an eye out for more subtle signals ahead: like other US allies, Canada has partly been willing and able to stand its ground on all kinds of issues because it’s felt secure within the international system and its underlying US guarantees.
But as Canada revisits its assumptions about the US, it will (like others) revisit its own stances, whether on trade, China, or beyond. Welcome to the multipolar world.
Also worth noting:
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Interestingly, Carney has also included a stop he’s framed as asserting Canada’s sovereignty, landing today (Tuesday) in Canada’s city of Iqaluit up in the Arctic, where the US, Russia, and others are already in open competition.
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Carney has invited Ukraine’s Zelensky to Canada’s G7 summit in June.
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The latest OECD report just warned that the Canada-US-Mexico trade war could slow growth forecasts and increase inflation for all three nations.
MEANWHILE, ELSEWHERE…
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🇯🇵 Japan: Tokyo is planning to deploy longer-range missiles to existing bases on its southwest Kyushu island, citing a need for stronger “counterstrike capabilities”. The planned missiles would be able to hit targets in North Korea and China, and come as more locals doubt US security commitments in the region.
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🇷🇸 Serbia: An estimated 100,000 or more folks have joined the latest student-led protests demanding strongman leader Aleksandar Vucic step down. The movement has grown out of initial anti-corruption protests following last year’s deadly collapse of a train station.
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🇸🇬 Singapore: The US has sanctioned a Singapore-based company for helping transfer Iranian oil onto non-Iranian tankers, who then on-sell it under a false label. The waters off eastern Malaysia have become a global hub for these kinds of illicit seaborne transfers.
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🇬🇾 Guyana: Venezuelan autocrat Nicolas Maduro has accused his Guyanese counterpart Irfaan Ali of seeking to provoke a war, even comparing him to Ukraine’s Zelenskyy. But much like Russia’s Putin, Maduro has clung to power via sham elections and claims two-thirds of a neighbour (Guyana) as his own.
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🇷🇼 Rwanda: Kigali has cut ties with former colonial power Belgium, accusing it of siding with DR Congo in the region’s ongoing conflict. Belgium, whose diplomats now have 48 hours to leave Rwanda, has rejected the allegations and labelled Rwanda’s move "disproportionate".
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EXTRA INTRIGUE
Here’s what folks around the world are googling
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🇱🇾 Libyans are searching for ‘وزير التعليم’ (minister of education) after Tripoli jailed Musa al-Magariaf over corruption around local textbook procurement.
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🇯🇲 Jamaicans looked up ‘Forever 21’ as the US fast fashion firm announced it’ll close all US stores, citing competition from China’s Temu and Shein.
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And 🇫🇷 French film enthusiasts googled ‘Emilie Dequenne’ after the Cannes award-winning Belgian actress died of cancer.
TROPHY OF THE DAY
This unverified pic is doing the rounds on social media
The organisers of a marathon in southern Taiwan have apologised after handing out trophies shaped like China’s QBZ-95 assault rifle. Bold design choice if you ask us, though the organisers say the inspiration came from the race route itself, which passed through three Taiwanese defence facilities.
The netizen who shared the original pic suggested the organisers just went with the lowest-cost rifle-shaped trophy they could find which, surprise, was made in China using the People’s Liberation Army service rifle as inspiration.
DAILY POLL
Do you think Canada can remake its place on the world stage? |
Yesterday’s poll: What do you think was the main vibe out of this year's G7 summit of foreign ministers?
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🟢 Unity (7%)
🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🟡 Compromise (26%)
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟠 Tension (64%)
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ ✍️ Other (write in!) (3%)
Your two cents:
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🟠 D.J.S: “With the leadership of the most powerful country in the world energetically changing most aspects of its foreign relationships, how could there not be tension?”
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🟡 C.D: “At least the G7 seems to be functioning like a reasonable diplomatic body.”
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🟢 R.J: “Not mentioning the One China Policy is a massive deal and does show that at least the G7 countries are unified where it likely matters most for the future.”
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✍️ G.H: “A big Nothing Burger.”
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