Parliament Returns with Carney’s Euro-Vision and the Right To Strike on the Agenda
Your Look Ahead from Summa Strategies
September 21, 2026
6 minute read
The Latest
Top stories driving the news this week.
- Last week, Prime Minister Mark Carney called for an “alliance of the future” with the European Union, proposing Canada join Erasmus+ and expand its role in Horizon Europe. The speech in the European Parliament followed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s offer to open the door to Canada becoming the EU’s first “associate member,” a label Carney downplayed while saying Canada is not seeking full membership and that any final agreement would be debated and voted on in Parliament.
- Following the Canada Investment Summit, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that Ottawa will seek private investment through long-term concessions to operate the Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and Calgary airports while retaining ownership of the land and assets, saying the deals could net tens of billions of dollars, a plan the Canadian Labour Congress urged the government to reconsider.
- Conservative sources at the caucus retreat in Penticton told CBC News that while some MPs have soured on Pierre Poilievre, there is little appetite to trigger a Reform Act vote, arguing it makes little sense to burn through a leader who secured 88% support in January. Deputy Leader Melissa Lantsman conceded the party is not where it wants to be and said the Conservative playbook will change this fall. Poilievre avoided the media after the retreat concluded.
- Two senior government sources told CBC News the Carney government’s Building Canada Strong Act, to be tabled this week, will amend Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code to explicitly let the minister direct the labour board to end work stoppages and order arbitration, a step sources say would be a last resort after a report from a newly appointed special mediator.
- Kerry-Lynne Findlay resigned as B.C. Conservative leader, hours after MLA Linda Hepner left the caucus, saying too much time has been consumed by internal conflict. Findlay, who will remain the party’s candidate in the Sept. 26 Abbotsford-Mission byelection, is succeeded by Cariboo-Chilcotin MLA Lorne Doerkson, who was named interim leader late last night.
- Prime Minister Mark Carney will be attending the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York today through Wednesday. He will not be giving a speech but will take part in a roundtable on multilateral collaboration and co-host an event on the two-state solution with France and the United Kingdom after all three countries recognized an independent Palestinian state at last year’s General Assembly. Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand is set to deliver a speech later in the assembly.
In the House
Key Green Chamber business set to play out.
- Bill C-34, the Safe Social Media Act, is at second reading in the House of Commons.
- Bill C-36, An Act to enact the Protecting Privacy and Consumer Data Act, is at second reading in the House of Commons.
- Bill C-28, the Canadian Space Launch Act, is at second reading in the House of Commons.
- Bill C-29, the Financial Crimes Agency Act, is at consideration in committee.
- Bill S-5, the Connected Care for Canadians Act, is at second reading in the House of Commons.
- Bill C-31, the Budget 2025 Implementation Act, No. 2, is at consideration in the Standing Committee on Finance.
- Bill C-37, the First Nations Clean Water Act, is currently at second reading in the House of Commons.
- Bill C-2, the Strong Borders Act, is currently at second reading in the House of Commons.
Committee Updates
In the Senate
Stay informed on events in the Upper Chamber.
In Case You Missed It
Your crib notes for last week’s top stories.
- The federal government says last week’s Canada Investment Summit produced nearly $500 billion in new investment commitments, including nearly $325 billion in bank financing and a $52.5 billion Bell AI Fabric hub in Saskatchewan. Prime Minister Mark Carney also announced a Productivity Mega Deduction the government says will cut the marginal effective tax rate on new business investment from roughly 13% to 6.4%, and said Ottawa will seek private investment to operate Canada’s four largest airports.
- Canada’s Defence Drone Initiative continues to ramp up as more UAS companies are being awarded under its umbrella. This follows Canada’s recent announcement with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to increase drone production and create the Defence Drone Initiative Marketplace.
- The Business Development Bank of Canada announced at the Canada Investment Summit that it will deploy $1 billion under its existing $6 billion Defence Platform, with $500 million across funds focused on defence and dual-use technologies and $200 million more for StrongNorth, bringing that fund from $300 million to $500 million.
- Canada and Germany announced plans to invest CAD 150 million and EUR 100 million, respectively, in LawZero, the Montréal not-for-profit led by Yoshua Bengio, to develop its Scientist AI methodology, a project expected to create 360 full-time jobs in Canada, with sovereign computing infrastructure built alongside Hypertec and 5C.
Provincial Updates
A look at the top news across the country.
- Kerry-Lynne Findlay resigned as B.C. Conservative leader yesterday despite saying she is “not going anywhere” at the B.C. Municipalities conference. Late last night, Cariboo-Chilcotin MLA Lorne Doerkson was appointed interim leader with the party promising more details in the “coming days.” Findlay will still run in the Sept. 26 Abbotsford-Mission byelection.
- Former BC Conservative president Aisha Estey says she and about a dozen others, including four MLAs and CHEK News political correspondent Rob Shaw, were probed by a private investigator allegedly hired by former executive director Elaine Allan using party funds.
- As of last Friday, the Office of the Clerk says MLAs Trevor Halford, Claire Rattée and former leader John Rustad are no longer affiliated with the B.C. Conservative caucus, leaving the party with 25 MLAs on the legislature’s website, with Rattée saying she is among 10 MLAs calling on leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay to resign.
- Union of B.C. Municipalities delegates passed an emergency resolution urging the province to keep any provincial election separate from the municipal election season, as Elections B.C. says a call by Sept. 22 would set voting day for Oct. 24, one week after local elections.
- B.C. Premier David Eby announced that a planned provincial sales tax expansion set for Oct. 1 will be delayed until the Trump trade war is over, that B.C. will stock no U.S. alcohol until the Trump administration supports the forest sector, and that the next generation of BC Ferries vessels will be built in B.C. rather than China, without mentioning a much-speculated snap election.
- PrairiesCan announced over $3.2 million through the Regional Defence Investment Initiative for RRC Polytech to create the Manitoba Defence and Dual-Use Innovation Bridge, a two-year project with Manitoba Aerospace and Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters that is expected to support 100 small and medium-sized businesses and create 90 jobs.
- Former Alberta MLA Drew Barnes announced he is attempting to form a Bloc Québécois-style federal party, “Alberta Now,” that would run candidates in Alberta’s 37 seats. Barnes plans to register the party this fall ahead of the province’s Oct. 19 referendum on proceeding to a formal separation vote.
- Rain of 15 to 50 millimetres in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, plus widespread frost, have caused significant deterioration of Prairie crop quality, with spring wheat harvest only 13 per cent complete in Saskatchewan and 14 per cent in Alberta, and feed wheat expected to exceed 10 per cent of the crop against a typical year of under five per cent.
- Candidates in the Ontario Liberal leadership race warned that Prime Minister Carney’s plan to sell long-term concessions to operate Pearson Airport needs passenger protections against fee gouging, with Eric Lombardi comparing it to Highway 407. Premier Doug Ford called the plan “fabulous” and said it should be expanded to include Toronto’s Billy Bishop Airport.
- With central bargaining with the Government of Ontario paused pending a labour board ruling, the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario will hold an online central strike vote for all 84,000 members between November 9 and 18, becoming the second education union to call one after the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association.
- Premier Doug Ford walked back what was widely read as an endorsement of Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow’s re-election bid after he told reporters to “read between the lines” while standing beside her, saying he is not endorsing anyone in the Toronto mayoral race and will work with whoever wins.
- Quebec’s five party leaders will face off in a final televised debate on Sept. 23, after their candidates sparred over the economy on Radio-Canada, where the PQ was attacked for counting on $4.4 billion in higher federal transfers while promising a sovereignty referendum.
- A CBC News analysis compared the financial plans of Quebec’s five main parties, finding a crowded fiscal middle among the CAQ, Liberals and PQ, flanked by Québec Solidaire’s spending increases funded partly by a new tax on assets over $25 million and the Conservatives’ deep cuts to pay for lower income and corporate taxes, with all five projecting a balanced budget by 2029-30.
- Quebec Finance Minister Eric Girard pitched the province’s clean energy, manufacturing and critical minerals to foreign investors at the Canada Investment Summit in Toronto, saying Quebec and Canada face a private investment shortfall that predates the trade war and that it could take two years to know whether the summit delivers results.
- Newfoundland and Labrador’s legislature voted 21-18 in favour of the draft agreement to share Labrador energy with Hydro-Québec, a deal proposing more than $50 billion in hydro and wind development along the Churchill River that would end the 1969 Churchill Falls contract 15 years early at higher, escalating rates.
- Last week, 37 Atlantic Canadian AI companies took part in ALL IN 2026 in Montréal, supported by a $70,000 Atlantic Trade and Investment Growth Agreement investment led by Digital Nova Scotia, with $49,000 from Ottawa and $21,000 from the four Atlantic provinces.
- This week, federal NDP leader Avi Lewis, will head to Atlantic Canada to join organizers across the region to share the vision of fighting for the “many, not the money”. The plan is to discuss the cost-of-living emergency, rent caps, affordable housing build-outs, and public grocer options.
What We're Watching
Find out what issues Summa consultants are tracking and why they matter.
I’m Havin’ a Party… A Party for Two
At the Munich Security Conference earlier this year, Minister Solomon and Minister Wildberger, Germany’s Minister for Digital Transformation and Government Modernization, announced the launch of their new Sovereign Technology Alliance. Over seven months later, it remains a party of two. No other founding members have officially joined the two co-chairs in this undertaking. When Solomon and Wildberger met on the sidelines of ALL IN, they took stock of ‘prospective’ partners and promised to (re-?)launch the alliance in a few months’ time.
What We’re Watching: In addition to the other founding members that RSVP’d ‘yes’ to the Sovereign Technology Alliance, we are monitoring the signing of a Canada-EU digital trade agreement. This agreement may bring alignment on spam, consumer protections, transparency and preventing certain data localization requirements. The official negotiations for the agreement began in March 2026. More broadly, as the US takes over the G7 presidency, we are watching for a pivot away from a digital sovereignty agenda towards AI adoption and innovation.
Claire Smith (she/her)
Senior Consultant
Carney’s Euro-Vision
Prime Minister Mark Carney and his government came under the microscope last week after he delivered a speech to the European Parliament, where he proposed that Canada join Erasmus+ and expand its role in Horizon Europe, among other things, seeking a closer partnership. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen even proposed an ‘associate member’ label, but Carney downplayed that by shifting his messaging to an “alliance for the future.” Canada and the E.U.’s kumbaya moment caught the attention of U.S. President Donald Trump, who responded that any partnership between the two jurisdictions could be viewed as a “hostile act.”
Ratifying any formal agreement between the two jurisdictions would go beyond the fall legislative session and most likely take years to secure approval from the Canadian Parliament and the E.U. bloc nations. Polling shows that a clear majority of Canadians want a closer partnership with the E.U. and to rely less on the U.S. However, the current tariff conflict could become untenable for certain Canadian industries, which could force the Carney government’s hand to make a deal with Trump that would, once again, shift Ottawa’s current position on the EU. Insiders and the Canadian public will watch how the Carney government navigates its geopolitical priorities in the coming months.
