Start your day off right with five things you need to know this morning.
Five things you need to know
Mark Carney made three announcements in his riding this morning: his government will begin rolling out automatic tax filing for people on low incomes, Justin Trudeau's school food program will be made permanent and the Canada Strong pass will be extended into 2026. The prime minister was also asked about high salaries for recently recruited senior government employees, which he justified by claiming the individuals concerned were earning more in the private sector.
Canada’s new government is focused on bringing your costs down.
— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) October 10, 2025
Today, we’re announcing the launch of Automatic Federal Benefits for up to 5.5 million low-income Canadians, we’re making our National School Food Program permanent, and we’re bringing back the Canada Strong Pass…
Carney was also asked this morning whether he thinks Canada needs another pipeline to the BC coast, but dodged the question. More than 1,600 Canadians polled by the Angus Reid Institute, however, chose to answer more honestly, with 59 per cent of them saying they support a new pipeline. Even in BC, which is led by a premier who is furiously hostile to the pipeline, a majority of 56 per cent said they were in favour.
Pipeline Push: Majority of Canadians, including B.C. residents support the idea of a pipeline to the north coasthttps://t.co/c7hQkyqcjX
— Angus Reid Institute (@angusreidorg) October 9, 2025
JK Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series of books, has mocked the Vancouver Board of Parks after its members voted to apologize for arranging a Potter-themed event in Stanley Park. The board said it would "disavow" Rowling, but Rowling said she didn't realize the board had "avowed" her in the first place. The furore stems from claims by the board that the event would upset "transgender, gender diverse and two-spirit" people because of the Potter brand's connection with Rowling, who is a vocal feminist.
To be honest, I didn't even know Vancouver Parks and Recreations had avowed me, so the disavowal hasn't been much of a blow. Next time, send me a certificate of avowal, wait until I've proudly framed it, hung it over my PC and taken a selfie with it, THEN revoke it. pic.twitter.com/3dpWWCAXsF
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) October 9, 2025
BC Conservatives Leader John Rustad has admitted that members of his party had their cellphones searched at a meeting this week as part of efforts to identify a leaker inside his caucus. Rustad said nothing came of the search, which he justified on account of "a tweet that seemed to indicate there was information that got out." Elenore Sturko, who Rustad kicked out of the party last month, said the incident was "shocking."
B.C. Conservative Leader Rustad confirms search of MLA phones to find leak https://t.co/KaciWHhrK6 #nationlnewswatch via @natnewswatch
— National Newswatch (@natnewswatch) October 9, 2025
The head of the Major Projects Office, former Trans Mountain Corporation chief Dawn Farrell, refused to say on Thursday whether she has special powers to get around the West Coast oil tanker ban. When MP Branden Leslie said during the committee hearing that he'd heard the Liberals are "quietly" revealing to certain groups that they could bypass the tanker ban, both Farrell and her assistant avoided giving a clear answer. In a separate instance of Ottawan opacity on Thursday, Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson refused to say whether he'd told Danielle Smith the Liberals would abandon the emissions cap, instead saying: "I've never found it helpful to debate in a public forum what those consultations are."
CEO of new Major Projects Office skirts MPs’ questions about tanker ban https://t.co/A6D59cc2ev pic.twitter.com/MJMN2S0mX2
— Toronto Sun (@TheTorontoSun) October 10, 2025
