Carney, Poilievre square off in House of Commons for first time this year

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I'm an editor with the parliamentary bureau.

If you're watching live now, you'll see a lot of empty seats in the House of Commons.

MPs are starting to trickle in, while an earlier Opposition motion is debated and members give their statements.

This is the first faceoff between the prime minister and Poilievre in 2026. There was a question period yesterday, but Carney chose to visit Doug Ford, eat pizza and mend some fences around the auto sector instead.

This political landscape has changed since these two last squared off: threats from U.S. President Donald Trump on Greenland were felt right around the world, as countries like Canada considered their sovereignty.

Carney is coming into today after a phone call with Trump yesterday, where he says he made it clear he meant what he said in his speech in Davos. It's unclear whether the speech or the agreement Canada made with China has most recently irked the president, but on the weekend he was threatening Canada with 100 per cent tariffs on all goods.

The prime minister and his ministers have been making it clear to U.S. Officials that Canada is not attempting to have a free trade deal with China, in hopes of calming the president. 

Debate on the Hill today is focused on a Conservative motion that calls on the government to "immediately introduce a Canada Sovereignty Act."

The non-binding motion would see the government remove or repeal federal measures that the Conservatives consider impediments to resource development and production.

Poilievre promised to bring this forward in an open letter to Carney last week, and spoke about it earlier this afternoon in the House of Commons. Expect him to bring it up in question period as well.

It is unlikely to pass without government support.

Today's question period will be Mark Carney and Pierre Poilievre's first time facing off in the House of Commons this year.

It comes with a renewed sense of co-operation in the air, with the Conservatives signalling a willingness to fast-track certain Liberal bills.

The Conservatives focused on grocery prices during much of yesterday's QP, though Poilievre also said his party would let the Liberals' planned GST rebate top-up pass. That measure, announced yesterday, is designed to help families who are feeling the pinch of food inflation.

Follow along here for updates.

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