Canada's sovereignty was front and centre as federal ministers and Liberal MPs fielded questions about U.S. President Donald Trump's latest talk of annexation ahead of the first post-election question period in the House of Commons.
On Tuesday, hours after King Charles presented the speech from the throne in Ottawa — which included several lines asserting Canada's sovereignty — Trump said in a post on his Truth Social account that it would cost Canada $61 billion to join the planned "Golden Dome" missile defence program, or nothing at all if it joins the United States.
"Oh my God, he’s got to give that stuff up. Never going to happen," Liberal MP Darren Fisher said on his way into the Liberal caucus meeting Wednesday morning.
"I take my lead from the people that I speak to in my community and across the country, and it’s very clear that people want us to stand up for Canada’s sovereignty," Justice Minister Sean Fraser said ahead of the Liberal caucus meeting Wednesday.
"Obviously, we want to partner with the United States where possible, but we do have to stand up for Canada’s interest economically and … from the sovereignty point of view."
Parliament got back to work Wednesday with a new Speaker, a new prime minister and plenty of new faces in the House of Commons.
Speaker Francis Scarpaleggia's office has confirmed that all 343 members of Parliament have now been sworn in.
Roughly a third of those MPs, including Prime Minister Mark Carney, were elected for the first time in April and faced their first question period Wednesday.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre was absent from the House of Commons for the first time in two decades after failing to win re-election in his riding.
Former party leader Andrew Scheer is leading the Conservative caucus in the House of Commons.
Liberal House leader Steven MacKinnon told reporters six consecutive days have been set aside for debate on the throne speech before the government begins to table legislation. He did not say how many bills could be tabled during this short session.
Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
