Capital Dispatch: Harper’s big week, and the push for bipartisanship

Former prime minister Stephen Harper takes part in a panel discussion at the Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa, on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby

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Former prime minister Stephen Harper and a cadre of his ex-cabinet ministers came to the nation’s capital calling for cross-aisle cooperation on the Canada-U.S. trade war, and one of Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s MPs took that advice and ran to the White House. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mark Carney spent the week tossing fixtures of the Trudeau-era.

The week that was

There were big high school reunion vibes in Ottawa this week, as dozens of former parliamentarians, staffers, and supporters from the Harper era were back in town to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Stephen Harper’s Conservative government coming to power.

The marquee event of the week was of course the unveiling of Harper’s official prime ministerial portrait that will now adorn a wall somewhere in West Block. The colourful and symbolism-laden artwork painted by Phil Richards quickly became the backdrop for a series of social media posts as attendees lined up to snap selfies with their former boss and revered leader.

Reporters – including yours truly – took the opportunity to catch up with old familiar faces and get their takes on the state of federal politics today. Some of that insight is in here.

That event was also bookended by notable public speeches by the former prime minister. First, in a fireside chat with former Liberal prime minister Jean Chretien, Harper voiced his opposition to the Alberta separatist movement and called for the government and opposition to work in tandem to bring the country together.

Then, at a gala dinner to honour his tenure and legacy, Harper spoke at length about how the challenges this country is facing cannot all be blamed on U.S. President Donald Trump.

He cited “the failures of the last decade” before appearing to rally behind the current prime minister’s main message, which is, as Harper put it: “Do what is necessary to attain our full potential as a country, to become more competitive at home and better connected in the world.”

The sixth-longest serving prime minister then closed out his week in the capital dropping his archival collection which features more than a million photos, 400,000 digital records and myriad other keepsakes.

Amid this push for bipartisanship, Carney and Poilievre sat down for a rare one-on-one meeting on Parliament Hill on Wednesday.

Both emerged indicating a desire for collaboration on policies that’ll make life more affordable and safer, though that vow to work together may not be long lasting. Shortly after, acrimony arose after one Conservative MP declared he was heading to Washington to try and help on the trade front.

Jamil Jivani, who has a longstanding personal friendship with U.S. Vice-President JD Vance, said his motivations for making the trip were to help negotiate a win, though the Liberals were quick to say they did not sanction this visit.

“Minister LeBlanc gave a briefing to Mr. Jivani, who I don’t believe is the trade critic for the opposition, certainly not the minister of international trade, nor the prime minister of Canada,” Carney said to reporters. Journalists then asked why then, he thinks Jivani was going down.

The prime minister replied: “I think it might have something to do with all of you.”

As the visit continued and Jivani took to social media to provide updates on the meetings he said he was having, questions were raised back in Ottawa about the impact this solo mission could have, and the opposition MP’s intentions.

As this D.C. drama was unfolding, the federal government rolled out a new strategy to transform Canada’s auto sector, which continues to be squeezed by U.S. tariffs.

The main planks of the plan are that the federal government is launching a new electric vehicle consumer rebate and replacing the contentious EV sales mandate with new emissions standards.

“The future of the auto industry is increasingly electric and connected,” Carney said, speaking at a parts manufacturing facility in Woodbridge, Ont. On Thursday.

“To remain competitive and realise our potential, we must develop the entire value chain for next-generation vehicles.”

The motivation behind the strategy is to make the Canadian auto industry less reliant on gas-powered vehicles, but also less dependent on the United States.

I went digging into the details of the strategy, and gathering stakeholder reaction, and there’s more on all of that, here.

Not to be missed

Anti-hate envoys terminated, new council coming

In a move stakeholders said they didn’t see coming, Carney is doing away with a pair of Trudeau-era positions: Canada’s special envoys on combatting antisemitism and Islamophobia. These designated roles are being replaced by what’s being called the “Advisory Council on Rights, Equality and Inclusion,” which is being tasked with combatting racism and hate in all forms. “It’s about folding in those two positions unto a new committee on national unity,” Canadian Identity and Culture Minister Marc Miller said Wednesday. He said that the Liberals know how divided the country has become, and that the stand-alone positions “played an important part in identifying these issues that have become in the case of Islamophobia and antisemitism, quite polarized.” Though, now the time has come for “taking the next step” of focusing on “national unity.” Jewish and Muslim advocacy groups are now calling on the federal government to assure them the work being done by the respective offices, won’t get diluted under the new model.

GST bill fast-tracked, health data bill re-tabled

A few pieces of legislation got moving this week. First it was the bill to boost the federal GST credit Carney promised on the first day of the new sitting. On Monday, members of Parliament unanimously approved a Conservative motion proposing to speed up deliberations over Bill C-19, the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit Act, that saw it clear the House of Commons on Wednesday. It’s now before the Senate, where on Wednesday another government bill was added to their plate. Amid the stories of Canadian patients falling through the cracks of the health-care system, the Liberals revived legislation aimed at improving access to medical records, reintroducing the “Connected Care for Canadians Act,” first proposed in June 2024. Here’s more on what the bill proposes, and why it came with a disclaimer from Health Canada that it “is not creating a digital ID.”

Liberals name byelection candidates

And, Bill Blair finally made his long-rumoured resignation official. On Monday, the former cabinet minister vacated his House of Commons seat and Carney confirmed, as suspected, that Blair is off to become Canada’s next high commissioner to the United Kingdom. The appointment unveiling came alongside news that the prime minister was also making his national security and intelligence advisor Nathalie Drouin – who may be familiar to those who closely followed the foreign interference and Emergencies Act inquiries – Canada’s ambassador to France and Monaco. As colleague Spencer Van Dyk reports, Blair’s vacancy is the second from the Liberal benches this year. In January, former deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland also announced her resignation, to take on an economic adviser position for the Ukrainian government. Both will need to be replaced in byelection, and the Liberal Party of Canada has made quick work of announcing their new candidates. In Freeland’s old riding, it’s family physician and advocate for the Canadian health-care system, Danielle Martin. Campaigning for Blair’s seat as a federal Liberal will be Doly Begum, the provincial NDP’s deputy leader.

Quote of the week

The week ahead

Parliamentarians are back at it in Ottawa next week, and two more opposition days are on the docket. But this week, instead of previewing legislative debates in the chamber that’ll be worth keeping your eye on, I wanted to flag some coming committee hearings.

On Tuesday, the panel of MPs who are assigned to stay on top of procedure and House affairs will get an update on foreign interference, from Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) officials, as well as senior members of the Communications Security Establishment (CSE), the Foreign Affairs Department and the RCMP.

Also taking place Tuesday, the government operations committee will hear from – and be potentially grilled, given the recent public service news – Public Works and Procurement Minister Joel Lightbound. An hour later, they’ll press Carney’s lead on defence procurement Stephen Fuhr and the CEO of Canada’s new Defence Investment Agency for an update on how their work is going.

And on Wednesday, additional CSIS officials will testify on the Hill, this time before the foreign affairs committee, on the topic of Canada’s Arctic strategy.

Speaking of the Arctic, keep an eye out for colleague Abigail Bimman’s coverage of Canada’s consulate opening in Greenland this weekend.

Covering the latest political news from CTV’s parliamentary bureau in Ottawa, Rachel Aiello offers exclusive analysis on political developments straight from Ottawa.