Capital Dispatch: 'Soft power' and Poilievre's test

Your guide to what happened on the Hill this week and why it matters.

January 30, 2026

Celebrating Canada's hottest export, as the Trump threats keep coming  Prime Minister Mark Carney brought his charm offensive back to Ottawa this week, pushing a domestic affordability agenda while facing persisting questions about the state of Canada-U.S. relations. Plus, cast and crew from Heated Rivalry warmed up the nation's capital, sending a message about the power and influence Canadian content is capable of.    The week that was Parliament is back in session, and the federal government kicked off the 2026 sitting putting a renewed focus on a dominating domestic concern: affordability. Before returning to the House of Commons, Carney unveiled a boost to the GST credit as part of a suite of new measures meant to tackle food insecurity. With a backdrop of produce, the prime minister was pressed on whether the pledge was motivated by aspirations for a spring election, which he denied.  During that press conference, Carney was also peppered with questions about the state of his relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump, a dynamic that seemed to evolve throughout the week.  From U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent claiming the prime minister "aggressively" walked back parts of his Davos speech in a Trump-initiated call on Monday – which the prime minister dismissed – to the American president taking aim at Canada's aerospace sector late Thursday.  As this was all playing out, the premiers came to town. On Wednesday, all 13 leaders of the provinces and territories met behind closed doors at a downtown Ottawa hotel to get on the same page ahead of a sit-down with Carney on Thursday. Premiers came to town talking about the need to not let anyone divide them, as the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement comes up for review.  Though, within a day news broke that Trump administration officials have been meeting with an Alberta separatist group and that quickly took over the conversation. British Columbia Premier David Eby called it "treason," and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith – who had just signalled some softening on the pipeline tensions between their provinces – stopped short of saying as much.  Colleagues Mike Le Couteur and Abigail Bimman have the full rundown of how this played out at the First Ministers Meeting, in great detail, here.

Not to be missed Poilievre's leadership tested It's a big weekend for Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, as he faces his first mandatory leadership review since securing the party's top job on the first ballot back in 2022. After a day of delegates deliberating over the policy and direction the Conservative Party of Canada should take after last year's federal election loss, Poilievre is making his case to supporters at the party's national convention in Calgary. While at the time of writing this, the tabulation and declaration of the results are set to keep those watching closely on their toes late into Friday evening and potentially into Saturday, there's widespread expectation the official opposition leader will fare fine. What the result means for the party going forward will be the storyline carrying over the coming days, and CTV News' team on the ground, led by Chief Political Correspondent Vassy Kapelos, will bring you the latest.  Ottawa, South Korea in auto talks: sources The federal government has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Republic of Korea that includes discussions to bring auto manufacturing to Canada, two sources told CTV News' Judy Trinh this week. The MOU, which is not binding, calls for closer industrial cooperation on the "future of mobility." Industry Minister Melanie Joly and her South Korean counterpart, Minister Jung-Kwan Kim, signed the deal after they met in Ottawa on Tuesday. Hyundai representatives, along with Hanwha Ocean – a competitor to supply Canada's next generation of submarines – were part of South Korean delegation. The talks, which are in early stages, involve the possibility of manufacturing vehicles or auto parts and batteries. Discussions stemmed from South Korea's push to win the contract to replace Canada's aging fleet of submarines. Carney embraces 'soft power' of Can-Con  And, just as the Americans have circled Canadian content and streaming laws on their list of trade irritants, the prime minister told a room full of industry players how proud he was of breakaway hit Heated Rivalry and the "soft power" the steamy show has. At "Prime Time," a major media and broadcast production conference in the nation's capital on Thursday, star Hudson Williams and the prime minister made some red carpet content that's already been seen around the world, featuring the famous "Team Canada" fleece. Their meeting came just minutes before Carney took the stage ahead of a special panel discussion about the show's impact with showrunners Jacob Tierney and Brendan Brady, to declare cottage season will now have a new meaning. Carney then took the stage ahead of a special panel discussion about the show's impact with showrunners Jacob Tierney and Brendan Brady as well as Williams and co-star Sophie Nelisse, where the prime minister declared cottage season now has a new meaning. Yours truly snagged the assignment of the year and was in the room, and there's more in here about what other key players in the show's production had to say on the red carpet.

Quote of the week "I love the fact that we come out here at every press conference, and there's always, you know, trying to find the divisions and trying to find the things that we're not united on. They want there to be a 'heated rivalry' between Doug Ford and I. But we're on the same team. We're going into the corners together, right? We're Team Canada... And we're on the same team as well, Mr. prime minister. So, if you want to lace up the skates, we're going up to Churchill next week, and you're more than welcome to join us as we build up this country, the true north strong and free."  -  Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, with the moment of the week at the First Ministers' Meeting closing press conference, referencing the recent interprovincial tensions between some premiers, while sitting steps away from where Ottawa's mayor had just declared it "Shane Hollander" day in the capital.

The week ahead MPs are back at it again next week, and in the first "Thursday question" 2026, Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon detailed what all will be on the legislative agenda.   On Monday, MPs will resume debate on Bill C-16, the Protecting Victims Act, and then dig into Bill C-19, the newly-tabled "Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit Act." The Conservatives have indicated they'll let the latter pass so long as the wording in the legislation is in line with what Carney committed to.   Tuesday and Thursday will be "allotted days" a.k.a. opposition days, where the other parties can pick a motion for the House of Commons to focus on. On Wednesday, MPs will debate a bill about modern treaty implementation, and Friday they'll spend the day debating one of my favourite topics, parliamentary procedure and the "Standing Orders."  And lastly just a note: for the first time ever, Capital Dispatch is being shared on CTVNews.ca starting Saturday morning. It will continue to be delivered directly to inboxes first, on Fridays. Thanks so much for subscribing, and for those reading this over the weekend, thank you for wanting to stay informed about the latest in Canadian politics.

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