Canada’s Carney meets new Cabinet

​​​​​​​TRENTON, Canada

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s hand-picked Cabinet met for the first time Wednesday, and judging from the response, the main issue discussed was affordability for Canadians.

Parliament does not convene until May 26, and a host of tough topics will need to be addressed, including cancelled electric vehicle (EV) projects, US tariffs, and the threat of annexation by the US.

But assuaging the flinty relationship with the US under its volatile President Donald Trump, the American leader was not mentioned during a short talk immediately after the two-hour meeting ended.

But Trump and other looming issues remain, including a rising threat of separatists from the western province of Alberta and Honda’s announcement Tuesday that it has halted a CAN$15 billion ($10.7 billion) investment in an EV facility in Canada.

The $19 billion purchase of 88 F-35 fighter jets from the US must also be reviewed in light of Trump’s tariffs.

After Carney’s words and his pledge: “We are acting on affordability,” Finance Minister Philip Champagne spoke on a coming tax cut despite reporters’ shouting numerous questions about other issues.

Champagne said the tax cut for 22 million Canadians scheduled for July 1 would save a middle-income family $825 a year.

“This is the first order of business for this government,” he said. “We will be there for them (Canadians).”