In the news: P.M. visits China and President Xi, talks on agriculture and tariffs

By Canadian Press on January 14, 2026.

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed …

Carney arrives in Beijing today for crucial visit

Prime Minister Mark Carney is on his way to Beijing for a short but consequential visit, as China and Canada try to move past years of diplomatic tensions and Ottawa pushes to double non-U.S. trade by 2035.

“It is Carney’s pragmatic foreign policy in action,” said Asia Pacific Foundation vice-president Vina Nadjibulla.

“There is not going to be one word that can describe this relationship, but the public messaging around it needs to continue to be clear-eyed, fully recognizing the complexities of the relationship.”

Carney will meet with senior communist leaders Thursday ahead of a Friday meeting with President Xi Jinping and a business banquet.

Farmers hope Carney finds resolution in China

Canadian farmers are hoping for a breakthrough on punishing tariffs as Prime Minister Mark Carney talks trade in China this week.

Rick White, president of the Canadian Canola Growers Association, says Beijing’s steep levies on the major Prairie crop will cost producers at least $2 billion this year if the issue isn’t resolved.

“Farmers are already frustrated. They’re exasperated, they’re worried, they’re stressed,” White said in an interview Tuesday. “Every day, every week, every month this goes on, it just gets worse and worse and worse.”

Carney’s trip starts Wednesday, and he will be joined by cabinet ministers and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe. Carney is also set to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

First Nations call on PM to maintain tanker ban

Coastal First Nations president Marilyn Slett said she called on Prime Minister Mark Carney in a meeting Tuesday to maintain and protect the oil tanker moratorium in his government’s pipeline talks with Alberta, saying afterwards that “it would take just one spill to destroy our way of life.”

“We reiterated that there is no technology that can clean up an oil spill at sea,” she told a news conference after the meeting in Prince Rupert, B.C.

Slett, who is also the elected Chief Councillor of the Heiltsuk Tribal Council, said local First Nations “must be in the room” for any discussion about their territories.

The meeting was held to restart relations between Carney and the advocacy group, which works to protect the B.C. coastline and the Great Bear Rainforest.

Kinew asks Ford to reconsider Crown Royal boycott

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew called on Ontario Premier Doug Ford Tuesday to drop plans for a boycott of Crown Royal whisky, and wrote Ford’s name on a barrel outside the plant north of Winnipeg where some of the whisky is mashed, distilled and aged.

“We understand, Doug, that you get fired up and you say things in public. But we also understand that you do the right thing when you have a chance to reconsider,” Kinew told reporters as he stood in from of several barrels and a truck adorned in Crown Royal’s signature purple.

“I’m asking you to reconsider because this is about sticking together as Team Canada. We know that we’re standing together against the U.S. But a house divided against itself cannot stand. We’ve got to stick together as provincial leaders.”

Ford has said that in retaliation for parent company Diageo deciding to close its bottling plant in Amherstburg, Ont., he will pull Crown Royal from Ontario liquor store shelves starting next month. The Amherstburg closure will affect about 200 jobs

Top court to weigh scrutiny of Trudeau ethics case

A group that pushes for political accountability says the courts must be allowed to review the reasonableness of a federal ethics ruling about former prime minister Justin Trudeau.

In a filing to the Supreme Court of Canada, Democracy Watch argues the Federal Court of Appeal is entitled to examine and rule on its challenge of a federal ethics watchdog report on Trudeau’s involvement in a decision about WE Charity.

Federal lawyers are asking the top court to dismiss the pro-democracy group’s appeal. In a submission to the court, they say the Conflict of Interest Act’s very design precludes the Court of Appeal from scrutinizing the watchdog report.

A third of Canadians say U.S. might invade: poll

Following the recent U.S. military intervention in Venezuela, a new poll suggests almost a third of Canadians say the United States might attempt “direct action” to take control of Canada.

It suggests one-in-five Americans think the same.

The poll, which was conducted online and can’t be assigned a margin of error, surveyed 1,540 Canadians between Jan. 9 and Jan. 11.

The poll suggests many Canadians believe the U.S. likely will attempt to take control of other countries in the future, including Greenland, Cuba, Colombia, Panama, Iran and Canada.

When asked to rate the likelihood of a U.S. attempt at direct action to take control of various countries in the future, 31 per cent of Canadian respondents said the United States likely will attempt direct action to take over Canada.

Ontario tourism promotes ‘Heated Rivalry’ filming locations

Destination Ontario is encouraging fans of “Heated Rivalry” to relive their favourite moments from the Crave series by visiting filming locations across the province.

The tourism body shared on social media a list of six spots that serve as the backdrop to the lustful hockey show.

Most of the locations listed are in Hamilton, including FirstOntario Concert Hall, the set for the fictional Major League Hockey Awards; Dundurn Castle, which stands in for Moscow in the show; and the restaurants Ciao Bella and Le Tambour Tavern.

Destination Ontario also lists Joni Restaurant in Toronto, which is used as a Las Vegas location in the series, and points to the entire Muskoka Region, where pivotal cottage scenes were filmed.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 14, 2026

The Canadian Press