Ottawa's Parliament Hill wakes up Monday, September 21, as MPs head back to the House of Commons for a fall sitting that Prime Minister Mark Carney says will be one of the most consequential in decades.
A 'crucial session' on the Hill
Parliament returns Monday for sittings, and Carney has already set expectations high, calling it "a crucial session" featuring some of the most consequential legislation, not just of this government, but in decades. Government House Leader and Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon said "very significant economic legislation" will be the centrepiece of the sitting, and Carney has pointed specifically to the Building Canada Strong Act, which he says will ensure federal projects face a single review and a decision within one year.
Conservatives push back
Not everyone is welcoming the government's agenda the same way. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre released a letter criticizing the government's approach, arguing that Canadians are not pawns on a global chessboard, a signal that trade and economic policy will be contested ground in the Commons this fall.
New faces in the Commons
The sitting also brings fresh faces to Ottawa. Three new Liberal MPs will take their seats for the first time this fall after winning byelections in late August. That churn isn't over: six more byelections are set to be called in Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec in the coming months. In Yorkton-Melville, voters will replace longtime Conservative MP Cathay Wagantall, while in Quebec, former minister Steven Guilbeault's high-profile decision to walk away from Carney's caucus has left an opening in Laurier-Sainte-Marie.
What led here
With byelections still to come, contested economic legislation, and a government promising sweeping change, Ottawa residents watching the Hill this fall can expect a packed and closely watched sitting from the opening gavel.
Sources: The Globe and Mail, Medicine Hat News (Canadian Press), paNOW (Canadian Press)
