As the French language election debate got underway Wednesday night, the four main federal party leaders were asked to lay out policy priorities that have nothing with the United States. But the conversation quickly turned to the elephant in the room — Donald Trump — and how the leaders would deal with the U.S. president.

Carney will be running in a riding adjacent to his main rival, Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre, who is seeking re-election in the Ottawa-area riding of Carleton.

Sources would not confirm the specific date of the vote, but federal campaigns must run at least 37 days.

Ottawa's new Trade Impact Program earmarks $5 billion over the next two years to help businesses cope with decreased U.S. sales and reach new global markets.

Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson says that while other countries isolate themselves from foreign investment, Canada is "open for business." Speaking Monday at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada convention in Toronto, Wilkinson announced several new measures meant to drive "rapid development" of Canada's critical minerals sector.

The candidates — former central banker Mark Carney, former finance minister Chrystia Freeland, former government House leader Karina Gould and former MP Frank Baylis — spent much of the debate talking about the threat Trump poses to Canada's economy and sovereignty.

The candidates in the race to be the next leader of the Liberal Party of Canada will square off tonight in the first of two live debates.

In a decision issued Tuesday, Justice Russell Zinn gave Health Canada six months to reassess the health risks of glyphosate — the most heavily-used pesticide ingredient in Canada — after the agency failed to show it considered new scientific evidence identifying new or elevated risks associated with the herbicide when it renewed the registration for a product containing it.

Contenders to replace Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader are attempting to one-up each other over how quickly they'd meet Canada's defence spending commitment to NATO.

“The consumer carbon tax isn’t working — it’s become too divisive," Carney said in a written statement provided to The Canadian Press ahead of the announcement. "That’s why I’ll cancel it and replace it with incentives to reward people for greener choices."