Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on Jan. 21, 2026 that his cabinet would hold a two-day planning forum in Quebec City on Jan. 22 and 23, focused on the economy, affordability and security, days before Parliament resumes on Monday for the first time since Dec. 11, 2025.
From a nine-day world tour to a domestic reset
The private meetings begin the day after Carney returns from a nine-day overseas tour drumming up investment for Canada, with state visits to Beijing and Qatar and a stop in Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum.
In Davos, Carney urged middle powers to band together as larger countries pressure them through economic coercion. Earlier in the trip, he finalized a deal under which China will lower agricultural tariffs in exchange for some market access for Chinese electric vehicles, then made pacts on defence, trade and investment in Qatar.
Discussions at the retreat were also expected to touch on U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threats and his stated desire to take over Greenland, a crisis that dominated discussion in Davos, where Carney met world leaders who reiterated a mutual commitment to protecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Denmark, including Greenland.
Affordability at the top of the agenda
In its announcement, the Prime Minister’s Office said ministers and secretaries of state will review progress on the seven priority missions in their mandate letter and set priorities for the year ahead. “In particular, the Prime Minister and Cabinet will focus on next steps in the government’s plan to bring down everyday costs and make life more affordable for Canadians,” the statement said.
Carney publicly released a single mandate letter for his entire cabinet rather than the traditional list of individual ministerial assignments, saying that showed every member of his cabinet shares “a unified mission.” When he laid out his core priorities in May following the federal election, Carney said his government would work to bring down the cost of living and reconfigure some of Canada’s most important international relationships.
During the Quebec City meetings, cabinet was to hear from experts in finance, community services, advanced technology and global affairs, the Prime Minister’s Office said.
At the opening of the retreat, Carney also addressed Canadians from Quebec City, pushing back against Trump’s recent comments about Canada while emphasizing sovereignty — a theme Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne echoed in describing affordability and jobs as the gathering’s central focus.
A minority Parliament awaits
Parliament returns Monday for the first time since Dec. 11. Carney’s Liberal government sits two seats shy of a majority, following the floor-crossing of two Conservatives in the fall and the departure of Toronto MP Chrystia Freeland earlier this month to become an economic adviser to Ukraine’s president.
The Liberal budget passed the House of Commons in November, when the government survived a confidence vote with the backing of Green Party Leader Elizabeth May and the abstentions of two NDP and two Conservative MPs. But the legislation to implement parts of that budget still has to be passed. The bill cleared second reading before the break and must still go through committee study, a final vote in the Commons, and debate and votes in the Senate.
Also waiting are three justice bills the Liberals introduced in the fall. They include Bill C-9, with new intimidation and obstruction offences; Bill C-14, which would make bail harder to obtain and allow consecutive sentencing for some crimes; and Bill C-16, which would restore mandatory minimum penalties in some cases.
The retreat is meant to align the cabinet behind that agenda before the sitting begins — and to translate a week of international deal-making into a domestic message on the cost of living.
