Columbia Interim President Katrina Armstrong said Thursday that the agents had search warrants and no one was arrested or detained in the student resident search. Department of Homeland Security agents executed search warrants on two Columbia University residences on Thursday evening, just days after graduate student and Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil was arrested by immigration authorities, according to a statement from the university. Katrina Armstrong, the university's interim president, said that no arrests were made, no items were removed, and no further action was taken by authorities. She said that DHS served the university with judicial search warrants signed by a federal magistrate judge to conduct the search. "Our University Public Safety was present at all times," Armstrong said in a message to the school community. "Columbia continues to make every effort to ensure that our campus, students, faculty, and staff are safe. Columbia is committed to upholding the law, and we expect city, state, and federal agencies to do the same." Earlier on Thursday, seven current students sued the school in a bid to block it from producing disciplinary records to a House committee as school officials said they were sanctioning students involved in pro-Palestinian rallies last spring. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleges that the committee's request for the records violates the First Amendment and that the university's compliance with the committee constitutes a breach of contract. Columbia officials declined to comment on the pending litigation. Khalil, a 30-year-old green card holder and Columbia graduate student who played a major role in student protests against the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, is being held in a Louisiana detention center as immigration authorities seek to deport him. His wife told Reuters earlier this week that he arrived in the United States on a student visa in 2022 and gained his green card two years later. Just as the seven students filed their suit, the university announced “multi-year suspensions, temporary degree revocations and expulsions” for those who participated in the occupation of Hamilton Hall at the school's New York City campus. The university did not say how many people it had disciplined. Among those disciplined was Grant Miner. Miner, the president of a union representing thousands of Columbia student workers, was fired and expelled, UAW Local 2710 said. Thursday's developments came hours after dozens of protesters calling for Khalil's release were arrested at a sit-in at Trump Tower in New York City. Last week, the Trump administration said it would cancel nearly $400 million in federal grants to the university “due to the school’s continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.” Soon after, Columbia committed to engaging with Trump officials in hope of restoring the lost federal funds. “We are reviewing the announcement from the federal agencies and pledge to work with the federal government to restore Columbia’s federal funding. We take Columbia’s legal obligations seriously and understand how serious this announcement is and are committed to combating antisemitism and ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our students, faculty and staff,” a spokesperson for the university said last week. On Thursday, the Trump administration outlined conditions and policy changes Columbia would have to implement to restore its funding and maintain a "continued financial relationship" with the federal government. The nine bullet points of required policy shifts include the demand to abolish the University Judicial Board to centralize all disciplinary processes under the Office of the President. The letter to Columbia also required the university to complete disciplinary proceedings for students involved in the 2024 student protests. In seeking Khalil's deportation, federal officials have cited a rarely used provision in immigration law that gives the secretary of state the authority to deport someone if it is determined that the person “would have serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.” The Department of Homeland Security has said Khalil’s activities "aligned" with Hamas, a designated terrorist organization. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said he had distributed "pro-Hamas propaganda" at Columbia's campus. Khalil's legal team has said the arrest violates his free speech rights and that there is no evidence he provided support to a terrorist organization. "There is no reason to believe, and I don’t think anybody who knows him would argue otherwise or suggest, that he would have any connection with any of these entities, but that’s also not what he stands for,” said Amy Greer, one of Khalil's attorneys. Khalil, 30, is an Algerian citizen of Palestinian descent who is married to a U.S. citizen and is a legal permanent resident of the United States. His wife, who is eight months pregnant, said in a statement this week that “Mahmoud has been ripped away from me for no reason at all.”

The latest arrest, which was conducted by immigration officers from the Newark, New Jersey, field office, came hours after federal agents executed search warrants on two university residences. Federal agents arrested a Palestinian student who had taken part in protests at Columbia University last spring and had overstayed her student visa, officials said Friday. The student, identified by the Department of Homeland Security as Leqaa Kordia, a Palestinian from the West Bank, was previously arrested for her participation in the protests. Her visa was terminated in January 2022 for lack of attendance, officials said. Her arrest by immigration officers from the Newark, New Jersey, field office follows the self-deportation on Tuesday of a Columbia doctoral student from India, Ranjani Srinivasan, whom DHS accused of supporting Hamas. The State Department had revoked her visa a week earlier. “It is a privilege to be granted a visa to live and study in the United States of America,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement. “When you advocate for violence and terrorism that privilege should be revoked, and you should not be in this country.” The latest arrest comes as students at Columbia say they are fearful that they and their friends could be unjustly targeted amid a tense climate on campus, hours after federal agents executed search warrants on two university residences. Todd Blanche, U.S. deputy attorney general, said Friday that the Justice Department is working with DHS as part of an investigation into Columbia's "harboring and concealing illegal aliens on its campus." While school officials told students that no arrests were made and no items seized when DHS agents entered two student rooms on Thursday night, foreign students remained on edge. The Ivy League’s campus in upper Manhattan has seen renewed demonstrations in recent days following the arrest Saturday of Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia graduate student and legal permanent resident who was publicly involved in negotiations during last year’s school protests. Many students approached by NBC News declined to comment, but some who agreed to speak asked not to be named for fear of government retaliation. "This is exactly what I was worried about months ago," said an engineering student from the United Kingdom who participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations last spring over the war in Gaza. The student said he was worried about campus raids and other potential intervention by the federal government. "It's also like, you don't know the scope of the people they're trying to target because thousands of students were involved in this in some capacity. It would have been on camera," the student said, adding, "Logically nothing is going to happen to me, but it's stressful." Columbia’s American students are rallying around their international counterparts as well after the federal agents searched the two student residences. Another student, who is American, said she was "shocked" when she read the email from Katrina Armstrong, Columbia's interim president, informing students that DHS had served the university with judicial search warrants signed by a federal magistrate judge. "It is pretty frightening. The school is doing everything in their power to do their best to keep students safe, but I think there’s a limit to what they're able to do," the student, a junior, said. "Last night was evidence of that limit." Sebastian Javadpoor, 22, said he was "overcome with rage" upon the latest search warrants. Javadpoor, who leads the university's student-led Democratic club, said he and about a dozen other student leaders met with school officials to convey their fears. "We have students who are so scared about the possibility of retaliation, about the possibility of having ICE reported on them, that they're too afraid to call public safety if something happens to them," he said. "They're too afraid to call NYPD. They're too afraid to even seek support and services from the administration itself." Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Khalil as part of an effort to revoke his green card and deport him, his lawyers said. Khalil, 30, an Algerian citizen and pro-Palestinian activist, is married to a U.S. citizen and was arrested at his university-owned residential building. “The Secretary of State has determined that your presence or activities in the United States would have serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States,” the Department of Homeland Security stated in a document obtained by NBC News. He is currently being held at a detention facility in Louisiana, where government officials want him to remain. His lawyers argue that he should be returned to New York and that the administration’s actions violate the First Amendment. Khalil's removal from campus came days after the Trump administration announced that it would cancel approximately $400 million in federal grants to the university "due to the school's continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students." The administration says the school must make sweeping policy changes, including a ban on masks "intended to conceal identity or intimidate others," and allowing for "full law enforcement authority, including arrest and removal of agitators." Columbia has said it would work with the administration to ensure funding continues and is "committed to combating antisemitism and ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our students, faculty and staff." A DHS spokesperson has said Khalil's arrest was in coordination with ICE and the State Department "in support of President Trump's executive orders prohibiting anti-Semitism" because Khalil "led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization." His arrest was only the latest action to roil the campus after the last school year, when student protesters occupied Hamilton Hall, leading to dozens of arrests for trespassing. While nearly all of the related charges were eventually dropped, the school on Thursday said it has suspended or expelled some of the students who participated and temporarily revoked some diplomas of those who graduated. On Friday, dozens of police barricades surrounded the university's main entrance. The university gates that once remained open to all New Yorkers were locked shut as students flashed their badges to get to class, shuffling past police officers, news cameras and flocks of campus security. Some students participated in a walk out Friday afternoon in response to Khalil's arrest and the student sanctions. University leaders want to unify the faculty — and potentially some students — by focusing discussions on how Columbia can best defend the school's independence in the face of unprecedented pressure from the Trump administration, as it cracks down on certain international students who engaged in pro-Palestinian protests that swept college campuses. Some faculty members feel that the Trump administration's demand that Columbia changes how the university operates goes too far and involves core prerogatives of the university. They hope to use this moment to spark a discussion of what the university stands for. “How do we prevent the university from being divided?” an administrator, who asked not to be named because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly, said about the mood among university faculty and staff. “People are more oriented toward what we need to do to defend the university.” A graduate student from India said she wanted to join student-led protests over Khalil's removal from campus in recent days, but feared doing so also could put her student visa in jeopardy. "Your free speech is curtailed. As students, you should be having those kind of rights, but you don’t,” the 29-year-old said. “You know what’s going on, you do want to speak out, but as an international student, you’re in a tough position, right?"

Canada's Prime Minister-designate Mark Carney has said he is ready to negotiate a renewed trade deal with US President Donald Trump, as long as there is "respect for Canadian sovereignty". Carney made these comments during a visit to a steel plant in Hamilton, Ontario, as Canada unveiled C$29.8bn ($20.7bn) in reciprocal tariffs on US imports. Trump earlier slapped 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminium coming into the country. Since Trump took office in January, the two countries have been involved in an escalating trade war, with the US president repeatedly threatening to annex its neighbour. Carney condemned the latest round of US tariffs as "unjustified" on Wednesday. "We're all going to be better off when the greatest economic and security partnership in the world is renewed, relaunched," he said. Canada, which is the biggest foreign supplier of steel and aluminium to the US, is heavily exposed to the tariffs. Trump has justified the tariffs, claiming they were necessary for US national security and to boost demand for domestic producers, which he argues has been "depressed" by foreign competition. The US president implemented a blanket 25% tariff on goods from Canada and Mexico, citing concerns over drugs and migrants crossing the US border. The tariffs on steel and aluminium, effective from Wednesday, mark the end of exemptions previously granted to several countries, including Canada. In retaliation, Canada announced tariffs on US goods, including steel and aluminium, with additional measures set to take effect at 00:01 EST (04:01 GMT) on Thursday. The new tariffs cover a range of products, including C$12.6bn on steel, $3bn on aluminium, as well as tools, computer equipment, water heaters, sports equipment, and cast-iron products. Experts say the growing trade dispute threatens economic stability for both countries. On Wednesday, Canada's central bank cut interest rates to 2.75% from 3% to prepare the country's economy for disruption. Canadian Finance Minister Dominic Leblanc told a news conference that the country was still seeking to de-escalate. "If you're racing to the basement, there's no real prize for the first person to get to the basement," he said. On Thursday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford, along with federal representatives, will meet US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Lutnick told Fox Business that at the meeting he plans to try to "level set" things between the two nations. Mark Carney, who was elected leader of the governing Liberal Party on Sunday, is set to be sworn in as prime minister, replacing Justin Trudeau. He has promised to win the trade war against Trump, following his landslide victory. With reporting from Jonathan Josephs and Lisa Lambert

The French president and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer have teamed up after the extraordinary shouting match involving Trump, Vance and Zelenskyy. President Emmanuel Macron said in a prime-time address to France on Wednesday night that Europe must be prepared to go it alone in defending Ukraine, without further assistance from the United States under the Trump administration. "I want to believe that the U.S. will stand by our side, but we have to be ready for that not to be the case," Macron said from the Élysée Palace in Paris. He continued, "Whether we reach peace in Ukraine soon or not, we need to be able to recognize the Russian threat and better defend ourselves in order to deter such attacks. Whatever happens, we need to provide ourselves with more arms, more equipment in terms of defense, to provide a dissuasive force." Macron warned that Ukraine cannot be abandoned in its fight against Russia because, he said: "Who can believe that in this context, Russia will stop at Ukraine? Russia has become, and will remain, a threat to France and Europe.” The French president made clear that France and other European countries must take concrete steps, including investing in defense and military capabilities, to protect the security of their nations and Ukraine's. “To remain a spectator in this dangerous world would be crazy," Macron said. "The initiatives for peace are going in the right direction, and I welcome them, and we need to continue to help Ukrainians resist until they can negotiate with Russia a solid and lasting peace for themselves and for all of us. The path to peace cannot be achieved by abandoning Ukraine." Macron reiterated remarks made by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer over the weekend at a defense summit in London that Europe may have to put boots on the ground in Ukraine. "Our forces will be there if necessary to guarantee peace, not before a peace agreement is signed," Macron said Wednesday. "We will continue to meet with allies to move toward the signing of such an agreement. It's a plan for a lasting, solid, verifiable peace agreement, which we're working on with European partners and Ukraine." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on X that he was grateful for Macron's "clear vision and our joint efforts to achieve peace." "Peace must be real, not just a word—it cannot mean Ukraine’s capitulation or collapse. It must be just, reliable, and lasting, and this can only be achieved through strong and long-term security guarantees — for Ukraine, Europe, and the entire world," Zelenskyy said. Macron and Starmer have teamed up in a desperate attempt to heal American-Ukraine ties after last Friday’s extraordinary shouting match at the White House involving Zelenskyy, President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance. Both Starmer and Macron have sought to balance their yearslong outspoken support for Zelenskyy with the need to retain good relations with the United States. Teeing up his speech, Macron said on X that it came in a “moment of great uncertainty, when the world is facing its greatest challenges.” Starmer told British lawmakers Wednesday that he had spoken with Trump three times since he visited the White House last week. This Anglo-French mission has at times appeared onerous. After the Oval Office spat, Trump continued to berate Zelenskyy on social media, with the president and some of his team suggesting that Ukraine’s leader could or should be ousted from office. The administration then paused aid to Ukraine, a vital lifeline holding back the Kremlin war machine. The aid freeze is a serious blow not just to Ukraine, whose biggest military backer is the U.S., but also Europe, which is years away from being able to defend itself against Russia without Washington. Things shifted Tuesday when Trump said during his joint address to Congress that he had received “an important letter” from Zelenskyy stating the Ukrainian president's desire for peace and his gratitude for U.S. support. Zelenskyy confirmed the thrust of this missive in an X post on Tuesday, calling the White House clash “regrettable,” thanking Trump’s team and saying he was ready to sign a deal giving Washington access to Ukraine’s rich mineral wealth. Still, there is much to resolve. Ukraine is reluctant to sign a ceasefire without “security guarantees” — meaning protection from Europe and the U.S. against Russia violating the truce, as it has done before. Supporters and independent analysts worry that a ceasefire would allow Russia to regroup — as well as showing Russian President Vladimir Putin that attacking a European country is not only permitted, but rewarded. Zelenskyy once stood firm in demanding these security guarantees. But now facing pressure from Moscow and Washington, he suggested on X that he would accept a minerals deal that was merely a looser “step toward” such promises.

Don't call it a breakthrough, as there is still a long way to go before lasting peace. But Tuesday's agreement between the US and Ukraine over a proposed temporary ceasefire in the war with Russia represents a remarkable change of course. Just a week ago, the US suspended military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine in the aftermath of the bitter meeting between Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump at the White House. That US and Ukrainian diplomats were able to improve relations and chart a path forward serves as another illustration of how Trump, despite his apparent bluster and willingness to hurl insults, always appears open to further negotiations. For him, in fact, the swagger and browbeating are often an integral part of the negotiating process. But a strategy that involves a whirlwind of public threats and concessions is not without risks, as has been painfully apparent to the more than 60% of Americans with investments in the US stock market in recent weeks. Major stock indexes continued to tumble on Tuesday after Trump escalated his war of words - and tariffs - with America's northern neighbour and largest trading partner, Canada. In a caustic post on his Truth Social account, Trump said he would double impending tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium in response to a planned Canadian surcharge on electricity bound for northern US states. He said – again - that Canada becoming a US state is the "only thing that makes sense". The aggressive style produced results within hours – the premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, backed down from the energy surcharge for now, and then Trump said he would no longer double the 25% tariffs coming into force on Wednesday. But the ongoing trade dispute has erased trillions of dollars in US stock market wealth. And there is still the prospect of more tariffs - on Canada and other US trading partners - next month. Meanwhile, despite Ukraine's acceptance of a time-limited truce if Russia plays its part, there is still no sign of the mineral rights deal which would give the US a share of future Ukrainian mining revenues. Trump has made clear how much he wants this, and it could be a stumbling block down the road. There is also no indication of whether Russia will accept the 30-day ceasefire proposal. It is also unclear what the Trump team is willing to do to convince Vladimir Putin to say yes. Will the same playbook work? Or will Trump have to find another tool in his negotiating kit? There is, however, clear progress towards Trump's promise, repeated throughout much of last year's presidential campaign, that he is the one who can end the war after three years. He has chosen to perform a high-wire act where success could bring peace and prosperity. The price of failure, however, will be measured in lives lost.

The fossil is mysterious, however: It can't be conclusively identified as any known human ancestor species. In a cave in northern Spain, researchers have discovered pieces of a fossilized face belonging to an ancient human ancestor — the oldest human fossil ever found in Western Europe. The remains, which the team nicknamed “Pink,” are between 1.1 million and 1.4 million years old. But they’re mysterious: The facial fragments do not seem to come from any species found in the same area in the past, nor can they be conclusively identified as any particular species. “We are documenting a previously unknown human population in Europe,” said María Martinón-Torres, a co-author of the study and a paleoanthropologist at the Spanish National Research Center for Human Evolution, said in a call with reporters. “This fossil represents the earliest human fossil found so far in Western Europe.” The fragment, discovered in 2022, was first reported in the journal Nature on Wednesday with new details. The researchers tentatively suggested that Pink is likely related to the human ancestor Homo erectus. (The fossil was named, in part, for the band Pink Floyd, and also after Rosa Huguet, the study’s primary author and the coordinator of the archaeological site where it was found.) The finding is significant because it gives researchers a better timeline of when Western Europe was first settled by human ancestors. It could also help bridge a gap in evolutionary space between the oldest known human ancestor fossils found in Europe — which are roughly 1.8 million years old and were discovered at a site in the Republic of Georgia called Dmanisi — and a species called Homo antecessor, which dates back roughly 900,000 years. “It’s not like the Dmanisi fossils, which are older, and it’s not like the younger Homo sapien-like anatomy of Homo antecessor. It’s something in between,” said Rodrigo Lacruz, a professor of molecular pathobiology at New York University, who was not involved in the new discovery but has studied the evolution of the human face. The discovery may therefore help researchers better understand the story of early human evolution and migration in Europe. “We can start piecing together what that population could have looked like, and that’s a great value, because you start seeing how anatomy changes over time,” Lacruz said. The team that discovered Pink said the fossil is from an adult, but they are not sure whether male or female. Pink was found about 60 feet below the top layer of sedimentary rock, at a cave within the Sierra de Atapuerca archaeological site, which is known for the rich historical record in its rock layers. Within the same sedimentary level as Pink, researchers found stone tools and animal bones with marks made by cutting, which suggests that these early ancestors butchered animals for meat. Evidence suggests that human ancestors settled Europe in multiple waves, but that most of those populations subsequently contracted and died out. The fossil record is discontinuous at the Atapuerca site and in Western Europe as a whole, indicating that there were likely long periods without human presence. The study posits that the species Pink belonged to could have overlapped briefly with Homo antecessor. It’s also possible the species was wiped out during a climactic shift that started about 1.1 million years ago and has only recently been identified by researchers. Chris Stringer, a professor and research leader on human evolution at the Natural History Museum in London, who was not involved in the discovery of Pink, said the climate event “may have caused a major and perhaps complete human depopulation of western Europe.” The cave where Pink was discovered, called Sima del Elefante, or elephant chasm, has produced compelling fossils before. In 2007, researchers found a small piece of jawbone that is believed to be about 1.2 million years old, which appears to be closely related to Pink. Pink was found about 6 feet deeper than that fossil, though, which makes scientists believe it’s older. Martinón-Torres said the researchers were shocked to find a new, important fossil even deeper. Her first reaction to the discovery, she said, was: “Am I really dreaming?” The region’s impressive collection of fossils likely has to do with its geography. “Atapuerca was a natural corridor between different mountain systems,” Martinón-Torres said, adding that there was ample water. “It was probably a place that was ideal for hominins to settle. They have the resources; they have the animals passing by.” Scientists are still digging at the archaeological site. “We’re going to keep excavating,” Martinón-Torres said. “We may have more surprises.”

Canada's governing Liberal Party will announce on Sunday who will take over from Justin Trudeau as leader, after a crucial vote that will change the face of Canadian politics. About 140,000 of the party's members have been voting for their preferred candidate, with results expected to be announced around 18:00 EDT (22:00 GMT). The new leader will become the country's prime minister. But because the Liberals are a minority government, holding onto the top job will require winning a general election, which could be called in the coming weeks. Whoever replaces Trudeau will have to grapple with US President Donald Trump's threats against Canada, which include an escalating trade war and repeated calls to make the country the US's "51st state". The issue has dominated the campaigns of all four candidates vying for the top job. Here's what to know about them. Former Bank of Canada and Bank of England governor Mark Carney has pitched himself as a strong fiscal manager who can help countries navigate challenging times, including his own. "I've helped manage multiple crises, and I've helped save two economies," he said in his campaign launch speech. Widely seen as the frontrunner for the job, he's sought to position himself as the man who can steer the country through the fallout caused by Trump's tariffs. "In a situation like this, you need experience in terms of crisis management, you need negotiating skills," he said during a leadership debate last month. The 59-year-old was born in Canada's Northwest Territories and grew up in Edmonton, Alberta. He has sought to highlight his Canadian roots and paint himself as a political outsider. He has served in recent months as a special economics adviser to Trudeau, and has long been considered a contender for the top job, though the Harvard graduate has never held public office. Trudeau himself admitted that he had long been trying to recruit Carney to his team. Carney tried to distance himself from the unpopular PM, saying he is "not the only Liberal in Canada who believes that the prime minister and his team let their attention wander from the economy too often". Trudeau's approval ratings have however improved since Trump's return to office. Carney brings with him expertise on environmental matters through his role as the United Nations special envoy on climate action, recently calling the goal of net zero "the greatest commercial opportunity of our time". He is a champion of some Liberal policies that have been unpopular, like the federal carbon tax, the party's signature climate policy that critics argue is a financial burden for Canadians. He has recently backed away from the policy, saying in May that it had "served a purpose up until now". He has received a number of cabinet endorsements, including Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault and Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly. The Toronto member of parliament became one of the most well-known members of Trudeau's team. While she had long been seen as a trusted senior official in his inner circle, a rift with the prime minister's office led to her recent abrupt resignation in December. That was a blow to Trudeau's already-shaky hold on power, helping to usher in his own resignation. The two disagreed on how to address President Trump's threat of tariffs, among other financial policies as Canada faced a C$60bn deficit ($42bn; £33bn). Born to a Ukrainian mother in the western province of Alberta, the 56-year-old was a journalist before entering politics. She entered the House of Commons in 2013 and two years later joined Trudeau's cabinet with a trade brief after he swept the party to power. As Minister of Foreign Affairs she helped Canada renegotiate a free trade deal with the US and Mexico. She was later named deputy prime minister and minister of finance and oversaw Canada's financial response to the Covid pandemic. A 2019 Globe and Mail profile said depending who you asked, Freeland is either a last, best hope for the liberal world order or an out-of-touch idealist. Her steadfast support of Ukraine earned praise in some quarters but the Harvard-educated MP has had her share of critics, including Trump who recently called her "toxic". In her launch - walking onto the stage to the 1982 song, Maneater - she leaned into her time renegotiating a trade deal under the first Trump administration, and said she would take on the president again. "I will lead a true Canadian response to the threat we now face. We will be united, we will be strong, we will be smart and that's why we will win," she told the crowd of supporters. She has received the backing of Health Minister Mark Holland and Justice Minister Arif Virani, among other MPs. Karina Gould, a former trade and investment specialist, has thrown her hat in the ring, declaring she would represent a "new generation" if elected. She was first elected in 2015 and has served a number of roles in Trudeau's cabinet - the youngest woman to serve as a minister in Canada. The 37-year-old was families minister, international development minister and later Minister of Democratic Institutions, before taking on her current role as House Leader, where she oversees the government's legislative agenda. Gould launched her bid by saying "Canadians have lost trust in our party". She has taken aim at the US when trying to convince voters to choose her as leader, telling CNBC "trust has been broken" between Canada and its southern neighbour. She said fentanyl, one of Trump's justifications for imposing tariffs, comes from Canada in "miniscule amounts." "But if that's what he cares about," she said, referring to the US president, "well then let's put together an inspection team at the border to inspect every truck that goes south for fentanyl and every truck that comes north for illegal guns". Frank Baylis, a former Liberal member of parliament, was the first out of the gate to announce he is seeking the leadership of the party. He has said he will bring his experience from the world of business to address the affordability and cost-of-living challenges facing Canadians. Baylis is the executive chairman of a medical device company that was founded by his mother and where he later served as president. It was sold to a US firm in 2021. He is an engineer by training. Baylis served in parliament from 2015-2019 and was a founding member of the Parliamentary Black Caucus. He has been heavily critical of Trudeau's approach to Trump's tariff threats and has claimed he would deal with Trump better than his opponents, casting his outsider experience as a businessman as a strength. "Whether we like it or not, the Americans have put as a president a highly aggressive bully of a man, who's a businessman," he told The Canadian Press. "And people coming from a genteel world of bureaucrats or banking, they're not going to know how to deal with this character," he said, taking aim at his opponents. Many prominent cabinet ministers chose not to run in this race, including Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly and Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne, who all said they need to focus on their current duties. Jaime Battiste, a member of parliament (MP) from the Atlantic province of Nova Scotia, dropped out earlier in the race. Another hopeful, former Toronto area MP Ruby Dhalla, was kicked out of the race over "extremely serious" violations, the party said. Those include allegations of inaccuracies in her campaign's financial reporting. Ms Dhalla has appealed the decision.

Mark Carney has won the race to succeed Justin Trudeau as Canada's prime minister, vowing to win the trade war with the US and President Donald Trump. The former governor of the Canadian central bank and Bank of England beat three rivals in the Liberal Party's leadership contest in a landslide. In much of his victory speech, Carney, 59, attacked Trump, who has imposed tariffs on Canada and said he wants to make the country the 51st US state. "Americans should make no mistake," he said. "In trade, as in hockey, Canada will win." Carney is expected to be sworn in the coming days and will lead the Liberals in the next general election, which could be called in the coming weeks. Carney, now prime minister-designate, has never served in elected office. The Liberal leadership race began in January after Trudeau resigned following nearly a decade in office. He had faced internal pressure to quit over deep unpopularity with voters, who were frustrated with a housing crisis and the rising cost of living. Carney won on the first ballot on Sunday evening, taking 85.9% of the vote to beat his nearest rival, former Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland. Loud cheers erupted as the results were announced to a crowd of some 1,600 party faithful in Ottawa, Canada's capital. The party said more than 150,000 people had cast ballots in the race. Carney, who will lead a minority government in parliament, could either call a snap general election himself or opposition parties could force one with a no-confidence vote later this month. The governing Liberals have seen a remarkable political turnaround since Trudeau's exit, as Canadians have been galvanised by Donald Trump's trade threats and support for annexing their country At the beginning of the year, they trailed the Conservatives, led by Pierre Poilievre, by more than 20 points in election polls. They have since narrowed the gap and some polls show them statistically tied with Poilievre's party. Much of Carney's speech focused on what he called Trump's "unjustified tariffs" on Canada, America's largest trading partner. The US imposed levies of 25% on Canadian goods last Tuesday, but rowed back within days to exempt goods compliant with an existing trade agreement. Canada responded with retaliatory tariffs of its own as Trudeau accused his US counterpart of trying to collapse the country's economy. Carney echoed that in his victory speech, saying Trump was "attacking Canadian workers, families, and businesses". "We can't let him succeed," he added, as the crowd booed loudly. He said his government would keep tariffs on US imports "until the Americans show us respect". Canada's economy depends significantly on trade with the US and risks tipping into recession if the sweeping tariffs threatened by Trump are fully imposed. "I know these are dark days," Carney said. "Dark days brought on by a country we can no longer trust. "We're getting over the shock, but let us never forget the lessons: we have to look after ourselves and we have to look out for each other. We need to pull together in the tough days ahead." Carney also pledged to "secure our borders" - a key demand of Trump who has accused Canada of failing to control the flow of migrants and fentanyl going south. The US president even got a mention in Carney's attacks on his main opponent, Conservative leader Poilievre. "Pierre Poilievre's plan will leave us divided and ready to be conquered," said Carney. "Because a person who worships at the altar of Donald Trump will kneel before him, not stand up to him." Shortly before Carney took to the stage, Trudeau gave an emotional farewell speech, reflecting on his 12 years as Liberal leader. He warned that Canada was facing an "existential challenge" from the US under Trump. The Conservatives have had to pivot politically since Trudeau's resignation, and are attacking Carney as not representing change but rather being "just like Justin". They accuse the Liberals of a "sneaky" plan to win a fourth term by simply substituting their leader. Poilievre's party has also accused Carney of lying about his role in moving investment firm Brookfield Asset Management's head office from Toronto to New York. Carney said the formal decision by shareholders to relocate the firm was made after he quit the board at the start of this year but a letter emerged showing he had recommended the move in December. Federal Public Safety Minister David McGuinty, who endorsed Carney, told the BBC that he "embodies the kind of quiet determination, but steely determination and competence to deal with some of these big issues". "I'm really, really excited for what's coming. And frankly, it's time for an election." The Liberals will face Poilievre's Conservatives, who are the official opposition with 120 seats in the House of Commons; the Bloc Quebecois, who have 33 seats; and the New Democrats, who have 24, when Canadians next go to the polls. What are Carney's key policies? The former central banker has run on a broadly centrist agenda, a shift from Trudeau, who moved the Liberals to the left. A major promise is to push forward major energy projects like pipelines, which have faced political roadblocks in recent years. He has promised major investments in housing and clean energy projects, and to liberalise trade within Canada, where barriers remain between provinces, as well as diversifying the economy away from the US. During the leadership race, Carney promised to cap the size of the federal government, which expanded 40% under Trudeau.

Mark Carney's elevation to the top job in Canada is of particular significance at this moment when his country is at the frontline of a North American trade war. He becomes the "anti-Trump" on the US president's doorstep. The former Bank of England governor chose to lean strongly into resisting Donald Trump's policies at his acceptance speech. He said the US president had brought "dark days" from "a country we can no longer trust" and that he was "proud" of Canadians resisting the US "with their wallets". While on trade specifically Mr Carney vowed to keep the retaliatory tariffs "until Americans show us respect", it was clear that the general threats against Canadian sovereignty are equally as important in his thinking. Trump has repeatedly said he will use economic power to encourage Canada to become the 51st state of the US, but Carney hit back. "The Americans want our resources, our land, our water, our country… Canada will never be part of America in any way, shape or form," he said. Behind the scenes, Carney has been encouraging a very robust response to Mr Trump. As he told me last month in his only UK interview during his campaign to succeed current Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, it was necessary to "stand up to a bully". He ridiculed Trump's allegations of Canada's involvement in fentanyl trade, and the US president's suggestion that Canada has ripped off the US. Canada's trade deficit is caused "entirely" by its exports of subsidised oil, Carney told me, and "perhaps we should ask for that subsidy back". He follows in the footsteps of former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi as a former top central banker who became a G7 leader. It is an otherwise rare path, but it may be good timing when Canada's nearest neighbour has suggested using economic power to take over. Carney has experience in this area having dealt with a number of acute political-economic crises, such as the banking crash, the eurozone crisis, sterling's sharp slide after Brexit, and the start of the pandemic. He has also regularly attended G20 meetings at leader level, including in the presence of Trump, as chair of the Financial Stability Board, an international economic body. At one such meeting, the Trump team threatened to leave the International Monetary Fund. Carney believes that Trump only respects power. Of any attempt to mollify Trump, he said "good luck with that". He will focus further tariff retaliation on bringing inflation and interest rate rises to Canada's "southern neighbour". The Canadian election is due by October, but Carney might call an earlier one. Depending on that, he is on course to host Trump in Canada at the G7 Summit in June. His rise to the top job raises the stakes for the UK. On the one hand, a more robust approach from an allied G7 leader stands in contrast to the UK's attempt to hug the White House closely. On the other hand, Carney also hinted at wanting to diversify trade towards "more reliable" partners, which would include the UK and EU. Canada might send its subsidised energy to Europe, rather than the US. The bigger strategic point is that Carney's background means a focus on international solidarity, and defence of the existing multilateral system. He says Canada can "stand on its own feet" but sees merit in creating a more coherent international alliance to focus the minds of Congress and tariff-sceptics in the Trump administration. Canada's new leadership expects support from its Commonwealth ally, the UK. After my recent interview with him, Carney turned the camera to the portrait on the wall of the office from which he was talking to me: King Charles. The message was clear. Canada and the UK should be on the same side in this new world era.

Canada's most populous province Ontario is slapping a retaliatory 25% surcharge on electricity it sends to US states in response to President Donald Trump's tariffs on Canadian goods. Ontario leader Doug Ford confirmed the move in a news conference on Monday morning, saying it will increase costs for affected US customers by an average of $100 (£77.65) per month. Roughly 1.5 million American homes and businesses in the northern border states of New York, Michigan and Minnesota will be impacted. Ford said that the surcharge on energy will remain until the threat of tariffs from the US "is gone for good." "President Trump's tariffs are a disaster for the U.S. economy. They're making life more expensive for American families and businesses," Ford said in a statement on Monday. At Monday's news conference, Ford threatened to escalate further if the US increases their tariffs on Canada. "I will not hesitate to increase this charge if necessary," he said. "If the US escalates, I will not hesitate to shut off electricity completely." He added that he understands the tariffs are not the fault of the American people, blaming Trump solely for them. "Believe me when I say I don't want to do this," Ford remarked, though he added: "As premier, my number one job is to protect the people of Ontario." Ford said that Ontario will be using the revenue from its retaliatory tariffs on energy to support local workers and businesses impacted by US tariffs on Canada. Canada's federal government has also imposed its own dollar-for-dollar reciprocal tariffs on $30bn worth of US goods exported north. The list of products impacted ranges from clothing to perfume to orange juice. Trump responded to the surcharge in a social media post on Tuesday, saying "your not even allowed to do that". He said the US would "get it all back" with its own reciprocal tariffs in the coming weeks. "Canada is a Tariff abuser, and always has been, but the United States is not going to be subsidizing Canada any longer," he said. President Trump has threatened Canada repeatedly with a blanket 25% tariff on all Canadian exports to the US - a move that economists have warned could result in job losses in Canada while increasing prices for Americans. The US has threatened similar tariffs on neighbouring Mexico as well. Last week, Trump imposed the levies but quickly reversed course, saying he would temporarily spare carmakers from tariffs until 2 April. He later carved out further exemptions on goods shipped under North America's free trade pact, the US-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) agreement, which Trump signed in his first term. The measures also reduced tariffs on potash - a key ingredient for fertiliser needed by US farmers - from 25% to 10%. Trump, however, is still expected to impose tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium some time this week. Governors from states affected by the electricity tax also responded. Democratic New York Governor Kathy Hochul has commissioned a review of the impact of Trump's tariffs and Ford's response on energy prices and supply reliability in the state. "These federal tariffs have been poorly conceived from the start: crafted in secret with no transparency and no clear economic rationale, they've only served to destabilize our capital markets and create uncertainty among New York families and businesses," she said in a statement. The trade war tensions have rattled markets and raised fears of economic turbulence. The S&P 500 share index, which tracks the biggest listed American companies, has plunged to its lowest point since September, after Trump imposed the tariffs last week and later declined to rule out the possibility of a recession. In a Fox News interview that was taped on Thursday, Trump said "I hate to predict things like that" in response to the possibility of a severe economic downturn, after saying that the tariffs could bring about a "period of transition." "It takes a little time, but I think it should be great for us," Trump said.