Wednesday January 21, 2026 | QUEBEC CITY, QU [Reporting from Victoria, BC]
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
Right after returning from the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, Prime Minister Mark Carney will be hosting a planning meeting with his cabinet.
The meeting will be held January 22 and 23 in Quebec City, just ahead of the return of MPs to the House of Commons for a January 26 start of the winter/spring 2026 session of the 45th Parliament.
“Working together, the Prime Minister and his Cabinet will continue to diversify our partnerships abroad and build our strength at home to deliver greater stability, security, and prosperity for Canadians,” it was stated by the Prime Minister’s Office today
“The meeting will focus on the government’s core mission to build a stronger, more sustainable, and more independent Canadian economy that benefits everyone.”
Seven priority missions:
Cabinet ministers and secretaries of State will discuss progress on the seven priority missions laid out by the Prime Minister in their Mandate Letter (in May 2025) and determine priorities for delivering change in the year ahead.
The context is one of generational challenge.
- Establishing a new economic and security relationship with the United States and strengthening our collaboration with reliable trading partners and allies around the world.
- Building one Canadian economy by removing barriers to interprovincial trade and identifying and expediting nation-building projects that will connect and transform our country.
- Bringing down costs for Canadians and helping them to get ahead.
- Making housing more affordable by unleashing the power of public-private cooperation, catalysing a modern housing industry, and creating new careers in the skilled trades.
- Protecting Canadian sovereignty and keeping Canadians safe by strengthening the Canadian Armed Forces, securing our borders, and reinforcing law enforcement.
- Attracting the best talent in the world to help build our economy, while returning our overall immigration rates to sustainable levels.
- Spending less on government operations so that Canadians can invest more in the people and businesses that will build the strongest economy in the G7.
Affordability:
In particular, the Prime Minister and Cabinet will evidently focus on next steps in the government’s plan to bring down everyday costs and make life more affordable for Canadians.
Over the past year he has mentioned about increasing competitiveness with big economic sectors as one way to drive down everyday costs.
Input from experts:
At the Planning Forum, Cabinet will hear from leading experts across government, finance, community services, advanced technology, and global affairs. They will provide insights into the current global landscape and help identify emerging opportunities for Canadian leadership.
Possible cabinet shuffle:
There could be a cabinet shuffle soon, to align with the work of various priorities and to adapt internally to possibly becoming a majority government if Carney is successful in wooing more Conservative MPs to cross the floor over to the Liberals (who are currently two seats short of a majority).
Meeting location:
Holding the cabinet meeting in Quebec City might be logistically convenient given the tight timeline to returning to Ottawa for the start of the winter/spring session.
But it also dovetails with the fact that the Liberals no doubt have their eye on Quebec as an area currently in flux provincially, given the recent resignation of Quebec’s long-time Premier, Francois Legault.
On the heels of Davos:
Yesterday at the World Economic Forum, Canada’s prime minister made the equivalent of a ‘barn burner’ speech, getting a standing ovation for essentially saying everything works different now in the global economy and pitching to ‘middle powers’ to work coolaboratively.
===== RELATED:
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- Liberals aim for majority in 2026 House of Commons (December 21, 2026)
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