Year in review: A look at events in December 2025
By Canadian Press on December 15, 2025.
A look at news events in December 2025 so far:
1 – Prime Minister Mark Carney named Montreal MP Marc Miller as minister of Canadian identity and culture and minister for official languages. He replaced Steven Guilbeault, who resigned after Ottawa signed an energy pact allowing a new pipeline to B.C.’s coast. Joel Lightbound became Carney’s Quebec lieutenant, and Julie Dabrusin took over the nature portfolio. Miller’s ministry will shift away from tech regulation but remains involved in copyright and A-I related online issues.
1 – No competing bids emerged for Hudson’s Bay’s 1670 royal charter, clearing the way for the Thomson and Weston families to buy it for $18 million. The families were the only parties to signal interest before the deadline, making their joint offer the likely winning bid pending court approval. They planned to donate the charter to four Canadian institutions and provide $5 million for conservation and public access. The decision followed months of shifting offers, including earlier individual bids from both families before they united for a joint proposal.
2 – National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak ripped into the Carney government’s approach to consultation with First Nations. First Nations chiefs voted unanimously to press the government to uphold the oil tanker ban off the northern British Columbia coast. Woodhouse Nepinak addressed the Assembly of First Nations’ December meeting citing its failure to consult meaningfully with First Nations and cuts to federal investments in First Nations communities.
2 – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ordered 20 armoured vehicles from a Canadian defence manufacturer, near Toronto. A partially redacted procurement document said only Brampton, Ont.’s Roshel meets the department’s requirements and can complete the order within 30 days. The $10-million contract is for a type of armoured tactical vehicle used by Ukraine in its war with Russia. The department was awash in controversy and allegations of human rights abuses in U.S. President Donald Trump’s campaign to expel vast numbers of immigrants living in the country illegally.
3 – The European Union said Canada will need to pay the euro equivalent of C$16-million to join a defence procurement agreement with the continent. Canada announced this week it would officially be joining the $245-billion Security Action for Europe program, part of the ReArm Europe initiative. Defence Minister David McGuinty said the deal has been finalized, but was guarded with his words when asked how much Canada would need to pay. McGuinty said the government will have more to say on the matter soon.
3 – B.C. Conservative Party Leader John Rustad was ousted from his position by members of his party. The party said Rustad was “professionally incapacitated” and therefore unable to continue as leader, with the board of directors making the decision. Trevor Halford has been installed as interim leader after 20 MLAs representing a caucus majority said they had lost confidence in Rustad and wanted him out. Rustad had refused to quit for months despite a caucus rebellion that saw five of his MLAs leave in the last year.
4 – Canada said it would serve Stellantis a notice of default after the automaker shifted some of its production to the United States. Industry Minister Mélanie Joly said a contract for federal funds for a Windsor battery plant included a job guarantee in Brampton, Ont. Stellantis announced in October it was moving planned production of its Jeep Compass from Brampton to Illinois. U.S. President Donald Trump upended the North American automobile industry with his tariffs and boasted this week about Canadian auto plants relocating to the United States.
4 – Federal ministers faced pointed questions from chiefs at the Assembly of First Nations gathering in Ottawa, where major projects and the B.C. pipeline deal dominated the agenda. Energy Minister Tim Hodgson was pulled from a scheduled panel after backlash over signing the Alberta pipeline agreement without meeting coastal leaders. Chiefs later passed a unanimous resolution calling for that deal to be scrapped and for the northern tanker ban to stay in place. Youth delegates also urged leaders to defend land and water rights, warning that development pressures are accelerating.
5 – Prime Minister Mark Carney and the presidents of the U.S. and Mexico met to talk trade at the 2026 World Cup draw. There were no staff in the room for the 50-minute meeting, and it’s not yet known what the three leaders discussed. This was Carney’s first private meeting since U.S. President Donald Trump suddenly ended trade talks in October in response to Ontario’s anti-tariff TV ad. Carney has had two cordial meetings with Trump at the White House, but this was the first in-person meeting between Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.
5 – Canada drew Switzerland, Qatar and a yet-to-be determined European team in the draw for FIFA’s 2026 Men’s World Cup. B.C. Premier David Eby told watch party attendees the province is excited to host some of the games and the good-paying jobs they’ll create.
6 – Montrealers paused to remember the 14 women murdered at Polytechnique 36 years ago, with leaders urging Canadians to keep confronting violence against women. Prime Minister Mark Carney said progress has been made on gun control but not enough, and pledged tougher bail conditions in cases of intimate partner violence. Fifteen beams of light rose above Mount Royal — 14 for the victims and one for all femicide victims, as families called the duty to remember “as relevant as ever.”
6 – Sixty-two Indigenous artifacts from the Vatican arrived in Montreal, welcomed by First Nations, Inuit and Metis leaders who said the return is emotional and long overdue. The items will be returned to their home communities as part of ongoing reconciliation work. Leaders said the pieces are not “artifacts” but belongings and ancestors, carrying memory, dignity and teachings that can help revive culture and technique. They say this is only the beginning — with more items still in Vatican collections and hopes that they will be returned.
6 – Hopes of English fans were dashed as Canadian fans learned which teams would play in the country for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. FIFA released the full schedule of the expanded 48-team, 104-game tournament Saturday in Washington D.C. Canada is staging 13 games, seven in Vancouver and six in Toronto. Three of those games are in the knockout rounds. Toronto will host No. 72 Ghana versus No. 30 Panama (June 17, Group L), No. 9 Germany versus No. 42 Ivory Coast (June 20, Group E), Panama versus No. 10 Croatia (June 23, Group L) and No. 19 Senegal versus a playoff winner — Iraq, Bolivia or Suriname — (June 26, Group I). Vancouver will host No. 26 Australia versus a European playoff winner (June 13, Group D) and No. 86 New Zealand versus No. 34 Egypt and No. 8 Belgium (June 21 and 26, Group G).
7 – The NHL said the Heritage Classic game was coming back to Canada next season. The Winnipeg Jets and Montreal Canadiens will face off in the 2026 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic at Winnipeg’s Princess Auto Stadium on Oct. 25. It marks the league’s eighth Heritage Classic and first since 2023. Winnipeg will host its second outdoor showcase after falling to the Edmonton Oilers at the home of the CFL’s Blue Bombers in October 2016 before a crowd of over 33,000.
8 – The Golden Globes nominees were announced, and there are some major snubs and surprises. “Wicked: For Good” and Jon M. Chu did not make the cut, even though Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande got nominations on their own. Sydney Sweeney was snubbed for a best dramatic actress nod, even after her transformative turn as a boxer in “Christy” was well-received at the Toronto International Film Festival. But “KPop Demon Hunters” was nominated for box office achievement — which is surprising, considering Netflix doesn’t report box office results.
8 – Canada’s artificial intelligence minister touted new digital agreements with Europe. Evan Solomon announced the deals with the EU and Germany as he began two days of meetings in Montreal with his G7 counterparts. The agreements cover AI and other digital technologies. Canada is aligning itself with the EU, which has been a proponent of AI regulation while the U.S. under the Trump administration has opposed regulation.
9 – A strike by Air Transat pilots was avoided after a tentative deal was reached with the travel company. Leisure airline Air Transat’s owner Transat AT confirmed the tentative deal, although neither it nor the union representing some 750 pilots has released any details. Transat AT had been cancelling flights and winding down operations ahead of a possible work stoppage, a move that impacted thousands of travellers.
9 – Prime Minister Mark Carney thanked Canada’s ambassador to the U.S. for her years of service in the aftermath of her resignation announcement. Carney thanked Hillman in a media statement, saying she has resolutely defended Canadian values and interests during a period of transformation in the relationship between Canada and the U.S. Hillman said she would end her tenure in Washington, D.C. in the new year. She said it’s the right time to put in place a team to see through the negotiations on renewing the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade.
10 – The Bank of Canada left its key interest rate unchanged at 2.25 per cent. It was the final rate decision of the year. In October the Bank of Canada lowered it by a quarter point. Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem said inflationary pressures continue to be contained despite some added costs related to tariffs.
10 – Alberta Premier Danielle Smith was facing a recall petition in her Brooks-Medicine Hat riding. She was one of 21 MLAs targeted in a wave of citizen-led petitions challenging the UCP government. Heather VanSnick was leading the petition drive in Smith’s southern Alberta riding of Brooks-Medicine Hat and said the premier was ignoring local concerns, while she argued the recall is being misused for politics. VanSnick needs to collect just over 12,000 signatures to move the process forward within 90 days.
11 – Rising floodwaters in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley forced families and farmers to relive a familiar situation. Atmospheric river weather systems sent cross-border outflows pouring into the province from Washington state. Residents were anxiously watching to see whether it would be as bad as the billions in damage from 2021’s catastrophic flooding of the Sumas Prairie. Major highways connecting the Lower Mainland to the Interior remained closed and evacuation alerts and orders were expanded.
11 – A member of the Canadian Armed Forces was arrested and charged in a foreign interference investigation. Master Warrant Officer Matthew Robar was charged with multiple offences including communicating special operational information and breach of trust. The investigation began in 2024 and focused on the unauthorized disclosure of safeguarded information to a foreign entity. The Department of National Defence said Robar’s arrest and charges stemmed from an operation between the military police and RCMP, and that he would be tried in the military justice system.
12 – A hockey team’s bus crashed in northern Alberta, sending at least two people to hospital. Police said the bus went into a ditch south of Athabasca and two teens were taken to hospital in Edmonton for non-life-threatening injuries. RCMP said those on the bus were between 15 and 19 but declined to identify the team. The Crowsnest Crush with the National Junior Hockey League said its weekend games against the Athabasca Rivermen were cancelled because of a bus accident.
12 – The mayor of flood-struck Abbotsford, B.C., blasted the feds for what he calls its flooding inaction. Ross Siemens said he had not been contacted by the federal government about this week’s flooding. The floodwaters forced hundreds of households to evacuate their homes while inundating poultry barns and forcing livestock relocations. Flooding began receding but the B.C. River Forecast Centre’s David Campbell said draining the Sumas Prairie would take days.
More to come on Dec. 31
The Canadian Press
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