Kyle Duggan, The Canadian Press

National defence is becoming an increasingly thorny topic for Prime Minister Mark Carney's government as Canada comes under heavy pressure from its allies to do more and spend more.

But with just weeks to go until NATO member nations assemble in the Netherlands for a summit that could put Ottawa in the hot seat on defence spending, several of his ministers took the unusual step of removing themselves from discussions with defence reporters this week at Canada's largest defence industry show.

Quebec Liberal MP Francis Scarpaleggia was elected Speaker of the House of Commons on Monday — after an unusually dramatic race that saw the only Conservative contenders drop out of the running at the last minute.

Conservative MPs Chris d'Entremont and John Nater both put their names forward but withdrew on the House floor before the election began Monday morning.

The Liberals currently have 169 seats in the minority Parliament, leaving them three seats shy of the 172 required for a majority.

Opposition parties attacked Prime Minister Mark Carney Wednesday for being vague about his plans after his government said it would not table a federal budget before the House of Commons rises for the summer.

Following the first Liberal cabinet meeting after the swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said instead of a spring budget, the government will put forward an economic statement in the fall.

Prime Minister Mark Carney shook up his cabinet Tuesday by moving some key players involved in Canada-U.S. relations into new positions and promoting 24 new faces in a move meant to signal change at the top.

While some were prominent figures in former prime minister Justin Trudeau's government — including Dominic LeBlanc, Mélanie Joly, Chrystia Freeland and François-Philippe Champagne — Carney froze out other prominent members of his predecessor's team.

Carney named 28 full ministers to his cabinet, which will meet for the first time on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Mark Carney is giving his cabinet a major shakeup, moving several key players involved in Canada-U.S. relations into new positions and promoting 24 new faces to the front bench.

Carney's cabinet — 28 full ministers and 10 secretaries of state — retains prominent figures from former prime minister Justin Trudeau's government, including Dominic LeBlanc, Mélanie Joly, Chrystia Freeland and François-Philippe Champagne.

The federal government expects to spend about $7 million this fiscal year to store and maintain four custom-made, portable hospitals that cost taxpayers more than $200 million to buy — facilities meant to bolster overwhelmed hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic that were barely used.

Early on in the pandemic, as the federal government moved at breakneck speed to respond to a global health crisis, it issued rush orders for these Mobile Health Units.

The Liberals rose from the ashes under Prime Minister Mark Carney in a stunning reversal of fortunes this year, but the party's failure to sweep many of the ridings it sought Monday night denied it a resounding majority mandate.

A big part of that failure happened in Ontario, where the party lost many incumbents — even as Carney called for a strong mandate to deal with the threat posed by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is promising to tighten financial transparency rules for elected officials — and is using that promise to take aim at Liberal Leader Mark Carney.

Poilievre told a press conference in Ottawa on Sunday that if his party forms government, he'll ban what he calls "shadow lobbying."

Prime Minister Mark Carney says United States President Donald Trump will have to stop his "disrespectful" comments about Canada before the two countries can have comprehensive bilateral conversations about trade and security.

"We've called out those comments. They're disrespectful, they're not helpful, and they need to stop," Carney said in response to a question regarding Trump's repeated remarks about Canada becoming the 51st state. 

"They will have to stop before we sit down and have a conversation about our broader partnership with the United States."

Liberal MPs are gathering on Parliament Hill this afternoon to huddle after the party selected its new leader, former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney.

Carney is heading into a day full of briefings and in the coming days will need to be sworn in as prime minister, tap his cabinet and sort out his party's battle plans for the coming federal election — but the exact timeline for all these things remains unclear.