Monday Briefing: Canada’s next leader

Plus, how peacekeeping could work in Ukraine

View in browser|nytimes.com March 10, 2025 By Natasha Frost Good morning. We're covering Canada's next prime minister and fighting in Syria. Plus: How peacekeeping could work in Ukraine. Mark Carney will succeed Justin Trudeau as Canada's prime minister. Cole Burston for The New York Times Canada's getting a new leader The Liberal Party of Canada yesterday chose Mark Carney, a technocrat with deep experience in financial markets, to replace Justin Trudeau as its leader and the country's prime minister, and to take on President Trump. Carney, who steered the Bank of Canada through the 2008 global financial crisis and the Bank of England through Brexit, has never been elected to office. He won 85.9 percent of the votes cast by more than 150,000 Liberal Party members. Carney is expected to be sworn in as prime minister early this week, officially ending the Trudeau era. But because he does not hold a seat in Parliament, he is expected to call federal elections soon. His opponent will be Pierre Poilievre, the leader of the Conservative Party. Quotable: "America is not Canada," Carney said in his acceptance speech, referring to Trump's threats to annex the country. "And Canada never, ever will be part of America in any way, shape or form. We didn't ask for this fight, but Canadians are always ready when someone else drops the gloves." U.S. political news In an interview, Trump declined to rule out the possibility that his policies would cause a recession. House Republicans unveiled a measure to fund the government through Sept. 30. If Democrats oppose it, a shutdown will begin on Friday. Tesla dealerships and charging stations are being targeted by violence and protests amid growing rage at Elon Musk. Track Trump's actions since he took office. A funeral yesterday in Qamishli, Syria, for one of the people killed in the fighting. Orhan Qereman/Reuters Syria's leader called for unity amid violence Syria's interim president, Ahmed al-Shara, appealed for calm and unity yesterday after days of clashes between his government's fighters and those loyal to Bashar al-Assad, the ousted dictator. "We call on Syrians to be reassured because the country has the fundamentals for survival," al-Shara said. The violence, which erupted last week, has been the worst since the Assad government fell in early December. More than 1,000 people have been killed, including about 700 civilians, mostly by government forces, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a group based in Britain that has monitored the Syrian conflict since 2011. The information could not be independently verified. Reaction: Thousands protested in the first wide-scale demonstrations against the new government. Residents were ordered to stay indoors as security forces scrambled to contain the turmoil. Here's what else we know. A Ukrainian soldier with a British-made howitzer in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. Tyler Hicks/The New York Times How peacekeeping could work in Ukraine A new paper written by civilian and military experts explores the details of how a cease-fire along the front line in Ukraine, which stretches for more than 700 miles, could be monitored and enforced. It proposes a buffer zone at least six miles wide to separate the Russian and Ukrainian armies. It says 5,000 civilians and police officers could patrol it, supported by as many as 10,000 foreign troops. For most of the three-year war, the possibility of a cease-fire has seemed far off. Some saw it as a taboo subject, as Kyiv and its allies tried to keep the focus on the battlefield. But President Trump's desire to end the war quickly has cast a spotlight on what could happen in the aftermath. Reinforcements: France and Britain have proposed sending thousands of troops to Ukraine after the fighting stops, though there is little clarity about what their responsibilities would be. Russia has shown no sign of agreeing to such a force, while Trump has offered few assurances that the U.S. would provide assistance. MORE TOP NEWS Dave Reede/Universal Images Group, via Getty Images Trade war: China announced tariffs of up to 100 percent on canola, pork and other foods from Canada. Croatia: The government is trying to rein in soaring prices that have led to boycotts. Diplomacy: The Trump administration is negotiating the return of more Russian diplomats to the U.S. Some are likely to be spies. Germany: The airport in Hamburg said it had canceled all flights because of a one-day strike by ground staff. U.S.: The Secret Service said it shot a man near the White House after an "armed confrontation" with law enforcement officers. Canada: Three masked men with handguns and an assault rifle "opened fire indiscriminately" in a Toronto pub, injuring at least 12 people, the police said. Middle East Iran's supreme leader denounced "bullying governments" in an apparent response to a Trump letter about reopening nuclear talks. Israel's energy minister said he was immediately cutting off electricity to the Gaza Strip. Severe restrictions on the power supply have been in place since the attacks of Oct. 7, 2023. Federal immigration authorities detained an activist who played a major role in Columbia University's pro-Palestinian student movement last year. SPORTS NEWS Soccer: Manchester United and Arsenal settled for a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford. Tennis: Novak Djokovic was beaten by Botic van de Zandschulp at Indian Wells in California. Djokovic has lost there several times over the years. Formula 1: Our experts shared what they learned from Season 7 of the Netflix docuseries "Drive to Survive." MORNING READ Dmitry Kostyukov for The New York Times Beef Bourguignon is the signature dish at Le Bouillon Chartier, a belle epoque canteen in Paris, and the price is very reasonable — less than what a working-class diner makes in an hour. But that could change: The cost of making it has nearly doubled since the pandemic. Businesses across Europe are being similarly squeezed by high prices. Lives lived: Uri Shulevitz, a children's book author who turned childhood memories of fleeing the Nazis in Poland into magical stories, died at 89. CONVERSATION STARTERS The fight behind the story: The actors in the Off Broadway play "Sumo" had to learn a lot more than their lines. The show's ambitious fight choreography took months to master. The real-life Lumon Industries: Bell Works, the setting of the Apple TV+ hit "Severance," once sat abandoned. Now it's a tourist attraction. Annals of Broadway: Before it was a cult film, "The Rocky Horror Show" was a box-office flop. The Ethicist: Should a reader whose ex-partner was abusive warn the man's new girlfriend? ARTS AND IDEAS Gabriela Bhaskar for The New York Times Where book festivals are the hottest clubs in town Literature events in India are blooming, driven by young people who are reading books in the country's dozens of native languages. The gatherings offer a chance to explore new topics, meet favorite authors or simply check out the scene. A sense of intellectual "cred" has helped the festivals give Bollywood and cricket a run for their money. For these readers, books open worlds that India's higher education system, with its focus on make-or-break examinations, often does not. Read about the festivals here. We hope you've enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times. RECOMMENDATIONS Food photo goes here David Malosh for The New York Times Cook: These speedy, tasty white beans are topped with frazzled onions. Share: Watching the movie "Flow" in the theater is wonderfully immersive. But watching it with your pets is just as delightful. Read: Here are two books — a memoir of Italy, and an American's notes on Canada — that our critics loved. Plan: Consider consulting an A.I.-planner site for your next vacation. Play the Spelling Bee. And here are today's Mini Crossword and Wordle. You can find all our puzzles here. That's it for today's briefing. See you tomorrow. — Natasha Reach Natasha and the team at briefing@nytimes.com. Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for Morning Briefing: Europe Edition from The New York Times. To stop receiving Morning Briefing: Europe Edition, unsubscribe. To opt out of other promotional emails from The Times, including those regarding The Athletic, manage your email settings. To opt out of updates and offers sent from The Athletic, submit a request. 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