Parliament returns with a big agenda and a fight brewing between Carney and labour unions - National Post

Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks during a Liberal caucus meeting on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, September 18, 2026. Photo by Blair Gable/PostmediaArticle contentOTTAWA – Parliament is set to return after a three-month long summer break on Monday and the Liberal government’s agenda will be jammed packed this fall.

Prime Minister Mark Carney is running high in the polls, and his government maintains a majority of seats in the House of Commons, which gives the Liberal leader ample room to implement his policies.

Topping the legislative agenda for the fall session will be legislation designed to accelerate the federal approval processes around all major projects, changes to the Canada Labour Code and moves to strengthen supply chain certainty.

Government House Leader Steve MacKinnon would not elaborate further on Friday about what’s in the legislation, citing parliamentary privilege, but said the bill will help Canada “attract investment, create jobs, and trade with the world.”

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Carlene Variyan, Liberal strategist and partner at Summa Strategies, said the bill is a follow-up to the investment summit last week in Toronto, where Carney pitched Canada as an attractive place to invest for global investors. The prime minister aims to attract $500 billion in private investment by the end of the decade. Carney also announced at the summit that Ottawa will seek private investment to operate the country’s four biggest airports.

“This supply chains bill will be a critical part of the prime minister’s ongoing efforts to ensure that Canada is viewed as a place that makes sense to invest in, that’s competitive to invest in, relative to other countries,” said Variyan.

Labour unions have already voiced their opposition to making changes to the Canada Labour Code, noting that the expedited consultations and review seem to be motivated by corporate interests.

Erin Morrison, NDP strategist and vice-president at Texture Communications, said Carney is walking into a fight with the country’s largest labour unions.