Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Tuesday that Quebec should focus on immediate economic challenges rather than waiting for a possible referendum on independence years from now, a day after the separatist Parti Quebecois returned to power.
Carney stated that he would respond to the possibility of holding another referendum by working with Quebec through “cooperative federalism,” with a focus on affordable housing, economic growth, infrastructure, and support for workers affected by the tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump.
“This is a critical time for our country,” Carney explained. It is a crucial time for Quebec. This is not the time to wait for something a few years down the road. It's time to act. “It is a time to be bold.”
Carney added that he spoke on Tuesday morning with the Prime Minister-designate of Quebec, Paul Saint-Pierre Plamondon, and congratulated him and discussed financing infrastructure and supporting workers in the province affected by the US trade war.
St-Pierre Plamondon pledged to hold another referendum on Quebec's independence, but said he would wait until Trump leaves office. He reiterated his separatist ambitions in his victory speech, saying he continues to envision Quebec becoming a state.
Industry Minister Mélanie Joly also said Ottawa will work with the new Quebec government while emphasizing the economic pressures facing the province.
“We are now in a trade war that is affecting a lot of jobs in Quebec,” Jolie added. "Our goal will be to protect jobs in Quebec and throughout the country."
The Nusret 2026 maneuvers of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) were launched in Turkey on Tuesday for training on combating sea mines in the Aegean Sea and the Black Sea, with the participation of Türkiye and allied and friendly countries.
The maneuvers, which will continue until October 16, are taking place in the Gulf of Izmir in the Aegean Sea (western Turkey) and off the coast of the Ergli region in the Black Sea (north), with the participation of 32 representatives of 18 countries, including Ukraine, as observers.
The Turkish Ministry of Defense said, in a statement, that the commands of the Navy, Air Forces and Coast Guard are participating in the maneuvers, which aim to enhance the units’ capabilities in planning, implementing and evaluating the results of mine warfare operations, in addition to improving the operational compatibility of mine action units in a number of countries and enhancing their ability to carry out coordinated multinational operations.
Participation from NATO allies
According to the statement, ships from a number of NATO-affiliated “Standing Mine Action Group” (SNMCMG 2) countries are participating in the maneuvers, namely Turkey, Germany, Spain, Italy and Greece, and ships from the Black Sea Mine Action Group (MCM Black Sea) from Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania, and engineering teams and “unmanned” submarine experts from the United States and other countries, with a total of 20 ships and 5 Planes.
The statement stated that the maneuvers will strengthen Turkey's role in maritime security and mine control within NATO, consolidate cooperation between allies in the Black Sea region, and enhance capabilities in the field of mine clearance and maritime security, which contributes directly to the stability of the region.
The Nusret maneuvers have been conducted annually since 2000 as an international exercise aimed at strengthening joint cooperation between the Turkish naval forces and the forces of allied and friendly countries in the field of mine warfare.
The maneuvers were given this name in commemoration of the Turkish mine ship “Nusret”, which succeeded, in March 1915, during World War I, in planting 26 sea mines in the Strait of Çanakkale “Galipoli”, which led to the sinking of allied warships and completely changed the course of the naval battle of Çanakkale.
The importance of these maneuvers increased after the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022, as Turkish forces neutralized a number of naval mines that reached near its coast in the Black Sea.
Mutual attacks on ships between Russia and Ukraine in the Black Sea, some of which targeted Turkish ships, also caused Ankara to issue a warning to both parties against expanding the scope of the war to include the Black Sea.
Blocking accounts in “X”
On the other hand, the Turkish authorities blocked 88 new accounts on the “X” social media platform against the backdrop of the scandal of manipulation of investment funds, which harmed more than 455,000 investors and implicated some former officials, leaders and members of the ruling “Justice and Development” Party, and investigations into which began in mid-September and are still ongoing.
The authorities, and the “X” platform itself, had previously blocked more than 500 accounts, including those of journalists, against the backdrop of heated discussions about the investment funds crisis that shook the financial markets in Turkey.
The International Federation of Journalists, the European Federation of Journalists, and the Turkish Journalists Syndicate pointed out, in a joint statement, the increasing restrictions imposed on access to content on the “X” platform, which they confirmed “responds to requests from the authorities” and lacks “sufficient judicial oversight.”
The statement stated that requests issued by administrative authorities, law enforcement agencies, or other public bodies should not, in themselves, be considered sufficient grounds for blocking access to the accounts of journalists or media organizations without independent judicial review.
In turn, the Turkish Freedom of Expression Association said that it was only possible to verify the existence of judicial decisions regarding 115 accounts out of 1,270 on the “X” platform, followed by more than 35 million people, which were subject to access restrictions in Turkey last September, while the reasons for blocking other accounts have not yet become clear.
