Parliament's Back: Ottawa's New Strikes Bill and B.C.'s Leader Swap, Explained
MPs went back to work in Ottawa on Monday, September 21, 2026, and Prime Minister Mark Carney's government introduced the Building Canada Strong Act.
The bill aims to cut down on strikes and lockouts in workplaces Ottawa controls and to approve big projects faster, according to The Globe and Mail. Those workplaces include banks, phone companies, airlines and railways that cross provincial borders. The details were first noted in that morning's Politics Insider newsletter.
The Canadian Labour Congress said it is worried the plan would weaken workers' bargaining power and make it easier for Ottawa to end strikes and lockouts. The bill has only been tabled. Its scope, job categories and ministerial powers were not yet clear in these materials.
CP24 reported the return from summer break on September 21. CPAC listed House of Commons Proceedings for that day. The parliamentary calendar also lists September 21 as a sitting day.
Sitting-day mechanics
The House calendar names Monday, September 21, 2026 as a sitting day, with a possible longer day under rule S.O. 27(1). That rule lets MPs sit extra hours in the fall to deal with spending bills. The agenda put Private Members' Business at 11:00 a.m. That is time set aside for bills from MPs who are not ministers.
For anyone tracking procedure, the short version is this. The morning slot sets the order before government business. The Order Paper, the House's official daily to-do list, will show the bill number, the minister in charge and the next step.
Politics Insider is The Globe and Mail's daily politics newsletter. It is put together by Ian Bailey for digital subscribers. Laura Stone wrote the edition for the next couple of weeks.
British Columbia opposition churn
In British Columbia, the B.C. Conservatives named Lorne Doerkson as interim leader. He replaces Kerry-Lynne Findlay, who left the job Sunday.
Findlay led the party for four months, according to Global News. She pointed to a cancelled caucus meeting as one reason for quitting. She named a caucus leadership team, then named a shadow cabinet of opposition critics on September 18.
Former leader John Rustad resigned in December and was expelled by Findlay days ago. He is now rejoining the caucus. Findlay's statement had said Trevor Halford, Claire Rattée and John Rustad "will no longer serve as members of the Conservative Party of British Columbia, effective immediately."
The party website had listed Findlay as leader on September 9. A December 6, 2025 statement had named Halford as interim leader. The latest account names Doerkson as interim leader. Scott McInnis has left the B.C. Conservative caucus. A Global News segment looked at what the change means for CentreBC. Peter Milobar leads CentreBC.
The broader context here is who controls what. Ottawa sets labour rules for the federally regulated workplaces. Project approvals are shared ground, like needing permission slips from three offices at once: federal review, talks with Indigenous peoples and provincial permits.
Looking at what this means for the fall, Ottawa will send the bill to committee for study of legal and jurisdictional issues. In Victoria, the test is numbers and discipline under an interim leader. No permanent B.C. Conservative leader has been named. No committee schedule for the federal bill is on the record in these materials.
