Good morning. The Trump administration’s retreat from science has created an international bidding war for talent – more on that below, along with Vladimir Putin’s no-show in Istanbul and Loblaw’s dwindling pre-tariff stock. But first:

• There are no plans to release the budget before summer, Champagne says
• In a Quebec riding that Liberals won by a single vote, this woman’s Bloc ballot was sent back
• Canada should reduce Syria sanctions to align with the U.S. and Britain, experts say
• Ontario and Manitoba reach a trade agreement, promising an alcohol sales deal by the end of June

Yesterday, in his first appearance before U.S. Congress since becoming health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a lot of explaining to do. Democratic lawmakers wanted to know why he slashed billions in funding that they’d appropriated for medical research. They wanted to know where 20,000 federal employees had gone. They wanted him to stop criticizing vaccines. Pressed repeatedly by House Representatives, Kennedy wavered on whether he’d vaccinate his own child. “My opinions on vaccines are irrelevant,” said the man who spent Mother’s Day lounging in a creek full of sewer runoff. “I don’t think people should be taking medical advice from me.”

That hasn’t typically been the position of the Health and Human Services Department. For decades, the U.S. served as the world’s science superpower, spending more than any other nation on research and development – nearly US$1-trillion in 2024 – and luring top talent from around the globe. But now, as the Trump administration shutters whole health divisions, curbs what can be studied, and cracks down hard on immigration, scientists are eyeing the exits. In a recent Nature poll of more than 1,600 U.S. scientists, 75 per cent said they were considering leaving for work elsewhere. Most cited Canada and Europe as their top relocation picks.

And those countries are ready to poach. They’re not being especially subtle about it, either. In a statement last month, the Canadian Medical Association insisted that “Canada must act quickly to turn a U.S. brain drain into Canadian brain gain.”

Race to the finish

Some provinces have already hopped on the opportunity, fast-tracking licensing for U.S. health workers to practise in Ontario, B.C., Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. This week, B.C. announced that it had shaved the accreditation process for nurses from four months to just a few days. Even without promoting the new process, B.C. Premier David Eby said applications had increased by 127 per cent since early April; more than 100 American nurses are now eligible to work. “It is very clear to us that U.S. professionals are looking for something better,” Health Minister Josie Osborne said at the press conference, “and here in British Columbia, we are offering just that.”

If that sounds suspiciously like the tagline of a recruitment campaign, you’re onto something – the province plans to run ads targeting nurses and doctors in U.S. states. It’ll face stiff competition from the Prairies. Advocacy group Doctors Manitoba launched a splashy website weeks after the U.S. election, inviting health workers to come practise “where you are valued and trusted as a physician and the government stays out of the exam room.” Manitoba Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said in March that more than 15 health care workers now plan to relocate. And last month, the Saskatchewan government kicked off its own recruitment campaign with a suite of digital ads. “More security and less drama,” one ad promised doctors. “Join us in Saskatchewan!”

The exchange rate

Across the Atlantic, countries have been more transactional in their sales pitch to Americans: You’ve got the talent, and we’ve got the cash. Last week in Paris, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a €500-million investment over the next two years to “make Europe a magnet for researchers.” French President Emmanuel Macron said his government would pony up an additional €100-million to attract U.S. scientists. Norway countered with 100 million kroner, or more than $13-million, in funding. Spain promised €45-million to researchers who are “despised by the Donald Trump administration.”

We’ll see if Prime Minister Mark Carney’s new government puts a similar price on U.S. scientists. In its campaign platform, the Liberal Party said it would focus on attracting top global talent, including from the U.S., to drive economic growth, even as it restricts immigration for everyone else. But Toronto’s University Health Network isn’t waiting around for Ottawa to make a move. UHN announced recently that the hospital network – the largest in the country – will invest $15-million to bring in 50 scientists immediately, particularly from south of the border. “We have to move pretty quickly, because the rest of the world is looking at the same opportunity to recruit top talent,” UHN president and chief executive officer Kevin Smith told The Globe. “It’s an opportunistic moment that we would hate to miss.”

When Mark Carney named François-Philippe Champagne – a Trudeau-era veteran – as Finance Minister, the choice didn’t quite seem to align with the Prime Minister’s promise for change. Insiders tell The Globe they see it differently. Read more about Carney’s pick here.

At home: Canada Post paused negotiations with its workers on a new collective agreement as a potential strike looms next week.<