CTV National News for Wednesday, March 11, 2026: Latest floor crossing prompts mixed reactions in Ottawa

·24 min·5 clips

Laurie Idlout's floor crossing to the Liberals leads the program. She speaks publicly for the first time after leaving the NDP, and the story tracks the political reaction with an eye on what the switch means for Ottawa's numbers. The question of a Liberal majority hangs over the segment. The NDP response is part of the story, since the move changes the mood as much as the math. The program then turns to the Strait of Hormuz. Fresh attacks there push the discussion toward emergency action on the mounting oil crisis, with oil supply once again at the center. Canada is pulled into that story as well. The report says Canada will do its part to contribute to the world's supply and help bring prices down. Even so, the uncertainty is enough to keep sentiment in focus, and the reserves may not even need to be released yet. Canadian cargo moving through the strait comes under scrutiny next. Several containers of rice headed for Toronto's Daily Bread food bank were aboard one of the ships hit, and the report stresses the human cost of delayed freight. The food bank shipment is said to be worth about $90,000. The program makes clear that the concern is both for the sailors and for the people waiting on the food. Higher travel costs follow. Air Canada has adjusted fares to reflect surging jet fuel prices, and Air Transat has added a $25 surcharge on flights leaving Canada for Europe. Winter weather then takes over the screen. Freezing rain slows Quebec, knocks out power lines, jams light rail, and leaves Montreal airport boards packed with cancellations. Several travelers are stranded or frustrated as plans collapse around them. The closing segment shifts to insurance fraud, using video of staged collisions to show how crash schemes leave real people paying the price.

As heard by us

Ottawa's floor crossing widens into oil, cargo, fares, and winter travel disruption.

CTV National News opens with Laurie Idlout's floor crossing from the NDP to the Liberals, then broadens to what that shift could mean for a Liberal majority.

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A floor crossing, an oil shock, and a delayed food-bank shipment all hit your feed.

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