Canada’s 1st female defence chief, a U.K. vote and top stories this week

The Labour Party, led by Keir Starmer, swept the polls in the United Kingdom this week while Canada is set to get its first female chief of defence staff.

And who is Count Binface, the “intergalactic space warrior” who ran against ex-British prime minister Rishi Sunak?

Here were some of the top stories this week.

What will the Canada-U.K. relationship look like under a Labour government?

The election of a new Labour government in Thursday’s British elections may come with the promise of change in the United Kingdom, but the immediate impact on relations with Canada is less clear.

The Canada-U.K. relationship, while typically strong, has faced some bumps in the road this year. The newly-defeated Conservative government unilaterally paused trade negotiations with Ottawa in January, and more recently put new pressure on NATO allies — including Canada — to further increase their defence spending.

In the short term, those tensions may continue, analysts say, although common priorities between Labour and the Liberals could lead to a softening down the road.

Meet the ‘intergalactic space warrior’ who challenged U.K.’s Rishi Sunak

One candidate served as the United Kingdom’s most recent prime minister and currently leads the Conservative Party.

Another claimed to be from space, has promised to “build at least one affordable house, which is more than all the other parties can muster between them” and wants to force all former prime ministers to enlist in the army.

They were both running to win the same riding in England’s north — though one of them did it more satirically than the other.

Trudeau says ‘lots of conversations’ ongoing after shock byelection loss

Last week’s stunning byelection loss in a Toronto riding has spurred “lots of