Good morning, and welcome to Monday. It’s Chris Bilton.

Today is the 15th anniversary of the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and 2SLGBTQIA+ People, also known as Red Dress Day.

Donald Trump is still talking about Canada becoming the 51st state, even as Prime Minister Mark Carney gets ready to head to Washington tomorrow.

Also, my colleague Megan Williams takes a look at the makeup of the conclave that will elect the next pope. Plus, Go Public looks into a couple’s stolen airline credits.

Trump reiterates 51st state threat as Carney prepares for critical White House meeting

Prime Minister Mark Carney, left, and President Donald Trump will meet at the White House on Tuesday. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press)

The latest: U.S. President Donald Trump is doubling down on threats to make Canada the 51st state, saying in an interview that aired yesterday on NBC’s Meet the Press he'll "always talk about that," as Prime Minister Mark Carney prepares for a crucial White House meeting tomorrow and insists Canadian sovereignty is not up for discussion.

The background: On Friday, at his first news conference since becoming prime minister, Carney said he's going to the White House "with the expectation of ... difficult, but constructive discussions." But Carney has long maintained he would only speak with Trump once the U.S. president shows respect for Canada. 

An insider's view: Everett Eissenstat, who served as deputy director of Trump's National Economic Council during his first term, said in an interview on Rosemary Barton Live the upcoming meeting is "certainly a good start" but "it's unlikely that the relationship will be sorted out within a single meeting."

Meanwhile, Canada has some new defence spending options: A trio of South Korean defence companies have delivered detailed, unsolicited proposals to the federal government to quickly re-equip the Canadian navy and army with modern equipment. CBC News has learned the combined plans, which were delivered to the federal government in early March, amount to more than $20 billion and include a promise to create maintenance and manufacturing centres in Canada.

The proposals represent an unprecedented diplomatic and corporate push to get Canada to buy its military equipment elsewhere than the United States and Europe. The bids were presented at a time when many Canadians — facing the Trump administration's trade war and annexation threats — have demanded the federal government cancel major military purchases from the United States, including the F-35 fighter program. Murray Brewster has all the details here.

The conclave that will elect a new pope is more diverse. Will it also be more unpredictable?

Cardinals attend the fifth Novemdiales mass held for the late Pope Francis in St. Peter's Basilica, in Vatican City, on April 30. (Antonio Masiello/Getty Images)

What's happening: Some Vatican observers say the upcoming conclave — with its secret voting inside the Sistine Chapel — could prove to be both unpredictable and protracted.

The context: Pope Francis, who died on April 21 at the age of 88, stacked the College of Cardinals with outsiders — men from distant dioceses such as Brunei, Mongolia and South Sudan, countries that had never before had a "Prince of the Church." Many of his appointees have little or no Vatican experience, and even less familiarity with one another.

By the numbers: In the 2013 conclave that elected Francis, cardinals from Europe made up 52 per cent of the electorate, with Latin America at 16 per cent, North America at 12 per cent, Africa at 10 per cent and Asia-Pacific at 10 per cent. Today, according to the Vatican Press Office, Europe's representation is down to 39 per cent, while Latin America accounts for 16 per cent, North America 12 per cent, Africa 13 per cent and Asia-Pacific 20 per cent.

The bigger picture: The broadened geographic and ideological spread of the college has introduced new layers of complexity to this conclave, Vatican observers say. While some cardinals — particularly from Asia and Africa — hold more conservative views on issues like 2SLGBTQ+ rights and the role of women in the church, others, especially recent appointees from Latin America and parts of Europe, lean more progressive.

Couple's airline credit stolen, used for stranger's luxury flight — and Air Canada blamed them

Sandra and Bill Barlow, of Milton, Ont., were on a dream vacation when they learned someone had stolen their Air Canada flight credit for their trip home. (Submitted by Bill and Sandra Barlow)

The situation: A couple says Air Canada failed to protect them — then blamed them — after their return flight was mysteriously cancelled and the credit used to book a luxury flight to Tokyo for a complete stranger. Air Canada says their systems are safe, but a cybersecurity expert says the airline's response raises red flags.

What happened: Bill and Sandra Barlow took a dream trip to South and Central America, which was a 75th birthday celebration for Bill. The Milton, Ont., couple used travel points and cash — just over $5,000 in total — to book their return flights in business class. But two days before they were scheduled to fly home, they called Air Canada to check on their flights and found out someone had cancelled them. The airline claimed the couple's email had been hacked and that they had failed to secure their Air Canada Wallet — something they didn't even know they had. The travel credit in that digital wallet was used to book a flight for a stranger.

What the airline says: Air Canada told Go Public that hackers had accessed the Barlows' email, then used the "forgot password" option to get into their Aeroplan account and steal their credit — all while intercepting the airline's messages to the couple.

What experts say: Cybersecurity expert Claudiu Popa says that explanation doesn't add up, noting there's no proof the couple's email was hacked — and the credit was ultimately stolen from Air Canada's own system.

In case you missed it

• Data from Cuba's national statistical agency reveals the number of Canadians travelling there was at least 30 per cent below last year's numbers in January, February and March.

• Newfoundland and Labrador's Liberal Party has voted in John Hogan as the province's new premier-designate. Winning over an electorate of nearly 14,000 registered Liberals, Hogan captured close to 78 per cent of the vote.
   
• The Winnipeg Jets clinched a spot in the second round of the NHL playoffs, beating the St. Louis Blues in double overtime in Game 7 last night.
   
• Australia's Anthony Albanese claimed a second term as prime minister on Saturday in a dramatic comeback against once-resurgent conservatives that was powered by voters' concerns about the influence of U.S. President Donald Trump.
   
• Brazilian police said yesterday they had thwarted a bomb attack planned for Lady Gaga's historic concert that drew more than two million people to Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday. Police said the plot was orchestrated by a group promoting hate speech and the radicalization of teenagers.

And, in today's good news...

Sculpture created by St. Jacobs, Ont., artist installed at St. Peter's Basilica

Artist Timothy Schmalz sitting on his interactive sculpture called Be Welcoming. It is located at St. Peter's Square, close to a medical centre that cares for the homeless, in Vatican City. (Submitted by Timothy Schmalz)

What happened: A life-sized interactive sculpture entitled Be Welcoming, depicting the transformation of a homeless person into an angel and created by St. Jacobs, Ont., sculptor Tim Schmalz, was installed just before Easter in the square in front of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City.

What the artist says: "It looks like a pretty rough-looking person with a hoodie, a backpack with all of his possessions. But then as you walk around the piece, the piece literally transforms into an angel. The backpack on one side hides the angel wings on the other side," Schmalz told CBC News from Rome.

The background: This is the second sculpture that the late Pope Francis commissioned from Schmalz, along with his 2019 bronze piece called Angels Unawares, which depicts 140 migrants and refugees from different cultural and racial backgrounds and time periods. That work was the first time in 400 years that an artist had a modern day sculpture placed next to historical pieces of work around St. Peter's Square. Schmalz is renowned for his Homeless Jesus sculptures, which show the Christian figure huddled under a blanket on a bench, with only the gashes on his feet signalling who he is.