At An Impasse ✋

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Will U.S. President Donald Trump go ahead and impose a crushing 50 per cent tariff on hundreds of Canadian goods today? Trade talks continued right up to the wire, following a flurry of meetings between top Canadian and American negotiators over the last three weeks. Prime Minister Mark Carney, speaking Monday, called last-minute negotiations “delicate” and “intense”. The day before, Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer met virtually — their third meeting in less than a week (and on Greer’s birthday, no less). A spokesperson for LeBlanc called it “constructive”, but the two countries remained at an impasse. Amid all this, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre slammed Prime Minister Mark Carney’s handling of the talks, American booze became a bargaining chip, and a petition calling for the removal of the U.S. ambassador to Canada topped 200,000 signatures.

More than 120 wildfires continue to burn throughout B.C., which declared a state of provincial emergency August 8 due to wildfires. That came just after all 12,000 residents of the District of Summerland were ordered to leave their homes. While thousands of Okanagan wildfire evacuees were allowed to return starting late last week, some evacuation orders in B.C. are still in place. And for some people, there’s no home to return to. Structures were destroyed on about 120 properties near the village of Clinton, while 245 Okanagan Indian Band structures were damaged or destroyed. Listen to this pod to hear what it was like to flee the wildfires. Meanwhile, this pod asks a bigger question: as wildfires become more intense and more communities are devastated, why aren’t we more ready?

Pay Protest: A Conservative MP from New Brunswick, Mike Dawson, is fighting his own pay raise in court, trying to stop Parliament from giving him an $8,800 raise. Why? He believes it is wrong to accept it when many Canadians are struggling with the cost of living. In an affidavit recently filed in the case, the House of Commons says it would be illegal and inconvenient to deviate from paying MPs the amounts set out in the legislation.

New Network: A Canadian organization, the Canadian Congress of Black Politicians, is now incorporated as a national organization, working to support Black politicians across the country. The group was established for Black politicians from all levels of government and all political stripes. For those who want to get into elected office, “there is a support system and there is an organization that is there for them now and going forward,” says the group’s chair, Colleen James.

Foreign Forces: Researchers are using AI to track foreign interest in the separatism debate in Alberta. And they’ve found Russian and American interests are targeting Alberta’s political discourse online, in both overt and covert ways. Data from a recent study indicate Russian content farms are pushing pro-separatist content into online communities, while prominent American influencers, podcasts and websites are openly promoting Alberta separation. Head here for more on how online campaigns are amplifying division inside Canada.

We talk a lot here about byelections, often in the context of shifting seats in the House of Commons. But what about the cost? Byelections this year are expected to cost taxpayers upwards of $24 million, according to a new Elections Canada estimate. What’s the breakdown? The cost of holding a single byelection varies, but on average, it’s about $2 million. So far this year, three byelections have already been held and three are scheduled for August 31. Plus there’s one Quebec seat that is vacant (with no byelection scheduled yet), Toronto Liberal MP Shaun Chen just resigned, and four other MPs plan to leave their seats soon. If all that happens, that would mean 12 byelections in 2026!

And now it’s time for dessert...your weekly crossword! A little hint for you: make sure you review Volume 249 to complete the crossword:

YOUR CROSSWORD THIS WEEK

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