City of Ottawa to raise U.S. flag to celebrate Independence Day despite trade tensions
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Since Donald Trump's inauguration in January 2025, the U.S. president launched a tariff war with Canada and repeatedly expressed a desire to turn it into the '51st state.'
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'No Tyrants, No Kings' rallies have shaken up Ottawa's downtown scene, with many protestors occupying the streets in front of the U.S. Embassy near ByWard Market.
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Despite the public's response, Mayor Mark Sutcliffe said that the City will fly the Star-Spangled Banner on Marion Dewar Plaza, as it does every year. This follows the city's flag protocol, which states that the flag of every country Canada has diplomatic relations with will be raised on their national holiday.
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Sutcliffe says the U.S. Independence Day is another opportunity to highlight the long, shared history between the two nations and the 'deep, lasting friendship'.
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'Now, more than ever, we should focus on building relationships and working together,' he said in a statement to the Citizen.
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Nancy Wasserman, who holds Canadian and American dual citizenship, says July 4th represents the 'revolutionary spirit of the U.S. founders.' She says there is more to the flag than the Trump administration.
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'The fact is the American flag belongs to all Americans, not just the ones who are currently running the government,' she said.
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Wasserman is one of the founders of Indivisible Ottawa, a group advocating for Canada's sovereignty and people targeted by the U.S. administration. She says many Americans who live in Ottawa oppose the current policies and actions of the Trump administration but still believe in 'the promise' of what the flag represents.
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'Independence, no authoritarianism and what the Constitution says and stands for,' she said. 'It's important for all of us to remember that we can be opposed to a government but that doesn't mean we're vehemently opposed to the flag.'
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Elliot Tepper, a Carleton University professor of international relations, says continuity between countries is important, even during times of tension.
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'It would be a startling change if the city broke its long-standing tradition in this period,' he said.
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Tepper says he wouldn't be surprised if Canadians felt alienated or disagreed with the city's decision to move forward with the flag raising. He noted that the 'rupture of trust' occurred over and over again with Trump's behaviour, including threatening Canadian sovereignty.
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'No one will trust the U.S. government again, particularly in Canada, but our ties with the U.S. run much deeper than government-to-government relations,' Tepper said.
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He also notes that Canada is entering a 'new era' with fewer internal trade barriers to reduce reliance on the U.S. for trade stability and predictability in the economy.
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Toronto Sun
5 minutes ago
- Toronto Sun
Canada should follow U.K.'s move to lower voting age to 16, says senator
Published Jul 23, 2025 • 3 minute read An Elections Canada sign is seen in Downtown Edmonton on April 20, 2025, as Canadians vote in advance polls for the federal election. Photo by Kaylen Small / Postmedia OTTAWA — Now that the British government has vowed to lower its voting age to 16 by the next general election, one Canadian senator says it's past time for Canada to do the same. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account The U.K. announced last week that it would lower its voting age from 18 to 16 in a bid to strengthen British democracy and restore trust in politics. Sen. Marilou McPhedran said the issue has been her 'top parliamentary priority' since she joined the Red Chamber. She said lowering the voting age to 16 would be good for democracy and that the only arguments against it are 'based on stereotypes.' McPhedran said decisions being made in Canada now will affect younger generations and that extending voting rights to younger people is 'logical' and 'about fairness.' She added that about a third of 16-year-olds in Canada have some form of employment and are already taxpayers. Sixteen-year-old Jaden Braves and the organization he leads, Young Politicians of Canada, want to see the federal voting age lowered to 16. He told The Canadian Press that Canada 'has to stop living in the shadow of other countries' innovation that's progressing faster than ours.' Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'I think we need to stop being the country that waits for somebody else to take leadership on something we clearly have the chance to progress forward on,' he said. 'Hopefully we'll learn some lessons soon.' Braves lamented the many bills that have been introduced in Canada over the past 20 years to lower the voting age that ultimately failed to pass. McPhedran's most recent bill to lower the federal voting age to 16 was introduced at the end of May. She said it's her priority to get it to second reading and into committee when Parliament resumes in September. 'What happened last time was prorogation and an election,' she said. Prorogation killed the bill after it reached second reading in the Senate. 'But this time our push is to ensure that young voices, young leaders are heard directly by senators, and I feel quite confident that when that happens, skeptics will turn around,' McPhedran added. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. McPhedran said she thinks what's happening in the U.K. will 'make a difference' for a number of senators as she continues to push the bill forward. During debates on previous bills, some senators and MPs have pushed back against arguments in favour of lowering the voting age, such as the suggestion that it would increase voter turnout. Some have also questioned the maturity of youth to cast an informed ballot and debated what standards should be used to justify whether to lower the voting age. Britain's voting age last fell in 1969, when the U.K. became one of the first major democracies to lower it from 21 to 18. Many other countries quickly followed suit; Canada lowered its voting age to 18 in 1970. Several countries already have a voting age of 16, including Austria, Brazil and Ecuador. Scotland and Wales allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in local and regional elections. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Michael Wigginton, a post-doctoral fellow in political science at Carleton University, said the U.K. government's decision represents a 'fairly natural progression,' coming a decade after Scotland started allowing 16-year-olds to vote for members of the Scottish Parliament and in municipal elections. 'Having that sort of local example to point to makes it easier for both politicians and the public at large to feel comfortable that the reform can work for the U.K. Parliament and not have negative effects,' said Wigginton. Efforts are being made across Canada to lower the voting age. In 2021, young Canadians filed an application at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice to challenge the voting age, arguing that the Canada Elections Act is in violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and is unconstitutional. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Toronto recently passed a motion allowing 16 and 17-year-olds to vote in polls at the neighbourhood level on planning and policy issues. And a provincial committee looking at ways to boost democratic engagement in B.C. is examining a lower voting age. Wigginton said that while he doesn't expect Canada to immediately adopt a voting age of 16, having the U.K. as an example will 'definitely push the issue into the spotlight more and increase the chances of it happening it the future.' 'What I see is most likely is that one or more provinces will adopt a lower voting age first and then the federal government may eventually follow suit,' he said. — With files from The Associated Press Canada Sunshine Girls Olympics Sunshine Girls Sunshine Girls
Global News
35 minutes ago
- Global News
Trump inks deals with Japan, Philippines as Aug. 1 deadline approaches
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Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
German court acquits satirist over social media post following Trump assassination attempt
BERLIN (AP) — A German court on Wednesday acquitted a satirist who was charged with having approved of an assassination attempt against Donald Trump during last year's U.S. election campaign in a social media post and disturbed the public peace. In a quickly deleted post under his alias 'El Hotzo' on X in July last year, Sebastian Hotz drew a parallel between Trump and 'the last bus' and wrote 'unfortunately just missed.' In a follow-up post, he wrote: 'I find it absolutely fantastic when fascists die.' A gunman opened fire at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, while Trump was campaigning for president last July, grazing Trump's ear and killing one of his supporters in the crowd. Trump went on to win the White House in November. Prosecutors charged Hotz with approval of offenses. At a one-day trial at the Tiergarten district court in Berlin, prosecutors called for the 29-year-old to be handed a 6,000-euro ($7,030) fine. They argued that the posts fell into the category of hate crimes and, because Hotz has nearly 740,000 followers on X, could disturb the public peace, German news agency dpa reported. Hotz argued that what a satirist says should be understood as a joke, and that 'playing with provocation' is his job. Weekly A weekly look at what's happening in Winnipeg's arts and entertainment scene. Judge Andrea Wilms said in her ruling that Hotz's post was satire that should go unpunished, even if the comments may have been tasteless. She argued that no one would feel called upon to commit acts of violence by 'such clearly satirical utterances,' according to a court statement. The German Journalists' Association earlier this week criticized the trial as excessive and said that the case should be closed, arguing that satirical freedom should be interpreted generously. It noted that public broadcaster RBB already terminated its work with Hotz as a result of the post.
