Analysis on what's happening in federal politics
Political commentator Scott Reid explains what's considered when a recount is conducted and what to expect when Parliament resumes.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Trump says Canada backing statehood for Palestine makes it ‘very hard' to negotiate U.S. trade deal
Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump meet at the White House in Washington, D.C., on May 6, 2025. (Adrian Wyld / The Canadian Press) U.S. President Donald Trump says Canada backing statehood for Palestine makes it 'very hard' for the United States to achieve a trade deal with its northern neighbour. 'Wow! Canada has just announced that it is backing statehood for Palestine,' Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. 'That will make it very hard for us to make a Trade Deal with them. Oh' Canada!!!' Trump Truth Social Canada Palestine U.S. President Donald Trump says Canada recognizing statehood of Palestine makes it 'very hard' for two sides to reach trade deal. (Truth Social screenshot) The post comes hours before the president's Aug. 1 trade deadline, in which he's previously stated he would impose 35 per cent tariffs on Canada if the two sides could not come to an agreement. This is a late breaking update. Previous copy from The Canadian Press is below… Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Wednesday that Canada's negotiations with the United States might not conclude by Donald Trump's Aug. 1 deadline as the president added new trade measures that could further hinder some Canadian businesses. Carney said talks have been complex, comprehensive and constructive. He also said they are ongoing and cover 'a broad variety of topics.' 'There are many areas for co-operation between Canada and the United States, including defence spending, security spending, investments, which is one of the reasons why we're having these broader discussions,' Carney said at a news conference in Ottawa. Trump sent a letter to Carney threatening to impose 35 per cent tariffs if Canada doesn't make a trade deal by Friday. The White House has said those duties would not apply to goods compliant with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade, better known as CUSMA. The Canadian economy is also being slammed by Trump's Section 232 tariffs on steel, aluminum and automobiles. Trump on Wednesday signed executive orders for 50 per cent tariffs on semi-finished copper products starting Friday. The president, however, didn't include imports of the refined metal in his order, leaving many in the Canadian copper industry feeling relieved. In a separate order, Trump suspended de minimis exemptions — which had allowed packages worth $800 or less to ship to the United States to avoid tariffs. As part of his reasoning for the change, Trump cited the flow of fentanyl into the United States. Canadian Federation of Independent Business President and CEO Dan Kelly said suspending the de minimis exemption 'is bad news for many Canadian small businesses.' The federation's data shows about one-third of small Canadian exporters used the exemption to ship to U.S. consumers duty free, Kelly said in a post on social media. Pascal Chan, the vice president of strategic policy and supply chains at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said it adds 'another layer of uncertainty for Canadian businesses exporting to the U.S.,' particularly small- and medium-sized businesses. 'Any increase in compliance costs and delivery delays will only serve to compound the pressure on the cross-border supply chains that have long fuelled our shared economic prosperity,' Chan said in a statement. The latest trade changes comes as countries around the world are set to face staggering tariffs when Trump's deadline to make deals passes. Trump announced a deal with South Korea Wednesday which will see the country slapped with a 15 per cent tariff. The president said South Korea 'will give to the United States $350 Billion Dollars for Investments owned and controlled by the United States, and selected by myself, as President. In apost on social media Trump said South Korea will also 'purchase $100 Billion Dollars of LNG, or other Energy products.' In a separate post the president also said he 'concluded a Deal with the Country of Pakistan, whereby Pakistan and the United States will work together on developing their massive Oil Reserves' but Trump didn't provide details of a tariff rate. Frameworks of deals have previously been announced for the European Union, Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines and the United Kingdom — with all nations facing some level of baseline tariff. Not all the details of the deals are clear but Trump has said countries can 'buy down' the tariff rate and most agreements have come with announcements of billion-dollar investments. Trump on Wednesday also escalated his threats against Brazil — which will be hit a 50 per cent duty — and India — which will face a 25 per cent tariff, plus an additional import tax because of India purchases Russian oil. Trump has been dismissive of conversations with Canada, saying it is not a priority for his administration. The president said Wednesday that America's northern neighbour is a high-tariff nation, misrepresenting Canadian duties for agriculture imports. 'They've been charging our farmers 200 per cent, 300 per cent, 400 per cent for years and nobody did anything about it,' Trump told reporters. Carney met virtually with his cabinet earlier Wednesday for a meeting focused largely on the situation in the Middle East. Carney said Canada is seeking the best deal for Canadians and that negotiations will continue until that is achieved. He said Dominic LeBlanc, the minister responsible for Canada-U.S. trade, will remain in Washington with senior officials 'in pursuit of that goal.' With files from Catherine Morrison This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 30, 2025 Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press
CBC
2 hours ago
- CBC
B.C. developer applauds feds' housing plans — but says more can be done
Michael Audain, the chairman of B.C.-based Polygon Homes, says he's generally supportive of federal Housing Minister Gregor Robertson's plans to speed up housing construction. However, the prominent developer says the federal government should relax rules on foreign homebuyers and the cap on foreign student numbers in order to spur the property market.
CTV News
2 hours ago
- CTV News
Province to appeal after Ontario court finds bike lane removal law unconstitutional
Arda Zakarian has the details after Ontario's Superior Court of Justice struck down the Ford government's attempt to remove bike lanes in parts of Toronto. The Ontario government says it will appeal a court decision that found a new law to remove three Toronto bike lanes unconstitutional, after a judge ruled the lane removals would put people at an 'increased risk of harm and death.' Ontario Superior Court Justice Paul Schabas found the province's plan to remove bike lanes along Bloor Street, Yonge Street and University Avenue violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The challenge was brought by the advocacy group Cycle Toronto and two individual cyclists — a university student who relies on the Bloor Street bike lane to get to school and a bike delivery driver who uses the lanes daily. They asked the court to strike down parts of the law that empowered the province to remove 19 kilometres of protected bike lanes on the three roads. 'The applicants have established that removal of the target bike lanes will put people at increased risk of harm and death which engages the right to life and security of the person,' Schabas wrote in his decision. 'The evidence is clear that restoring a lane of motor vehicle traffic, where it will involve the removal of the protected, or separated, nature of the target bike lanes, will create greater risk to cyclists and to other users of the roads.' Dakota Brasier, a transportation ministry spokesperson, said the province plans to appeal the ruling. 'We were elected by the people of Ontario with a clear mandate to restore lanes of traffic and get drivers moving by moving bike lanes off of major roads to secondary roads,' Brasier said in an email. 'To deliver on that mandate, we will be appealing the court's decision.' Six cyclists were killed in Toronto last year, all on roads that did not have protected bike lanes, court heard. As part of the same law, Ontario inked in a requirement that municipalities get provincial approval if they want to remove a lane of vehicle traffic in order to install a bicycle lane. Michael Longfield, executive director of Cycle Toronto, called the judge's ruling 'a full win.' 'We won on the facts and on the law. The court accepted our argument that the government's actions increased the risk of harm to Ontarians, and that doing so without justification breaches our most basic constitutional rights,' Longfield said in a statement. Ford has blamed the Bloor Street, Yonge Street and University Avenue bike lanes for contributing to increased traffic in Toronto and vowed to get the city moving again. He also made removing the bike lanes a campaign issue during the snap election he called and won in February. Ford and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow had been negotiating a compromise for months, with the mayor conveying that she believed there was a solution that would keep the bike lanes and add an extra lane of traffic in each direction on the three roads. A spokesperson for Chow said Wednesday the city is reviewing the court decision and the impact on its discussions with the province. 'Mayor Chow maintains that the City of Toronto and its elected council should be the ones making decisions about municipal infrastructure,' press secretary Zeus Eden said in an emailed statement, noting the city is working to reduce congestion by hiring more traffic agents, speeding up construction and improving public transit. The provincial government had argued before the court that cycling is a choice, and risk is assumed voluntarily by cyclists while there are alternative forms of transit available, Schabas wrote, concluding that submission 'has no merit.' 'The evidence establishes that cycling in Toronto is often driven by reasons of reliability and affordability. For many, such as couriers, their livelihood depends on using bicycles,' Schabas wrote. Schabas also noted that the government had received advice from experts, reports from Toronto officials and evidence from the city and elsewhere that removing bike lanes 'will not achieve the asserted goal' of the law to reduce traffic. 'The evidence shows that restoring lanes for cars will not result in less congestion, as it will induce more people to use cars and therefore any reduction in driving time will be shortlived, if at all, and will lead to more congestion,' Schabas wrote. 'This makes the law arbitrary.' The judge also noted that expert evidence provided by the government did not address whether restoring a vehicle lane will alleviate congestion. 'The evidence presented by the respondent consists of weak anecdotal evidence and expert opinion which is unsupported, unpersuasive and contrary to the consensus view of experts, including the expert evidence, data and studies presented by the applicants,' he wrote. Schabas previously ordered an injunction to keep the government's hands off the bike lanes until he rendered a decision. By Liam Casey and Rianna Lim This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 30, 2025.
