Opinion: Visitors to Jasper can be part of renewal in real time
When the 2024 forest fires reached the town of Jasper, almost exactly a year ago, the impacts were felt deeply. Not just across the landscape, but in the lives of the community members and Canadians across the country.
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What made these fires different from others in the area was that they reached the townsite, directly impacting homes, businesses, and critical infrastructure. For many community members, the loss was total.
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I remember the anxiety that came with it, not just from the fires, but from the weight of the unknown. Like so many others, I was worried for our team and the people who make this town feel like home. We didn't know what the next day would bring, but what I saw was neighbours checking in on each other, businesses stepping up, and a community choosing to show up through the uncertainty.
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Forest fires are a natural part of ecological cycles, necessary for instigating regeneration — a process that Indigenous peoples have long used through prescribed
burns. This fire wasn't planned, nor welcome, but it sparked reflection. While the impact was significant, it also revealed something unexpected: a new lens through which to experience Jasper.
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Jasper is a tourism town. The economy is built by people who care deeply about where they live and what they do. It's the guides, the small business owners, the
chefs, the hotel staff — folks who have built a life here sharing the beauty of this place with the world. When the fires passed and recovery efforts began, local leaders, non-profit organizations, and businesses came together to ask: How can we ensure that Jasper doesn't just rebuild, but thrives long into the future?
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That question sparked the launch of the Jasper Tourism Recovery and Prosperity Fund, a three-year, $5.5-million commitment to support both the immediate needs and long-term community well-being. Pursuit, Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, Rocky Mountaineer, Jasper Brewing Co. and Maligne Range Distilling came together to establish this fund, driven by a love for this place and united through tourism. It is independently managed by the Jasper Community Team Society to ensure resources go where they are needed most.
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It was a meaningful step, but for me, it was also personal. As a fellow mountain town resident and part of the broader tourism industry, I saw firsthand the importance of a community-led approach.
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In times of crisis, it's easy for businesses to speak. But leadership begins with listening and acting with humility and care. These aren't transactional relationships. They are the ones built over time and ultimately strengthened in moments like these.
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Vancouver Sun
an hour ago
- Vancouver Sun
Canada's trade talks with U.S. in 'intense phase' after European Union makes deal ahead of deadline
WASHINGTON — Prime Minister Mark Carney said Monday that Canada's negotiations with the United States are in an 'intense phase' after President Donald Trump achieved a critical agreement with the European Union days away from his tariff deadline. The prime minister's comments come after Trump last week told reporters that Canada wasn't a priority ahead of his Aug. 1 deadline to make trade deals. 'There are many aspects to these negotiations,' Carney said in P.E.I. 'We are engaged in them but the assurance for Canadian business, for Canadians, is we will only sign a deal that's the right deal, that's a good deal for Canada.' Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. The EU framework announced Sunday gave Trump a much-needed win as he looks to realign global trade — and it indicates that no nations are likely to get a reprieve from his tariffs. It sets a 15 per cent tariff on most goods, including European automobiles. Trump said 50 per cent tariffs will remain on steel and aluminum. Other details of the deal remain unclear, including its effects on measures the U.S. considers trade irritants, such as Europe's digital services taxes and non-tariff barriers. Trump said the EU had agreed to buy US$750 billion worth of U.S. energy and invest an additional US$600 billion in the United States. The president recently said that countries will have to 'buy down' the threatened tariff rate. Baseline tariffs were also a part of trade deal frameworks previously announced for Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines and the United Kingdom. Countries around the world have been watching to see how many trade deals materialize before the deadline, and what can be gleaned from them for their own negotiations with the Trump administration. Christopher Sands, director of Johns Hopkins University's Center for Canadian Studies, said the EU deal builds on Trump's negotiating style — he loses interest, suggests no deal will happen, insults the other side and 'then at the 11th hour something comes through.' 'I know there's been a lot of negativity around a Canada security and economic agreement but it doesn't necessarily mean that we are doomed,' Sands said. 'It may be that we are close and we have a surprise deal.' 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. Carney and other Canadian officials have been downplaying expectations that a deal will be made by Friday. Most of the goods Canada sends to the U.S. are CUSMA-compliant and won't be affected by the 35 per cent duties. The Canadian economy is still being slammed by Trump's Section 232 tariffs on steel, aluminum and automobiles, and will be hit by copper tariffs the president has said will take effect by the week's end. So far, Trump's trade deals 'are really bad omens for Canada,' said William Pellerin, a trade lawyer and partner at the firm McMillan LLP. '(It shows) that the tariffs, particularly the sectoral tariffs, are stickier than we would have thought,' Pellerin said. 'If none of those countries were able to secure a drop in the sectoral tariffs, that is certainly bad news.' Those Section 232 duties are a key target for Canadian negotiators and Pellerin said it's unlikely any deal will be struck by Ottawa if they remain at their current levels. While there are similarities between the Canada-U.S. negotiations and those involving Europe, Carney said there are also many differences. While Europe is looking to end its reliance on Russian energy, Carney said Canada is a reliable supplier of energy to the United States. The prime minister said negotiations remain complex but 'there is a landing zone that's possible.' 'But we have to get there,' he said. The EU agreement also averts significant retaliatory duties from a major United States customer — meaning that if Canada can't reach a deal with Washington, it would be more isolated if it attempts to retaliate against the U.S. Canada and China have implemented retaliatory tariffs in response to Trump's trade war but, to allow talks to continue, Ottawa didn't move forward with additional duties. Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Monday he supports a dollar-for-dollar tariff response, particularly to Trump's treatment of Canada's steel and aluminum industry. 'I'm confident with Prime Minister Carney, I know he's going to do his very best to get a deal,' Ford said. 'But I don't trust President Trump.' B.C. Premier David Eby said Canada is in a 'different position' than the European Union or Japan, given the deeply integrated nature of North American supply chains. 'We are a reliable partner, we are a good partner, but we also won't get kicked around,' he said. Sands said Carney's recent move to limit imports of foreign steel into Canada will help shore up the domestic market during the tariff tumult while also avoiding the ire of the Trump administration. The prime minister recognizes you can engage in retaliation, Sands said, but 'it doesn't bring you much joy.' He said there are other actions, such as import quotas, that would better protect Canadian markets. — With files from Liam Casey in Toronto and Wolfgang Depner in Victoria Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
Toronto Sun
3 hours ago
- Toronto Sun
Carney says trade talks in 'intense phase' after Trump scores win with EU
Trump last week told reporters that Canada wasn't a priority ahead of his Aug. 1 deadline to make trade deals Published Jul 28, 2025 • 4 minute read Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks during a July 28, 2025 press conference in P.E.I. Photo by Colin MacLean / Postmedia WASHINGTON — Prime Minister Mark Carney said Monday that Canada's negotiations with the United States are in an 'intense phase' after President Donald Trump achieved a critical agreement with the European Union days away from his tariff deadline. 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 prime minister's comments come after Trump last week told reporters that Canada wasn't a priority ahead of his Aug. 1 deadline to make trade deals. 'There are many aspects to these negotiations,' Carney said in P.E.I. 'We are engaged in them but the assurance for Canadian business, for Canadians, is we will only sign a deal that's the right deal, that's a good deal for Canada.' The EU framework announced Sunday gave Trump a much-needed win as he looks to realign global trade — and it indicates that no nations are likely to get a reprieve from his tariffs. It sets a 15 per cent tariff on most goods, including European automobiles. Trump said 50 per cent tariffs will remain on steel and aluminum. Other details of the deal remain unclear, including its effects on measures the U.S. considers trade irritants, such as Europe's digital services taxes and non-tariff barriers. 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. Trump said the EU had agreed to buy US$750 billion worth of U.S. energy and invest an additional US$600 billion in the United States. The president recently said that countries will have to 'buy down' the threatened tariff rate. Baseline tariffs were also a part of trade deal frameworks previously announced for Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines and the United Kingdom. Countries around the world have been watching to see how many trade deals materialize before the deadline, and what can be gleaned from them for their own negotiations with the Trump administration. Christopher Sands, director of Johns Hopkins University's Center for Canadian Studies, said the EU deal builds on Trump's negotiating style — he loses interest, suggests no deal will happen, insults the other side and 'then at the 11th hour something comes through.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'I know there's been a lot of negativity around a Canada security and economic agreement but it doesn't necessarily mean that we are doomed,' Sands said. 'It may be that we are close and we have a surprise deal.' 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. Carney and other Canadian officials have been downplaying expectations that a deal will be made by Friday. Most of the goods Canada sends to the U.S. are CUSMA-compliant and won't be affected by the 35 per cent duties. The Canadian economy is still being slammed by Trump's Section 232 tariffs on steel, aluminum and automobiles, and will be hit by copper tariffs the president has said will take effect by the week's end. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. So far, Trump's trade deals 'are really bad omens for Canada,' said William Pellerin, a trade lawyer and partner at the firm McMillan LLP. '(It shows) that the tariffs, particularly the sectoral tariffs, are stickier than we would have thought,' Pellerin said. 'If none of those countries were able to secure a drop in the sectoral tariffs, that is certainly bad news.' Those Section 232 duties are a key target for Canadian negotiators and Pellerin said it's unlikely any deal will be struck by Ottawa if they remain at their current levels. While there are similarities between the Canada-U.S. negotiations and those involving Europe, Carney said there are also many differences. While Europe is looking to end its reliance on Russian energy, Carney said Canada is a reliable supplier of energy to the United States. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The prime minister said negotiations remain complex but 'there is a landing zone that's possible.' 'But we have to get there,' he said. The EU agreement also averts significant retaliatory duties from a major United States customer — meaning that if Canada can't reach a deal with Washington, it would be more isolated if it attempts to retaliate against the U.S. Canada and China have implemented retaliatory tariffs in response to Trump's trade war but, to allow talks to continue, Ottawa didn't move forward with additional duties. Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Monday he supports a dollar-for-dollar tariff response, particularly to Trump's treatment of Canada's steel and aluminum industry. 'I'm confident with Prime Minister Carney, I know he's going to do his very best to get a deal,' Ford said. 'But I don't trust President Trump.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. B.C. Premier David Eby said Canada is in a 'different position' than the European Union or Japan, given the deeply integrated nature of North American supply chains. 'We are a reliable partner, we are a good partner, but we also won't get kicked around,' he said. Sands said Carney's recent move to limit imports of foreign steel into Canada will help shore up the domestic market during the tariff tumult while also avoiding the ire of the Trump administration. The prime minister recognizes you can engage in retaliation, Sands said, but 'it doesn't bring you much joy.' He said there are other actions, such as import quotas, that would better protect Canadian markets. MLB Toronto & GTA Golf World Celebrity
Toronto Sun
3 hours ago
- Toronto Sun
EDITORIAL: PM's view on good trade deal changed
U.S. President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney hold a bilateral meeting during the G7 Leaders' Summit on June 16, 2025 in Kananaskis, Alberta. Photo by Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images We agree with Prime Minister Mark Carney that no deal with the U.S. on trade is better than a bad one, but the problem is Canadians have no idea about what he thinks a good deal is. 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 We do know that his definition of a good deal has changed over time. Carney's original position was that a good deal for Canada — the one he was aiming for — was an agreement which eliminated all U.S. tariffs announced by U.S. President Donald Trump. But that's no longer the case. Carney said earlier this month such a deal was unlikely, given that all of Trump's trade agreements to date with the U.K., Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines and now the European Union, which was announced on Sunday, contain baseline tariffs. Responding to the announcement of Trump's deal with the EU on Monday, Carney repeated his position that: 'The assurance for Canadian business, for Canadians, is we will only sign a deal that's the right deal, that's a good deal for Canada.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. He described Canada's ongoing negotiations with the U.S. as complex and at an 'intense phase,' given Trump's threat to impose a 35% tariff on Canadian imports not compliant with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) on Friday, if no deal is reached by then. Trump agreed to CUSMA during his first term as president describing it at the time as the 'the best (trade) agreement we've ever made.' While most Canadian imports to the U.S. are CUSMA-compliant, the bigger concern for us is the separate sectoral tariffs Trump is imposing on Canadian steel, aluminum, automobiles, and copper. On the possibility of a settlement resolving all these issues, Carney said, 'there is a landing zone that's possible, but we have to get there.' If no agreement is reached, Carney will then have to decide whether to impose more counter-tariffs on the U.S. than he already has, keeping in mind that counter-tariffs are paid by Canadian consumers in higher prices for U.S. goods imported into Canada. During the federal election, Carney's campaign platform estimated these counter-tariffs would increase federal government revenue by $20 billion this fiscal year, money he promised to invest in industries and workers hardest hit by Trump's tariffs. MLB Toronto & GTA Golf World Celebrity
