Canadian campers going 'elbows up' this summer amid U.S. trade war
EDMONTON — Some outdoorsy Canadians are planning to build their tents with elbows up this summer as the season unofficially kicks off this long weekend.
Sally Turner says she and her husband plan to do their camping, canoeing and biking this year in Canadian national parks, including at Jasper National Park this weekend, because of the U.S. trade war and U.S. President Donald Trump's calls to make Canada a 51st state.
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21 minutes ago
Poilievre calls on Canada to designate Bishnoi gang a terrorist group
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has added his voice to the list of politicians calling on the federal government to declare a gang based in India a terrorist organization in Canada. Speaking in Surrey, B.C., on Wednesday, where police say they've received 10 extortion reports in six months, Poilievre asked for the Lawrence Bishnoi gang to be added to Canada's list of terrorist organizations. There's evidence now that their violence is linked to terror and to political motivations, Poilievre said. Police in B.C. have said members of the province's South Asian community are being extorted for cash under threat of death or violence, and the Lawrence Bishnoi gang has been linked to some of those threats. For example, a Surrey businessman has received threats demanding $2 million (new window) while businesses he's associated with have been targets of gunfire three times. The Bishnoi gang is also tied to cases of extortion and targeted shootings in Ontario's Peel Region, Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown previously said. WATCH | Bishnoi gang has 'terrorized communities,' Poilievre says: Poilievre said designating the Bishnoi gang a terrorist entity will give police greater authority to crack down on the group's activities. Law enforcement has spoken out about the organized chaos and violence this group has done in our country, and that is why mayors across the country, premiers have also said … this organization should be put on the list of banned terrorist entities, he said. Other political leaders calling for the terrorism label include Brown, B.C. Premier David Eby and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. The Conservatives asked for the designation last week, but Wednesday was the first time Poilievre has addressed the matter publicly. There can be serious criminal and financial consequences to any group labelled a terrorist entity. Banks can freeze assets and police can charge anyone who financially or materially supports such a group. Enlarge image (new window) Police officers escort Lawrence Bishnoi, right, inside a courthouse in New Delhi, India, on April 18, 2023. Photo: (Rahul Singh/ANI/Handout via Reuters) Simon Lafortune, press secretary for the public safety minister, didn't say if the Bishnoi gang is being considered for inclusion on the terrorist list, explaining the government's "national security experts independently evaluate and provide recommendations on whether any entity meets the thresholds set out in the Criminal Code. That process is rigorous and ongoing, and all potential threats are continually assessed to ensure we are keeping Canadians safe, he added. The federal government has taken similar action against seven criminal organizations including cartels and street gangs involved in fentanyl trafficking (new window) . Among them are the Jalisco New Generation and Sinaloa cartels, two of Mexico's largest and most powerful organized crime groups. Canadian police sources have told CBC News (new window) the Bishnoi gang is one of a number of criminal enterprises in northern India that have spread into North America in recent years. The group's founder, 32-year-old Lawrence Bishnoi, has been in Indian prisons since 2014, but his network is wide and vast to this day, Poilievre said Wednesday. His organization takes orders from him and carry out extortions and other crimes around the world, the Conservative leader said. Indian media outlets have described extortion as one of the gang's biggest sources of income, at home and abroad. Wednesday's news conference was Poilievre's first media availability since winning a byelection Monday in the rural Alberta riding of Battle River-Crowfoot. He used his stop in Surrey to condemn the Liberals' response to crime. Poilievre supports mandatory jail time for people found guilty of extortion. He also wants the government to repeal Bill C-5 (new window) , which expanded the availability of conditional sentences (new window) , allowing some convicted criminals to serve time under house arrest, and Bill C-75 (new window) , which requires judges to release some people charged with a crime while on bail at the "earliest reasonable opportunity (new window) and with the least onerous conditions."
Winnipeg Free Press
21 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Parliament should have discussed recognition of Palestinian state, open letter says
OTTAWA – An open letter signed by dozens of community and business leaders says the Liberal government should not have decided to recognize a Palestinian state without debating the issue in Parliament. The letter from B'nai Brith Canada, whose signatories include former MP Rona Ambrose and CTV host Ben Mulroney, says it is 'an affront to our democracy' that the government made such a significant change to its foreign policy while Parliament was not sitting. In July, Carney said Canada intends to recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly in September, as long as the Palestinian Authority holds elections next year, without any involvement by Hamas. The letter to Carney today says Canada should 'continue to play a leading role' in supporting efforts to eventually recognize Palestinian statehood, but that such a move should not happen until there is a stable Palestinian government in place. A spokesperson for the Prime Minister's Office declined to comment on the letter. Before Carney's announcement in July, dozens of former senior Canadian diplomats published a letter calling for Canada to recognize a Palestinian state. Pro-Palestinian groups expressed tepid support for Carney's announcement, arguing Palestine recognition was overdue but that Canada's caveats around Palestine needing to be demilitarized were inappropriate. — With files from Dylan Robertson This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 29, 2025.
Montreal Gazette
36 minutes ago
- Montreal Gazette
Carney visits Montreal to talk housing, tariffs with Plante — in French
In his first meeting with the head of a Canadian metropolis since he took office in March, Prime Minister Mark Carney met with Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante Wednesday. After posing for pictures on a red carpet rolled out on the steps of Montreal's ornate city hall, the two engaged in a 30-minute closed-door meeting to discuss housing, public transit and combatting tariffs. The conversation took place entirely in French with the fluently bilingual Plante. The mayor said she took it as a positive sign for both Montreal and Quebec that Canada's new leader chose her city for his first visit, and that he opted to converse in the official language of the province. 'I'm very honoured that (his first meeting with a mayor) took place in Montreal,' Plante said in a news conference after the meeting. Carney, who was travelling to Quebec City in the afternoon to meet Premier François Legault, did not speak with journalists. 'What came out essentially is that the priorities of the federal government are largely the same as those I have always defended as mayor, with the question of housing being extremely important.' During the meeting, the federal government issued a statement pledging $84 million to go toward Montreal's infrastructure needs, be it for housing, public transit, sewage or other maintenance. Plante said she appreciated that Carney left the question of how the money will be spent up to Montreal, as the city has numerous developments in the works. Plante said Carney expressed support and interest in Montreal's plans to increase the percentage of its housing stock that is social, affordable or off-market housing to 20 per cent, from its current seven per cent. Roughly four per cent of Canada's total housing stock is composed of affordable housing. Plante said her main priority for the federal government was infrastructure support for large-scale housing developments planned for the Montreal area. They include the Bridge-Bonaventure project bordering the St. Lawrence River in the Sud-Ouest borough, where Plante has pledged 13,500 housing units in tall residential towers, with 40 per cent composed of affordable or social housing units. Another is the Namur-Hippodrome redevelopment project, where the city plans to build 20,000 housing units on the 75-hectare former site of the Blue Bonnets racetrack. The latter site will require an estimated $1.4 billion in urban infrastructure, such as water pipes, sewers, roads and sidewalks, before housing development can begin. Carney arrived just after 1 p.m., pulling to the front of city hall in a cortege of black fortified SUVs. Plante was at the bottom of the stairs to greet him. Dozens of spectators gathered across the street to get a glimpse of the prime minister and mayor. Among them were a handful of protesters demonstrating against the war in Gaza, one bearing a Palestinian flag. In addition to his visit with the mayor, Carney was in Montreal for a series of economic meetings, including a roundtable discussion on artificial intelligence and innovation and to meet with business leaders. On Monday, Carney met with Ontario Premier Doug Ford in Ottawa to talk about tariffs imposed by the United States. The two leaders emphasized Canada's global competitiveness rather than the conclusion of a trade agreement with the U.S. Plante noted Wednesday's meeting with Carney marked the first time a head of state had visited Montreal's city hall since the completion last year of renovations that took five years and cost $211 million. It was fitting Canada's leader was the first, she said. She described the meeting of the two as very amicable, and said she hoped to meet with him again before her tenure as mayor ends in November. 'He was very nice,' Plante said. 'It was really easy to talk to him. He knew about the projects in Montreal, so I felt like he was conscious and aware, and he wanted to do the meeting in French, which I do appreciate. 'If I get the chance to meet him again before I leave, I would be very happy. 'I would go for a beer with him, you know. He's nice like that.' This story was originally published August 20, 2025 at 4:30 PM.
