
Inside Pearson airport as Air Canada prepares to ground flights while strike looms
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Ottawa Citizen
25 minutes ago
- Ottawa Citizen
Travel chaos starts for passengers impacted by Air Canada labour dispute
A Kingston man is demanding a full refund and additional compensation from Air Canada after hastily making alternate travel plans for the 'trip of a lifetime' to New Zealand and Australia. Article content Jeff Downie said he was notified two days before his scheduled flight on Aug. 15 that his departure was 'at risk of cancellation.' Article content Article content He received no further updates or confirmation by Friday morning with his flight still supposedly scheduled to depart at 6 p.m. for Vancouver, where he was to catch a connecting flight to Sydney, Australia. Article content Article content Amid the uncertainty and the numerous flight cancellations that caused chaos at airports across the country, Downie decided to cancel his Air Canada ticket and scrambled to make alternate arrangements through the United States. Article content Article content 'Air Canada cancelled the same long-haul flight (on Thursday) that I booked for Friday,' Downie said in a phone interview during his Newark stopover. Article content 'I don't know what they're waiting for, and not offering any option. That's the real piss-off,' he said. 'Two days ago, they could have told us to go online, get a refund and go figure out alternative transportation. It still would have been frustrating because I booked this ticket eight months ago at a significant discount, and now I'm paying same-day rates. Article content Article content 'We figured it out, but we're paying a premium.' Article content Downie said he had been among the many Canadians choosing not to cross the U.S. border amid the tariff and trade war. Article content 'I was happy to stay in Canada, happy to spend my money in Canada, but they're making it impossible for people,' he said. Article content 'I get the labour disruption, I get the challenge for (Air Canada). But to hold people's money is the big issue — to limit people's options and then have no communication, still, hours before the flight,' he said. Article content 'All the other flights are long gone. Those flights (with other carriers) are competitively filling up because everybody's trying to make alternate plans.'


National Post
25 minutes ago
- National Post
Canadians' view of leadership in Washington plunges: Gallup poll
In the wake of a stormy stretch in Canada-U.S. relations, the Canadian view of American leadership has plummeted. Article content Gallup's latest survey of Canadian opinion, conducted in May and June, found approval of Washington slipping to 15 per cent, statistically in line with sentiment when Donald Trump was president the first time. Article content Article content Canadian opinion of leaders in Washington has fluctuated over time, showing a clear connection with who is sitting in the White House. For example, Canadian approval of American leadership averaged 61 per cent under Barack Obama, compared with 19 per cent in Trump's first term and 41 per cent under Joe Biden. Article content Aside from an uptick in 2021, only a minority of Canadians have approved of Washington since 2017. Article content Article content The latest downturn comes in the midst of diplomatic and trade tensions. Since returning to the White House, Trump has introduced high tariffs and continued with rhetoric suggesting Canada should become the '51st state.' Article content Gallup asked about four global powers during it recent World Poll. Germany's leadership received the most positive ratings from Canadians. A slim majority of Canadians (54 per cent) approve of Berlin. Article content Canadians have a higher approval rating for Beijing than they do for Washington. It sits at 23 per cent, up eight points from last year's poll. Article content Otherwise, the 79 per cent of Canadians who disapprove of U.S. leadership is statistically close to the 82 per cent who disapprove of Russia's. Article content Meanwhile, Canadians' view of their own leadership has improved considerably, rising 19 points from last year to 59 per cent now. The increase followed Mark Carney replacing Justin Trudeau as Liberal party leader and prime minister in March and his election victory in April. Article content Article content Approval of Trudeau fell from 64 per cent in 2016 — his first full year in office — to a low of 40 per cent in 2024. Article content Article content However, Canadians are gloomy about the state of the economy. Their optimism dropped to a new low in 2025, with 27 per cent saying their local economy is getting better, compared to 63 per cent who think it's getting worse. Article content The share of Canadians who say it's a good time to find a new job has fallen sharply down from 74 per cent in 2022 to 32 per cent in 2025. This is the lowest level of job optimism since the COVID-19 pandemic started in 2020 and the 2009 financial crisis. Article content The housing affordability crisis also remains widespread in Canada. One in four adults are satisfied with the availability of good, affordable housing, compared with 72 per cent who are dissatisfied. Article content Weak economic sentiment poses a test for Carney, says the folks at Gallup. 'Sustaining public support may depend on whether his administration can reverse declining optimism and navigate a complicated relationship with Washington.' Article content

National Post
25 minutes ago
- National Post
RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust Announces August 2025 Distribution
Article content TORONTO — RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust ('RioCan') (TSX: today announced a distribution of 9.65 cents per unit for the month of August. The distribution will be payable on September 8, 2025, to unitholders of record as at August 29, 2025. Article content About RioCan Article content Article content RioCan meets the everyday shopping needs of Canadians through the ownership, management and development of necessity-based and mixed-use properties in densely populated communities. As at June 30, 2025, our portfolio is comprised of 178 properties with an aggregate net leasable area of approximately 32 million square feet (at RioCan's interest). To learn more about us, please visit Article content Article content Article content