Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
Scheer predicts Conservatives will ‘win big,’ plus more from the campaign trail
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer says he thinks his party will “win big” Monday, despite recent polls that show a virtual tie for the lead as the campaign enters the final days.
National poll numbers from Nanos Research show the Conservatives and Liberals are at 33 per cent and 32 per cent, respectively, but the low numbers suggest neither party has enough support to win the 170 seats required to form a majority government.
What happens next: If no party clinches a majority, the day after the election Justin Trudeau would still be prime minister and remain in power. Read more about what you need to know about a potential minority government in Canada in our explainer here.
Opinion: “Given the many potential resolutions, and the unpopularity of the coalition option, why are parties even musing about such a possibility? It’s all just noise and gamesmanship.” - Lori Turnbull, director of the school of public administration at Dalhousie University.
And author Margaret Atwood offers her counsel: “Vote for the party that knows there really is a climate crisis, that has even a semi-viable plan, and that might actually win in your riding.”
Catch up: Here’s your access to The Globe’s library of leader profiles: the Liberals’ Justin Trudeau, the Conservative’s Andrew Scheer, the NDP’s Jagmeet Singh and the Green Party’s Elizabeth May.
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Turkey agrees to a five-day ceasefire in northeast Syria, Pence says after talks with Erdogan
Turkey has agreed to a five-day ceasefire in northeast Syria to allow for withdrawal of Kurdish forces, U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence said today after talks with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.
The Turkish assault has created a new humanitarian crisis in Syria with 200,000 civilians taking flight, a security alert over thousands of Islamic State fighters abandoned in Kurdish jails, and a political maelstrom at home for U.S. President Donald Trump.
Trump has been accused of abandoning Kurdish-led fighters, Washington’s main partners in battling the Islamic State, by withdrawing troops from the border as Ankara launched its offensive on Oct. 9. Turkey’s operation has allowed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to send in his Russian-backed forces.
Parliament is the next hurdle after Britain and the EU reach a new Brexit deal
Now that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has reached a new Brexit deal with the European Union, he faces an opponent closer to home: his own Parliament.
Crucially, the Northern Irish party that supports Johnson’s minority government joined a chorus of party leaders who said they would vote against the deal, raising uncertainty of whether the pact for an orderly exit from the EU would get be ratified.
European leaders unanimously endorsed the proposal today, formally sending it to the British Parliament, which will consider it in a special session Saturday.
Read more: What’s in the new Brexit deal? Here’s a look at the key details.
Cannabis edibles are now legal. Here’s what you need to know
One year after Canada legalized the recreational use of marijuana, new rules are now in effect governing the production and sale of cannabis edibles, extracts and topicals such as lotions. Here is what you should know, including:
- It will take some time for products to appear on shelves. The earliest consumers should expect to see them is mid-December, Health Canada says.
- The THC content will be capped. The rules also restrict the use of ingredients that could make cannabis more appealing.
- There will be strict rules regarding packaging and marketing.
Separately, a joint venture between beer giant Molson Coors and pot producer Hexo says its portfolio of pot-based drinks set to hit the market later this year includes a CBD-infused spring water as well as beverages containing THC.
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Russia revokes Geneva Conventions protocol: Russian President Vladimir Putin has revoked an additional protocol to the Geneva Conventions related to the protection of victims of international armed conflicts, a Russian parliamentary website cites a letter from him as saying.
G7 summit to be held at Trump resort: The White House today said it has chosen President Donald Trump’s golf resort near Miami as the site for next year’s Group of Seven summit, a move that has been criticized by government ethics watchdogs.
Trial set for former St. Michael’s student: A former student at St. Michael’s College School in Toronto, who’s facing charges that include gang sexual assault and sexual assault with a weapon related to two alleged incidents last year, is scheduled to go to trial next March.
Southwest joins Air Canada in delaying 737 Max return: Southwest Airlines said today it is postponing the return of Boeing’s 737 Max jets to its flight schedule until Feb. 8, one day after Air Canada pushed back its target date to Feb. 14. The planes were grounded worldwide in March following two fatal crashes within five months.
MARKET WATCH
Wall Street stocks rose today as upbeat earnings from Netflix and Morgan Stanley affirmed a strong start to the U.S. reporting season. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 23.90 points to 27,025.88, the S&P 500 gained 8.26 points to end at 2,997.95 and the Nasdaq Composite added 32.67 points to close at 8,156.85.
Canada’s main stock index finished flat despite a jump by cannabis stocks as legalization of marijuana derivatives including edibles and beverages took effect. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index closed down 0.88 points at 16,426.30.
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TALKING POINTS
Why Jason Kenney is afraid of Greta Thunberg
“The facts are the facts. There is no middle ground here. There is literally nothing the Alberta government could tell this young woman that would assuage her fears.” - Gary Mason
When Trump vilifies news media, there are real-world consequences
“In this era of purposeful disinformation, Trump has relentlessly repeated the term 'fake news’ as a way to stoke public mistrust in the institutions exposing his many lies. So while he wasn’t involved in making a disturbing video shown to his supporters last week, he certainly inspired its creation.” - Denise Balkissoon
LIVING BETTER
It’s not too early to start planning for the weekend. If you’re considering a trip to the cinema, first check out our guide to the latest releases – including Parasite, Greener Grass and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil – to find out which is worth the money.
LONG READ FOR A LONG COMMUTE
Powerful U.S. Democratic Congressman Elijah Cummings dies at 68
Maryland Representative Elijah E. Cummings, a sharecropper’s son who rose to become a civil rights champion and the chairman of one of the U.S. House of Representatives committees leading an impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump, died today of complications from long-standing health problems. He was 68.
Cummings was a formidable orator who advocated for the poor in his black-majority district, which encompasses a large portion of Baltimore and more well-to-do suburbs.
He began his long push for civil rights at age 11, when he helped integrate a local swimming pool in Baltimore. This year, Cummings recalled how he and other black children who were barred from the pool organized protests with help from their recreation leader and the NAACP.
Every day for a week, when the children tried to get into the pool, they were spit upon, threatened and called names, Cummings said. He said he was cut by a bottle thrown from an angry crowd: “The experience transformed my entire life.” Read the full obituary here.
(Photo by Patrick Semansky/AP)Patrick Semansky/The Associated Press
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