Good morning. Industry Minister Mélanie Joly specified what penalties Cleveland-Cliffs may face if the U.S. steelmaker follows through with layoffs in Ontario. More on that below, along with Atlantic Canada’s foreign-student shortfall and Joni Mitchell’s American citizenship.
Industry Minister Mélanie Joly participates in a fireside chat at The Globe and Mail's defence summit in Ottawa on Wednesday.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
TOP STORIES
Joly details potential penalties for Stelco layoffs
U.S. steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs could be forced to divest assets or face other penalties if it proceeds with layoffs at plants in Canada, Industry Minister Mélanie Joly warned. Cleveland-Cliffs owns Stelco, which announced last month that it was laying off up to 500 workers in Hamilton and Nanticoke, Ont., because it couldn’t compete in the galvanized steel market as a result of the trade war.
The details: Joly expects Cliffs to uphold the commitments it made when it acquired Stelco in 2024, she told reporters in Ottawa. Conditions imposed by the federal government include maintaining at least the same number of unionized employees in Canada for five years.
Separately: Joly also rejected U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra’s accusation that Canada might be interfering in the midterm elections, including by using retaliatory tariffs to affect “politically sensitive states.” Chiming in at a different event, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said the Canada-U.S. relationship has “changed permanently” and predicted U.S. President Donald Trump could lose control of Congress next month.
Later: Trump reiterated his claim that Canada will end up becoming the 51st U.S. state, “because that’s the only way it works,” at a campaign rally in Arizona.
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James Maclennan/The Canadian Press
Police link kidnapping to alleged theft of military ammo
Toronto police seized more than 2,500 rounds of ammunition allegedly stolen from the Canadian Armed Forces as part of an investigation into the abduction of the owner of a cryptocurrency exchange. The police probe has led to the arrests of seven people, including three military members.
The takeaways: What started as a kidnapping investigation evolved into something “much larger” as the force uncovered firearms, ammunition and illicit drugs, police chief Myron Demkiw said. The Department of National Defence says it is investigating the matter and is working to improve oversight of ammunition holdings.
People converse on the steps of Rivers Reach, a supportive housing project in Maple Ridge, B.C., this summer.Jennifer Gauthier/The Globe and Mail
Contentious housing site wins over Maple Ridge
Disputes over homelessness strategies have led to the cancellation of supportive-housing projects around B.C., and divided municipal politicians who are running for election Saturday. But in the city of Maple Ridge, apprehensive neighbours now champion a 52-unit residence that provides health care and skills-building programs, the latest story in the Local Matters series finds.
The significance: The experience in Maple Ridge shows how local leadership can help overcome entrenched opposition to supportive housing – particularly as the BC NDP, which seeks re-election on Oct. 24, signals it would rather direct limited funding to communities that welcome the sites.
Cuts to Starlink services alarm Ukraine
Ukraine resumed attacks on Russian refineries a day after accusing Elon Musk’s SpaceX of restricting Starlink services, hampering its air defences, as Russian missiles knocked out power stations in Kyiv and Kharkiv, the country’s most populous cities.
The background: Kyiv’s relationship with Washington has taken a sharp turn for the worse since the U.S. President abruptly lifted sanctions on Russian diesel. Musk is an ally of Trump, and the suggestion that his company might limit Ukrainian capabilities reinforced concerns that the U.S. could withhold battlefield support to compel concessions.
Opinion: Attacked by a larger aggressor, Ukraine now has to defend itself against pressure from its most powerful backer, Michael Bociurkiw writes.
The Take
She was a dynamo, a woman on horseback. There were the 10 years in top cabinet posts – as international trade minister, foreign minister, finance minister, deputy prime minister. But more than that: How many can say, as she could, that they stared down a President and took down a Prime Minister – her own. And for the better.
Chrystia Freeland recounts her political triumphs in a candid, smart, weakly titled memoir, Unreliable Boyfriend, public affairs columnist Lawrence Martin writes.
The Shot
People walk and ride bicycles on a busy street in downtown Asmara, the capital of Eritrea, whose waters provide a safe corridor for maritime trade.Monicah Mwangi/Reuters
Long secluded from the West, Eritrea has acquired new geopolitical significance because of its vast coastline along the Red Sea shipping route – a critical alternative to the war-ridden Strait of Hormuz.
The Wrap
What else we’re following
At home: Foreign-student enrolment at universities in Atlantic Canada has declined by nearly 48 per cent since 2024, more of a drop than the federal government intended when it began to curb study permits.
Abroad: A U.S. banking regulator accused TD, BMO and other lenders of discriminating against customers over their political views, in response to Trump’s call last year for the practice to be investigated.
Politics: Canadian foreign-policy and trade experts urged Prime Minister Mark Carney and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to launch a charter of shared principles for middle powers at their coming summit in Montreal.
Tech: An Israeli spyware company hacked into the devices of journalists through infected online ads that didn’t need to be clicked on to take effect, the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab has revealed.
Main act: Canada no longer has exclusive rights to Joni Mitchell, a new American citizen, and that shouldn’t bother us, Brad Wheeler writes.
Commercial break: An advocacy group led by a former Olympian wants Ottawa to ban all ads for online gambling as more evidence links the expansion of the regulated industry to public-health harms.
In memoriam: The Canadian health journalist Helen Branswell, who was praised for standout coverage of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases, has died at 69.