Hello, welcome to Politics Insider. It’s Laura Stone, taking over for Ian Bailey this week. Let’s look at what happened today.
Well, here we go again.
Steve Chase reports today that U.S. President Donald Trump says he believes he can strike a trade agreement with Canada in the coming weeks – a prediction offered just before new import bans on select Canadian goods take effect on Tuesday.
This previously announced escalation of the U.S.-Canada trade war by Washington will bar some Canadian alcoholic beverages, motorcycles and other products starting at 12:01 a.m. on Sept. 29.
Mr. Trump, speaking to reporters in the White House today, said he’s betting Canadians will agree to what he called “a fair deal” in three to four weeks. “They’re going to come in, and they’re going to say, ‘Sir, we are sorry.’”
He spoke after unveiling plans for a massive steel plant in Iowa, a US$18-billion investment that would create more than 1,700 long-term jobs. Mr. Trump touted this as evidence that his protectionist trade policy is forcing manufacturing to relocate back to the United States.
The Canadian side kept its cool. Gabriel Brunet, spokesman for Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc, acknowledged the new bans and said Canada’s focus will be “on what we can control,” including economic growth inside this country and diversifying trade around the globe.
President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, in Washington.Alex Brandon/The Canadian Press
What else is going on
FBI offers $1-million for tips about gangster tied to Nijjar killing: The FBI is offering a US$1-million reward for information leading to the arrest of Satinderjeet Singh, an Indian gangster, for his alleged involvement in a rash of violent crimes, including the assassination of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Security experts call for inquiry into Havana Syndrome cases at Canada’s embassy in Cuba: Parliamentarians need to independently investigate whether Russia used sonic weaponry against Canadian diplomats in Cuba, former Canadian spies and high-level security officials say.
Report says Alberta’s response to COVID-19 outbreak at Cargill plant was ‘catastrophic failure’: Parkland Institute, a University of Alberta research centre, says its report is the first public, independent review of what became North America’s largest single-site outbreak during the pandemic.
Canada offers funding for Ukrainian children abducted by Russia: Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand says Canada is providing $863,000 to support civil society groups in Ukraine that help returned children and families.
On our radar
The House of Commons is on a break this week.
Quote of the Day
“Like I said, any time I can clip a coupon and get a return on investment, I’m there.” – Ontario Premier Doug Ford, speaking in Calgary today about his plan to foot part of the bill for a proposed pipeline that would carry crude from Alberta to Sarnia, Ont.
Question period
With The Globe reporting this week that two sources say Canadians were spying for U.S. in Cuba at the time of alleged sonic attacks, we ask, what year did the U.S. break off diplomatic relations with Cuba – and what year did they resume?
Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter for the answer.
Perspectives
Since the Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel and the start of the Gaza war nearly three years ago, Jews have come under threat in just about every corner of the world.
— Marcus Gee
Mark Carney’s long-term plans and Canadians’ immediate pain
As far as I can discern – because the Prime Minister tends not to explain or defend things he feels are self-evident and beyond questioning – Mr. Carney’s central economic plan for this country is to engineer a rising tide that will lift all boats.
— Shannon Proudfoot
The question isn’t whether we should slow down AI development. It’s whether we still can
It says a lot about the existential crisis we are now in that there are not one but several possible scenarios for human extinction currently vying for our attention.
— Andrew Coyne
Go deeper
- Follow along for our stories on Canada-U.S. relations as news develops
- Get the latest insight and analysis from our political opinion writers
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The answer to today’s question: In 2015, then-president Barack Obama re-established full diplomatic relations with Cuba. President Dwight Eisenhower had broken off diplomatic ties in 1961, after Fidel Castro’s demand that the U.S. reduce its embassy staff from 87 to 11 in just 48 hours.