Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
China expels Canadian diplomat, threatens further retaliation in election interference row
Hours after Canada expelled Chinese diplomat Zhao Wei for interfering in the country’s politics, Beijing has responded in kind, while threatening potential further retaliation in a dispute that has plunged relations to a new low.
The move won’t sway Ottawa, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa today. “We understand there is retaliation, but we will not be intimidated,” he said.
China’s Foreign Ministry said Jennifer Lynn Lalonde, a Shanghai-based diplomat, had been declared “persona non grata” and told to leave the country by May 13. It called the move a “reciprocal countermeasure” to Canada’s “unscrupulous” expulsion of Zhao.
CSIS has said the Chinese diplomat was involved in targeting Conservative MP Michael Chong and his family after he spearheaded a parliamentary motion that declared Beijing’s treatment of Uyghurs a genocide.
Opinion:
- Beijing is in Canada’s face, and that requires us to push back. But how? – Richard Fadden
- As diplomat is booted, the Liberals must get used to damaged relations with China – Campbell Clark
- Why did Canada take so long to expel China’s diplomat? It’s our trade relationship – Margaret McCuaig-Johnston
Explainer: A timeline of China’s alleged interference in recent Canadian elections
Read more: Canada braces for trade retaliation from China
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Pierre Lassonde-led group proposes buying Teck’s coal business
A consortium led by Canadian mining veteran Pierre Lassonde is proposing to buy the coal operations of Teck Resources, a deal that could stop Glencore from succeeding in its hostile takeover bid and offer a made-in-Canada solution that may be palatable to Ottawa.
Lassonde is co-founder and chair emeritus of Franco-Nevada, and one of the country’s chief critics against the incursion of foreign mining companies into Canada over the past two decades.
Swiss mining giant Glencore last month offered to buy Teck in a stock and cash deal worth about US$22.5-billion. After Teck’s alternative proposal of splitting its interests into two companies failed, Glencore said it remained interested.
Ottawa has given a strong signal it has concerns over Glencore buying Teck, citing Teck’s importance to the domestic critical-minerals industry.
Alberta wildfires ease, financial aid offered to those forced from homes
While rain and cooler temperatures brought relief to some parts of the province, there were still 89 active wildfires burning as of this morning, with 26 listed as out of control.
The Alberta government is providing one-time emergency financial assistance to some residents: Adults who have been displaced, by official order, for at least seven consecutive days are to receive $1,250, in addition to $500 for each dependent child under the age of 18, Premier Danielle Smith said yesterday.
But the government is facing criticism from former members of an elite Alberta wildfire-fighting crew who say budget cuts have left the province battling current blazes short-handed.
Meanwhile, the smoke is spreading across the country and in some parts of the United States.
In photos: Firefighters question Alberta cuts to aerial attack teams as province battles blazes
The latest in hockey: The Leafs face elimination, celebs courting the Sens, plus more
The puck drops tomorrow on what could be the Toronto Maple Leafs’ season-ending game, as they trail the Florida Panthers 0-3 in the second round of the NHL playoffs. They are in a hole that few ever emerge from: Only four teams – including Toronto – have come back from that deficit. The Edmonton Oilers dropped to 1-2 last night in their series with a drubbing from the Vegas Golden Nights.
The field of suitors to take over the Ottawa Senators is getting more crowded, with the Weeknd joining the A-listers Ryan Reynolds and Snoop Dogg, Canadian billionaires and more ahead of the May 15 deadline for final bids.
And the Montreal Canadiens will be the first domestic team to select in the NHL draft after securing the No. 5 pick. The Vancouver Canucks (11th) and the Calgary Flames (16th) round out the Canadian teams in the top 16 in the draft to be held June 28 and 29 in Nashville.
Opinion:
- Panthers coach Paul Maurice exposes the Maple Leafs’ greatest flaws – Cathal Kelly
- Ottawa Senators, the Green Lantern of pro sports teams – Andrew Willis
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Trump found liable: Donald Trump sexually abused magazine writer E. Jean Carroll in the 1990s and then defamed her by branding her a liar, jurors in a civil trial have decided, awarding her about US$5-million in compensatory and punitive damages.
Pakistan’s former prime minister arrested: Imran Khan was dragged from court as he appeared to face charges in multiple graft cases, a dramatic escalation of political tensions that sparked violent demonstrations by his supporters across the country.
War in Ukraine developments: Russia fired cruise missiles at Kyiv and paraded troops across Moscow’s Red Square for its annual Second World War victory celebration, pared back amid shortages of manpower and weaponry at the front in Ukraine.
In photos: AP’s Pulitzer Prize-winning images from their coverage of the war in Ukraine
MARKET WATCH
Major U.S. stock indexes ended lower as investors grew more cautious ahead of a U.S. consumer price index report and a meeting between U.S. political leaders to discuss the debt ceiling. The TSX closed virtually unchanged.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 56.88 points,or 0.17 per cent to 33,561.81., the S&P 500 lost 18.95 points or 0.46 per cent to end at 4,119.17, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 77.37 points or 0.63 per cent to 12,179.55.
The S&P/TSX Composite index advanced 0.58 point to 20,585.75. The loonie traded at 74.71 U.S. cents.
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TALKING POINTS
Why would anyone think the Liberals want to control the media? Oh, I can think of a few reasons ...
“The second part, urging the government to ban all material whose sources cannot be ‘traced’ – material like, say, The Globe’s reports – is frankly chilling. Any crank can present a motion of course. But it was the party at large, the party in power, that passed it.” - Andrew Coyne
Read more: Liberals face backlash over policy to trace journalists’ sources before publication online
Another ugly mark on Danielle Smith’s record
“I can’t think of a political leader, certainly a Canadian premier, as unqualified to hold the position as [Danielle] Smith. Her musings both in and out of office run the gamut from bizarre to nonsensical, from distasteful to dangerous and deeply offensive.” – Gary Mason
Read more: Danielle Smith’s 2021 comments comparing vaccine mandates to support for Hitler draw ire
LIVING BETTER
It’s often said that we can learn more from our failures than our success. In the new episode of the Better for It podcast, Canopy Growth founder and former co-CEO Bruce Linton talks about how he got fired, why the cannabis sector hasn’t delivered on its colossal promise, and what’s next for him.
TODAY’S LONG READ
Newfoundland snow crab standoff places provincial economy at crossroads
Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press
Although the Atlantic snow crab fishery opened four weeks ago, fishing boats and processing plants in Newfoundland and Labrador are empty. The crab harvesters have chosen not to fish to protest the $2.20-a-pound price set by the province’s independent panel – a collapse from prices as high as $7.60 last spring.
As a result, thousands of people in the snow crab supply chain are without work, leaving not only Newfoundland’s most lucrative fishery in limbo, but also much of the rural economy.
Snow crab, a luxury for restaurants and grocery stores around the world, is the most valuable fishery product in the province. In 2022, it accounted for about 61 per cent of the total annual fishery value, a number slated to fall with the low prices and absence of catch. Read the full story by Luke Dyment.
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