Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
Drip ... drip ... drip ...
Three days after the United States election, and with thousands of votes still to be counted, Joe Biden inched ever so closer to the presidency.
Early Friday, Biden took the lead in Georgia and Pennsylvania, and maintained leads in Arizona and Nevada. By Friday afternoon, Biden’s lead in Georgia was fewer than 2,000 votes, and state officials expect to conduct a recount.
It was still uncertain later this afternoon whether the major U.S. networks would call the race before Biden was scheduled to speak to the American people in prime time this evening.
As results trickled in throughout the day – mostly benefiting Biden – President Donald Trump reiterated that he does not intend to go quietly, repeating a Thursday evening vow to pursue legal action over his unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud.
While Trump’s actions have garnered the support of a few senior Republican lawmakers, some other GOP leaders, including 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney, on Friday slammed Trump’s unsubstantiated claim that Democrats are trying to “steal” the election.
Trump’s claim “damages the cause of freedom here and around the world ... and recklessly inflames destructive and dangerous passions,” Romney said.
GOP Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania – whose state is a key battleground where votes are still being tallied – called Trump’s claim of fraud “very disturbing.”
“There’s simply no evidence anyone has shown me of any widespread corruption or fraud,” Toomey told CBS This Morning.
“The President’s speech last night was very disturbing to me because he made very, very serious allegations without any evidence to support it,” Toomey said.
For the latest, see our developing live story.
More coverage:
- Trudeau affirms faith in U.S. democracy despite Trump’s election complaints
- Brian Mulroney says he’s confident Biden will help heal U.S. divisions, end absence of leadership under Trump
- Georgia likely to go to a recount, state official says
U.S. election opinion:
It’s Mitch McConnell’s Washington now
“If Tuesday’s election provided clarity about anything at all, it is that Americans did not want to see a Democratic trifecta controlling the White House, Senate and House. ‘Middle America,’ to use Mr. McConnell’s moniker, was divided about where it stood on Mr. Trump. But it was unambiguous in its rejection of an expansionist Democratic agenda.” - Konrad Yakabuski
America is not a broken country, but its democracy is like a slow-cooking frog
“Collapse is the weaponization of conspiracy theories and misinformation while tens of millions of Americans ration food and while rifle-toting protesters take to the streets. And it’s all happening while most Americans go about their days, swipe right on Tinder, shop early for Christmas presents and tuck their kids into bed at night.” - Robyn Urback
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Coronavirus: Ontario to allow Peel Region to reopen restaurants despite rising cases
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Friday that restaurants and bars in Peel Region, west of Toronto, would be allowed to offer limited indoor dining, despite pleas from the region’s top public health official to keep current restrictions in place as COVID-19 infections spike.
The move will allow restaurants and bars in Peel to reopen to indoor dining, as well as gyms, with only a maximum of 10 customers. But Lawrence Loh, Peel’s Medical Officer of Health, wants the province to delay any loosening of the rules for at least a week, as cases are rising rapidly and hospitals are strained.
Peel, along with Toronto, York Region and Ottawa, was put into what was called “modified Stage 2” restrictions last month, with a ban on indoor dining in restaurants and bars.
As of Saturday, Ottawa and York Region will move into the orange “restrict” category, while Toronto, at its mayor’s request, will remain in modified Stage 2 at least until Nov. 14.
Related:
- Nunavut’s top doctor confirms territory’s first case of COVID-19
- Trudeau says Canada will need a ‘sophisticated plan’ to roll out COVID-vaccines
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Pandemic worsens provincial debt concerns, PBO says: The COVID-19 pandemic is pushing provincial governments further away from financial stability and they will need to raise taxes or cut spending by a combined $12-billion a year to avoid a growing debt load, the Parliamentary Budget Officer said in a report Friday.
Ethiopian military planes launch air strikes on regional forces as Tigray war intensifies: Heavy fighting between federal and regional troops in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, with warplanes and artillery weapons now involved, has sparked fears that the escalating war could spread across borders and destabilize much of the Horn of Africa.
MARKET WATCH
Canada’s main stock index dipped slightly but concluded its best week in nearly seven months while the loonie reached its highest trading level since January.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 15.34 points to 16,282.83, but was up 4.5 per cent for the week.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 66.78 points to 28,323.40. The S&P 500 index was down 1.01 points to 3,509.44, while the Nasdaq composite index was up 4.30 points to 11,895.23.
The Canadian dollar was trading at 76.69 cents US compared to an average of 76.62 cents US on Thursday.
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TALKING POINT
Religion is under assault in China. But Canada may not have the moral high ground it needs to defend it
“My work supporting religious freedom in China exposed me to a form of Chinese diplomacy that was, at times, even more combative than it is now. I saw how tense and insecure officials in China were when it came to matters relating to faith, and how little understanding – much less sympathy – Communist bureaucrats have for matters of the spirit.” – David Mulroney, former Canadian ambassador to China
LIVING BETTER
With book awards season under way, here’s what you should add to your reading list
The coronavirus has thrown the publishing industry into turmoil, with publishers delaying releases, authors' book tours cancelled and bookstores closed for much of the spring. The awards events that would normally fill this season have turned to online presentations to celebrate the best of new fiction and non-fiction.
You can still keep up with the best Canadian fiction and non-fiction of the past year with our guide to this season’s major book awards.
TODAY’S LONG READ
Bringing it home: Backyard rinks regain their sheen in times of COVID-19
With possible sports interruptions due to more lockdowns, the Selvaratnam family in Unionville, Ont., is preparing a rink in their backyard.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
With amateur hockey season and public skating in jeopardy this fall, many Canadians are racing to retailers as they plan backyard skating for a winter likely to be dominated by efforts to contain COVID-19.
The Globe’s Les Perreaux writes that while many rink builders are DIY with nothing more than some lumber on trampled snow, a growing industry of rink suppliers sells everything from inexpensive plastic sheeting to cooling systems costing tens of thousands of dollars.
Not surprisingly, business is booming.
Backyard builders can even find several design plans for a “homeboni” – homemade Zamboni-style ice resurfacers occasionally pulled by a yard tractor but more frequently made from ordinary plumbing supplies, buckets and even camping coolers.
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