Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
Trump becomes first former U.S. president to be criminally indicted
Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 criminal charges of falsifying business records related to hush money paid to a porn star, in a bid to cover up an alleged extramarital affair before the 2016 election. He becomes the first former U.S. president to be criminally indicted.
Over the course of a 45-minute hearing – unusually long for what is typically a perfunctory process – he spoke personally to enter his pleas.
Trump then left for LaGuardia Airport. He is expected to address the charges this evening in a public address from Mar-a-Lago, his Florida estate.
The unprecedented case puts the country in uncharted legal and constitutional territory and threatens to upend the 2024 presidential race as Trump is making a strong bid to return to the White House.
Read more: How an indictment helps Donald Trump build his brand
In photos: The scene in New York for Donald Trump’s arraignment
Explainer: What do Trump’s indictment and arraignment mean? David Shribman answers readers’ questions.
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Ottawa bends to U.S. push to purchase strategic hangar in Arctic sought by Chinese buyer
The U.S. military has been prodding Ottawa to buy a privately owned hangar adjacent to a NORAD airbase in the Arctic community of Inuvik, after a Chinese buyer expressed interest in taking over the facility.
For nearly a year, Ottawa resisted American pressure over the hangar, which the Canadian government had previously leased to shelter military aircraft but no longer needed.
But the government appears to have had changed course. Late last month, the Department of Public Works and Government Services reached out to the hangar’s owner to say it would like to conduct an appraisal of the facility.
The latest developments in the war in Ukraine: Finland joins NATO, plus more
Finland joined the NATO military alliance today, dealing a major blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin with a historic realignment of Europe’s post-Cold War security landscape that was triggered by Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Finland’s membership doubles Russia’s border with the world’s biggest security alliance.
On the front lines, fighting raged in and around Bakhmut as Ukraine mocked Russian claims to have captured the administrative centre of the eastern Ukrainian city. The battle for Bakhmut has been one of the bloodiest of the conflict with heavy casualties on both sides and the city largely destroyed.
In Moscow, a court has ruled that Darya Trepova, suspected of involvement in the bombing of a St. Petersburg café Sunday that killed Russian military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky, should stay in custody for two months pending an investigation.
And Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested and charged with espionage in Russia last week, met his lawyers for the first time today, editor-in-chief Emma Tucker said in a message to staff.
Migrant family that died trying to enter U.S. was set to be deported from Canada
Florin and Cristina Iordache with children.Courtesy of family
One of the two families who died trying to cross into the United States from the St. Lawrence River was set to be deported from Canada last week, the family’s lawyer says.
The bodies of eight migrants - the Chaudhary family from India and the Iordache family of Romania - were pulled from the waters off a portion of the Akwesasne Mohawk territory in Quebec last week.
Florin and Cristina Zenaida Iordache, whose children were born in Canada, had recently learned that they had run out of options for staying. The family is believed to have boarded a boat in Quebec in an attempt to enter the U.S. illegally.
Casey Oakes – a member from the Akwesasne community who family and friends said was involved with human smuggling – is still missing. Police confirmed today that Oakes is connected to the case.
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Indigenous woman’s body found in landfill: Police say the remains of Linda Mary Beardy were discovered yesterday at the city-run Brady landfill in south Winnipeg. They say the case is not believed to be linked to the remains of Rebecca Contois that were found in the same landfill last year, or the killings of three other women.
Vancouver home sales plummet: They fell 42.5 per cent in March from a year ago and were 28.4 per cent below the 10-year seasonal average, according to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver.
BoC departure: Deputy governor Paul Beaudry is leaving the Bank of Canada at the end of July, the central bank announced. He will be the third deputy governor to exit in the span of a year.
AFN commends Jully Black: The Canadian R&B singer was honoured at an AFN Special Chiefs Assembly last night for making a meaningful one-word change to the national anthem at the NBA All-Star Game in February.
Jully Black was presented with an eagle feather and blanket in recognition of her swapping out the anthem’s usual opening line “O Canada! Our home and native land!” with “O Canada! Our home on native land.”Fred Cattroll/The Canadian Press
New role for Ardern: Jacinda Ardern, who stepped down as New Zealand’s prime minister in January, will begin an unpaid role this month combating online extremism. She will be Special Envoy for the Christchurch Call, an initiative she helped launch in 2019 after a white supremacist gunman killed 51 people at two mosques while he livestreamed the attack.
Michael Cera added to Barbie cast: The Superbad actor will join fellow Canadians Ryan Gosling and Simu Liu in the summer comedy.
No Pride jerseys for Leafs: The Toronto Maple Leafs won’t wear themed warmup jerseys for the team’s annual Pride celebration tonight.
MARKET WATCH
Wall Street closed lower today after evidence of a cooling economy exacerbated worries that the U.S. Federal Reserve’s campaign to rein in decades-high inflation may cause a deep downturn. Canada’s main stock index was nearly unchanged.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 198.77 points or 0.59 per cent to 33,402.38, the S&P 500 dropped 23.91 points or 0.58 per cent to 4,100.60 and the Nasdaq Composite Index slid 63.12 points or 0.52 per cent to 12,126.33.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index shed 2.52 points or 0.01 per cent to 20,275.76. The loonie traded at 74.37 U.S. cents.
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TALKING POINT
Right at his tenure’s end, Raptors coach Nick Nurse has picked a fight
“Maybe he was feeling a little starved of attention. Maybe he wanted to create a PR problem for his bosses. Maybe he wanted to hear fans begging him to stay.” - Cathal Kelly
LIVING BETTER
Are smart cities really such a smart idea? The latest episode of the City Space podcast takes a deep dive into the concept, examining how the perception of smart cities has shifted over the years, and how the technology can both improve and disrupt our lives.
TODAY’S LONG READ
Canadians embracing remote work help push downtown office vacancy rates higher
Shopify had been expected to be the major tenant in the newly built skyscraper called The Well in downtown Toronto but decided to maintain its existing office and not make the move.Tijana Martin/The Globe and Mail
Canada’s downtown office vacancy rate reached 19 per cent in March, with Toronto and Vancouver driving the trend as the shift to hybrid work pushes more businesses to give up office space.
The level of vacancies was nearly double the 10.8 per cent in downtown markets before the start of the pandemic, according to new data from commercial real estate firm Altus Group. The 19-per-cent vacancy rate was a record high since 2003 when Altus started collecting data.
It surpasses other tumultuous periods in the office market, including the oil price crash in 2014 when energy companies cut jobs and slashed their corporate offices. Toronto and Vancouver have shouldered some of the largest losses as technology companies try to get rid of unused office space. Read Rachelle Younglai’s full story.
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