Evening Update: King Charles III vowed to carry on Queen’s ‘abiding love of tradition’ in first speech, as Britain enters period of mourning

Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:

King Charles III promised to carry on his mother’s “abiding love of tradition” and lifelong commitment to service in a speech recorded at Buckingham Palace and broadcast just before the start of a special service of prayer and reflection for the Queen at St. Paul’s Cathedral.

He also announced the appointment of his eldest son, William, as Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall, formalizing his role as heir. And in what many would regard a magnanimous gesture, given the recent history, he also expressed “my love for Harry and Meghan as they continue to build their lives overseas.”

“Queen Elizabeth was a life well lived; a promise with destiny kept and she is mourned most deeply in her passing. That promise of lifelong service I renew to you all today,” the King said Friday in his first speech as sovereign.

There have been questions about how Charles will fill the role of king since the death of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday at Scotland’s Balmoral Castle. He has never been as popular as some other members of the Royal Family and taking over from an icon like the Queen, who reigned for 70 years, was always going to be a challenge. Charles had also been the longest heir to the throne in British history and many wondered whether he would be up to the task given that he’s 73 years old.

A world in mourning

In the United States, President Joe Biden ordered flags at the White House, federal government buildings, military bases and naval ships lowered to half-mast until sunset on the day of the Queen’s funeral. In a statement, he recalled meeting the Queen for the first time in 1982, during a Senate delegation visit to Britain, and most recently last year during his first overseas trip as President.

Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a message to King Charles on Friday expressing “deep condolences over the death of Queen Elizabeth II.” According to state media, Xi noted that the Queen was the first British monarch to visit China and “won wide acclaim” during her reign. “Her death is a great loss to the British people,” he added.

Read more:

• In King Charles, Canada can expect a very different monarch
• Queen Elizabeth, a fashion icon
• Queen Elizabeth’s death: How the world is remembering Britain’s longest-reigning monarch
• Queen Elizabeth II, the monarch of modernity, is gone
• Charles III is King of Canada. What now? Latest updates on the royal succession

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How has Ukraine managed to turn the tide of the war?

For the first half-year of this war, Ukrainians lived in constant fear, wondering where and when the Russian military might strike next. But as the conflict nears the 200-day mark, it’s Russian troops who are suddenly in disarray, caught off guard by a pair of Ukrainian counteroffensives.

Ukrainians, meanwhile, are celebrating military gains in the south and east of the country, including the liberation of several towns that had been under Russian occupation since early in the war. Videos posted online Thursday show Ukrainian troops being greeted by cheering crowds in Balakliya, a town in the eastern region of Kharkiv that had a pre-war population of 27,000.

‘Substantial victory’ for Ukraine

A Ukrainian counterattack in the southern Kherson region forced the Kremlin to cancel its plans for a snap referendum on annexing the region. The vote, which would have been illegal under international law, was supposed to be held Sunday.

Ukrainian forces were charging through an expanding area of previously Russian-held territory in the east on Friday after bursting through the front line in a surprise breakthrough that could mark a major turning point in the war.

After keeping silent for a day, Moscow effectively acknowledged that a section of its front line had crumbled southeast of Ukraine’s second largest city Kharkiv. “The very fact of a breach of our defences is already a substantial victory for the Ukrainian armed forces,” the head of the Moscow-installed administration for occupied areas in Kharkiv province, Vitaly Ganchev, said on Russian state TV.

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Lessons were learned from Nova Scotia mass shooting, RCMP commissioner says

The deputy commissioner of the RCMP says the use of emergency alerts during the recent stabbing rampage in Saskatchewan is proof the Mounties have learned crucial lessons about informing the public during mass casualty events.

Testifying at the inquiry into the Nova Scotia mass shootings of April, 2020, Deputy Commissioner Brian Brennan said the national force is doing a better job of using the smartphone-based Alert Ready system since the shooting spree that killed 22, including a pregnant woman.

The Mounties were widely criticized for failing to use the emergency alert system during the manhunt for a killer dressed as an RCMP officer and driving a replica patrol car. Instead, the Nova Scotia RCMP used Twitter to warn the public – a decision families of victims say led to more bloodshed.

Senior RCMP members have testified they thought the alert system was only for severe weather, and it never occurred to them it could be used to warn people about a gunman.

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ALSO ON OUR RADAR

Canada’s jobless rate jumps to 5.4% as hiring falls for third consecutive month: Canada’s unemployment rate shot up in August as the economy shed jobs for a third consecutive month, the latest sign of a chill spreading through the labour market.

Conservatives say Queen’s death won’t delay announcement of new leader this weekend: The federal Conservatives say they will proceed with Saturday’s announcement of the winner of their leadership vote despite the death of the Queen.

Trudeau had ‘epic battle’ with former finance minister over budget spending, new book says: A new book reveals that former finance minister Bill Morneau wanted to break a 2015 Liberal campaign promise to keep Old Age Security eligibility at 65, rather than raising it to 67, out of concern for the huge cost the policy would have on federal finances.

Ottawa’s hiring spree is beyond measure: An analysis of one of the most important trends affecting the federal public service: the multiyear hiring spree that has swollen the ranks of civil servants by nearly a third since the federal Liberals came to power in 2015.

Dollarama hikes full-year sales forecast as inflation drives more Canadians to discount retailers: Dollarama Inc. has boosted its sales-growth forecast for the year, as inflation drives Canadians to change their shopping habits and visit discount retailers more frequently.

MARKET WATCH

Canada’s main stock index climbed almost 1.9 per cent as reported job losses in August suggested Bank of Canada interest rate hikes are working to slow an overheated economy.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 360.34 points to 19,773.34 points in a broad-based rally.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 377.19 points at 32,151.71. The S&P 500 index was up 61.18 points at 4,067.36, while the Nasdaq composite was up 250.18 points at 12,112.31.

The Canadian dollar traded for 76.72 cents US compared with 76.24 cents US on Thursday.

The October crude contract was up US$3.25 at US$86.79 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up eight cents at US$8.00 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was up US$8.40 at US$1,728.60 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents at US$3.57 a pound.

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TALKING POINTS

A debate about men, beef and barbecues leaves France in a stew

“For reasons best left to anthropologists to decipher, the act of grilling steaks outdoors on the barbecue has come, in much of the West, to be associated with manhood itself. The festive ritual of adult males gathering with beers in hand to tend to the T-bones on the barbie endures from one generation to the next. And, for the sake of the planet, society must break this destructive male habit once and for all.” – Konrad Yakabuski

Can Liz Truss govern a Britain that’s happy with immigration and Europe?

“Ms. Truss is the first of the four PMs for whom neither Brexit nor immigration can be priorities. That’s because the events of 2016 changed British public attitudes dramatically. For the first time in decades, immigration and Europe no longer appear on surveys as major ballot issues for British voters. The cost of living, health and the environment have eclipsed those concerns.” – Doug Saunders

The polarizing Pierre Poilievre: Would he work to unite Canada as a leader, or continue the growing divide?

“A Poilievre government would lower taxes, rein in spending and reduce the deficit, all classic Conservative priorities. But Mr. Poilievre would differ from any previous Conservative leader in the depth of his disenchantment with the people and institutions that govern Canada.” – John Ibbitson

LIVING BETTER

The hip canapés this year’s TIFF celebs will be nibbling, and how to make them at home

Canapés, hors d’oeuvres, crostini, tapas – call them what you will, they are all finger foods with various origin stories that combine myth, legend and possibly a few lies. Arguing about them is way less fun than eating them, but if we want to get technical about canapés – which are enjoying a resurgence on some restaurant menus now that COVID paranoia is waning (it is waning, isn’t it?) – we must nod to the French. Canapé derives from the word for sofa, and it is traditionally a piece of bread with something on it. Nowadays, you can pretty much call it what you will, and replace the bread as you like with some other stable base – though, for some, even the base is optional.

Now that TIFF season is upon us, Dick Snyder has asked some caterers and chefs how they go about designing a perfect canapé for film-festival parties and events.

TODAY’S LONG READ

The four-star streaming war, now playing at TIFF 2022

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This Saturday evening, the Toronto International Film Festival will host an overlapping series of high-wattage world premieres that organizers hope will reaffirm TIFF’s status as the biggest, glitziest, and perhaps most tweeted-about cinematic spectacle in the world.

Over the course of just five hours and approximately four square downtown city blocks, TIFF will debut new movies starring Jennifer Lawrence (Causeway), Daniel Craig (Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery), Anya Taylor-Joy (The Menu), Michelle Williams and Seth Rogen (who lead Steven Spielberg’s very first TIFF film, The Fabelmans), plus a wealth of highly anticipated international productions including The King’s Horseman and the buzzy Sidney Poitier documentary, Sidney.

“I always believed that, no matter what happened between pandemic restrictions and new audience behaviour, there is still something irreplaceable when it comes to watching movies in a theatre,” says TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey, who helped lead the festival through two supremely strange hybrid editions.

But there is an industry-shaking hitch to TIFF’s comeback: Half of the movies noted above will eventually be seen by most audiences not in theatres, but on streaming platforms. Two and a half years after the streaming war began in earnest – aided, but not entirely caused, by a pandemic that shuttered theatres for longer than anyone could have anticipated – the fight for the future of Hollywood is being played out directly on TIFF’s doorstep. And anyone who thinks that they know how the third act shakes out is in for a twist ending.

Barry Hertz writes that the battle to build Hollywood’s future is being waged directly on the Toronto International Film Festival’s doorstep.

Evening Update is written by Emerald Bensadoun. If you’d like to receive this newsletter by e-mail every weekday evening, go here to sign up. If you have any feedback, send us a note.