Good evening,
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Trump is talking tough on trade, targets before G7 summit
The 44th G7 summit is under way in Charlevoix, Que., and hours before it began U.S. President Donald Trump made it clear he’s not changing his stand on trade and tariffs. Firing off a string of tweets, Mr. Trump wrote: “Looking forward to straightening out unfair Trade Deals with the G-7 countries. If it doesn’t happen, we come out even better!” (For subscribers.)
The Trump administration’s recent decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports have strained relations between the U.S., Canada and other G7 countries. Mr. Trump sparked more unease this morning when he said Russia should be readmitted to the summit – even though Moscow was expelled from the group in 2014 for its annexation of Crimea and is still subject to heavy sanctions.
A diplomatic source says the G7 leaders are also set to discuss election cybersecurity and disinformation efforts. The group is expected to endorse measures to protect the world’s democracies from foreign interference in elections, especially in the wake of Russian influence during the 2016 U.S. election (for subscribers).
While the summit usually fosters solidarity and co-operation among democratic countries, this year may be different. Doug Sanders writes this G7 will host the implosion of the democratic world: “This is actually a great and hopeful moment in Western Europe, in Canada and in Japan, and there’s a lot of co-operation around some of the world’s trickier problems. But this is all overshadowed by the fact that six of these major countries are struggling to fend off hostile actions by the United States.”
Mr. Trump will be the odd one out on a number of issues, including climate change and Iran, but there is one issue on which all the leaders agree: Mr. Trump’s effort to denuclearize North Korea. He will leave the summit Saturday morning to fly to Singapore for talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on June 12.
Doug Ford has won Ontario’s election. What happens now?
Last night was all about the results: The Ontario PCs won a majority government, the Liberals were decimated, and the NDP became the official opposition (the Green Party even won a seat). Now, Ontarians are looking at the journey ahead.
Our election guide will tell you what the PCs promised and how they intend to pay for it. It also spells out what Doug Ford means for Ontario and Canada – and you.
Business leaders are watching closely. The PC platform includes dismantling many Liberal business initiatives, scrapping a plan to further raise the minimum wage and eliminating the cap-and-trade system of providing incentives for reducing greenhouse gases. However, without a fully costed platform, many sectors are waiting for concrete detail (for subscribers).
Rob Carrick writes that the Ontario election reflects the entire country’s lack of financial discipline: “By not pushing governments to get control of their finances, we increase the chances that drastic actions will be needed in the future to cut spending. The longer we wait, the harder the hit will be to your personal finances.”
Margaret Wente says objections to Mr. Ford are, to some extent, class-based. “The government is not one man. Mr. Ford will have a cabinet. Presumably, able people such as Rod Phillips, Christine Elliott and Caroline Mulroney will be in it. Maybe he’ll listen to them. He is not, after all, Donald Trump. He’s a populist but also a centrist, a man who lacks Mr. Trump’s degree of raging sociopathic egomania.”
Anthony Bourdain dead at 61
The food and travel author died by suicide in a French hotel room Friday morning. He was in Strasbourg, France, filming an episode of his award-winning CNN series, Parts Unknown. Known worldwide as a talented chef, writer and television host, Mr. Bourdain rose to prominence in the late 1990s, writing articles and books about his food and travel exploits. On TV, he became a household name as he took viewers around the globe, exploring novel cultures and cuisines.
Mr. Bourdain is the second high-profile celebrity death by suicide this week, after designer Kate Spade died Tuesday (for subscribers). André Picard writes about the timely and tragic lessons we can learn from celebrity suicides.
Two hundred Chinese citizens denied visas for Vancouver conference
About 200 would-be attendees couldn’t attend a Vancouver conference because their visa applications were rejected. The Conference of the World Guangdong Community Federation expected about 2,000 people from around the world who were originally from China’s Guangdong province. An organizer said most of the denied visas involved people from mainland China, including more than 20 government officials from Guangdong, as well as some from Thailand and Central and South America.
China expert Charles Burton, a former diplomat at the Canadian embassy in Beijing, said the Chinese government has been increasingly denying Canadian visas to applicants on political grounds.
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MARKET WATCH
U.S. stock indexes closed higher as investors shrugged off concerns about global trade tensions, but trading volume was relatively light ahead of a busy week of central bank meetings. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 75.12 points to 25,316.53, the S&P 500 gained 8.6 points to 2,778.97 and the Nasdaq Composite added 10.44 points to 7,645.51. Canada’s main stock index finished flat, weighed down by the energy sector. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX Composite index was up 9.91 points at 16,202.69.
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WHAT’S TRENDING ON SOCIAL
Prince may be gone, but his music lives on – new songs, too, it turns out. The star would have turned 60 today, and his label Warner Bros. Records announced it will release an album in September of nine new songs (for subscribers).
Prince died in April, 2016, of an opioid overdose, leaving behind a trove of songs without any clear release plans.
TALKING POINTS
What about the poor multimillionaire homeowners?
“We are devoting unlimited coverage to the concerns of a small subset of society, people who have little to complain about, while paying zero attention to people in their 20s and 30s, many of whom have little prospect of owning a home or being able to retire on a deluxe defined-benefit pension plan, which have now gone the way of the Canadian penny. The road ahead for these people is a lot harder than it was for those millionaires carrying placards, complaining about their lot in life. Honestly, the nerve.” – Gary Mason
Fascinating Ontario campaign quickly turns tedious with election night TV coverage
“There was no drama, no tension. It was a cakewalk. ‘We’ll just continue the legacy of Rob Ford,’ said a Doug Ford supporter to a CP24 reporter outside the Ford home in Etobicoke. That made the head spin: If you liked Rob Ford’s Toronto, you’re going to love Doug Ford’s Ontario. Not that anybody was actually saying that. Explaining populism isn’t in the arsenal of TV punditry or reporting during an election campaign or on election night. Most TV coverage simply gallops along breathlessly, following personality not policy, trying to stick with the surface pace of change and, really, loving it all. CP24’s cheerful obsession with the Ford home and the Ford family got a bit creepily intense, to be honest” (for subscribers). – John Doyle
As the G7 leaders get set to meet, Trump’s thinking about a different summit
“The President of the United States is coming to a G7 Summit to talk about his effort at a historic rapprochement with North Korea’s strongman. And most of his allies are consumed with trade, and pledging to stand up to Donald Trump. Typically, a major presidential initiative on one of the intractable security conundrums of modern times would have the leaders of other G7 countries searching for cues to follow the so-called leader of the free world. On Thursday, one day before the summit, Mr. Trump and other leaders of major industrial democracies were on different wavelengths” (for subscribers). – Clark Campbell
Looking for a new way to unwind? Try a “frequency spa.” These spas specialize in pulsed electromagnetic field therapy (PEFT), which uses machines to mimic energy pulsations found in nature. For example, a machine may emit vibrations into the air, or the bed itself vibrates, while the user listens to rhythmic pulses and tones through headphones. Spa goers use PEFT for better sleep, stress release or more energy. If nothing else, it’s an excuse to book some dedicated time for R&R.
LONG READS FOR A LONG COMMUTE
Behind Canada’s biggest marijuana deal
This is the story behind one of Canada’s most unusual takeovers, a $1.2-billion deal in one of the country’s youngest sectors, marijuana, between CanniMed and Aurora Cannabis Inc.
“The battle that led up to it brought together marijuana producers, a seemingly unstoppable market for their shares, entrepreneurs with limited experience in mergers and acquisitions, and the country’s best known rock ‘n’ roll band, the Tragically Hip,” write Christina Pellegrini and Jeffrey Jones. “It will serve as a lesson for business students on what can happen in deal-making amid volatile markets” (for subscribers).
Evening Update is written by Amy O’Kruk. 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.