Good morning. After threatening tariffs because of wildfire smoke, the U.S. did impose levies, but for a different reason altogether. More on that below, along with fire strategy intentions and dark matter discoveries.
Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump talk at the G7 working luncheon in Evian-les-Bains, France, on June 16.Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press
TOP STORIES
Trump announces 50% tariff on wide range of Canadian goods
U.S. President Donald Trump is escalating his trade war against Canada, imposing 50-per-cent tariffs on a range of goods to hit back at Ottawa for retaliating against his previous tariffs.
In a surprise move on Monday, Mr. Trump signed three proclamations invoking Section 338 of the Depression-era Tariff Act, which has never previously been used, to impose the levies on Canada in response to the country curbing imports of U.S. autos, alcohol and dairy.
In addition to tariffing Canadian alcohol and dairy products, the President’s new levies will also hit a grab bag of hundreds of other goods, ranging from hockey sticks to cement to electronic equipment to Christmas ornaments.
The tariffs take effect on Aug. 19 and will not include an exemption for goods trading under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, broadening the economic damage Mr. Trump has been trying to inflict on one of his country’s closest allies since he returned to office last year.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer’s office said the tariffs would apply to nearly US$20-billion worth of Canadian goods, roughly five per cent of the country’s exports to the U.S.
Read the story for the full trade and economic picture.
Evacuees from Neskantaga First Nation wait at Lansdowne House to board a fight to Thunder Bay on Monday.Chris Young/The Canadian Press
Doug Ford calls for national fire strategy
While wildfires continued to move rapidly across northern Ontario, Premier Doug Ford said he plans to discuss the need for a national fire strategy with his fellow premiers and Prime Minister Mark Carney when they meet in Prince Edward Island this week.
The context: Canada is one of the few G7 countries that does not have a stand-alone federal emergency management agency. In June, a key recommendation of a Senate Committee report urged creating a federal co-ordinating office for wildfires and emergency response, modelled after existing organizations in the U.S., Australia, Japan and the U.K.
On the ground: Ontario NDP MPP Lise Vaugeois, who represents the riding of Thunder Bay–Superior North, said the government has not done enough to prepare for wildfires. “Climate change is changing everything,” she said. “They have ignored what they’ve been told needs to be done for years.”
Explained: Here’s an overview of the current situation, in maps and charts.
Satellite imagery shows the Bab el-Mandeb strait, a key shipping waterway and the gateway to the Red Sea.NASA WORLDVIEW/Reuters
Houthis open new front in U.S.-Iran war
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis said they would impose a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, potentially creating a new front against the United States in its war with Iran. Tehran had been pressing the Houthis to close the Bab el-Mandeb gateway to the Red Sea if the U.S. continued to attack its power infrastructure. President Donald Trump defended the latest strikes on Iran as honouring the deaths of American service members in recent Iranian attacks.
The energy threat: The full closure of the Bab el-Mandeb strait would reduce global oil supply by 7 per cent, raising the threat to global energy supplies and trade beyond the Gulf. After the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Bab el-Mandeb had been providing a lifeline for the energy market, helping to keep down global oil prices.
Infrastructure of the Westcoast Transmission System, also known as Enbridge's BC Pipeline, is seen at Loon Lake, B.C., in 2023.Chris Helgren/Reuters
Pipeline expansion construction begins in B.C.
Enbridge Inc. has started construction on the $4-billion expansion of its pipeline system for transporting natural gas in British Columbia, with Ottawa touting the economic spinoffs from Canada’s energy industry.
The context: In April, the federal government approved the Sunrise expansion program, which will increase capacity by 17 per cent at Enbridge’s T-South system, focusing on southern B.C. but also bolstering the U.S. Pacific Northwest.
Community worker Leny Rose Simbre stands by the bus stop outside her home in Toronto on July 15.Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail
Volunteers help newcomers with health care
Language barriers and unfamiliarity with new systems can daunt newcomers when they receive health care in Canada – a process that can be profoundly different from their home countries. To help, many immigrant volunteers go beyond the confines of formal organizations and programs, guiding fellow newcomers to the Canadian health care system and other supports.
The series:Care Between the Lines is a summer series, which will introduce you to volunteers in health care who fill gaps and provide compassion in a system that can be isolating and scary.
The map, courtesy of the UNIONS survey and University of Waterloo, is the latest effort to chart how dark matter is distributed in space.UNIONS survey and University of Waterloo
Scientists make extensive dark matter map
Based on a survey of 62 million galaxies, astronomers in Canada, Europe and the United States have produced the most extensive map yet of the mysterious phenomenon known as dark matter in northern skies.
The details: While the map is preliminary, it’s enough for researchers to weigh in on a key question: Is the arrangement of matter in the universe as clumpy as it should be based on the leading theory of the cosmos? The new results appear to say yes, which could help theorists trying to build a coherent story of the evolution of the universe.
The Take
It wasn’t clear what people expected from him here, but it wasn’t a best-in-show performance at 39 years old. For seven games, Messi wasn’t as good as he’s ever been. That level may never be touched again, by anyone. But he was at least as influential.
— Cathal Kelly, sports columnist
Lionel Messi’s near-perfect World Cup has him as close to the top as he can get. There’s no better time to retire, writes Cathal Kelly.
The shot
Visitors to Patriot Park in Dagestan, Russia, pose for photos in front of 'Lun,' a Soviet-era ground-effect vehicle nicknamed 'Caspian Sea Monster.'GORAN TOMASEVIC/The Globe and Mail
Dagestan, an ethnically diverse republic in southwestern Russia, prides itself on a culture and traditions that breed self-reliance.
The Wrap
What else we’re following
At home: The lawyer for a mentally ill woman who wants a medically assisted death urged an Ontario judge to grant her an exemption that would allow her to access MAID.
Abroad: Andy Burnham took office as Britain’s new prime minister, promising to ease the cost of living and decentralize political power.
Answers: AMississippi community is demanding the truth about the death of Nolan Xavier Wells, a Black teen killed on a boating trip with friends.
Questions: Online applications to vote by mail for Alberta’s fall referendum are now open.