Canada
Trump hits pause on trade war after Trudeau vows new border measures
Canada obtained a one-month reprieve from U.S. President Donald Trump’s threatened steep tariffs Monday after promising to invest $200-million more in fighting organized crime and drugs, with additional pledges to appoint a fentanyl czar and designate drug cartels as terrorists. The agreement delays a costly and damaging trade war, at least for now, with Canada’s biggest trading partner – a row provoked by the White House that put Canadian jobs and business operations at risk, including auto assembly.. (🎁 link)
Should Canada ban X and Tesla? Why calls are growing
As Trump and Musk take aim at Canada, some high-level observers are calling on the feds to consider sanctioning or even banning corporations owned by those close to Trump.
Most Canadians oppose becoming 51st U.S. state: survey
Well over three-quarters of the 1,578 respondents (82 per cent) Leger Marketing interviewed between Jan. 17-20 said merging with the American experiment is not something they want to see come to pass. About the same number of respondents (75 per cent) feel the two long-time transnational partners’ relationship is good, with most landing in the “somewhat” segment and a mere two per cent dubbing it as “very bad.”
A new trading partner
A new 7-minute video from Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre in which he advocates for an elimination of interprovincial trade barriers. -DA
Gurnoor Sidhu seeks Tory nomination in Abbotsford-South Langley
There are now seven people seeking the nomination in this new-for-2025 riding. The retirement of Ed Fast means there is no incumbent. The last time this part of BC did not vote for the conservative candidate in a general election: 1968 when the Liberals won what was then called Fraser Valley East and the NDP won Fraser Valley West. Given that this is a lock for Team Poilievre this year, you can see what 7 want the nomination -- it's the race for the MP's job.
The Provinces
Trump's tariff threat a "reprehensible" ploy to "make Canada the 51st state," BC premier says
“Even despite today’s agreement of the fact that this is hanging over our heads as Canadians, Mr. Trump’s, strategy around this is deliberate,” Eby said. “There’s an intention to, destroy Canada’s economy and to drive us into becoming the 51st state. I find it reprehensible. Inexplicable. And, and profoundly, disappointing. And it makes me and British Columbians and Canadians very angry.”
Nova Scotia stops retaliatory measures after U.S. pauses tariffs
'For now, we can all take a breath,' Premier Tim Houston said in a post to social media on Monday.
Elsewhere
China imposes 15% tariffs on coal, LNG in response to Trump's tariffs
The Chinese response was “measured,” said John Gong, a professor at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing. “I don’t think they want the trade war escalating,” he said. “And they see this example from Canada and Mexico and probably they are hoping for the same thing.”
What is USAID and why do Trump and Musk want to end it?
Dozens of senior officials put on leave. Thousands of contractors laid off. A freeze put on billions of dollars in humanitarian assistance to other countries. Over the last two weeks, President Donald Trump’s administration has made significant changes to the U.S. agency charged with delivering humanitarian assistance overseas that has left aid organizations agonizing over whether they can continue with programs such as nutritional assistance for malnourished infants and children.
Noboa announces trade agreement between Ecuador and Canada
The President of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, announced today that after months of negotiations his country has finally reached a trade agreement with Canada, although he did not give a date for its signing and entry into force.
Reader Notes
This newsletter is curated by me, David Akin, the chief political correspondent at Global News, but I put it together every day independently of my employer. And there are costs associated with using this platform to deliver what amounts to about 80,000 e-mails a month. Many of you have already contributed and I’m very grateful. Thank you. Hoping others may consider a donation as small as $3 a month for this 7-day-a-week newsletter. Thanks in any event for all your support!
The headlines, excerpts, and photos here are generated by the publishers of the clipping. The publisher is at the bottom left of the clipping. If I've got a comment, you''ll see that in italics. But if I've generated the headline and the excerpt, you'll see me taking attribution by finishing with -DA in bold. The stamp stuff at the bottom are scans from my collection and, if there’s a stamp blurb, I’ve written that bit. -DA
Science and tech
When Doctors With A.I. Are Outperformed by A.I. Alone
Rather than assuming that combining both approaches always yields better results, we should carefully consider which tasks are better suited for A.I., which for humans, and which truly benefit from collaboration. The path forward isn't about replacing physicians with A.I., but rather about finding the optimal partnership model. This might mean allowing A.I. to handle initial screening while having physicians focus on complex cases where contextual understanding is crucial.
SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son says AGI will arrive ‘much earlier’ than he thought
In the release, SoftBank highlights how AI agents “will automate everyday tasks” for knowledge work. SoftBank shared some vague examples of how it will use Cristal Intelligence at Arm and SoftBank Corp., which it owns: Arm, which designs many of the chips and servers used by AI companies, says it will use the tech to “drive innovation and boost productivity across the company,” while SoftBank Corp. plans to “automate over 100 million workflows” to “boost efficiency and enable the creation of new business opportunities within its ecosystem.”
The Calendar
- 1000 ET: Washington - Energy and Natural Resources Min Jonathan Wilkinson speaks about North American energy collaboration.
- 1115 ET: Yellowknife - LPC MP Michael McLeod makes a funding announcement
- 1145 ET: Emerson, MB - Public Safety Min David McGuinty and PrairiesCAN Min Terry Duguid attend a border security exercise.
- Ottawa - PM Trudeau and Diversity Min Kamel Khera attend a Lunar New Year reception.
