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President Donald Trump took his ongoing battle with Canada to new heights today, posting on <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/117155789874645152">Truth Social</a> that the White House is eyeing a total name swap for one of North America’s iconic Great Lakes.
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&#8220;The United States is giving serious consideration to changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America in that we don’t expect to doing much business with Ontario any longer,&#8221; Trump declared on his social media network.
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The renaming threat mirrors Trump&#8217;s executive action during his second term, where he directed federal agencies to rebrand the Gulf of Mexico as the &#8220;Gulf of America.&#8221; His latest Great Lake comes amid a trade war with the United States’ northern neighbor.
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Over the weekend, the Trump administration slapped a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-tariffs-canada-us-trade-war-293908564c7a381ea58a61db6e9a8517">50% tariff</a> on over 550 distinct Canadian imports under a Great Depression-era trade law. The tariff hits everything from basic household staples like toilet paper, makeup, and honey to furniture, paint, smartphones, hockey sticks, and Christmas decorations.
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In response to the $20 billion hit on exports, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney promised &#8220;dollar for dollar&#8221; retaliatory tariffs kicking off next month targeting American steel, agricultural machinery, and electronics.
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The feud quickly spiraled, with Trump slamming Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Carney, <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/117151799569745572">writing</a> on Truth Social:
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Lots of “bluster” from Doug Ford, who is the Premier of the Canadian Province of Ontario, but who is better known as the less charismatic, intelligent, and overall unimpressive brother of the late, great, Rob Ford. &#8230; Without the United States, Canada couldn’t survive — It’s where they get all of their money and, because of their current bad leadership, primarily Governor Carney, and his Flunky, Ford, they will not be allowed to keep taking advantage of the United States.
Someone should get these clowns to “fall in line” or, the consequences for Canada will be far WORSE! Canada’s Unemployment Rate is now at 10%, and rapidly rising. Their businesses are fleeing for the United States, and it’s all because of their failed policies, and inept leadership! The days of ripping off our Farmers, and other Businesses, are OVER!</blockquote>
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Ford shot back during a televised appearance, declaring, “Bring it on, buddy. I’m ready. Bring it on. You know something? I’ve dealt with guys like you my whole life. And guess what? You all become losers because you’re a loser.” He warned that Ontario could pull the plug on clean electricity and vital mineral exports to the U.S. if Washington doesn&#8217;t back down.
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Trump <a href="https://apnews.com/live/trump-economy-news-updates-08-24-2026#000001a0-3412-d56c-a3e1-bf9bcf470000">responded</a> by threatening to expand the massive 50% import levies directly to Canadian-made automobiles, auto parts, and steel by early 2027.
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President Trump Holds Campaign Rally With Darline Graham In Myrtle Beach

Trump Is Coming For Another Name On America’s Map

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Canada&#8217;s only WNBA franchise, the Toronto Tempo, unveiled two new official mascots this week, including a DJing snapping turtle that uses she/they pronouns.
Dot the Arctic Hare and Dez the Snapping Turtle made their debut Tuesday night during halftime of the Tempo&#8217;s game against the Indiana Fever. The timing was particularly notable because Fever star Sophie Cunningham has emerged as one of the WNBA&#8217;s most outspoken critics of biological males competing in women&#8217;s sports.
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The Tempo have officially unveiled their mascots. Yes, two!
Welcome Dez, the turtle and Dot, the hare. <a href="https://t.co/WRbSdu5vxm">pic.twitter.com/WRbSdu5vxm</a>
— Zulfi Sheikh (@zulfi_sheikh) <a href="https://x.com/zulfi_sheikh/status/2089865052757127311?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 19, 2026</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Dez and Dot have completely different personalities, but they&#8217;re better together,&#8221; said Whitney Bell, chief marketing officer for the Toronto Tempo. &#8220;One knows when to slow things down, the other knows when to turn the energy all the way up.&#8221;
According to the Tempo, Dez uses she/they pronouns and is a Borealis Blue Snapping Turtle from Muskoka, Ontario, who DJs in their spare time.
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“Leave the mascots alone!” 😭
Come behind the scenes of our Official Mascot Reveal on our YouTube channel: <a href="https://t.co/RrmRh3fg1j">https://t.co/RrmRh3fg1j</a> <a href="https://t.co/prKESxar58">pic.twitter.com/prKESxar58</a>
— Toronto Tempo (@TempoBasketball) <a href="https://x.com/TempoBasketball/status/2090848079742488675?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 21, 2026</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Their name is inspired by decibel, a nod to their love of music and role as the more measured half of the duo,&#8221; the team <a href="https://tempo.wnba.com/news/meet-the-official-tempo-mascots-dez-and-dot">said</a>. &#8220;Dez is calm, clever and always thinking a few steps ahead. A Taurus who spins the 1s and 2s in their spare time, Dez&#8217;s secret talent is snapping &#8211; they also have a particular fondness for soft shell tacos.&#8221;
The Tempo&#8217;s other new mascot, Dot, goes by she/her pronouns, loves cotton candy, and the team describes her as &#8220;the undisputed hype woman of the pair.&#8221;
Many have speculated that Dez identifies as &#8220;nonbinary,&#8221; which could be true, but the Tempo has not referred to it that way.
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WNBA team Toronto Tempo unveils new non-binary mascot with She/They pronouns.
Dez the mascot, who uses She/They pronouns, identifies as a “borealis blue” snapping turtle from Muskoka. <a href="https://t.co/i1lFdfzWPO">pic.twitter.com/i1lFdfzWPO</a>
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) <a href="https://x.com/OliLondonTV/status/2090773357751144856?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 21, 2026</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;The WNBA is virtue signaling so hard they&#8217;re going to break a wrist,&#8221; one social media user wrote.
LGBTQ-focused outlet Them also took notice, describing Dez as &#8220;butch&#8221; and saying the Tempo&#8217;s <a href="https://tempo.wnba.com/news/meet-the-official-tempo-mascots-dez-and-dot">press release</a> introducing the mascots &#8220;reads like a novella &#8211; a very queer novella.&#8221;
The outlet went a step further, speculating that Dez and Dot might be romantically involved. Them asked the Tempo to clarify both the mascots&#8217; relationship status and Dez&#8217;s gender identity.
A Tempo spokesperson told Them that Dez and Dot are &#8220;besties,&#8221; prompting the outlet to update its report.
Dez&#8217;s gender identity, however, remains a mystery.
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WNBA Team’s New She/They Mascot Is A Taurus DJ Who Loves Tacos

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President Donald Trump paused steep 50% tariffs that were set to go in place on Canadian imports, teasing a possible deal over a joint oil pipeline killed by former President Joe Biden. 
The tariffs, announced in July, were set to go into place on Wednesday and hit products like wine, hockey sticks, and cement. Trump posted on Truth Social Tuesday night that the tariffs were being paused while a deal was finalized with Canada that might include reviving the Keystone XL pipeline. 
“I have paused the 50% Tariffs against Canada, that were scheduled to kick in tomorrow morning for a three day period, based on the fact that Canada and the U.S.A., subject to the finalization of documents, have a DEAL! The great Keystone XL Pipeline, long ago killed by Sleepy Joe Biden, may be awoken from the grave!” Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/117119761850520698">said</a>. 
The Keystone XL pipeline was set to move oil from Alberta, Canada, to Nebraska, but the project was rejected by former President Barack Obama. The construction process was then started by Trump in his first term before it hit legal delays, and Biden canceled the project after he took office in 2021. At the beginning of Trump&#8217;s second term, he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-wants-to-revive-keystone-xl-pipeline-killed-under-biden-get-it-built-now">called</a> for the Keystone XL pipeline to be restarted, saying his administration would give “easy approvals” for the project. 
The office of the United States Trade Representative <a href="https://x.com/ustraderep/status/2089905312337658144?s=46">said</a> that the deal would “include comprehensive market access for all American goods, economic security commitments, digital trade alignment, and many important provisions that will continue to protect our market and American workers, along with our Canadian partners.”
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney confirmed that the tariffs were being paused until the end of the day on Friday, saying that “substantial progress has been made, although there is important work still to be done.”
“While we continue this work, Canada remains focused on building a stronger, more independent, and more competitive economy at home,” he added. 
Trump rolled out the new tariffs on July 20, with the White House saying they were necessary to counteract Canada’s  “discriminatory treatment of American products.”
“By doing so, President Trump is offsetting the burden and disadvantage on U.S. commerce from Canada’s discriminatory treatment of U.S. commerce and is leveling the playing field for crucial American exports—cars, alcohol, and dairy,” the White House said.

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Trump Hints At Major Oil Pipeline Revival After Breakthrough With Canada

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The family of an 83-year-old devout Christian grandmother who opposed euthanasia said the elderly woman was killed through Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) program, a process that was initiated while her family was on a brief scheduled vacation.
The family of Brigitte “GG” Stegemann said the grandmother strongly opposed euthanasia and told doctors she did not want to be killed after she developed Stage IV stomach cancer. Despite Stegemann&#8217;s objections, and the family&#8217;s objections, medical staff claim the grandmother consented privately to be euthanized while her granddaughter Brigitte Kranendonk, who was also her power of attorney, was on a brief scheduled vacation with her husband. Stegemann died through MAID a week later on July 10, notably without providing verbal consent, instead remaining silent and keeping her hands clasped in a prayer position.
<div id="attachment_1155841" style="width: 1162px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1155841" class="wp-image-1155841 size-full" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-12-at-8.32.50-AM.png" alt="" width="1152" height="824" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-12-at-8.32.50-AM.png 1152w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-12-at-8.32.50-AM-300x215.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-12-at-8.32.50-AM-805x576.png 805w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-12-at-8.32.50-AM-768x549.png 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 1152px) 100vw, 1152px" />Facebook: Brigitte Frances Kranendonk</div>
A Facebook <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10165694418302871&amp;set=our-familys-experience-with-medical-assistance-in-dying-maidthis-is-our-familys-">post</a> published by the family outlines their experience with doctors, nurses, and staffers pushing MAID on Stegemann. The program is part of the nation&#8217;s &#8220;free&#8221; publicly-funded healthcare system.
When she returned from vacation, Kranendonk was told that the staff had &#8220;met privately with GG on two occasions during Brigitte&#8217;s 10-day vacation to discuss MAID.&#8221; When Kranendonk asked why these discussions were taking place after Stegemann explicitly objected to MAID because of her Christian faith, Kranendonk was met with anger and pushback. She said one nurse told her, &#8220;I don&#8217;t need to tell you anything.&#8221;
When Kranendonk asked her grandmother privately if she really wanted to be euthanized, Stegemann appeared &#8220;confused&#8221; and responded, &#8220;I&#8217;m going to die Friday? They&#8217;re going to kill me Friday?&#8221;
Still, the home where Stegemann was staying for supposed care went ahead with the procedure. The family was told Stegemann would give consent to be killed at the start of the process, but she did not. Stegemann was killed anyway.
&#8220;[The doctor] attempted to speak with GG. By this point, GG was silent, her hands tightly clasped together in a fixed prayer position,&#8221; the family wrote. &#8220;GG never provided a verbal response to Dr. K.&#8221;
&#8220;Our family had been strictly assured that GG would be asked for a final, explicit verbal confirmation on the day of the procedure to ensure she still wished to proceed,&#8221; the family added. &#8220;When GG remained completely silent and gave no response, Brigitte felt a sudden wave of relief and a big smile came over her face, believing that the procedure would finally be halted because the strict requirement for final consent had not been met. Tragically, we were left alarmed and horrified when the clinical team completely ignored her silence and carried the procedure forward regardless.&#8221;
The incident is fueling more criticism of the MAID program, which was legalized in 2016 and has dramatically expanded since, with the total number of assisted deaths set at roughly 100,000.
Critics of MAID argue about its ethics and the financial incentives for Canada’s publicly funded healthcare system, which can save money when patients are euthanized rather than receive long-term care. Notably, Canada’s Parliamentary Budget Officer estimated that the 2021 expansion of MAID under Bill C-7 would result in approximately $149 million in net healthcare savings in its first year.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/a-catholic-priest-walks-into-a-canadian-hospital-they-offer-to-kill-him-twice">A Catholic Priest Walks Into A Canadian Hospital. They Offer To Kill Him, Twice. </a>

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The Latest Horror Story Out Of Canada’s ‘Free’ Healthcare System

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Police are investigating a suspicious overnight fire at Nöam, a kosher restaurant in Montreal&#8217;s Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough, as local leaders and community members urge authorities to treat the incident as a hate crime.
The blaze broke out around 3:15 a.m. on Saturday. While no injuries were reported, the building sustained major physical damage.
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A kosher restaurant in Montreal, Canada, was burned to the ground in a suspected arson attack in the early hours of Saturday morning. Emergency services were called to Nöam restaurant at around 3:15 a.m. after a man was seen on video apparently starting the fire before fleeing… <a href="https://t.co/8abdyivkBt">pic.twitter.com/8abdyivkBt</a>
&mdash; StandWithUs (@StandWithUs) <a href="https://x.com/StandWithUs/status/2083885987046854934?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 2, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) spokesperson Raphael Bergeron confirmed investigators possess security video showing an individual in a white T-shirt setting the fire before fleeing. Building owner Howard Szalavetz expressed heartbreak over the destruction, sharing fears that the business was intentionally targeted due to its Jewish identity. Quebec Liberal MP Anthony Housefather and Provincial Representative Elisabeth Prass both visited the site, condemning the attack and demanding a thorough hate-crime investigation, CBC <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/police-fire-kosher-restaurant-9.7293777#:~:text=(%20St%C3%A9phane%20Gr%C3%A9goire%2FRadio%2DCanada)%20Social%20Sharing.%20Police%20are,Ville%20de%20Montr%C3%A9al%20(SPVM)%20spokesperson%20Raphael%20Bergeron.">reported</a>.
The arson attack reflects a wider, escalation of hostility directed at Canada&#8217;s 400,000-strong Jewish population. Over recent months, cities including Toronto and Montreal have experienced a noticeable surge in violent incidents: A Toronto Jewish girls&#8217; school was targeted by overnight gunfire on three separate occasions; <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bagels-and-bullets-antisemitic-terror-wave-hits-jewish-bakery-chain">shots were fired</a> at Kiva’s Bagel Bar in Toronto, two Montreal Jewish institutions faced firebombings, and multiple synagogues in Nova Scotia were defaced with hate-filled graffiti.
Other reported incidents include attempted abductions and the assault of a Jewish man in front of his children in Montreal.
Community advocates note that these events put 2026 on track to be one of the most violent years on record for the Canadian Jewish community.
Meanwhile, only hours after the fire, the hostility extended into professional sports during a Major League Soccer match at Stade Saputo. Israeli international forward Dor Turgeman, playing for the visiting New England Revolution against CF Montréal, was subjected to hostile chants including &#8220;Death to Israel&#8221; and &#8220;Free Palestine&#8221; from sections of the crowd throughout the game.
Turgeman answered on the field in the 36th minute, scoring to give New England a 2–0 lead. He  celebrated by running toward the stands with his arms outstretched, pointing to his ears as if to say he couldn’t hear the hostility.
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That was quick ⚡️
Dor Turgeman makes it 2-0 for <a href="https://x.com/NERevolution?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NERevolution</a>!
📺 Apple TV: <a href="https://t.co/OHJW1JrVDJ">https://t.co/OHJW1JrVDJ</a> <a href="https://t.co/kgA8Z8TpUC">pic.twitter.com/kgA8Z8TpUC</a>
&mdash; Major League Soccer (@MLS) <a href="https://x.com/MLS/status/2083709603888455830?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 2, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Spectators reportedly <a href="https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/international/artc-targeted-by-chants-of-death-to-israel-dor-turgeman-responds-with-a-goal#:~:text=Throughout%20the%20match%2C%20some%20Montreal%20supporters%20chanted,allegedly%20behind%20recent%20antisemitic%20attacks%20in%20Canada.">hurled beer bottles</a> onto the pitch in response, and Montréal goalkeeper Sebastian Breza shoved Turgeman, triggering a brief altercation between players on both teams.

Views Of Quebec’s Largest City As Home Sales Rise

Montreal Kosher Restaurant Torched In Arson Attack As Anti-Semitic Hostility Spills Across Canada

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Americans often picture Canada as a vast northern forest — an endless expanse of pristine wilderness. But the truth is far more complex and increasingly relevant to U.S.–Canada policy debates. Eighty‑nine percent of Canada is Crown land, owned by federal or provincial governments. Yet only about 10–12% of that land receives detailed ecological monitoring.
This matters because U.S. trade policy, Canadian conservation policy, and federal herbicide permitting are now combining to reshape North America’s forests in ways few Americans recognize.
Over the past 20 years, Canada’s sawmill and pulp‑and‑paper sectors have entered a steep decline. Statistics Canada and industry reports show that mill closures have accelerated, especially in western Canada, where over 30% of softwood lumber capacity has disappeared. Employment has dropped sharply. Entire forestry towns have hollowed out.
And while multiple factors contribute — mountain pine beetle damage, wildfire losses, transportation bottlenecks — the most overlooked driver is the federal government’s long‑standing approval of spraying Roundup (glyphosate) herbicide across millions of hectares of Crown forests. For decades, glyphosate has been used to kill broadleaf species — birch, aspen, poplar — so that commercially valuable conifers can dominate.
But this practice has consequences. Roundup creates monoculture conifer stands, which are more resin‑rich and significantly more flammable than mixed‑species forests. Instead of diverse, moisture‑retaining ecosystems, Canada is producing vast tracts of single‑age, single‑species pine and spruce — exactly the kind of forests that burn explosively under extreme fire weather.
The result is a continental paradox: Policies meant to “manage” forests have instead created more combustible landscapes, contributing to the anomalous rise in total annual area burned.
The deterioration of Canada’s forests is also being accelerated by domestic policy. Rising carbon taxes on diesel and gasoline — critical fuels for logging, hauling, and mill operations — have increased costs across the supply chain. New layers of regulation slow approvals and reduce harvest flexibility. And when pulp mills close, sawmills lose buyers for residual chips and sawdust, further undermining their economics.
But the most consequential impact of this industrial contraction is ecological. Canada’s parklands — where monitoring exists — show a clear trend of rapidly aging boreal forests, with large stands now reaching 70 to 120 years old.
In Alberta’s eastern foothills, provincial parks contain dense, overmature, fuel‑loaded forests primed for high‑intensity wildfire. Decades of fire suppression, beetle kill, drought, and heavy recreational pressure have created extreme fire risk. As Parks Canada itself warns, “the reduction or exclusion of fire as a natural process … leads to increased risk of wildfires.”
The consequences are here. Alberta’s Jasper National Park recently nearly burned to the ground when extreme fire weather collided with decades of fuel accumulation, beetle‑killed forests, a highly vulnerable townsite, and infrastructure failures.
Nonetheless, long‑term fire data tell a more nuanced story.
According to Canada’s National Burned Area Composite and Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre wildfire statistics, forest‑fire frequency has declined since the 1980s. Canada is experiencing fewer fires overall.
What has changed is the total area burned, which had remained relatively moderate for decades but then spiked dramatically in 2023 and again in 2025, producing two of the worst years for fires in modern Canadian history.
These spikes reflect the dangerous combination of aging forests, heavy fuel loads, glyphosate‑driven monoculture, and extreme fire weather — not an increase in ignition frequency.
Meanwhile, federal biodiversity reports show that parks are not experiencing net improvement. Most ecosystems are stable, but among those changing, declines outnumber gains. And crucially, non‑park Crown lands are not monitored at all, meaning there is no empirical basis to claim that conservation designations improve biodiversity.
Yet Ottawa is moving ahead with its flagship 30&#215;30 agenda — a plan to place 30% of Canada’s land and water under conservation status by 2030.
In practice, this means restricting forestry across vast areas as forests age, become fuel‑loaded, and become increasingly prone to extreme fire behavior. By limiting private‑sector utilization, 30&#215;30 will increase fuel loading, exacerbate forest aging, and reduce thinning and harvesting activities that mitigate catastrophic wildfire risk.
For Americans concerned about lumber prices or wildfire smoke drifting south, the lesson is simple. Canada’s forests are increasingly unmanaged, aging, and burning, not because Canadians don’t care, but because the economic and policy frameworks governing those forests are pushing the country toward less active management.
North America needs forestry — not just parks — to remain resilient.
***
Joseph Fournier, Ph.D., has worked in the energy industry and environmental sciences and is a member of the <a href="https://protect.checkpoint.com/v2/r01/___http:/co2coalition.org/___.YXAzOmNyY2E6YzpvZmZpY2UzNjVfZW1haWxzX2F0dGFjaG1lbnQ6NDViOWU2YTJiM2QyMGE4ZmU0OWYwMjA3NTc3NTY1MWQ6Nzo1ZWY5OjM4YWIxNTk1N2I0MmJhMzFkYTJiNjEzZjcxNzAwNTJhNzEwOTczNTdjOGYwNmEwZWNlZWRhYTVlYjg5OTcwZGI6cDpUOkY">CO2 Coalition</a>, Fairfax, Virginia. He writes from his family’s ranch east of Calgary.

Wildfire Smoke From Canada Arrives in New York City

Blame Canada’s Terrible Regulations For Wildfires Ruining America’s Summer

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A tribal member living in Canada pleaded guilty Thursday to her role in planning a cross-border smuggling operation that resulted in the deaths of a family with two children who were under the age of three, The Daily Wire has learned.
Stephanie Square, 53, a dual Canadian-American citizen from the Akwesasne Mohawk Indian Territory in Canada, ran a smuggling organization that brought illegal immigrants across the northern border via the Indian reservation, according to the Justice Department.
In March 2023, Square was contacted by &#8220;a prolific Canadian smuggler&#8221; who asked her to bring a Romanian family of four across the St. Lawrence River and into New York. Square then recruited several others to help sneak the family across.
One of the individuals Square tried to recruit refused to assist in the scheme, citing high winds on the St. Lawrence River that night. Still, Square looked for other smugglers.
Square disregarded the high winds, freezing temperatures, and limited visibility, insisting that she get paid.
“Aliens attempting to enter the United States illegally across the U.S.-Canada border are exposed to a range of dangers at the hands of human smugglers trying to capitalize on the misfortunes and misplaced hopes of others,” Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said in a statement shared with The Daily Wire.
“Here, in the face of known dangers, the defendant directed her co-conspirators to smuggle a family with young children across the St. Lawrence River on a cold, windy night with limited visibility. The dangers materialized into a preventable and tragic loss of life,&#8221; Duva said.
Dakota Montour, one of Square&#8217;s &#8220;regular&#8221; smuggling drivers, agreed to drive the family to Timothy Oakes&#8217; home on Cornwall Island, a well-known staging area used by smugglers.
The family arrived at Oakes&#8217; home around 3:35 a.m. on March 29, 2023, and left that evening. Oakes&#8217; car was seen hauling a light blue boat toward a public boat launch.
The Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service began a search, recovering the bodies of the four family members between March 30 and March 31, 2023. They also recovered the smuggling boat.
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Authorities found the body of the boat captain, Casey Oakes, eight months later, according to the DOJ, though some reports say three months.
Square pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit alien smuggling, four counts of alien smuggling for financial gain, and four counts of alien smuggling resulting in death. She faces a minimum prison sentence of five years and a maximum punishment of life behind bars.
&#8220;This defendant and their co-conspirators showed a blatant disregard for human life, our laws, and the safety of our communities. We remain unwavering in our commitment to working with our law enforcement partners to protect and secure our northern border,&#8221; First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York John A. Sarcone III said.
Four of Square&#8217;s co-conspirators entered guilty pleas earlier.
Square and co-conspirator Rahsontanohstha Delormier, also known as &#8220;Storm,&#8221; 31, of the Akwesasne Mohawk Indian Territory in Canada, were extradited to the United States from Canada in 2025. Delormier entered a guilty plea on June 26.

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EXCLUSIVE: Member Of Indian Tribe Admits To Orchestrating Deadly Border Smuggling Scheme

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A Catholic priest says he was offered Canada&#8217;s state-sanctioned euthanasia program not once, but twice while recovering from a fractured hip.
The incident is fueling renewed criticism of Canada&#8217;s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) program, which has expanded dramatically since it was legalized in 2016. Government figures now put the total number of assisted deaths at roughly 100,000.
Father Larry Holland says a doctor raised the possibility of assisted death shortly after his admission to the hospital, according to <a href="https://bccatholic.ca/news/catholic-van/maid-raised-vancouver-priest-hospital-care-twice">reporting</a> from The B.C. Catholic. The option was later discussed again by a nurse. Both medical professionals knew Holland was a priest. The Catholic Church unequivocally rejects euthanasia in all its forms.
Holland said that when he told the doctor he was morally opposed to euthanasia, the doctor said “he just wanted to make sure that, if a [terminal] diagnosis came up or not &#8230; I knew of the different services I had access to,” according to the report.
Holland said the nurse seemed uncomfortable talking to him about the MAiD program but likely did so because he was suffering badly. “It’s a false compassion, really,” he said.
Vancouver Coastal Health told The B.C. Catholic that healthcare providers can discuss the MAiD program “based on their clinical judgment.”
As <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/movement-barrels-forward-to-euthanize-12-year-old-children-in-canada">The Daily Wire</a> reported last year, MAiD started back in 2016 for people whose natural death was “reasonably foreseeable” and who wanted to end their lives. Expansion of the program has led to an explosion of state-sanctioned suicides in recent years.
Holland&#8217;s experience echoes several other widely reported cases involving MAiD.
Last year, Miriam Lancaster, a British Columbia woman, said she went to a hospital in severe pain and was offered MAiD before doctors had even identified the source of her suffering. It turned out that Lancaster was suffering from a treatable pelvic fracture caused by osteoporosis and fully recovered.
The case of Christine Gauthier, a 52-year-old disabled veteran, sent similar shockwaves about the MAID program. When she requested a wheelchair ramp for her home, Canada’s Veterans Affairs department offered to send her a MAiD kit that would help her to end her own life, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/disabled-veteran-and-paralympian-asked-for-a-wheelchair-ramp-canadas-va-offered-to-help-her-commit-suicide-instead">The Daily Wire</a> previously reported.
There&#8217;s also Roger Foley, an Ontario man with a neurological condition, who says he was offered death-by-MAiD while he was fighting to get proper long-term care.
Not only are adults with hip fractures or disabilities being offered the death &#8220;solution,&#8221; but prominent groups are calling for minors as young as 12 years old to be included in MAiD. One advocacy group, called “Dying With Dignity Canada,” recommends minors as young as 12 be included in the program, and goes as far as to suggest 16 and 17-year-olds shouldn’t even need parental consent to be killed by a doctor if they fit broad criteria.
&#8220;There is a kind of gruesome, relentless logic at work here, and this is why the logical ‘slippery slope’ argument is a valid argument,” Dr. Aaron Kheriaty, a psychiatrist and director at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, told The Daily Wire at the time. “Once you cross the line of allowing doctors to kill patients, once you cross the line of accepting the basic premise of the euthanasia movement — which is that some lives are not worth living and therefore these people should be killed by the medical profession, then it’s very hard to argue that there should be any limitations.”
Moreover, as the MAiD expansion continues, a recent internal British Columbia <a href="https://nationalpost.com/news/b-c-found-hundreds-of-maid-compliance-concerns-in-2024-the-province-wont-say-what-happened">government report</a> found 2,807 cases requiring follow-up and 353 compliance concerns in 2024 alone. The findings have raised questions about whether the program&#8217;s safeguards are being effectively enforced, particularly given the lack of public information about how many of the flagged cases resulted in corrective action or discipline.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/movement-barrels-forward-to-euthanize-12-year-old-children-in-canada">Movement Barrels Forward To Euthanize 12 Year Old Children In Canada</a>

A Catholic Priest Walks Into A Canadian Hospital. They Offer To Kill Him, Twice. 

Euthanasia

Health

Priest

President Donald Trump on Friday blamed Canada for sending wildfire smoke into the United States and said the costs associated with the pollution &#8220;must of necessity be added&#8221; to tariffs on Canadian imports.
In a Truth Social post, Trump accused Canada of &#8220;willful negligence,&#8221; saying America is &#8220;being unnecessarily invaded by filthy, polluted, and unhealthy air.&#8221; The president said he planned to call Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney later Friday to figure out a solution.
&#8220;Canada has refused to engage in basic Forest Management and Debris Removal, knowing that such refusal will lead to exactly this result,&#8221; Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116936952365066409">wrote</a>. &#8220;This is Willful Negligence, and becoming a yearly occurrence, costing the United States Billions of Dollars, which cost of this pollution must of necessity be added to the TARIFFS Canada is currently paying.&#8221;
Trump&#8217;s post comes as hundreds of Canadian wildfires sent smoke south, leading to air quality advisories for more than 100 million Americans in 18 states and Washington, D.C. Images of hazy, gray skies across much of the Midwest and Northeast flooded social media, blurring skylines, reducing visibility, and triggering some outdoor cancellations.
Nearly <a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/americas/canada-wildfire-smoke-response-d0d3613a">900 wildfires</a> are burning across Canada, forcing evacuations and threatening remote communities after a major wave of blazes erupted over the past two weeks.
The hardest-hit U.S. cities have been in the Great Lakes and Upper Midwest, including Chicago, Detroit, Minneapolis-St. Paul and Cleveland, where Major League Baseball <a href="https://apnews.com/article/wildfires-pirates-guardians-0a1b831efa3f58d79e560a4e867d83dd?utm_source=copy&amp;utm_medium=share">postponed</a> Friday night&#8217;s Guardians-Pittsburgh Pirates game after the air quality reached the &#8220;very unhealthy&#8221; category. The smoke has also raised questions about Sunday&#8217;s World Cup final between Spain and Argentina in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
&#8220;We want to be safe for our players,&#8221; Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. &#8220;We want to make sure that it&#8217;s not too smoky and obviously for the fans as well. It&#8217;s just not safe to be out in that environment if it&#8217;s not playable.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Where did Lake Erie go? <a href="https://t.co/C1y4rFLYVg">pic.twitter.com/C1y4rFLYVg</a>
— News 5 Cleveland (@WEWS) <a href="https://x.com/WEWS/status/2078096444032987502?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 17, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
As of Friday evening, Prime Minister Carney had not publicly responded to Trump&#8217;s comments or tariff threat. Canada is already subject to multiple rounds of tariffs from the Trump administration. Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who has pushed back against Trump&#8217;s trade agenda, fired back.
&#8220;If there&#8217;s some politicians out there chirping away, well maybe what you should do rather than complain, is send support, send help, because we have done the exact same thing for our American friends,&#8221; he <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/us-complaints-trump-widlfire-smoke-9.7274466">said</a>.

Chicago, July 17, 2026

Trump Says America Is Being ‘Unnecessarily Invaded’ By Canadian Wildfire Smoke

Environment

Executive

When President Donald Trump floated the idea of Canada becoming our 51st state, the Left lost its collective mind on both sides of the border.
A group of Democratic House members <a href="https://democrats-foreignaffairs.house.gov/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=C44F2297-5A45-49AB-806B-D587082D0739&amp;utm_source=chatgpt.com">warned</a> that the president’s rhetoric threatens to leave us alone to face other challenges we cannot overcome on our own. U.S. Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-CA) <a href="https://lindasanchez.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/sanchez-delivers-remarks-house-floor-canada-tariffs-vote">denounced</a> the “childish threats” as “certainly not strategic.&#8221; Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/world/canada/carney-trump-canada-speech.html">declared,</a> “Canada thrives because we are Canadian.”
Fast forward to the present day, and hazardous smoke from over 800 Canadian wildfires is billowing across American skies. As of Friday, air quality alerts were in effect <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/article/at-least-17-states-under-air-quality-alerts-as-canadian-wildfire-smoke-spreads-in-the-midwest-and-northeast-raising-questions-about-the-world-cup-final-184707666.html">across at least 17 states,</a> imperiling the health of more than 125 million Americans. On a scale of 0 to 500, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/16/weather/what-to-know-canada-wildfires-smoke.html">the air quality rating eclipsed 800</a> in Toledo, Ohio, on Thursday night.
Funny, the chorus of warnings from the Left about reckless behavior has gone quiet. So much for “challenges we cannot overcome on our own.”
These fires are not new, and neither are the consequences. In 2023, Canadian wildfires <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c703nzl25ypo">emitted more carbon</a> (647 million metric tons) than the annual output of all but three countries worldwide.
How does this keep happening, and who is to blame?
The Left, as they are wont to do for almost anything, points the finger at climate change. In 2023, Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer <a href="https://x.com/SenSchumer/status/1666534710720315392">declared</a>, “These Canadian wildfires are truly unprecedented, and climate change continues to make these disasters worse. We passed the Inflation Reduction Act to fight climate change, and we must do more to speed our transition to cleaner energy and reduce carbon in the atmosphere.”
In early 2025, while fires in California <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Los-Angeles-wildfires-of-2025">were claiming 30 lives</a>, forcing more than 180,000 people to flee their homes and costing an estimated $100 billion in damage, California Governor Gavin Newsom <a href="https://x.com/CAgovernor/status/1882904964403511556">told</a> his constituents that “climate change is here and it is real.”
Schumer and Newsom are right. Climate change is the cause of these fires. Only not in the way they are suggesting.
Just as the threat of “carbon emissions” has been used to justify sweeping changes to the American way of life (Barack Obama’s attempt to ban coal, Newsom’s efforts to eliminate gas-powered vehicles, Biden’s IRA boondoggle), the Canadians have used it to mismanage their forests. <a href="https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/forestry">Roughly 38%</a> of Canada’s land consists of forest, significantly more than the U.S, and <a href="https://natural-resources.canada.ca/forests-forestry/sustainable-forest-management/forest-land-ownership">94%</a> of those forests are publicly owned.
On its <a href="https://natural-resources.canada.ca/forests-forestry/sustainable-forest-management/canada-s-forest-laws?utm_source=chatgpt.com">government website</a>, Canada proudly declares its “forest laws are among the strictest in the world,” adding, “by law, forest management plans must be approved before harvesting starts.”
For the last decade-plus, Canada’s government has been run by leftists, first Justin Trudeau, who was succeeded by Carney in 2025. During his tenure, Trudeau repeatedly downplayed forest management, denouncing an “attack on experts, and on science” in favor of his preferred villain of the climate polluters.
In one 2024 House of Commons debate over <a href="https://www.ourcommons.ca/Content/House/441/Debates/347/HAN347-E.PDF?utm_source=chatgpt.com">forest management</a>, Trudeau intoned that, “if we do not act in fighting against climate change with everything we have, then there will be no economy of the future.”
Forget about the economy of the future. These fires threaten Canada’s very existence today.
When the government fails to manage the forests, the consequences are steep. When forests are unmanaged and unattended, they burn.
Long after these fires are extinguished and the air returns to normal, the dangerous mentality of the climate cult will persist on both sides of the border.
Even after all his state has been through, Newsom, one of the Democratic Party’s wannabe standard-bearers, <a href="https://usclimatealliance.org/press-releases/alliance-statement-on-epa-endangerment-finding-repeal-feb-2026/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">is still claiming</a>, “greenhouse gases cause climate change and endanger our communities and our health.”
Never mind the children, pregnant women, and those with respiratory conditions in our country today, who are worried about the air they are breathing.
Climate change is the linchpin excuse for failed government. Remember that the next time Gavin Newsom comes after your gas car. Or New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani urges you to set your air conditioning at 78 degrees during a heatwave. Or Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says that <a href="https://ocasio-cortez.house.gov/media/press-releases/ocasio-cortez-presses-epa-assistant-administrator-kramer-jeopardizing-clean">data centers are dirty</a>.
The real threat is the failure of leadership. That failure can be deadly, and the symptoms manifest themselves in different ways, but the cause is rooted in climate politics. Given their current plight, perhaps it’s a blessing that Canada did not become our 51st state after all.
***
Daniel Turner is the founder and executive director of Power The Future, a national nonprofit organization that advocates for American energy jobs. He also runs a sheep and cattle farm in rural Virginia.  Contact him at daniel@powerthefuture.com and follow him on Twitter @DanielTurnerPTF

“Extreme” Santa Ana Winds Spark New Wildfires In Southern California

Blame Canada For Their Dumb Hot Wildfires

Climate Change

Justin Trudeau

Millions of Americans face apocalyptic skies as wind blows heavy smoke from Canadian wildfires into the United States. 
Impact from the smoke could be felt Friday across major cities like Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, New York City, Pittsburgh, and Washington, D.C. The smoke originated from roughly 800 wildfires that blazed in recent weeks in Ontario, Canada and is expected to continue impacting American&#8217;s air quality for the next several days. 
The conditions have prompted air quality warnings from officials who have encouraged residents in some areas to stay inside. Milwaukee saw its worst air quality on record while alerts were issued in over a dozen states — mianly throughout the Midwest and Northeast — urging people to be cautious. 
Ohio’s Environmental Protection Agency <a href="https://x.com/OhioEPA/status/2077826905974149601/photo/1">told</a> people to “avoid strenuous outdoor activities when possible, especially if you have heart or respiratory conditions. Watch for symptoms like wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, dizziness, or irritation in your nose, throat, or eyes.”
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer <a href="https://www.facebook.com/GovGretchenWhitmer/posts/a-statewide-air-quality-alert-remains-in-place-today-with-air-quality-ranging-fr/1558742538934998/">said</a> people across her state should “stay indoors whenever possible.”
The smoke could be seen in the nation&#8217;s capital on Friday, with residents noting the eerie look of the smoke floating around the iconic city.
“The sky and the air in DC looks apocalyptic — as if things can&#8217;t get weirder,” <a href="https://x.com/MeghanMcCain/status/2078086173025603685">said</a> commentator Meghan McCain.
The fallout from the fires has led some lawmakers to call for action, including Ohio Senator Bernie Moreno who said he plans to file legislation that would sanction Canada over the wildfires. 
“Canada’s government failed to invest in wildfire prevention methods including forest thinning, fuel reduction, prescribed burns, and stronger enforcement against arson,” Moreno’s <a href="https://www.13abc.com/2026/07/16/sen-bernie-moreno-looks-hold-canadian-government-responsible-wildfire-smoke/">office said</a>. 
Four Michigan Congressional Republicans, including gubernatorial candidate John James, <a href="https://bergman.house.gov/uploadedfiles/canadian_wildfires_summer_2026.pdf">wrote</a> a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to critique Canada’s handling of its wildfires.  
&#8220;The season has come around again, and nothing has changed except that our patience has run out,” the GOP lawmakers wrote. &#8220;Our constituents in Michigan are once again under air quality alerts. Our hospitals are once again treating children, dialysis patients, and older residents for the effects of smoke that did not originate anywhere near them.&#8221;
&#8220;This is the third consecutive year we have had to write to Canadian officials about a crisis that Canada has the tools to prevent and has chosen not to,” they added. “We were told last year that this would be treated with urgency. It was not.&#8221;
Earlier this week, Carney said that thousands of people across Canada had been forced to evacuate due to the fires.

Local Weather U.S.

Apocalyptic Skies Spread Across Major U.S. Cities

Michigan

Ohio

wildfire

A Canadian national learned the hard way that political rage can carry a hefty price tag — including a possible one-way ticket out of the country.
Kaitlyn Tracey, a 33-year-old living in Asbury Park, allegedly lost her cool on the Point Pleasant Beach boardwalk on Jersey Shore over the Fourth of July weekend and is accused of <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/07/15/us-news/canadian-woman-kaitlyn-tracey-detained-by-ice-after-allegedly-assaulting-teen-girl-wearing-trump-clothing-at-jersey-shore/">unleashing a physical assault</a> on a teenager whose only crime was her wardrobe choice.
According to authorities, Tracey filmed herself confronting a group of four young girls on July 3. The trigger? Two of the minors were wearing patriotic sweatpants emblazoned with the words &#8220;Trump&#8221; and &#8220;ICE.&#8221; Tempers flared, and Tracey allegedly smacked one of the young girls across the face and body. While the teenager escaped physical injury, Tracey couldn’t escape the law.
Cops used security footage to track down the angry Canadian. She was hit with a laundry list of charges, including endangering the welfare of a child, assault, harassment, and obstruction.
But her troubles didn&#8217;t stop there. On Monday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents snatched Tracey up and threw her into the Delaney Hall detention center in Newark.
Her husband, Matthew Geroni — who calls himself the &#8220;Clown of Asbury Park&#8221; and regularly mocks conservatives — scrambled to TikTok to beg his 140,000 followers for help, conveniently leaving out the part where his wife allegedly slapped a kid. A GoFundMe page he promoted for her legal fees was quickly yanked down after angry MAGA supporters reported it.
The leftist&#8217;s boardwalk tantrum is just the latest flashpoint in a years-long wave of violent outbursts targeting everyday Americans for wearing red hats or flying conservative flags.
Just two months ago, the hatred turned lethal. Kerry Sheron, a 69-year-old Army veteran known for his patriotic &#8220;Trump House&#8221; in Escondido, California, was brutally beaten in his own front yard. The elderly veteran <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/army-vet-dies-after-hes-beaten-outside-his-famed-trump-house">died of his injuries</a> days later.
The rage extends to even the most mundane settings. Back in July 2018, a Texas teenager sitting in a San Antonio Whataburger had his MAGA hat ripped off and soda thrown in his face by an angry patron. In August 2019, a man was jumped outside a Portland, Oregon bar by two thugs simply because he was <a href="https://www.opb.org/news/article/maga-hat-trump-portland-oregon-assault/#:~:text=By%20Rob%20Manning%20(OPB)%20Portland%2C%20Ore.%20Aug.,to%20the%20Multnomah%20County%20District%20Attorney's%20office.">wearing the signature red hat</a>.
Even law enforcement has been caught in the middle of the madness. A federal appeals court previously ruled that Trump supporters attacked at a 2016 campaign rally in San Jose could sue local police. Officers allegedly funneled attendees right into a hostile mob of anti-Trump protesters and stood by while they were pummeled and pelted with garbage.
For Tracey, her next date in court is on August 4 if Uncle Sam doesn&#8217;t deport her back to the Great White North first.

Nation’s Capital Prepares For President-Elect Donald Trump’s Second Inauguration

ICE Takes Action After Canadian Lefty Accused Of Slapping American Teen Over Trump Pants

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

New Jersey

Trump Supporters

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