Mark Carney's elevation to the top job in Canada is of particular significance at this moment when his country is at the frontline of a North American trade war. He becomes the "anti-Trump" on the US president's doorstep. The former Bank of England governor chose to lean strongly into resisting Donald Trump's policies at his acceptance speech. He said the US president had brought "dark days" from "a country we can no longer trust" and that he was "proud" of Canadians resisting the US "with their wallets". While on trade specifically Mr Carney vowed to keep the retaliatory tariffs "until Americans show us respect", it was clear that the general threats against Canadian sovereignty are equally as important in his thinking. Trump has repeatedly said he will use economic power to encourage Canada to become the 51st state of the US, but Carney hit back. "The Americans want our resources, our land, our water, our country… Canada will never be part of America in any way, shape or form," he said. Behind the scenes, Carney has been encouraging a very robust response to Mr Trump. As he told me last month in his only UK interview during his campaign to succeed current Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, it was necessary to "stand up to a bully". He ridiculed Trump's allegations of Canada's involvement in fentanyl trade, and the US president's suggestion that Canada has ripped off the US. Canada's trade deficit is caused "entirely" by its exports of subsidised oil, Carney told me, and "perhaps we should ask for that subsidy back". He follows in the footsteps of former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi as a former top central banker who became a G7 leader. It is an otherwise rare path, but it may be good timing when Canada's nearest neighbour has suggested using economic power to take over. Carney has experience in this area having dealt with a number of acute political-economic crises, such as the banking crash, the eurozone crisis, sterling's sharp slide after Brexit, and the start of the pandemic. He has also regularly attended G20 meetings at leader level, including in the presence of Trump, as chair of the Financial Stability Board, an international economic body. At one such meeting, the Trump team threatened to leave the International Monetary Fund. Carney believes that Trump only respects power. Of any attempt to mollify Trump, he said "good luck with that". He will focus further tariff retaliation on bringing inflation and interest rate rises to Canada's "southern neighbour". The Canadian election is due by October, but Carney might call an earlier one. Depending on that, he is on course to host Trump in Canada at the G7 Summit in June. His rise to the top job raises the stakes for the UK. On the one hand, a more robust approach from an allied G7 leader stands in contrast to the UK's attempt to hug the White House closely. On the other hand, Carney also hinted at wanting to diversify trade towards "more reliable" partners, which would include the UK and EU. Canada might send its subsidised energy to Europe, rather than the US. The bigger strategic point is that Carney's background means a focus on international solidarity, and defence of the existing multilateral system. He says Canada can "stand on its own feet" but sees merit in creating a more coherent international alliance to focus the minds of Congress and tariff-sceptics in the Trump administration. Canada's new leadership expects support from its Commonwealth ally, the UK. After my recent interview with him, Carney turned the camera to the portrait on the wall of the office from which he was talking to me: King Charles. The message was clear. Canada and the UK should be on the same side in this new world era.

Canada's most populous province Ontario is slapping a retaliatory 25% surcharge on electricity it sends to US states in response to President Donald Trump's tariffs on Canadian goods. Ontario leader Doug Ford confirmed the move in a news conference on Monday morning, saying it will increase costs for affected US customers by an average of $100 (£77.65) per month. Roughly 1.5 million American homes and businesses in the northern border states of New York, Michigan and Minnesota will be impacted. Ford said that the surcharge on energy will remain until the threat of tariffs from the US "is gone for good." "President Trump's tariffs are a disaster for the U.S. economy. They're making life more expensive for American families and businesses," Ford said in a statement on Monday. At Monday's news conference, Ford threatened to escalate further if the US increases their tariffs on Canada. "I will not hesitate to increase this charge if necessary," he said. "If the US escalates, I will not hesitate to shut off electricity completely." He added that he understands the tariffs are not the fault of the American people, blaming Trump solely for them. "Believe me when I say I don't want to do this," Ford remarked, though he added: "As premier, my number one job is to protect the people of Ontario." Ford said that Ontario will be using the revenue from its retaliatory tariffs on energy to support local workers and businesses impacted by US tariffs on Canada. Canada's federal government has also imposed its own dollar-for-dollar reciprocal tariffs on $30bn worth of US goods exported north. The list of products impacted ranges from clothing to perfume to orange juice. Trump responded to the surcharge in a social media post on Tuesday, saying "your not even allowed to do that". He said the US would "get it all back" with its own reciprocal tariffs in the coming weeks. "Canada is a Tariff abuser, and always has been, but the United States is not going to be subsidizing Canada any longer," he said. President Trump has threatened Canada repeatedly with a blanket 25% tariff on all Canadian exports to the US - a move that economists have warned could result in job losses in Canada while increasing prices for Americans. The US has threatened similar tariffs on neighbouring Mexico as well. Last week, Trump imposed the levies but quickly reversed course, saying he would temporarily spare carmakers from tariffs until 2 April. He later carved out further exemptions on goods shipped under North America's free trade pact, the US-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) agreement, which Trump signed in his first term. The measures also reduced tariffs on potash - a key ingredient for fertiliser needed by US farmers - from 25% to 10%. Trump, however, is still expected to impose tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium some time this week. Governors from states affected by the electricity tax also responded. Democratic New York Governor Kathy Hochul has commissioned a review of the impact of Trump's tariffs and Ford's response on energy prices and supply reliability in the state. "These federal tariffs have been poorly conceived from the start: crafted in secret with no transparency and no clear economic rationale, they've only served to destabilize our capital markets and create uncertainty among New York families and businesses," she said in a statement. The trade war tensions have rattled markets and raised fears of economic turbulence. The S&P 500 share index, which tracks the biggest listed American companies, has plunged to its lowest point since September, after Trump imposed the tariffs last week and later declined to rule out the possibility of a recession. In a Fox News interview that was taped on Thursday, Trump said "I hate to predict things like that" in response to the possibility of a severe economic downturn, after saying that the tariffs could bring about a "period of transition." "It takes a little time, but I think it should be great for us," Trump said.

If you had asked Canadians a few months ago who would win the country's next general election, most would have predicted a decisive victory for the Conservative Party. That outcome does not look so certain now. In the wake of US President Donald Trump's threats against Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal Party has surged in the polls, shrinking the double-digit lead their Conservative rivals had held steadily since mid-2023. The dramatic change in the country's political landscape reflects how Trump's tariffs and his repeated calls to make Canada "the 51st state" have fundamentally altered Canadian voters' priorities. Trump's rhetoric has "pushed away all of the other issues" that were top of mind for Canadians before his inauguration on 20 January, notes Luc Turgeon, a political science professor at the University of Ottawa. It has even managed to revive the once deeply unpopular Trudeau, whose approval rating has climbed by 12 points since December. The prime minister, of course, will not be in power for much longer, having announced his resignation at the start of the year. On Sunday, his Liberals will declare the results of the leadership contest to determine who takes over a party running a precarious minority government. The new leader will have two immediate decisions to make: how to respond to Trump's threats, and when to call a general election. The answer to the first dilemma will surely influence the second. A federal election must be held on or before 20 October, but could be called as early as this week. Polls indicate that many Canadians still want a change at the top. But what that change would look like - a Liberal government under new leadership, or a complete shift to the Conservatives - is now anyone's guess, says Greg Lyle, president of the Toronto-based Innovative Research Group, which has been polling Canadians on their shifting attitudes. That is because the centre-right party led by Pierre Poilievre, has been effective in its messaging on issues that have occupied the Canadian psyche for the last few years: the rising cost of living, housing unaffordability, crime and a strained healthcare system. Poilievre successfully tied these societal problems to what he labelled Trudeau's "disastrous" policies, and promised a return to "common sense politics". But with Trudeau's resignation, and Trump's threats to Canada's economic security and even its sovereignty, that messaging has become stale, Mr Lyle says. His polling suggests the majority of the country is now most afraid of Trump's presidency and the impact it will have on Canada. Trump's 25% tariffs on all Canadian imports to the US, some of which have been paused until 2 April, could be devastating for Canada's economy, which sends three-quarters of all its products to the US. Officials have predicted up to a million job losses as a result, and Canada could head into a recession if the tax on goods persists. Trudeau left no doubt how seriously he is taking the threat, when he told reporters this week that Trump's stated reason for the US tariffs - the flow of fentanyl across the border - was bogus and unjustified. "What he wants is to see a total collapse of the Canadian economy, because that'll make it easier to annex us," the prime minister warned. "In many ways, it's an all encompassing, fundamental issue about the survival of the country," Prof Turgeon tells the BBC. Who is best placed to stand up for Canada against Trump has therefore become the key question in the forthcoming election. The Conservatives are still ahead in the polls, with the latest averages suggesting 40% of voters back them. The Liberals' fortunes, meanwhile, have been revived, with their support climbing to slightly over 30% - up 10 points from January. Liberals have attempted to highlight similarities between the Conservative leader and Republican president. At last week's leadership debate, candidates referred to Poilievre as "our little version of Trump here at home" and said he was looking to "imitate" the US president. A Liberal Party attack ad juxtaposed clips of the two using similar phrases such as "fake news" and "radical left". There are clear differences, however, between the two politicians, in terms of style and substance. And Trump himself has downplayed any parallels, telling British magazine The Spectator in a recent interview that Poilievre is "not Maga enough". Still, polls suggest a slipping of Conservative support. A recent poll by national pollster Angus Reid indicates Canadians believe Liberal leadership front-runner Mark Carney is better equipped to deal with Trump on issues of tariffs and trade than Poilievre. The former governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England is touting his experience dealing with economic crises, including the 2008 financial crash and Brexit. And the shift in the political mood has forced Conservatives to recalculate their messaging. If the election is called soon, the campaign will take place at a moment when Trump's threats have inspired a fierce patriotism among Canadians. Many are boycotting American goods at their local grocery stores or even cancelling trips to the US. Prof Turgeon says this "rallying around the flag" has become a key theme of Canadian politics. The Conservatives have shifted away from their "Canada is Broken" slogan, which Mr Lyle says risked coming across as "anti-patriotic", to "Canada First". Conservatives have also redirected their attacks towards Carney. Before Trump's tariffs, they ran ads saying he is "just like Justin" in an attempt to tie him to Trudeau. But in recent weeks, the Conservatives have started digging into Carney's loyalty to Canada. Specifically, they have questioned whether he had a role in moving the headquarters of Brookfield Asset Management - a Canadian investment company - from Toronto to New York when he served as its chair. Carney has responded that he had left the firm by the time that decision was made, but company documents reported on by public broadcaster CBC show the board approved the move in October 2024, when Carney was still at Brookfield. The move, and Carney's equivocation of his involvement with it, was criticised by the editorial board of Canada's national newspaper the Globe and Mail, which wrote on Thursday that Carney must be transparent with Canadians. More broadly, the paper wrote: "Every party leader must understand that Canada is entering a years-long period of uncertainty. The next prime minister will have to call on the trust of Canadians to lead the country where it needs to head but may not want to go." Given the anxiety reverberating among Canadians, Mr Lyle says that any ambiguity about Carney's loyalty to the country could yet be damaging for him and the Liberals. Whenever the election comes, and whoever wins, one thing is certain: Trump will continue to influence and reshape Canadian politics just as he has in the United States.

A British adventurer is aiming to travel solo across Canada's Baffin Island. Battling temperatures as low as -40C, Camilla Hempleman-Adams, 32 and originally from Wiltshire, will cover 150 miles from Qikiqtarjuaq to Pangnirtung, during the two week expedition. The daughter of adventurer Sir David Hempleman-Adams, she will complete the challenge on foot and by ski while pulling a sledge in winds of up to 68 mph. Ms Hempleman-Adams, who now lives in London, said she wanted to show women "that boundaries can be broken". "I hope this expedition inspires more women to take on adventures and challenges of their own," she added. Flying out with her father on Thursday, Ms Hempleman-Adams also hopes the trip, which will go through Auyuittuq National Park, will highlight the impact of climate change on the region and its local Inuit communities. "I have two sisters and growing up in a family of explorers, our dad would always encourage us to take on challenges regardless of our gender – it's a nightmare when we get together to play games at Christmas," Ms Hempleman-Adams said. "I was part of a similar trek group across Baffin Island two years ago and I thought, I can do this solo." Ms Hempleman-Adams said she had undergone weight and cardio training, along with dragging heavy tyres, in preparation for the trek. No stranger to challenges, Ms Hempleman-Adams previously became the youngest British female to ski to the North Pole at the age of 15. Correction 8 April: A previous version of this article claimed Ms Hempleman-Adams wanted to be the first to complete this journey. We have corrected this after several claims that she would not have been the first.

Todd Brayman is no longer buying his favourite red wine, which is from California. A veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces, he is one of a growing number of people in Canada, Europe, and other parts of the world, who are avoiding buying US products due to President Trump's tariffs and treatment of US allies. "I have in my life served alongside American forces. It is just profoundly upsetting and disappointing to see where we are given the historical ties that our two countries have," says Mr Brayman, who lives in Nova Scotia. "But I think right now it's time to stand up and be counted, and in my mind, that means buying local and supporting Canadian business." Together with his wife, Mr Brayman has replaced all the American products he used to buy, including his previous wine of choice, with Canadian alternatives. "Luckett Phone Box Red wine, which is from right here in Nova Scotia, is great," he says. Determining which products are Canadian isn't always easy however. "Sometimes labelling can be misleading," adds Mr Brayman. To help, he now uses an app on his phone that can scan a product's barcode and identify where it's from. If the product is identified as American, the app suggests Canadian alternatives. The app, called Maple Scan, is one of numerous emerging in Canada to help people shop local. Others include Buy Canadian, Is This Canadian? and Shop Canadian. Maple Scan's founder, Sasha Ivanov, says his app has had 100,000 downloads since it launched last month. He believes the momentum around buying Canadian is here to stay. "Lots of Canadians have told me, 'I'm not going back'. It's important that we support local regardless," he says. Canadians like Mr Brayman are boycotting American products in response to a raft of import tariffs introduced by Trump. These included tariffs of 25% on all foreign cars, steel and aluminium, and 25% tariffs on other Canadian and Mexican goods. Meanwhile, other European Union exports will get tariffs of 20%, while the UK is facing 10%. Trump says the tariffs will boost US manufacturing, raise tax revenue and reduce the US trade deficit. However, they have spooked global markets, which have fallen sharply over the past month. Trump has even expressed a desire for Canada to join the US as its 51st state, something the Canadian government was quick to strongly reject. Ottawa has also responded with C$60bn ($42bn; £32bn) in counter tariffs, as well as additional tariffs on the US auto sector. And there has been a substantial drop in the number of Canadians travelling to the US. Groups dedicated to boycotting US goods have also emerged in European countries. Momentum behind the boycott is particularly strong in Denmark, whose territory of Greenland Trump has said he wants to acquire. Denmark's largest grocery store operator, Salling Group, recently introduced a symbol, a black star, on pricing labels to denote European brands. Bo Albertus, a school principal who lives in Skovlunde, a suburb of Copenhagen, says joining the boycott was his way of taking action. "Statements that Trump made about wanting to buy Greenland, that was just too much for me," he says. "I can't do anything about the American political system, but I can vote with my credit card." One of Mr Albertus's first moves was to cancel his subscriptions to US streaming services, including Netflix, Disney Plus and Apple TV. "My 11-year-old daughter is a bit annoyed about it, but that's the way it is. She understands why I do it," he says. Mr Albertus is the administrator for a Danish Facebook group dedicated to helping people boycott US goods. In the group, which has 90,000 members, people share recommendations for local alternatives to US goods, from shoes to lawnmowers. Mr Albertus says: "It's a movement that is quite a lot bigger than just our little country, so it all that adds up." Mette Heerulff Christiansen, the owner of a grocery shop in Copenhagen called Broders has stopped stocking American products, such as Cheetos crisps and Hershey's chocolate, in her store. She is substituting them with Danish or European products where possible. Ms Christiansen is also swapping out products she uses at home. She's finding some easier to replace than others. "Coca-Cola is easy to substitute with Jolly Cola, a Danish brand," she says. "But technology, like Facebook, that's totally difficult to avoid." She believes the boycott movement in Denmark is helping people to channel their anger at Trump's policies and rhetoric. "I think it's more for the Danish people to feel good that they are doing something," she says. Douglas Irwin, a professor of economics at Dartmouth College in the US, who specializes in the history of US trade policy, believes the economic impact of the boycott may be limited. "It is hard to judge how economically significant the consumer boycotts will be in terms of reducing trade with the United States," he says. "In the past, boycotts have not lasted long and have not achieved much. It starts as a hostile reaction to some US action but tends to fade with time," he says. For now though, the rising Buy Canadian sentiment in Canada is boosting sales for many local brands. The CEO of Canadian grocer Loblaw posted on LinkedIn that weekly sales of Canadian products were up by double digits. Bianca Parsons, from Alberta in Canada, is behind an initiative to promote locally-made goods, called Made In Alberta, which she says has had a surge in interest since the tariffs were introduced. "We're now getting over 20,000 hits [to the site] every two weeks." Ms Parsons, who is the executive director of the Alberta Food Processors Association, adds: "I've had producers reach out to us and say: 'I'm selling out at stores that I would never sell out before, thank you so much'." Several Canadian provinces, including Ontario and Nova Scotia, have removed US-made alcoholic beverages from their liquor store shelves in response to tariffs, a move the boss of Jack Daniel's maker Brown-Forman has said is "worse than tariffs". Among the American businesses feeling the impact is Caledonia Spirits, a distiller based in Vermont, near the Canadian border. Ryan Christiansen, Caledonia's president and head distiller, says his business had an order on track for shipment to Quebec cancelled directly after tariffs were announced. "My sense is that everyone's just being a little too aggressive and, unfortunately, I think America started that," says Mr Christiansen. "I do understand that the action America took needed a counter reaction. "If it were up to me, I'd be at the table trying to resolve this in a friendly way, and I'm hopeful that the leaders in America take that approach." Ethan Frisch, the co-founder of Burlap & Barrel, an American spice company based in New York, which also exports to Canada, says he's more concerned with the impact of the tariffs on his company's imports and rising inflation in the US than the consumer boycott. He says: "I think there's this assumption that, if you boycott an American company, it's going to have an impact on the economy and maybe change the situation. I think that assumption, unfortunately, is not accurate. "The [US] economy is crashing all up by itself. Businesses like ours are struggling without boycotts."

Not long after the US imposed their tariffs on Canada, a local neighbourhood pub in Toronto began removing all American products off their menu. That means nachos, wings - and of course, beer - must all be made now with local Canadian ingredients, or wherever not possible, non-US products from Europe or Mexico. For Leah Russell, manager at Toronto's Madison Avenue pub, the boycott was a no-brainer. She adds that it is "pretty set in stone," even if the tariffs themselves are not. "I'm glad that we're getting rid of American products and supporting local businesses," Ms Russell told the BBC on Thursday. "I think it's an important thing to do." This defiant stance in response to President Donald Trump's tariffs and threats against Canada has been unfolding across the northern country, even as it braces for economic blowback that it could ultimately do little to avoid in the event of a full-blown trade war. Just ask actor Jeff Douglas, once the face of Molson Canadian Beer's "I Am Canadian" advertisements, who has filmed and posted a light-hearted, but deeply-patriotic video on Youtube this week addressing Trump's "51st state" rhetoric. "We're not the 51st anything," declares Mr Douglas in the video, which has since gone viral in Canada. Some of the backlash has been more symbolic, like one Montreal café changing the Americano on their menu to a "Canadiano" - a small gesture that the owners say is meant to display unity and support for their community and country. Even the CBC, the country's public broadcaster, is feeling the full force of this wave of patriotism, after it dared run a programme asking Canadians what they think about Canada becoming "the 51st state", as Trump has suggested many times. The show sparked intense backlash and accusations of "treason," "sedition" and even "betrayal". Although Trump has since lifted some of the tariffs imposed this week and put others on pause until 2 April, many Canadians say the damage has already been done. After Thursday's reversal, foreign minister Melanie Joly told CNN that Canada has been shown "too much disrespect by the Trump administration at this point, calling us a 51st state, calling our prime minister 'governor.'" Meanwhile, Doug Ford, who is the leader of Canada's most populous province, did not back down from his plan to slap export tariffs on electricity that Canada supplies some US states. The 25% surcharge will affect up to 1.5 million American homes. "I feel terrible for the American people because it's not the American people, and it's not even elected officials, it's one person," he told a local radio show on Thursday in reference to Trump. "He's coming after his closest friends, closest allies in the world and it's going to absolutely devastate both economies," Ford said. Canadians support their country's reciprocal actions, saying they should remain in place until US tariffs are completely off the table. "You go to bed every night and don't have any idea where you stand," said Andrew, a shopper at a Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) store in Toronto, which has stopped stocking US-made alcoholic drinks, like bourbon from Kentucky. Trump says he will delay the tariffs, "but what does that mean?" he asks. "Let's keep [American-made drinks] off the shelves until we know what things are going to be from day to day." The tariffs have been met with deep anxiety in Canada, whose majority of exports are sold to companies and clients in the US. Officials predict up to a million job losses if a 25% across the board levy went ahead, while economists warn that a recession is imminent if they persist. The potential impact is devastating enough that the Canadian government has announced it will bring in relief measures, similar to those implemented during the Covid-19 pandemic, to help impacted individuals and businesses. Even with the tariffs being scaled back temporarily, the uncertainty alone is hurting both American and Canadian economies, says Rob Gillezeau, an assistant professor of economic analysis and policy at the University of Toronto. "The most sensitive thing to uncertainty is business investment," Prof Gillezeau says, adding that firms are "not going to want to spend a dime anywhere" until they have some clarity. Analysts suggest the mere whiff of a trade war is likely costing Canadian companies hundreds of thousands of dollars as they try to navigate through these changes, and are likely delaying deals and disrupting trade due to the confusion. That trepidation is also seen in the stock market, which had erased virtually all its gains since Trump won the presidency in November. Trump has repeatedly said that tariffs are a response to Mexico and Canada's role in the fentanyl crisis, which has killed over 250,000 American since 2018. While only a small portion of the drug originates from Canada, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that even those numbers are significant for "families in this country who have lost loved ones to this deadly poison". Even small amounts of fentanyl can kill large number of people, she added. Outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has condemned the tariffs, suggesting they align with Trump's stated desire to see Canada become "the 51st state." "What he wants is to see a total collapse of the Canadian economy, because that'll make it easier to annex us," Trudeau told media in Ottawa Thursday. Prof Gillezeau notes that it is an especially deep wound from a neighbour whom Canada had long considered its closest friend and ally. The US and Canada have fought wars together, have boasted about having the longest "undefended" shared border in the world and have even engaged in joint security missions in the Arctic to defend each other's sovereignty. "We've been allies for 100 years," he says, adding that many Canadians are likely upset not just with how the US has been treating Canada, but also other allies like Ukraine. "We're a decent, honourable people, and we stand by our allies," Prof Gillezeau says. "I think that's what is driving the real depth of the discontent we see." The Canadian boycotts are already having material impact. Canadian outlet Global News has reported that leisure travel bookings to the US have plunged 40% year over year, citing data from Flight Centre Canada. That decline has also been observed in land border crossings between British Columbia and Washington State. Before the tariffs, the US was the number one international travel destination for Canadians, who have spent $20.5bn (£15.89bn) into the American tourism economy in 2024 alone. Asked if this trend will hold, Prof Gillezeau says Canadians ideally want relations to go back to normal with their neighbour. But in absence of that, the consensus in the country is that "Canada needs to find friends elsewhere".

Three suspects are still at large after 12 people were injured in a shooting at a pub in Toronto, police in the Canadian city say. The shooting took place at 22:39 on Friday local time (03:39 GMT Saturday) near Scarborough city centre in eastern Toronto. Authorities said six people suffered bullet wounds and others were hurt by flying or broken glass. The injuries were not life-threatening, they said. Toronto police said the three men, armed with an assault rifle and handguns, had entered the pub and "opened fire indiscriminately". A motive "right now remains unclear and we're chasing down all leads", said Police Supt Paul MacIntyre. "This was a brazen and reckless act of violence that's really shaken our community and the city itself," he added. Police said they were deploying all available resources to find the suspects. Earlier, they said that one suspect, wearing a black balaclava, had been seen fleeing the scene in a silver car. The victims ranged in age from 20s to mid-50, according to police. "I'm happy to report, by the grace of God, that there have been no fatalities," Supt MacIntyre said, which he called "extremely lucky." He said he and other officers were "horrified" by video of the shooting. "These guys just looked at the crowd and opened fire. It was horrible." Glass walls were shattered and there was "blood all over the floor", including in the basement, where some people ran to hide before police arrived, he said. Mayor Olivia Chow expressed deep concern over the mass shooting, telling reporters on Saturday that she was "deeply troubled" by the incident. "It is troubling because of the magnitude of the shooting and the number of people hurt," Mayor Chow said. She said that police have been actively investigating the case throughout the night and into the morning. Ontario Premier Doug Ford also condemned the violence, stating in an X post on Saturday that he fully supports the Toronto Police Service in their search for the suspects. The number of those injured in this incident is high compared to other shootings in the area in 2024. Last year, eight people were injured and two killed in shootings and firearm discharges in the police division where Friday's incident occurred, the department's data shows. In Toronto, which has a three million population, 43 people were killed in shootings last year. Canada has a lower rate of firearm homicides than its neighbour the US, with 0.6 per 100,000 people compared to 4.5 per 100,000, according to 2021 data from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.

In announcing the decision to postpone some tariffs on Mexico for another month, US President Donald Trump was at pains to praise his Mexican counterpart, Claudia Sheinbaum. "I did this as an accommodation, and out of respect for, President Sheinbaum", he wrote on his social media site, Truth Social. "Our relationship has been a very good one and we are working hard, together, on the border." The comments were in stark contrast to the kind of language he has used for the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, who he continues to refer to as "Governor Trudeau", while calling Canada "the 51st State". The war of words – if not yet trade – continues between Canada and the Trump administration with Prime Minister Trudeau calling the entire tariffs policy "dumb" and the US Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, calling him a "numbskull" in return. The difference in tone between the US neighbour to the north and the one to the south could hardly be more striking. Some, particularly in Claudia Sheinbaum's camp, see it as evidence of her deft handling of an unpredictable leader in the White House, one who has made several bold statements of intent, only for them to be rolled back or watered down. Certainly, President Sheinbaum has delivered a singular message from the start: Mexicans should "remain calm" over Trump, she has said, insisting that "cooler heads will prevail." In that sense, it has been so far, so good for the Mexican leader. Twice, now, in two months she has managed to stave off the imposition of sweeping 25% tariffs on Mexican goods through a last-minute phone call to President Trump – even though he said there was "no room" for negotiation. It is testament to her diplomacy that Trump seems to genuinely appreciate her tone, clarity and overall demeanour in their interactions. She has refused to accept publicly that Mexico hasn't done enough on either of the main border issues on which Trump is demanding action from his neighbours: fentanyl trafficking and undocumented immigration north. She began Thursday's morning press briefing by referring to new figures from the US Customs and Border Protection agency which show seizures of fentanyl have dropped to 263 kilos, their lowest levels in 3 years. It represents a 75% drop in the last six months of her presidency. When tariffs were avoided in February, Sheinbaum agreed to deploy 10,000 troops to the US-Mexico border. Her administration has also extradited (although they prefer the word "expelled") 29 drug cartel figures to the US to face trial on charges from murder to money laundering, including a top drug lord, Rafael Caro Quintero, who has been wanted by the US authorities since the mid-1980s. Those may well have been the measures Trump was referring to when he said the two countries were "working hard, together" on border security. Furthermore, she has often thrown the ball back in the US president's direction. Where do the guns which arm the cartels come from, she asks rhetorically, openly calling for the US to do more to curb the flow of weapons south and tackle its demand for illegal drugs. The drugs may come from Latin America, she points out, but the market for their consumption is overwhelmingly in the US. Even when the Trump administration recently designated six Mexican cartels as "foreign terrorist organisations", it seemed to strengthen her hand. That's because her administration is currently embroiled in a legal battle with US gun manufacturers over negligence. If US weapons-makers have allowed their products to reach terrorists rather than mere criminals, Mexico could expand its lawsuit, she said, to include a new charge of "complicity" with terror groups. And yet while President Sheinbaum is enjoying a strong start to her presidency – both domestically and in the eyes of the world – for her handling of Trump, it is worth stressing that these are early days in their bilateral relationship. "I think she has played the hand she has been dealt pretty well", said Mexican economist, Valeria Moy. "I'm not sure it's time for celebration just yet. But I think she has done what she can in the face of the threat of tariffs. It makes little sense for either of side to enter into a trade war." The key to Sheinbaum's success seems to have been in refusing to back down on unreasonable requests or matters of real importance, while similarly not appearing subservient or acquiescent to the White House's demands. That is not an easy path to tread. On some questions – the Gulf of Mexico being renamed by Trump as the Gulf of America, for example – she can afford to remain above the fray knowing that most people around the world are unlikely to adopt his preferred terminology. On others, particularly tariffs, the stakes are considerably higher; there's a danger that the constant back-and-forth and instability on the issue could push the Mexican economy into recession. The Mexican peso weakened again during this latest episode and, although Sheinbaum claims the country's economy is strong, the markets would clearly prefer a more reliable and solid relationship with the US. Mexico remains the US's biggest trading partner, after all. When I spoke to President Sheinbaum on the campaign trail last year, shortly before she made history by becoming Mexico's first woman president, she said she would have no problem working with a second Trump presidency and that she would always "defend" what was right for Mexicans – including the millions who reside in the US. "We must always defend our country and our sovereignty," she told me. With so much bluster between these three neighbours in recent days, it is easy to forget that the Trump presidency is still only six weeks old. The new relationship with the White House has a long way to go, with the USMCA trade agreement to be renegotiated next year. But certainly, amid all the political theatre, Claudia Sheinbaum will be more pleased than Justin Trudeau with how it has started.

Former Olympic snowboarder and Canadian national Ryan Wedding, 43, has been placed on the FBI's 10 most wanted fugitives list for allegedly running a violent transnational drug trafficking network. Wedding is wanted for allegedly shipping hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia, through Mexico and southern California, to Canada and US locations, and for orchestrating multiple murders and an attempted murder to further these drug crimes. The US is offering a reward of up to $10m (£7.7m) for information leading to Wedding's arrest or conviction. Investigators believe he is living in Mexico, but have not ruled out his presence in the US, Canada, other Latin American countries or elsewhere. It was not clear if he has a lawyer. Wedding competed in Giant Slalom snowboarding for Canada during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. His aliases include "El Jefe," "Giant," "Public Enemy," "James Conrad King," and "Jesse King," the FBI said. In June 2024, Wedding and his accomplice Andrew Clark, 34, also Canadian, were charged in California with running a continuing criminal enterprise, committing murder in connection with the enterprise and assorted drug crimes, and conspiring to possess, distribute, and export cocaine. Clark was arrested last October by Mexican authorities and was among 29 fugitives extradited to the US from Mexico last week. The US indictment alleges that Wedding and Clark directed the 20 November 2023 murders of two family members in Ontario, Canada, in retaliation for a stolen drug shipment that passed through southern California. Another family member survived the shooting but was left with serious physical injuries, the FBI said. Wedding and Clark allegedly also ordered the murder of another victim on 18 May 2024 over a drug debt, according to the FBI. "The alleged murders of his competitors make Wedding a very dangerous man, and his addition to the list of Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, coupled with a major reward offer by the State Department, will make the public our partner so that we can catch up with him before he puts anyone else in danger," Akil Davis, the assistant director of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office, said in a press release on Thursday.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he's willing to cut off power supply to the US if President Donald Trump continues with tariffs against Canada. Ford announced his retaliatory plans shortly after Trump implemented a 25% tariff against Canadian imported goods and a 10% tariff on Canadian energy. He said he would implement his own 25% surcharge on Canadian electricity exports to three US states: Michigan, New York and Minnesota. If the US tariffs are escalated, he said, he would consider completely cutting those states off from Canadian power. About 1.5m Americans in those states get their electricity from Canada. Ford's response comes after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his own retaliatory measures – including an immediate 25% tariff on C$30bn ($20.7, £16.2) of goods from the US. As the leader of Ontario, Canada's most populous province and largest economy, Ford is able to wield his own carrot and stick. He banned US companies from bidding on Ontario infrastructure projects, and he cancelled a $100m deal with Elon Musk's Starlink internet provider. He also said he's reached out to lawmakers in those three US states to urge them to put pressure on Trump to back off tariffs against Canada - or risk leaving their own constituents in the dark. He also urged premiers in other Canadian provinces to follow suit. But the timing of Ford's promised tariffs is not clear. Ford told media he would implement the tariff on electricity if Trump's tariffs "persist". He said he is looking for ways to avoid passing new legislation, which could take weeks. "We need to act immediately," he said. "If they go further into April, then we'll cut off their electricity," he added.