Homicide Unit investigating suspicious deaths

The OPS Homicide Unit and Sûreté du Québec are currently investigating the suspicious deaths of two Ottawa residents. 

Shortly before 1 a.m. ET on Aug. 22, Sûreté du Québec responded to a single-vehicle collision, east on Highway 50 near Papineauville, Quebec. They then located an individual inside the vehicle with injuries considered suspicious in nature. They were transported to a hospital and died shortly thereafter. As the investigation progressed, Sûreté du Québec requested assistance from the OPS. At approximately 11:09 a.m. Ottawa Police officers attended a dwelling on Guigues Avenue, in Ottawa. Upon entering, officers located a second deceased person.

The deceased have been identified as 27-year-old Kesi Fevrier and 34-year-old Kingsley Nwude, both of Ottawa. Authorities are investigating the death of Kesi Fevrier as a femicide. The investigation remains ongoing as investigators continue to gather evidence and speak with potential witnesses. There is no ongoing threat to public safety. Anyone with information related to this investigation is asked to contact the OPS Homicide Unit.

Police investigating pills found in three east-end parks

The OPS is continuing to investigate after various types of pills were found scattered around three east-end parks. Yesterday, police conducted an extensive search at several Orléans parks and found additional pills located in a third park. Officers have now recovered and seized more than 100 pills at these three parks in close proximity to one another:

•             Blue Willow Park, located on Longleaf Drive;
•             Silverbirch Park, located on Silverbirch Street; and
•             Ruisseau Park, located on Creek Crossing Street.

Police also searched other nearby parks, but found no pills or other unknown substances. The investigation remains ongoing, and residents are asked to be alert of any suspicious activity in the area. Anyone who locates pills or other unknown substances is asked to leave them in place and contact police immediately. Please contact the OPS East Criminal Investigation Section if you have any information.

READ MORE: Ottawa Police Blotter – August 19

Police remove 18 vehicles from Ottawa roads

The OPS, alongside the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO), conducted a joint commercial vehicle safety blitz in Ottawa’s east end on Thursday, Aug. 20. CVSA-qualified inspectors from MTO, with support from several OPS units, including East District Traffic, the Road Safety Unit, Impaired Countermeasures and Impounded Vehicles, conducted mechanical safety inspections on commercial vehicles. They inspected a total of 57 vehicles. The enforcement initiative resulted in:

• 18 vehicles taken off the road
• 34 charges laid
• Three licence plates seized

Vehicles were removed from the road for safety-related deficiencies involving brakes and brake components, improper or overloaded tires, improper driver’s licences, insecure loads, missing daily logs, faulty directional signals and a broken trailer floor. One of the insecure loads involved dangerous goods. 

Authorities laid multiple charges for offences related to improper or missing daily trip inspection reports, missing annual inspection certificates, improper tires, major vehicle defects, Commercial Vehicle Operator’s Registration (CVOR) issues, permit violations, overweight vehicles, improper driver’s licences, disobeying signs and tinted windows.

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Mayoral candidate and city councillor Jeff Leiper is pledging to reverse the city’s return-to-office mandate for municipal employees and pressure the federal government to reconsider its own in-office requirements.

Speaking outside Parliament LRT station on Monday, Leiper argued blanket RTO mandates are increasing congestion and putting additional pressure on Ottawa’s transit system while costing workers more in commuting expenses.

“For everyday residents, this is our time, our money and our quality of life,” Leiper said.

His plan would restore flexible work arrangements for city employees where possible and advocate for more shared federal workspaces in areas such as Orleans, Barrhaven and Ottawa’s South End.

“That would mean shorter commutes, less congestion, less pressure on transit, more money in your pocket,” he said.

Leiper cited that the RTO mandate has added 65,000 additional trips onto OC Transpo, and ten of thousands more cars on the roads.

His plan would also require the city to assess the transportation, financial and environmental consequences of major changes to workplace policies before they are implemented.

The announcement comes as both federal and municipal employees faced increased requirements to work in person.

In February, the Treasury Board announced the change to remote work rules in February, while executive public servants are required to return to the office full-time in May.

Last fall, Ottawa city council voted in favour of maintaining its RTO policy for municipal employees.

Leiper subsequently introduced a motion seeking to reverse the mandate and preserve flexible work arrangements for city staff, but the motion was defeated.

Mayor Mark Sutcliffe has supported increased in-office work, pointing to the benefits for downtown businesses and public transit.

Leiper said the downtown’s “future vitality” shouldn’t depend on the federal or city return-to-office.

“The future of Ottawa’s downtown, its vitality, its economic vitality, its cultural vitality depends on people living here,” he said.

“We have done work to encourage more development in the downtown and that will continue.”

Asked what influence a mayor could realistically have over federal workplace policy, Leiper pointed to previous discussions between the federal government Sutcliffe over the implications to return-to-office requirements.

“I don’t know what was said behind those closed doors, but certainly, my encouragement to the federal government will be to reverse those return-to-office mandates. We don’t have the transportation infrastructure to handle it and frankly, I think it’s good for the city as well to pursue that course,” he said.

In an email sent to iPolitics, Sutcliffe’s campaign team said the management of municipal employees is the City Manager’s responsibility, not the mayor.

“Playing politics with human resources is counterproductive and performative, especially since the City’s current policy already provides flexibility for alternative work arrangements,” the office said.

“Ottawa needs leadership focused on delivering real priorities like improving transit, building houses, strengthening the local economy and making communities safer.”

Responses from other mayoral candidates 

Other mayoral candidates have released similar policies on RTO mandates.

Earlier this month, homebuilder Alex Lawson also came out against the policy and pledged to put the city formally on record calling on the federal government to reverse it.

“For city staff, I think managers know better than politicians whether employees need to be in the office to do their job. They’re the ones who should decide,” Lawson said in a statement to iPolitics. 

Lawson has similarly proposed expanding federal workplaces outside the downtown core, including in Kanata, Orleans, Barrhaven and the south end.

He also emphasized the return of rush-hour bus service during morning and afternoon peak periods, using the city’s existing and incoming bus fleet to accommodate increased commuter demand.

Economist Neil Saravanamuttoo has also opposed the RTO mandate, arguing that Ottawa is “not ready.”

He said he would have pushed the federal government to delay its plans.

“Unfortunately, Mark Sutcliffe did not ask the federal government to reconsider its timelines,” he said in a statement to iPolitics. 

While Leiper’s proposal for greater flexibility for cityworkers “worthwhile,” Saravanamutto said his call for the federal government to reverse its decisions as “theatrics,” arguing that the larger concern is the impact of federal workers.

“People can be productive workers anywhere. Forcing them back into the office is not the way forward,” he said.

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The City of Barrie celebrates the completion of the Lakehead University Barrie STEM Hub 

The City of Barrie and Lakehead University recently celebrated the completion of the new Lakehead University Barrie STEM Hub, a major investment in education and economic growth in downtown Barrie. The Barrie STEM Hub is a multi-site facility with two locations: 24 Maple Avenue and 5 Ross Street. The STEM Hub will provide hands-on education in engineering, mechatronics, and computer science at the undergraduate and graduate levels, enabling students to learn locally for in-demand careers and supplying industry with skilled talent. Lakehead University will welcome the inaugural Barrie STEM Hub class on September 8, 2026.

For more information, visit barrie.ca/STEMHub or lakeheadu.ca/barrie.

Secure Your Spot: Fall Recreation Registration Opens August 25

The City of Barrie offers hundreds of programs for all ages and abilities, including fitness classes, swimming lessons, skating programs, arts activities, and family-friendly recreation opportunities.

Resident registration opens August 25, followed by non-resident registration on September 1. Popular programs fill quickly, so early registration is encouraged at play.barrie.ca. Eligible Barrie residents can also apply for fee assistance through the RecACCESS program, which helps make recreation programs more affordable.

Don’t miss Barrie Fire’s Hot Summer Nights event

Barrie Fire and Emergency Service (BFES) will host another free Hot Summer Nights event from 6 to 8 p.m. at Madelaine Park (90 Madelaine Drive) this Thursday, August 27. Everyone is welcome to join the fun and cool off under the spray from BFES trucks. Participate in free family-friendly activities, learn about lifesaving fire safety tips, and take tours of the fire trucks.

Visit barrie.ca/HotSummerNights for event details.

There’s still time to enjoy free, family-friendly activities in Barrie parks

 The City is still offering free, drop-in activities in parks across the community for the final weeks of summer to get residents engaged in active play and nature. Enjoy the Summer Fun Trailer, Community Connect at Lampman Garden, Neighbourhood Nights, Nature Play Days, Park Takeovers, and the Sandy Shores Kitchen and Café–featuring hands-on activities, nature experiences, and sensory play for children and families.

For details, dates, times, and the full schedule, visit barrie.ca/SummerFunEvents.

Celebrate innovation: 2026 Mayor’s Innovation Awards nominations open

The City of Barrie is now accepting nominations for the 2026 Mayor’s Innovation Awards. Celebrating its eighth year, the awards recognize businesses, individuals, and community groups that demonstrate creativity, leadership, adaptability, and innovation. Award categories include Pivot Point, Creative Collaboration, Research & Innovation Contribution, Youth Innovator, Shift Disturber, and Municipal Innovation. Barrie businesses, organizations, groups, and individuals of all sizes and sectors are encouraged to apply. Nominations close November 18, 2026. Winners will be selected by independent judging panels and recognized at an awards ceremony in spring 2027.

Visit investbarrie.ca/InnovationAwards to learn more and submit nominations. 

Know Your Ward: Boundary Changes for the 2026 Municipal Election

The City of Barrie has finalized new ward boundaries following a comprehensive review completed in 2025. The updated boundaries will be used for the 2026 Municipal Election and the next term of Council. Residents whose ward boundaries have changed will vote in their new ward during this fall’s election, while current ward representation will remain in place until the newly elected Council is sworn in.

Anyone considering running for Council is encouraged to review the updated ward map, as the new boundaries may affect the area they wish to represent. Learn more and access interactive and printable ward maps at barrie.ca/election.

Waterfront Parking Permits Now Valid Through 2028

Barrie residents can continue to park for free at select waterfront locations with a digital waterfront parking permit, now valid until December 31, 2028. The permit is linked directly to your licence plate, making parking quick and convenient with no physical permit required.

If you already have a waterfront parking permit, no action is needed. Residents who have not yet applied can get their permit online at barrie.ca/WaterfrontParking.

Local businesses invited to complete annual Business & Employer Data Survey

The City of Barrie is conducting its annual Business & Employer Data Survey to gather up-to-date information on local businesses and employment trends. City staff will be visiting businesses in commercial and industrial areas throughout the city, and businesses can also complete the survey online at  buildingbarrie.ca/BusinessDataSurvey by September 30, 2026. Survey results help keep the City’s online business directory and support economic development and planning initiatives.

For more information and to view the 2025 summary report, visit investbarrie.ca/BEDS.

Property Tax Deadline Reminder: Final Instalment Due Soon 

The final 2026 tax bill instalment due date is September 29, 2026. Final tax bills are issued each May. All payments must be received by the City on or before the due date to avoid late payment fees of 1.25% per month. Simplify your payments—join the Pre-Authorized Payment Plan and never worry about missing a due date!

Visit barrie.ca/PropertyTaxes for more information.

Presented by The City of Barrie

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Progress for Mental Health marks the fourth year of Project Saade, an initiative designed to distribute backpacks and school supplies to underserved youth through schools and community organizations in Ottawa.  

The project is also part of a broader Ontario-wide backpack initiative led by PIE education, which Barrie Mayor Alex Nuttall co-founded in 2012. PFMH joined the initiative in 2023 alongside the John Tavares Foundation, using donations locally to purchase backpacks and school supplies to donate them locally. 

Over those four years, the organization has provided backpacks to more than 4,000 young people, Amel Storseth, a founder and board member of Progress for Mental Health. 

“It’s the fact that we have touched over 4,000 lives, young lives in Ottawa and Ottawa community,” Storseth said. 

“Returning to school is an exciting time, but for some people, it can also be a nervous time and a stressful time—especially for those that come from different backgrounds.” 

Storseth said the demand for school supplies has become increasingly apparent as families grapple with higher cost of living. 

Four years ago, some community organizations would tell the group they only needed 50 or 100 backpacks. This year, Storseth said organizations were prepared to take as many as PFMH could provide. 

“Times are tougher for people,” she said. “The cost of living has increased, people are struggling more.” 

Project Saade holds a personal significance to Storseth. She helped create the initiative in memory of her late brother. 

“To be a person from immigrant parents who you know came to this country with nothing, only to give themselves and their kids a better life, and then now to give back to other immigrant families is honestly just a blessing, and I’m humble to do so,” she said. 

Some of the organizations that Project Saade has reached includes the Boys and Girls Club, Youth Empowerment Centre, local mosques and schools across the region. 

Christian Lapalme, Superintendent of the French-Catholic School Board (CECCE), said the initiative not only eases pressure from families, but also help fill a need for newcomers arriving in Ottawa. 

“Cost of living is one thing, but obviously immigration is another,” Lapalme said, noting that many newcomers arrive in Canada with only essentials and may not have everything their children need to begin school. 

“Nothing is worse than a kid not having a backpack and being laughed at, so we’re talking about mental health,” he said. 

The CECCE received 200 backpacks this year to distribute among 17 schools, covering students from grade 3 to 12. 

“Immigration is one key component that we’re trying to help,” Lapalme said. 

*iPolitics and Ottawa Compass publisher Brian Storseth is also a founder and board member of Progress for Mental Health, the organization behind Project Saade. 

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In a new poll published by Liaison Strategies, 70 per cent of residents believe homelessness in Ottawa has gotten worse over the past year, while 63 per cent of people disapproved of how the city has been addressing the issue. 

The polling, commissioned by Ottawa Compass and iPolitics, surveyed a random sample of 1,000 Ottawa residents from Aug. 14th to 19th, using interactive voice recording technology. For the total sample, the margin of error is plus and minus 2.77 percentage points. 

Respondents were asked what the biggest obstacle to reducing homelessness, 26 per cent pointed to a lack of affordable and supporting housing, while 25 per cent cited insufficient addiction and mental health treatment. 

Residents were also asked what they believe the government should prioritize the most when responding to homelessness and severe addiction. Among the top responses were housing at 25 per cent, voluntary treatment at 20 per cent and mandatory treatment at 18 per cent. 

Over 40 per cent of the respondents also said they “strongly support’ allowing courts to require treatment without consent when someone poses a serious risk. 

The findings come as Ontario’s big-city mayors press the province to rethink how it responds to homelessness, mental illness and addiction, including opening the door to discussions surrounding involuntary treatment. 

OBCM Chair and Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward said on Sunday the caucus unanimously agreed that they want the province to undertake a review on the legislation governing involuntary admission and consent to treatment. 

Mayor Mark Sutcliffe is among the 29 mayors represented by OBCM, but was reportedly not present for the vote. 

The mayors are not explicitly calling for mandatory treatment. Instead, they want Ontario to review the Mental Health Act and Health Care Consent Act, and consider a “compassionate care and intervention model,” including what safeguards would be needed to protect the rights and well-being of people with severe mental illness or substance-use disorders. 

BACKGROUND: Ontario Big City Mayors press province for review of mandatory care, expanded addiction treatment in jails 

Currently, the province allows involuntary psychiatric admission in certain circumstances. Under the Mental Health Act, someone with an apparent mental disorder who poses a significant risk to themselves or others, faces serious physical impairment or meets certain criteria involving a recurrent treatable disorder can be detained in a psychiatric facility for up to 72 hours for assessment.

Decisions around treatment are separately governed by the Health Care Consent Act. 

But some Ontario’s leading mental health and addictions organizations are urging caution before those powers are expanded. 

Addictions and Mental Health Ontario, the Canadian Mental Health Association Ontario and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health say the province should first ensure people who are voluntarily seeking treatment can actually get it. 

“There is an urgent need to help people struggling with chronic homelessness, mental health and addictions, but we need to focus on solutions that work,” Jennifer Holmes Weier, CEO of AMHO wrote in a statement on Monday. 

“Before expanding mandatory treatment, we need to make sure timely, voluntary care is available in every community to people who are already asking for help.” 

Mayoral candidates response

“I support the call of OBCM to the province to advance mandatory rehabilitation for individuals who truly need it, such as treatment of severe addictions in limited, high-risk circumstances,” Sutcliffe said in a statement to iPolitics.

“This is the most compassionate option for individuals who cannot or will not seek vital care voluntarily and it is the way to do right by communities that are victims of drug and addictions crisis.”

Sutcliffe defended the city’s record, pointing to increased investment in supportive and affordable housing, the expansion of ANCHOR, the alternative neighbourhood crisis response program, additional policing and outreach workers in communities affected by the toxic drug crisis.

“We still have a lot of work to do, but we are making progress,” Sutcliffe said.

If re-elected, Sutcliffe said he would double the rate at which supportive housing is funded and built, calling it the “single most important step to ending homelessness.”

He also pledged to release a broader plan on homelessness and the toxic drug crisis during the campaign.

Mayoral candidate Neil Saravanamuttoo weighed in on the issue, pointing that the city requires more affordable housing with “wrap-around services” in the long-term, but points to a need for a more “pragmatic” approach now, and expanding  ANCHOR across Ottawa. 

“It means rapid response teams to clean up needles and other debris, it means securing same day recovery treatment programs,” he said in a statement sent to iPolitics. 

“It means looking at what’s working in other cities to provide new forms of affordable temporary shelter, such as the Village Transition in Gatineau.”

Saravanamuttoo also noted that there’s a need to be “open” to a review on the compassionate care and intervention model. 

Homebuilder Alex Lawson took a more enforcement and recovery approach, arguing the city has put too much emphasis on harm reduction without providing sufficient pathway to recovery. 

“Harm reduction has to be a path to recovery or we’re just making it easy to do drugs,” Lawson said in a statement to iPolitics. 

“My focus is going to be on taking the drugs away and getting people to help they need to get off the streets,” he said. 

Lawson, who has been highlighting drug use and public disorder in Ottawa on social media, said he plans to release a broader policy in the next month. 

“I’ll say this much right now: when I’m mayor, the party with drugs in Ottawa will be over,” he said. 

City Councillor Jeff Leiper, meanwhile, emphasized expanding access to treatment, while addressing people who are struggling with mental health and addiction with dignity. 

In an apparent reference to Lawson’s social media posts, Leiper said he would not film vulnerable people to make a political point.

“I won’t do what other running for mayor are doing and film people at some of the lowest points in their lives to use their misfortune as a political prop. These are people. They are our neighbours and many are struggling with addiction, mental illness and poverty,” Leiper said in a statement sent to iPolitics. 

Leiper said as a mayor he would work with the provincial and federal government to build 1,500 non-profit homes annually, establish an acquisition fund to preserve existing affordable rentals and make the city’s ANCHOR program permanent, while expanding it city-wide. 

The post Over 40 per cent of Ottawa residents open to involuntary addiction treatment: poll appeared first on CompassNews.

More than 4.1 million hectares have burned across the country so far this year driven by dry conditions in British Columbia and the Northwest Territories and large fires in Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec. While officials say the 2026 season has been less severe than last year by some measures, the trend points to a growing wildfire threat.

When Emergency Management Minister Eleanor Olszewski first provided a wildfire national update in July, roughly 410,000 hectares had burned across Canada. That figure has since ballooned, with roughly 20,000 evacuees and thousands displaced.

“I also want to take a moment to thank the first responders for their really tireless work in protecting families… that includes more than 500 international firefighters,” Olszewski said.

Firefighters from Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and Costa Rica are assisting with the response, with more deployed in British Columbia.

As the wildfire threat grows, Ottawa is also weighing whether to expand Canada’s aerial firefighting capacity ahead of next year’s season.

Olszewski said the government is currently working with provinces and territories to assess their firefighting fleets and expects to make a decision on additional leased aircraft by the end of the year.

“We’ll be making a decision with respect to leased aircraft,” she said. “We will want those to be in place for the next wildfire season.”

Indigenous Minister Mandy Gull-Masty also spoke on the disproportionate effect wildfire had on First Nations communities, particularly in northwestern Ontario.

Since July, Canada saw 40 fires impacted across 38 First Nations, with 4,294 evacuees and 1,425 Indigenous people displaced.

Ottawa has also put $55 million toward helping First Nations prepare for and respond to emergencies, including wildfire mitigation and community-level capacity.

Another $718,000 in FireSmart went to First Nations and tribal communities in Atlantic Canada for measures such as vegetation management in high-risk areas, while 321 First Nations emergency management coordinator positions are federally funded across the country.

“My priority is to ensure that First Nations have access to the support they need before, during and after an emergency. To strengthen how we are working together,” Gull Masty said.

Some First Nations in northern Ontario have criticized the provincial and federal response to this year’s evacuations, with calls for national inquiry into how the wildfire emergency was handled.

Asked whether Ottawa would support an inquiry, Gull-Masty did not commit to one, instead pointing to the need to learn from this year’s response and clarify the roles of First Nations, provincial and federal governments during future emergencies.

“We note the intensity. We note that they are continuing to be longer and quite challenging to understand at what point these things will be triggered, but we also want to ensure that in moving forward we are taking those lessons learned at this time,” Gull-Masty said.

Similarly, when asked whether the government plans to address climate change to prevent worsening wildfires, both ministers said they acknowledge climate change as a major contributor to the disasters.

Olszewski noted that she is aware that people are concerned with major projects along with the MOUs signed with Alberta, but noted that the agreements puts climate change “front and center,” pointing to setting effective industrial carbon price.

Despite the handful of initiatives and strategies Ottawa has set out to protect nature, a climate activist said focusing on emergency preparedness, while important, is not enough.

“We should not be talking about emergency preparedness without also talking about what is causing the climate emergency in the first place, and this is the decision to continue investing in and expanding fossil fuels despite the fact that it is destroying communities, livelihoods and our environment,” Laura Kenyon, Greenpeace Co-head of Climate Program said in an interview with iPolitics. 

Kenyon argued the growing cost of fighting wildfires shows the price governments are already paying for worsening climate impacts. She pointed to British Columbia, which spend $510 million managing wildfires in 2025, contrasting that with the Carney government’s $34 million climate resilience fund, a program designed to help 141 municipalities adapt to climate change.

“You really cannot divorce that from this energy superpower push and this investment in fossil fuel expansion… it will completely dwarf any kind of emergency preparedness investment we can make if we pursue this fossil fuel energy superpower agenda,” Kenyon said.

In an earlier press conference in Vancouver today, New Democrat Parliamentary Leader Don Davies filed a formal complaint with the Competition Bureau alleging the Carney government for violating Canada’s anti-greenwashing laws.

“As Canadians watch their communities burn, the Carney government is spending millions of tax dollars to mislead them,” Davies said.

“The Prime Minister has admitted that emissions will rise under its energy plan, yet his government is running ads claiming it will lower them.”

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In a statement posted on social media Wednesday — just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a three-day pause on a new slate of tariffs on Canadian goods — Carney praised negotiators on both sides for hammering out an agreement.

“We are now moving towards an agreement that reinforces that Canadian advantage, including by securing the best terms in each of Canada’s most important strategic sectors and providing greater certainty about our future trading relationship,” Carney said.

Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc said there was still work to finalize the deal, as he arrived for another meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Washington.

LeBlanc and Canada’s chief negotiator Janice Charette sat down with Greer Wednesday to continue working, after the terms of the deal they reached Tuesday were accepted by Trump.

Shortly after 10 p.m. Tuesday, less than two hours before 50 per cent tariffs on a wide range of goods from Canada were set to take effect, Trump posted on Truth Social that a deal had been reached and the new tariffs were being paused for three days pending the finalization of the documents.

For the first time since the latest high-stakes negotiations started last month, LeBlanc and Greer held a short, joint availability for reporters following their brief meeting Wednesday.

LeBlanc and Charette have been back and forth to Washington since Trump announced the new tariffs in July, with the latest trip including multiple meetings since Aug. 10.

Greer said he’s “happy with where we ended up” and now has to brief Congress and American stakeholders on what the two sides have been talking about.

“We feel confident that we’ve reached an agreement that will not only continue to protect American workers, American jobs, American supply chains, but really strengthen the North American economy,” Greer said standing alongside LeBlanc outside the U.S. trade representative’s office.

Greer added he expects it will make North America an energy and manufacturing “powerhouse.”

The postponed round of tariffs would have hit $28 billion of Canadian goods, ranging from hockey sticks and ice skates to honey and some dairy products. Unlike previous tariffs Trump has imposed on Canada since his return to office in January 2025, these tariffs were not going to exempt any goods covered under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement, or CUSMA.

Trump had threatened to impose those tariffs over Canada’s dairy supply management system, retaliatory tariff-free auto quotas and provincial bans on American alcohol in most provinces.

A proclamation on the delay from The White House says Canada agreed to work toward resolving these trade irritants.

Speaking to reporters outside the White House Wednesday, Trump said the deal would lift all of Canada’s tariffs on the U.S. but didn’t specify what exactly he was referring to.

“It’s all subject to finalization,” he said. “I think it’s a very good deal for both parties.”

He stressed the agreement would be good for American farmers and manufacturers.

In a Truth Social post Tuesday, the president pointed to a revival of the Keystone XL pipeline as being part of the deal, followed by a fictional image of him appearing to yank a piece pipeline from the ground beside a grave marker that says ‘Buried by Biden.’

Former U.S. President Joe Biden revoked a key permit for the pipeline, which would have carried more oil from Alberta into the U.S.

The new tariff deadline if the documents aren’t finalized is 12:01 a.m. ET Saturday.

A spokesperson from the Dairy Farmers of Canada said in an emailed response that they are not commenting at this time due to a lack of concrete details.

The spokesperson said the position of the dairy sector remains the same and they want to see commitments in the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, known in Canada as CUSMA, upheld.

The U.S. Trade Representative said on social media the deal will include comprehensive market access for all American goods, economic security commitments and digital trade alignment.

LeBlanc would not give specifics but said supply management has been upheld.

“The prime minister was very clear we needed to protect supply management, we needed to ensure that the supply management regime remained entirely intact, and I’m confident that that’s the case.”

Carney said the government is “loyal” to the supply management system earlier this month.

Dan Darby, Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters Association CEO, welcomed the tariff pause, but said uncertainty on the future of both the 50 per cent tariffs and earlier duties on steel, aluminum and autos continue to harm Canadian businesses.

Darby is a member of the prime minister’s advisory council on Canada-U.S. relations, and said the council received a brief update Tuesday night.

“There was an update just last night saying ‘talks continue, stay tuned. We’ll let you know,’” Darby said in a phone interview.

Darby said any relief on the 50 per cent tariffs is a step in the right direction, but the manufacturing sector still needs to see movement on the steel and aluminum tariffs.

Progress on those tariffs “will help take a bit of pressure off Canadian manufacturers and also perhaps provide some hope and some kind of stability,” Darby said.

The industry association CEO said trade uncertainty is “the killer of any business.”

“That’s the number 1 driver on why (Canadian manufacturers are) holding back on investment or holding back in hiring or even looking at other supply chains,” he said.

Chris Swonger, president and CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, said the organization appreciates Trump wanting to restore access for American spirits products across Canada.

Several Canadian provinces pulled U.S. booze from store shelves last year after Trump imposed tariffs. The bans on U.S. liquor remain in place in all but Saskatchewan and Alberta.

“These provincial bans have caused exports of American spirits to drop by more than 70 per cent, leaving American distillers caught in the middle of a broader trade dispute,” said Swonger in a statement.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said his party was relieved to hear there was a “new and excellent deal” in the works.

“We hope that over the next couple of days we’ll hear the good news that Mr. Carney will have kept his promise and Canadians will get (an) even better deal than we had before,” he said at a press conference in Charlottetown.

Poilievre added that deal should include zero tariffs on steel, aluminum, autos and lumber as well as an exemption to the “Buy America” policies.

Trump returned to office set on changing Biden’s Keystone decision. Earlier this year, he signed an executive order for permits to revive parts of the project.

It’s not clear how much of the trade talks between Canadian and American officials focused on the energy project. Carney spoke with Trump by phone Tuesday, hours before the U.S. was to bring in the punishing tariffs.

Canadian officials were also looking to see relief on existing tariffs that target steel, aluminum, lumber and autos.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 19, 2026.

— Written by David Baxter in Ottawa and Kelly Geraldine Malone in Washington

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The proposal is among the Ontario Big City Mayors’ latest asks as municipalities push senior levels of government for a broader response to homelessness, addiction and mental health crises playing out in communities across the province.

The mayors want addiction treatment and rehabilitation programming expanded in both provincial and federal correctional institutions, alongside stronger discharge planning to connect people leaving custody with treatment, supportive services and housing.

Nuttall, who serves as vice-chair of OBCM, said the request is not aimed only at Queen’s Park, saying that Ottawa also has responsibility for people serving sentences in federal institutions.

“Anybody who’s going into detention, especially those who are suffering from addictions, need to be able to have the opportunity to come out of detention in a better place than they’ve gone in,” Nuttall said.

For the mayors, the correctional system represents an opportunity to intervene in a cycle they say municipalities are increasingly dealing with after people return to their communities.

Nuttall argued that when someone enters custody struggling with an addiction but does not receive adequate treatment, releasing that person without addressing the underlying issue makes it more likely the same problems will continue outside the institution.

“The fact that we would have somebody go in with an addiction, not be able to treat that addiction while they’re in detention, then released out back into the community with that same addiction, well, we’re gonna get the same result if we keep doing the same thing over and over again,” he said.

“We need to break that cycle.”

Nuttall said the caucus has been looking outside Ontario for examples of how correctional institutions could incorporate rehabilitation more directly into their operations, pointing to programs the mayors observed in Alberta.

“What Alberta’s done is they’ve made the ability to get rehabilitative help at the fingertips of those who are currently detained,” he said.

Nuttall said the approaches OBCM members saw there stood out because similar options are not as readily available in Ontario.

“When you look at the types of things that are being offered in other places that we just don’t have here in Ontario, it is a no-brainer to each of us,” he said.

He said that there is a correctional program in Calgary where people who voluntarily choose rehabilitation can leave the institution’s general population and move into a progressively less restrictive setting.

“They no longer lock the prison cells at night,” Nuttall said. “They have an open forum and an opportunity to start moving back towards a life of opportunity and earning those freedoms back.”

Nuttall described this approach as “a very beautiful model” and said he would like to see similar programming adopted much more broadly.

That includes not only Ontario’s provincially operated correctional facilities, but federal institutions across the country.

“Hopefully [it will] be emulated here, and quite frankly, across every federal prison, not just in Ontario, but every federal prison across Canada,” Nuttall said.

The correctional-system proposal adds another element to OBCM’s argument: governments need to intervene earlier in the cycle of homelessness, addiction and mental health crises rather than leaving municipalities to deal with the consequences once people are back in the community.

By coupling rehabilitation behind bars with discharge planning, OBCM wants governments to create a more direct path from custody into addiction treatment and stable housing.

Nuttall said the goal is ultimately to use a period of incarceration as an opportunity for recovery rather than allowing it to become another stage in a repeating cycle.

“This is a huge opportunity to do so,” he said.

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