It’s Tuesday, August 18. Here are the top stories we’re following today.
Still no deal as Canada faces Trump tariff deadline
New U.S. tariffs are set to hit $29 billion worth of Canadian goods as of midnight Wednesday, unless negotiators can come to an agreement. Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Chief Trade Negotiator Janice Charette have remained in Washington this week. They met with United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and United States Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Monday. Following that, LeBlanc told reporters: “Our job is not yet done.”
Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Thursday, June 18, 2026.
Tasha Kheiriddin: Pierre Poilievre has a path to survival. He should take it
As Canada waits to see whether Prime Minister Mark Carney can strike a trade deal with Donald Trump, another deadline is looming: When will the Conservative party figure out a path back to power? Because right now it’s going nowhere. Polls put them a distant second, fundraising is down, as is morale, with Conservative infighting making headlines all summer. Pierre Poilievre faces two choices.
Facing low sales and a “historic drop in wine consumption,” the industry is experiencing a reset, experts say.
California wine grape growers are burning their vines, and disease isn’t the reason
California growers have removed more than 100,000 acres of healthy vineyards in recent years, according to industry estimates. In the last two, 1.2 million tons of wine grapes have reportedly been left to rot on the vine. The reason for the “explosion” of removal isn’t disease but demand, and the issue isn’t unique to California.
Meta’s camera glasses film women who never find out, and the warning light can be defeated.
The internet is calling them ‘pervert glasses.’ Here’s what Meta’s smart glasses can actually do
The only sign that a pair of Meta glasses is recording you is a small white light on the frame, and it can be defeated. Men are using the camera glasses to film women who do not know it is happening, and not only on the street. It is happening in gyms, in bathrooms and in change rooms. The footage lands on Instagram and TikTok, where the women in it are identified and mocked in the comments.
U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra takes part in the PNWER (Pacific Northwest Economic Region) Annual Summit, in Edmonton Monday July 20, 2026.
As the petition grows, here’s what would happen if Carney actually booted the U.S. ambassador
Less than a month ago, Green Party MP Elizabeth May sponsored a parliamentary petition calling for the removal of U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra, accusing him of undermining Canada-U.S. diplomatic relations and normalizing “51st state” language. But although the petition has caught fire, few actually Carney will seek Hoekstra’s expulsion.
FILE PHOTO: Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke spoke at the companies annual Unite event at Toronto’s Evergreen Brick Works, Tuesday May 8, 2018.
Carson Jerema: Tobi Lütke will not comply
Canada has a particularly robust immune system, but rather than rejecting what is harmful, the country’s Laurentian standard-bearers swoop in to attack anything that could be positive, particularly if it is not aligned with a mushy left-wing worldview or with the interests of the Liberal party. So it is with the hysterics over Shopify CEO’s Tobi Lütke’s expression of opinions, like banning seniors from voting, in places where other people can read them.