Maple Express | August 26, 2026 — Trump says it's time to 'teach Canada'

Source: CP24

1. Trump: It's time to 'teach Canada' a lesson

On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump said it is "time to teach Canada you can't do this anymore," days after trade talks between the two countries broke down. He said he had reached a deal that was "quite good," but the negotiations collapsed at the last minute.

Trump imposed new 50 per cent tariffs on US$20 billion of Canadian imports on Saturday. Canada hit back on Tuesday with retaliatory tariffs on about US$20 billion worth of U.S. annual imports, along with aid for businesses and workers, matching Washington's latest duties dollar-for-dollar.

The White House released a statement calling it a "record of Canadian abuse." According to Bloomberg, a White House official said the administration is considering additional penalties, including higher tariffs and other trade actions. California Gov. Gavin Newsom predicted Trump will walk back the new tariffs "within a matter of days."

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2. Canadians balk at Trump's 'Lake America' threat

With the trade war intensifying, President Donald Trump floated the idea of renaming Lake Ontario to become "Lake America," an idea America's northern neighbours quickly panned. Ontario resident Patricia Wiseman said it "will never happen because Canadians are strong."

Trump posted on Truth Social Tuesday that the U.S. is "giving serious consideration" to changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America, hours before Prime Minister Mark Carney's announcement of reciprocal tariffs. The lake's name comes from the Huron Indigenous word "oniatarí:io," meaning "lake of shining waters."

Ontario Premier Doug Ford dismissed the threat as "a lot of rhetoric" and urged both countries to return to negotiations. He acknowledged in a CNN interview that the dispute had "got a little personal" and agreed it was time to lower the temperature.

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3. Toronto mayor urges Trump to 'take a page' from Dolly Parton

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow accused U.S. President Donald Trump of waging a "senseless brutal attack" on Canada and urged him to "take a page" from the late Dolly Parton. She made the comments during interviews with CBS Mornings and CNN on Wednesday.

Chow said Trump should learn from the singer, who died Tuesday at age 80: "She is loving, she is generous, she is joyous. That is the way to treat your best neighbour and your friend. Not bullying." Her U.S. media appearances follow a similar blitz by Premier Doug Ford one day earlier.

She said she does not understand why Trump is attacking Canada, saying prices will rise on both sides of the border. Asked about placing a surtax on electricity exports to the U.S., she said Ford should do "whatever it takes."

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4. Ontario braces for respiratory virus season, experts unsure of severity

Ontario families are heading into another respiratory virus season, but health experts say it is still too early to know whether the coming months will bring a mild wave or another difficult flu season. Data shows positivity rates for COVID-19, RSV and influenza remain "low" but are starting to inch up.

For the week ending Aug. 15, COVID-19 positivity in Ontario was up to 1.4 per cent, after dropping to as low as 0.4 per cent in July. Last September it hit nearly 10 per cent. In 2025, influenza activity peaked in December at 35.7 per cent.

Dr. Shaun Morris, a clinician-scientist at SickKids, said vaccination, hand washing and staying home when sick remain the best protection. Ontario publicly funds the influenza vaccine for everyone six months and older.

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5. 18-year-old man struck and killed by train in Toronto's east end

An 18-year-old man is dead after being struck by a train in Toronto's east end Tuesday night. Police said emergency crews were called to the area of Monarch Park, near Greenwood Avenue and Gerrard Street, at around 10:20 p.m.

Police said the victim was walking on the tracks with a woman when two trains approached from different directions. The man jumped out of the way to avoid one train but was struck by the second. He was pronounced dead at the scene; the woman was not injured.

Local resident Rob Rohr, who was watching TV by an open window, said it "sounded like metal hitting metal and then the train stopped." He said he had seen holes in the fence around the tracks but never anyone going through them.

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6. Toronto police seize loaded rifle, seven master keys in stolen vehicle probe

Several people have been arrested after Toronto police allegedly seized a loaded AR-15-style rifle and equipment used to steal vehicles. Officers with 31 Division were attempting to arrest a wanted man around 10:30 p.m. Sunday in the Dundas and Sumach streets area when he and a youth fled on foot.

Police allege officers found a loaded AR-15-style rifle and 27 rounds of 5.56-calibre ammunition. Members of 51 Division later executed a search warrant at a residence in the same area, seizing seven automobile master keys and two programming devices used to assist vehicle thefts.

A 20-year-old Toronto man, Kevin Joao, faces numerous charges, including unauthorized possession of a firearm and 13 counts of possession of an automobile master key. None of the charges have been tested in court.

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7. Recent shootings at Thorncliffe Park apartment buildings under investigation

Shots were fired at a Thorncliffe Park apartment building early Wednesday morning, and investigators are working to determine if the incident is linked to a similar shooting over the weekend. The shots rang out in the area of Thorncliffe Park Drive and Overlea Boulevard at around 2:35 a.m.

Police said no injuries were reported, but evidence of gunfire was found. A dark-coloured sedan was seen fleeing the area. Early Sunday morning, two other apartment buildings in the area were damaged by gunfire.

Police told CP24 it is too early to say whether the incidents are connected.

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8. Ford suggests Ontario wouldn't act unilaterally in cutting off electricity to U.S.

Premier Doug Ford says "everything's on the table" in Ontario's response to the trade war — including cutting off power it supplies to 1.5 million homes south of the border — but he says he won't do so unilaterally.

"I can't do it alone. I'm not the only province that ships electricity down to the U.S. We need a Team Canada approach," he said at an unrelated news conference Wednesday. The province briefly applied, then removed, a 25 per cent surcharge on electricity exports to New York, Michigan and Minnesota last year.

Ford has previously said he would cut off the energy to those states completely "with a smile" on his face if the dispute intensifies.

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9. Two Air Canada employees arrested in connection with drug trafficking

Two Air Canada employees have been arrested in connection with cocaine and cannabis trafficking through Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, according to the RCMP. Search warrants were executed at two residences and a vehicle in the Greater Montreal area Wednesday morning.

With Air Canada's cooperation, a search was also conducted at the employees' work base in Dorval. The suspects held various positions related to ground operations and are alleged to have moved luggage through secure areas to facilitate cocaine imports and cannabis exports.

RCMP Corporal Marie-Pierre Guertin said the suspects had "access to secure zones" and switched luggage tags to transport bags containing drugs. Cocaine was imported from Punta Cana and cannabis exported there. Air Canada confirmed the two employees have been suspended.

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10. Two belugas, four dolphins from Marineland heading to aquarium in Spain

Canada's last captive dolphins are leaving Marineland for a new home in Spain, while a beluga recently relocated from the park has died in a Chicago aquarium. Shedd Aquarium says Peekachu, a beluga that moved from the shuttered Niagara Falls theme park two weeks ago, died Tuesday night.

Shedd says the 23-year-old female whale died after blood tests revealed dehydration. On Wednesday morning, trainers spent several hours loading four dolphins and two belugas into tanks on transport trucks bound for Toronto Pearson International Airport, en route to Oceanografic Valencia in Spain.

Marineland is moving all its animals off the property because it says it is running out of money. The federal government had previously blocked a sale to a Chinese aquarium, citing the spirit of a 2019 law banning whale and dolphin captivity.

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