Maple Express | September 17, 2026 — Trump says Canada becoming an EU ‘associate member’ could be a ‘hostile act’

1. Trump says Canada becoming an EU ‘associate member’ could be a ‘hostile act’

Source: CP24

U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening to put tariffs on Europe, or halt elements of trade with the continent, if he deems Canada becoming an associate member of the European Union a “hostile act.” “If it’s a good intention, that’s fine. If it’s a bad intention, we’ll put very heavy tariffs on Europe,” Trump told reporters Wednesday evening. He also called Canada a “terrible trade partner” and dismissed talk of associate membership as “laughable.”

The comments came hours after Trump escalated the Canada-U.S. trade war again by signing a presidential memorandum to identify and remove Canadian-origin goods from U.S. federal civil government procurement. He claimed the Canadian items in the award schedules amount to “more than 50 BILLION DOLLARS a year.” Meanwhile, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre accused Prime Minister Mark Carney of “secretly negotiating with the EU” and said Canada must remain “independent.”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday, during her State of the Union address to the EU Parliament, that she wants Canada to become the bloc’s first associate member. But Canada’s ambassador designate to the EU, Jonathan Wilkinson, said Ottawa is “not there” yet. Carney is set to address EU members Thursday.

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2. Newfoundland and Labrador politicians expected to vote today on a Quebec energy deal

Source: CP24

Politicians in Newfoundland and Labrador are expected to vote today (Sept. 17) on whether they support a new 50-year agreement to share energy from Labrador with Hydro-Québec. Premier Tony Wakeham opened the legislature this week for a four-day debate on the framework agreement, which includes proposals for more than $50 billion worth of new energy infrastructure along the Churchill River.

The debate began with a bombshell: Labrador member Keith Russell announced he was leaving the governing Progressive Conservatives to sit as an Independent. If all Tories vote in favour but none of the Liberals, NDP or Independents do, the resolution to endorse the draft deal could pass by a single vote. Wakeham told reporters he would still proceed with the agreement in full confidence, even after a razor-thin victory.

The agreement seeks to end years of tension between Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador. Under an existing contract set to expire in 2041, Hydro-Québec buys more than 80 per cent of the Churchill Falls power for just 0.2 cents per kilowatt hour, far below market value. The new agreement would terminate the old contract 15 years early and set new, escalating rates.

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3. Mother of man fatally shot in Niagara Falls pleads for outstanding suspect to turn himself in

Source: CP24

Angela Bolus says her “happiness is gone” after the fatal shooting of her eldest son — a pain made worse by the fact that one of the suspects is still on the loose. Niagara police say that on July 16, just before 9 p.m., Mitchell Snoddon was at his home on Thorold Stone Road in Niagara Falls when a man and a woman entered and shot him with a handgun.

The 35-year-old St. Catharines native was rushed to hospital, where he later died. No firearm was recovered at the scene, and police have described the shooting as targeted. Investigators say the two suspects — 23-year-old Maaroof Bangi and 30-year-old Josta Grace MacNeal — evaded police for weeks, driving different vehicles in Ontario and Quebec and changing their appearance.

MacNeal was arrested in Montreal on Aug. 27 and now faces one count of second-degree murder. Bangi remains outstanding; police say he should be considered armed and dangerous and is wanted on a Canada-wide warrant for second-degree murder. Bolus said the past two months have been a living nightmare for her family, especially her son’s young daughters, and appealed to anyone with information to contact authorities.

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4. Cyclist taken to hospital after collision with police car in downtown Toronto

Source: CP24

A cyclist is in hospital after a collision involving a police cruiser in downtown Toronto on Wednesday afternoon. Toronto police say the collision occurred shortly before 5 p.m. in the area of King Street East and Parliament Street.

The cyclist, a man in his 20s, sustained minor injuries, Toronto paramedics say. The cause of the collision is unknown. Police say Parliament Street is closed between Front Street East and Adelaide Street East, as well as King Street East from Trinity to Berkeley streets.

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5. Time Out’s 2026 ‘coolest neighbourhoods’ list includes downtown St. Catharines, Ontario

Source: CP24

Time Out has just announced its annual round-up of the “world’s coolest” neighbourhoods for 2026. Taking the top spot is Jongno 3-ga in Seoul, South Korea — a vibrant foodie hub known for its street food and independent businesses; it ranked third in 2021 and has now risen to No. 1. Number two is the L’Ocean District in Rabat, Morocco, followed by the artsy Neos Kosmos district of Athens at three.

Chinatown in Los Angeles is fourth, the highest-ranking U.S. entry, while Govanhill in Glasgow, Scotland, rounds out the top five. Canada’s only entry is Downtown, St. Catharines, Ontario, which placed ninth on the full list.

Time Out travel editor Grace Beard noted that, unlike past years, many of this year’s neighbourhoods are central and downtown-based. “City centres have been reawakened, with new creative spaces, bars, brilliant places to eat, and everything in between,” she said, adding it shows how far cities have come from the COVID-era ghost-town downtowns. The annual list is produced by Time Out’s global network of writers and editors.

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6. Union urges Ottawa to block sale of Stellantis’ Brampton, Ont., plant

Source: CP24

The union representing Canadian workers at Stellantis is urging the federal government to intervene as the automaker looks to sell its idled Brampton, Ont., assembly plant to Canadian armoured-vehicle maker Roshel. In a letter to Industry Minister Mélanie Joly on Wednesday, Unifor national president Lana Payne warned that if the sale goes through, the company will have “abandoned” vehicle production at the plant, leaving more than 2,000 employees out of work and affecting suppliers employing thousands nearby.

Last Friday, Stellantis said it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Roshel on a potential sale of the Brampton facility. The plant’s future has been a central issue in collective bargaining between Unifor and Stellantis, which kicked off earlier this month. The union said the two sides were at an impasse by its internal deadline. The current collective agreement is set to expire Sept. 20 at 11:59 p.m. Workers at the Brampton plant were laid off when the company halted operations there in 2023.

Speaking to reporters in Toronto on Wednesday, Joly encouraged both sides to keep negotiating, acknowledging talks have been “difficult and bumpy.” “When it comes to any potential sale of the plant to any other company, we will make sure that we protect Canadian workers,” she said. Ontario Premier Doug Ford also said a “new model” is needed for the plant.

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7. Amid trade war, TIFF bristles at Trump with humour and defiance

Source: CP24

The 51st Toronto International Film Festival has unspooled against a backdrop of rising tensions between the U.S. and Canadian governments, though it would be hard to tell from the convivial atmosphere on the ground. This year’s festival comes weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump, amid an escalating trade war with Canada, signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario as “Lake America.”

From opening night, the festival has responded with a mix of disappointment, sarcasm and defiance. “Welcome to TIFF and welcome to the beautiful shore of — say it with me — Lake Ontario,” CEO Cameron Bailey said while introducing the disability-rights drama “Being Heumann.” Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow also took a jab while noting the film chronicles the push by disability-rights protesters to secure accessibility laws.

Several films have unexpectedly spoken to the moment. Canadian writer-director Michael Dowse’s “The Stunt Driver,” which made its world premiere at TIFF, follows 1970s Canadian stuntman Ken Carter and his bid to jump a rocket-powered Lincoln Continental over the St. Lawrence River. “I love Americans and this whole trade war feels like bravado on roids,” Dowse said. “I hope they figure out a deal because we are better friends than enemies.”

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8. RCMP aware of FBI probe into alleged breach of millions of drivers’ licences in Canada, U.S.

Source: CP24

The RCMP says it is aware of reports regarding an FBI investigation into the alleged exposure of tens of millions of drivers’ licences belonging to people in Canada and the U.S. being sold on the dark web. According to Reuters, the FBI opened an investigation into the breach on Sept. 2, after an independent journalist reported he had discovered a dark web site selling digital scans of millions of drivers’ licences.

The journalist, Brian Krebs, said he was alerted to the site after it was advertised on a Russian cybercrime forum, with his own driver’s licence allegedly offered as a free sample. According to Krebs, the database, named Nexus, claimed to hold licences, along with millions of other identification cards and travel documents, as well as hundreds of thousands of medical records from both Canada and the U.S.

According to Reuters, the breach, if confirmed, could be one of the largest-ever exposures of government-issued identity documents in North America. In a statement to CTV News, the RCMP said it is “monitoring the situation” and remains engaged with domestic and international law enforcement and cybersecurity partners, but declined to comment on investigations led by international police services. The RCMP is urging Canadians to stay vigilant, monitor financial and government accounts, and report suspected fraud to local police and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.

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9. What does it mean to be an ‘associate member’ of the EU?

Source: CP24

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday she wanted to open the door for Canada to become the European Union’s first “associate member.” Earlier this week, Prime Minister Mark Carney — in Strasbourg to hear von der Leyen’s annual State of the Union address — said Canada was seeking a “unique alliance” with the EU but not membership.

There is currently no such status as “associate member” set out in the EU’s treaties, though various versions of an associate-type membership have been floated over the years. Most recently, Germany suggested Ukraine be an associate member as an interim stage to full accession, but the proposal failed to gain traction. Implementing such a status would be unprecedented and may be legally complex.

Von der Leyen said the two sides would create a “common prosperity and economic space,” covering joint work on manufacturing, a tech alliance, integration of defence industrial bases, the Arctic, AI, energy and critical minerals. It would fall on EU member states to decide whether the idea flies. Canada and the EU already have a trade agreement, CETA, which several EU countries still have not ratified more than a decade after it was struck.

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10. ‘Kicked, bitten, slapped’: B.C. teachers say classroom violence is out of hand

Source: CP24

Teachers are reporting a state of unfettered violence in B.C. schools, prompting concerns about long-term mental injuries and a potential exodus from the profession. Greater Victoria teachers say they are regularly physically assaulted and screamed at by students, sometimes daily. “I have seen myself and my colleagues hit, kicked, bitten, slapped, pinched, punched,” said one teacher, whom CTV News is calling Lily.

The Greater Victoria Teachers’ Association (GVTA) released a report Wednesday morning saying the level of violence in schools is unacceptable. Through a freedom-of-information request, the report’s authors obtained violent-incident reports filed by staff at 46 SD61 schools between Sept. 3, 2024, and March 2, 2026 — 6,187 reports of student or parent violence against school staff. Union president Carolyn Howe said that amounts to an average of 21 violent incidents against district staff per school day.

This spring, the union surveyed 165 teachers in the district; 95 per cent said they experienced violence in the past year, and 46 per cent said they experience it more than once a week. WorkSafeBC data obtained by CTV News shows 513 injury claims accepted from Vancouver Island school staff over the past decade, climbing from 19 claims in 2015 to 64 last year, peaking at 78 in 2024. Howe said the growing violence isn’t because kids are bad, but because the education system is failing to meet their needs.

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