Maple Express | September 30, 2026 — Trump Adviser Tells Canadian Lobbyists to 'Get the Hell Out'; Carney Laughs It Off

1. Trump Adviser Tells Canadian Lobbyists to 'Get the Hell Out'; Carney Laughs It Off

Source: CP24

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro told Canadian lobbyists in Washington on Tuesday (Sept. 29) to "get the hell out" of the country, and warned Canada against interfering in November's U.S. midterm elections. "If you interfere in our elections in Maine or Michigan you will pay even more dearly," he said. Prime Minister Mark Carney laughed out loud when asked about the remarks at a news conference in Vancouver. "I take note of both comments, how's that?" he said, adding, "No response to either." Carney said Canada stands ready to negotiate "in good faith" a mutually advantageous arrangement that "respects both our countries' sovereignty." Navarro's comments came as a U.S. ban on certain Canadian imports, including alcohol, dairy and motorcycles, took effect at midnight Tuesday. Trump signed the executive order this month in response to Canada's retaliatory tariffs after trade talks collapsed in August. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc dismissed Trump's claim that Canada would apologize, and Statistics Canada says Canadians made nearly half a million fewer trips to the U.S. in the first quarter of 2026.

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2. Canadians Mark Fifth Annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

Source: CP24

Canadians marked the fifth annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Wednesday (Sept. 30), honouring residential school survivors and those who never made it home. Beginning in the 19th century, more than 150,000 Indigenous children were separated from their families and sent to church-run residential schools where abuse, malnutrition and inadequate health care were rampant. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission's 2015 report called the system a central element of a state-backed policy of cultural genocide. Between 1857 and 1996, 150,000 Indigenous children attended church-run, government-funded schools. The commission initially documented 3,200 deaths, though the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation says the true number could be much higher. Establishing the Sept. 30 commemoration was among the commission's recommendations. CBC/Radio-Canada, APTN and the centre hosted the annual Remembering the Children event on Parliament Hill, a 90-minute ceremony featuring survivors, elders and Indigenous leaders, with performances by Tia Wood, Soleil Launiere, Silla and Adrian Sutherland. Participants were encouraged to bring children's shoes to place at the front of the stage. Events were also held in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Iqaluit, and Prime Minister Mark Carney was to speak in Edmonton. "As denialist voices seek to distort the past, our collective responsibility to uphold the truth is more important than ever," said Stephanie Scott, the centre's executive director.

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3. Rush Frontman Geddy Lee Endorses Brad Bradford in Toronto Mayoral Race

Source: CP24

Rush frontman Geddy Lee publicly endorsed city councillor Brad Bradford for Toronto mayor on Tuesday (Sept. 29), posting photos of himself holding a small dog alongside Bradford. He said that while he has always been proud to call Toronto home, the city is "changing, and not for the better." Lee said he fears for Toronto's future "under its current leadership" and believes Bradford has "energy, fresh ideas and really cares" about all its communities. Bradford is seeking to unseat Mayor Olivia Chow in the Oct. 26 election; his promises include cutting water bills by 25 per cent and hiring 1,000 new police officers. The endorsement drew mixed reactions, including Toronto hardcore band F***ed Up replying with vomit emojis. In a longer statement on Bradford's website, Lee wrote: "Toronto was the city that worked. As I look around now, it's not the same. Something has gone wrong, and it isn't the people. It's the leadership." He noted his parents, both Holocaust survivors, came to Toronto and found "a safe place to raise their kids." Blue Rodeo's Jim Cuddy previously appeared on stage to back Chow.

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4. A Year After a Fire, North York Tenants Still Don't Know When They Can Go Home

Source: CP24

A year after a fire tore through the top floor of a four-storey apartment building at 3020 Keele St. in North York on the evening of Sept. 29, 2025, displaced tenant Indy Woodstock still cannot say when he can bring his wife and three children home. He described escaping by carrying his children one by one from his balcony to a neighbour's balcony below as thick smoke filled the hallway. Toronto Fire Services said crews responded around 11:40 p.m. and that five people were injured, including three children and a firefighter. An investigation found the fire was accidental, caused by an unattended candle, and no charges were laid. Residents were told by the building's insurer that several units needed "demolition, drying and environmental remediation" before they could be reoccupied; Woodstock and fellow tenant Debrah Warner had no personal insurance. The city offered about three weeks at a hotel, then a downtown shelter, which both declined. Woodstock, who paid $1,170 for a two-bedroom with two parking spaces, now pays $1,850 for a one-bedroom. Coun. James Pasternak said Havenbrook Holdings' February 2026 permit application was cancelled over unpaid fees and resubmitted in August; the city granted permission to rebuild on Sept. 18. On Sept. 29, a notice on the building's back door said construction would begin on the fourth floor, without a completion date.

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5. Toronto's Phoenix Concert Theatre Plans Move to Historic West-End Venue

Source: CP24

The Phoenix Concert Theatre plans to relocate from 410 Sherbourne St. to Parkdale Hall at 1605 Queen St. W., owner Lisa Zbitnew told CP24 on Tuesday evening, after submitting plans to the city. "If we're going to make a move out of a building with such significant history and heritage, why not find a home with another building with such significant impact and legacy?" Zbitnew said. She said her team has worked with the City of Toronto to find "an appropriate replacement" - about 20,000 square feet with 30-foot ceilings, parking and a place for a bus. The venue has hosted stars including Billie Eilish, Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones and Post Malone. It was forced to leave its long-standing Cabbagetown location after the property was sold for residential development in 2024. Parkdale Hall opened in the 1920s as the Parkdale Theatre. Zbitnew said the Phoenix will stay open throughout 2027 as it transitions to the new venue.

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6. Mississauga Hit-and-Run Leaves Pedestrian Dead

Source: CP24

A pedestrian is dead after a hit-and-run involving a pickup truck in Mississauga on Tuesday night (Sept. 29), Peel police say. Const. Moulika Sharma said the pedestrian was in the crosswalk at Winston Churchill Boulevard and Dundas Street West shortly after 6 p.m. when a southbound pickup turned west onto Dundas and struck them. Emergency services arrived and the pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene despite life-saving efforts; police have not released their identity. Sharma said the driver of the dark-coloured pickup fled, and police have little information about the vehicle or driver. "We are still at the very early stages of this investigation, and we encourage the driver to seek legal counsel and turn themselves in to the police. It's just a matter of time until we get them," she said, adding that officers are gathering evidence, including surveillance video.

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7. 'Super El Nino' May Delay Ontario's Fall Colours, But the Show Will Go On

Source: CP24

What is expected to be the strongest El Nino on record may delay Ontario's fall foliage, but experts say there is nothing to worry about. Susan Dudley, a biology professor at McMaster University in Hamilton, said cold nights are what cue the big change in colour, so it may be a little delayed in places because of warmer El Nino weather - or the colour-change period may simply last longer. David Phillips, a climatologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, said leaves get their green from chlorophyll; as trees withdraw nutrients in fall, yellow and orange pigments appear, followed by red and purple hues from anthocyanins. This past summer's mix of adequate rainfall and warm - but not scorching - temperatures is ideal for vibrant, healthy foliage, he said. Ontario's colours start in the north, move through Muskoka and reach central Ontario and the Greater Toronto Area. Algonquin Provincial Park is already at its best, with sugar and red maples showing top canopy colour. The normal mid-September to late-October window has been pushed back a few weeks this season, Phillips said, though El Nino has also cut down Atlantic hurricanes that can strip or brown the leaves.

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8. 'Sick to My Stomach': Mother Says Her 2 Children Were Assaulted at an Ontario School

Source: CP24

A London, Ont., mother says her two children were assaulted during recess at C.C. Carrothers Public School. Sammy Riley shared a video on social media that she says shows her 11-year-old daughter and nine-year-old son being attacked by other youths; the footage appears to show a girl being hit by several people and a boy being kicked in the head. "I was heartbroken, I was sick to my stomach," Riley said. "That was a vicious and vile attack." She said she took her son to hospital, where he was diagnosed with a minor concussion, and alleges her children have faced ongoing bullying at the school for three years. She said a request to transfer them was denied. Riley has contacted the Thames Valley District School Board and London police. The board declined an interview but said it is aware of the incident and an investigation is underway, stressing there is no place for violence in its schools. London police said they began investigating on Sept. 24, that all involved are youths, and that no charges will be laid if all parties are under 12. Riley has pulled her children from the school but worries about other students.

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9. 'Lake Ontario' Merchandise Proves a Hit With Canadian Consumers

Source: CP24

After U.S. President Donald Trump renamed Lake Ontario to "Lake America" in late August, Canadian businesses responded with Lake Ontario merchandise that has proven a hit. Peace by Chocolate, whose CEO Tareq Hadhad came to Antigonish, N.S., as a Syrian refugee in 2016, created a Lake Ontario bar within a day - 92 grams of milk chocolate and maple cream, partly made with Ontario ingredients, in Canadian flag packaging. "We wanted to be there for our country, no matter how odd that it sounded," Hadhad said. The bar became one of the company's five bestselling bars, drawing coast-to-coast interest and a flurry of emails from the U.S., where the company has paused sales because of export tariffs. Teresa Paul, owner of Rockwood, Ont., leather goods company Hides in Hand, said her new Lake Ontario coin purses are a "pretty hot" commodity, sold at a store in Erin, Ont., and at craft fairs. Toronto apparel brand Province of Canada launched a grey fleece sweatshirt with "Lake Ontario" in navy, sold by preorder with 15 per cent of each purchase going to Indspire, an Indigenous education charity; it sold out "really, really quickly," with third and fourth batches planned.

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10. Still No Sign of Ontario Man Who Murdered His Sister in 1998

Source: CP24

A man serving a life sentence for murdering his sister has escaped from the Collins Bay Institution in Kingston, Ont. Mason Jenkins, 49, was reported missing from the minimum-security unit on Sept. 24 and a Canada-wide warrant has been issued. Police describe him as white, 5'9" (175 cm), 255 lbs (116 kg), with brown eyes and a shaved head; he grew up in Chatham and is known to frequent Kitchener. The case dates to January 1998, when 18-year-old Jennifer Jenkins was shot multiple times in the head and chest by her 20-year-old brother. Jenkins initially denied responsibility, then admitted to the shooting but claimed it was an accident he tried to cover up. "It should have been me," he said in a prison interview shown in the documentary "Life with Murder," which aired on CTV in 2010. Police believed money was the motive and that Jenkins also intended to kill his parents, Brian and Leslie. In the documentary he admitted planning their deaths. He was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to 25 years. His parents refused to cut ties with their son; "You don't have your children to throw away, he is always going to be our child," Leslie said.

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