Trump comeback could see familiar faces re-emerge — and they may spell trouble for Canada
CBC
Canadians are watching the U.S. election campaign with more than their usual mix of trepidation and fascination, as it careens from a near-miss assassination attempt on one candidate to an unprecedented step-aside from the other.
Two-thirds of Canadians say a second Donald Trump term would be either '"bad news" or "terrible news" for Canada, according to a poll of 1,435 adults conducted by the Angus Reid Institute.
(The online poll was conducted over the four days following the shooting in Butler, Pa., and has a margin of error of +/- 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.)
"It's not just about the Canada-U.S. relationship, although there's a significant amount of anxiety and pessimism around that," pollster Shachi Kurl told CBC News.
"There's also the prospects for what happens in the United States, what happens around Ukraine and U.S. support for Ukraine and the broader NATO relationship. Does that continue to hold together or does it come apart? [There are also] issues around the continuing fight on curbing greenhouse gas emissions."
A majority of respondents said a second Trump term would be negative for global stability (68%), U.S.-Canada relations (65%), the unity of the United States (67%), the fight against climate change (67%) and Canada's economy (60%).
"So across a number of domestic Canadian, U.S. and international issues, there is that sense of anxiety and unease," said Kurl.
"The word we used is dread, and it is palpable among Canadians."
Trump is no longer the unknown quantity he was in 2016, and Canadians have had experience with his high-pressure trade negotiating tactics which have included threats, the mixing of unrelated issues and the use of bogus economic data.
The people Trump would name to key posts will be critical to deciding how tough his administration would be for Canada — and some potential names are more concerning than others.
The Canadian government learned during the first Trump administration that there were individuals who could be counted on to tone down some of the wilder suggestions — like Trump's son-in-law and senior staffer Jared Kushner — while others seemed to stoke Trump's worst instincts.
Unfortunately for Canada, those who tried to moderate Trump's behaviour — people like former national security advisor H.R. McMaster, former secretary of state Rex Tillerson, former chief of staff John Kelly, defence secretary Mark Esper and former vice-president Mike Pence — eventually fell out with Trump and won't be returning.
Instead, it's the firebrands who are on the recall list for 2025.
One cabinet member went so far in attacking Canada he got out ahead of his boss and had to apologize: Peter Navarro, director of the Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy.
Four more Alberta MLAs are facing recall petitions organized by their constituents, including the first NDP representative to be caught in the province's ongoing wave of recall efforts.
Frank Gehry, the Canadian-born renegade architect behind some of the world's most recognizable buildings, has died at 96.
Hundreds of P.E.I. parents can't find child-care spaces, especially for infants. The provincial government says expanding those spots remains a top priority — and it recognizes the concern.
An Alberta judge says a referendum proposal on Alberta separating from Canada goes against Charter and and Treaty rights, in a decision given less than 24 hours after the provincial government introduced legislation that would have ended the court proceeding.
The architect of Alberta's politician recall legislation says it was never meant to be used as a political weapon, but as an "ultimate tool of accountability" if a politician engages in illegal or unethical behaviour.
The Government of Saskatchewan has introduced its long-promised involuntary treatment legislation on the final day of the fall sitting.
The Law Society of Ontario has suspended the licence of Deepak Paradkar, one of seven Canadians arrested in connection with alleged drug lord Ryan Wedding’s cocaine smuggling ring.
London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) is getting rid of unlimited mental health benefits for staff, blaming ballooning costs and former administrators for implementing it without proper due diligence or oversight.
Netflix has agreed to buy Warner Bros. Discovery's TV and film studios and streaming division for $72 billion US, a deal that would hand control of one of Hollywood's most prized and oldest assets to the streaming pioneer that has upended the media industry.
CBC Calgary kicks off its annual Make the Season Kind campaign this morning at Fratello Coffee Roasters.
CBC Newfoundland and Labrador is kicking off its annual holiday campaign, helping to raise money to support local food banks.
If all goes according to plan, at 6 a.m. AT on Saturday people working at the IWK Health Centre will become the test case for a generational change to Nova Scotia’s health-care system.
One month after Prime Minister Mark Carney announced what he called "generational" military spending, New Brunswick’s defence ecosystem is on high alert.