Blacklock's Reporter

On September 26, 1950 the sun turned deep blue over Edinburgh. The phenomenon was so unnerving Scottish motorists pulled over to gape at the indigo light. U.S. President Truman had announced hydrogen bomb testing earlier that year; no one could be sure what the Soviets were up to. If atomic scientists unleashed the end of time, it was bound to change the colour of the sun.

The cause was not a physics experiment gone awry, but a forest fire in northwest Alberta – the Chinchaga Firestorm of 1950. It might rate among the great fires of all time but for its location; unlike the 1666 Fire of London or the blaze that razed Chicago in 1871, the Chinchaga fire raged far from any major city and merely captivated eyewitnesses over half the globe.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau yesterday confirmed he will resign next week. Trudeau rejected repeated claims by U.S. President Donald Trump that he was scheming to remain in office under the pretext of managing a trade war: "Are you considering playing some kind of caretaker role?"

Ontario effective Monday will impose a 25 percent surcharge on hydroelectricity exported to Great Lakes states, Premier Doug Ford said yesterday. All blame rested squarely with U.S. President Donald Trump, he told an American television audience: "Isn’t that a shame that we have to put a tariff on the electricity?"

Claims for millions in damages against the Freedom Convoy should be heard, the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled yesterday. Judges rejected an appeal by protest organizers to dismiss a claim by Ottawa residents for $290 million in damages for “public nuisance” and “psychological distress."

Canada lost more than 131,000 small businesses through the pandemic, according to Department of Industry figures. New data follow evidence at the time that one business group took suicide calls from desperate shopkeepers: 'Business owners saw their life’s work crumble in their hands.'

Public display of swastika flags and other Nazi symbols should be banned, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said yesterday. B’nai Brith Canada publicly thanked the Premier for endorsing its national petition to outlaw anti-Semitic emblems: "Send a clear message that Canada stands united in condemning hate."

A continental trade war will push Canada into a deep recession, the Budget Office said yesterday. Its prediction echoed a similar forecast by the Bank of Canada: "It’s more than a shock. It’s a structural change."

Canadians must not parley with the U.S. on half-tariffs in the hope of averting a full continental trade war, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said yesterday. “Am I the only guy with a backbone to go after Trump?” Ford asked a radio talk show host: "Your country is under attack."

It is “unlikely, very unlikely” that the United States can run without Canadian energy, Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said yesterday. His remarks coincided with new federal data confirming crude oil exports hit record volumes last year: "Trump can say the United States doesn’t need Canada’s energy resources but that’s actually not true."

Liberal leadership contender Mark Carney yesterday would not discuss tax planning by Brookfield Asset Management to avoid billions in Canadian payments while he served as chair. Brookfield's tax avoidance was legal but obscene, said an MP: "This is obscene."

Like-minded parties should join forces to prevent any election of a majority Conservative government, Green Party leader Elizabeth May (Saanich-Gulf Islands, B.C.) said yesterday. Liberals, New Democrats, Bloc Québécois and Green organizers should be “thinking about how we might co-operate together,” she said.

U.S. President Donald Trump seeks to destroy the Canadian economy and annex the country, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said yesterday. “I don’t know if negotiations would be any use,” he told reporters: 'Our government needs to make sure nobody goes hungry.'

Ontario Premier Doug Ford yesterday said the province will shut down hydroelectricity exports to America if the U.S. piles on more tariffs. Ontario is the United States’ largest English-speaking trading partner, by federal estimate: "This is going to be a long battle."

Parliament must be recalled to deal with ‘back-stabber’ Donald Trump, Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre said yesterday. “President Trump stabbed America’s best friend in the back,” he said.

The Department of Agriculture compiled a list of American states reliant on Canadian farm and seafood products where electors voted for U.S. President Donald Trump. Many were “swing states,” said a briefing note: "How is the Government of Canada preparing for potential tariff increases?"