Allan Gregg: At the G7 meeting, look for Canada to do something unusual: Lead
In 1911 Liberal Wilfrid Laurier lost an election by proposing lower tariffs with the United States. 77 years later Brian Mulroney won re-election while endorsing pretty much the same proposal. The terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in 2001 captured public attention — as did Jean Chrétien's decision 18 months later that Canada would not join the 'coalition of the willing' in the invasion of Iraq.
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CTV News
9 hours ago
- CTV News
Japan's governing coalition loses upper house election
Voters fill in their ballots in the upper house election at a polling station Sunday, July 20, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko) TOKYO — Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's ruling coalition failed to secure a majority in the 248-seat upper house in a crucial parliamentary election, Japan's NHK public television said Monday. Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner Komeito needed to win 50 seats on top of the 75 seats they already have to reach the goal. With two more seats to be decided, the coalition had only 46 seats. The loss is another blow to Ishiba's coalition, making it a minority in both houses following its October defeat in the lower house election, and worsening Japan's political instability. It was the first time the LDP has lost a majority in both houses of parliament since the party's foundation in 1955. Ishiba on Sunday expressed determination to stay on to tackle challenges such as U.S. tariff threats, but he could face calls from within his party to step down or find another coalition partner. Mari Yamaguchi, The Associated Press Reeno Hashimoto contributed to this report.
Winnipeg Free Press
18 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Russia is open to peace with Ukriane but insists on achieving its goals, says Kremlin spokesman
Russia is open to peace with Ukraine, but achieving 'our goals' remains a priority, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Sunday, days after U.S. President Donald Trump gave Moscow a 50-day deadline to agree to a ceasefire or face tougher sanctions. Peskov and other Russian officials have repeatedly rejected accusations from Kyiv and its Western partners of stalling peace talks. Meanwhile, Moscow continues to intensify its long-range attacks on Ukrainian cities, with more drones in a single night than it did during some entire months in 2024, and analysts say the barrages are likely to escalate. 'President Putin has repeatedly spoken of his desire to bring the Ukrainian settlement to a peaceful conclusion as soon as possible. This is a long process, it requires effort, and it is not easy,' Peskov told state TV reporter Pavel Zarubin. 'The main thing for us is to achieve our goals. Our goals are clear,' he added. The Kremlin has insisted that any peace deal should see Ukraine withdraw from the four regions that Russia illegally annexed in September 2022 but never fully captured. It also wants Ukraine to renounce its bid to join NATO and accept strict limits on its armed forces, demands Kyiv and its Western allies have rejected. President Donald Trump threatened Russia on July 14 with steep tariffs and announced a rejuvenated pipeline for American weapons to reach Ukraine, hardening his stance toward Moscow after months of frustration following unsuccessful negotiations aimed at ending the war. The direct Russia-Ukraine negotiations in Istanbul resulted in several rounds of prisoner exchanges, but little else. Trump said he would implement 'severe tariffs' unless a peace deal is reached within 50 days. He provided few details on how they would be implemented, but suggested they would target Russia's trading partners in an effort to isolate Moscow in the global economy. In addition, Trump said European allies would buy 'billions and billions' of dollars of U.S. military equipment to be transferred to Ukraine, replenishing the besieged country's supplies of weapons. Included in the plan are Patriot air defense systems, a top priority for Ukraine as it fends off Russian drones and missiles. Doubts were recently raised about Trump's commitment to supply Ukraine when the Pentagon paused shipments over concerns that U.S. stockpiles were running low.
Globe and Mail
18 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
Japan's ruling coalition likely to lose upper house majority, exit polls show
Japan's minority government is likely to lose its majority in the upper house, exit polls showed after Sunday's election, potentially heralding political turmoil as a tariff deadline with the United States looms. While the ballot does not directly determine whether Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's shaky minority government falls, it heaps pressure on the embattled leader who also lost control of the more powerful lower house in October. Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party and coalition partner Komeito needed 50 seats to retain control of the 248-seat upper chamber in an election where half the seats were up for grabs. They are forecast to secure 32 to 51 seats, the exit poll by public broadcaster NHK showed. Other broadcasters forecast the ruling coalition would hold 41-43 seats. If the coalition holds less than 46 seats, it would mark its worst result since the coalition was formed in 1999. That comes on top of its worst showing in 15 years in October's lower house election, a vote which has left Ishiba's administration vulnerable to no-confidence motions and calls from within his own party for leadership change. Opposition parties advocating for tax cuts and tougher immigration policies look set to make gains, the exit polls showed, with rising consumer prices - particularly a jump in the cost of the staple rice - a key issue for voters. 'The LDP was largely playing defence in this election, being on the wrong side of a key voter issue,' said David Boling, a director at consulting firm Eurasia Group. 'Polls show that most households want a cut to the consumption tax to address inflation, something that the LDP opposes. Opposition parties seized on it and hammered that message home.' The LDP have been urging for fiscal restraint, with one eye on a very jittery government bond market, as investors worry about Japan's ability to refinance the world's largest debt pile. Adding to the anxiety around the world's fourth largest economy, Japan faces a deadline of August 1 to strike a trade deal with the United States or face punishing tariffs in its largest export market. The populist Sanseito party looked to be one of the big winners on the night, forecast to win 10-15 seats in the chamber, up from just one held previously. Sanseito's 'Japanese First' campaign and warnings about a 'silent invasion' of foreigners, have dragged once-fringe political rhetoric into the mainstream. 'I am attending graduate school but there are no Japanese around me. All of them are foreigners,' said Yu Nagai, a 25-year-old student who voted for Sanseito earlier on Sunday. 'When I look at the way compensation and money are spent on foreigners, I think that Japanese people are a bit disrespected,' Nagai said after casting his ballot at a polling station in Tokyo's Shinjuku ward.
