In the news today: Trump tariff looms, LGBTQ+ monument opens, Alberta cave rescue

They were set to come into effect just after midnight Wednesday, but that deadline was pushed back until Saturday to allow time to turn the agreed-upon deal into a legal agreement.

Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Canada’s chief negotiator Janice Charette have met with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Washington several times to hammer out the deal.

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Statistics and federal policy on crime have changed, but the politics remain the same

Some pollsters say it will take time for public opinion to catch up to statistics showing crime is falling in Canada.

David Coletto, CEO of Abacus Data, says the perception of crime can last longer than reality, so even with Statistics Canada data showing falling crime rates, many Canadians aren’t yet believing it.

In July, Statistics Canada said both the rates and severity of reported crime were down almost across the board in 2025.

The federal Conservative Party maintains nothing has changed, pointing to statistics which suggest crime has increased since the Liberals and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau were elected in 2015.

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National monument marking LGBTQ+ persecution opens this morning in Ottawa

Canada’s national monument for LGBTQ+ people officially opens this morning in Ottawa, and victims of state persecution hope it will be a place to learn, grieve and celebrate.

The monument, called Thunderhead, is the result of a lawsuit brought by members of the military and public service who were fired on suspicion they were part of a gender or sexual minority, in what many call a purge.

The federal government fired roughly 9,000 people during the Cold War, according to LGBT Purge Fund director Michelle Douglas, who was discharged from the military due to homosexuality in the 1980s.

She will join Governor-General Louise Arbour this morning alongside dignitaries and prominent Canadians who identify as LGBTQ+ to officially unveil the monument.

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Port Hope’s radioactive past fuels pushback against proposed nuclear reactor

The Ontario government’s plan to build what could become one of the world’s largest nuclear power plants in Port Hope has drawn mixed reactions in the community east of Toronto.

Though the announcement was welcomed by some, it shocked a generation of Port Hope residents old enough to have lived through or learned of the community’s fraught history with the nuclear industry.

Port Hope is still cleaning up low-level radioactive waste after a uranium refinery plant dumped contaminated soil, rocks and building materials across the town through much of the 20th century.

Residents who have lived through the long cycle of testing, remediation and restoration say they are opposing the new reactor on behalf of future generations.

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Rescuers use new tech to save caver trapped vertically in Alberta’s ‘Psych Squeeze’

A caver has been rescued after being trapped vertically underground at the Rat’s Nest Cave in Canmore, Alta., in an operation that deployed volunteer-built underground radio technology for the first time.

Search and Rescue Alberta says the man became pinned in a tight spot known as the “Psych Squeeze” around 11:30 a.m. on Saturday.

The Alberta/BC Cave Rescue team was called in, and hammer drills were used to remove rock, with the caver eased out in a process measured in “inches per hour.”

Search and Rescue Alberta says the man was freed around 10 p.m., and he finally emerged from the cave around midnight, after an operation involving 13 cave rescuers, 10 firefighters and two Kananaskis Mountain rescue members.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 21, 2026.

The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press