OTTAWA – U.S. Senator from Arizona Ruben Gallego tempered expectations around the prospect of Democrats gaining a majority in the House of Representatives and the Senate and using that power to curtail U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada.

“I do think they’ll use their power,” said Gallego, during a press conference at the U.S. embassy in Ottawa on Tuesday. “The question is, do you have enough to overcome vetoes and things of that nature.”

Democrats are hopeful that they will have good results during the Nov. 3 midterm elections, amid Trump’s low approval ratings.

Gallego, who was in Ottawa visiting with embassy staff and Canadian politicians to discuss the ongoing trade dispute, said Congress and the Senate have historically given up too much of their power to the president when it comes to trade policy.

Trump has applied most of his tariffs through executive action. The tariffs he enacted under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) were struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in February, but the president has since found other pieces of legislation to apply more levies on goods from other countries.

The president also has the power to veto legislation.

“There’s going to be a strong incentive for Democrats to actually engage on oversight when it comes to tariffs,” said Gallego. “The…number one reason why is because by the Constitution, it’s the Senate and Congress in general that actually has tariff policy.”

Canada walked away from a potential interim trade deal with the U.S. on Aug. 21, after weeks of negotiations between Canadian and American officials.

The potential deal would have provided tariff relief on Section 232 levies on Canadian autos, steel and aluminum, as well as the avoidance of a 50 per-cent tariff under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, which applies to $28 billion worth of Canadian goods. In exchange, Canada would have ended its moratoriums on U.S. alcohol in several provinces and dropped tariffs on American autos.

Prime Minister Mark Carney ultimately decided to hit pause on negotiations, citing several last-minute demands on the U.S. side that made the deal untenable.

Canada has now threatened dollar-for-dollars tariffs on U.S. goods, which are set to take effect Sept. 8, in response to the Section 338 tariffs.

The prospect of Canada gaining tariff-free access to the American market remains in question for the time being.

Last week, California Governor Gavin Newsom, who is a Democrat hopeful for the presidency in 2028, told CTV News he could not guarantee the complete removal of tariffs.

Gallego said he could not clarify what Newsom meant in terms of his comments, but said it should be his party’s goal to remove tariffs.

“I think the anybody who is running for president should be very clear,” he said. “It should be the goal of a Democratic president to remove these tariffs, 100 per cent.”

Senate Democratic Leader Senator from New York Chuck Schumer also intends to introduce a bill to strike down the Section 338 on Canadian goods and the Section 301 tariffs introduced under the Trade Act of 1974 that targets forced labour in supply chains. Schumer cited the growing cost of living crisis among American consumers as the reason for the legislation.

The bill is not expected to pass the Republican-controlled Congress and does not address Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum.

National Post

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Prime Minister Mark Carney was asked if he plans to lead the Liberals into the next federal election during a brief scrum outside the prime minister’s office in Ottawa Tuesday morning.

Notably, in the more than 100 words of Carney’s response, the word “yes” didn’t appear.

Carney was speaking to reporters after the federal Liberals reclaimed a majority in the House of Commons Monday with three byelection victories , bringing them back to 173 seats.

Here’s how he responded to the question about his future:

“I’ve just led the party into two byelections, and I’m very pleased that we won all three. (Editor’s note: three byelections were held Monday night.)

“I’m pleased to have a remarkable caucus. I view my role as my colleagues do: to do our job. We’re sent to Ottawa for a reason. We’re sent here at a critical time.

“I’m blessed by having three great colleagues who are going to be coming in from very different backgrounds, very different ridings, and we’re going to stand up for Canada.

“We’re going to build this country. We’re going to help unite this country and we’re going to build it for all.

“And I’m going to focus on that and that’s my that’s my concern.”

Dropping the writ and calling a snap election is at Carney’s discretion. The next general federal election in Canada must be held by Oct. 15, 2029 — the third Monday in October of the fourth calendar year since the last polling day, per the Elections Canada Act.

• Mark Carney's Liberals sweep three federal byelections amid trade war
• Carney tells U.S. to stop 'doing memes' and 'throwing shade' as war of words escalates

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OTTAWA — The conflict between the Canadian and U.S. government has evolved from a trade war into a war of words.

After days of strident comments and insults towards Canada from multiple U.S. government officials, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Americans should “stop doing memes, stop throwing shade, stop trying to be tough, and start being serious.”

The prime minister was reacting Tuesday to various insults and online memes lobbed at Canada from Trump government officials as the dust settles on the failed bilateral negotiations and renewed trade war between both countries.

For example, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Monday laughed off a suggestion that Canada and the U.S. were at war while jokingly questioning if Canada would attack the U.S. with its fleet of defunct submarines that were once part of a West Edmonton Mall tourist attraction.

“We’re not at war with Canada. How are we going to be at war with Canada? What, are they going to take their two submarines from the Edmonton mall and sic them on us?”

Then on Monday evening, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared a picture of two women from the Cadet Training Centre in Vernon, B.C., with a demeaning comment about their appearance in an effort to belittle the Canadian Armed Forces.

Carney took particular offence to that post on Tuesday morning.

“It’s beneath their office,” Carney grumbled to reporters in Ottawa Tuesday.

More generally, Carney said the jokes, memes and “shade” thrown by U.S. officials towards Canada are “not constructive” and are not helping mend the ailing trade relationship after a series of tit-for-tat tariffs announced in recent weeks.

“But that’s their democracy,” Carney shrugged.

The prime minister spoke to reporters within hours of the Liberals sweeping three byelections in ridings in B.C., Ontario and Quebec, scoring over 50 per cent of the vote in each. Two of the ridings were already held by the Liberals, whereas the Quebec riding was won over from Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives.

Carney celebrated his candidates’ handy wins, though he was far more evasive when asked if he would lead this party into the next election.

“I’m pleased to have a remarkable caucus. You know, I my view my role, as my colleagues do, to do our job… and we’re going to stand up for Canada, we’re going to build this country, we’re going to help unite this country and we’re going to stand up for Canada,” he said.

“I’m going to focus on that, that’s my concern,” he added without ever confirming that he would stay on as Liberal leader next election.

National Post

cnardi@postmedia.com

• Mark Carney's Liberals sweep three federal byelections amid trade war
• U.S. Treasury secretary taunts Canadian navy's lack of firepower: 'Two submarines from the Edmonton mall'

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Anti-Canadian rhetoric by U.S. officials is being characterized by two political experts as “really weird, really bizarre” and “frat house humour.”

The latest example comes from U.S. Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, who posted to social media yesterday an image of a female cadet and instructor at a Canadian military training camp, seeming to mock the picture by commenting with a Canadian flag and the words: “(this is real).”

The original image was posted a week ago by the Instagram account of the Vernon cadet training facility in British Columbia, with the caption: “Congratulations and well done to all recipients who received awards on the final day of Vernon CTC 2026! This is recognition of the amazing effort you have all put in as course cadets and staff!”

Hegseth did not explain his comment but it was widely taken to be a poke at the instructor’s size, given his repeated use of the phrase “fit not fat” in relation to the desired state of the U.S. military.

Asked about recent remarks by the Trump administration on Tuesday, Prime Minister Mark Carney said: “It’s beneath their office.” He added: “When the Americans stop doing memes, stop throwing shade, stop trying to be tough and start being serious about having those discussions, we can have those discussions.”

Phil Triadafilopoulos, a professor of political science at the University of Toronto, called remarks by Hegseth and others “weird” and “novel,” adding they were also unchecked.

“In the second Trump administration, there’s been no real effort to restrain rhetoric, to not post really defamatory and tasteless videos, to go after opponents with the full power of the American state,” he said. “And to do all sorts of things that would have been hard to fathom not that long ago.”

In fact, he still finds them hard to fathom. “I don’t see other administrations in other advanced industrialized democracies doing similar things,” he said. “We expect elected officials, especially executives, premiers, presidents, prime ministers, to comport themselves differently, to hold to higher standards.”

“I wish I could say it was unbelievable,” said Ryan Hurl, assistant professor of political science at the U of T, of the recent attacks. “But I feel like we’re in the movie Idiocracy,” a reference to a 2005 comedy that imagines a distant future where people have spent centuries getting stupider.

Here are just a few other instances of recent rudeness by American officials.

‘Two submarines’

In a weekend appearance on CNBC, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent brushed off the suggestion that the U.S.-Canada trade dispute could be categorized as a war, while taunting Canada for its lack of naval power.

“We’re not at war with Canada,” he said. “How are we going to be at war with Canada? What, are they going to take their two submarines from the Edmonton mall and sic them on us?”

Canada did in fact have four submarines at West Edmonton Mall as part of its Deep Sea Adventure ride, which opened in 1985 and closed more than 20 years ago. They were dismantled in 2012. During operation of the ride, many Canadians joked that there were more subs in the mall than in the Canadian Forces.

‘Do I care about how the Quebecois speak?’

Last week, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick claimed that Canada had walked away from the trade deal over political rather than economic reasons, driven by fear over separatist movements in Quebec and Alberta. He was specifically pushing back on reports that Canada took issue with U.S. demands regarding the use of French language, and seemed to take a swing at Quebec .

“This is politics only.” he said. “If you think I ever said the words ‘French’ — do I care about how the Quebecois speak? I mean, what could matter less to America? We don’t care! So, the fact is we never brought those words up. This is manufactured and that’s why the president put out a truth saying it was a complete lie.”

‘Freudian slip’

Speaking at a manufacturing facility in Maine last month, U.S. Vice-President JD Vance referred to Canada as a state, echoing Donald Trump’s repeated references to the “51st state,” before claiming it was a Freudian slip.

“Canada and China have been the two worst countries when it comes to trade policy anywhere in the world,” he began, adding: “I would expect that from China. I would not expect that from Canada. We have to remember, Canada is a state — sorry, Freudian slip. That was actually an accident — Canada is a country.”

The remark drew laughter and scattered applause from the crowd. He continued: “Canada is a country that has underinvested in its military, that quite literally would get invaded by a foreign country were it not for the umbrella of protection provided by the United States of America.”

Eagle vs. goose

A social media post form the White House last week showed a bald eagle — long a symbol of America — in a fight with a Canadian goose. Although the eagle appears victorious, it was soon revealed that the picture came from a series shot by Canadian photographer Mervyn Sequeira a year and a half ago in Burlington, Ont. — and that the goose survived the attack while the eagle eventually flew off without a meal.

‘Flunkies,’ ‘Clowns’ and ‘The worst’

Donald Trump hasn’t minced words when it comes to Canada, referring to our officials and leaders as “nasty people,” and specifically to Ontario premier Doug Ford as “the less charismatic, intelligent, and overall unimpressive brother of the late, great, Rob Ford.” (Rob Ford, former mayor of Toronto, died of cancer in 2016.)

Trump has also called Ford the “Flunky” of “Governor” Mark Carney, and referred to Canada as “one of the worst abusers” in the world of trade.

“They’ve been ripping us off for decades, and it’s going to stop,” he posted to social media. “This should have happened long ago with other Presidents, just as stopping Iran should have happened long ago. They want to be treated like a State, but they aren’t one. I deal with the Leadership of many Countries, but I find Canada to be the worst.”

• U.S. Treasury secretary taunts Canadian navy's lack of firepower: 'Two submarines from the Edmonton mall'
• What White House's eagle vs. goose post doesn't show — the Canada goose won that fight

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In its search for a “world class design vision” to restore the official prime minister’s residence at 24 Sussex Drive in Ottawa, the federal government is prioritizing the use of Canadian materials and mandating Indigenous involvement in the multi-million-dollar project.

Last month, Public Services and Procurement Canada published its request for qualification (RFQ), the first of two stages in its design-building competition for the historic home’s rehabilitation.

The largely technical, 97-page document “defines the requirements for the qualification of respondents,” sets a “basis for selection,” and breaks down the scoring system that’ll be used to create a list of up to seven firms that will be invited to partake in stage two and submit a formal request for proposal, which is expected to be issued this winter.

The RFQ deadline is Sept. 22 at 2 p.m.

A successful bidder will be awarded in fall 2027, which is later than the July 1 date Prime Minister Mark Carney set when announcing the non-partisan fundraising campaign led by the Rideau Hall Foundation to fund the project.

“The time period between the announcement of the winning proposal and the estimated contract award of Fall 2027 is reserved for any final negotiations that may be required between Canada and the winning team,” PSPC told National Post in an email.

“Given its national and historical significance, the rehabilitated residence must be completed by Canadians for Canadians,” reads the RFQ, issued on Aug. 21.

“In that spirit, the use of Canadian materials and innovations must be considered and incorporated throughout the project.”

Respondents will be required to comply with the “Buy Canadian” policies Ottawa enacted last September in an effort to “protect, build and transform” strategic industries within the country.

Companies need not be Canadian to meet the mandatory requirement of being considered a “Canadian supplier,” but they must have a place of business and office in Canada, where they are registered and pay taxes, and employ Canadians or conduct “day-to-day business activities in Canada.”

It also means they “will not subcontract work to non-Canadian suppliers or individuals located outside Canada, in a manner that results in minimal value-added activities being performed within Canada.”

Respondents must also submit an “Indigenous Participation Plan (IPP)” that ensures at least five per cent of project work is carried out by Indigenous businesses and people. Public Services and Procurement Canada said any IPP commitments made in the RFP stage “will become deliverables in the resulting contract, subject to regular progress monitoring and reporting (and potentially other measures).”

Sussex Drive, along with the rest of Parliament Hill, is the ancestral territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation, with which PSPC said “engagements have been undertaken” and will be reflected in the RFP and “inform the site’s design.”

As for the design, the RFQ offers little in the way of new details about the work that’s needed to repair and modernize the more than 160-year-old house that became the official prime minister’s residence in 1950 — the last time it had “a comprehensive rehabilitation.”

“The project shall provide a secure, dignified, functional, and adaptable environment that supports residential, official, ceremonial, and administrative functions while meeting current codes, standards, and operational requirements,” it notes.

The successful bidder’s “work will include the modernization of building systems, upgrades to meet applicable codes and standards, and the integration of security, sustainability and accessibility requirements.”

The 35-room, 12,000-square-foot home has been vacant since 2015 when prime minister Stephen Harper left office. His successor, Justin Trudeau, lived there as a child when his father was prime minister but opted to move his own family to Rideau Cottage, across the street on the grounds of the Governor General’s residence at Rideau Hall. Carney and his family followed suit when he was elected last year.

The numerous problems at 24 Sussex include mould, water infiltration, corroding plumbing, asbestos and a lingering stench of dead rodents in the walls from a past infestation.

The National Capital Commission decommissioned the site in 2022.

The RFQ also doesn’t indicate any construction budget, with PSPC noting it will show up in the RFP. Earlier this year, architects interviewed by National Post estimated that, depending on specifications, the bill for this type of major project could be anywhere between $40 million and $100 million.

That figure tracks with a requirement for prospective designers to submit a completed “complex building project” worth at least $50 million pre-tax as part of their RFQ response.

Meanwhile, as of July 27, Canadians had donated about $735,000 toward the project, according to the Rideau Hall Foundation . National Post has contacted it for an updated tally.

• Decision on what to do with 24 Sussex took a decade, the donation link took just a day
• Mark Carney wants your help renovating — and paying for — 24 Sussex Drive

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OTTAWA — The Bloc Québécois may have lost the federal byelection of Chicoutimi —Le Fjord to Mark Carney’s Liberals on Monday evening, but that is not a concern for the Bloc’s provincial cousin which will be facing the Quebec electorate in just over a month.

Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon was asked on the campaign trail on Tuesday how he interprets the results in Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, which saw Liberal candidate Daniel Gobeil celebrate a smashing win at 51.3 per cent while Bloc candidate Caroline Dubé got 32.9 per cent.

“There are no real parallels to be drawn between a riding at the federal level and the fundamental choice a people makes regarding a government for a four-year term at the Quebec level,” St-Pierre Plamondon said. “So, I don’t really have an interpretation.”

Quebec Liberal Leader Charles Milliard said the PQ is happy to join forces with the Bloc when it suits them, and vice versa, but now is not one of these moments.

“They must have nice family gatherings,” Milliard said with a smirk.

The PQ is still in first position in Quebec, but the incumbent Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) has been creeping up in the polls, in part thanks to the trade war with the United States. The situation has also benefitted Carney judging by the byelection results.

St-Pierre Plamondon pushed back against suggestions that Carney’s popularity in Quebec could hurt the separatist party’s chances to form government on October 5.

The PQ leader said it is like comparing “apples and oranges.”

A federal Liberal source, speaking on a not-for-attribution basis to talk more freely, said Gobeil benefitted from the collapse of trade talks with the U.S. but he was also a known figure in the region, having been at the head of the biggest dairy lobby in the province.

The source seemingly agreed with St-Pierre Plamondon that the results in the federal byelection would not necessarily be replicated during the Quebec election.

The Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean region, north of Quebec City, holds a high proportion of “pragmatic separatists” who still intend to vote PQ at the provincial level but are prepared to support Carney at the federal level while Quebec is still a part of Canada.

A Bloc source agreed that the byelection results would have been vastly different if Carney had made concessions to the Trump administration on issues like supply management.

“It would have changed everything,” they said.

The Canada-U.S. relationship could still fluctuate in the next few weeks, and the political predictions in Quebec with it. Canada is expected to impose counter-tariffs on its biggest trading partner in a week, which could lead to further trade retaliation.

For Quebec, that could mean more companies closing doors and more job losses.

If the PQ forms government, St-Pierre Plamondon vowed to build a relationship with Carney based on “respect that we don’t have at the moment.” That means not waiting near the phone for Ottawa to update Quebec on the ongoing trade talks, he said.

St-Pierre Plamondon accused the federal government of not having properly consulted Quebec whilst negotiating with the U.S. on decisions that could have negatively impacted its businesses and workers. “I don’t consider that normal,” he said.

A Quebec source had confirmed to the National Post during the trade negotiations with the U.S. that Ottawa was not sharing specific details with provinces, only offering general information on what was happening at the negotiating table.

Once a deal was almost final, Carney briefed his provincial counterparts and reportedly asked them to consider bringing back U.S. alcohol on their shelves. Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette said she asked for further information before taking a final position.

Talks between Canada and the U.S. fell apart on August 21. Carney said the U.S. “asked too much and offered too little,” and asked his negotiators to come back to Ottawa.

The U.S. has since imposed 50 per cent tariffs on billions of Canadian products.

Carney has vowed to strike back with “dollar-for-dollar” retaliation, something that Fréchette said on Tuesday would be “problematic” for Quebec. She said her government has conveyed to Ottawa they would prefer “targeted” measures.

“We want to protect workers and businesses across Quebec, and we must not let these retaliatory tariffs add to the pressure,” she told reporters on the campaign trail.

Fréchette refused to go more into detail on which retaliatory tariffs she considers would hurt industries her province.

National Post
calevesque@postmedia.com

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WARNING: This story deals with sexual assault.

A 73-year-old former Toronto pharmacist on statutory release was arrested last week and charged with sexually assaulting a woman.

Before being released in 2025, Allen Siu Ming Chow was serving time for drugging and recording himself sexually assaulting 18 young prostitutes more than 15 years ago.

What’s more, Peel Regional Police say investigators in their special victims unit believe there are additional alleged victims of Chow.

Chow was released from federal prison in March 2025, after serving approximately nine years and four months of a 14-year sentence for 36 counts of administering a stupefying drug and sexually assaulting 18 women between 2009 and 2012.

“Between December 2025 and April 2026, it is alleged that the accused met an adult female victim online and subsequently met with her in person on multiple occasions. During these encounters, the accused allegedly rendered the victim unconscious and unresponsive before sexually assaulting her,” police wrote in a Saturday press release, adding that he used his phone to record the sex acts “without the victim’s knowledge or consent.”

The Oakville man is charged with overcoming resistance by administering or attempting to administer a drug, sexual assault causing bodily harm and voyeurism.

Previously, Chow was the owner, manager and licensed dispensing pharmacist at Bridletowne Pharmacy in Toronto, according to a sanctioning decision by the Ontario College of Pharmacists. Police were on the way to arrest Chow in relation to a sexual assault allegation on Dec. 4, 2012, when they saw him stagger out of his pharmacy and get in his vehicle while severely impaired.

While he was in custody, a search of his residence uncovered several camera memory cards that contained 70 hours of footage in 95 separate videos of himself engaged “in all manner of sexual activity” with female sex workers who’d been rendered unconscious with drinks or food laced with Lorazepam, according to a sentencing decision by Ontario Superior Court Justice Gregory Mulligan.

“Chow subjected his victims to degrading and dehumanizing activity,” which included spitting on them and having unprotected sex, according to the agreed statement of facts quoted by the judge.

“He treated the women as objects, manipulating their bodies as he pleased.”

The judge explained that when Chow completed his “disgusting sexual conduct, he showed no concern for his victims’ recovery or ability to get home safely,” often exiting the hotel room where the assaults occurred, leaving his victims “to regain consciousness on their own and make their way home in spite of the condition he had subjected them to.”

Some of the women were victimized more than a dozen times each.

During a forensic psychiatric evaluation requested by the defence, Chow explained that he “felt justified in making them unconscious for sexual gratification” because they were prostitutes providing a paid service.

Chow was released on conditions a week after his arrest, but was arrested again in March 2013 after police went through a “painstaking and thorough investigation” to identify and interview 18 of the victims — none of whom were aware “that they were subject to this degrading and humiliating activity while being videotaped.”

Upon learning what happened to her, one woman “became physically ill in the waste basket of the interview room,” the decision reads.

Many of the victims provided victim impact statements to the court, some of whom chose to read them aloud in front of a then 62-year-old Chow at his November 2015 sentencing.

“I have had numerous hospitalizations for suicide attempts and post-traumatic disorder from what happened to me,” one victim stated. “He, of all people, a medical professional, purposely and knowingly preyed on me numerous times.”

“When I think of you, my chest gets tight, I feel sick to my stomach,” another offered. “I have had some major anxiety attacks when thinking about what you have done to not only me, but many other women and young ladies.”

Another said she felt sick watching her own video statement in court.

“When I got home that was all I could think about, I cried constantly and didn’t even want to hold my daughter because I didn’t think I was good enough,” she said.

Chow also addressed the court during the sentencing hearings, apologizing to his victims and calling his actions “callous, heinous, selfish and degrading.”

According to the decision, Chow immigrated from Hong Kong on a student visa to attend York University, where he met his wife of over 30 years, with whom he shares an adult daughter. He’d been running his pharmacy for 17 years when he was first arrested, at which time he was about 59 years old.

Chow’s psychiatric evaluation determined that he started drinking significantly more three years earlier following a prostate cancer diagnosis, including while at work. He “presented with a major depression without psychotic features,” alcoholism and paraphilia, specifically “sexual sadism,” one the psychiatrist said will now be a “lifelong disorder.”

“He stated that if a person in these circumstances were to re-offend, it would more likely be the same type of offence, and that once these offences start, they can escalate over time,” Mulligan wrote.

Recommended treatment for such a disorder, the psychiatrist said, is counselling and drugs that will lead to a pharmacological castration, neither of which can “be made mandatory or ordered by the court,” requiring Chow’s buy-in. The psychiatrist deemed him a low risk to offend provided he did.

Another psychopathy checklist found Chow externalized blame, lacked empathy for victims and that “he may resort to these maladaptive strategies when faced with future stressors or recurrence of his major depressive disorder.”

The judge said his assessments show signs of someone who lacked “insight into their conduct” and cited a section of Chow’s letter as an example.

“I indulged my sexual fantasy to the fullest degree. I wanted to feel young again by associating with young escorts to reassert my virility,” he wrote.

“I am not misogynistic. My actions were never meant to harm, nor were they carried out with violent, malicious or criminal intent. They were pure sexual fantasy merely, nothing more. I was naïve and ignorant not to have realized the criminality of my actions.”

While Chow pleaded guilty to all charges, avoiding having his many victims testify at trial, Mulligan ruled “a substantial period of incarceration” was required and handed down a sentence of 14 years after credit for nearly three years spent in custody.

“Mr. Chow is at a low risk to re-offend provided he consents to treatment such as that described … and maintains sobriety upon release,” Mulligan wrote. “It is in society’s interest that Mr. Chow receives treatment as soon as possible, so that its effectiveness can be monitored and measured.”

It’s not clear what, if any, treatments Chow engaged in while in custody. National Post has contacted the Parole Board of Canada to obtain a copy of his release decision. It’s also unclear if a warning to the public was issued at the time of his release.

Meanwhile, Peel police ask anyone who may have had similar interactions with the accused or people with information to share to contact their special victims unit at 905-453-2121, ext. 3460.

Editor’s note: This story was updated to reflect new information that Chow was not paroled, as originally indicated by Peel Regional Police. Rather, Chow is out on statutory release, which requires, under federal law, that Correctional Service of Canada automatically release an inmate after they’ve served two-thirds of their sentence.

• Rapist and killer of 12-year-old girl granted leave privileges in parole extension
• This 84-year-old Ontario prisoner is still considered a 'physical and sexual aggression risk'

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Canada’s economic performance has fallen further behind that of the U.S. over the past quarter century, with the gap in GDP per person more than doubling and the Americans pulling ahead on incomes, employment, investment and productivity.

That’s according to a new study published by the Fraser Institute , which found that, in 1999, inflation-adjusted GDP per person in Canada was $48,076, while in the U.S. it was $58,842. By 2024, GDP per person had grown to $83,286 in the U.S. compared to just $59,529 in Canada — meaning the gap had widened from $10,766 to $23,757 over 25 years.

The study compared economic outcomes in the two countries by looking at measures including living standards, incomes, employment, investment, and productivity. In every category, Canada has fallen further behind over the first quarter of the century, it found.

For example, in 2010 (the earliest year of comparable data), inflation-adjusted median employment income was $6,126 higher in the U.S. than in Canada. By 2024, that gap had increased to $8,663.

“When comparing the economic performance of Canada relative to the U.S. since the beginning of the 21st century, it’s abundantly clear that Canadian policymakers have failed to create an environment where we can prosper,” said Jake Fuss, director of fiscal studies at the Fraser Institute, in a news release.

He added that the ability to transform raw materials and other inputs into demanded goods and services increased by more than double the amount (26.7 per cent versus 67.9 per cent) in the U.S. compared to Canada, “which explains much of our languishing living standards.”

The Fraser Institute outlines three factors that explain the widening gap in economic performance between the two countries.

The first is a decline in private sector employment as a share of total employment in Canada. This decreased from 81.2 per cent to 78.5 per cent, meaning the government sector outgrew the private sector. The opposite occurred in the U.S., as private sector employment increased from 85.8 per cent of total employment to 86.5 per cent.

Meanwhile, labour productivity — a key driver of income growth — in the U.S. grew by 67.9 per cent between 1999 and 2025 compared to a 26.7 per cent increase in Canada during the same period.

Finally, business investment in Canada — which equips workers with the tools and technology they need to produce goods and services — dropped from nearly 90 cents per worker for every dollar invested in the U.S. to 54 cents between 2007 and 2024.

That said, the Fraser Institute study suggests that Canada’s trailing economic performance didn’t begin until 2014. Prior to this, Canada largely kept pace with, or in some cases exceeded, the U.S. across multiple measures, it said.

The think tank doesn’t look into the potential reasons for the change in 2014, but Grady Munro, senior policy analyst at the Fraser Institute and one of the study’s authors, offers some insight into the major factors that he says likely played a role.

“One example is that in 2014 we saw a collapse in oil prices in Canada, which resulted in a decline in business investment in the economy,” he said in an interview with National Post. “But that can’t necessarily explain the decade of economic stagnation that followed, and so that’s where, in large part, government policy factors played a role.”

He suggested that increased regulation on sectors like energy resources, combined with tax increases on high- and middle-income earners and increases in federal debt, reduced the attractiveness of Canada for business investment.

In 2015, the Trudeau government introduced a new top tax bracket on income over $200,000, which raised the top federal personal income tax rate from 29 per cent to 33 per cent. And the national debt doubled in less than a decade, increasing from $687 billion in 2014-15 to nearly $1.5 trillion in 2025-26.

“We know that investment is a huge determinant of productivity,” Munro added, “which then impacts the incomes that Canadians earn.”

Canada slightly outperformed the United States on inflation-adjusted GDP per person between 1999 and 2014, with Canada’s growing 19.9 per cent compared to 17.8 per cent in the U.S. However, since then, Canada’s GDP per person as a share of the United States’ has fallen from 83.1 per cent to 71.5 per cent as of 2024.

The Fraser Institute says this reflects the fact that per-person GDP growth in Canada largely stagnated during this time, while growth continued in the United States at a strong pace. From 2014 to 2024, GDP per person in Canada grew just 3.2 per cent compared to 20.1 per cent in the U.S.

When it comes to improving Canada’s economic performance, Munro suggested that a reemphasis on balanced budgets, spending restraint, and beginning to limit debt accumulation are the places to start.

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OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney secured his government’s majority by winning all three byelections in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec on Monday night, upping his seat count to 173 in the House of Commons.

The Liberals were expecting to easily win the two byelections in Toronto and Vancouver, but the race in Chicoutimi—Le Fjord — a riding two hours north of Quebec City — was expected to be a fierce battle between the Liberals and the Bloc Québécois. The collapse of the trade talks with the United States, combined with Carney’s commitment to protect supply management, ultimately led the Liberals picking up the seat in Quebec.

Liberal candidate Daniel Gobeil, former head of the Milk Producers of Quebec and a dairy farmer himself, won a resounding victory in Chicoutimi—Le Fjord with 51.3 per cent of the vote while Bloc’s Caroline Dubé, a former political staffer, finished second with 32.9 per cent according to preliminary results. Conservative candidate Régis Gaudreault, a lawyer by profession, finished in third place at 12.5 per cent.

In his victory speech, Gobeil said he was happy the people of Chicoutimi—Le Fjord would have a seat at the table in government and he vowed to become a strong voice for supply management.

A Liberal source told the National Post ahead of the vote that the mood amongst voters had significantly shifted in Chicoutimi—Le Fjord after the trade talks collapsed with the U.S. The source, speaking on a not-for-attribution basis to talk more freely, said people at the doors seemed to rally around Carney’s decision to not concede to the Trump administration’s demands.

The Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean region has been disproportionately affected by the trade war with the U.S. Many workers in the area work in the aluminum and lumber sectors, and there is a large dairy farming industry under supply management. Despite that, voters were ready to support Carney in his decision to walk away from the negotiating table.

“I have to say: the people of Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean are very proud and they don’t let people step on their toes,” the source said.

The seat of Chicoutimi—Le Fjord was left vacant after Conservative MP Richard Martel, a former junior hockey coach, was appointed to the Senate by Carney earlier this summer.

Martel’s move to the Senate, while not a floor-crossing per se, might have left a sour taste in the mouths of some of his voters. But Chicoutimi—Le Fjord was not a Conservative stronghold. In fact, voters in the riding have voted Bloc, Liberal and NDP in the past before they first voted for Martel, whom was well-known in the community, in 2018.

Despite a strong personal brand, Martel barely held onto his seat in 2025. Only three points separated first place from third place in the riding, and Martel won his fourth mandate with a razor-thin majority.

Late Monday evening, Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet conceded the victory to the Liberals and congratulated his candidate for a hard-fought campaign. He also proclaimed that this byelection has demonstrated that there are two main political parties competing on the federal scene: the Liberals and the Bloc Québécois.

Blanchet spent nearly two weeks campaigning with his candidate in Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, to the point where his opponents have suggested they’re campaigning against him and not Dubé. Bloc MPs and Parti Québécois candidates also swarmed in the riding in recent weeks to help Dubé, but to no avail.

In comparison, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and Carney each visited the riding once ahead of the byelection.

The Bloc had criticized Carney for holding a federal byelection while the Quebec election campaign is underway.

In fact, provincial party signs have popped up along the streets of Chicoutimi in recent days, adding to the federal signs already in place. The confusion was such that Elections Canada had to remind voters that Monday’s federal byelection is separate from the provincial election set to happen on Oct. 5.

The trade war may have helped the Liberals snatch a riding from the Conservatives, but they easily held onto two of their safe seats on Monday.

Tanveer Shahnawaz, a longtime political staffer to former Liberal minister Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, secured 55.7 per cent of the vote in the Toronto riding of Beaches—East York. Shahnawaz said in a speech it will be “an honour of a lifetime” to serve as MP, while his former boss praised his kindness and his hard work in the riding.

The NDP’s Shannon Devine finished second in the riding with 25.8 per cent of the vote, which NDP Leader Avi Lewis praised as a strong result given the circumstances.

“In Beaches–East York, our party has returned to fighting form. We’ve proved that the sting of last election was a one-time injury,” Lewis said in a statement.

The race in the B.C. riding of North Vancouver—Capilano sought to replace Jonathan Wilkinson, another former minister who is now Canada’s ambassador to the European Union. Carney’s former deputy chief of staff, Braeden Caley, won the seat for the Liberals with 58.6 per cent of the votes, while the Conservatives’ Stephen Curran ended second with 29.2 per cent of the vote.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday morning, Carney congratulated his three candidates for their respective wins and said it is clear from the high scores in these byelections that Canadians support the direction of his government.

“What’s a clear message from last night in three very different ridings across this great diverse country is that Canadians are behind the plan of the government which is first and foremost about building strong at home, diversifying (trade) with reliable partners, building Canada strong for all,” he said.

At least five more byelections are expected to be called in the coming months, including three in Quebec, one in Ontario and one in Saskatchewan.

National Post
calevesque@postmedia.com

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As he finds new ways to poke Canada amid an ugly trade war, U.S. President Donald Trump has amplified a Christian group’s proposal to create a legal pathway into the United States for Canadian Jews facing antisemitism.

He shared on social media a news report about a letter written by the National Association of Christian Lawmakers (NACL), which urges Trump to establish an expedited method of entry into the U.S. for Jewish Canadians “who are experiencing persecution or who credibly fear for their safety because they are Jewish.”

It points to “an alarming climate of harassment, intimidation, vandalism, threats, and violence” that Jewish Canadian families have faced since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, adding that “advocates working directly with these families report that more than 2,000 Jewish Canadians have expressed interest in relocating because of growing concerns for their safety.”

The letter continues: “Accordingly, we respectfully ask that you direct the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security to identify and implement lawful, secure, and appropriately expedited pathways for eligible Jewish Canadian nationals and their immediate family members who face persecution.”

NACL founder and president Jason Rapert signed the letter, alongside state representatives and religious leaders, and it was sent to the U.S. president, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and several U.S. senators and representatives on Thursday.

Trump shared a link to the report on Truth Social on Sunday evening, but did not comment on the contents.

The letter said that any potential program should maintain national security safeguards such as identity, criminal history, medical and security screening and protect family unity. It also called for the Trump administration to work with states, local governments, Jewish organizations, churches, nonprofits and employers who are willing to assist arriving families.

The letter comes a month after Statistics Canada data showed that Jews were targeted in 71 per cent of religious hate crimes in Canada last year. While this represented a 16 per cent decline from the previous year, it remained 50 per cent higher than in 2022.

Jewish schools, synagogues and other institutions have been shot at, firebombed and targeted by hateful graffiti in Canada since Hamas’ October 7 attacks on Israel.

Simon Wolle, B’nai Brith Canada’s Chief Executive Officer, told National Post in an email: “While we have members of the Jewish community questioning their futures in Canada, make no mistake that this is our home and we are here to stay. Our community is strong and resilient and will not be made to live in fear.”

On the report shared by Trump, Wolle added: “At the same time, this should serve as a serious wake-up call for the Canadian government that immediate and concrete actions are needed to stem the tide of violence against our community.”

Meanwhile, in the U.S., the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reported earlier in August that anti-Jewish hate crimes accounted for 63 per cent of all reported religion-based hate crimes last year, according to FBI data. It marked the third-highest year on record of anti-Jewish hate crimes in the U.S.

The letter states that an expedited pathway for Jewish Canadians would be consistent with “America’s historic commitment to stand against religious persecution,” adding, “We believe this moment presents another opportunity for America to demonstrate those principles.”

Elsewhere, the NACL letter references Jewish and Christian leaders in Tulsa who have already offered to help receive Canadian Jewish families, and points out that Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt previously told Trump his state would welcome Jewish families who legally enter the United States .

You shouldn’t live in fear because of your faith. In Oklahoma, you can practice freely without fear of violence. https://t.co/EBn8ig4Xga

— Governor Kevin Stitt (@GovStitt) August 31, 2026

In a July 22 letter, Gov. Stitt wrote that “Oklahoma would proudly welcome those who choose to make our state their home,” should Jewish families lawfully move to the U.S. in search of safety.

The NACL letter concludes: “For generations, America has served as a refuge for people fleeing religious persecution. We urge you to ensure that, consistent with federal law and the security interests of the United States, that door remains open to our Jewish brothers and sisters in Canada who need it today.”

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