WASHINGTON, D.C. — National political parties tend to steer clear of candidates with controversial pasts because they put future wins at the ballot box at risk.

But a U.S. Senate candidate in Maine is bucking that trend and is likely to leave Democrats in an awkward position this year.

Maine’s Senate race matters not only for control of the chamber, but also because the state sits on the front line of U.S.-Canada trade, where tariffs, border policy and cross-border supply chains are daily concerns.

Oyster farmer Graham Platner, 41, has gained early momentum with his progressive platform and populist style — striking a chord on affordability issues that matter to voters — and his bid to oust five-term Republican Senator Susan Collins.

Despite his popularity, Platner has also been dogged by scandal. He has faced criticism for a Nazi-symbol tattoo from his younger years (he claims he didn’t know what it meant and has since covered it up), his offensive posts on Reddit, and sending sexually explicit texts to other women while married . His latest scandal involved allegations from women he’s dated that he was toxic and behaved in unsettling ways. Platner has denied the accusations.

Heading into Tuesday’s Democratic primary, Platner remains the favourite, despite the controversies. That means he will almost certainly face off against Collins in November’s midterms. Governor Janet Mills had been running for the seat and remains on the primary ballot, but she suspended her campaign in the spring amid fundraising woes and Platner’s surge.

“It is deeply disturbing that senior Democrats, or anyone for that matter, would still stand by Graham Platner,” said Andrew Hale, fellow at Advancing American Freedom, “and his disgusting moral failures involving violence against women, online pornographic writings, sexting, sexual predation, and a Nazi tattoo.”

“Anyone else would have been immediately disqualified.”

Hale said that Collins and Mills have been “true public servants who have proven their dedication to Maine without the moral failings of Graham Platner.”

Nonetheless, Maine’s Democrats are likely to pick Platner for the job this week, and structurally, the odds are tough for Collins come November because Maine is the most likely GOP-held Senate seat the Democrats could win.

It’s the only Republican-held seat in a state Trump has never won — Kamala Harris beat the president by seven percentage points there — which makes it inherently vulnerable, explained Jessica Taylor, Senate and governors editor at The Cook Political Report.

“On paper, (it) should be the most competitive Senate seat because it’s the only one held by a Republican that a Democrat carried in the presidential election,” Taylor said.

For Democrats, it could be the different between controlling the Senate in November and watching Republicans continue to dominate there.

“I don’t think Democrats can win the Senate without winning Maine,” said Taylor.

Still, Collins has managed to win in the past by currying favour despite the state’s Democratic lean.

“(She) is really the only Republican in the Senate who sits in a state that tends to vote for Democrats at the presidential level but still reelects her,” said Erin Covey, Taylor’s colleague and the editor in charge of The Cook Political Report’s coverage of the U.S. House of Representatives .

“That’s because she has managed to separate herself from the national party, and she is one of the few Republicans who will criticize Trump or will vote against his policies from time to time.”

However, this year could be different, they both agreed.

“Even though (Collins) has built up a lot of goodwill with Democrats and independents in Maine over the years,” said Covey, “I do think that over time frustration has grown, because even as she occasionally does break with Trump or criticize him, people feel like she hasn’t done that enough.”

Taylor agreed, pinpointing that the race is likely to come down to one thing: anti-Trump sentiment.

“Donald Trump is the biggest complicating factor for Susan Collins’ reelection,” she said.

“If you want to voice your displeasure with Trump, the only way you have to do that is to vote against Susan Collins.”

A small survey of 100 people conducted by Trump-aligned pollsters Tony Fabrizio, David Lee, and Travis Tunis late last week found Platner and Collins tied at 46 per cent. Platner’s unfavourability rating, however, had plunged from 29 per cent in January to 49 per cent now, and the poll pointed out that “the recent revelation about Platner can further erode his support.”

A May poll by the Pan Atlantic Research Survey — taken before the latest scandal broke — put the oyster farmer ahead of Collins, 48 per cent to 41 per cent, while 11 per cent were undecided.

Taylor thinks Platner could overcome the controversy.

“Even with the baggage …,” she said, “there’s still a very good chance that he could still win this race.”

Collins, Taylor said, is in “the most vulnerable position she’s ever been,” making the race a true toss-up.

But what could it mean for Maine-Canada relations if the Pine Tree State loses Collins? That is less clear.

While Platner has been campaigning on pocketbook issues, he has said little about trade with Canada, and there is no guarantee that a Democratic win in Maine — and even control of the Senate — would lead to more pro-Canada trading policies.

Progressives like Bernie Sanders, for example, support tariffs as a trade tool, even if they oppose Trump’s chaotic approach to using them.

“If the midterms come and Democrats come in, I don’t see that necessarily being good for (Canada),” said Carlo Dade, director of international policy at the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy.

“(Platner) is an AOC guy, and I could see him and the other progressives that are coming in and joining Bernie Sanders and AOC who have said tariffs are fine.”

“So thinking that the midterms are going to elect people who are gonna say, ‘Yes, on day one, I’m going to fix the relationship with Canada,’” is misguided, Dade explained.

“These aren’t bad people. They’re not going to be malicious, but they can’t be our friends,” he said.

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OTTAWA — Opposition Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has vowed to listen to Albertans who want to separate from Canada, as he urged the rest of the country to do the same and cautioned against “name-calling” and “fearmongering.”

Poilievre spoke from Calgary to deliver what his office billed as a speech arguing for a “stronger Alberta within a united Canada,” kicking-off his efforts to campaign for the province to remain in Canada ahead of an October provincial referendum, which asks whether Albertans wish to stay, or begin the process of holding a binding vote on separating.

“Just as I speak to Bloc Quebecois members of Parliament every day on Parliament Hill, I will be speaking to Albertans on both sides of this referendum to hear their thoughts and to make the respectful case for Canada,” the federal Conservative leader told the crowd Monday.

“The goal should not be to beat one another in this referendum, it should be to unite us all when it is over, to show our fellow citizens, all of them, that they belong in Canada, that they are a treasured part of our national family.”

Poilievre’s speech comes after Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced last month that the set of referendums she had previously scheduled her province to hold in October on different immigration and constitutional questions would include one on independence.

That came after an Alberta court quashed efforts for a citizen-led petition that organizers of the separatist movement said had garnered upwards of 300,000 signatures from getting onto an official ballot, citing how the province failed to consult with First Nations under Section 35 of the Constitution.

Smith called the ruling “anti-democratic” and pledged to appeal, but outlined how she was adding a question on independence to October’s referendums because of the time an appeal would take and the thousands of signatures gathered, including those tied to a pro-Canada petition.

Poilievre, who after losing his Ottawa-area seat in last year’s election successfully won a byelection in the rural Alberta riding of Battle-River Crowfoot, pledged that the federal Conservatives would spend the summer campaigning for the province to stay.

With 33 out of the province’s 37 MPs hailing from the Conservatives, the federal party with the deepest routes in Western Canada, some of Poilievre’s MPs have begun speaking out about the importance of Alberta remaining a part of the federation.

Monday’s speech was the first time the Conservative leader, who grew up in Calgary, outlined what his pitch would be on the question of keeping the country together. He delivered it by weaving in memories from his childhood spent watching the 1988 Winter Olympics, which the province hosted, and working as a kid collecting trash off tables during the Calgary Stampede.

He argued that frustrated Albertans have “legitimate grievances” that deserve to be addressed through policy changes by Ottawa, which he said ought to be met by banding together with other oil-producing provinces like Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador, and pushing for change.

Poilievre also warned against dismissing those concerns as illegitimate.

“Those who caused the problems in Canada today will tell you to pretend those problems don’t exist, and they will denounce as unpatriotic anyone who speaks honestly about them.”

“Doing that in this referendum would only drive people further away. If you want frustrated Albertans to vote for Canada, the absolute worst thing we can do is dismiss their legitimate grievances and thus signal there’s no hope of fixing them at all.”

Later in his speech, he delivered a message directly to those participating in the debate, urging them to see Albertans wishing to separate not as “enemies” but as fellow citizens.

“Demonizing people who have lost hope in Canada is no way to restore it,” Poilievre said. “Name-calling, fear mongering, and ostracizing will only worsen and broaden the divide.”

Instead, the federal Conservative called for understanding and persuading Albertans to stay by tackling what he characterized as “the easily solvable problems they are asking us to fix.”

“We should not just tell Albertans how bad it would be to have separation. Let’s instead talk about how great it can be if our country is truly united and respectful of Alberta.”

Poilievre repeated his party’s longstanding calls for the federal government to repeal the Impact Assessment Act and oil tanker moratorium off British Columbia’s northwest coast.

Carney’s government has signalled it stands ready to amend the tanker ban, according to a memorandum-of-understand the prime minster signed with Smith last fall, which paves the way for the construction of a new oil pipeline to the West Coast, in exchange for Alberta increasing its industrial carbon tax.

The federal government is also eyeing more regulatory reforms to speed up the timelines it takes to approve major projects, after ushering in a separate process last year that gives cabinet the power to grant upfront approvals for projects deemed to be in the “national interest,” and that would undergo evaluations by a special projects office Carney established.

Last week, the federal government announced it would be extending the consultation period it had announced on the upcoming reforms that had been set to expire on Monday, pushing the date back until mid-July.

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OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government is expected to table its long-awaited legislation aimed at online safety this week, including a ban on social media platforms for children under 16 years old.

A government official, speaking on the condition of background, confirmed plans to present a bill in the coming days, which will usher in a path to create a new regulator and target different types of harmful content online.

The official confirmed that the government’s plan to establish a social media ban for minors younger than 16 will include provisions that allow platforms to seek exemptions should they demonstrate an ability to keep the youngest Canadians safe while using their products online.

The bill is expected to tabled on Wednesday, with the House of Commons set to rise for its summer break next week.

The legislation is not expected to include the same type of ban for AI chatbots, but will establish a set of responsibilities platforms need to meet.

Kaitlynn Mendes, a professor and researcher at Western University, said she welcomes the federal government’s allowance of exemptions under its social media ban, saying it creates room for platforms to fix their design, which is where she and other academics believes the focus ought to be placed.

“I’m maybe optimistic that we’ll see more of the push towards getting platforms to change their design rather than just …regulate and monitor young people, and try to chase them off these platforms, which we know doesn’t work,” she said in an interview on Monday.

She pointed to figures from Australia that suggest many children have found ways to circumvent its social media moratorium, adding there exist “larger questions” about whether such bans even work and what platforms a Canadian model would include.

When it comes to platforms making design changes, Mendes says the government could act by compelling companies to be more transparent with their data and limiting the use of features, such as auto-play.

Since taking office last year, Carney has faced calls from child safety advocates and children’s health organizations to revive efforts that were advanced under former prime minister Justin Trudeau to legislate tech platforms to tackle the harms users face.

The Trudeau government’s last bill, known as Bill C-63, died in Parliament in early 2025. Advocates and other proponents of tech regulation have argued that Canadian children are less protected than those living in the United Kingdom and Australia, which have their own online safety regimes and regulator.

Under the previous bill, the government had proposed requiring platforms to submit annual safety plans outlining how they were mitigating users’ exposure to the most harmful content online, from the non-consensual sharing of intimate images to content that encourages a minor to engage in self-harm or incites extremism.

Canadian Heritage Minister Marc Miller, who is tasked with shepherding the Carney government’s new efforts to legislate against online harms, had previously said the federal government was “very seriously” looking at the idea of banning social media for minors, a policy first introduced by Australia.

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew has said his province wanted to do the same.

The tabling of the Carney government’s online safety bill comes just days after the prime minister and Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon released the government’s AI strategy, which underscored how Ottawa would spend millions of dollars helping encourage more mass adoption of the nascent technology and claimed that tens of thousands of new jobs would be created in the field.

Opposition parties last week called that AI strategy short on details, including when it came to what safety measures and privacy protections the government would offer. The strategy did suggest that the Carney government would be moving ahead on measures to legislate around online safety.

Concerns about online safety grew earlier this year when reporting by The Wall Street Journal revealed that OpenAI had previously flagged internal exchanges Jesse Van Rootselaar had with its chatbot, ChatGPT, months before they killed family members and opened fire on a school in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., located in the province’s interior, but did not communicate any of its findings to police in Canada.

That prompted B.C. Premier David Eby’s NDP government to call on federal ministers to regulate AI chatbots and legislate a mandatory “national reporting threshold” for platforms when information is received that a user may be plotting violence.

Unliked the last Trudeau-era online harms bill, the Carney government has signalled it will not be introducing legislative changes to the Canadian Human Rights Act to allow for complaints of online hate speech to be brought forward, which was of major concern to the Opposition Conservatives and other civil liberties advocates.

National Post

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The Ontario home where Colonel Sanders, KFC founder and face of the fast-food brand, once lived recently hit the real estate market with an asking price of $1.5 million.

When Harland David Sanders, accompanied by his wife Claudia, moved north in 1965 to oversee the expansion and operations of the brand then known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, they settled on 1337 Melton Drive, “a modest bungalow near the corner of Dixie Avenue and The Queensway” in Mississauga as their home, according to Visit Mississauga .

The Sanders lived in Mississauga for part of the year until his 1980 death in Louisville, Kentucky.

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Sanders was 75 at the time and already a millionaire, having sold off most of his franchises to a group of U.S. investors a year prior, but he retained franchising rights and stayed on as the trademark and quality controller.

Sanders himself originally hailed from Indiana, and while he first sold his fried chicken at a roadside restaurant in Kentucky during the Great Depression — during which time Governor Rub Lafooon bestowed him with the honorary title of Kentucky Colonel — the first Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise opened in 1952 in Salt Lake City, Utah. A store remains there to this day. (The original franchisee was also the first to use Sanders’ likeness in branding, created the “finger lickin’ good” catchphrase and was the first to introduce the cardboard bucket of chicken.)

Sanders later abandoned his own restaurant and started travelling the U.S., franchising his “Original Recipe” to restaurateurs and turning it into the largest fast-food chain in the U.S. at one point.

Upon his relocation to Canada, Sanders turned to Toronto lawyer Terrence Donnelly, whom he’d met at the CNE Food Pavilion during an earlier visit, to assist in expansion. Donnelly became his counsel, sat on Sanders’ board of directors and eventually became the head of the Harland Sanders Charitable Organization, a registered Canadian charity that has donated millions to health care initiatives and carries on his legacy.

In 2000, the community-based, academically affiliated Ontario health network Trillium Health Partners named its women’s and children’s care center in the Colono Hardland Sanders Family Care Centre in honour of his donations over the years.

Donelly also helped facilitate the purchase of the Sanders’ Lakeview home, which was listed by Jaclyn Deme and Meta Realty without specifying that it was once the residence of a fast-food franchise icon.

The “impeccably maintained 4-level side split” spreads four bedrooms, three full baths, two laundry rooms, an open-concept kitchen and multiple living and family rooms over its 2,000-plus square feet of finished space.

“A standout feature is the private main-floor primary bedroom retreat, complete with an accessible ensuite bathroom (with skylight and heated flooring), and private laundry/mudroom with ample storage,” the listing reads.

The home’s footprint has changed in the 46 years since Sanders and his wife lived there, the most recent being an addition in 2014, partially designed by award-winning Mississauga-based interior designer Jane Lockhart.

Other feature perks include an attached garage, a powered garden shed, front and rear lawn irrigation systems, a home alarm system, a carpet-free interior, a central vacuum, a backup generator, electrical sliding back doors and two fireplaces.

Property taxes are listed at $8,446.67 annually.

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OTTAWA — Former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour became Canada’s 31st Governor General on Monday, bearing warnings about artificial intelligence (AI) and failing Canadian youth.

Speaking in the Senate, she also spoke about the importance of embracing different points of view. She thanked Prime Minister Mark Carney and King Charles III for entrusting her with the opportunity to “serve another great Canadian institution,” along with her predecessor, Mary Simon, for her “remarkable service” as governor general.

In her first address to the dignitaries in the room, Arbour called on Canadians to not let fear of their differences stop them from building a better Canada.

“Extreme polarization is dangerous, but so is extreme consensus,” she said in a bilingual speech in English and French. “It is through our differences and our fundamental right to express them that we will nourish critical thinking, creativity and innovation.”

“It is through our differences that we will build a common future.”

She said it is important to continue to protect institutions where different views can be expressed, whether they are schools, the media, courtrooms or art disciplines.

In his own speech, Carney called respect for institutions “vital” and said that is why “we are each called to share each other’s perspectives and work for our common good.”

“The Governor General is the guardian of our constitutional order, a symbol of unity, and above all, a steward of our commitment to peace, order and good government,” he said.

Arbour, 79, said she “lived through the comfort and the discomfort of homogeneity” first being raised and taught by women in Montreal, then working in a male-dominated field as a lawyer and a judge, and finally working for human rights on the international stage.

Arbour said her work exposed her to a “great diversity of perspectives” and she built relationships with people who, at first glance, she seemingly had nothing in common.

She also shared a story about how she was confronted with her own “biases” to illustrate how easy it is to have preconceived ideas about people one may have just met.

Arbour said she was standing outside the United Nations headquarters in New York in the 1990s when she came across a group of Chinese tourists. She asked a young woman in the group about her impressions of New York, to which she replied the city is “so old.”

“I was surprised, and then I realized that I had been projecting a story onto her, imagining her as coming from a civilization of centuries-old splendour, and gazing at a vibrant city in a younger country,” said Arbour.

Arbour said she realized that young woman was more likely born in a “futuristic” city like Shanghai, which would make a city like New York pale in comparison.

In her viceregal role, she said she is preparing to be surprised and confronted again by her own stereotypes and unconscious biases.

Arbour also had stark messages, the first one about inequality at a time when youth unemployment is still too high in Canada.

“Young Canadians are citizens of the world,” she said. “They’re well-educated with both deep climate awareness and remarkable digital literacy, and yet not all of them are able to reach their full potential as they face the headwinds of inequality.

“In that, we are failing them and it is our shared responsibility to correct course.”

Speaking to young people, she called on them to create the world in which they want their own children to grow up. “You have between your hands, like the generations that preceded you, tools that did not exist when your parents were born. So, surprise us.

“And do not underestimate the chance that you have to grow up here, even if you are preoccupied, rightly so, by the issues of our time,” she added.

The King’s representative also notably delivered a warning about new technologies like AI at a time when the government has just unveiled its strategy on it.

“They’re highly attractive and widely accessible, but we must ensure that their convenience doesn’t lead us to overlook the profound societal shifts that they are driving with instant access to vast amounts of information,” Arbour said.

“AI could be threatening not only the way we live and work, but also the control we exercise over our own destiny.”

Yet, she continued, these challenges are “not insurmountable” if they are met with trustworthy public institutions, a strong education system, investments in science, research and development and with a public sector upholding standards of integrity.

NDP Leader Avi Lewis said he shares the new governor general’s fears around AI and the fears of young people “entering a world that seems designed to exclude them.”

He said he hopes Arbour’s messages about inequality are “getting through” to the government.

National Post, with files from Jordan Gowling.

calevesque@postmedia.com

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North Korea has made out handsomely amid an East-West divide.

Russia and China have sought closer military and economic ties with the hermit kingdom amid the war in Ukraine and a strategic shift away from the U.S. It’s reportedly made North Korea wealthier than it’s ever been.

Foreign visitors who returned from Pyongyang, the country’s capital, in recent years are describing signs of newfound prosperity, including restaurants serving “brick-oven pizza and chicken wings,” QR-code systems for mobile payments and Chinese EVs on the streets, not to mention “pet stores, an internet-gaming cafe and car dealerships selling BMWs,” the Wall Street Journal reported .

Likewise, families are using home-delivery apps to order take-out, people are lining up at beer-halls and car ownership has seemingly become more ubiquitous, according to The New York Times . That’s in addition to more buses, trucks and construction starts sighted across the country, according to one analyst.

Satellite imagery is also capturing nighttime lights in Pyongyang burning more intensely than in the past. South Korea’s central bank estimated that the North Korean economy grew by 3.7 per cent in 2024, the fastest growth rate in eight years. It’s a significant turnaround for a country that underwent severe food shortages during COVID five years ago, according to the Wall Street Journal, when leader Kim Jong Un was visibly thinner and shedded tears when reporting the shortages. “Almost all sectors fell a long way short,” he said at the time.

However, some 12 million North Koreans out of a population of 27 million are undernourished, according to the UN. And the heavily sanctioned centralized economy reported a trade volume of only US$2.7 billion in 2024. Due to multiple sanctions on trade, fake hair and wigs are North Korea’s primary export, most of which goes to China. By comparison, South Korea’s economy, at US$1.86 trillion, is almost 70 times bigger, according to Germany’s public broadcaster DW.

The Bank of Korea attributed North Korea’s GDP growth to increases in manufacturing, construction and mining industries, citing a military and economic cooperation pact with Russia signed in 2024.

Following the landmark mutual defence pact, North Korea has supplied Russia’s war effort with unprecedented resources and manpower. It deployed more than 15,000 troops to western Russia, South Korea’s spy agency reported in 2025. The troops have suffered a casualty rate of about one in three, according intelligence officials. North Korea has also shipped large amounts of artillery, missiles and ammunition to its northern neighbour and received food, military technology and energy in return.

North Korea has collected up to US$14.4 billion from these dealings, a Seoul-based think tank reported earlier this year.

The state coffers are also lined by North Korean hackers, who account for the bulk of global crypto thefts, according to analysts. North Korean workers also send money home from foreign countries, notably China. Train service between Beijing and Pyongyang resumed this year after closing during COVID. North Korea has reportedly shown more willingness to open its borders to allies.

North Korea’s deepening ties with Russia has provided it leverage in discussions with China, which has been Pyongyang’s biggest trading partner for decades. Experts say China would like to keep it that way.

On Monday, President Xi Jinping made his first visit to North Korea in seven years. In that time, North Korea has ramped up testing of intercontinental missiles. Last week, while unveiling a new nuclear facility, Kim said that North Korea’s production of weapons-grade nuclear would be “exponential” and that production capacity had more than doubled in five years. A day before Xi’s trip, Kim’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, said the country’s atomic weapons program was “absolutely non-negotiable” and that “officials in the United States have failed to wake from their escapist and anachronistic dreams,” according to Bloomberg.

The Xinhua readout of the meeting made no mention of eliminating nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula — a goal China had maintained publicly for years. That language has been missing from official Chinese statements since Kim’s visit to Beijing last September, prompting speculation that China has now tacitly accepted North Korea as a de facto nuclear power.

The new coalition was evident in Beijing last September, during a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, where Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin stood flanking Xi.

National Post, with a file from Bloomberg

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Tomorrow, June 9, the average Canadian family will have earned enough in 2026 to cover the taxes imposed on it by the three levels of government, according to a new study by the Fraser Institute .

The think tank estimates that the average family will earn $166,790 in 2026 and pay an estimated $72,539 in total taxes, representing 43.5 per cent of their annual income.

This means that, if Canadian families had to pay their tax bills upfront, they would need to work for more than five months, or 158 days, before they had earned enough to pay off all the taxes imposed by federal, provincial, and local governments.

In other words, June 9 — which the Fraser Institute has dubbed “Tax Freedom Day” — is when Canadians finally start working for themselves, and not government.

Taxes used to compute Tax Freedom Day include income taxes, payroll taxes, health taxes, sales taxes, property taxes, profit taxes, taxes on the consumption of alcohol and tobacco, fuel taxes, motor vehicle license fees, carbon taxes, import duties, natural resource fees, and a host of other levies.

This year, Tax Freedom Day arrives one day later than in 2025, when it fell on June 8.

According to the Fraser Institute, the later date is because forecasts for personal income are slower than forecasts for growth in income taxes, property taxes and sales taxes, resulting in a higher estimated tax burden than last year.

The study estimates that the average Canadian family’s total tax bill increased by $2,098, or three per cent, between 2025 and 2026.

However, some areas of the country will have to wait a bit longer before they reach the earnings threshold this year.

The Fraser Institute also examined the total annual tax burden at the provincial level and found that Tax Freedom Day varies depending on the extent of taxes levied by provincial and local governments.

This is why average Canadian families in Newfoundland and Labrador won’t reach Tax Freedom Day until June 19, while the date falls even later, on June 27, for Quebecers.

Meanwhile, Saskatchewan’s Tax Freedom Day was the earliest in the country, on May 20, followed by Alberta (May 25) and Manitoba (May 28).

Four more provinces have also already reached Tax Freedom Day this year: British Columbia (June 4), Prince Edward Island (June 5), New Brunswick (June 6) and Ontario (June 8).

Nova Scotia’s Tax Freedom Day falls on June 9, matching the national average.

“Tax Freedom Day helps put the total tax burden in perspective, and helps Canadians understand just how much of their money they pay in taxes every year,” Jake Fuss, director of fiscal studies at the Fraser Institute, said in a news release on Monday.

“Canadians need to decide for themselves whether they are getting their money’s worth when it comes to how governments are spending their tax dollars.”

Meanwhile, the Fraser Institute also calculated a “Balanced Budget Tax Freedom Day,” the day on which average Canadians would start working for themselves if governments were obliged to cover current expenditures with current taxation.

In 2026, the Balanced Budget Tax Freedom Day falls on June 25.

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Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon has commented publicly on an airport bag tag scheme in which airport employees have been allegedly using unsuspecting travellers as drug mules.

He was challenged by Conservative MP Dan Albas in committee testimony recently who asked: “How is it that people right now are being detained, arrested, and then caught up in the CBSA system forevermore for something they didn’t do? It is your responsibility to make sure bad people can’t get those jobs and stay in those jobs.”

MacKinnon responded by saying that credentials for airport workers are revoked on a regular basis. “We have a constant system of ongoing revocation of credentials,” he said.

“Many of the people who were the objects of interest in the recent television report all had their credentials revoked.”

He added: “The system that we implement requires us to assess the risk to aviation safety. I’ve asked my officials to examine whether that is an appropriate test,” and said that his officials have gone “very deep” in their review of the system.

But when pressed on specific measures he has taken in response to the scam, MacKinnon was unable to provide an example.

“What one concrete measure have you done beyond talk to your officials?” Albas asked.

MacKinnon responded by saying that “these are very intricate and delicate interconnected systems” and that he wasn’t going to do anything “rash.”

“But I can tell you that in federal transportation infrastructure, security is something that preoccupies me,” he said.

It’s been two weeks since a CTV News investigation revealed a widespread criminal operation involving airport workers swapping passengers’ luggage tags onto suitcases loaded with drugs.

The report found that at least 17 passengers on flights out of Canada were detained on drug smuggling allegations in the past year as a result of the scam.

In instances where the drug shipments were discovered by foreign customs officials, the innocent passengers whose names appeared on the luggage were arrested.

In one such case , RCMP officers were called after the Canada Border Services Agency found 33 kilograms of cannabis in each checked bag of two German citizens scheduled to depart on a commercial flight from Toronto to Germany.

The RCMP arrested the pair, but each denied ownership of the luggage. Investigators then found that an Air Canada employee working in the baggage room had allegedly placed luggage tags bearing the passengers’ names onto suitcases that contained cannabis. Both passengers were released, and the Air Canada worker was arrested and charged.

National Post previously spoke to Mitesh Shah, CEO of Ontario-based professional security company Empire Protection , about steps airports can take to prevent similar incidents in the future.

He said that he would like to see more screening of airport personnel. “Airport employees don’t go through the same scrutiny that travellers do,” he commented.

Meanwhile, a security expert interviewed by CTV for its investigation said that workers in secure baggage areas should wear body cameras and be prohibited from carrying personal cellphones while on duty.

When it comes to passengers protecting themselves, Shah recommended taking pictures of personal luggage before it’s checked in at the airports and adding a ribbon or something else unique to make each bag stand out.

Such measures could help travellers demonstrate ownership if authorities mistakenly link them to a different suitcase.

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Ticks are pushing farther across Canada every year, and the diseases they carry are coming with them. Reported Lyme disease cases climbed from 522 in 2014 to 5,239 in 2024, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.

National Post reached out to three experts for more information on where ticks are spreading, why and how to stay safe. Manisha Kulkarni is a professor at the University of Ottawa’s School of Epidemiology and Public Health. Virginie Millien is a biologist at McGill University. Luis Anholeto is a lab manager at the Canadian Tick Research and Innovation Centre at Acadia University.

Millien spoke by phone. Kulkarni and Anholeto responded by email. Their answers have been edited and condensed for clarity and length.

How big is Canada’s tick problem now compared to a decade ago?

Kulkarni: We’ve seen a dramatic increase in tick populations across Canada in the last decade, especially the blacklegged ticks (deer ticks) that can carry Lyme disease. Ten years ago, there were established tick populations in defined pockets of southern Manitoba, southern and eastern Ontario, southern Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, but since then we’ve seen an expansion of these populations further north in all provinces, including around major population centres like Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal.

Which parts of the country have been hit hardest, and is that map still changing?

Millien: Ontario is actually a hotspot. It’s number one in terms of abundance of ticks and number of Lyme disease cases. Quebec is not far behind, but Ontario, this is where it started, Long Point.

Anholeto: Nova Scotia has consistently had the highest incidence rates in the country.

What’s driving the spread, and how much of it comes down to climate?

Kulkarni: Climate change and the associated warming temperatures are a major force behind the spread of blacklegged ticks in Canada. They can survive further north, where it was once too cold, and there’s a longer warm season for them to complete their life cycle. But other factors, like land-use changes, are also at play. Urban expansion into woodlands and resulting forest fragmentation creates an ideal habitat for white-tailed deer and white-footed mice, and in turn, ticks.

Millien: Up until recently, none of them would survive the winter. But now that we have ticks that survive, they reproduce locally, so the pathogen is circulating and it’s established.

Which tick-borne illnesses should people actually worry about, and how serious are they?

Kulkarni: The most common tick-borne illness in Canada is Lyme disease, which can be very serious if it’s not treated promptly. Other serious tick-borne illnesses are also on the rise, such as Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis and Powassan virus.

Anholeto: Beyond Lyme, anaplasmosis is increasing in Canada. Powassan virus is rare but can cause encephalitis. We also have Rocky Mountain spotted fever, a rare but potentially deadly infection that is spreading northward in Canada due to climate change.

How do people avoid getting bitten?

Kulkarni: People can avoid tick bites by staying on the trails in wooded areas where ticks live, and by wearing long clothing, using insect repellent that contains DEET or icaridin, or wearing permethrin-treated clothing.

Anholeto: Wear light-coloured clothing, it makes ticks easier to spot, and tuck your pants into your socks. After being outdoors, do a full-body tick check, paying special attention to under the arms, behind the knees, the waist, the groin and the scalp. Also, check children and pets.

If someone finds a tick on them, what should they do?

Anholeto: Stay calm, finding a tick early is actually good news. Ticks need to remain attached for hours before transmitting the bacteria. Use clean, fine-point tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible and pull upward with slow, steady pressure. Do not twist or squeeze the tick.

Kulkarni: In Ontario and some other provinces, if you have been bitten by a tick, you can visit a pharmacy to see if you’re eligible for post-exposure prophylaxis. Monitor for symptoms and see a healthcare provider asap if you have a rash, fever, headache, or other flu-like symptoms.

What’s the biggest misconception about ticks or Lyme disease you’d want to clear up?

Anholeto: I have been seeing posts on social media lately about the lone star tick in Canada. This tick is associated with alpha-gal syndrome, the so-called red meat allergy from a tick bite. It’s a real condition, but the risk of locally acquired alpha-gal syndrome in Canada is low because the primary tick responsible, the lone star tick, is not established here. Right now, if you get bitten by a tick in Canada, the realistic threats are Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, babesiosis and Powassan virus. Be wary of misinformation.

Anything else Canadians should know heading into summer?

Millien: They’re not that scary. The problem is that we become too comfortable. We need to be reminded, stay on the trail or wear long pants and then the tick check. It’s just a tweezer and 90 degree pull out straight, because you don’t want to leave the head in there.

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Another record-breaking crowd clad in blue and white and waving Israeli and Canadian flags marched along Bathurst Street in Toronto Sunday for the annual Walk with Israel, a celebration of community that organizers and participants said also served as a show of solidarity against mounting antisemitism in Canada.

The UJA Federation of Greater Toronto said Toronto Police Services estimated this year’s attendance at 60,000, eclipsing last year’s tally by about 4,000 people and “making it the largest turnout in the event’s 57-year history.”

“It’s been a fabulous day,” UJA chief development officer Sara Lefton told National Post earlier Sunday as the sea of people left Temple Sinai Congregation and headed north to the awaiting festival on UJA’s Sherman Campus.

“Lots of allies, lots of members of the Jewish community. The mood is certainly very celebratory and strong.”

60,000 strong. That's the power of our community.
Am Yisrael Chai 🇮🇱❤️🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/9e3523VQh1

— UJA Federation of Greater Toronto (@UJAFederation) June 7, 2026

Also present in larger numbers this year, as promised by Deputy Chief Frank Barredo on Friday, were police officers charged with keeping the anti-Israel and anti-Jewish protesters at bay as they flanked the walk or set up outside barriers to hurl insults and obscenities at participants.

A group of roughly 35 protesters got very close to the participants as they passed the intersection with Canyon Avenue, but more police quickly responded to push them back away from the walkers.

At one intersection, volunteers use a large Israeli flag and others to create a wall obscuring the protesters from view, though their chants and shouts could still be heard.

TPS said four people were arrested at the event — a woman for allegedly obstructing a police officer before the event began, a man alleged to have assaulted another officer , a woman for alleged breach of the peace , and a man who allegedly operated a remotely piloted aircraft system (RPAS) , who was fined under Canadian aviation regulations.

Later in the day, another man was arrested for alleged assault near Bathurst and Wilson Avenue and a woman in Earl Bales Park was taken into custody for allegedly obstructing police .

Lefton called the police presence “remarkable.”

“I think that so many people out walking is just an indication of how we feel about what the police have been doing for us and to support us,” she said.

A wall of Israel blocks off protestors from view of the families in the walk for Israel pic.twitter.com/oYtf72yma8

— Ross McLean (@McLeanChronicle) June 7, 2026

Lefton said participation from allies outside the Jewish community was “way beyond” what they’ve witnessed in past years and serves as “a tremendous source of hope” that others believe in fighting hate and extremism in Canada.

Visible amid the fluttering flags were several Iranian standards from the rule of the deposed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, according to National Post photojournalist Peter J. Thompson.

Among the participants were approximately 30 Indigenous representatives from First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities, including several former and current Chiefs, Grand Chiefs, and leaders.

“What we witnessed today was an extraordinary expression of solidarity, Jewish pride, and hope,” UJA president and CEO Adam Minsky said in a press release.

“Tens of thousands of people chose to come together publicly and proudly in support of our community, our values, and our connection to Israel.”

This year’s walk is happening against the backdrop of ever-increasing acts of antisemitism and hate against Canada’s Jewish population, particularly in the Greater Toronto Area. Synagogues have been vandalized, Jewish people have been assaulted, and the community at large has been the largest target of police-reported religious-based hate crimes.

Lefton said the intensifying antisemitism has led to schools conducting multiple lockdown drills and “indoor recesses because of security threats,” things that make the community feel isolated.

“So I think even more, a moment like this, a moment like today, where we actually can celebrate and feel the strength of coming together as a community and a broader Canadian society, is incredibly important to isolation and make sure that we’re not facing it alone,” she said.

It also comes on the heels of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s speech last week at a Toronto synagogue, where he said antisemitism in Canada has reached levels “not seen in the post-war period” and that the nation is “failing Jewish Canadians.”

He announced a federal advisory council to examine the causes of antisemitism, improve hate-crime data collection and evaluate government policies on education, prevention and community safety.

Carney, nor any federal party leader, appeared to attend Sunday’s walk, but the Conservative Party of Canada was represented by Deputy Leader Melissa Lantsmand, and fellow Toronto MPs Roman Baber, Jacob Mantle and Anna Roberts.

2026 Walk With Israel - 56,000 strong, through the heart of York Centre!

Huge shout-out to all the police forces involved.

Am Israel Hai! 🇨🇦🇮🇱 pic.twitter.com/M5qNXjNlvl

— Roman Baber (@Roman_Baber) June 7, 2026

Liberal MPs Vince Gasparro, Ali Ehsassi and Leslie Church also attended.

“No Canadian should ever feel unsafe for who they are or how they worship. Combatting antisemitism is a responsibility shared by every level of government and part of our society,” Gasparro, the parliamentary secretary combatting crime, wrote on X.

It also appears Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow also opted not to participate.

On hand for the province was York Centre MPP Michael Kerzner.

“ I am inseparable from our Jewish community and Israel, today and always,” he wrote on X.

Today, I joined over 60,000 incredible participants from the #Ontario Jewish and Persian communities in allyship at the #WalkForIsrael, proud and unapologetic!

I am grateful to @UJAFederation and the sponsors for hosting the walk and for reminding us that our umbilical tie to… pic.twitter.com/LCeQN9jWCb

— Michael Kerzner (@TeamKerzner) June 7, 2026

Toronto mayoral hopeful Brad Bradford also attended.

“We walk for peace, justice, pluralism, and the right of every person to thrive in a Toronto that is welcoming, tolerant, and safe for all,” he wrote on X.

Jewish civil rights group Tafsik said the huge turnout proves that the majority of Jews are Zionist.

“ The tiny few ‘Jews’ who don’t stand with Israel and are not Zionist aren’t even a ‘fringe’ minority,” it posted on X. “They are totally non existent. Microscopic in numbers.”

Next time they say “a lot of Jews are against Israel” show them this photo. The far, far majority of Jews are Zionist. We as a people have believed in self autonomy and self determination on the ancestral homeland of Israel since Moses led us to the promised land.

The tiny few… pic.twitter.com/QihR2WvNFx

— Tafsik Organization (@Tafsikorg) June 7, 2026

60,000 strong at this year’s @UJAFederation Walk With Israel🇮🇱 Am Israel Chai 💙🪬 pic.twitter.com/taURMFIZct

— CIJA (@CIJAinfo) June 7, 2026

• 'More allies than ever before': Tens of thousands expected for Walk with Israel
• 'Crime scene': Toronto synagogue damaged amid wave of antisemitic violence

Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.