1 man dead, 1 missing after house catches fire south of Quebec City

LIMA, Peru – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he’s been advising world leaders to focus on common goals with Donald Trump ahead of his return to the White House, as Canada shores up its relations with countries across the Pacific Rim.

“Donald Trump is someone who tends to do what he says he’s going to do,” Trudeau said at a press conference as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit wrapped in Lima, Peru.

Trudeau said leaders have a better sense of what’s coming from a second Trump administration than they had in 2016.

“A lot of countries are focused on building up resilience and capacity to respond to those challenges, as opposed to wondering whether or not those challenges are going to materialize. I think people know those challenges are going to materialize.”

Trudeau said formal and informal talks at the APEC summit were dominated by worries about how to navigate Trump’s return to the U.S. presidency in January, particularly given his promises for sweeping tariffs on all American imports.

The APEC group aims to resolve trade barriers and grow economies across the Pacific Rim, but it’s been challenged by rising protectionism by the likes of Trump.

Trudeau is one of a few world leaders who was also in power during Trump’s first term, and said his message to his colleagues is to emphasize the “win-wins” of trade deals.

“People are being thoughtful about how to position themselves over the coming years in a way that’s going to be constructive,” he said.

“It’s an approach that is perhaps a little less surprised or anxious than it was eight years ago when Donald Trump was first elected.”

Trudeau said various leaders have sought his advice, though he would not name the countries turning to Canada, nor would he characterize what region they come from.

Canada signed a new trade deal with Mexico and the U.S. in 2018 after Trump ended the North American Free Trade Agreement, and Trudeau said he used that as an example for other countries. The Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement is set to be reviewed in 2026.

Trudeau said Mexico has been a “solid partner” in the negotiations of that deal, but he said Ottawa has concerns about the amount of Chinese investment in Mexico.

He said Trump asked him specifically about Canada’s approach to trading with China when the pair spoke last week, and he highlighted Ottawa’s new tariffs on Chinese goods.

Last month, Canada brought in 100 per cent tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, along with 25 per cent on steel and aluminum. The government is now eyeing import taxes on batteries, solar components and critical minerals from China.

Beijing says these measures hurt both economies as well as the world’s transition away from fossil fuels, but Canada says China is using unfair subsidies and could threaten countries whose industries depend on it.

Chinese President Xi Jinping also loomed large at this year’s APEC summit, as Beijing pushes for closer economic and cultural ties to South America.

Trudeau’s office said he had “a brief exchange” with Xi, and that it was along the lines of discussions Trade Minister Mary Ng and Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly had with each of their Chinese counterparts.

Ng wrote in statement on Saturday she had a “direct and candid discussion” on the need for “fair and equitable trade,” citing issues ranging from market access to forced labour.

Joly told reporters Friday that “we need to have a predictable relationship” with China and that she had said foreign interference is not acceptable.

Xi this week unveiled a mega port in Peru, and newspapers and billboards around Lima have been promoting Chinese companies. An ad from one Chinese alcohol maker shows Machu Picchu and the Great Wall of China, wishing a successful APEC summit in both Spanish and Chinese.

It’s in that context that Canada announced how it would use $35 million in previously allocated funding for programs across the Pacific Rim region.

The largest projects involve improving access to reproductive health care for women in Peru, fighting domestic violence in that country, and fostering sustainable communities in Peru’s Andes region.

The funding includes a $3.9-million investment in the BlackBerry Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence in Malaysia, which will train 3,500 people from across the region in an effort to boost local jobs in government, research, and industry.

Another project involves integrating at least 2,500 Venezuelan refugees with medical degrees into Peru’s medical system.

Trudeau met Saturday with Peruvian President Dina Boluarte as well as Chilean President Gabriel Boric. And on Friday, he announced that negotiations were complete for a trade agreement with Indonesia, the world’s fourth most-populous economy.

Trudeau has also announced that Canada will seek to expand nuclear-energy collaboration across Southeast Asia, particularly for countries grappling with how to adequately power computers and data centres used for artificial intelligence.

The prime minister argues that would bring jobs and more regional clout to Canada.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 16, 2024.

EDMONTON – Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is echoing concerns about Mexico that were expressed earlier this week by Ontario’s premier, saying she hopes Canada can get a “carve-out” from import tariffs that president-elect Donald Trump is promising.

Smith told her provincewide radio call-in program Saturday that advice she received from Robert Lighthizer, Trump’s former trade chief, was that governments north of the border should take a “Canada first” approach, noting Mexico was inviting investment from China.

She said that was undercutting the manufacturing sector in both the U.S. and Canada.

Ford on Tuesday issued a statement saying that since signing on to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, Mexico has allowed itself to become a back door for Chinese cars, auto parts and other products into Canadian and American markets.

He later told reporters at an unrelated news conference that he’s proposing the Canadian government make its own a bilateral trade deal with the U.S., and if Mexico then wants to make a separate deal with Canada, “God bless them.”

Smith said Saturday that a 10-per-cent tariff, which Trump has promised for all imports when he becomes president in January, would be very damaging to Canada and she’s already been speaking with other premiers and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland about it.

“And so my advice is, as is Doug’s, is let’s take a Canada-first approach and let’s see if we can get a carve-out for all of Canada, because we do have balanced trade with the United States,” Smith told her radio audience.

The Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement, negotiated under the first Trump administration, is up for review in 2026.

Ford said if Mexico won’t at least match Canadian and American tariffs on Chinese imports, they “shouldn’t have a seat at the table.”

“You look at Mexico, they’re importing cheap products, undercutting our hard-working men and women, not only here, but in the U.S.,” Ford said Tuesday.

“They’re slapping a ‘Made in Mexico’ sticker on, and shipping it up, taking our hard-working men and women’s jobs away from them. Unacceptable.”

The threat of the tariff is causing a lot of concern north of the border, where the Canadian Chamber of Commerce has said such a move could take a $30-billion bite out of the Canadian economy.

Some energy experts, however, have said they don’t believe an across-the-board tariff of 10 per cent on all imports will apply to Canadian oil.

Freeland said this week that she’s heard concerns from people close to the incoming Trump administration, the outgoing Biden administration and some business leaders that Mexico is not acting as Canada and the U.S. are in their economic relationship with China.

“I do have some sympathy with those concerns we’ve heard from our American counterparts,” Freeland told reporters when asked about the issue during a news conference.

Smith said a bargaining chip Canada will have with the U.S. is that we’re a reliable source for energy, and she also thinks there’s an opportunity to expand pipelines into the U.S.

She said an important consideration in trade issues under a Trump administration is that he’s been clear about his concerns about China and border security. He’s also expressed his desire for NATO countries to meet two per cent of GDP on defence.

Trudeau has promised to meet the target by 2032.

“Let’s rapidly get to our two-per-cent NATO target so they will care about the things we care about, which is maintaining that cross-border trade,” Smith said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 16, 2024.

—With files from Kelly Geraldine Malone

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

VANCOUVER – Whistler, B.C., is expected to see its first “significant snowfall” of the season this weekend.

The company that owns Whistler-Blackcomb says it is kicking off the season by opening one of its ski hills a day earlier than expected.

Vail Resorts says Blackcomb Mountain will be open for skiing starting next Thursday, and Whistler Mountain will open the following day.

The report for Whistler-Blackcomb on Friday says the area had seen 43 centimetres of snowfall over 48 hours and 95 centimetres in the last week.

The update came as Environment Canada issued a special weather statement for the Sea to Sky region, including Whistler, Squamish and Pemberton.

It says a weather system was expected to arrive on Saturday, bringing rain to the coast and snow to inland areas, where a mix of snow and rain was also possible.

The bulletin says parts of the Sea to Sky region could see 10 to 15 centimetres of snow before it tapers off Saturday night.

In Metro Vancouver, the weather office says Saturday will bring strong winds and heavy rain that may lead to power outages.

A special weather statement for the region says total rainfall could range from 30 to 50 millimetres before easing overnight on Saturday.

In eastern B.C., Environment Canada issued snowfall warnings Friday for parts of the Cariboo region as well as the Kinbasket, McGregor and North Columbia areas.

The bulletin says a storm system was expected to cross B.C.’s central Interior on Saturday, with the heaviest snowfall in areas near the Alberta boundary and the Cariboo Mountains.

Areas further west, along the Highway 97 corridor, will see lower levels of snow accumulation, the weather office says.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 15, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.