Canadian lawmakers are denouncing Russian President Vladimir Putin and his government following the announcement that prominent opposition figure Alexei Navalny had died while serving his sentence in a prison in the Arctic Circle.
“The death of Alexei Navalny has us all reeling,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in an interview Friday with CBC News in Winnipeg. “It’s something that has the entire world being reminded of exactly what a monster Putin is.”
Trudeau said “there is no question that Alexei Navalny is dead because he stood up to Putin, he stood up to the Kremlin. He stood for freedom and democracy and the right of the Russian people to choose their future, and that was something that Putin was deeply afraid of, as he should be.”
The prime minister added that Navalny’s death redoubles the resolve of Canada and other Western nations to stand up to Putin’s human rights and international law abuses.
In a social media post, Trudeau said Navalny’s courage was unparalleled as he sent his condolences to Navalny’s family and supporters.
“To be clear: He should never have been imprisoned to begin with. Let this be an important reminder that we must continue to promote, protect and defend democracy everywhere. The consequences of not doing so are stark,” Trudeau wrote on X.
WATCH: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addresses Navalny’s death
Trudeau reflects on Navalny’s ‘extraordinary courage’ following reports of his death
36 minutes ago
Duration 1:43
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Alexei Navalny was a fighter for human rights, democracy and standing up for the Russian people and the country’s future. Navalny’s reported death is a moment to reflect on his courage and inspiration and “double and triple down in our resolve” to stand up against Vladimir Putin, Trudeau added.
Navalny, 47, was arrested by Russian authorities in 2021 upon his return to the country after spending five months in Germany recovering from a nerve agent poisoning. He was accused and convicted in a series of cases involving charges of embezzlement, fraud and extremism.
Conservatives condemn Putin: Poilievre
The opposition figure’s death was announced on Friday by the Federal Penitentiary Service of the Yamalo-Nenets region, where Navalny had been serving his sentences.
Prison authorities said Navalny “felt unwell” after a walk on Friday and “almost immediately lost consciousness.”
The statement said medical staff had been called, but they were unable to resuscitate him. The authorities said the cause of death was being established.
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly echoed the prime minister’s comments.
“Alexei Navalny gave his freedom in the hopes of a better, more democratic future for the Russian people. Reports of his death are a painful reminder of Putin’s continued oppressive regime,” Joly wrote on social media. “My thoughts are with his wife, Yulia, his family, and his loved ones.”
Canada’s Ambassador to the United Nations Bob Rae placed the blame for Navalny’s death on the Russian president.
“Putin murdered Navalny just as surely as if he’d strangled him with his bare hands,” Rae wrote on X.
Reports of Alexei Navalny’s death are tragic and horrifying. An unwavering advocate for Russian democracy and freedom, his courage was unparalleled.<br> <br>To be clear: He should never have been imprisoned to begin with. Let this be an important reminder that we must continue to…
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre condemned Putin for Navalny’s death.
“Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny has died in prison. Putin imprisoned Navalny for the act of opposing the regime. Conservatives condemn Putin for his death,” Poilievre wrote on X.
The party’s foreign affairs critic, Michael Chong, wrote that Navalny was imprisoned for simply being an opposition leader.
“Conservatives condemn Putin and the Russian Federation for his death. This is not the hallmark of a great power but of a pariah state,” Chong said.
Putin murdered <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Navalny?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Navalny</a> just as surely as if he’d strangled him with his bare hands.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he was saddened by reports of the opposition figure’s death.
“Navalny’s important work exposed corruption by Putin’s oligarchs and he was killed for it,” Singh wrote on social media. “My thoughts are with his loved ones and with all political prisoners targeted by Putin.”
NDP foreign affairs critic Heather McPherson says she was horrified by reports of Navalny’s death.
“He bravely exposed the corruption and greed of Putin and his oligarchs and was poisoned and killed for it. His death is on Putin’s hands,” McPherson wrote on social media. “My condolences to the Russian people and all those who loved Mr. Navalny.”
Navalny: If they kill me, don’t give up
In the Oscar-winning documentary Navalny, the opposition figure delivered a message to his followers in the event he was killed by Russian authorities.
“You’re not allowed to give up. If they decide to kill me, it means that we are incredibly strong,” Navalny said, speaking in Russian.
“We need to utilize this power to not give up, to remember we are a huge power that is being oppressed by these bad dudes. We don’t realize how strong we actually are. The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing. So don’t be inactive,” said Navalny.
The opposition figure returned to Russia shortly after delivering those remarks. He was arrested by Russian authorities immediately upon landing in Moscow in 2021.
HOUSTON (AP) — Brian White scored in the second half to rally the Vancouver Whitecaps to a 1-1 draw with the Houston Dynamo on Wednesday night.
Houston (12-9-8) took a 1-0 lead into halftime after Ezequiel Ponce scored on a penalty kick in the seventh minute of stoppage time. Ponce’s third goal this season came after Amine Bassi drew a foul on Whitecaps midfielder Pedro Vite following a video review. It was Ponce’s sixth career appearance, all starts.
Vancouver (13-8-7) scored the equalizer in the 73rd minute when White, who entered in the 60th, used assists from Fafá Picault and Ryan Gauld to find the net for the 13th time this season. Picault’s assist was his fifth, matching his career high for a single season. Gauld’s assist gives him a career-best 13 on the season.
Yohei Takaoka, who had clean sheets in his last three starts, finished with one save in goal for the Whitecaps.
Steve Clark saved three shots for the Dynamo, who remain one point behind Vancouver in the Western Conference standings.
Houston, which was coming off a 4-1 victory over Real Salt Lake, has allowed just 33 goals this season.
Vancouver — 6-2-2 in its last 10 matches overall — leads the all-time series 10-9-6.
The Whitecaps remain on the road to play the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday. The Dynamo travel to play Austin FC on Saturday.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Tom Pearce and Nathan Saliba scored in the second half — the first goals of their careers — and CF Montreal rallied for a 2-2 draw with the New England Revolution on Wednesday night.
“In the second half, the guys came out a little more ambitious and above all, more connected,” Montreal head coach Laurent Courtois said. “It was a great second half of resilience and fighting spirit. Nathan and Sam were impressive.
“Impressive in covering the gaps and compensating for the teammates, and the individual defending – yes it’s true, it is a lot of weight on their shoulders, but that’s the job.”
New England (8-16-4) jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the 24th minute on Bobby Wood’s third goal of the season. Teenage defender Peyton Miller notched his first assist in his fourth career start and sixth appearance and Carles Gil picked up his ninth of the season. Peyton, at 16 years, 315 days old, is the eighth youngest player in league history to record his first assist.
The Revolution took a two-goal lead in the 35th minute and held it through halftime when 19-year-old Esmir Bajraktarevic took a pass from Gil and scored his third goal of the season and career in his first full season in the league. It was the 73rd regular-season assist in Gil’s career, tying him with Steve Ralston for the most in club history.
Montreal (7-12-10) pulled within a goal in the 54th minute when Pearce scored off a free kick after defender George Campbell drew a foul on New England’s Mark-Anthony Kaye. It was the first goal for Pearce in his third career start and fourth appearance.
“Playoffs are the goal. Maybe it wasn’t in the best form, but in the end, we are picking up a point,” Pearce said. “We came into this game confident, ready to play our own game. Everyone tries their best, whenever the players are called on, we are always ready, and we are always giving it our best.”
Montreal scored the equalizer in the 68th minute on the first career goal by Saliba, a 20-year-old midfielder. Saliba has made 34 starts and 48 appearances with Montreal in his two seasons in the league. Campbell snagged his second assist of the season and the third of his career.
“It’s an incredible feeling, it’s a goal I’ve been waiting for a long time. I’m extremely happy that I was able to score it and that it can help the team take this important point on the road,” Saliba said. “Pearce’s first goal gave us really good momentum and we kept up the pressure to go for a second goal. We got more solid defensively, and we came back ready after halftime, to push for these 3 points.”
Aljaz Ivacic finished with four saves in goal for the Revolution.
Jonathan Sirois stopped four shots for Montreal.
New England beat Montreal 5-0 on the road on Aug. 24.
New England leads the all-time series 16-13-4. Montreal improves to 5-8-2 on the road against the Revs.
The Revolution travel to take on Charlotte FC on Saturday. Montreal returns home to host the Chicago Fire on Saturday.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Adolis García hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning, Cody Bradford pitched seven strong innings after the worst start of his career, and the Texas Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 2-0 on Wednesday night.
The win kept the defending World Series-champion Rangers alive in the AL West race, trailing first-place Houston by 10 games with 10 to play.
García launched an inside sinker over the left-field wall off Toronto starter Bowden Francis (8-5) after Wyatt Langford singled.
“He swings hard, he swings a lot,” Francis said of García. “I guess the velo was dropping during that time.”
Bradford (6-3) allowed five hits and no walks while striking out six.
The seven shutout innings are the most in a game during his two-year career. He was knocked out of his previous start after allowing career highs in hits (nine), runs (eight) and homers (three) in 3 2/3 innings in a 14-4 loss at Arizona.
“Throughout the week, you’ve got to try and digest what happened, see where I can make adjustments, whether it was just game plan went wrong or just poor execution, or a little bit of both,” Bradford said. “Then you flush it.”
Bradford was perfect through four innings before Alejandro Kirk opened the fifth with a smash back to the mound that caromed off Bradford’s left foot and rolled into right field for a single. It extended Kirk’s hitting streak to a career-high 12 games.
Spencer Horwitz’s double to left-center put runners on second and third with no outs before Bradford retired the next three batters.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider credited Bradford’s “deceptive fastball.”
“When you’re throwing 89, 92, you’ve got to have pretty good deception with that at this level,” Schneider said. “Kept us off balance.”
Kirby Yates pitched a perfect ninth inning for his 31st save in 32 opportunities.
Francis, who took no-hitters into the ninth inning in two of his previous four starts, allowed a double to Marcus Semien, the Rangers’ first hitter of the game. He gave up five hits and one walk in six innings.
Francis has a 1.96 ERA in nine starts with 54 strikeouts and seven walks since being moved back into the starting rotation in late July.
“I don’t even want to get complacent, on cruise control,” Francis said. “Just keep attacking.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Blue Jays: SS Bo Bichette was a late scratch with a right middle finger contusion suffered during infield practice. Schneider said the team will get back x-rays on Thursday. Bichette was activated Tuesday following a calf injury and played for the first time in two months, going 2 for 5 with one RBI at the plate. … INF Will Wagner (left knee inflammation) will have the knee scoped on Thursday. Schneider said Wagner should be ready to start spring training. Wagner, son of former major leaguer Billy Wagner, was acquired from Houston at the trade deadline.
UP NEXT
Rangers rookie RHP Kumar Rocker (0-0, 2.25 ERA) will make his home debut against Blue Jays RHP Kevin Gausman (12-11, 4.02) in the series finale. Rocker allowed one run in four innings at Seattle last Thursday in his major league debut.
