Firefighting crews from Australia and New Zealand on the way to help B.C. fire fight

OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says the country’s merchandise trade deficit narrowed to $1.3 billion in September as imports fell more than exports.

The result compared with a revised deficit of $1.5 billion for August. The initial estimate for August released last month had shown a deficit of $1.1 billion.

Statistics Canada says the results for September came as total exports edged down 0.1 per cent to $63.9 billion.

Exports of metal and non-metallic mineral products fell 5.4 per cent as exports of unwrought gold, silver, and platinum group metals, and their alloys, decreased 15.4 per cent. Exports of energy products dropped 2.6 per cent as lower prices weighed on crude oil exports.

Meanwhile, imports for September fell 0.4 per cent to $65.1 billion as imports of metal and non-metallic mineral products dropped 12.7 per cent.

In volume terms, total exports rose 1.4 per cent in September while total imports were essentially unchanged in September.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.

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WASHINGTON – Americans are facing a decision about the future of their country and no matter which president they choose, Canada cannot escape the pull of political polarization from its closest neighbour.

Vice-President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump present starkly different paths forward for the United States and the race for the White House appears to be extremely close.

The U.S. is Canada’s largest trading partner and its next president will be in charge during the review of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico agreement in 2026.

Harris has campaigned on the fact that she voted against the trilateral agreement, saying it didn’t do enough to protect American workers or the environment. The vice-president is largely expected to maintain President Joe Biden’s Buy American procurement rules.

The centrepiece of Trump’s agenda is a proposed 10 per cent across-the-board tariff.

More than 77 per cent of Canadian exports go to the U.S. and 60 per cent of Canada’s gross domestic product is derived from trade.

The campaign has been unprecedented and tumultuous. Biden removed himself from the Democrats’ ticket after a disastrous presidential debate and Harris became the presidential candidate a little more than three months before election day.

There were also two assassination attempts on Trump. The image of blood streaming down his face, with a fist in the air, became a rallying call for the Republican leader’s most ardent supporters.

Here are five things to watch for as the votes come in:

Pennsylvania: Whichever candidate gets 270 electoral college votes gets the presidency. Pennsylvania’s 19 votes could prove the most crucial this election.

Both campaigns have indicated the state is part of their path to victory, and whoever wins the Keystone State may only need two other battleground states to take the White House.

What happens in Pennsylvania may also signal voting in the two other Midwestern battleground states.

“If you are looking at Pennsylvania, think about how voters in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin are similar to each other,” said Matthew Lebo, a specialist in U.S. politics at Western University in London, Ont.

Other battleground states: Americans living in six other battleground states will play a critical role in the outcome on Tuesday.

Wisconsin and Michigan went to Trump in 2016 and swung to Biden in 2020.

Michigan may be of interest to many Canadians: Canada is that state’s top export market and it imported about US$50.9 billion in goods from its northern neighbour last year.

Georgia, North Carolina and the sunbelt states of Arizona and Nevada could also be key indicators for who will take the White House.

Senate: American voters will be making multiple choices in the voting booth, electing not only the president but also members of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Those down-ballot races are extremely important to determine who controls each chamber of Congress.

The Democrats currently control the Senate by a slim margin and 34 seats are up for grabs.

The Senate controls the process for presidents to appoint cabinet positions and has power over treaties. Depending on who is in control, there could be consequences for Canada, Lebo said.

For example, Trump has suggested vaccine-skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would have a big role in the administration, including public health policy.

“As Canadians, we want Americans to continue to get vaccinated,” Lebo said.

Specific races to watch: Democrat Sen. Jon Tester against Republican Tim Sheehy in Montana; GOP Sen. Ted Cruz versus Democrat Colin Allred in Texas and longtime Ohio Democrat Sen. Sherrod Brown against Republican Bernie Moreno.

House of Representatives: All 435 seats in the House are up for grabs this election and the outcome could have far-reaching consequences for the incoming president. Republicans currently have a majority, but only by a small margin.

Specific races to watch: Virginia’s open-seat contest between Democrat Eugene Vindman and Republican Derrick Anderson; another open-seat contest in Michigan between Democrat Curtis Hertel and Republican Tom Barrett; and Nebraska’s fight between Republican incumbent Don Bacon and Democratic challenger Tony Vargas.

Misinformation: Trump has spent his final days on the campaign trail pushing baseless claims about the integrity of the election. He also said he shouldn’t have left the White House at the end of his last tenure, when he lost the election to Biden.

Whether his claims will motivate supporters to the polls remains to be seen but there’s worry it could sow chaos in the wake of the election, akin to when Trump loyalists stormed Capitol Hill on Jan. 6, 2021.

There are also concerns about misinformation being spread by foreign actors. U.S. intelligence officials have already pointed to videos purporting to show voter fraud in Georgia and Pennsylvania as the work of “Russian influence actors.”

U.S. officials say the goal is to stoke division and raise questions about the outcome of the election.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.

— With files from The Associated Press

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed…

Canadians watch as Americans head to the polls

Millions of Americans are heading to the polls Tuesday as a chaotic presidential campaign reaches its peak in a deeply divided United States, where voters in only a handful of battleground states will choose the country’s path forward.

Vice-President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump have presented starkly different visions for America’s future, but polling shows the two remain in a dead heat.

Canada’s ambassador to the United States Kirsten Hillman has been travelling across America meeting with key members of the Republican and Democratic teams to prepare for any outcome. On election night, after her embassy duties are finished, she’ll be watching the results with her husband and friends,

A shared history and 8,891-kilometre border will not shield Canada from the election’s outcome. Both candidates have proposed protectionist policies, but experts warn if the Republican leader prevails the relationship between the neighbours could be much more difficult.

A cause for concern in Canada and around the world is Trump’s proposed 10 per cent across-the-board tariff. A Canadian Chamber of Commerce report suggests those tariffs would shrink the Canadian economy, resulting in around $30 billion per year in economic costs.

Here’s what else we’re watching…

5 things for Canadians to watch in U.S. election

Americans are facing a decision about the future of their country and no matter which president they choose, Canada cannot escape the pull of political polarization from its closest neighbour.

Vice-President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump present starkly different paths forward for the United States and the race for the White House appears to be extremely close.

The U.S. is Canada’s largest trading partner and its next president will be in charge during the review of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico agreement in 2026.

Harris has campaigned on the fact that she voted against the trilateral agreement, saying it didn’t do enough to protect American workers or the environment. The vice-president is largely expected to maintain President Joe Biden’s Buy American procurement rules.

The centrepiece of Trump’s agenda is a proposed 10 per cent across-the-board tariff.

B.C. ports shuttered as lockout takes hold

One of Canada’s most vital trade arteries is cut off as employers at most of British Columbia’s ports lock out their workers in a dispute involving about 700 unionized foremen.

The BC Maritime Employers Association says it defensively locked out members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 after the union began strike activity yesterday.

However, union president Frank Morena says the employers grossly overreacted to the union’s original plan for an overtime ban, adding that its negotiators are ready to re-engage in talks at any time.

Canadian political and business leaders have expressed concern with another work stoppage at the ports, after job action from the big railways earlier this year and a 13-day strike in a separate labour dispute last year.

The Greater Vancouver Board of Trade says it is relaunching its Port Shutdown Calculator, a tool to illustrate the economic damage caused by the labour dispute and introduced during the job action last year.

UN refugee chief: cutback wise amid housing crisis

The head of the United Nations refugee agency says it is wise of Canada to scale back the number of new refugees it plans to resettle if that helps stabilize the housing market and prevents backlash against newcomers.

Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, met with the prime minister in Ottawa on Monday.

His visit comes a little more than a week after the federal government announced plans to cut overall immigration levels by 20 per cent for 2025 — a cut that includes refugees and protected persons.

The move has drawn condemnation from migrant groups, including the Canadian Council for Refugees, who called the new plan dangerous and a betrayal.

Grandi says Canada remains a global leader in resettlement, but says that pro-refugee sentiment is fragile in an economic or housing crisis and it would be “really negative” to see it destroyed.

N.S. memorial honours service of eight brothers

A new memorial recently dedicated in a small Nova Scotia community honours eight brothers whose story of service in the Second World War had been all but lost to local memory.

The Harvie brothers from Gormanville, N.S., all served in Europe — six returned home, while two died and are buried overseas.

A black granite monument is now inscribed with the names and photos of Avard, Burrell, Edmund, Ernest, Ervin, Garnet, Marven and Victor Harvie. It stands in a small memorial park just up the road from their hometown, beside the Royal Canadian Legion branch in Noel, N.S.

The number eight is inscribed prominently in the middle of the memorial.

The monument in the town about 70 kilometres north of Halifax is the brainchild of legion president Jeff Thurber, who only became aware of the Harvie brothers’ remarkable story around the time of his branch’s Remembrance Day service last year. That was when he happened to see them mentioned in a memorial book kept by the legion.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.