Hour 1 of Ottawa Now for Tues. July 21st, 2026

Canadian Premiers are meeting in Charlottetown today for their annual sitdown. It comes at a tense time for the country, as the trade war with the United States appears to be escalating again. Last night, American President Donald Trump dropped a political bombshell – a 50% tariff on an array of Canadian goods. Some of those goods, in fact, are currently covered under CUSMA. We are talking toilet paper, plywood, video game consoles, cement, clothing, ice skates, and hockey sticks. The proposed tariffs would cover roughly $28 billion worth of annual Canadian exports to America, and they would kick in within the next 30 days. The reason for this incoming barrage? Once again, the White House claiming that Canada is an unfair trading partner. Kristy Cameron digs deeper with Moshe Lander, a Canadian economist and Senior Lecturer at Concordia University. Meantime, as raging wildfires force emergency evacuations across Canada, thousands of families are fleeing their homes. Many are forced to leave their pets behind, or turn to foster care. As a result, animal rescue networks are preparing for the incoming surge of community need, and the influx of animals that could be searching for temporary housing. We check in with Alycia Sevigny, the co-manager of Rocky Road Rescue Ottawa. But first, we bring you up to speed on today’s top headlines.