Hour 3 of Ottawa Now for Fri. August 21st, 2026

We have reached the deadline for city councillor candidates and mayoral candidates to submit their paperwork for October’s municipal election. And it appears that a pair of councillors have received a pass into City Hall for the next 4 years. In other parts of Ontario, we are seeing similar patterns unfold. Why is the political arena generating less interest? Guest host Chris Holski sifts through the CFRA textboard and tackles today’s Question of the Day. Meantime, the feds are tirelessly working in Washington, trying to strike a deal ahead of Midnight tonight. If we don’t have a deal, we get a series of 50% tariffs from Donald Trump on Saturday. The Canadian side has remained tight-lipped about the details of the accord. Now, despite Thursday’s candid words from Manitoba’s Premier, it appears that all of Canada’s Premiers will comply with Prime Minister Carney’s request to bring U.S. booze back to the store shelves. However, experts and residents aren’t sure that Canadians will buy in. Is Canada sacrificing too much in these talks? We dig deeper in Hour 3 with Barry McLoughlin, the President of Transformational Leadership Consultants. Plus, this year’s CNE is underway, and they are getting very creative with their menu options. And by creative, we mean way too creative. Would you give them a shot? Mitch Kedrosky, Emma Kelly, and Stephen Ellsworth provide their unfiltered opinions.