Hour 2 of Ottawa Now for Mon. August 24th, 2026

Just before the weekend began, two city councillors were slated to run in October’s election without a single opponent standing in their way. In such an instance, once the deadline passes, that lucky individual gets a free pass to City Hall for the next 4 years. River Ward’s Riley Brockington got one. And now, as he completes his first term of City Council, Rideau-Jock councillor David Brown also gets one. He outlines his priorities for his second go-around in Hour 2. Sticking with municipal politics, Incumbent Mayor Mark Sutcliffe has released a plan for Rural Ottawa, while his main competitor Jeff Leiper is pushing back on the upcoming return-to-office mandates at City Hall. CFRA’s Andrew Pinsent has the latest on that. Plus, just days after trade negotiations with the United States fell apart, Prime Minister Carney is reiterating that the U.S. deal on the table would not have benefited Canadians. Retaliatory tariffs are on the horizon after U.S. President Trump went ahead with a series of 50% tariffs against Canada. Is that the best play that Canada can make right now? John Boscariol, a Partner with the International Trade and Investment Law Group, admits they will cause a degree of harm for Canadians. At the same time, he strongly believes that September's pending punch-back will send a message to Canada’s bigger brother.