Here’s what we are watching on the 159th anniversary of the confederation.

– Celebrating amid unity tensions.

With a provincewide referendum looming on Alberta’s future in Canada, federalists and separatists say they hope Albertans will spend some time this Canada Day thinking about what the country has done for them.

Some say Albertans should appreciate the freedom that Canada affords its residents and how the country serves as a global role model, while others say the residents of the province should take heed of their affordability challenges and consider the politcking needed for Ottawa to be open to producing and moving Alberta’s lifeblood oil resources. 

Read more from CP. 

– Missed deadline.

We’ve arrived at the CUSMA renewal deadline, and all indicates that the U.S. administration will not sign for a 16-year extension. 

Carlo Dade, director of international policy and the New North America Initiative at the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy, said the blown deadline doesn’t mean much to the future of CUSMA “as long as there is constructive work and dialogue occurring.”

“I think the market is adjusting to a new normal of uncertainty with the U.S.,” Dade said in an email. “That said, awareness of the reality also means greater awareness of the cost.”

The wire service has that one.

– Promises made. 

A meeting between Prime Minister Mark Carney and Inuit leaders Tuesday wrapped with a commitment for a new program to replace the Inuit Child First Initiative, and for Ottawa to use its channels to get a proposed Inuit Nunangat University accredited.

Carney was in Kuujjuaq, Que., with six of his cabinet ministers for a meeting with Inuit leaders. He co-chaired the Inuit-to-Crown partnership committee meeting with Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami President Natan Obed.

The meeting also touched on Arctic sovereignty, defence and security, housing and food security, and Inuit health and wellness.

CP also has that recap.

– Hot in here.

If you’re sweltering in southern Ontario right now, you might be hoping the heat is at least going to break a record. But it turns out misery doesn’t even come with bragging rights this time.

Peter Kimbell, a warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, has checked the numbers — and despite an orange heat warning forecasting highs of 34 C to 37 C, most places will fall short of breaking daily records this week.

Windsor is the exception: a forecast high of 37 C on Canada Day could put it over the top.

But it’s the duration of this heat wave, not a single scorching day, that has Kimbell concerned.

CTV news has the details.

– Time to shine.

Today is the day fans of over-the-top talent shows and campy musical performances have been waiting for: Canada is entering the 2027 Eurovision Song Contest.

The announcement was made by CBC/Radio-Canada and the European Broadcasting Union less than a week after confirming CBC had become a full member of the EBU.

“On this Canada Day, as we celebrate with Canadians across the country and around the world the richness and diversity of Canadian culture, we’re so excited to confirm that we’re bringing the world’s largest live music event to Canadians,” said Marie-Philippe Bouchard, president and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada, in a news release.

More from the CBC.

– Sponsored.

Sean Strickland: Canada still works. Now let’s build what’s next.

– ICYMI from iPolitics.

Sydney Ko: Mayoral candidate Alex Lawson is ready to deliver results.

Aya Dufour: N.W.T. hopes national-interest highway designation will help secure federal investment.

In other headlines:

Internationally: 

A ship ran aground in the Strait of Hormuz while using a route not approved by Iran, state television in Tehran reported Wednesday. The vessel was identified as a foreign container ship, with no other details.

The report appeared aimed at underlining Tehran’s claims to control the strait, which the world has long considered an international waterway. It saw a fifth of all oil and natural gas pass through it in peacetime.

It came as U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, were in Doha, Qatar, for talks over reaching a permanent end to the Iran war. Iran’s top negotiator, Kazem Gharibabadi, traveled to Qatar with a team as well.

More details from AP.

As Venezuelans in La Guaira continued to pick through the rubble of downed buildings yesterday, a government excavator stood immobile next to a pile of concrete and bent rebar.

There is plenty of work to do nearly a week after two massive earthquakes destroyed much of this coastal city. Heavy machinery is a vital tool in the aftermath, yet when CNN asked the excavator’s operator why it was idle, he said there wasn’t any gasoline to put in it.

Venezuela is home to the world’s largest reported oil reserves, yet in the wake of one of its worst earthquakes in over a century, many of its citizens have been forced to dig their friends and family out of the rubble by hand for want of fuel. Their desperation comes as the Venezuelan government faces mounting criticism over its response to the crisis.

CNN has the story.

In other international headlines: 

The kicker:

Prime Minister Mark Carney attended a Canada Day celebration today in Barrhaven, where an organizer teased that his pancake flipping had better be as good as last year’s. According to pool notes, Carney said maybe he’d quit while he was ahead — then made a batch anyway, with mixed results, until the last flip landed and he gave himself a cheer.

On the FIFA world cup front, the Moroccans — World Cup semifinalists in 2022, finalists at the Africa Cup of Nations in 2025 — will look to end Canada’s dream run on Saturday in Houston. Canada’s survival in the tournament hinges on slaying one of the modern game’s giants, writes Chris Jones of CBC.