Good evening, readers.

Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Canada’s chief negotiator Janice Charette met with their American counterparts in Washington, D.C. today in hopes of securing a deal that will avoid the latest wave of tariffs.

The meeting, which started at 1:30 wrapped up just before 3 p.m., comes only eight days before U.S. President Donald Trump’s 50 per cent tariffs on a swath of Canadian goods go into effect.

CBC News is reporting that both sides are aiming to present something to Trump at least a day before that deadline elapses, but it’s unclear if there’s been any further progress from where we stood over the weekend.

iPolitics and other outlets reported tha trade negotiations are showing renewed momentum, with both sides increasingly focused on potential concessions and tariff changes.

Canadian industry sources familiar with the discussions said the change in tone has come as both sides acknowledge that reaching an agreement will require movement from each country. Discussions are now focusing on what concessions or changes could help resolve the dispute rather than which side is responsible for creating it.

Canada’s auto sector is urging the Carney government to remain firm in trade negotiations with the U.S. even if that means no immediate relief from the punishing tariffs on the industry.

Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association of Canada, said the Trump administration miscalculated the response from Canadians and Prime Minister Mark Carney has broad support from voters to turn down a deal.

“If two thirds of the country think you can walk away from these guys, politically, he’s not in the pickle that he might have been a year ago in fighting with the Americans,” he said of Carney.

The auto industry is one of several exposed to crippling sector-specific tariffs that have been in place for the past year.

Since the spring of 2025, the U.S. has slapped a 25 per cent tariff on imported vehicles. The tariff doesn’t apply to U.S. content in vehicles that are deemed compliant under the Canada-United States-Mexico trade deal, known popularly as CUSMA.

Canada has responded with matching tariffs, though there are exemptions for manufacturers that are still operating in Canada.

Trump partly justified his latest round of tariffs on Canada’s retaliatory auto measures.

Volpe said he’s encouraged by recent comments from U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer calling for for great vigilance against Chinese involvement in the North American auto sector and acknowledging the impact of the tariffs on U.S. automakers, who source parts from across the continent.

He said Trump’s pivot on auto parts shows the White House is sensitive to concerns from American automakers. The initial tariffs included no CUSMA exemption but were revised by Trump after outcry from the industry.

Volpe said the “principles of that deal” could offer a path forward for a broad agreement on the auto sector and he’s heard discussions around a similar exemption process in the latest round of talks.

Marco Vigliotti has more.

Ontario Liberal leadership candidates used their first debate of the campaign to make their case for who is best positioned to rebuild the third-place party.

And the clearest dividing line was over whether its next leader needs to already have a seat at Queen’s Park.

The five candidates (Navdeep Bains, Stephanie Bowman, Lee Fairclough, Eric Lombardi and Dylan Marando) faced off Monday evening in Brampton for the first debate ahead of the party’s Nov. 21 leadership vote.

But for much of the roughly 90-minute event, there was more agreement than confrontation.

The candidates shared concerns about the state of health care, education and Ontario’s economy and repeatedly directed their criticism toward Premier Doug Ford and his Progressive Conservative government.

The most intense disagreement came over a question that has particular resonance for a party that has spent the past eight years trying to recover from its collapse in 2018: does its next leader need to be sitting in the legislature?

Fairclough and Bowman, the two candidates who are currently Liberal MPPs, argued that it does.

“We can’t keep doing the same thing,” Fairclough said, pointing to the experience of the party’s two previous permanent leaders.

Steven Del Duca and Bonnie Crombie both led the Liberals from outside Queen’s Park. Neither was able to defeat Ford, and both resigned after losing provincial elections.

Barbara Patrocinio reports.

In Other Headlines

Internationally

U.S. President Donald Trump secretly flew out of last month’s NATO summit in Ankara, Turkiye, on an alternate military aircraft while the White House made it appear that the Republican president was flying on Air Force One, according to a report published by The Washington Post on Monday.

The Post said the operation was prompted by an Iranian assassination threat against Trump. The ruse was carried out as journalists and some White House staff members were led to believe they were on the same plane as the president as he began his journey back to Washington from the annual gathering of NATO country leaders.

The Post cited material reviewed by the newspaper, a U.S. official familiar with the operation and another person with knowledge of the president’s travel. The Associated Press has not independently confirmed the report.

Trump had flown to the summit in a new Qatari-gifted and retrofitted red, white and navy blue jet. But ahead of departing Turkiye, he said he would fly partway home on an older-model baby blue Air Force One plane instead.

The president at the time said the new luxury jet was being flown out ahead of his departure from Ankara to give some U.S. troops based in eastern England a chance to check out the new Air Force One.

AP reports.

In Other International Headlines

In Featured Opinion

The Kicker

The only person to break the sound barrier in a car earned another world record Tuesday in a show of force for hydrogen power.

British driver Andy Green reached 406.320 mph (653.908 kph) in a car powered by two hydrogen internal combustion engines with a combined 1,600 horsepower, setting the record for that vehicle category, according to the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, the international governing body of motor sports.

AP has this.

Have a great night!