Here’s the latest on the tariffs war.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said the federal government will pour $11.3 billion into Quebec’s shipbuilding industry to build six new icebreakers for the Canadian Coast Guard.

Carney called it the “largest” shipbuilding contract in the province’s history.

The new ships will replace the coast guard’s aging heavy and medium icebreakers, fulfilling a promise made in 2019.

“We will move fast. The first steel will be cut next fall, the first ship will be delivered five years later, and the full fleet will be in service five years after that,” Carney said.

“They will work in Atlantic Canada, the St. Lawrence throughout the depth of winter, and in our Arctic throughout the summer.”

Carney made the announcement alongside Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette at the Chantier Davie shipyard in Lévis, Que., where all six ships will be constructed.

The Canadian Press has more. 

Carney and at least two premiers won’t rule out targeting energy and critical minerals as Canada weighs going beyond the dollar-for-dollar counter-tariffs already announced in response to 50 per cent U.S. duties on roughly $28 billion of Canadian goods.

The U.S. tariffs exclude energy, potash and some critical minerals, underscoring their importance to American industry.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Monday that “everything’s on the table,” including electricity and critical minerals, but that any escalation should be coordinated with Ottawa and the other provinces. That marks a shift for Ford, whose province acted on its own last fall when it ran a U.S. television ad using Ronald Reagan’s words against tariffs, a move that prompted Trump to break off trade talks.

“I can’t do this alone, folks. I need every premier playing on Team Canada, and I’m confident that every single premier will be part of Team Canada,” Ford told reporters. “No matter if it’s our electricity that we ship down there, but many other provinces’ electricity, and other areas that we can really put pain on the U.S. no matter if it’s the oil or if it’s potash or if it’s uranium.”

Ford imposed a 25 per cent surcharge on electricity exports to Michigan, Minnesota and New York last March, then dropped it after a single day when Trump threatened to double tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum. On Monday he said Ontario could raise power prices again.

Aya Dufour and Barbara Patrocinio report. 

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Bessent accused the prime minister of dusting off his 2025 campaign playbook by attacking the Trump administration and turning down what he framed as a favourable deal for Canada.

“Unfortunately, Prime Minister Carney rose to power on an anti-American, anti-Trump platform. I believe he was more than 20 points behind, and you know he seems to have gone back to his old playbook,” he said, referring to the Liberal party’s reversal fortunes in early 2025.

“And I think one has to ask oneself: Is he trying to benefit himself, the Liberal Party, or the Canadian people because they were offered a very good job.”

The comments come as U.S. President Donald Trump posted a series of fiery missives on social media vowing to increase tariffs, accusing Canada of shortchanging the U.S. and taking personal shots at Carney and Ontario Premier Doug Ford.

Posting on Truth Social on Monday, Trump threatened to hike tariffs on all vehicles, auto parts and steel from Canada to 50 per cent on Jan. 1. In a later post, he threatened Canadian energy flowing through the United States.

He also accused Canada — without presenting evidence — as being “among the worst nations in the world to deal with.”

Marco Vigliotti reports. 

In Other Headlines

Internationally

Elsewhere, Andy Burnham has accused the Kremlin of “outrageous threats” against the UK as Russia warned of an escalation in tensions after the UK’s decision to present Ukraine with newly declassified blueprints to allow Kyiv to improve its production of long-range missiles.

Speaking in Kyiv, Burnham compared Ukraine’s struggle to Britain’s fight against Nazi Germany. “My nation kept the flame of European freedom alive in the 20th century, you hold that flame in the 21st,” Burnham said in a speech in front of St Sophia cathedral to mark the 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence.

“Despite Russia’s outrageous threats to my country, we will continue our support for Ukraine.”

In his first trip abroad as the prime minister, Burnham will give Ukraine previously classified information on the British manufactured components for long-range cruise missiles. The prime minister is also set to ink a new deal to share Ukrainian battlefield data with the UK’s Ministry of Defence and some private companies to train AI models.

Read more from The Guardian. 

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has unveiled a new round of U.S. economic sanctions on Iran, in what President Trump has called an “economic D-Day.”

“Our objective is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains this tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone,” Bessent said Monday. The administration is calling the measures “Operation Economic Outcast.”

“Those who tether themselves to Tehran should expect to share in the isolation of a withering regime,” he added.

What are these new sanctions and how much more pressure can they pile on?

The U.S. already has extensive sanctions on Iran, some stretching back almost 50 years. And as recently as June, the U.S. had imposed further penalties for entities that helped Iran evade existing financial restrictions. There has also been a months-long U.S. naval blockade of Iran, which has cut off most goods to Iran from the outside world.

NPR has more.

In Other International Headlines

The Kicker

Canada’s search for its first-ever Eurovision representative will officially begin Aug. 31, when submissions open for artists hoping to compete in the 2027 song contest, and run until Sept. 9.

To participate, applicants must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents aged 18 and older.

CBC/Radio-Canada will then select a shortlist of artists to move forward in the process.

“As we begin this Canadian Eurovision journey together, one thing is clear: Canadian culture belongs on the world stage. Best of luck to every talented artist across the country,” Culture Minister Marc Miller said in a statement on Monday.

Read more from CBC.