Afternoon front page: ‘We will do whatever it takes,’ PM vows after U.S. tariff threat; Hoekstra on Alberta referendum; and more

Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks to journalists about U.S. President Donald Trump's new 50% tariff threat, on Parliament Hill in Ottawa July 21, 2026. Photo by Blair Gable/Postmedia

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It’s Tuesday, July 21. Here are the top stories we’re following today.

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Mark Carney won’t rule out retaliation to latest U.S. tariff threat

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On Monday, the Trump administration announced it intends to apply a 50 per cent tariff on certain Canadian goods in response to what it views as Canada’s unfair trade practices when it comes to dairy quotas, U.S. alcohol bans in some provinces, and tariffs quotas on American autos.

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U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra takes part in the Pacific Northwest Economic Region annual summit in Edmonton on Monday July 20, 2026. Photo by David Bloom/Postmedia

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Trump administration staying out of Alberta separation referendum, ambassador says

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Ambassador Pete Hoekstra said on a podcast that he had “clear direction from Washington” not to try to influence the referendum, and that “the vote that’s going to happen in October is a decision for the people of Alberta.”

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Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi speaks with attendees at the Gathering for Treaty and Unity Rally hosted by the Siksikaitsitapi Ohkin’niinaiks (Blackfoot Confederacy Chiefs) Society at the Confluence in Calgary on Sunday, June 14, 2026. Photo by Brent Calver/Postmedia

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Chris Selley: Marvel at the politicians’ performative idiocy on Israel

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Selley argues that Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi seemed to be “squirming to avoid” a fight in his apology for having his photo taken at the Calgary Stampede with Israel’s ambassador to Canada last week. And “the idea that Canada would arrest Benjamin Netanyahu were he mysteriously to land on Canadian soil remains one of the least believable things that Mark Carney has said as prime minister.”

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Gatineau’s Samuel de Champlain statue was created by artist Jérémie Giles in 2001. Photo by Ville de Gatineau

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Gatineau relocates Samuel de Champlain monument as other cities remove statues of the explorer

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In May, the city council in Orillia, Ont., voted to remove their statue of Champlain due to ongoing controversy surrounding the historic French explorer, as well as instances of vandalism. A Gatineau official told the Post that “there is no connection between (their) sculpture’s relocation and the statue removed from Orillia.”

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A worker walks by the Conservative Party of Canada logo at the party’s first policy convention, in Montreal on March 19, 2005. Photo by Phil Carpenter/Montreal Gazette/Postmedia

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John Robson: Conservatives need to tell Canadians the truth — there’s no free lunch

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Robson writes that he has “a simple solution” for the Conservative Party of Canada’s problems: “Tell the populace adults truths in an adult voice.” He adds, “They know citizens have voted themselves more largesse from the treasury than it contains and you can’t fix that one by promising them more. So don’t.”

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