David Akin's Roundup: Not close. Deal reached. Eurosquad relief.
TUE AUG 19
Reader note: Welcome to the Substack version of David Akin’s Roundup. This will be the first Substack version of this newsletter for most subscribers today. A more detailed reader note with more information can be found below.
Canada
Poilievre wins Alberta byelection, securing return to House of Commons
Poilievre was in Camrose Monday as his victory was announced. He thanked his family, former MP Damien Kurek and the voters of Battle River-Crowfoot for their support heading into this byelection. “Getting to know the people in this region has been the privilege of my life,” said Poilievre to an enthusiastic crowd. “I really love the people of Battle River-Crowfoot… They reinforced a lot of lessons all of us in politics have to learn and relearn again, humility and hard-work, loyalty and love.” | Globalnews.ca
Inside Poilievre's long journey back after his Alberta byelection
Despite his year from hell, Conservative party insiders — both Poilievre’s friends and foes alike — say the path to victory may have its share of hurdles but that it’s far from impossible. | National Post
Air Canada, flight attendants reach tentative deal to end strike
CUPE, which represents more than 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants, said that after nine hours of talks with the assistance of the chief mediator appointed by the federal government, the deal struck will be presented to its membership, who will have an opportunity to ratify it. | CBC News
Flight attendants union says deal reached to end Air Canada strike
The Air Canada component of CUPE says it has reached a tentative agreement with Air Canada to end a strike that saw 10,000 flight attendants walk off the job on Saturday morning. | CP
[Press release] Air Canada to Gradually Resume Service Today after Reaching a Mediated Settlement with its Flight Attendant Union
The first flights are scheduled for the evening of August 19, but customers are advised that the airline’s return to full, regular service may require seven-to-ten days as aircraft and crew are out of position. During this process, some flights will be cancelled over the next seven to ten days until the schedule is stabilized.
Only customers with confirmed bookings whose flights are shown as operating should go to the airport (check your flight’s status on aircanada.com or on the Air Canada mobile app before going to the airport). Air Canada will offer options to those with cancelled flights, including obtaining a full refund or receiving a credit for future travel. The carrier will also offer to rebook customers on other airlines. | Air Canada
Anand says war in Ukraine influencing Canada's Arctic security policy
Anand was in Helsinki to meet with her counterparts from Nordic countries to discuss Arctic security, which she said has become a more critical issue since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. | Globalnews.ca
Canada’s wildfire season is ‘not slowing down,’ warns minister
Wide swaths of B.C. and the prairie provinces are expected to be drier and hotter than normal. Federal government forecasters also see above-average seasonal temperatures for most of the country over the next three months. | Globalnews.ca
Moving to Canada no easy road for these people fleeing Trump's America for political reasons
No longer comfortable in President Donald Trump's United States, three men share their stories about the joys and challenges of trying to move to Canada for political reasons. | CBC News
The Provinces
Carney, Ford shift focus to what 'we can control' amid U.S. trade uncertainty
"I've always said that we can never predict what Donald Trump is going to do, but ... we can create the environment and the conditions for companies to come here and invest." Ford went on to speak about the need to use Ontario-made steel from companies such as Algoma in future infrastructure projects like a hypothetical pipeline. | CP
Drop in oil prices helps push N.L. deficit forecast up by 68 per cent to $626M
Finance Minister Siobhan Coady says the province's revenues for the current fiscal year will be $254 million less than she forecast in the 2025-26 budget delivered in April. She expects the province to finish the fiscal year in March 2026 with a deficit of $626 million, a rise of 68 per cent compared to the $372-million deficit anticipated in the budget. | CP
The Right to Know: SCC Strikes Down Election Spending Limits for Third Parties in Working Families
Ava Torkaman explains that the SCC held the spending limits interfered with Ontario citizen’s right to make an informed decision when voting. | TheCourt.ca
Elsewhere
Trump, Zelenskyy, European leaders meet for talks to end Ukraine war
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and a delegation of European leaders have flown to the White House for talks with U.S. President Donald Trump on ending Russia's war on Ukraine. As Jackson Proskow reports, there are still fears over what Ukraine may have to concede, to stop Russia's onslaught. | Global National
Trump-Zelensky summit: Eurosquad can breathe a sigh of relief on Ukraine for now
The gang of European leaders deftly flattered Donald Trump but carefully outlined their expectations and demands as they steered the freewheeling US President back on course, following his alarming deference to Russian president Vladimir Putin in Alaska last week. | The Nightly
Hamas signals progress in Gaza ceasefire talks, Israel’s approval needed
Hamas said Monday it has accepted a new proposal from Arab mediators for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip that would still need Israel’s approval, as Gaza’s Health Ministry said the Palestinian death toll from 22 months of fighting has passed 62,000. | Globalnews.ca
U.S. Manufacturing and the Future of the Labor Force
President Trump aims to bring manufacturing jobs back to America. To do this, he’s employing several tools, including the widespread use of tariffs. This strategic push raises several questions on the industry’s capacity to absorb more production and expand the labor market, which we explore in this report. | TD Economics
Reader note
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Media
With The Argument, the left gets a new publication
“To move out of this post-liberal, populist moment towards a better future — one with equal rights, material prosperity, and commitment to human progress — will require our government, culture, politics, and people to recommit ourselves to liberal values,” Demsas said in a statement. “Persuading people here is not the work of 5,000 word treatises on the importance of liberal democracy or lectures about how bad the post-liberal world order is (we get it and no one cares; see the 2024 election!). It’s going to happen if people are convinced the lives they want — prosperous, safe, and free to live how they want — are best protected under liberalism.” | Semafor
Substack writers can now direct U.S. readers to (often cheaper) web-based subscriptions on iOS
In Substack’s case, support for external payments will benefit both the company, which no longer has to pay the App Store a commission on those web sales, and consumers, who will have access to reduced pricing. Meanwhile, Substack creators will be able to offer their readers the option of whether they want the convenience of Apple’s in-app payments system (IAP) or the web payment option, which is now accessible without having to leave the app. | TechCrunch
Science and Technology
What to Know About Mail Categories on Your iPhone and How to Turn Them Off
The Mail app automatically sorts your email messages into categories to help you find and manage messages quicker," Apple wrote online. But if you don't like how Categories work in Mail, no worries. Apple gives you a few options to either ignore Categories or revert your app to look like it did before the iOS 18.2 update. | CNET
The Calendar
1000 ET : Cap-aux-Meules, QC - BQ Leader Yves-François Blanchet and BQ MP Alexis Deschènes meets with fishers.
1100 ET : Cap-aux-Meules, QC - BQ Leader Yves-François Blanchet and BQ MP Alexis Deschènes meets with port users.
1230 ET : Ottawa - PM Carney meets with Nepean MPP Tyler Watt
1300 ET : Tiverton, ON - Energy and Natural Resources Min Tim Hodgson makes a funding announcement
1330 ET : Cap-aux-Meules, QC - BQ Leader Yves-François Blanchet and BQ MP Alexis Deschènes meet with the chamber of commerce.
1335 ET : Ottawa - PM Carney meets with students employed through the Canada Summer Jobs program1730 ET : La Ronge, SK - Secretary of State Buckley Belanger opens a constituency office.
Issued this day …
… in 1988. Sc 1216. Les Forges Du Saint-Maurice. Design: Michèle Cayer.
Canada Post says: “Les Forges du Saint-Maurice - the Saint Maurice ironworks - were built near Trois-Rivières, Quebec, at a time when France's protectionist policy ceased to be a hindrance to the industrial development of the colony of New France. Their construction was primarily the result of efforts by Gilles Hocquart, who served as Intendant of New France from 1729 to 1748. The abundant natural resources found on the territory of the Forges ensured the profitability of the iron-smelting company. The Forges formed an industrial complex which, at its height, had a population of 425. It is rare of a single site to have all the elements needed to develop an industry of this scale. The energy required to operate the Forges came from the Lavoir Creek, which fed down through a series of terraces. Through a system of dams which formed natural basins, the water was used to drive the overshot wheels, which, in turn, powered the bellows and hammers. Local iron ore was melted down with the charcoal made of wood taken from the territory of the Forges. The products' fine reputation depended upon the quality of the work performed by the ironsmiths, who were direct descendents of craftsmen from Burgundy and Franche-Comté. However, the ironworks was forced to finally succumb to the new coke based iron and steel industry, and in 1883, after 150 years of production, closed its doors for good. The site became a National Historic Park in 1973.” The stmap makes the 250th anniversary of the creation of the iron works.