Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
Foreign interference in 2019 and 2021 undermined the right of Canadian voters to have an electoral system “free from coercion or covert influence” and may have affected results in a small number of ridings, a public inquiry has concluded in the first of two reports. While foreign meddling did not alter the overall outcome of those elections, Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue, a justice of the Quebec Court of Appeal, issued a call to action today for the government to vigorously enact measures to tackle this “malign” threat to Canadian democracy. She identified China as the “most persistent and sophisticated foreign-interference threat to Canada” at the moment. Read the full story from today here.
- Related: Five takeaways from the foreign-interference commission’s report
- Globe editorial: The three big questions still unanswered on foreign interference
- Campbell Clark: Foreign interference is a threat chipping away at pieces of democracy
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Police make arrests in 2023 killing of B.C. Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar
A member of a Sikh organization holds a placard displaying Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Amritsar on September 22, 2023.NARINDER NANU/AFP/Getty Images
Three Indian nationals living in Edmonton have been arrested and charged with the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a B.C. Sikh separatist leader whose death last year Prime Minister Justin Trudeau linked to Indian agents. Mr. Nijjar was a leader at Surrey’s Guru Nanak temple. He was ambushed as he exited the parking lot last June. RCMP Assistant Commissioner David Teboul confirmed today that the force’s probe included “investigating connections to the government of India” and that numerous cases are still open. RCMP officials say the three are not residents of Canada and were not known to police, and that further charges are possible.
Court documents show Karanpreet Singh, Kamalpreet Singh and Karan Brar have been charged with first-degree murder for a killing that they are alleged to have started plotting in Edmonton and Surrey last May. All three are also charged with conspiracy to commit murder.
- Background: A blocked exit and barrage of bullets: Video shows B.C. Sikh leader’s final moments
- Profile: Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the B.C. plumber whose murder became the catalyst in a geopolitical crisis
- Opinion: Narendra Modi’s threat to kill foreigners ‘in their homes’ can’t simply be ignored
Canadian aid uncertain as situation for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh worsens
Rohingya refugees cross a bamboo-made bridge during a continuing heatwave in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, May 2, 2024.Stringer/Reuters
In 2017, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled a brutal military crackdown in northwestern Myanmar. Their plight made front-page headlines around the world. International aid poured in to help refugees in neighbouring Bangladesh, with Canada taking a leading role in sending hundreds of millions of dollars and sponsoring resolutions at the United Nations. Now, the future of Canadian aid for Rohingya programs appears to be uncertain. The Globe’s Asia correspondent James Griffiths reports.
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Middle East: Marwan Barghouti is at the top of Hamas’s prisoner release list in a proposed ceasefire deal with Israel, according to his brother. Barghouti has been the most famous Palestinian in Israeli prison, hailed by many as the next leader of his people and sometimes referred to as the “Palestinian Nelson Mandela.”
- Also: U.S. campus arrests exceed 2,300 amid pro-Palestinian protests
- Meanwhile: Universities are places of free speech but everyone must feel safe, PM says of pro-Palestinian protests
Trump trial hears from Hope Hicks: The former top aide to Donald Trump testified today that, in the final days of the 2016 U.S. election, he told her to deny that he had a sexual relationship with porn star Stormy Daniels. Read the latest news here.
TD Bank: As new details come to light about a U.S.-led probe into alleged deficiencies in Toronto-Dominion Bank’s anti-money-laundering defences, a National Bank of Canada analyst is revising his worst-case scenario for the bank, predicting fines that could reach $2-billion and potential restrictions on the bank’s business that could impact its earnings. James Bradshaw and Tim Kiladze report on the latest here.
- Related: The big question now: Will TD ever get its premium back?
Notwithstanding clause: After declining to put any limits on how the Conservatives would use the notwithstanding clause if they form government, the party now says Pierre Poilievre would only use the tool to override Charter-protected rights when it comes to matters of criminal justice.
Loblaw boycott: One of the organizers of the month-long boycott of Loblaw-owned grocery stores and brands says she met with the company’s president and CEO Per Bank yesterday afternoon and shared concerns and questions with him. Want to know what led to the boycott? Read our explainer here.
World Cup 2026: The city of Toronto is set to receive $100-million in federal funds for the city’s six 2026 World Cup matches. The funding announcement reduces the city’s portion of the total cost, which stands at $380-million so far.
A blow for Spanish bullfighting: Spain abolished an annual bullfighting award today, with the Culture Ministry saying it based its decision on the “new social and cultural reality in Spain” where worries about animal welfare have grown while attendance at most bullrings has declined.
Life & arts roundup: The Globe’s theatre critic, J. Kelly Nestruck, has the rundown on eight shows that are worth the trip to the annual Shaw and Stratford festivals. Margaret Cannon has a list of six new mystery novels to curl up with, from Victorian tales to reality-TV romps. And Globe film critic Barry Hertz has a review of Jerry Seinfeld’s feature directorial debut Unfrosted.
MARKET WATCH
Wall Street surged to a higher close today as a softer-than-expected employment report bolstered the case for rate cuts from the Federal Reserve while also providing evidence of U.S. economic resilience.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 124.19 points or 0.57 per cent at 21,947.41.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 450.02 points or 1.18 per cent at 38,675.68. The S&P 500 index was up 63.59 points or 1.26 per cent at 5,127.79, while the Nasdaq composite was up 315.37 points or 1.99 per cent at 16,156.33.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.14 cents US compared with 73.00 cents US on Thursday.
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TALKING POINTS
Who says the rich don’t pay their fair share of taxes?
“No one would argue that a nurse earning $70,000 in income should pay 43.7 per cent of that income in tax. That would not be fair by anyone’s metric. But I wonder if Canadians – including that nurse in particular – realize that on average, ‘the wealthy’ actually do pay this much income tax?” - Fred O’Riordan
In America’s existential election, choice itself will be on the ballot
“American democracy has long been bolstered by a myth: that it is the gold standard of self-government that all others should follow. But scratch away the myth’s gilding, and what you find beneath is rather shabby.” - David Moscrop
The stigma against blue-collar work is strangling our economy
“When I look back at how wonderful the teachers were, and the resources that went into teaching these subjects, it is perplexing to me how myopic the leadership and vision were in the school system around what constituted a ‘respectable’ career. Not once did anyone ever mention the blue-collar world – carpentry, plumbing, welding etc. – as a possibility.” - Mandy Rennehan
LIVING BETTER
Is it time to ditch your lawn – and what will the neighbours think?
Ann Marie Barnhill didn’t intend to ditch her lawn. But she wanted change. She aspired to have healthy trees, a healthy boulevard and plenty of flowers, using pollinator-supporting native plants.Kristen Miskelly/Supplied
Lawns, beware. More people are replacing their lawns to support biodiversity in their neighbourhoods, reduce water use and shift to a more modern landscaping aesthetic. And while change is hard and peer pressure is strong, there are techniques to make biodiverse gardening more attractive and less challenging for neighbourhoods to accept. Here’s a rundown on how to navigate ditching your lawn.
- Related: The future of flower farming is female
- Also: Expert gardeners share their memorable gardening mistakes and happy accidents
TODAY’S LONG READ
Can floating nuclear power plants help solve Northern Canada’s energy woes?
Prodigy Clean Energy and its partners hope to produce floating nuclear power stations that, like in this illustration, could dock in remote Arctic communities and supply less emissions-intensive power than the diesel-fired plants they use now.Supplied
Picture a floating nuclear plant that can serve remote Indigenous communities in the Arctic, where diesel is the only way to keep the lights on. A new project hopes to supply less emissions-intensive power in this way – but first it has to address concerns about safety and cost as well as compete with other renewables already in use, such as wind and solar. Matthew McClearn has more on this story here.
Evening Update is written by Maryam Shah. If you’d like to receive this newsletter by e-mail every weekday evening, go here to sign up. If you have any feedback, send us a note.