Politics
As Russia threats worsen, all Canadians can help security: Latvian envoy – National TenX News
Canada is taking “positive” steps to boost its defence spending and military presence in Europe, but Canadians themselves need to take collective responsibility toward national security to counter growing threats from nations like Russia, Latvia’s envoy says.
In an interview with Global News in Vancouver, Kaspars Ozoliņš, Latvia’s ambassador to Canada, said “unfriendly countries” are not limited to geography as a means to influence or attack other nations, using everything from cyberattacks to disinformation. That requires businesses and civil society to defend critical infrastructure alongside government and military forces, he stressed.
“It’s not just about whether you spend two per cent or five per cent (of GDP on defence),” he said.
“There is an increased understanding (in Latvia) that it has to be a whole-of-society approach. So we do a lot of planning and training and exercise (with) businesses and institutions every year that has led to that growing acceptance and understanding.”
“I guess this is a relatively new concept for Canadians, and something that needs to be understood a little bit better.”
As a former Soviet republic-turned-NATO ally on the front lines of Europe’s defence from an increasingly hostile Russia, Ozoliņš said Latvia knows the risks posed to democratic allies like Canada firsthand.
“I’ve lived under the Soviet regime,” he said, describing the “influence of terror” that preceded Latvia’s independence in 1991.
“The Soviet regime was much milder than it is right now in Russia. And that scares me.”
Canada leading NATO brigade in Latvia
The Canada-Latvia relationship is a valuable one within the NATO alliance. The Baltic nation is home to Canada’s largest overseas military mission, Operation Reassurance, a multinational battle brigade led by Canadian troops since 2017.
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced in August while visiting Riga that Canada would extend the mission for another three years, keeping more than 2,000 Canadian soldiers at the border with Russia until 2029.
The Latvian ambassador said that, while the announcement was welcome, the government wants Canada to join the multinational division command structure alongside Latvia and Denmark in order to streamline the chain of command with the brigade.
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That would require high-level Canadian staffing at the divisional headquarters in Denmark.
“We certainly want Canada to join as a Framework Nation” that leads the overall division, not just the brigade, he said.
Ozoliņš’s comments come just over a week after Carney’s government released its first federal budget, which would allocate $2.7 billion toward that three-year extension of Operation Reassurance.
The budget overall proposes nearly $82 billion over the next five years toward modernizing and strengthening the Canadian Armed Forces, a massive influx in defence spending that Carney says will finally get Canada to meet its NATO commitments.
That money also includes more than $10 billion for digital infrastructure upgrades for military and Communications Security Establishment systems used in “modern warfare,” including cyber defence.
The new budget commits $28 million over the next two years to Canada’s updated cybersecurity strategy, which calls for a “whole-of-society engagement” to confront cyber threats. That means engaging with all levels of government along with law enforcement, the private sector, civil society, academia and Indigenous groups, in addition to partnering with international allies.
Ozoliņš noted Latvia is on track to spend 4.9 per cent of its GDP on defence by next year — more than twice the level Ottawa says it’s on track to hit.
Half of that spending in Latvia will go to defence procurement alone, he said.
“We are fortifying the border line between Russia and our country, as well as with Belarus,” which borders Latvia to the southeast and whose President Alexander Lukashenko is an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Russia causing more ‘mischief’, envoy says
Ozoliņš noted the war in Ukraine has further underscored the danger Latvia faces as a bulwark for the wider European continent against Moscow — as well as the continued need for collective defence.
In recent months, Russian drones and fighter jets have been reported in the airspace of several NATO countries in Europe, increasing concerns in the region of a broader conflict.
Ozoliņš said such incursions are nothing new for Latvia, while also pointing to Moscow’s continued attempts to sow distrust in elections and democracy around the globe.
“When Russia is lowering the threshold of doing mischief, using force or anything … it’s very worrying,” he said.
Canada’s recent commitments are helping to achieve that deterrence, the ambassador added.
Ottawa aims to have a full cadre of 2,200 persistently deployed Canadian troops in Latvia sometime in 2026, a timeline Ozoliņš said is on track and may be achieved earlier than anticipated.
“Defence investment is very serious and takes a lot of years, but in that sense I think Canada is progressing really well on upscaling the brigade headquarters to full operational capacity,” he said.
“If we look at the pace from decisions made to implementation, it has been very good.”
The military modernization commitments in the budget, if achieved, will be reflected in the NATO Latvia brigade itself as well as in domestic military operations like Arctic security, Ozoliņš added.
Asked if another multinational brigade similar to the one in Latvia would make sense in the Arctic as well, Ozoliņš deferred to the Arctic Council of nations to make that decision, but didn’t dismiss the idea.
“What we like to see is the willingness of countries to work together,” he said.
“You cannot just slice up the Arctic pie and say you only control your slice. The best way to deal with the increasing threats is to work collectively.”
Public understanding of security necessary
Overall, the ambassador said there has been an increased urgency and commitment to defence out of Ottawa. He pointed to Carney’s Remembrance Day statement, which called for continued “vigilance” in an increasingly dangerous world, as proof of a shift in priorities.
He said all levels of government must continue to underscore the need for a collective approach to national defence across industry and civil society in order to gain support for continued investments.
“We don’t have the luxury of spending endless amounts of money,” Ozoliņš said. “We need support from society to confront these threats, and that requires more understanding.”
While defence spending was far outpaced by affordability concerns in an Ipsos poll on budget priorities conducted last month for Global News, the survey found support for investments in the military has risen since last year.
Ozoliņš said there’s a growing awareness of the need for a “societal resiliency” among young people he speaks to at universities across Canada.
“I tell them that history is not static, and that the speed of change is so fast that we can’t be thinking, ‘well it doesn’t concern us,’” he said.
“If you think you’ll be acting when the threat comes, then that would be too late.”
A trip to the world’s most-visited museum is about to cost Canadians significantly more.
France has hiked ticket prices at the Louvre by 45 per cent for visitors from outside the European Union, a move that is fuelling debate over so-called dual pricing and the growing backlash against overtourism.
Starting this week, adult visitors from non-EU countries, including Canada, must pay €32 to enter the Paris landmark, up from €22. That’s an increase from about $35 to $52 Canadian.
Visitors from EU countries, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, will continue to pay the lower rate.
The price hike comes as the Louvre grapples with repeated labour strikes, a high-profile daylight jewel heist last October that prompted a costly security overhaul, and years of chronic overcrowding. The museum attracts roughly nine million visitors annually.
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Some Canadian tourists told Global News they feel unfairly targeted.
“We didn’t cause the robberies or some of the other issues that happened and we are paying the consequences,” said Allison Moore, visiting Paris from Newfoundland with her daughter. “[In] Canada we don’t discriminate over pricing like that.”
Others argue tourists already shoulder higher costs simply by travelling long distances.
“In general for tourists, I think things should be a little cheaper than for local people, because we have to travel to come all the way here,” said Darla Daniela Quiroz, another Canadian visitor. “It should be equal pricing, or a little bit cheaper.”
Even some Europeans question the two-tiered system. A French tourist interviewed outside the museum said there was “no reason” to charge non-Europeans more and that the fee should be the same for everyone.
Tourism experts say the Louvre’s financial pressures help explain the decision.
“The Louvre is really cash-strapped right now and needs to do something,” said Marion Joppe, a professor at the University of Guelph. “It can’t really look to the government, which is already struggling with its own budget.”
The move also reflects a broader global pushback against mass tourism. Anti-tourism protests have spread across parts of Spain, New Zealand has increased its entry tax, and the United States recently raised national park fees for foreign visitors.
“You take Paris — it gets about 50 million tourists a year,” said Julian Karaguesian, an economist at McGill University. “That’s roughly a million a week. The city simply wasn’t built for those kinds of numbers.”
Despite the higher price, many visitors say they will still line up to see the Mona Lisa and other of the museum’s famous artworks.
“It’s one of the main attractions. It’s on everybody’s list,” Moore said. “We’re still going to go, and hopefully it will be worth it in the end.”
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Politics
Trump calls Canada-China deal ‘good thing’ as U.S. officials voice concern – National TenX News
Canada’s new trade deal with China is getting a mixed reaction in Washington, with U.S. President Donald Trump voicing support as administration officials warned Ottawa could regret allowing Chinese EVs into the Canadian market.
The deal signed with Beijing on Friday reverses course on 100 per cent tariffs Canada slapped on Chinese electric vehicles in 2024, which aligned with similar U.S. duties. Canada and China also agreed to reduce tariffs on canola and other products.
Asked about the deal by reporters at the White House, Trump said Prime Minister Mark Carney was doing the right thing.
“That’s what he should be doing. It’s a good thing for him to sign a trade deal. If you can get a deal with China, you should do that,” Trump said.
However, members of Trump’s cabinet expressed concern.
“I think they’ll look back at this decision and surely regret it to bring Chinese cars into their market,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at an event with other U.S. government officials at a Ford factory in Ohio to tout efforts to make vehicles more affordable.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told reporters the limited number of vehicles would not impact American car companies exporting cars to Canada.
“I don’t expect that to disrupt American supply into Canada,” he said.
“Canada is so dependent on the United States for their GDP. Their entire population is crowded around our border for that reason. I’ll tell you one thing: if those cars are coming into Canada, they’re not coming here. That’s for sure.”
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Carney has said it’s necessary for Canada to improve trade ties and cooperation with China in light of Trump’s trade war and threats to let the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on free trade expire.
The trade pact is up for review this summer, and Greer reiterated that the Trump administration wants to bring more auto manufacturing back to the U.S. and incentivize companies to do so.
Under the new deal with Beijing, Carney said he expects China will lower tariffs on its canola seed by March 1 to a combined rate of about 15 per cent.
Greer questioned that agreement in a separate CNBC interview.
“I think in the long run, they’re not going to like having made that deal,” he said.
He called the decision to allow Chinese EVs into Canada “problematic” and added: “There’s a reason why we don’t sell a lot of Chinese cars in the United States. It’s because we have tariffs to protect American auto workers and Americans from those vehicles.”
Greer said rules adopted last January on vehicles that are connected to the internet and navigation systems are a significant impediment to Chinese vehicles in the U.S. market.
“I think it would be hard for them to operate here,” Greer said. “There are rules and regulations in place in America about the cybersecurity of our vehicles and the systems that go into those, so I think it might be hard for the Chinese to comply with those kind of rules.”
Trump and officials like Greer have taken aim at Chinese attempts to enter the North American car market through Mexico by bypassing rules of origin under CUSMA.
The CUSMA review set for July is expected to address those loopholes that American and Canadian officials have said are being exploited by China.
Those concerns, which were also raised by the Biden administration, in part helped spur the steep tariffs on Chinese EVs, which are heavily subsidized by Beijing.
Trump, however, has also said he would like Chinese automakers to come to the United States to build vehicles.
Both Democrat and Republican lawmakers in the U.S. have expressed strong opposition to Chinese vehicles as major U.S. automakers warn China poses a threat to the U.S. auto sector.
Ohio Senator Bernie Moreno, a Republican, said at Friday’s event at the Ford plant that he was opposed to Chinese vehicles coming into the United States, and drew applause from the other government officials.
“As long as I have air in my body, there will not be Chinese vehicles sold the United States of America — period,” Moreno said.
—with files from Reuters
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s trade mission to China is being framed as a win for British Columbia’s economy.
Carney announced a new deal with Beijing on electric vehicles and canola at the end of a high-profile trip on Friday.
“The inroads Canada has made this week are a sign that the government gets it and is showing Canadians and the world that we are open for business,” Alexa Young with the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority said.
The trade deal would allow up to 49,000 Chinese EVs into Canada yearly at a tariff rate of 6.1 per cent.
An expanded auto terminal on Annacis Island will be able to handle the additional volume of cars that could be more affordable than what is currently on the market, with prices expected to be under $40,000.
The New Car Dealers Association said in a statement to Global News that, “We look forward to reviewing the full details of this announcement and engaging constructively with governments to ensure that affordability, competition, and long-term market stability remain central considerations.”
In British Columbia, the overall reaction to the news on Friday is positive.
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“China’s economy is important,” Alex McMillan with the B.C. Chamber of Commerce said.
“Having trade deals like this — and diversifying our markets — is important. Providing certainty is important.”
There are concerns with the agreement, including privacy issues and China’s human rights record. But Ottawa’s goal is to double trade with partners outside the United States, which is a goal that would be impossible without China.
“We do want to see more trade and more diversification of our markets and know that China is an important nation and important economy, so having better trade relationships with them, I think overall is going to be good,” McMillan said.
–with files from The Canadian Press
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Louvre raises ticket prices for non-Europeans, hitting Canadian visitors TenX News
Trump calls Canada-China deal ‘good thing’ as U.S. officials voice concern – National TenX News
Canada-China trade deal framed as a win for B.C.’s economy TenX News
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