CBC News: The National | Canada-U.S. trade reps prepare pitch to Trump

Tonight, CBC News has learned Canadian and U .S.negotiators are aiming to send a potential trade deal to the White House by next week.Talks are clearly heating up, but the U .S.president will get the final say.

It's quite possible that things will get tougher this week.

Can he be swayed to back off his latest tariff threats?Reports of a secret operation to move Donald Trump off Air Force One just before takeoff over fear Iran could attack.

They clearly thought the threat was imminent.

The press and staffers left in the dark and on board.Love is Blind is coming to Canada.I really hope I get to be part of it.Can the marriage or bus premise thrive yet again?

From CBC News, this is The National with Crystal Comancing.

Thanks for joining us, Adrienne is away.There is significant movement tonight on a potential trade deal between Canada and the United States.Sources tell CBC News top officials are hoping to get a proposal on the president's desk as early as Monday.Both sides met again in Washington today, trying to inch closer to an agreement, and they are on the clock.Trump's latest round of tariffs on hundreds of Canadian goods could kick in next week.Canada's goal is to ensure those tariffs are turfed, but they're not stopping there.

Kate McKenna now on the push to get across the finish line.

How are you feeling going in?I feel I always feel good.Canada's U .S.trade minister saying little.Heading into a meeting with his American counterpart.

Their third in three weeks.Marking the end of an impasse and maybe momentum.

It's quite possible that things will gettougher this week.That often happens near the end and that sometimes can be a good sign.

About an hour later Dominic Leblanc emerged offering no details.We all have something to say when the moment's right.But sources tell CBC News Canadian and American officials are working on a proposal to present to U .S.President Donald Trump early next week.Right before new 50 percent tariffs kick in on some 28 billion dollars in Canadian exports.

We won't know until we see what has actually been proposed but I would be surprised if our Canadian federal government is prepared to make further concessions without getting something in return.

Canada's looking for a comprehensive deal that would see the new tariffs thrown out and some sort of agreement on existing tariffs on steel, aluminum, auto and lumber.But the list of American grievances seems ever -changing with a Trump adviser now calling out scallops being fished in Canadian waters near the state of Maine.

taken from the Georgia's banks just about the amount we import from Canada, driving up our trade deficit.And we couldn't take scallops.on our side of the Georgia's banks.

That's crazy stuff.But this expert says Canada has leverage, especially ahead of the fall's U .

S.midterms.The election main messages are around affordability and really high energy costs here in the United States.I think that's why we're seeing a good faith negotiation, it appears, going on with the U .

S.But Canada has been here before.The two sides were reportedly close to a deal last fall before Trump called off trade talks entirely.Regardless of progress, it really does come back to him.

So Kate, with a goal being early next week, LeBlanc is staying in Washington to keep up talks?

Yeah, and so is Canada's trade negotiator Jenna Charette.They and their teams have been trying to sort out technical details.We don't yet know when they're planning on going back to Canada or if there are any other big meetings happening this week.

Kate McKenna, tonight in Washington.Thanks.The US president is seemingly confirming a secret plan to protect him from an Iranian threat on his life.Last month, Trump swapped planes last minute, apparently hiding in a catering truck.Tonight, he was asked about it.

I have a lot of threats.I have a lot of threats that you don't know about.Any consequential president has a lot of threats.I don't worry about anything, to be honest, whatever it is.You know my attitude?Whatever.

Trump was also asked why members of the press were left on the plane potentially in danger.He brushed that off too, saying he was at greater risk.Sasha Petricic walks us through the operation just now coming to light.

U .S.President Donald Trump waved goodbye to the NATO summit last month, stepping into Air Force One.Then he reportedly slipped out another door.Whisked into an airport food truck by the Secret Service driven across the Ankara tarmac to a less conspicuous military plane.

They clearly thought that something bad could be happening and they thought the threat was imminent.

White House reporters and staff boarding at the back had no idea he wasn't at the front.U .S.intelligence had discovered a credible Iranian plot to fire a missile at Trump's new Air Force One says American media citing senior officials.

A jet that had just been adapted and rushed into service after being gifted to Trump by Qatar.As we've seen Iran and a number of other countries take on aerial drones and a variety of other kind of munitionsThe United States as a nation is just facing simply more kinds of threats.So Trump had to play hide and seek as he flew over Europe.

That Qatari -gifted jet departed Ankara first, soaring northwest without the president.Then the traditional Air Force One, carrying his entourage, though Trump wasn't at the front of that one either.He was tucked away in a third, more modest C -32A, following a secret route.All three touched down at Mildenhall Air Force Base near London.So we call those shell games.We do different movements, different looks to give us a slight advantage.

Trump slipped back into the old Air Force One to be seen exiting and walking to his new jet for the flight to the U .S.Denying any immediate danger but blasting Iran for wanting him dead.

I have a threat all the time.

I'm number one on their list.Sasha Petrusik, CBC News, Toronto.

Tonight, Montreal's police chief faced questions about allegations of racism against 16 officers.An internal investigation is now underway.The impacted community, Montreal North, is one with long -standing concerns about police conduct.Sarah Levitt is outside of City Hall.Sarah, what happened in that meeting room tonight?

Crystal, it was a packed room.The spillover section was also full, and people got turned away.One after another, people went up to the microphone, sad, annoyed, concerned, demanding answers about racist acts against Black and Arab citizens in one of Montreal's most diverse neighbourhoods.They got few answers, though, with police citing the ongoing investigation.

The change will be long and difficult.

Montreal's police chief says he believesto make things right as the community confronts him over the alleged actions of 16 of his officers.Confidence in police marred by the ongoing investigation.

Outside city hall frustration and anger from those who couldn't get in.Others expressed some hope.We're happy to see that something is being done, although it took other police for this to happen.Having the opportunity to talk about it, I think this is a positive change for the future.

According to Radio -Canada sources the officers were accused of random stops based solely on ethnicity and cutting off dreadlocks then taking them as trophies.The claims were first made public back in June after fellow officers made complaints.The news explosive to some including the mayor.

Many Montrealers have lost confidence.and it is upon us to make sure that we are working with the SPVM to rebuild that trust.

But for some community organizers the allegations aren't a surprise and they say action is more important than words.

People say look we know this situation that exists for years.We've lived it.We don't want to go back and you know rehash these things.We want solutions and when we talk about solutions we have to talk about something future oriented.Something concrete.

The police chief saying that's exactly what this public meeting was about, to speak directly with community members.

And Sarah, there are calls for action, so what are people asking for?

Well, the police chief says there are a number of measures already in place.Collaboration with community organizations, continued sensitivity training.He said it was important to move forward with what he said was transparency and humility, but that was really put to the test as ameeting where a few answers were given and people felt they really had little time to speak.

Sarah Levitt in Montreal tonight, thank you.More help is on the way for exhausted B .C.firefighters as they battle several major wildfires.With concerning weather still to come, thousands of people are already displaced.And as Michelle Allen explains, many are desperate for information about what they've left behind.

Around Okanagan Lake, prayers for everything lost to fire.All we can do is ask.Ask for it to be gentle with us.Roughly 20 ,000 people in B .C.are under evacuation orders.

Most are in the Okanogan Valley, displaced from their homes.Many are sleeping in cars or trailers.

And it was just terrible.It was just so spooky.Me and the dog, all I did was sit and cry.But, you know, we're here, we're safe.

Summerland resident Raylene Park said she had just 15 minutes to escape the Bald Range fire.All she had time to grab were the essentials like dog food and her family photos.How can you replace something like this?She doesn't know when she'll be allowed back or what will remain.Summerland's mayor warned residents what they find may be hard to take in when we do get back.

We we need to brace herself for what's there or what's not there.It's going to be hard.It's going to be really hard.We all know people right now.We all know people who have lost homes.We all have friends who have lost homes, and those people will need our help.

Some forecasted rain could provide a little relief in the next few days, but officials say they can't afford to count on it.And in other parts of the province, there could be wind and dry lightning, which could worsen current fires.start new ones.About a hundred are burning right now in BC.And the forest minister is worried about the next one.

One careless action can start another wildfire.One spark can put another community at risk.And one drone flying near a wildfire can ground the aircraft our firefighters are desperately relying on.Our crews have enough fires to fight.please don't give them another one.

Officials say the crews battling these wildfires are exhausted.But there is help.Firefighters from Mexico are already on the ground.Another 102 from Costa Rica will arrive Thursday.Michelle Allen, CBC News, Vancouver.

In Colombia tonight, crews are racing to find survivors of Monday's powerful earthquake.At least 250 people are now confirmed dead.Karen Pauls shows us the desperate search and some remarkable rescues from the rubble.

A crying baby pulled to safety from the rubble of a collapsed apartment building.Two women trapped on an upper floor of a Pereira office building brought to the ground grateful to be alive.16 people trapped inside this aerial cable car cabin also rescued after six long hours.All of these scenes emerging since a powerful 7 .4 magnitude earthquake hit Colombia.But not everyone is so lucky.The death toll into the hundreds and climbing steadily since the quake first hit.

This Red Cross worker says time is running out for thousands of missing people but there may be air pockets or spaces allowing some to stay alive longer.The Colombian military is bringing medical equipment and emergency supplies.Joining residents and canine search and rescue teams as they scramble through the rubble of leveled buildings looking and listening for signs of life.After part of this hospital in Cali collapsed some patients had to be transferred.Others are being treated on the street.Large areas around the earthquake's epicenter are heavily isolated, accessible only by airplane or boat through the jungle.

We can get to the capital city, Qibdo, but then to transport food assistance and other items of need to those communities will take time and is costly.

The mayor of Manizales says many people are in shelters, many getting their homes assessed.Maria Campo and her mother stayed at her brother's house Monday night afraid to return home.

They've been checking with engineers who knows about it to see if the structure is affected or not.Still she feels lucky.We are alive so we have a lot of things to be grateful right now.

And as they watch the search and rescue efforts they're praying for more moments like this one.There's people, there's life he says.Karen Pauls, CBC News, Winnipeg.

More than 2 ,000 people have now died from Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as the country grapples with the fastest -growing outbreak on record.Officials say the death toll has doubled in less than four months.More than 4 ,000 cases have been confirmed, as conflict and strained health services hamper efforts to contain the spread.A Halifax man has died.with uttering threats and public mischief after a bomb threat was made against that city's U .S.S.

consulate.Evan Dyer is following this story for us tonight.Evan, walk us through what we know so far about this case.

Well, we don't know anything about the nature of the threat or exactly how it was communicated, but it was received by the U .S.consulate in Halifax late Sunday afternoon.Police identified a suspect, 54 -year -old Ali Asakere.And just after eight on Monday morning, they found a car belonging to him in a downtown parking garage that appeared to contain a propane tank and containers of a flammable liquid.And that led Halifax police to shut down several streets around Halifax Harbor.

That car was later determined not to pose a threat to public safety, but Asakere has now made an initial appearance in provincial court on charges of uttering threats and public mischief.The Crown, though, didn't want to go any further yet.

The Crown requested an adjournment under 516 of the criminal code, and that just gives the police more time to complete that investigation and to see if there's going to be more charges to be laid.

Now, in court, Asakure laid out a series of complaints through an interpreter, among them that his family had been victims of discrimination.

Now, there have been shooting attacks on the U .S.consulate in Toronto and allegations that Iran -linked groups might have paid guns -for -hire to carry those out.But there's no suggestion this case might be connected, right?

Right.There's no indication of any connection.In Halifax, for example, there's also no evidence of gunfire or firearms seized.No charges related to bomb -making or explosives either.Also, the Halifax prosecutor told the court he hadn't decided whether he would oppose bail in this case.case and normally if there were a national security element to a case like this you would expect pretty automatic remand to custody which is what we saw in Toronto.

All right Evan thanks so much.Thanks.A petition calling for the removal ofU .S.S.Ambassador Pete Hoekstra from Canada is being presented in the House of Commons this fall.

More than 35 ,000 Canadians have signed it.It accuses Hoekstra of undermining Canada -U .S.diplomatic relationship and normalizing the president's threats to annex Canada.It also calls on the government to review U .S.

diplomatic interference in Canadian affairs.Well, new federal data shows a spike in the number of Canadians who can't pay all of their debts.The latest figures from the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy shows more than 37 ,500 Canadians have filed for insolvency in the second quarter of 2026, an increase of 6 .9 percent compared to the same period last year.Well, let's bring in Anis Haidari now for a closer look at what these numbers mean.Anis, this is the second straight quarter with some pretty bleak data.

What we're seeing is a little more complicated than just having a bank account at zero.Insolvencies include declaring bankruptcy.That's where you can't really pay any of your bills.But about three quarters of them are what's known as consumer proposals.That's where you typically agree to pay at least a portion of your bills, but over a longer period of time.Now, both of those are not good indicators, though.

Insolvencies going up tells us that more Canadians can't pay their bills.on time or at all.And April to June saw the most insolvencies in a three -month period than we've seen since Canadians were feeling the financial crisis back in 2009.Now, that being said, we've spoken with economists who say if you account for population growth, these higher insolvency numbers may be less stark than they seem.

We're not worse than we were pre -pandemic, but we're not better.So it still shows that there are some households that are having some issues and facing some financialstress, but it's not widespread, it's not yet concerning, but we still need to be, in some ways, we still need to track it and be attentive.

So, Anis, we know the numbers.Let's get into how Canadians are getting to this point.

These stats are from a few months ago, so it may not tell us how things are right this second, but debt pressures also can build up over time.And the biggest indicator that could push insolvencies into a dangerous place might be jobs and employment.Many households have a higher level of debt compared to their income, or they need two jobs to stay afloat.So if they lose some of that income, things could get much worse.But for the vast majority of Canadians, we aren't there yet, Crystal.

The CBC's Anis Hidari in Calgary tonight.Thanks so much.A hit reality TV show is coming to Canada.It's just like the toughest place to date.And I'm like, thank God it finally came here.Will love is blind win hearts in this country?

Canada -U .S.trade talks are heating up, but will Trump play ball?

Tariffs.Tariffs.I love tariffs.

Why the U .S.president is so in favor of tariffs.How a bride lost her engagement ring mid -wedding.

To actually lose a ring during the ceremony is a first.

And how it was found, we're back in two.Netflix is bringing its hit reality dating show, Love is Blind, to Canada.And for those ready to take a chance on love sight unseen, casting is officially open.Magda Gabriel -Selassie is now on How It All Works.if you're ready to find the love of your life.

Love is blind.It's the dating reality show that's become a cultural phenomenon worldwide.Now it's setting its sights on Canada.Calling for people to apply.So I did it right away.The original U .

S.show is 10 seasons in.All built around one question.Is love really blind?Single strangers are paired up in separate pods.They talk.

They date.Some even get engaged.all this before seeing each other.Now it's Canada's turn.It's just like the toughest place to date and I'm like thank God it finally came here.The show has had plenty of spin -offs.

There's Love is Blind Brazil, Mexico and Japan to name a few.But having a Canadian version of a U .S.romance reality series comes with its challenges says this executive producer who worked on The Bachelor Canada.

As a Canadian producer you're often not working with the same budget and support.There's a different culture here even if you expect drama.In my experience I haven't seen the same level as I would in an American version.

But Canadians on U .S.dating shows do bring the drama.They've been on shows from Too Hot to Handle to Perfect Match and The Bachelorette.The timing is right for more says this pop culture writer.

Canada is very clearly having a moment in media and in pop culture.You know, we have a former prime minister who's dating an international pop star.We have shows like Heated Rivalry that have become really successful.It's also, you know, makes sense that now would be the time with all of this going on that Netflix would finally make the foray into Canada for for Love is Blind.

But is love truly blind and does it last?In all, 55 couples came together on the U .S.show.But only a handful, eight, remain together.Still, romantics don't seem phased.

I really hope I get to be part of it.No word yet on when Love is Blind Canada will begin filming.Maakta Gebrselassa, CBC News, Toronto.

With new tariffs looming Canadian and U .S.officials are preparing for a trade proposal for Donald Trump.It's going to make us a much stronger, much richer nation.But will he bite?We'll take a closer look at his mindset.

America was not at its richest.It wasn't a particularly happy society.And what history says about tariffs.Plus, more Canadians are drowning in debt.

It's been a more rapid acceleration of the numbers of folks that are seeking relief.

What the surge in insolvency says about the state of the economy.Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc is in Washington after meeting with his counterpart, Jameson Greer.CBC News has learned the pair is aiming to present Donald Trump with a path to a potential trade deal as early as Monday, just before new 50 % tariffs are scheduled to take effect August 19th.Now, Trump often claims that tariffs introduced in the late 1800s by then President William McKinley ushered in America's golden age.But history reveals a different story.Back in the spring, Eli Glasner broke down what Trump gets wrong and the lessons he could learn from the past.

William McKinley, McKinley, McKinley.Trump has an obsession.His favorite president, William McKinley, highly underrated.the time he thinks America was richest.In the 1890s, we were so wealthy.All revolving around one word.

Tariffs.I love tariffs.He loves tariffs, but why?And does he understand the effect they've had in the past?Well, for that, we need to go back to the dawn of Trump's favorite era.It all started with what was called the Gilded Age.

It's not quite as simple as that.

Maybe you've seen the show, but there's another America hiding behind the opulence.

It's impossible to argue with him because he's not talking about facts.

Margaret Macmillan is an award -winning historian.

America was not at its richest.It wasn't a particularly happy society.There was a huge division between the rich and the poor, and the condition of the poor was appalling.They didn't have a lot of protections that they have now.

Which brings us to this guy, the politician who Trump admired so much, he renamed a mountain.

And we will restore the name of a great president, William McKinley, to Mount McKinley, where it should be and where it belongs.

President Trump was a 20th century man. operating in a 21st century economy, wants to take us back to the 19th century.The world is just so different today.

Douglas Irwin is a world -renowned expert on trade and the politician once described as the Napoleon of protection.

He's a very talented Republican politician.He represented a district in Ohio which produced a lot of steel.which is where his interest in tariffs came from.

In Congress before he was president, McKinley instituted aggressive tariffs on imports to grow American manufacturing.But along with growing the number of factories, prices also grew.

He was the tariff king.

And so the effect of the McKinley tariffs?

It backfired completely on McKinley and the Republicans who were in power at the time and eventually led to them losing the presidency, the House and the Senate.

History podcaster Craig Baird says aggressive tariffs also affected an election north of the border.Huh.sound familiar?

in 1891 with the federal election it actually had johnny mcdonald really campaigning on the tariffs

The thing is, for all his adoration, Trump ignores what happened when McKinley actually became president, and his perspective shifted.

there were markets in the world to be had.The U .S.had this great industrial expansion and the U .S.should be more engaged in global trade.

In fact, in 1901, just days before he was assassinated, McKinley made a speech promoting friendly trade relations, saying commercial wars are unprofitable.Lesson learned, right?And yet, in just a few decades, Americans would tangle with them again.So it's time to talk about the Smoot -Hawley Tariff Act.And I'll try to contain your excitement, except you might have heard of this one.

In 1930, the Republican -controlled House of Representatives, in an effort to alleviate the effects of the, anyone, anyone?The Great Depression, passed the, anyone, anyone?A tariff bill, the Hawley -Smoot Tariff Act.

Tariff Act.So after the stock market crash of 1929, Republicans wanted to protect American businesses, but it just made things worse.

You know, you might think that if you reduce your imports, that you might give the economy a little bit of boost because you're going to shift some of that to domestic production.But if other countries are also throwing up trade barriers, that means your exports are going to go down, too.

For those of us who lived through the Great Depression, the memory of the suffering it caused is deep and searing.As a young man, President Ronald Reagan felt the effects of tariffs firsthand.High tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars.The result is more and more tariffs, higher and higher trade barriers and less and less competition.

The lessons of the Great Depression saw the Republicans embracing the gospel of free trade until Trump.

We keep repeating certain things and there's always a number of decades between stuff like this because we forget what actually happened and we start looking at it again through rose -colored glasses.

Flash forward to 2018, during Trump's first term.Tariff time once again.The target?China.China.China.

After a series of tit -for -tat tariffs, Trump applied levies on $200 billion worth of Chinese products.

Frankly, it's going to make us a much stronger, much richer nation.

Is it fair to say that prices went up after the tariffs went into effect in the first term?

There are a number of academic studies on that, and they show exactly that.The tariffs were passed through to consumers, so it was not a tax on China.It was a tax on American consumers.

So to recap, numerous times in America's history, tariffs made tension and prices rise.And yet here we are again, tariffs already applied in a variety of Canadian sectors, and now the U .S.and China facing off in an escalating tariff battle.Trump thinks China will blink.Others aren't so sure.

I don't think he understands much about the Chinese past, about the strong desire of the Chinese to become a world power again and to resume what they see as their rightful place on the world stage.

As trade alliances weaken, McMillan sees echoes of the years leading up to the First World War.

And we know that it's very, very hard to build up trust between people or between groups of people or between nations.And we're seeing now how easy it is to destroy it.And so what I'm concerned about is the world is dividing itself up into mutually hostile blocks.

I wonder just what it feels like for you right now, Margaret, where I've had the feeling the past few months where like, oh, this is what it feels like when history is happening in front of you.

I feel exactly the same.I mean, I've studied some very interestingbits of the past, often catastrophic bits of the past, but I didn't think I'd be living through one.

It's worth noting that the 50 % tariffs that Trump is threatening Canada with would fall under a never -before -used section of the Smoot -Hawley Act, legislation which was created during the Great Depression.BC's deadly Bald Range wildfire has become one of the province's most volatile fires that it has ever faced.Senior meteorologist Johanna Wagstaff breaks down the unique science behind the explosive blaze.

It's a wildfire scenario officials in this province say they've never seen before.

Talk about this being like a bomb going off in the Summerland region.

Here's how it happened.The fire was first detected at 5 .30 p .m.Friday, August 7th, just 15 kilometers northwest of Summerland.By 8 p .m.

, emergency officials began rushing out evacuation orders as the flames ripped down the hillside toward homes.And by the early hours of Saturday morning, the fast -moving front cut off main road access entirely, trapping residents in the dark and forcing emergency helicopter rescues.As of Monday morning, this fire has scorched more than 136 square kilometers.

Let's break it down.

Three distinct factors were present.Severe drought, steep terrain and local winds.But these winds didn't come from a forecasted weather system.The fire was creating its own weather.After weeks of relentless dry heat, what started as a spark immediately transitioned from a surface fire into a high -intensity rank 5 or 6 crown fire, the absolute highest rank a wildfire can reach, making it unsafe for ground crews.This wasn't a fire you could fight.

We could have put a thousand more helicopters, a thousand more people on the ground and it wouldn't have made a difference.

Look at this image.Within hours, the intense fire pushed hot air upwards fast, forming a towering pyrocumulonimbus cloud.The fire began drawing in its own oxygen, generating 60 -meter -high flames and throwing out embers that sparked new spots well ahead of the main line.While many explosive fires are driven by sharp and windy cold fronts, this was different.A weak high pressure system allowed local topography to take over.In the evening as the high elevation plateau to the west cooled down that heavy cold air raced down the slopes into the valley pushing the fire aggressively toward communities.

It's hard to predict what might happen next but fire weather remains volatile.Johanna Wagstaff, CBC News, Vancouver.

Coming up, an increasing number of Canadians are finding it impossible to pay their bills.

A lot of people are now reaching the breaking point.They just cannot do it.

Does Canada have a personal bankruptcy problem?We'll break down the numbers next.New national figures show more Canadians are struggling to pay their bills.More than 37 ,500 Canadian consumers filed for insolvency in the most recent quarter.That's up 6 .9 % compared to last year.Now back in the spring, with consumer insolvencies hitting levels not seen since the 2009 recession, Andrew Chang, host of About That, put the data into perspective and examined what might be driving that trend.

the headlines are bad.More Canadians are so deep in debt they need to file for insolvency.Telling the government, I can't pay all of this off.And it's more Canadians doing this than we've seen in the last 15 plus years.

Canadians are drowning in debt.Housing and food are expensive.

Coffee, beef.Everything's on the rise.I only shop at Dollarama now.Everything costs more.How do you bridge that gap?

Well, you do it with debt.And here's what too much debt looks like.Note the part of this from around 2020 on.This group of Canadians at their breaking point, almost doubling in size in just six years.And zooming back out, you see the comparison to the financial crisis of 2008 -2009.We're almost at that same level and trending to possibly go even higher.

But is this graph as it seems?Are things really as bad as they were almost 20 years ago?Yes and no.And I can show you why.Did you know that when people talk about declaring bankruptcy in Canada, there are actually two kinds of bankruptcy you can declare.There's really bankrupt, and then there's kind of bankrupt, but not really.

There are two types of insolvency proceedings for individuals in Canada.One is the consumer proposal, and the other is bankruptcy.

So the headlines I was showing you earlier, they were all about consumer or personal insolvency filings.That's when people like you and me run out of money, and can't pay our debts.And the two main types, actual bankruptcy, where you have your debt wiped clean, but you have to sell a bunch of your stuff, do financial counseling, and wreck your credit score for seven years or so.Then there's the other type, which is filing for a consumer proposal.It's got many of the same features and downsides as filing for bankruptcy, but with a major difference.You get to make a deal.

Your debts get slashed.by more than half in some cases, but you have to commit to regular payments.In exchange, you get to retain your assets.Expensive vehicles, jewellery, art, electronics, land, investments, inheritances.You get the idea.I explain all of this for two reasons.

One, that will become much more important later on.But two, just to make clear that when we showed you this graph and these headlines, they're all talking about these two types of insolvency filings.The really heavy kind and the lighter kind.Add them together, we're at nearly two decade highs.But what the simple graphs don't show you is that most insolvency filings are this kind of less harsh bankruptcy.That's the middle line here.

You can see by far the main way people actually avoid filing for bankruptcy.Which is that bottom line there.But technically you're still filing for insolvency.You're still running out of money.Can't pay your debts and are asking for help.So now you know.

That's what's captured in all of these headlines today about consumer insolvencies hitting new highs in Canada.But what's not captured, and this is where I think some of the coverage can sometimes feel a little overly anxiety inducing, are all of the ways in which we can't just compare today to the financial crisis of 2008 -2009.

Adjusted for population, we are nowhere near where we were in 2009.Yeah, that's a big one.

If insolvency filings today are hitting roughly the same highs as almost 20 years ago, but the overall population today is much, much bigger than it was almost 20 years ago, like a pond with one dead fish is a lot worse than an ocean with one dead fish, right?Well then, so too is it pretty straightforward math to show how over a three -month period in 2009,this many insolvencies out of this much adult population equals this percentage of the population going insolvent compared to 2026.Fewer insolvencies across a larger population is just this percentage of people hitting rock bottom.Kind of a big difference.Except now you're all like, well, not really, Andrew, 0 .15 and 0 .11 are still pretty close, to which I say, yeah, If you're a giant, and if you look down at these numbers as just tiny little itty bitty percentages, but even on a small scale, 0 .15 % of people having a bad time is still 36 % worse than 0 .11 % of people having a bad time.

Just like if I were to ask, would you rather have 15 pianos fall on you from someone's balcony while you're walking on the street below?Or would you rather just have 11 pianos fall on you?Yeah, that's what I thought.

There is this resonance with 2009 and the number of filings we saw back then.But it is it is a different set of factors.A lot of the economic strain that we found ourselves in over the past five or six years is a contributing factor.I don't think necessarily need to be alarmist yet at this point, but certainly concerning.Point being.

We should really underline and repeat what this insolvency trustee told us just a minute ago.

Adjusted for population, we are nowhere near where we were in 2009.But!We are significantly higher than where we were a year, two years, three years ago.

Dun, dun, duh!Yes, things are still bad.So this is a good time to circle back to that first graph we showed you.So we now know we can take this comparison to 2009 levels of personal insolvency with a grain of salt.But that doesn't let us off the hook of having to confront this rickety staircase.Insolvencies are up.

You know in the last year or so it's been a more rapidof the numbers of folks that are seeking relief through the insolvency process in Canada.

And in Canada's most populous province, bankruptcies are up.So specifically in Ontario, the type of insolvency where people are having to forfeit sometimes their priciest assets, full on bankruptcy, where they can't really commit to repaying any significant portion of their debts.Those are up in a pretty significant way, about 27 % year over year, Q1 to Q1.

We are certainly seeing Ontario getting hit harder.proportionally than the rest of the country, presumably because Ontario has a greater manufacturing base.

Canada has been ripping us off for years.Tomorrow tariffs 25 % on Canada.Instead of a manufacturing recession, we can have a manufacturing renaissance.

As tempting as it is, there's no one reason that fully explains why Canadians are increasingly finding themselves at this kind of financial breaking point.Our General cost of living.Inflation has soared higher than any of us would like.

Groceries are getting more expensive, more quickly than many other items.

It seems everything is getting pretty pricey.

Four person household, including me, and we're all living paycheck to paycheck.

I think we've also accumulated maybe about another 20 years of cost of living and affordability struggles.Back then, it was a little bit noticeable.Now it's almost impossible not to notice.

Plus, the war on Iran.chokehold on oil driving gas prices up that too is a pain point where it's hard to be just like i'll save on gas by only driving half the distance to work today you gotta buy gas people gotta get to work cost of gasoline has put my fleet cost for fuel up probably by a couple of thousand dollars over the last few months a lot of people are now reaching out

point.They just cannot do it.The first month or two when gas prices go up, it's not a big deal.I can jiggle things around.But as it happens month after month after month, the pressure just builds.It just slowly accumulated.

So these things around then, banking crisis, COVID, supply shocks, Russia invasion of Ukraine, closure of the Strait of Hormuz, all of these things All of these things are just extra things that where we might normally just shrug them off as, hey, that's a bad week, a bad month, a bad year.It's now, wait, this has been a bad lifetime.

So the worst news is that insolvencies and bankruptcies are up in a way we haven't seen in almost two decades.

It is definitely concerning.It's certainly higher than it's been for many years.

The worrying news is that insolvencies are simply a symptom of a deeper problem, a broader economic problem.that doesn't exactly look to be going away anytime soon.

I think in the shorter term, we're probably going to see it continue to increase.

But the reassuring news is that we have seen worse.Comparisons, especially to things 20 years ago, are tough to make accurately.So the real test will be in where things go starting now.

The province's hardest hit this quarter, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Newfoundland.In BC, Quebec and PEI, insolvency is actually decreased.Coming up, a bride's engagement ring gets lost in the sand at the altar.

To actually lose a ring during the ceremony is a first.

How it was found, next in our moments.This is Stephen Andrews.He calls himself a metal detector hobbyist.He was called in to search for an engagement ring on a beach in Jersey, an island in the English Channel.The bride lost her ring in the sand during the wedding ceremony.Luckily, Andrews was able to return it to the couple on their special day, and his find makes our moment.

I metal detect as a hobby.I had a call from the hotel where a wedding was being held to say that the bride had lost her engagement ring.during the ceremony.So I went out there and managed to find it.To actually lose a ring during the ceremony is a first.They were having the ceremony outside.

It's raised up above the beach.The bride, Abby, had taken her engagement ring off to receive her new wedding ring.And a wasp was in her face.And in her shooing it away, she accidentally threw her engagement ring.It vanished into the dry sand.Two guests of the wedding contacted me.

It didn't take long for me to find it.And then they surprised the bride and groom later on in the evening with the ring.Everyone was cheering and clapping.I like to help people where I can.It's a nice one to do.

I think he saved that wedding.The newlyweds did go to thank Andrews after their wedding.He said he just really likes to find treasures.He didn't charge anything.He finds it fun.Well, from all of us here at The National, thank you for being with us.

I'm Crystal Gemansingh.Take care.