Good morning. The NATO leaders’ summit in Turkey had a rocky start as Donald Trump threatened Greenland and quarrelled with Spain. More on that below, along with labour conditions in the trucking industry and the latest from Iran.
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NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, U.S. President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the NATO summit.Alex Brandon/The Associated Press
TOP STORIES
A chaotic NATO summit
The latest: U.S. President Donald Trump threw a summit of NATO leaders in Turkey into disarray as he demanded the U.S. cut trade ties with Spain and made renewed claims on Greenland, though he later said there had been love and a “lot of unity.” He declared the Iran ceasefire to be “over” as the U.S. carried out more strikes.
Spain: Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has refused to let the U.S. use its airspace or bases for the Iran war. Trump called Spain a “terrible partner” in NATO yesterday and ordered Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to halt all trade with the country.
Greenland: The U.S. President again demanded that his country control Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, reviving an issue that put severe strain on the alliance. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen reiterated that Greenland was not up for grabs.
Ukraine: Trump granted Kyiv a licence to make Patriot interceptor missiles at a time when Russia has stepped up drone and missile attacks, exploiting Ukraine’s shortage of air defences.
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Ottawa allowed trucking companies with labour violations to employ temporary foreign workers.Keito Newman/The Globe and Mail
Danger on the road
The latest: Nearly 100 trucking companies with a history of safety infractions, labour violations and other regulatory failures have been granted approval by Ottawa to hire temporary foreign workers since 2019, a Globe and Mail investigation has found. The issues ranged from flunking safety audits to concerns over forged documents.
The findings: The investigation illustrates Canada’s disjointed approach to trucking regulation. In some cases, companies were approved to use the migrant labour program despite failing to comply with wage theft orders issued by the same ministry. One carrier was decertified by Manitoba authorities over chronic safety issues yet was then granted permission to hire temporary workers on three occasions.
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Incoming Air Canada CEO Anko Van der Werff.Tom Little/Reuters
Air Canada’s new (French-speaking) CEO
The latest: Air Canada has named Anko Van der Werff as its next chief executive officer, replacing Michael Rousseau. Van der Werff, who is Dutch, is currently CEO of Scandinavian Airlines and has held senior roles at several other international airlines.
Et il parle français: Crucially, Van der Werff speaks both of Canada’s official languages. Rousseau – who failed to learn French despite living in Montreal for nearly two decades – announced his retirement in March amid widespread backlash to his English-only condolence video after a fatal LaGuardia crash. The airline says its criteria for a new CEO included communicating in French, and that Van der Werff “also learned Spanish, Italian and Swedish at different levels.”
A massive Alberta data centre
The latest: Meta plans to build its first AI data centre in Canada north of Edmonton, in Sturgeon County. The tech giant behind Facebook and Instagram says it’ll spend $13-billion on the facility, which would consume 1 gigawatt of electricity. For scale, the entire city of Edmonton draws about 1.4 gigawatts. It’ll be built on 1,750 acres of land, well over the size of Stanley Park in Vancouver.
Where the power comes from: To meet the facility’s electricity needs, a $4.6-billion natural gas plant will be built in Sturgeon County by Pembina Pipeline Corp. and two other partners. AI development has led to unprecedented demand for data centres, though construction has been mostly in the United States. Alberta has courted tech companies by pitching its abundant natural gas resources as a way to power the energy-hungry facilities.
A life-extending cancer drug
The latest: A new drug called daraxonrasib has been found to double survival time for people with pancreatic cancer, but most Canadians can’t get it – including those who have just months to live. The drug is so new that the pill’s maker, Revolution Medicines, is still preparing its application to the U.S. FDA, the usual first stop for selling prescription medicines.
Why it matters: Pancreatic cancer is among the grimmest diagnoses in oncology. Only one in 10 Canadians with the disease will be alive five years after being diagnosed. The FDA is allowing Revolution Medicines to give some patients the drug through an expanded access program, but that stopgap measure is available only to people in the care of U.S. physicians. In Canada, no such program yet exists, though researchers and doctors are pushing to open trial locations.
Programming note
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The Take
For Mr. Poilievre, the cascade of indignities has been going on for more than a year.
After losing yet another MP from his caucus, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is looking awfully weak, Robyn Urback writes.
The Shot
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Count Binface waits for the results in Britain’s Makerfield by-election last month.Temilade Adelaja/Reuters
Reform UK Leader Nigel Farage has triggered a by-election for his own MP seat, but his only opponent may be a man with a trash can on his head, better known as Count Binface. All the main British political parties have refused to take part, calling the vote a stunt meant to distract from investigations into Farage’s finances.
The Wrap
What else we’re following
Abroad: The United States launched new air strikes against Iran, and Tehran responded by targeting Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar.
At home: Grifols let some donors give plasma who should have been barred because of disease concerns, a Health Canada document shows.
Law: The RCMP won’t answer the crucial question hanging over the 2023 killing of Canadian Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar: Did India’s government order the hit?
Entertainment: The Pitt dominated the Emmys with 25 nominations, while Hacks led comedy categories with 24.
In the neighbourhood: Parents want to live near good schools. Here’s how much that will cost them.
On the field: Justin Bieber will headline the World Cup final’s halftime show on July 19 alongside Madonna, Shakira, BTS and several Muppets.