Royal Canadian Navy flies its first uncrewed helicopter - Canada.ca

The Liberal government quietly ordered a pause on a modest, but important purchase of 16 U. S.-made UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters just before trade negotiations began last summer with the Trump administration, CBC News and Radio-Canada have learned.  The aircraft, which are intended for use by Canada's special forces, are manufactured by Sikorsky, a subsidiary of the U. S. defence giant Lockheed Martin. The decision to suspend the acquisition is linked to trade and diplomatic tensions with the Trump administration, according to several sources within the government and defence industry. The purchase had been signed off by the U. S. State Department agency that handles foreign military sales and was headed for congressional approval when the halt was ordered before trade negotiators met in Washington, according to two confidential sources. What tariffs are still in place? Tracking the Canada-U. S. trade warFront BurnerShould Canada have taken the U. S. deal? The decision, the sources said, was partially related to the trade talks, which ultimately failed.

On Monday, Albertans vote on whether to stay in Canada or hold another binding referendum on quitting Canada. If the vote goes as polls suggest, a majority of Albertans will mark an X to stay in Confederation, and Premier Danielle Smith has said if that’s so, she expects everyone to accept it and move on. Leaders of the independence movement contest that. And political watchers are divided about whether separation — previously a fringe sentiment — will now be a prominent, permanent feature of Alberta’s political landscape, as in Quebec. Julian Castro-Rea, a political-science professor at the University of Alberta who studies the separation debates in Quebec and Alberta, believes as long as Alberta feels alienated from the Canadian capital — feeling that Ottawa benefits from Alberta’s resource economy without giving back — the movement will have fuel. “Even if the referendum is lost, the westernization will still be around, because it’s kind of a way which, traditionally, Albertans have related to the rest of Canada,” says Castro-Rea, who believes western alienation may remain indefinitely. Story continues below advertisement