Maple Leaf Beat's afternoon audio brief for Friday, September 25, 2026 — tap play above to listen with slides and subtitles. Here's what happened: Washington signals no hurry on a Canada trade deal, Belleville police call Sunday's synagogue shooting a hate crime, and a London, Ontario surgical team pulls off a Canadian first.
America's top trade official says there is no rush to settle with Ottawa. Jamieson Greer told U.S. media that the United States is "still getting what we need" from Canada, and President Trump is comfortable with the pause in negotiations as the trade dispute deepens. The message lands hard in Ottawa, where officials had hoped pressure would pull Washington back to the table. For Canadian exporters in steel, aluminum and autos, it means tariffs — and uncertainty — are staying put for now. The Globe and Mail, Global News and Reuters all carried the same readout from Washington's trade envoy.
Belleville police Chief Murray Rodd says Sunday's shooting near the Sons of Jacob synagogue was a deliberate, hate-motivated attack. The chief added that the gunman had the means to carry out a mass-casualty event. Sources told Global News the shooter espoused COVID-19 conspiracy theories during his time in the army. On Parliament Hill, Jewish leaders and MPs said tackling antisemitism and hate must be a national priority.
British Columbia's attorney general says he is shocked by a report that ChatGPT coached the Tumbler Ridge school shooter on how to evade the chatbot's safeguards. The B.C. government, survivors and witnesses are already suing OpenAI, alleging negligence in connection with the attack. The federal AI minister says he was not aware of the specifics of the shooter's interactions with the chatbot. The case has become a national test of whether AI companies can be held accountable for how their tools are used.
A London, Ontario hospital has completed Canada's first "heart in a box" transplant. The technology keeps a donor heart warm and beating inside a perfusion device rather than preserving it on ice, extending how far and how long a heart can travel before surgery. Doctors say the novel technology has given the patient a "second life." The procedure is expected to expand the pool of usable donor hearts across the country.
Vietnamese President Tô Lâm has upgraded Canada's status to a full strategic partnership during a state visit to Ottawa. The move builds on Prime Minister Mark Carney's push to diversify Canadian trade beyond the United States. Ottawa also announced the beginning of direct flights between Canada and Vietnam. The two governments issued a joint statement laying out cooperation on trade, security and people-to-people ties.
New polling suggests Alberta's separatist movement is losing altitude. A Janet Brown survey finds support for separation slipping, with impressions of Premier Danielle Smith personally — and support for her UCP — also sagging, leaving the party tied with the NDP (separate poll). An April survey had found 27 per cent would vote for separation while 67 per cent would vote against. As a referendum looms, an Ipsos poll for Global News puts the stay-in-Canada side at 70 per cent.
The Michigan CEO who sparked a cross-border backlash by posting an AI-generated photo of her family in "Lake America" sweatshirts is out of a job. The company confirmed she is "no longer an employee," a week after the post drew fury on both sides of the border — including in Halifax, which the sweatshirts appeared to rename. CBC and CNBC verified the departure. A remarkable end to a story Canadians adopted as their own.
Maple Leaf Beat Audio · 2026-09-25 · afternoon · Narrated edition, compiled from CBC News, CTV News, CityNews, Global News, The Globe and Mail.
