Good morning. Donald Trump paused a threatened round of new tariffs just before they were set to go into effect. More on that below, along with referendum issues in two provinces and Justin Trudeau’s whereabouts.

TOP STORIES

Tariffs take a breather

U.S. President Donald Trump said late last night that he had reached a trade deal with Canada and would postpone his latest round of threatened tariffs for three days while the agreement was finalized.

After a day and evening of down-to-the wire bargaining on Tuesday, Mr. Trump announced the tentative pact less than two hours before 12:01 a.m. today, when the new levies on US$20-billion of Canadian goods were to take effect.

“I have paused the 50% Tariffs against Canada, that were scheduled to kick in tomorrow morning for a three-day period, based on the fact that Canada and the U.S.A., subject to the finalization of documents, have a DEAL!” the President wrote on Truth Social.

He did not specify what was in the agreement or confirm that, if the documents were signed, he would cancel the planned levies entirely. But he said the deal might somehow revive the planned Keystone XL oil pipeline, long a Canadian priority project repeatedly thwarted by U.S. permitting problems.

The Globe and Mail has reported that frenetic trade talks over the past month focused on the U.S. reducing, but not eliminating, Mr. Trump’s existing tariffs on autos, steel, aluminum and forest products and holding off on his new levies.

What’s next: In a statement late Tuesday, Prime Minister Mark Carney sounded a more cautious note than Mr. Trump. “Substantial progress has been made, although there is important work still to be done,” he said.

Explained: How other countries have fared in their negotiations with the Trump administration.

PQ delays referendum push

Parti Québécois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said he would wait until Donald Trump’s second presidential term ends to stage his promised Quebec sovereignty referendum. The statement ahead of the next provincial election campaign punts the hot-button issue to January, 2029, or later.

The race: St-Pierre Plamondon is seemingly trying to divert the focus of the campaign to other issues and safeguard his polling lead. The PQ only has seven seats but is favoured to leapfrog the ruling Coalition Avenir Québec and win an election that must happen by Oct. 5. That’s despite tenuous support for Quebec independence, which hovers around 30 per cent in surveys.

What he said: Quebec’s future “must not be hijacked by the ups and downs of American politics, nor by the outbursts of an unpredictable president, nor by fear campaigns,” St-Pierre Plamondon wrote on social media yesterday.

What the CAQ said: “This morning, we’re learning that the U.S. elections are dictating Paul St-Pierre Plamondon’s agenda – this is ridiculous,” Premier Christine Fréchette, the CAQ leader, wrote in her own statement. “The only certainty we have is that Paul St-Pierre Plamondon will call on Quebecers to vote in a referendum during his first term – and he’ll do so at the worst possible time for our economy.”

Foreign meddling targets Alberta

Over in Alberta, Premier Danielle Smith acknowledged that apparent foreign influence campaigns have targeted the province’s secession debate as the fall referendum approaches. Bot farms potentially linked to Russia appear to be amplifying information online, Smith said in an interview with OMNI Television, urging Albertans to scrutinize and verify what they read.

Key distinction: Mike Ellis, Alberta’s public safety minister, relayed word to the provincial legislature in May that the RCMP had found no evidence of foreign interference in the referendum. But according to researcher Brian McQuinn, foreign interference and foreign influence differ, and a lack of evidence of interference doesn’t mean there haven’t been attempts to shape the debate online.

The context: Whether Alberta should pursue independence or stay in Canada is one of 10 questions Smith’s government will pose to the electorate on Oct. 19. Elections Alberta is racing to recruit tens of thousands of workers, including reinforcements from other provinces, to help count votes in anticipation of a paperwork deluge, since each question will be printed on its own sheet.

Grifols adjusts serious incident count

Private plasma collector Grifols lowered its count of serious injuries or deaths at its Canadian locations to six, down from the 25 such incidents previously reported to Health Canada, which accepted the revision. Grifols said a review of past reports found most were misclassified and did not meet the federal definition of a “serious adverse reaction.”

The background: The Barcelona company pays donors for plasma, the protein-rich fluid that is found in blood and has medicinal applications. It paused collection at its 17 Canadian sites last week. Two Grifols donors died in Winnipeg over the past year and The Globe’s reporting revealed concerns identified by Health Canada inspectors, such as Grifols staff not properly responding to alarms on donation machines.

The Take

He has promoted few appearances at public events, cultural festivals or community meet-and-greets, with the exception of one strange video on his Instagram that shows him taking a selfie with two men in Ghostbusters costumes at the Taste of the Danforth festival.

— Robyn Urback

Harper-era immigration minister Chris Alexander is running the strangest mayoral campaign in recent Toronto history, Robyn Urback writes.

The Shot

There are few Black rodeo stars in Canada, but once upon a time the Prairies were a magnet for cowboys seeking to escape racism south of the border.

The Wrap

What else we’re following

At home: The federal government is forecasting elevated wildfire risk in the coming weeks and says the current wildfire season is on track to be the fourth-worst in Canadian history.

Abroad: An environmental double whammy – ruthless heat and a drought that threatens to drain rivers – is punishing the European economy.

Court: Meta rejected the claim that it sought to addict children to its Facebook and Instagram platforms at the outset of a landmark civil trial brought by 29 states.

Hoops: Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham, a lightning rod for attention in the WNBA, played in Toronto for the first time against the expansion Tempo.

Windfall: Heated Rivalry author Rachel Reid donated $300,000 to cash-strapped libraries in Nova Scotia, her home province.

Meanwhile: Brandishing a plunger, Justin Trudeau danced with Katy Perry in Home Hardware to his son’s new song.