Watered-down version of statement to be issued at end of Montreal summit instead offers ‘ever closer association’

The EU has backed away from its offer to Canada to start talks on becoming an “associate member” after disagreements between member states just as an EU-Canada summit was set to begin in Montreal.

A draft of a joint statement to be issued after the end of the summit, which runs Thursday and Friday, showed a watered-down version offering “an ever closer association of Canada to the EU, short of full membership itself”.

Pete Hoekstra, controversial US ambassador to Canada, has also accused Canadian officials of interfering in US elections

The US ambassador has suggested Canada could be blamed if Republicans perform poorly in next week’s midterm elections, the latest intervention from a controversial figure who has been accused of inflaming a bitter dispute that has angered and baffled residents of both countries.

On Wednesday, CTV news reported that Pete Hoekstra told business leaders at a closed door meeting that if a number of swing races – including Maine and Michigan – go to the Democrats, it could make things harder for Canada because Donald Trump might try to blame the loss on it.

Tightly fought election saw record turnout as incumbent mayor ran against her rival Brad Bradford

The mayor of Toronto, Olivia Chow, promised more rental housing, free school lunches and reduce fares for frequent transit riders after she was elected to a decisive second term as mayor in a wave of support for progressive councillors.

The tightly fought election saw record turnout but Chow ultimately turned in a dominant 13-percentage-point win over her rival, Brad Bradford, receiving 54% of the vote compared with his 41%. Many had been expecting a far closer race, given weeks of polling that suggested a dead heat between the pair who presented differing visions for Canada’s largest city.