Trump's Iran deadline looms

Tuesday, April 07, 2026

Written by Chris Bilton Copy Editor, Digital News

Good morning. U.S President Donald Trump is standing by his deadline of 8 p.m. ET today for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. We'll get into the details of his threat below, along with a look at the state of the housing market for first-time buyers in Canada's most expensive cities and how the lack of leadership at the RCMP's civilian watchdog is impacting investigations.

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What to make of Trump's threats as his Iran deadline looms

U.S. President Donald Trump escalated his threats to bomb power plants and bridges in Iran during a White House news conference yesterday, standing by his latest deadline — 8 p.m. ET today — for Tehran to lift the shipping blockade on the Strait of Hormuz.

What's happening: Trump is threatening a significant expansion of combat operations. Until now, U.S. and Israeli strikes have largely targeted Iran's military capabilities, particularly its ballistic missile infrastructure, navy and Revolutionary Guard facilities, along with attacks that killed key leaders of the regime in Tehran. Trump says the U.S. could achieve "complete demolition" of Iran's power plants and bridges in just four hours.

The context: Trump has flip-flopped multiple times over the past week on whether Iran must reopen the Strait of Hormuz as a condition for the U.S. to stop its bombing campaign. And he has already extended his deadline three times. Shortly after his news conference, Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported that the regime had rejected the latest proposal from mediators for a 45-day ceasefire and instead was seeking a permanent end to the war, along with guarantees against future strikes.

Read Mike Crawley's analysis here

House prices dropping in Canada's most expensive cities, but still out of reach for many

Housing prices are dipping in Canada’s priciest markets, but real estate experts say it’s not necessarily the break for which potential first-time homebuyers have been waiting — a break that may never come.

What's happening: TD Economics reported last week that it expects home prices to slide 0.3 per cent across Canada this year. Interest rates remain low by historical standards, and Ontario recently announced a plan to temporarily remove the HST for the next year on new homes valued at up to $1 million. But the TD report said affordability is still a challenge in Ontario and B.C., and that potential first-time buyers are likely to keep waiting for the market to bottom out before they buy.

What the data says: Statistics Canada numbers show median real hourly wages adjusted for inflation grew 20 per cent from 1981 to 2024, while inflation-adjusted home prices grew 163.5 per cent. Meanwhile, softening prices have led to housing projects being cancelled in Vancouver and Toronto, and once the market starts to feel those, Simon Fraser University finance professor Andrey Pavlov says it could cause another shortage and prices could “blow up quite substantially,” especially in Vancouver.

Kevin Maimann has the full story here

Hundreds of RCMP watchdog reports still delayed due to lack of chairperson

A years-long investigation into a special RCMP unit that polices protests against resource extraction in British Columbia is finished but can’t be finalized because the RCMP's oversight body has been without a chairperson for more than a year. That investigation is among 365 files needing approval to finalize.

What's happening: The Civilian Review and Complaints Commission (CRCC), which receives and oversees public complaints against the Mounties, has been without a chairperson since January 2025. According to the CRCC, the chairperson position, as well as positions for up to four other members, are all currently vacant. The federal government is responsible for appointing someone to the top job.

Why it matters: The CRCC announced a probe of the RCMP's Community-Industry Response Group in March 2023 following a flurry of public complaints after the unit launched a large-scale enforcement action against Wet’suwet’en-led opposition to the Coastal GasLink pipeline. The federal government passed legislation in October 2024 to create the new agency that would absorb the CRCC and would also review complaints against the Canada Border Services Agency. In October, a spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree’s office said the government was "in the process" of appointing a new CRCC chair. Requests for information from the ministry were not returned by the time of publishing.

Chantelle Bellrichard has the full story here

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