Trump Announces 50% Tariffs, U.S. Ambassador in Alberta | CTV News Edmonton at Six for July 20, 2026

Tonight on CTV News at 6, aftermath a tornado tears through west central Alberta. When we just ran for the basement one and hid and about 30 seconds later it was over. Rocky Mountain House thankful injuries or worse were avoided. Amazing how much power a tornado has and how lucky the town is that it only hit a very small segment. Repeated rounds of severe weather taking a toll on Edmonton. It's pretty surreal I didn't think I would ever kayak on a road but there is no more road it's And fighting crime and cancer a special partnership between police and some strong brave kids. When we get to where the red surges and we're like the guests of honor. Well if it isn't one thing it's another. First we had the big storms over the weekend now we have smoke in the Edmonton area. The good thing is it will clear and we will see sunnier skies will go throughout tomorrow and the temperatures are set to climb. I will have those full forecast details coming up. Good evening a family in central Alberta is picking up the pieces after a tornado tore through their property damaging and destroying several buildings. The cleanup is expected to take weeks if not months. Amanda Anderson reports from Rocky Mountain House. Just all of a sudden you could hear a whirring sound and then bang and that's when we just ran for the basement went and hid and about 30 seconds later it was over. 30 seconds and this is the destruction Bryn Hansen and his grandmother looked outside to see. It was crazy I didn't know how to react even. They weren't hurt but couldn't go outside initially because a power pole had fallen right outside the house. Four vehicles and several buildings were damaged some beyond repair. Their shop which once stood in this spot was ripped clear off its foundation. We're just thankful it didn't hit the house really you still have somewhere to live. On the street leading to their family farm crews are working to clear down trees. Amazing how much power a tornado has you know and how lucky the town is that it only hit a very small segment of our town if it was you know 200 meters west we would have been in a lot different situation. Several people captured video of the tornado. Millie Toledo was at work when it hit. It was really scary for me just to see it through my own eyes. The Northern Tornadoes Project says this is the worst tornado season in about a decade. From 2017 onwards we have never had more than 23 tornadoes in Alberta until this year and we have 26 this year and it's July. There's still around a month of peak tornado season. Cleanup alone on the Hanson farm is expected to take a few weeks even with dozens of family and community members here helping. But since Hanson's grandparents didn't have insurance they're hoping to raise money to rebuild and make repairs through a GoFundMe. The community's been a lot of help that's I really appreciate it. It's been hard times so happy to have all the help. The Northern Tornadoes Project still has a team on the ground surveying damage. They're looking at an area from southwest of Rocky Mountain House to north of Codner which is about 10 minutes from here. They expect to release more information about the tornado's path, its width and rating on Tuesday. Amanda Anderson, CTV News, Rocky Mountain House. This summer's record-breaking rain is making its mark on city infrastructure with erosion, flooding and bridge closures. CTV's Marian Baldez-Carletti has more on the toll the weather is taking on Edmonton. This isn't a paddling adventure Raft Hendirenda planned this summer. It's pretty surreal I didn't think I would ever kayak on a road but there is no more road it's now a creek. Six weeks ago Horseshoe Creek and 137th Avenue looked like this. Now the road has further eroded with more water flowing through. Epcorp says it's working to pump out all that water. It looks like they're doing lots but really they're not moving a lot of water and it shows because the water level is not going down. It's just some of the further damage caused by this weekend's rainstorm from downed trees to flooded roads. That rain created a pond in the Yellowhead underpass on 82nd Street leaving people and cars stranded. The city also closed the high-level bridge west sidewalk due to a slope failure when engineers says the damage can create a domino effect. One failure could impact when the power goes maybe the pump doesn't but it's just that there is interconnectivity between this infrastructure. Bayat says it's not about construction quality. Start for example for road infrastructure water is number one enemy. And it's an enemy that's hitting Edmonton hard. What we are talking is not about the failure what we are talking about road strength. If we are basically putting more than what we designed it for it's going to impact the infrastructure. EPCOR says it's trying to temporarily solve the water issues at Horseshoe Creek while working on a long-term solution. Meanwhile the city says it won't know the full-term effects of all the flooding until full engineering assessments are done. It says most regular operations have resumed on roads. Miriam Baldes-Carletti, CTV News, Edmonton. The city of St Albert is starting to scale back its flood response as water levels recede. The city is removing barriers installed along flooded trails near the Sturgeon River. The Kingswood boat dock is now open. The city says it's shifting from flood mitigation to recovery. It also says it needs time to evaluate the damage before restoration can begin. We'll have to wait till the river levels recede a bit more before we can fully assess. But we are seeing things like we've seen some small sinkholes. We're watching some of the trees because some of the trees have a you know they might have a bit of a lean to them some of some of the street lights along the trails. We expect there might be some cracking in some of the trails as well so. The city doesn't expect the damage to be too serious. It says people still need to be cautious in and around the river and on trails. Some people are looking for refunds after Saturday night's storm put a stop to multiple outdoor events in Edmonton. The Great Outdoors Comedy Festival stopped its show right before headliner Matt Reif was supposed to take the stage. People with single night tickets were offered complimentary passes to performances on Sunday. Meanwhile people at the Neon Skies Festival in Ice District also had to evacuate before headliner Kesha could perform. One woman says she reached out to the festival looking for compensation and has not heard back. We are guests. We are customers. We're here because we are the people who make Neon Skies what it is. Without customers, without guests, there is no Neon Skies. Thriller's Entertainment Group says it is reviewing next steps and will communicate directly with ticket holders when more information becomes available. The City of Edmonton is activating its emergency response for poor air quality. Smoke from wildfires in the Northwest Territories is moving into Alberta. The city says the air quality health index is expected to be seven or higher for a few days. The city will open public facilities and make water and N95 masks available for anyone who needs them. U.S. President Donald Trump says he's hitting Canada with a new 50 percent tariff on a wide range of goods. It comes on the same day as a visit by the U.S. Ambassador to Canada. He and Alberta's Premier spoke to an Edmonton crowd. Connor Hogg joins us now with more. Connor, what was said at today's Pacific Northwest Region Annual Economic Summit? Jeff, Alberta and Canada's economic future, trade with the U.S. and the upcoming referendum were all discussed today, hours before Donald Trump's tariff announcement. U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra discussed upcoming Kuzma renegotiations, key industries and the importance of Canada-U.S. relations. I think it would be helpful if we had 300, 400 people leave here, both sides of the border, talking about how important this trade relationship is. The U.S. Ambassador spoke about mutually beneficial industries for Canada and the U.S., such as energy and critical minerals, also naming aluminum, steel and the automotive sector, all of which the Trump administration has already applied tariffs to. Hoekstra also says Alberta stands to benefit from big tech investment, after its deal with MEDA for a data center in Sturgeon County. Premier Smith was asked about the fall's upcoming referendum and investors' reaction to potential uncertainty surrounding it. There's a certain segment of our Alberta population that want to file the divorce papers, and I want to go into couples counseling, so we're in that couples counseling mode right now, and I'm confident it'll work out as long as we can work through the issues one by one. And again, these conversations happened before Trump's newest round of tariffs, covering products from wine to hockey sticks to cement. The White House says they're in response to, quote, Canada's discriminatory treatment of American exports on cars, alcohol and dairy. The tariffs apply whether or not a good is covered under KUSMA, and will take effect in 30 days. Jeff. Connor, thank you. Conservative leader Pierre Poiliev is appointing a referendum lead for Alberta in an open letter. Poiliev is instructing Conservative caucus member Dame Lloyd to listen to Albertans and address their concerns. Last month, Prime Minister Mark Carney appointed Morgan Breitkreutz as the government's advisor on separation issues. You can now apply to vote by mail in October's referendum. Elections Alberta says all eligible voters can apply for a special ballot so they can submit their vote by mail. The chief electoral officer says this may give people more time to review the 10 referendum questions, or if someone is going to be away on the voting days. Once you apply, a special ballot package will be mailed to the address provided. It also includes a prepaid return envelope. Completed ballots must be returned by mail and received by October 16th. Returning offices will not accept ballots. Full rules and applications can be found on the Elections Alberta website. From the Ferris wheel to the field, This is a live shot of the Edmonton Expo Centre where players hope to score a world record for the world's longest soccer game. The event at K-Days is to raise money for Alberta Dreams, a charity grants dreams to children with severe chronic or life-threatening illnesses. Last year, organiser Chris Sheets stayed on a Ferris wheel for 54 hours, raising more than 70 grand. He says he's hoping for a repeat this year. The world record for longest soccer game is 60 hours. This one will last for 72. Sheets says there will be players of all skill levels and even some familiar faces. We've got Jean Principe, of course, great Italian soccer player. We've got Janice Irwin. We've got Jelena Marjanovic, the boxer from Price is Right, a local celebrity, Ashley Collingwool. We've got some pros, as I can see behind me, and then we've got a lot of novices and old men like me that'll be playing. All right, Corey is joining us now, filling in for Josh this week. Great to have you with us, Corey. It's a good thing that soccer game's not outside right now. It is smoky. Yeah, I bet there's a lot of outdoor things that are being rescheduled because of the smoke. Let's take a look at air quality. As we take a look at the watches and warnings map, the areas in blue, much of northern Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and even into northern BC and areas north of the province are under an air quality warning because of wildfire smoke that's been pushing south from areas north of us. We're seeing it all the way down to areas around Rimby, Drayton Valley, and Camrose. So poor air quality. As we take a look at the provincial map, we're at a 10 plus right now here in the city. We should see a little bit of an improvement for tomorrow, but it'll still be a moderate health risk for tomorrow. Areas to the north and to the west will remain a high health risk for tomorrow. And Red Deer and Calgary, although they are doing okay right now, we'll see their air quality deteriorate as we go throughout tomorrow. So what does a 10 plus mean? Well, that's a very high health risk. At-risk population, those with cardiovascular issues, breathing problems, avoid strenuous outdoor activities. The general population may be even doing the same because it is thick enough out there that it can even affect healthy lungs. So you really need to be careful out there. As we take a look at our forecast for tonight, we could see a few more showers overnight as well. 15 to start tomorrow, 24 for a high. And here's a look at your three-day forecast. 29 Wednesday, 30 on Thursday. So we do see the heat move back in. I'll take a look at your five-day forecast next time we chat weather. Sounds good. Thank you, Corey. Still ahead of Voice for Victims. I saw this as an opportunity to show people that it's not their shame to carry when they experience sexual assault. A woman abandons anonymity to speak about her alleged experience as a local chiropractor faces nearly a dozen charges. Also next. We put it through an AI program which takes our processing time, our viewing time from hours of footage down to minutes. New surveillance video of a Calgary boy missing five days as police use every tool in their search. Programming brought to you by James H. Brown Injury Lawyers, the heavy hitters of injury law. A woman who says she was sexually assaulted by a chiropractor in our city is hoping to encourage more possible victims to come forward. At the time of the alleged assault, the woman was in law school studying how the justice system can better support victims of these types of crimes. The chiropractor denies the allegations and is scheduled to challenge them in court next year. But first, he faces a series of professional hearings with one beginning tomorrow. Jeremy Thompson reports. And a warning for viewers, this story includes descriptions of sexual assault. The sign is still up for Bradley Basaraba's clinic on Jasper Avenue. But chiropractic appointments are on hiatus. The clinic up for sale while Basaraba's license is suspended. He was really attentive to me and made me feel believed and like he could do something about my condition. Olive Bensler went to Basaraba in 2024 for help with her long COVID symptoms. She says the first couple weeks of appointments went well. He got to know that I was a law student, that I was actively researching sexual assault law, that I was coming from a prosecution job headed into another criminal law position. But one day in April, Bensler says Basaraba crossed the line from professional to personal, making her uncomfortable as the appointment went on. He did some minor assessments while I was lying on my back. And then he told me to lie on my stomach. And he said, I'm going to adjust your hip. He placed his hand right at the top of my inner thigh, right at my vagina, basically, and put his thumb under my butt and did an adjustment. Bensler acknowledges on the spectrum of what constitutes sexual assault by the letter of the law. Her alleged experience may seem minor, but she says Basaraba's actions were unprofessional and inappropriate. He did not ask me to touch me in that way. He did not explain why he was going to do that. I absolutely did not consent to it. The College of Chiropractors of Alberta temporarily suspended Basaraba's license in the wake of Bensler's allegations. In the two years since the alleged assault, police have heard from 13 other women who claim Basaraba touched them inappropriately too. He's scheduled to face 11 counts of sexual assault at a trial in February, and there are parallel professional regulatory hearings happening this month with Basaraba's license to practice on the line. Inspired by her own research into sexual assault law, Bensler requested her name not be withheld during the hearing on July 21st. I saw this as an opportunity to show people that it's not their shame to carry when they experience sexual assault. Reports that two other women submitted to the college allege Basaraba lifted up the patient's shirt and or undid her bra during a spinal exam in January 2024. Another from June 2022 alleges Basaraba touched the patient's pubic bone and or vagina while treating a leg condition. It's Dr. Basaraba's position that the inappropriate touching did not happen. Some touching did, but it was part of a clinically recognized procedure. Basaraba's lawyer says the allegations have caused his client emotional, financial, and reputational damage. He denies all of them, and when it comes to Bensler's claim specifically... He did not do it. He was charged criminally for the same event, and that has been stayed, so it's no longer active. The Alberta Crown Prosecution Service confirms the prosecutor determined the criminal charge could not proceed. Bensler says a stay is not the same as an acquittal, and hopes that going through the professional hearing process publicly will encourage more women to come forward. It is never too late on charges like these to speak to authorities, and I think the more people we have involved in this process, the stronger the case is, and the more likely we get a positive outcome that protects the public. The College of Chiropractors has not made a decision on the professional misconduct allegations in front of it, and none of the criminal charges have been tested in court. Jeremy Thompson, CTV News, Edmonton. RCMP say a CFL player originally from Leduc was driving on the wrong side of the road, leading up to a deadly crash in Saskatchewan. CTV's Alison Bamford has this update. RCMP are now saying that Saskatchewan Roughriders team captain Jaden Dahlke was driving on the wrong side of the road, northbound in a southbound lane, when he fatally hit another vehicle. Officers say they found both alcohol and cannabis inside Dahlke's SUV. Mounties gave an update earlier today, saying they received a report about Dahlke's silver SUV prior to the crash. We received a report around 8.27pm from a business in Lumsden of a silver SUV leaving without paying for fuel that same day, about 30 minutes prior. Investigation has determined that this was the same silver SUV that was involved in the collision. The two-vehicle crash happened Saturday night on Highway 11, north of Regina, near Lumsden. The driver of the other vehicle, 22-year-old Bijma Rajagaru, was also killed. A GoFundMe page set up to help bring his body back to India, where his parents live, described Rajagaru as a deeply responsible son, honest friend and passionate musician. Dahlke, the 30-year-old linebacker from Leduc, Alberta, was signed by the riders in 2022. Neither vehicle had any passengers. Police say they are conducting autopsies and toxicology reports as part of the investigation. RCMP don't have the results of those back yet. Alison Bamford, CTV News, Saskatoon. Calgary police have released new video of an 11-year-old who's missing. Parker Wells has been missing since Thursday. Police released this video taken Thursday, hoping someone will recognize him. Parker is non-verbal and was last seen at his care home in Calgary's North End. Police are using artificial intelligence to comb through hours and hours of CCTV footage. We have taken our surveillance and we've put it through an AI program which takes our processing time, our viewing time, from hours of footage down to minutes. That has drastically speeded up our ability to review CCTV and it is an invaluable tool. We also have the ability to map out our searchers' footsteps. Still, AI is causing issues for the investigation as well. Investigators are asking anyone creating or distributing images of Parker to not share them as it hinders the case. An Alberta mother wants to see changes to Alberta's emergency alert system after the disappearance of the 11-year-old. Jen Ball has a non-verbal autistic son. She says vulnerable children who go missing should trigger a faster public alert, even when there's no evidence of abduction. After Parker disappeared, it took more than 48 hours before an alert was issued. Ball has started a petition calling for expanded criteria or a separate alert system for vulnerable children. It's honestly heartbreaking to think about them going missing and I think that they're not being an amber alert right away. I think, and maybe I speak for the rest of the city and the world, I didn't truly understand what an amber alert was. I truly thought that it was a missing child point-blank period. I didn't realize that there was such a gap in the system, in that it's only for child abductions. The Missing Children's Society of Canada says there's an alternative alert system. The Child Search Network sends targeted text alerts in high-risk cases, but users must opt in, unlike automatic amber alerts. Still ahead, swimming, cycling and sprinting at Horlock. There's like six races in one. Whether they were fighting for Olympic points or just a personal best, athletes have returned to the new and improved park, and later. It's just really awesome because like not many people get to do this and well, this is like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. A pair of girls get the chance to learn what it's like to be a Mountie. Well, after another stormy weekend, we add to the rainfall totals and we are getting up there. It has been a wet 2026. We continue to see those numbers climb. We'll talk about your rainfall amounts after the commercial break. Also, air quality and our five and 10-day forecast. Programming brought to you by Federated Co-ops. Find your summer sweepstakes. Unlock your chances to win at your local co-op. Programming brought to you by James H. Brown Injury Lawyers, the heavy hitters of injury law. Newly renovated Horlock Park is once again hosting world-class athletes. This weekend, they tested their training at the World Triathlon Championship. Curtis Goodrum reports. A 750-meter swim around Horlock Park. A 20-kilometer bike ride. And a five-kilometer run to declare the winner. A triathlon. A test of many participants' endurance and preparedness. There's like six races in one. There's a lot of mental preparation around how do you have your gear set up and how do you make sure that you transition between each of those three sports accordingly. Jesse Meyer considers himself an amateur at the sport but trains for months to be fit enough to compete. Got to figure out how you're going to fit in some training for swimming and running and cycling and also try to do a little bit of lifting or yoga on top of that. And for me, it's 5 a.m. Three-time Olympian Tyler Mislawchuk was fighting for Olympic points. The Canadian athlete got second in a tight finish. That's a sport, it's seconds here and there. And anytime you're on the podium, it's pretty damn good. I would have liked to win at home but I can't complain. A lot of these triathletes here are national championships in running, cycling or swimming on its own and then they combine them all together and they do three in a row. Organisers say triathlons are often seen as a milestone achievement but many who compete once tend to stay in the sport. And then they come into the sport and very often they're hooked. Once they try one and they try that multi-sport experience of combining swimming, biking and running together then it just becomes a staple of their training and their life. Myers says every triathlon he does is a family affair. For my family, it's kind of a full circle moment. I've been competing in triathlons for a number of years now and now my kids are part of TriChamps, a local triathlon organisation. Edmonton is set to host the World Triathlon Multi-Sport Championships for the first time next year. Curtis Goodrum, CTV News, Edmonton. The Edmonton Valley Zoo is looking for names for its three arctic wolf pups. The zoo is accepting ideas on a post on its Facebook page until Sunday. Some suggestions so far are nature-inspired like bluebell, lily and rose or snow, ice and smoke. There are also pop culture inspirations. Valko is one of the most popular. That's the name of a character from the mobile game Love and Deep Space with wolf characteristics. All right, back to weather, Corey. You know, I've heard a lot of people say in the last month or so, you know, we've got all this rain, it's so wet but at least it's not smoky. Yeah, if it's one thing, it's another thing and we haven't really had that many smoky days. We had one a little while ago and now today but the good thing is it should improve but we've had a lot of rain, Jeff. Take a look at this. This is our average July rainfall, 83 millimetres. That's what we see on average so far this July, 180 millimetres. Some areas may have seen more because a lot of this is from big storms. We saw some of these storms drop a lot of rain and north sides of the city, the south side, nothing and then last Saturday, more of the city getting kind of a lot of rain at the same time. So about 180 millimetres. Where does that put us? That puts us this year so far 574 millimetres. June 1st, July 19th, 451 of that. So we've seen a lot of rain in the last month, almost month and a half. Annual precip is 423 so we have surpassed that by a good amount already. We're not done with July. There's a little bit of rain, possibly some storms come Saturday. Maybe even a few showers tonight. Shouldn't be anything too significant tonight though. 21 right now. Wind's coming in from the north and that is bringing all the smoke into the region. We'll see a little bit of a shift in the wind tomorrow. So a little bit of smoke tomorrow but it'll be more of a southerly wind so it should start to push it back. As we take a look at winds throughout much of the province coming in from the north, northwest areas to the north and north of us, already starting to see a little bit of a shift for Grand Prairie and Peace River. But again, winds from the north bringing the smoke in but we should see a bit of more of a southerly flow tomorrow and that should push some of it back. As we take a look at the sky conditions, we're under mostly clear sky. You just can't tell because of all the smoke. Up towards Peace River, High Prairie, Grand Cache, we've got some rain and showers there. We're seeing some off just around Edson to the south of us, north of Red Deer, north of Rocky. With that said, as we go throughout the later part of the evening in the overnight period, we too possibly could see some showers. 21 is what we reached today for a high. Average seasonal high is 24. We're going to go close to average and above it for tomorrow but more so in the days to follow. So let's take a look at the forecast for tonight. Chance of scattered showers later in the evening and overnight period. 15 to start tomorrow morning. 24 for a high for tomorrow. So seasonal tomorrow and then above it after that. We should see some bluer sky for tomorrow. This smoke, as I said, with more of a southerly flow should see it push back a little bit. 29 on Wednesday. 30 Thursday as well as Friday. So feeling the heat once again. So we'll have to keep an eye on Saturday. A chance of some thunderstorms late in the day. Could see some action with that colder air moving in. Could be a repeat of what we've seen as far as some storms here in the Edmonton area. So again, we'll keep an eye on Saturday. As far as the forecast after that, still pretty decent. As we head into Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, mid and high 20s. Followed by a little bit of a cool off after that. But the good thing is we should see a little bit more clearing and some healthier air quality for tomorrow and more so into Wednesday. Jeff. All right. Thank you, Corey. Still ahead on CTV News at six. Disaster politics. I get frustrated just listening these a bunch of rubbish. Canadian leaders fire back at their American counterparts over wildfire smoke threats and. A tale of two post World Cup experiences. Spain celebrates as Argentinians riot. Stay with us. Your Morning Minute is brought to you by Co-op. So tell us about Find Your Summer Sweepstakes and how people can win big this summer. Absolutely. So the Find Your Summer Sweepstakes is a summer sweepstakes here at Co-op. This sweepstakes gives customers the opportunity to come into our location, purchase items, gain entries to for a chance to win multiple different cool items and gifts and prizes up to and including our grand prize, which is a choice between $75,000 or Ford F-150. We do have items around the store that are marked as an extra entry. What is one tip that you would give customers right now? Don't throw out that receipt. Make sure you hold on to receipt every time you come into your purchase, at least $50 or more. After that, you can make sure you go and upload that to the Co-op website or the Find Your Summer dot CRS website. Once again, this is the Find Your Summer Sweepstakes here at Co-op and all participating locations. If you want more information, head to the website below. Ontario's premier had a message for Donald Trump today. Doug Ford says instead of complaining about wildfire smoke, Washington should be helping. CTV's Michael Couture reports. Send up some water bombers. Send up some wildland firefighters. Ontario Premier Doug Ford says instead of the threat of tariffs, President Trump should send help to fight the wildfires. It came after the U.S. leader said he spoke to Prime Minister Mark Carney about the smoke that was blanketing some American cities. We got to stop the fires up there. If we can help them, we'll help them. But maybe they should pay us some damages or something or we should do some tariffs. That suggestion drew this response from Ford. Rather than criticize and threaten Canada, your closest friends, maybe one day you're going to need our help like you did last year and we deployed the people. I get frustrated just listening to these bunch of rubbish. Prime Minister Carney did talk to Trump at Sunday's soccer match. In a statement, his office said the Prime Minister provided an update on the wildfire management and the comprehensive approach taken to ensure the safety of all Canadians and Americans. You have to take this threat seriously even though it is nonsense. Brian Clough is the former Deputy Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He believes Canadian officials have been reaching out to their U.S. counterparts. They are reacting calmly, factually, providing information to the Americans to try to bring the temperature down. A sign that perhaps it's working. Pete Hoekstra made a toast to the Canada-U.S. relationship over some American whiskey in Edmonton. While he didn't weigh in on Kuzma negotiations, he was optimistic about bilateral trade. We're going to end up with a deal between two large trading partners. And it seems the latest threats haven't derailed other joint projects. Hoekstra said he'll be at Friday's opening of the Gordie Howe Bridge with Canadian officials. Mike Lecoutre, CTV News, Ottawa. Donald Trump's suggestions of wildfire mismanagement have some asking whether Canada should be doing more to prevent wildfires. CTV's Heather Wright reports. Nearly 1,000 wildfires are burning across Canada right now. Most of them caused by lightning and many considered out of control. These fires are so intense that you almost can't fight them. You almost have to move people away from the fire zone and even water bombers can't do it. It's almost you need weather. I mean, weather caused many of them and weather has to put them out. And while fires are part of the natural ecosystem in northern Canada, climate change means summers are warmer, the vegetation is drier, making fires more extreme. We have had bad fire seasons in the past, but we have bad fire seasons more often now because of climate change. That's quite obvious. This year is already rivaling 2023, the most destructive fire season in Canadian history. Thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes and air quality has been impacted in major cities across North America. But forestry professor David Martel refutes claims that these fires are caused by forest mismanagement. There's no truth whatsoever to those. We know how to manage forests and we know how to manage fire. But however, we cannot extinguish every fire that occurs and sometimes these agencies get overwhelmed. Experts say the biggest contributing factor to intensifying forest fires is climate change, but there are things communities can do to protect themselves. That could include constructing fire breaks, clearing debris along the perimeter of town and building homes with fire safe material. Heather Wright, CTV News, Toronto. In southeastern BC, the entire city of Kimberley has been placed on evacuation alert because of an out-of-control wildfire. The nearby fire is nearly six square kilometres in size. Lightning strikes sparked new flames over the weekend. More than 8,000 people have been warned to be ready to leave at a moment's notice if conditions get worse. A hero's welcome for the World Cup champions' Spanish men's national soccer team as they arrived in Madrid. Spain was dominant in what on paper looks like a close 1-0 victory over Argentina. Spain's Ferran Torres scored the eventual winner in extra time, giving Spain its second men's World Cup title. And World Cup heartbreak turned into violence in Argentina. Following their team's loss to Spain, thousands of angry fans in Buenos Aires hurled rocks and bottles at riot police. Officers responded with tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowds. At least 15 people were arrested and dozens injured. Still ahead, grocery price increases despite inflation slowing. What's driving the sticker shock after the break? Wake up with us at CTV Your Morning Edmonton for the latest local news, up-to-the-minute weather, traffic updates and lifestyle entertainment. There's no brighter way to start your day. CTV Your Morning Edmonton, weekdays 6 to 9. Watch live on Crave. Looking at the market numbers, the Canadian dollar down, trading just above the 71 cents U.S. Oil was up 70 cents to around $82 a barrel. Gold saw an almost $3 drop. On the stock market, the TSX lost 303 points, the Dow Jones 307 on the day. An inflation slowdown in Canada may be short-lived. Inflation in June dropped to 2.8 percent year over year, driven by the slower rate of gas price increases. But as CTV's Geneviève Beauchemin reports, the prices of many staples are still rising. The shopping list of price increases for grocery staples in June includes fresh and frozen chicken up 5.7 percent compared to May. And bread rolls and buns cost 6 percent more. Overall, the price tag to feed a family continues to rise. June marking the 17th consecutive month that the inflation in grocery prices outpaced the all-item consumer price index. Over the last five years, prices have increased 20 percent. Grocery prices have increased 30 percent. In June, the price of fresh fruits like grapes helped lessen the gap. And the large increases of the cost of tomatoes of the last year and a half have slowed. Still one that cost $1.20 then now cost $1.80. And there could be a wild card for upcoming fruit and vegetable prices. And that's whether wildfire smoke impacts crops. For tomatoes, they will be forming and growing, and that could make for smaller tomatoes or fewer tomatoes. So we don't know. It's very difficult to measure. Now that higher price tag has widespread implications. It may be mid-summer, but back-to-school shopping is already on. It was about $130 and I'm not done. Aid groups say families struggling to fill grocery baskets have little left to fill backpacks. When you have to choose between paying your bills, between paying your rent, or with feeding your family, you know, school supply is down the list. And while the cost of grocery baskets were up 3.9 percent in June, the overall inflation slowed to 2.8 percent, in large part driven by gas prices. In June, there were diplomatic talks and an interim ceasefire that was announced in the conflict in Iran. Renewed tensions have already seen prices of the pump rise this month. And the cost of travel-related services also went up, particularly in Toronto and Vancouver, World Cup host cities where hotel room costs rose. Geneviève Beauchemin, CTV News, Montreal. Nearly 500,000 Alberta families will see an increase in Canada's child benefit payments. The payments are going up about two percent for eligible parents. Parents who have children under six years old will receive a little more than $8,100 a child. Parents with children between six and 17 years old can receive around $6,800 a child. It works out to increases of between $135 to $160 a year. The benefit has been adjusted to inflation. A dairy company is apologizing for a milk shortage in Edmonton. Saputo, the company behind Dairyland Milk, says it recently experienced an electrical issue at its production facility in Edmonton. The company says the issue has been fixed and it's working to get its milk back on store shelves. It expects everything will return to normal by the end of this week. Some stores are limiting how much milk customers can buy. Saputo apologized for the inconvenience and says it appreciates the patience of its customers. The provincial government is reminding people about the dangers of invasive fish with a picture of a giant goldfish. This goldfish was recovered from a stormwater pond in Okotoks. It's about 30 centimetres across, roughly the size of a dinner plate. The province says you should never release aquarium pets, water garden plants, live food, sport fish or live bait into Alberta waters and storm drains. Invasive species pose a big risk to native ecosystems. The province has an aquatic invasive species hotline to report any sightings. Still ahead, partners in fighting crime. At first I was a bit nervous of taking off but then once I got up it was beautiful and very nice. A pair of girls play police for the day thanks to a partnership between the RCMP and Kids with Cancer Society. Stay with us, we've got another full night of great shows for you tonight on CTV. From running robots to flying in helicopters, two girls are learning what it's like to be a Mountie. The pair of co-commanding officers are both fighting crime and cancer. Ten-year-old Maya Ferguson and 11-year-old Haley Nettleuck are getting an experience they'll never forget. Both girls are diagnosed with cancer. The Kids with Cancer Society is working with the RCMP and Edmonton International Airport to give the girls the full RCMP experience. It's just really awesome because like not many people get to do this and well this is like a once in a lifetime opportunity. We play a very very small role but it's whatever that we possibly can do. It's an absolute honour for us to be a part of this and just maybe for two days they get to feel something different than they've seen in the past. Deputy Commissioner Daru gets the rest of the day off. For today and tomorrow the girls will replace him as co-commanding officers of the RCMP in Alberta. You know we were talking earlier they were thinking maybe longer lunch breaks for everybody, a shorter day I don't know or maybe they're going to make the work harder but you know it's yeah it's just a great opportunity and we're so happy to be part of it. Their first order a helicopter ride around the airport. You guys ready? At first I was a bit nervous of taking off but then once I got up it was beautiful and very nice. The co-CEOs were given a hero's goodbye as they boarded the plane to Regina. They're headed to the RCMP's training center depot for the graduates' dinner with the newest Mounties. And we get to wear the red surges and we're like the guests of honour. Noah Warshog, CTV News, Edmonton. Taking a look at your five-day forecast for tomorrow we should see some bluer skies still a little bit of smoke but it's going to be clearing quite a bit compared to where we are at today and we'll see a little bit of that sun come through but then we should be under bluer sky more so even for Wednesday 29 a pair of 30s for Thursday and Friday and we'll keep an eye on Saturday. At this point there's a risk of thunderstorms we know how that's turned out the last few times we've had them so again we'll keep an eye on Saturday but until then we're gonna start to clear out and start to heat back up. Sounds great. Thank you Corey and thank you very much for sharing your time with us. For news anytime check out our website ctvnewsedmonton.ca. Have a great night.