While it’s always at least a little windy in Prince Edward County, we’ve got a special weather statement in effect from this afternoon through Tuesday. I’ll have more after sports.
US President Donald Trump’s weekend call for help to open and keep the Strait of Hormuz safe for oil tanker transport has so far been met with a muted response. Trump specifically called on China, France, Japan, South Korea and the United Kingdom to send military support to the region, but none of those countries have agreed to the ask. In the meantime, the price of oil continued to hover around the $100 per barrel mark in overnight trading.
The Bank of Canada is widely expected to leave its benchmark interest rate at 2.25 percent on Wednesday for the third consecutive time. At the same time, economists expect Governor Tiff Macklem to signal that the bank is monitoring the situation closely and is prepared to adjust interest rates if necessary, as the surge in global oil prices has reignited concerns about inflation. The price of a barrel of crude has risen more than 40 percent over the past two weeks, as the war in the Middle East has largely closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which around a fifth of global oil supplies typically travel. That’s pushed up gasoline prices and airfares in Canada, and could increase the price of food and other products, particularly if the conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran stretches on through March and into April.
The leaders of Canada, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland have announced plans to band together and form a bloc of middle powers to influence world affairs, but they offered few details on how they would make that happen. Prime Minister Mark Carney joined prime ministers from the other five countries in a summit yesterday in Oslo. All six talked about deepening their co-operation and using their status as a group of Arctic countries to be a voice in NATO, the European Union and other multinational organizations. Carney heads to London today for a meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and an audience with King Charles III.
The 98th Academy Awards took place last night in Los Angeles, hosted by Conan O’Brien. Some of the winners include: Amy Madigan, Best Supporting Actress; Sean Penn, Best Supporting Actor; Frankenstein for Costume Design, Makeup, and Production Design; One Battle After Another for Best Adapted Screenplay, Sinners with Best Original Screenplay; Paul Thomas Anderson for Best Director, Michael B Jordan for Best Actor, Jesse Buckley for Best Actress; and One Battle After Another for Best Picture.
And, the National Film Board-produced short, ‘The Girl Who Cried Pearls’ took home the Oscar for Best Animated Short.
SPORTS
Toronto Marlies call-up Bo Groulx had two goals for the big club as the Toronto Maple Leafs were in action last night, in Minneapolis to face the Wild. Morgan Reilly opened the scoring with his 9th of the season and Matthew Knies potted his 18th for a 4-2 win.
Brandon Ingram had a game-high 34 points as the Toronto Raptors upset the Detroit Pistons 119-108 yesterday at Scotiabank Arena. RJ Barrett added 27 points and six rebounds as Toronto won back-to-back games. The win helped the Raptors hang on to sixth in the Eastern Conference.
Round two of the Formula One World Championship this weekend and 4-time champion Max Verstappen is unhappy with the sport’s new regulations, referring to them as a joke, and comparing them to playing the video game Mario Kart. Unfortunately, Max retired from Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix due to car issues, but it’s hard to argue against him. Incidentally, the race was won by Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli, followed by team mate George Russell and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton.
Sticking with Formula One, the sport’s governing body announced the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabia Grands Prix, both due to take place next month. The FIA cited the current unrest in the Middle East as the reason. No word on whether the final two rounds in Qatar and Abu Dhabi will go ahead.
And, although it’s still a couple of weeks away, the Blue Jays announced yesterday that Kevin Gausman will take the mound as the team’s opening day pitcher. The Jays will welcome the Oakland Athletics to Rogers Centre to start the season on March 27th.
