Managing Trump: Minnesota & Greenland & the world: 1) (Updated) Smith, Carney say Trump team must respect Canadian sovereignty; 2)New videos show Alex Pretti scuffle with federal officers in Minneapolis 11 days before his death; 3)Trump administration’s trust and credibility tested in wake of Pretti’s death in Minneapolis; Ex-FIFA president Sepp Blatter joins those calling for boycott of World Cup in United States

1)(Updated) Smith, Carney say Trump team must respect Canadian sovereignty

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By David Baxter, Jan. 29, 2026.

Eby calls reported meeting between Alberta separatists and U.S. officials ‘treason’

Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith both said Thursday the United States needs to respect Canadian sovereignty following reports that leaders of the Alberta separatist movement met with American government officials seeking their support.

But neither agreed with British Columbia Premier David Eby’s description of those meetings as “treason.”

Eby, citing a report in The Financial Times, told reporters before the first ministers’ meeting on Thursday that it’s completely inappropriate for a group to ask a foreign power for help in breaking up Canada.

“Now, I understand the desire to hold a referendum, to talk about the issues we want to talk about in Canada,” Eby said.

“But to go to a foreign country and to ask for assistance in breaking up Canada, there’s an old-fashioned word for that. And that word is treason.”

The Financial Times, citing sources, reported that leaders of the Alberta Prosperity Project have met three times with U.S. State Department officials in Washington since April.

Pressed to describe how they viewed those meetings, Smith and Carney did not call them treasonous.

“I would expect that the U.S. administration would respect Canadian sovereignty and that they would confine their discussion about Alberta’s democratic process to Albertans and to Canadians,” Smith said.

“And I will raise that with my delegate in Washington so he can raise it with members of the administration. And I’ll raise it with my delegate with Ottawa so he could raise it with the U S. ambassador.”

Carney initially sidestepped the question, opting instead to discuss his work with the premiers on economic policy. When pressed, he parroted Smith’s words.

“I fully associate myself with Premier Smith’s comments just then. I expect the U.S. administration to respect Canadian sovereignty,” he said. “I’m always clear in my conversations with President Trump to that effect and then move on to what we can do together.”

Carney said Trump hasn’t raised the separatist movements in Quebec or Alberta in any of their discussions.

Smith said she has always been clear that she and her cabinet support “a strong and sovereign Alberta within a united Canada.” But she said polls suggest about a million Albertans have “lost hope” after what she called a decade of relentless attacks by the federal government on Alberta’s resource economy.

“I’m not going to demonize or marginalize a million of my fellow citizens when they’ve got legitimate grievances,” she said.

Jeff Rath, a lawyer for the Alberta Prosperity Project who attended the meetings with U.S. officials, pushed back on the claim that his actions amounted to treason or were criminal in any way.

‘We are private citizens. We don’t have the authority to enter into any agreement on behalf of the province of Alberta,” he said in an interview.

“We have not entered into any agreements with the United States with regard to anything. We have not solicited funds from them. We are not receiving funds from them, et cetera, et cetera.”

Rath said he wouldn’t disclose the names of U.S. officials he’s met with but the conversations were held with the U.S. State Department.

He said plans are being finalized for another meeting next month.

The Criminal Code defines treason as using violence to overthrow a federal or provincial government, or sharing military or scientific information with an agent of a foreign state that could harm Canada.

High treason is a separate offence that involves attempting to kill, maim or imprison the monarch. It also applies to enlisting in a war against Canada or assisting an enemy who is at war with Canada.

When asked if department officials met with representatives of the Alberta Prosperity Project, a U.S. State Department official speaking on background said in an email that the department meets regularly with “civil society types.”

“As is typical in routine meetings such as these, no commitments were made,” the official wrote.

A White House official shared a similar response on background — that its officials meet with civil society groups and no support or commitments were promised.

Rath has said before that his organization’s discussions with U.S. officials have touched on securing a $500 billion loan or fund from the U.S. to help Alberta transition into becoming a country.

He said Thursday those discussions were a hypothetical “academic exercise” and did not amount to direct solicitation of foreign funding.

“We intend to put together a dossier that would include everything, including the ultimate deal memo, that we can just hand over to the Alberta government following a successful referendum,” he said.

“Whether it’s through credit swaps or some sort of bond issuance through Goldman’s or J.P. Morgan, we’re looking at all of the options.”

Eby said news of the meeting is especially alarming because Donald Trump is “not particularly respectful to Canada’s sovereignty.”

New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt said she believes Albertans ultimately will choose to remain in Canada, while Ontario Premier Doug Ford called the reported meeting “unacceptable” and “unethical.”

“We’re one country and we should all be sticking together. We shouldn’t have groups going around the federal government’s back or the province’s back to negotiate something with the U.S.,” Ford said Thursday while entering the meeting with Carney and the other premiers.

“We all know where President Trump stands. He wants Canada and that’s not going to happen. We’ll fight with every tool we have.”

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said recently Alberta would be a “natural partner” for the U.S., pointing to the province’s resource wealth and desire to build a new pipeline to the West Coast.

“I think we should let them come down into the U.S., and Alberta’s a natural partner for the U.S.,” Bessent told right-wing TV station Real America’s Voice on Jan. 23.

Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said Thursday he would not be seeking Washington’s help to hold a referendum in Quebec.

Speaking in French at a caucus in meeting south of Quebec City, St-Pierre Plamondon said his party has “no direct connection” with the Trump administration.

“Are we soliciting anything? The answer is no,” he said.

The PQ leader commended the Alberta independence movement, which he called “vibrant.”

“The mere fact that citizens, or a movement, meet with American elected officials does not constitute foreign influence,” he said.

“I don’t know whether Alberta or Quebec will achieve independence first. Can we help each other? I think we can at least talk to each other.”

The Alberta independence movement is collecting signatures in an attempt to initiate a referendum on whether Alberta should separate from Canada.

Mitch Sylvestre, who is spearheading the petition for a referendum, said on Jan. 23 he doesn’t think anyone in his movement wants to join the U.S.

— With files from Jack Farrell in Edmonton, Kelly Malone in Washington and Caroline Plante in St-Georges, Que.

2)New videos show Alex Pretti scuffle with federal officers in Minneapolis 11 days before his death

Courtesy Barrie360.com and The Associated Press

By Michael Biesecker And Jesse Bedayn, January 29, 2026

This image taken from video by Max Shapiro shows Alex Pretti, left, scuffling with federal immigration officers in Minneapolis on Jan. 13, 2026. (Max Shapiro via AP)

Alex Pretti was forcefully taken to the ground by federal immigration agents after kicking out the tail light of their vehicle during a Minneapolis protest 11 days before he was shot and killed by Border Patrol officers, videos that emerged Wednesday show.

The Jan. 13 scuffle was captured in a pair of videos that show Pretti shouting an expletive at the federal officers and struggling with them. His winter coat comes off when he’s on the ground and he either breaks free or the officers let him go, and he scurries away.

When he turns his back to the camera, what appears to be a handgun is visible in his waistband. At no point do the videos show Pretti reaching for the gun, and it is unclear whether the federal agents saw it.

A person with knowledge of the incident confirmed to The Associated Press that the man in the videos is Pretti and that he had told his family of the confrontation. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss matters sensitive to the family.

The new videos immediately rekindled the national debate about the death of Pretti, 37, an intensive care nurse at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center. Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, posted one of the videos on X and commented, “Just a peaceful legal observer.”

Lawyer says new videos don’t excuse shooting

Steve Schleicher, a Minneapolis-based attorney representing Pretti’s parents, said the earlier altercation in no way justified the officers fatally shooting Pretti on Saturday.

“A week before Alex was gunned down in the street — despite posing no threat to anyone — he was violently assaulted by a group of (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents,” Schleicher said in a written statement. “Nothing that happened a full week before could possibly have justified Alex’s killing at the hands of ICE on Jan 24.”

Homeland Security Investigations is reviewing the new videos and incident, a spokesperson with the department said. It’s not known if any of the officers involved were also there when Pretti was killed.

Last weekend’s fatal shooting occurred on a sidewalk next to the street where Pretti had been videoing immigration officers. In video taken by bystanders, one officer pushes him, then Pretti is taken to the ground and a half-dozen officers try to subdue him. One spots Pretti’s weapon, which he was licensed to carry, and shouts, “He’s got a gun.” Two officers then open fire and Pretti is killed.

Trump administration officials quickly reacted, saying Pretti had approached officers with a gun and attacked them.

The altercation and shooting was captured in multiple videos and showed Pretti never brandished his gun and didn’t assault any officer. He was holding his phone when he was shot in the back while on the ground.

The new videos from the week prior to the shooting came from two sources. One, published by the Minnesota Star Tribune and later obtained by the AP, was taken by Max Shapiro, a witness who filmed the interaction. The second was by a crew for The News Movement, an online media outlet.

Confrontation came amid whistles and shouts

Shapiro, an attorney in Minneapolis, recounted in an interview Wednesday that he saw over a Signal chat that immigration enforcement was in the area. Driving over, Shapiro parked half a block from officers and got out.

“The observers were pretty distraught and screaming,” he said, adding that the officers began trying to get the crowd back, but their directives were largely drowned out in whistles and shouts.

The video from The News Movement shows Pretti wearing glasses, a dark baseball cap and a winter coat yelling at federal vehicles, at one point appearing to spit and yell “trash” toward the driver’s side of a dark Ford Expedition with flashing red and blue lights.

As the vehicle pulls slowly away, Pretti kicks at the taillight and then delivers a second kick that shatters the red plastic and leaves the taillight dangling.

Shapiro began filming on his phone just after Pretti kicked out the taillight.

Both videos capture the rear door of the SUV swinging open and an immigration officer wearing a gas mask and helmet getting out. He starts walking toward Pretti.

The officer grabs Pretti’s shirt at his chest, pulling him back toward the vehicle as Pretti’s arms flail. The officer pulls Pretti back onto the street and down onto his knees, falling over Pretti in the scuffle.

Other masked and helmeted officers surround them and try to subdue Pretti. Others stand guard between them and a screaming crowd, before the officers set off tear gas canisters and withdraw.

After Pretti stumbles away, Shapiro walks over and hugs Pretti, asking if he is OK.

Pretti affirms that he is, before turning to others involved in the melee and asking: “Are we all OK? Are we all safe?”

Shapiro said he understands some will use the videos to try to vilify Pretti, but that he seemed like someone who cared deeply about what was happening to the people caught up in the Trump Administration’s deportation push.

“I’m no immigration policy expert,” Shapiro said. “But there has to be a better way to go about this.”

3)Trump administration’s trust and credibility tested in wake of Pretti’s death in Minneapolis

Courtesy Barrie360.com and The Associated Press

By Steven Sloan, January 27, 2026

Sen. Bill Cassidy didn’t simply criticize the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis.

Following the killing of Alex Jeffrey Pretti by a U.S. Border Patrol officer, the Louisiana Republican warned of broader implications for the federal government.

“The credibility of ICE and DHS are at stake,” Cassidy wrote in a social media post, referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security. “There must be a full joint federal and state investigation. We can trust the American people with the truth.”

Trust is one of a president’s most valuable currencies, especially in a time of crisis. During his second term, President Donald Trump has persistently undermined the trust and credibility of major universities, national law firms and media and taken punitive actions against them. His supporters largely either endorsed those actions or stayed mum.

Now the credibility question is aimed at his administration. While the criticism is not directly aimed at the president by his supporters, it is a sign that trust is eroding over some of his most important policies. Administration officials gave one account of the shooting in Minneapolis and contemporaneous video provided a decidedly different one.

In the hours after Pretti’s killing, top Trump officials including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem were quick to cast Pretti as an instigator who “approached” officers with a gun and acted violently. But videos from the scene show Pretti being pushed by an officer before a half-dozen agents descend on him.

During the scuffle, he held a phone but is never seen brandishing the 9mm semiautomatic handgun police say he was licensed to carry. The administration has said investigations are ongoing, though information hasn’t yet emerged to support some of the provocative initial claims.

“We trust our national leaders to tell us accurately about the world that we don’t experience directly but about which they have knowledge,” said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, the director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania. “If someone is credible in that role, then their description of reality should match your perception of reality if you’re a dispassionate, fair individual.”

The White House seemed to try to ease the conflict Monday. Trump and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz spoke and both suggested their conversation was productive. Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino, who has been at the center of the administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement surge nationwide, is expected to soon leave Minneapolis.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, meanwhile, sought to distance Trump from some of the initial claims about Pretti — including allegations that he was a domestic terrorist — noting they didn’t come from the president himself.

Still, lawmakers from both parties — including many Republicans — called for independent investigations and, perhaps most importantly, trust.

In calling for a “transparent, independent investigation,” Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, wrote to constituents online that “you’ve trusted me, and maintaining that trust matters.”

“I disagree with Secretary Noem’s premature DHS response, which came before all the facts were known and weakened confidence,” he wrote.

Feeding social media platforms with content

Trump and his team have spent much of his second term studiously feeding content to social media platforms to engage their most loyal supporters in ways that independent fact checkers have found to be distorted or baseless. During its immigration crackdown, the administration’s accounts have posted unflattering images of people being taken into custody.

The extent of efforts to manipulate images became clear last week when the White House posted a picture on its X page of civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong crying with her hands behind her back as she was escorted by a blurred person wearing a badge. The photo was captioned in all caps: “Arrested far-left agitator Nekima Levy Armstrong for orchestrating church riots in Minnesota.”

A photo posted by Noem’s account showed the same image with Levy Armstrong wearing a neutral expression.

During the 2024 campaign, Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, fuelled false claims online that Haitians in an Ohio community were abducting and eating pets. Pressed on the issue, Vance said he was amplifying the claims to draw attention to immigration policies advocated by Democrats.

“If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’m going to do,” Vance said at the time, quickly clarifying that he “created the focus that allowed the media to talk about this story and the suffering caused by policies.”

Trump is hardly the first president to face questions about trust.

Presidents and credibility

President Lyndon B. Johnson’s administration was undone by his handling of the Vietnam War, which ushered in an era of broad skepticism about Washington. Just 38% of Americans said last year that they trusted the federal government’s ability to handle domestic problems at least a fair amount, according to Gallup polling. That’s down from 70% in 1972.

Once they leave the White House, presidents are often candid about mistakes that eroded their credibility. In his memoir, President George W. Bush wrote about the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, which was a predicate for launching a deadly and costly war there.

“That was a massive blow to our credibility — my credibility,” he wrote. “No one was more shocked or angry than I was when we didn’t find the weapons. I had a sickening feeling every time I thought about it. I still do.”

President Joe Biden’s botched withdrawal from Afghanistan marked a turning point in his administration. And in her memoir of the 2024 campaign, his vice president, Kamala Harris, wrote of rejecting the Biden campaign’s talking points after his dismal debate performance.

“I was not about to tell the American people that their eyes had lied,” she wrote. “I would not jeopardize my own credibility.”

But none of that compares to the credibility challenge facing Trump, according to Barbara Perry, the co-director of the Presidential Oral History Program at the University of Virginia, who noted the sheer volume of lies and exaggerations that have emerged from his administration.

“Donald Trump is unique,” she said. “If you count up all of the times he has prevaricated, it would have to outweigh all other presidencies.”

4)Ex-FIFA president Sepp Blatter joins those calling for boycott of World Cup in United States

Courtesy Barrie360.com and The Associated Press

By Canadian Press, January 27, 2026

Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter on Monday backed a proposed fan boycott of World Cup matches in the United States because of the conduct of President Donald Trump and his administration at home and abroad.

Blatter was the latest international soccer figure to call into question the suitability of the United States as a host country. He called for the boycott in a post on X that supported Mark Pieth’s comments in an interview last week with the Swiss newspaper Der Bund.

Pieth, a Swiss attorney specializing in white-collar crime and an anti-corruption expert, chaired the Independent Governance Committee’s oversight of FIFA reform a decade ago. Blatter was president of the world’s governing body for soccer from 1998-2015; he resigned amid an investigation into corruption.

In his interview with Der Bund, Pieth said, “If we consider everything we’ve discussed, there’s only one piece of advice for fans: Stay away from the USA! You’ll see it better on TV anyway. And upon arrival, fans should expect that if they don’t please the officials, they’ll be put straight on the next flight home. If they’re lucky.”

In his X post, Blatter quoted Pieth and added, “I think Mark Pieth is right to question this World Cup.”

The United States is co-hosting the World Cup with Canada and Mexico from June 11-July 19.

The international soccer community’s concerns about the United States stem from Trump’s expansionist posture on Greenland, and travel bans and aggressive tactics in dealing with migrants and immigration enforcement protestors in American cities, particularly Minneapolis.

Oke Göttlich, one of the vice presidents of the German soccer federation, told the Hamburger Morgenpost newspaper in an interview on Friday that the time had come to seriously consider boycotting the World Cup.

Travel plans for fans from two of the top soccer countries in Africa were thrown into disarray in December, when the Trump administration announced an expanded ban that would effectively bar people from Senegal and Ivory Coast following their teams unless they already have visas. Trump cited “screening and vetting deficiencies” as the main reason for the suspensions.

Fans from Iran and Haiti, two other countries that have qualified for the World Cup, will be barred from entering the United States as well; they were included in the first iteration of the travel ban announced by the Trump administration.