U.S. President Donald Trump says he won’t be speaking with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz following the targeted shootings of two state officials because it would “waste time.”

One of the lawmakers and her husband were killed in the attacks.

Trump told reporters on Tuesday, while aboard Air Force One after leaving the G7 summit in Alberta early, that he would not be calling Walz because the Minnesota governor is “slick” and “whacked out.”

“I’m not calling him,” he added.

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‘The stuff of nightmares’: Minnesota shooting suspect ‘stalked his victims like prey,’ U.S. attorney says

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Trump denied claims — which he blamed on French President Emmanuel Macron — that he left because of heightened tensions between Iran and Israel.

“Publicity seeking President Emmanuel Macron, of France, mistakenly said that I left the G7 Summit, in Canada, to go back to D.C. to work on a ‘cease fire’ between Israel and Iran. Wrong! He has no idea why I am now on my way to Washington, but it certainly has nothing to do with a Cease Fire. Much bigger than that. Whether purposely or not, Emmanuel always gets it wrong. Stay Tuned!” he wrote on Truth Social early Tuesday morning.

It is customary for presidents to speak with elected officials to offer support in times of hardship.

“The guy doesn’t have a clue. He’s a mess. So, you know, I could be nice and call him, but why waste time?” Trump said of Walz.

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Over the weekend, Ontario Premier Doug Ford sent well wishes to the Minnesota governor, saying, “All of Ontario is thinking of the Hortman family and our friends in Minnesota,” for which Walz expressed his gratitude.

“My thanks to Premier Doug Ford of Ontario, who called to express his condolences to the Hortman family and the people of Minnesota. In times of tragedy, I’m heartened when people of different views and even different nations can rally together around our shared humanity,” he wrote on X on Monday.

Former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were shot dead in their Brooklyn Park home early Saturday.

Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were injured at their Champlin home, about 15 kilometres away.

Vance Boelter, 57, is accused of impersonating a police officer while carrying out the attack, which he carefully planned during several surveillance operations.

Boelter surrendered to police on Sunday after he was apprehended in a wooded area near his home following a two-day manhunt.

Acting U.S. attorney Joseph Thompson told reporters on Monday that Boelter took meticulous notes on the homes and people he was targeting in the lead-up to the fatal shootings.

Police recovered a list of 70 names from inside the fake police car that was left at the crime scene outside the Hortmans’ home, officials said Sunday.

The writings and list of names included prominent state and federal lawmakers and community leaders, along with abortion rights advocates, and information about health-care facilities, according to the officials.

Walz was the vice-presidential running mate for 2024 Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, who lost her bid for the presidency to Trump. During the campaign, Walz often branded Trump and other Republican politicians as “just weird.”

— With files from The Associated Press and Global News’ Michelle Butterfield.

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Toronto Police say the eastbound Gardiner Expressway is still closed on Tuesday morning after an alleged carjacking and police pursuit that saw one suspect jump from the expressway.

However, as of 7:30 a.m., police said the southbound DVP has reopened and the westbound Gardiner Expressway has also reopened.

The closure stems from an armed carjacking that occurred at around 11 p.m. Monday at the Shops at Don Mills, police said. The suspects then fled the scene and were pursued by officers south on the DVP.

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Police said the suspect vehicle stopped and the suspect got out and fled on foot, jumping off the Gardiner Expressway and falling onto Lake Shore Boulevard East below near Parliament Street.

Paramedics told Global News they took one person to hospital with serious, but non-life-threatening injuries.

Other suspects are believed to have fled in another vehicle, investigators said.

The Special Investigations Unit has been called in to investigate. The SIU is Ontario’s police watchdog and investigates incidents involving police and civilians who are seriously injured.

The southbound DVP and the Gardiner Expressway was closed overnight for several hours for the investigation.

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A newly released report from city staff says Toronto still has the authority to mandate new buildings meet certain climate and sustainability targets, despite concerns those powers could be undercut by a recent Ontario law.

The report set to go before the city’s executive committee today says there’s “no impact” to the city’s ability to apply its green standard to new development under the recently passed Bill 17, Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act.

Several environmental and industry groups have suggested the law may prevent municipalities from setting standards beyond what’s already required in the provincial building code.

Toronto’s green standard is considered a key plank of the city’s climate plan and is touted as a way to make new buildings more resilient to climate-fuelled extreme weather while cutting back on emissions.

Among other things, it requires new builds to retain stormwater to prevent flooding during extreme rainfall and have enough tree canopy to help stave off extreme heat. It also requires buildings to meet annual emissions targets, pushing developers to consider low-carbon heating options such as heat pumps over natural gas, and install parking spots for bikes and electric vehicles.

A spokesperson for Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Rob Flack did not directly say whether the bill would impact Toronto’s ability to enforce the standard, but she did say it was adding to building costs and slowing down construction.

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“Our government is focused on what the economics support, setting the same rules for everyone to get shovels in the ground to build more homes faster,” Alexandra Sanita wrote in a statement.

The Atmospheric Fund, a regional agency that supports climate solutions in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, has suggested green development standards may actually help accelerate development timelines by streamlining sustainability-related planning requirements into a single document with clear expectations.

In a letter to the province, it pointed to data that suggested Toronto and Pickering, two municipalities with green standards, have both seen their approval timelines improve in recent years, although they remain above the national average.

Bryan Purcell, a vice-president at The Atmospheric Fund who’s worked closely on green standards, says he was “somewhat surprised” but “very encouraged” by how definitive the city’s position was in the staff report. He says green standards are “so core” to Toronto’s climate objectives that “we can’t really afford to lose it.”

But he said the bill had generated enough confusion to possibly stall efforts by municipalities interested in pursuing their own version of the standard.

“I think the biggest immediate impact is that I expect to see some slowdown in those cities that were on the path of developing their first green standards,” he said in an interview.

The omnibus Bill 17 was rushed through the legislature and passed into law earlier this month before a public comment period closed and without further review by a legislative committee.

Changes made under the new provincial law prevent municipalities from passing bylaws respecting the construction or demolition of buildings. Some law firms and regulatory bodies, including the Ontario Association of Architects, have said that change would appear to make green standards obsolete.

Others have suggested the province may use the bill to limit what types of studies a city can require from a developer before approving a project. Toronto’s green standard, for example, requires a developer to submit an energy modelling report that outlines how the building will keep greenhouse gas emissions in check.

The OAA says green standards should not be lost, adding they help “everyone understand energy consumption in buildings,” and position Ontario to achieve its climate targets.

More than a dozen other Ontario municipalities have used Toronto as a model to come up with their own green standards. While Toronto, Halton Hills and Whitby are among those with mandatory standards, most are voluntary.

The Residential Construction Council of Ontario, a vocal critic of the standard, has suggested it’s adding to housing costs. RESCON sued Toronto over the standard last year in a case still before the courts.

President Richard Lyall called the city staff report set to be discussed Tuesday “delusional and unsubstantiated.”

“We’re going to make our views known to the committee,” he said.

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