On shores of Lake Ontario, the Toronto International Film Festival bristles at Trump's trade war

TORONTO (AP) — The 51st Toronto International Film Festival has unspooled against a backdrop of rising tensions between the U.S. and Canadian governments, though it would be hard to tell it from the convivial atmosphere on the ground.

TIFF, North America’s largest film happening, draws movies from around the world. But its largest influx of festivalgoers and film industry people comes from Canada’s neighbor to the south.

This year, the festival is taking place just weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump, amid an escalating trade war with Canada, signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario as “Lake America.”

From the opening night of TIFF, the festival has responded with a mix of disappointment, sarcasm and defiance to the contentious turn in U.S.-Canada relations.

“Welcome to TIFF and welcome to the beautiful shore of — say it with me — Lake Ontario,” Cameron Bailey, chief executive of the festival, said while introducing the disability rights drama “Being Heumann” on opening night.

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow also took a jab while noting that “Being Heumann” chronicles the relentless push by disability rights protesters to secure accessibility laws and equal rights.

“It shows us that when people come together and stay tenacious, they can move mountains — even against the might of the U.S. government,” Chow said.

In his second term, Trump has frequently sparred with the Canadian government while seeking new trade terms with the country. In August, Trump said: “Canada’s been ripping us off for a long time.”

Last month, the U.S. announced it was imposing 50% tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods. Canada responded by imposing retaliatory tariffs on $20 billion worth of American goods, including steel, dairy products, appliances and farm equipment. On Sunday, Trump called Canada the “worst country to deal with.”

Following Trump’s executive order renaming Lake Ontario, companies including Google and Apple changed their maps for U.S. users to read “Lake America.” Some news organizations, including The Associated Press, have said they will continue using the name Lake Ontario.

On TIFF stages, many have taken a side.

“I cannot tell you how happy I am to be back on the shores of Lake Ontario,” said the director Peter Farrelly while introducing one of the festival’s top premieres, his Sylvester Stallone drama “I Play Rocky.”

Some films have found themselves unexpectedly speaking to the moment. Canadian writer-director Michael Dowse’s “The Stunt Driver,” starring Jay Baruchel as 1970s Canadian stuntman Ken Carter, is largely set along the waterways separating Canada and the U.S.

The film, which made its world premiere at TIFF, chronicles Carter’s long-held aspiration to jump a rocket-powered Lincoln Continental over the St. Lawrence River, taking off in Morrisburg, Ontario, and landing on the New York side. The movie is a comic and affectionate portrait of a quixotic if mathematically dubious dream.

“The Stunt Driver” got some of its biggest cheers for moments that took on a slight edge considering current U.S.-Canada tensions. In one scene, Baruchel as Carter declares Canadians are “God’s chosen people.”

“Ken Carter was proud of his birthplace and branded himself ‘The Mad Canadian’ and had a penchant for maple leaf T-shirts,” Dowse said. “I hope people get behind the film not only as a great story but also to support homegrown films about a singular fascinating Canadian.”

In the film, Carter resents the more successful Evel Knievel, deriding him for performing while looking like, he says, “a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader.” As played by Ben Foster, Knievel makes an appearance in the film, visiting Carter as he plans the jump. But their interaction leads to a nationalistic fight. “The last thing we need,” Carter tells him, “is a Yankee doodle dandy telling us how to do our jobs.”

At TIFF, the audience roared. Dowse grants it’s a moment in the film that now feels “meta.” But while he acknowledged considering making a Lake Ontario remark at the movie’s premiere, he ultimately chose not to.

“I love Americans and this whole trade war feels like bravado on roids,” Dowse said. “I hope they figure out a deal because we are better friends than enemies.”

People walk past the signage for the Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto, on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. (Keito Newman/The Canadian Press via AP)

Ed Helms, from left, Jay Baruchel and Michael Dowse are pictured on the red carpet for "The Stunt Driver" at the Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto, Ontario, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (Laura Proctor/The Canadian Press via AP)

A person poses for a photo with signage for the Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto, on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. (Keito Newman/The Canadian Press via AP)

Ed Helms, front left, Jay Baruchel and Michael Dowse are pictured on the red carpet for "The Stunt Driver" at the Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto, Ontario, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (Laura Proctor/The Canadian Press via AP)

A general view of the Roy Thomson Hall at the Toronto International Film Festival during the opening day of the festival on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026, in Toronto. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

Three people were charged by federal authorities in Los Angeles on Wednesday with stealing $12 million in federal and state homelessness aid to pay for real estate, luxury trips and vintage vehicles.

It was the second such arrest of people on federal fraud charges in Southern California this week, as President Donald Trump's administration tries to emphasize a crackdown on fraud and waste in government and aid programs. On Tuesday, 12 people were charged with stealing more than $10 million in federal childcare aid.

The three defendants each worked for or ran Southern California-based nonprofit organizations, which often contracted with city, county, state or federal agencies to provide aid or money to find housing and social services for homeless people. Prosecutors allege that the defendants used funds from those contracts to pay personal expenses, accepted bribes, and billed for services that were never provided.

“Make no mistake, HUD and the Trump administration will not tolerate the theft and abuse of taxpayers in this country,” Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Scott Turner said at a news conference.

Turner used the indictments to accuse the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, which approved grants to these defendants, of being negligent with taxpayer dollars.

Two defendants, Lakiya Malone, 48, and Michael Young, 46, were arrested early Wednesday in Los Angeles. A third defendant charged with wire fraud, Donye Mitchell, 55, is considered a fugitive.

Young is the founder of Home At Last, a nonprofit that took in more than $118 million in public funds since 2019 for its stated mission of providing housing and aid to homeless people.

Federal prosecutors say Young instead created shell companies that he claimed were independent contractors but were, in fact, controlled by him. This alleged self-dealing allowed Young to be paid both at Home At Last and overbill federal and local authorities, prosecutors said. They say Young misused an estimated $7.5 million in taxpayer funds through fake contractors and vendors.

Young used the proceeds to take luxury trips to Tahiti, and used funds to open a nightclub in Inglewood called the Six Seven Five Lounge and other commercial real estate projects, prosecutors allege.

Mitchell is the CEO of Big Blue Umbrella, which was awarded more than $1.2 million from a federally supported nonprofit for housing and mental healthcare aid. Prosecutors say Mitchell not only misstated his organization’s ability to provide such services, but also used money from the award to pay off his credit card debts, give funds to family members, buy video games and pay legal expenses for an unrelated case.

Malone was charged with accepting more than $180,000 in bribes from another homelessness-aid nonprofit. Malone allegedly not only accepted bribes but also placed people in homeless aid programs who weren’t homeless.

Separately, federal prosecutors announced that a fourth person pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering charges for stealing at least $2 million in homeless aid. Alexander Soofer, the executive director of Abundant Blessings, admitted to working with Malone to bill federal and state authorities for homelessness aid services when there were no participants in his programs.

Some 72,000 to 75,000 people live in shelters or encampments in Los Angeles and Los Angeles County, making it one of the largest homeless populations in the country. It has been a significant issue in Southern California for years, and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass made it a cornerstone of her 2022 election campaign.

City and county authorities spend roughly $1 billion a year trying to help the homeless population, often using LAHSA to coordinate aid. While significant funds are spent to address the issue, city and county reviews have repeatedly found that the programs lacked appropriate recordkeeping, audit trails and documentation.

Nathan Hochman, the district attorney for Los Angeles County, told reporters that the public should expect more investigations and indictments into the misuse of homeless aid funds. Hochman’s office's investigation into Soofer and Abundant Blessings led to his indictment earlier this year.

“I can assure this is the beginning of these prosecutions and we are far, far from the end,” he said, adding that his office's investigation had found that the only “abundant blessings” Soofer provided were to his friends and family.

Some of the Trump administration's efforts to go after fraud and abuse of government benefit programs have faced criticism and legal challenges. In December, Vice President JD Vance, who chairs the administration’s task force on the subject, amplified a YouTube video of a popular right-wing influencer accusing childcare providers in Minnesota, many of them immigrants from Somalia, of running scams. State authorities visited the centers and found nearly all of them operating normally.

Nonetheless, the administration launched a massive immigration crackdown in Minnesota. Officials later attempted to freeze federal funds for childcare in five Democratic-led states but were halted by a lawsuit.

FBI agents take positions outside the home of Lakiya Malone, who is charged with fraud involving federal homelessness aid programs, in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

FBI agents stand outside the home of Lakiya Malone, who is charged with fraud involving federal homelessness aid programs, in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

FBI agents take positions outside the home of Lakiya Malone, who is charged with fraud involving federal homelessness aid programs, in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Lakiya Malone, charged with fraud involving federal homelessness aid programs, walks out of her home toward federal authorities with her hand raised in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Lakiya Malone, center, charged with fraud involving federal homelessness aid programs, is arrested by federal agents in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)