Canadian

CANADIAN singer Sass Jordan has died aged 63, her family have announced.

Heartbreaking tributes have poured in for the Montreal rocker who passed away “peacefully” on Friday evening.

Sharing the news of her death on social media, her family wrote: “On Oct. 2 2026, surrounded by her loving family, Sass Jordan peacefully crossed over to the other side.”

Her family remembered her as “an inimitable force of nature” and “an irreplaceable being of light and joy”.

Sass, behind iconic tracks Racine and Make You a Believer, was born in Birmingham, England.

She moved to Montreal aged three with her French literature professor father and former British Ballerina mother.

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Aged 16 she was fronting bands in downtown Montreal clubs, later becoming singer and bassist for local favourites The Pinups.

Her debut album, Tell Somebody, won Sass the Juno Award for Most Promising Female Vocalist of the Year in 1989.

Three years later, after moving to Los Angeles, Billboard magazine named her Female Rock Artist of the Year after her album Racine.

It became the defining album of her career, selling an estimated 450,000 copies worldwide and 100,000 in Canada.

That same year she recorded the duet Trust in Me with Joe Cocker for ‘The Bodyguard’, a soundtrack that sold more than 45million copies.

Throughout her career Sass toured alongside Aerosmith, The Rolling Stones, AC/DC and Van Halen.

Later in 2003 she would join Canadian Idol as the only female judge on the panel.

She remained on the show for all six seasons.

Sass is survived by her husband, Derek Sharp, daughter Stella Jordan-Sharp, stepdaughter Brianne Sharp and brother Daniel Jordan.

Her family has asked for privacy to grieve and has thanked fans for their tributes to her remarkable life.

Tributes have flooded in for the late singer, with fans and fellow musicians paying tribute.

Deep Purple singer and bassist Glenn Hughes posted on Instagram: “So suddenly, I’m heartbroken.

“A true friend, we had so much love, joy and laughter and music together.

“RIP my Sasseroonie Girl.”

American rock and blues singer Ian Moore posted: “Love you Sass. Soul mama supreme.”

Others said her voice and art had “defined a generation”.

One user posted: “Thank you for everything and may your presence continue to be such a joy and comfort to us all.”

Trump retaliated against Canada’s counter-tariffs on $20bn worth of US imports by banning $1bn of Canadian goods.

The United States is implementing a ban on nearly $1bn in imports from Canada, including alcoholic beverages, dairy products and motorcycles.

The ban took effect early Tuesday and is likely to further strain already-tense relations between the two neighbours.

Ottawa and Washington DC have long been allies and trade partners, with approximately $880bn worth of annual two-way trade. That relationship has been upended during US President Donald Trump’s second term as he unleashed tariffs on most trading partners, including Canada, and referred to the northern neighbour as the 51st state of the US.

Most recently, the US slapped 50 percent levies on Canadian goods worth $20bn, including dairy and motorcycles, on August 22 after trade negotiations failed. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney retaliated, saying Ottawa will match US tariffs “dollar for dollar in order to protect Canadian workers, farmers, families and businesses”. Canada levied tariffs of 15 percent, 25 percent and 50 percent on US exports of a similar value.

Tuesday’s ban was Trump’s punishment for Canada’s retaliatory tariffs.

“The impact of such a ban will be minor, it is only $1bn while we trade hundreds of billions with Canada,” Professor Gary Shields at Wayne State University’s School of Business told Al Jazeera. “It is, however, rather astonishing how President Trump treats our allies in Canada and Europe, while rolling out the red carpet for China’s dictator when he visited the US last week”.

“It is a tit-for-tat. It will not reduce people’s taxes and won’t put money in their pockets. It is kind of personal and a way of showing off toughness,” Shields added.

Canada’s economy grew by an estimated 0.2 percent in August after remaining unchanged in July, according to Statistics Canada. But the new US-Canada tariffs, tighter financial conditions and a shrinking population should further weaken growth in late 2026 and early 2027, Michael Davenport, senior Canada economist at Oxford Economics, said in a note provided to Al Jazeera.