Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau is defending his government's response to the crisis in Afghanistan, saying all Canadian diplomats have now left the country. During a campaign event in the Toronto area today, Trudeau revealed that a total of nine flights out of Afghanistan have arrived in Canada over the past few weeks. Trudeau reiterated his promise that Canada would accept 20-thousand Afghan refugees. Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is ruling out the prospect of working with the Taliban. At a campaign event in the Vancouver area today, Singh said Canada should not recognize the group that ha

Seven Manitobans are $100,000 richer as the province today announced the first set of winners in its Vax to Win lottery program. The province started the incentive program in June as a way to encourage people to get vaccinated. The government put up $2 million in prizes broken down by health regions, along with scholarships for youth 12 to 17 years old. Today's winners were people who got their first dose on or before Aug. 2. The next lottery deadline is Sept. 6 for people who have received both doses on or before that date, with winners being announced later that month. The 10 winners of the

New Democrat Leader Jagmeet Singh is campaigning in Metro Vancouver today in advance of his nomination meeting this afternoon in his Burnaby South riding. Singh started the day with a policy announcement, pledging an NDP government would invest in small, community businesses, rather than allow what the party calls the Liberal's ``massive no-strings attached giveaways to multinational corporations.'' Singh visited a Coquitlam bakery following the announcement. His nomination meeting and expected acclamation as the party's candidate is set for 5 p.m.

The wildfire situation is continually evolving, and the information below is current as of 7 p.m. (Pacific time) on Monday, Aug. 16, 2021.Fires:Since April 1, 2021:1,513 wildfires805,500 hectaresCurrently burning: 264Active fires by fire centre:Cariboo: 33Coastal: 20Kamloops: 84Northwest: 5Prince George: 58Southeast: 64Resources:Total personnel: 3,627Contract firefighters: 1,185Out-of-province personnel: 519Aircraft (rotary and fixed-wing): 209Evacuations:Evacuation orders: 86 (+12)Evacuation alerts: 125 (+6)Properties:Number of properties on order: 8,262 (+1,655)Number of properties on alert:

The RCMP have now made more than 630 arrests related to blockages set up to protest the logging of old-growth forests on southern Vancouver Island, including 56 people who have previously been arrested a combined total of 131 times. The Mounties say 462 people have been arrested for breaching a court-ordered injunction against blockades around the Fairy Creek watershed near Port Renfrew, while the remainder have been for obstruction, mischief and other offences. They say protesters continue to lock themselves into structures and trenches dug into forest service roads and the latest 13 arrests

New survey results suggest Justin Trudeau's Liberals were clinging to a five-point lead on the eve of the federal election campaign.Thirty-five per cent of decided voters who took part expressed support for the Liberals, 30 per cent for the Conservatives and 20 per cent the NDP.Seven per cent would vote for the Bloc Québécois, which is fielding candidates only in Quebec, while five per cent supported the Greens and two per cent the People's Party of Canada.The online survey of 2,007 Canadians, conducted Aug. 13 to 15 by Leger in collaboration with The Canadian Press, cannot be assigned a mar

Two more planes have arrived in Canada from Afghanistan carrying diplomats, special forces troops and refugees fleeing the Taliban.The flights come after order was restored at the Kabul airport after thousands of desperate Afghans rushed onto the tarmac on Sunday to escape the Taliban.The Department of National Defence says says one plane carrying diplomats and special forces troops landed in Ottawa.A second plane carrying former interpreters and their families arrived in Toronto -- the fifth such flight from Afghanistan since the government announced in July that it would rescue Afghans who h

With Olympic Gold medallist Neeraj Chopra heading home to Samalkha in Panipat on Tuesday, a grand feast is being organised by the family for around 30,000 people.This will be Neeraj's first visit to his hometown after he won the coveted medal at the Tokyo Olympics.The whole village and distant relatives have been invited for the grand celebration."He will be receiving a grand welcome, I have prepared 'churma' for him. We will keep his gold medal in the temple, as it is after the blessings of God that he has reached these heights. I am looking forward to his arrival," says Neeraj's mother Saroj

To boost 'Ease of Doing Business' for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), the Punjab Cabinet led by Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Monday approved a list of NOCs required for setting up of industry in the state.With this move, Punjab has become the first state in the country to take systematic proactive steps for improving ease of doing business in matters of NOCs to enable MSMEs to flourish and prosper in the state, an official release said.The Chief Minister had, in his Independence Day speech, announced the state government's decision to promote MSME business in the stat