The federal deficit soared to 120.4-billion-dollars in the first quarter of Ottawa's fiscal year, up from a deficit of 85-million a year ago. The Finance Department says the treasury was pumping out emergency aid to businesses and workers to cushion the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Major transfers to persons, which includes seniors benefits, employment insurance payments, the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, and children's benefits jumped 193.5 per cent year-over-year, to almost 70.6-billion-dollars.

Statistics Canada says the economy posted its steepest decline on record in the second quarter as the COVID-19 pandemic forced the closure of non-essential businesses and slowed the economy to a crawl.The agency says real gross domestic product contracted at an annualized rate of 38.7 per cent for the three-month period.Economists had expected a contraction in the quarter at an annualized rate of 39.6 per cent, according to financial markets data firm Refinitiv.Almost every single component of the economy that works into calculating GDP was at its lowest point over April, May and June driven

There are 126,848 confirmed cases in Canada. Quebec: 62,056 confirmed (including 5,750 deaths, 55,008 resolved) Ontario: 41,813 confirmed (including 2,803 deaths, 37,940 resolved) Alberta: 13,318 confirmed (including 237 deaths, 11,923 resolved) British Columbia: 5,372 confirmed (including 204 deaths, 4,253 resolved) Saskatchewan: 1,609 confirmed (including 24 deaths, 1,527 resolved) Nova Scotia: 1,081 confirmed (including 65 deaths, 1,011 resolved) Manitoba: 1,064 confirmed (including 14 deaths, 643 resolved) Newfoundland and Labrador: 268 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 265 resolved) New Bru

Former Indian President Pranab Mukherjee continued to be in a deep coma and on ventilator support, said the Army Hospital, Delhi Cantt on Thursday. "Pranab Mukherjee continues to be in deep coma and on ventilator support." "He is being treated for lung infection and renal dysfunction. He is haemodynamically stable," read the statement by the hospital. The former President had tested positive for COVID-19 and undergone surgery for a brain clot at Army Hospital on August 10.

Asserting that appointed Congress president may not have even one per cent support in the party, senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, one of the signatories to the "dissident" letter, on Thursday pitched for elections to the Congress Working Committee and key organisational posts of state chiefs, district presidents, block presidents and said that those opposing are afraid of losing their positions.While adding that prospects of the party would be better if elected body leads the party otherwise "Congress will continue to sit in the Opposition for the next 50 years.""When you contest the election a

British Columbia reported one new community outbreak of COVID-19 today at a construction site for a water treatment facility in the Interior Health region. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says there are seven cases in the outbreak, and that six of the workers live in Alberta. Health officials also released a map showing the spread of the illness in the province, with most of the infections in the Lower Mainland. The province reported 68 additional cases of COVID-19 and one death, bringing the total number of fatalities to 204. B.C. now has 5,372 confirmed cases while 4,253 people h

The NHL has postponed all four of its playoff games scheduled for Thursday and Friday in the aftermath of the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, in Wisconsin last weekend. The players requested the postponements and the league supported the decision, the NHL and NHL Players' Association said in a joint statement. The New York Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers were scheduled to play in Toronto and the Vancouver Canucks and Vegas Golden Knights were slated to square off in Edmonton on Thursday. Tonight's NBA playoff game between the Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics has been postpone

A COVID-19 vaccine-development partnership between China's CanSino Biologics and Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia has been abandoned. The National Research Council of Canada said today in a statement the CanSino vaccine intended for phase one clinical trials has not been approved by Chinese customs for shipment to Canada. Because of that delay the NRC says the opportunity to conduct the trials is over.The NRC says the Canadian Center for Vaccinology had been ready to start clinical trials as early as June, after Health Canada approved CanSino's proposal.The Halifax lab was one of several i

A boat launch and the surrounding area in Kamloops is closed as police investigate the discovery of a plastic bag containing explosives. R-C-M-P say they got a call from a local angler who found the bag near the Lafarge Bridge yesterday evening.They say he put the bag back into the water just off the boat launch at the north end of the bridge. The R-C-M-P explosives disposal unit and dive team will be there today in hopes of finding and safely disposing of the bag.