The Manitoba government is promising wage subsidies for businesses that hire students this summer. Premier Brian Pallister says the government will pay half of eligible wages, up to $7 per hour, to a maximum of $5,000 per student aged 15-29. Each employer can get the subsidy for a maximum of five students, and the money will be paid out after summer ends. Pallister says the subsidy should help businesses hurt by the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam says more than 2,000 people have died from COVID-19 and more than 643,000 tests have been administered, with over 6.5 per cent of people testing positive. Tam says she wants to recognize the work of health care workers who are going the extra mile to care for COVID-19 patients, especially those working in long-term care centres, where numerous outbreaks have caused many illnesses and deaths. She highlighted the story of Michelle, a nurse in Nova Scotia who was recently reassigned to work a nursing home and has decided live in a hotel to keep her fam

A flood warning has been issued for a river near Prince George, B.C., after it rose nearly 35 centimetres in a day. The B.C. River Forecast Centre, which assesses water supply, flood risk and predicts flows in provincial waterways, upgraded the warning for the Chilako River early Friday. It says the river and its tributaries southwest of Prince George are expected to continue to rise, possibly into the weekend. The Regional District of Fraser-Fort George issued evacuation orders late Thursday for 40 properties on part of Upper Mud River Road near the Chilako River, 30 kilometres southwest of

RCMP have given the all clear after investigating reports of shots fired in two Halifax suburbs. The police say they extensively searched the area and found no evidence of shots having been fired. They say they will continue to patrol the area.

Nova Scotia is reporting 23 new cases of COVID-19 bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 850. Health officials say 11 people are currently in hospital with three of those patients in intensive care. The province reported no new deaths on Friday and has registered a total of 16 deaths. Officials say 392 people have now recovered and their cases of COVID-19 are considered resolved.

Ontario is reporting 640 new COVID-19 cases today, and 50 more deaths. That's the largest single day increase in new cases so far, though the growth rate in total cases remains relatively low, at five per cent. Ontario has now had 13,519 total cases, including 763 deaths and 7,087 resolved cases. Long-term care deaths, which are reported in a different database that often doesn't sync up with the total provincial numbers increased by 57 over the past day.

Quebec is reporting 97 more deaths linked to COVID-19, brining the provincial tally to 1,340. But Premier Francois Legault says the situation in Quebec is divided between the province's hard-hit seniors and long-term care homes and the rest of the province where the situation is stable. Legault says he knows he's been telling Quebecers to stay home for weeks, but he says the province will present a plan next week to gradually relaunch the economy and reopen schools and daycares. The province reported 22,616 confirmed cases of the virus today, with 1,460 people hospitalized and 227 in intensiv

Procurement Minister Anita Anand says Canada is facing many procurement challenges given the intense global demand for equipment and supplies, but the government is taking an aggressive approach to quickly bring COVID-19 supplies to Canada.She says much of the world's supply of these materials are in China, and moving equipment from that country is highly complex.Two planes from China were forced to return empty to Canada on Monday, one a federal charter and the other destined for a particular province arriving in Canada without the protective medical equipment that they were sent there to pic

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is announcing significant rent relief for businesses that can't afford to pay their landlords at a time when their operations are shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.The federal help, expected to lower rent by 75 percent for affected small businesses, will be provided in partnership with the provinces and territories, which have jurisdiction over rents.The Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance for small businesses will provide forgivable loans to qualifying commercial property owners to cover 50 percent of three monthly rent payments payable by eligible s