Two premiers have sent letters to Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem urging the central bank to halt rate hikes ahead of its next rate decision tomorrow.Ontario Premier Doug Ford sent a letter on Sunday saying families and businesses cannot afford the "crushing impact of further rate hikes," echoing a letter British Columbia Premier David Eby sent on Thursday.Associate professor and founding director of McGill University's Max Bell School of Public Policy, Christopher Ragan says it's "unfortunate" that the premiers felt that sending these letters was useful.Ragan says it brings a political e

Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson is expected to call an election today.The vote is already scheduled for Oct. 3 and Stefanson will make a campaign announcement this morning where she is expected to launch the 28-day campaign.Stefanson, who became premier two years ago, is aiming to lead the Progressive Conservatives to a third consecutive majority.Opinion polls have suggested it will be an uphill battle, as support for the Tories dropped sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic.The Opposition New Democrats have been leading in the polls, especially in Winnipeg where most legislature seats are co

Ontario's Housing Minister Steve Clark resigned on Monday due to the Greenbelt controversy.The opposition was constantly demanding Clark's resignation.Premier Doug Ford made a minor cabinet reshuffle on Monday afternoon following Clarke's resignation.Paul Calandra has been named Ontario's new housing minister.Prior to this Paul had the Ministry of Long Term Care.Caroline Mulroney is now the President of the Treasury Board.Prabhmeet Sarkaria has been made the new Transport Minister of the state.Nina Tangri has been appointed Associate Minister of Small Business.It is worth mentioning that Steve

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau landed in Jakarta today where he is kicking off a six-day tour of the Indo-Pacific region.Trudeau and his son Xavier were greeted with Indonesian dancers, with the prime minister being gifted a traditional scarf.Trudeau is set to spend two days in Jakarta where he will meet with President Joko Widodo this evening.Tomorrow, the prime minister will deliver remarks at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as the 10-nation bloc prepares to make Ottawa its latest strategic partner.Trudeau's focus on the trip will be about nurturing relationships with Asian leaders

A recent change to Alberta's Traffic Safety Act are coming into effect today.Starting on Friday (September 1), vehicles driving in the closest lane to roadside workers will now have to reduce their speed to either 60 km/h or the posted speed limit. Drivers could also move into the far lane from the workers if safe to do so. Previously, only first responders and tow truck drivers were protected under the Traffic Safety Act. It will now apply to all roadside workers, including police, fire, EMS, tow truck operators, highway maintenance workers and snowplow operators. Failure to comply with the

Twelve of the 400 or so blazes burning in British Columbia are described by the province's wildfire service as "wildfires of note," meaning they are highly visible or pose a threat to public safety. Here is a look at the 12 fires, with information provided by the BC Wildfire Service as of Friday at 1 p.m., Pacific time: Name: Bush Creek East WildfireLocation:West and East of Adams Lake, north of Shuswap and Little Shuswap lakes, south of Highway 1 between Chase and Sorrento Size: 431 square kilometres Suspected cause: Lightning Name: Casper Creek WildfireLocation: 24 kilometres west of Lilloo

The Canadian economy appeared to stall in the second quarter as Statistics Canada says the economy contracted at an annualized rate of 0.2 per cent in the second quarter. The agency also revised its reading for growth in the first quarter to an annual pace of 2.6 per cent, down from 3.1 per cent. Economists say the latest spending data showing a contraction in the economy suggests the Bank of Canada's rate hiking campaign may be coming to an end. Statistics Canada says the economy contracted at an annualized rate of 0.2 per cent in the second quarter. The pullback in the second quarter came as

Quebec's education minister says it doesn't make sense that a teacher can commit sexual misconduct and then be transferred without consequences to another school district. Bernard Drainville made his comments today in reaction to a report that identified numerous shortcomings in how misconduct cases against teachers are treated within the school network. Drainville requested the report earlier this year after several allegations of sexual misconduct in schools came to light. The report raises several problems with the way teachers' files are handled, including a lack of communication between

Canadian federal government has put a price tag on how much it would like to see Google and Facebook spend under an act requiring the tech giants to compensate media for news articles. Federal officials estimate Google would need to offer $172 million and Facebook $62 million in compensation to satisfy criteria they're proposing be used to give exemptions under the Online News Act. The criteria listed as part of a draft set of regulations would allow compensation provided by tech giants to be both monetary and non-monetary.While the guidelines do not specify what non-monetary contributions wou