CanadaMay 12, 2026
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand begins official visits to Oman and Qatar
Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand has begun official visits to Oman and Qatar aimed at strengthening bilateral ties and advancing cooperation on regional and economic priorities.
According to Global Affairs Canada, Anand will remain in Muscat and Doha until May 15 for meetings with senior government officials focused on defence cooperation, trade, and people-to-people connections between Canada and Gulf states.
In Oman, Anand is scheduled to meet Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi and other senior officials. Discussions are expected to include economic
BCMay 12, 2026
Oakridge Park mall in Vancouver to open May 28 as major redevelopment project advances
Oakridge Park, the retail and residential redevelopment under construction in Vancouver, is scheduled to open its shopping mall component on May 28, developers QuadReal Property Group and Westbank announced.
The project, located at the former Oakridge Centre site, is part of a broader redevelopment expected to total about five million square feet by its planned completion in 2029. Developers have previously estimated the full project cost at approximately $6.5 billion.
According to project details released by QuadReal and Westbank, the first phase opening later this month will include about 2.
AlbertaMay 12, 2026
Alberta NDP accuses Smith government of avoiding accountability in privacy breach response
Alberta’s Opposition NDP is accusing Premier Danielle Smith of allowing a United Conservative caucus staffer to take responsibility for a privacy breach involving Albertans’ personal information.
The issue stems from an April meeting where private information was allegedly displayed through an app used during discussions attended by UCP caucus members and staff. According to the UCP caucus, a staffer present at the meeting later briefed the caucus executive director about the incident.
Smith said the information was not passed on to her office by the executive director, resulting in a dela
AlbertaMay 12, 2026
Jason Kenney urges federal MPs to oppose Alberta separation talk
Former Alberta premier Jason Kenney says federal Members of Parliament should publicly oppose efforts aimed at separating Alberta from Canada, warning that a referendum on sovereignty would create deep divisions across the province and country.
Speaking at an event at the University of Calgary on Monday evening, Kenney said a vote on Alberta leaving Confederation would cause a “huge rupture” in society and argued federal politicians need to take a clearer position on national unity.
Liberal MP Cory Hogan, who also attended the event, said Alberta MPs and Prime Minister Mark Carney should s
WorldMay 12, 2026
UK junior minister resigns as pressure grows on Starmer after local election losses
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer faced renewed pressure within the Labour Party on Tuesday after junior housing minister Miatta Fahnbulleh resigned from government following the party’s recent local election losses.
Fahnbulleh, who served as a minister in the housing, communities and local government department, said the government had failed to deliver the pace of change voters expected after Labour’s election victory.
In a resignation statement, Fahnbulleh said the government had not governed “with the vision, pace and mandate for change” it had been given by voters. She also said
AlbertaMay 12, 2026
Smith does not rule out Alberta separation referendum as separatist pressure grows
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has not ruled out the possibility of holding a referendum on Alberta separation this October, as separatist organizers publicly increase pressure on the provincial government to allow a vote.
Asked directly whether she would commit to not holding such a referendum, Smith said the government is still waiting on several developments before making a decision. She said discussions with caucus members and cabinet ministers would help determine the province’s next steps.
Some members of Smith’s United Conservative cabinet have publicly distanced themselves from sep
BCMay 11, 2026
Telus, Ottawa announce AI data centre expansion in B.C. to strengthen Canadian computing capacity
The federal government and Telus announced plans Monday for a multi-site artificial intelligence data infrastructure project in British Columbia that officials say is intended to expand Canada’s domestic computing capacity and support what they described as “sovereign” AI infrastructure.
Federal AI Minister Evan Solomon joined Telus representatives in Vancouver to outline the project, which includes an expansion of Telus’ existing data centre in Kamloops and two new facilities planned for Vancouver – one in the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood and another in the downtown core.
According
BCMay 11, 2026
BC Conservatives criticize NDP government following two Surrey shooting incidents
The BC Conservative Party is criticizing the provincial NDP government following two separate shooting incidents in Surrey that left two people dead and two others injured.
BC Conservative representative Harman Bhangu questioned the province’s approach to public safety, saying shootings, gang violence and homicides are increasingly affecting residential neighbourhoods. Bhangu said residents are frustrated by repeated political statements following violent incidents and are demanding stronger action to address public safety concerns.
Surrey–Cloverdale MLA Elenore Sturko also called on the p
IndiaMay 11, 2026
AAP protests outside BJP offices in Punjab over ED action against Sanjeev Arora
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) staged protests outside Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) district offices across Punjab on Monday following the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) arrest of Punjab cabinet minister Sanjeev Arora in a money laundering case. Party workers raised slogans against the BJP and accused the central government of using investigative agencies for political purposes.
Tense situations were reported in several locations where AAP and BJP workers gathered during the demonstrations. However, no major clashes or arrests had been officially confirmed at publication time.
Punjab Finance Mini