Erin O'Toole begins a new political life today as the leader of the federal Conservative party. O'Toole was declared the winner of the leadership race early this morning after technical problems delayed the vote count by hours.His victory over rival Peter MacKay will be a blow to some progressives, who had hoped by choosing the former longtime cabinet minister the party could finally move past some of the social conservative issues that weighed it down in the last election.The hours-long delay was a less-than-auspicious beginning for the new leader, who now is racing to get a team in place bef

Former Finance Secretary Rajiv Kumar, who was appointed as Election Commissioner on Friday following the resignation of Ashok Lavasa, will take charge of the office on September 1. "The President is pleased to appoint Rajiv Kumar, IAS (retd) (JH:1984) as the Election Commissioner with effect from the date he assumes the office vice Ashok Lavasa, Election Commissioner who has resigned with effect from August 31," a notification of Law Ministry said. Kumar is a former IAS officer from Jharkhand cadre. Lavasa will take up the position of vice-president at the Asian Development Bank.

There are 124,372 confirmed cases in Canada. Quebec: 61,495 confirmed (including 5,733 deaths, 54,472 resolved) Ontario: 41,179 confirmed (including 2,796 deaths, 37,397 resolved) Alberta: 12,748 confirmed (including 230 deaths, 11,374 resolved) British Columbia: 4,915 confirmed (including 202 deaths, 3,889 resolved) Saskatchewan: 1,595 confirmed (including 22 deaths, 1,439 resolved) Nova Scotia: 1,077 confirmed (including 64 deaths, 1,008 resolved) Manitoba: 830 confirmed (including 12 deaths, 553 resolved) Newfoundland and Labrador: 268 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 265 resolved) New Bruns

Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, and Dr. Réka Gustafson, B.C.’s deputy provincial health officer, have issued a joint statement regarding updates on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) response in British Columbia. "Today, we are announcing 90 new cases, for a total of 4,915 cases in British Columbia. "There are 824 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, 2,594 people who are under active public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases and 3,889 people who tested positive have recovered. "Currently, 13 individuals are hospitalized with COVID-19, five of whom are in

The Vancouver Canucks could make a rare advance to the next round of the Stanley Cup playoffs with a victory over last year's champions, the St. Louis Blues, in Edmonton tonight. But officials in BC are urging sports fans to ``stay out of the penalty box'' as they enjoy the game. Surrey RCMP say in a release that, in past years, fans have gathered at the intersection of 72nd Street and Scott Road to celebrate a victory. Police say officers will join them tonight to ensure everyone is peaceful, liquor and other laws are respected and crowds maintain appropriate physical distancing to slow the

One man has critical injuries and another is listed in serious condition following a fight in Surrey. RCMP say the fight, involving around one dozen people, broke out shortly before 9 last night. Corporal Eleanor Sturko says both men were hurt during the melee but she doesn't say what caused their injuries, what happened to the other combatants or why the fight occurred. The serious crime unit has taken over the case and anyone with information about the assaults is urged to contact police.

Canada Post is reporting a second quarter pre-tax loss of $378 million, a figure the service says was largely driven by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Crown corporation says it saw an unprecedented growth in parcel volume and revenue from Canadians shopping online while staying at home, delivering as much early in the second quarter as the postal service does during the peak Christmas season.But mail and direct marketing revenues dropped faster with businesses mailing and advertising less than they did pre-pandemic.Traditional mail revenue dropped by 15.4 per cent compared to the same period in 20

As the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 continues to climb in BC, especially among young people, Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth says a party is ``not worth someone's life.'' Farnworth says $2,000 tickets can now be issued to the owner of a home where a large party is underway or to the organizer of an event such as a drum circle if such gatherings violate health rules. $200 tickets can also be issued to anyone refusing to leave a gathering or who is abusive to staff trying to maintain physical distancing rules. Farnworth says a small minority of people are either wilfully ignorant

The man accused of ramming through a gate at Rideau Hall while heavily armed is slated to return to court Sept. 18 after making a brief appearance Friday.Corey Hurren, a Manitoba military reservist and sausage-maker, faces 21 weapons charges and one of threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.Police say Hurren used a pickup truck to break through a side gate at Rideau Hall early in the morning of July 2 and made his way toward the residence where Trudeau and his family live. They say Hurren was armed with several guns, one of which had an illegal magazine.Neither the Trudeaus nor Gov. Gen. J