One of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's key advisers and the driving force behind the province's recovery-focused addiction treatment push is leaving the job. Premier Smith says her chief-of-staff, Marshall Smith, will retire from public service by the end of October. Marshall Smith has been held up as the architect of the government's approach to the drug-overdose crisis, prioritizing recovery over harm-reduction. Rob Anderson, executive director of the premier's office, is set to take over the chief-of-staff role. Marshall Smith has also been at the centre of a controversial poli

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is travelling to Laos today to take part in the ASEAN Summit. Canada is not a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, but has a strategic partnership with ASEAN and is hoping to conclude a trade deal with the 10-nation bloc by the end of next year. Canada and Indonesia are also working toward a trade deal that's set to be signed by the end of this year. The trip marks the first official visit to Laos by a Canadian prime minister and Trudeau is set to meet with leaders from several member nations during the summit. Together, the ASEAN countries repres

A former Winnipeg high school football coach has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for sexually assaulting nine students. Kelsey McKay was sentenced today after pleading guilty last year to nine counts of sexual assault and two counts of luring. The victims ranged in age from 12 to 18 when the assaults happened between 2003 and 2016. Court was told McKay was considered a father figure to the boys and in some cases supplied them with alcohol and pornography. McKay apologized in court in March and said he betrayed the trust that had been placed in him. The Crown asked for a 25-year sentence

Justin Trudeau will travel to Laos later this week for the ASEAN summit, marking what his office says will be the first official visit of a Canadian prime minister to the Southeast Asian country. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations meetings will take place in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, on Thursday and Friday, after which the PMO says Trudeau will attend the 25th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at the U.S. air base in Ramstein, Germany. The ASEAN bloc and Canada have pledged to ink a trade agreement by the end of 2025, and Canada entered a strategic partnership with the

Ceremonies, events and protests are being held across Canada today to mark the anniversary of a Hamas attack on Israel that triggered the ongoing war in Gaza. The Oct. 7, 2023 attack killed more than 1,200 Israelis, while another 250 were abducted and held as hostages, triggering an Israeli counter-offensive in Gaza that the health ministry there says has left more than 41,000 dead. The war has had far-reaching effects around the world and in Canada, including families grieving loved ones who were killed, hundreds of protests resulting in arrests, pro-Palestinian encampments at universities an

A Canadian man who is trapped in Lebanon with his family says they are anxiously waiting for seats on a flight out of the country, as a barrage of Israeli airstrikes continues. Jalal Tabaja, a father of four Canadian children, says he has moved his family to a hotel in a quieter area north of Beirut, but nowhere feels safe as explosions are heard across the capital city. Global Affairs Canada says it continues to help Canadians, permanent residents and their immediate family members to flee as the conflict between Israel and the Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah intensifies. It says nearl

NDP House leader Peter Julian says there's more his party wants to do in Parliament before the next election, but the current dysfunction continues it will become a factor in how they vote on a confidence measure. In just three weeks, two Conservative non-confidence motions have failed to bring down the government — but the Opposition promises more to come. The New Democrats have said they will decide how to vote on those motions a case-by-case basis. Julian accuses the Conservatives of being "agents of chaos" in the House of Commons. The government's legislative agenda has ground to a halt

The Supreme Court of Canada has upheld rules that bolster compensation for air passengers subjected to delayed flights and damaged luggage on international flights. In a victory for air travellers across the country, the country's highest court unanimously dismissed an appeal by a group of airlines that challenged Canada's passenger rights charter. Air Canada, Porter Airlines Inc. and 16 other appellants had argued that the Air Passenger Protection Regulations launched in 2019 violate global standards and should be rendered invalid for international flights. The legal challenge, which kicked o

Montreal police are investigating a major fire that broke out early this morning in a century-old building in Old Montreal, leaving at least one person in hospital. Authorities say the fire is believed to have started on the ground floor and the cause is unknown, but police have taken over the investigation because the blaze is considered suspicious. Apart from one person hospitalized with burns, a second person was treated for shock but did not need to be hospitalized. About 125 firefighters were deployed to the scene, and smoke could be seen billowing from the building for several blocks in