Four provinces are relaxing their COVID-19 restrictions to start off the week.Ontario Premier Doug Ford has announced the state of emergency declared last month will expire tomorrow, but stay-at-home orders will remain in effect.Quebec is allowing dining in restaurants and working out in gyms in six less-populated regions of the province and re-openingnon-essential stores, personal-care salons and museums province-wide.Alberta restaurants are open for in-person dining, and allowing one-on-one training at gyms.Nova Scotia is relaxing restrictions on organized gatherings.

The Public Health Agency of Canada has listed its criteria for hotels seeking to participate in the mandatory three-day quarantine for returning travellers.The conditions posted online put the government one step closer to fulfilling its late-January pledge that all passengers returning from non-essential trips abroad will have to self-isolate in a federally mandated facility for up to 72 hours at their own expense.The government has not said when the measure, which aims to head off COVID-19 cases and contagious variants of the novel coronavirus at the border, will come into effect.To qualify

Canada's COVID-19 vaccine drought could be coming to an end.The Public Health Agency of Canada says Ottawa plans to distribute more than 70,000 Pfizer-BiotNTech vaccine doses this week ahead of a major ramp-up, but no Moderna doses are on the schedule.Starting today, 70,200 Pfizer doses are expected to be delivered.Next week, officials are expecting shipments of about 3,35000 doses, which would be the single biggest vaccine delivery to Canada so far.Pfizer and Moderna's vaccines are the only two to be approved by Health Canada, though the department is reviewing others from AstraZeneca, Novava

Trudeau says Canada is "very much on track" to receive a total of six million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccine doses by the end of March, as planned, and that the CEOs of both pharmaceutical companies have reassured him they'll meet that target. He also says the Liberal government has approved a request for help from the Pauingassi First Nation in northern Manitoba and that the military will arrive by Saturday at the latest. Soldiers will provide logistical support, transport goods and medical supplies, and conduct wellness checks. Canada is one of the leading donors to COVAX: PM

The Oscar-winning Canadian acting legend, Christopher Plummer, whose storied career encompassed stage, television and film, has died. He was 91. Plummer's wife Elaine says he died "peacefully" at his home in Connecticut after suffering a fall two weeks ago. He was perhaps best-known for portraying Captain Georg von Trapp in "The Sound of Music," a part he never liked because he considered it wooden and one-dimensional. Plummer won his first Academy Award at the age of 82 for his supporting role as a widower who comes out of the closet in "Beginners." After the win in 2012, Plummer dismissed t

Statistics Canada says the economy lost almost 213,000 jobs in January as employment fell to the lowest level since August last year, wiping out the gains made in the fall.The unemployment rate rose 0.6 percentage points to 9.4 per cent, the highest rate since August. Financial data firm Refinitiv says the average economist estimate was for a loss of 47,500 jobs in January and an unemployment rate of 8.9 per cent.The losses were almost entirely concentrated in Ontario and Quebec, and mostly in the retail sector as lockdowns and restrictions closed many businesses.Employment declines were heav

The federal government says a ban on cruise ships in Canadian waters will stay in place for one more year. The ban until Feb. 28, 2022 applies to cruise ships carrying more than 100 people as well as pleasure crafts operating in the Arctic, except for those used by residents in the region. The ban was originally put in place last year was to expire at the end of February. A news release from Transport Minister Omar Alghabra says the ban in necessary to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and protect vulnerable communities. He also says it will allow public health authorities to focus on pressing is

The Public Health Agency of Canada says there's been nearly a 30 per-cent drop in active COVID-19 cases across the country over the past two weeks. The agency says there are currently 48,221 active cases in Canada, down from more than 68,400 cases two weeks ago. National data suggest there's also been a downward trend in daily case counts, with an average of 4,061 new infections reported per day over the past week. Authorities say the slowdown has led to a gradual decline in severe COVID-19 outcomes. Provincial and territorial data shows a seven-day average of 3,711 patients being treated in

The federal Conservatives are calling for a special House of Commons committee devoted to Canada-US relations. Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole says the committee should focus on the economic relationship between the two countries, with emphasis placed on Buy American provisions being advanced by US President Joe Biden. The committee would also concentrate on the threatened closure of an Enbridge pipeline known as Line 5.A Conservative motion, if approved, would also see the committee explore what work the government is doing with the U-S to procure a steady stream of COVID-19 vaccines. O'Too