Federal transport officials have issued the first fines to air passengers who refused to wear face masks on Canadian flights, in violation of a government order to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Transport Canada says two unnamed people have been fined $1,000 each for refusing to follow directions from air crews to wear their face coverings. The first incident occurred June 14 on a WestJet flight from Calgary to Waterloo, Ont., while the second took place July 7 on a WestJet flight from Vancouver to Calgary.Transport Canada says the passengers were each directed repeatedly by the air cre

The Conservative Party's fundraising arm has a new chair for the first time in two decades.Leader Erin O'Toole says he is nominating his longtime campaign fundraiser James Dodds to be chair of the Conservative Fund, replacing former senator Irving Gerstein, who is retiring. The nomination must be approved by the party's national council. Dodds is a vice-president at the TD Bank Group in Toronto and has aided O'Toole in both his bids to be the Conservative leader. O'Toole became the new leader Aug. 23 and is now putting his stamp on the party. On Wednesday he named his House of Commons team, i

Statistics Canada says the economy added 246,000 in August as the pace of job gains slowed compared with July, when 419,000 jobs were added. The figure marked the fourth consecutive month of gains from COVID-19 related lockdowns this spring, bringing the number to within 1.1 million of pre-pandemic levels. Gains in August were largely concentrated in full-time work, which had been lagging behind gains in part-time employment. Employment also rose at a faster pace for women than men for the third straight month as Statistics Canada reported women gained about 150,000 positions in August comp

Police say five people have been found dead and another with serious injuries following an early morning shooting in a home east of Toronto. A spokesman says multiple calls came in around 1:20 a.m. Friday reporting the sound of gunshots from a home in Oshawa, Ontario. Constable George Tudos says four of the deceased are believed to be men and one of them is believed to be a woman, but adds police are waiting on the coroner to confirm ages. A woman also suffered non-life-threatening injuries.Investigators believe the shooter is among the dead.

There are 130,493 confirmed cases in Canada. Quebec: 62,933 confirmed (including 5,767 deaths, 55,615 resolved) Ontario: 42,686 confirmed (including 2,812 deaths, 38,625 resolved) Alberta: 14,310 confirmed (including 242 deaths, 12,653 resolved) British Columbia: 6,041 confirmed (including 210 deaths, 4,644 resolved) Saskatchewan: 1,634 confirmed (including 24 deaths, 1,574 resolved) Manitoba: 1,264 confirmed (including 16 deaths, 791 resolved) Nova Scotia: 1,085 confirmed (including 65 deaths, 1,014 resolved) Newfoundland and Labrador: 269 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 265 resolved) New Bru

Police say one person died and six others have been injured in a boat crash near Woodbine Beach in eastern Toronto. The Toronto Police Marine Rescue unit says the boat crashed into rocks early this afternoon about 75 metres from shore. Six people were originally believed to be hurt but police say that officers have discovered a seventh person who was injured. They say one person rushed to hospital without vital signs has died of their injuries, three others were also taken to hospital while three were treated on scene.

Canadian Armed Forces members and their civilian colleagues in the Department of National Defence are being strongly encouraged to download the federal government's smartphone application for tracking potential exposure to COVID-19. Chief of defence staff Gen. Jonathan Vance and Defence Department deputy minister Jody Thomas say they understand some may have concerns when it comes to privacy and secrecy. But they say the app has been cleared by Defence Department experts and that while installing it is voluntary, using it is one way military personnel and defence officials can help prevent a s

The federal Conservatives are asking the official languages commissioner to investigate the government's choice of WE Charity to run a student grant program, saying the move showed contempt toward francophones.Conservative MP Richard Martel alleges in a letter to commissioner Raymond Theberge that the youth group did not have the ability to deliver the multimillion-dollar Canada Student Service Grant program in both of Canada's official languages.Martel, who is making the letter public today, says the Official Languages Act clearly states the government is obliged to ensure any organization c

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau continues his virtual tour of Canada today, with electronic visits to the Atlantic provinces.He conducted a virtual tour of British Columbia yesterday, meeting with Premier John Horgan and consulting with business and environmental leaders about how to ensure a green economic recovery from the devastating effects of the pandemic.Trudeau is planning to unveil what he promises will be a bold recovery plan in a throne speech re-opening Parliament on September 23th.The speech will be put to a confidence vote, which could result in the defeat of Trudeau's minority Lib