The federal deficit soared to 120.4-billion-dollars in the first quarter of Ottawa's fiscal year, up from a deficit of 85-million a year ago. The Finance Department says the treasury was pumping out emergency aid to businesses and workers to cushion the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Major transfers to persons, which includes seniors benefits, employment insurance payments, the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, and children's benefits jumped 193.5 per cent year-over-year, to almost 70.6-billion-dollars.

Statistics Canada says the economy posted its steepest decline on record in the second quarter as the COVID-19 pandemic forced the closure of non-essential businesses and slowed the economy to a crawl.The agency says real gross domestic product contracted at an annualized rate of 38.7 per cent for the three-month period.Economists had expected a contraction in the quarter at an annualized rate of 39.6 per cent, according to financial markets data firm Refinitiv.Almost every single component of the economy that works into calculating GDP was at its lowest point over April, May and June driven

There are 126,848 confirmed cases in Canada. Quebec: 62,056 confirmed (including 5,750 deaths, 55,008 resolved) Ontario: 41,813 confirmed (including 2,803 deaths, 37,940 resolved) Alberta: 13,318 confirmed (including 237 deaths, 11,923 resolved) British Columbia: 5,372 confirmed (including 204 deaths, 4,253 resolved) Saskatchewan: 1,609 confirmed (including 24 deaths, 1,527 resolved) Nova Scotia: 1,081 confirmed (including 65 deaths, 1,011 resolved) Manitoba: 1,064 confirmed (including 14 deaths, 643 resolved) Newfoundland and Labrador: 268 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 265 resolved) New Bru

The NHL has postponed all four of its playoff games scheduled for Thursday and Friday in the aftermath of the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, in Wisconsin last weekend. The players requested the postponements and the league supported the decision, the NHL and NHL Players' Association said in a joint statement. The New York Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers were scheduled to play in Toronto and the Vancouver Canucks and Vegas Golden Knights were slated to square off in Edmonton on Thursday. Tonight's NBA playoff game between the Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics has been postpone

A COVID-19 vaccine-development partnership between China's CanSino Biologics and Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia has been abandoned. The National Research Council of Canada said today in a statement the CanSino vaccine intended for phase one clinical trials has not been approved by Chinese customs for shipment to Canada. Because of that delay the NRC says the opportunity to conduct the trials is over.The NRC says the Canadian Center for Vaccinology had been ready to start clinical trials as early as June, after Health Canada approved CanSino's proposal.The Halifax lab was one of several i

Elections Canada has commissioned a poll that suggests 21.8 per cent of voters would prefer to cast their ballots by mail if there is a federal election this fall. The poll shows 58 per cent would prefer to vote in-person at advance or election-day polling stations. Fewer than 50-thousand people cast ballots by mail in last year's election, but research suggests that number could shoot up to about four-million. That's prompting Elections Canada to warn an increased volume of mail-in ballots could delay the release of election results.

The Conservatives are urging the speaking agency through which WE Charity paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to Justin Trudeau's family members to hand over documents about the arrangements.In a letter to Speakers' Spotlight, Conservative MP Michael Barrett notes the House of Commons ethics committee had asked the agency to produce the documents last month.The agency subsequently asked for an extension before the prime minister prorogued Parliament until Sept. 23, ending four committee investigations into the WE affair.Barrett says the committee agreed to extension in good faith, and that

There are 126,417 confirmed cases in Canada. Quebec: 61,945 confirmed (including 5,747 deaths, 54,922 resolved) Ontario: 41,695 confirmed (including 2,802 deaths, 37,863 resolved) Alberta: 13,210 confirmed (including 235 deaths, 11,799 resolved) British Columbia: 5,304 confirmed (including 203 deaths, 4,199 resolved) Saskatchewan: 1,604 confirmed (including 24 deaths, 1,520 resolved) Nova Scotia: 1,081 confirmed (including 65 deaths, 1,011 resolved) Manitoba: 1,043 confirmed (including 13 deaths, 622 resolved) Newfoundland and Labrador: 268 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 265 resolved) New Bru

Ontario's police watchdog says there is no evidence that any of the six Toronto police officers in a woman's apartment when she fell to her death committed a crime. 29 year old Regis Korchinski-Paquet fell from a balcony in May. The Special Investigations Unit interviewed all six officers, along with 15 civilian witnesses and received a written statement from Korchinski-Paquet's father. She was on the phone with him at the time.