Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government is rushing $2.2 billion in expected infrastructure funding to Canada's cities.He says sending gas-tax funds months sooner than planned should ease municipalities' cashflow concerns, which is why the government is sending the money in one shot.Speaking outside his Ottawa residence, Trudeau says the money can be used for construction projects to meet local infrastructure needs and put people to work.Municipalities have seen steep losses in revenues through the COVID-19 pandemic as fewer people pay for transit or parking, and recreation ce

There are 89,418 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada. Quebec: 50,232 confirmed (including 4,363 deaths, 15,908 resolved) Ontario: 27,210 confirmed (including 2,230 deaths, 20,983 resolved) Alberta: 6,979 confirmed (including 143 deaths, 6,218 resolved) British Columbia: 2,562 confirmed (including 164 deaths, 2,170 resolved) Nova Scotia: 1,055 confirmed (including 59 deaths, 978 resolved) Saskatchewan: 641 confirmed (including 10 deaths, 570 resolved) Manitoba: 283 confirmed (including 7 deaths, 273 resolved), 11 presumptive Newfoundland and Labrador: 261 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 2

Statistics Canada says the economy in the first quarter had its worst showing since 2009 as steps taken to slow the spread of COVID-19 forced businesses across the country to close their doors and lay off workers.Statistics Canada says gross domestic product fell at an annualized rate of 8.2 per cent in the first three months of 2020.The collapse came as gross domestic product for March fell 7.2 per cent as restrictions by public health officials and school closures began rolling out during the month.The average economist estimate is for a nine per cent drop in gross domestic product for March

The cruise-ship season in Canada is all but dead as Ottawa extends a ban on ships in Canadian waters until the end of October.Transportation Minister Marc Garneau says passenger ships with overnight accommodations for more than 100 passengers can't operate in Canadian waters until at least Oct. 31.In March the government barred ships with more than 500 passengers until July 1 but Garneau is expanding that ban today.He says he understands that this will have a big economic impact on the tourism industry and that the government is looking at what to do about that.Last year 140 cruise ships brou

There are 88,512 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada. Quebec: 49,702 confirmed (including 4,302 deaths, 15,618 resolved) Ontario: 26,866 confirmed (including 2,189 deaths, 20,673 resolved) Alberta: 6,955 confirmed (including 143 deaths, 6,160 resolved) British Columbia: 2,558 confirmed (including 163 deaths, 2,153 resolved) Nova Scotia: 1,055 confirmed (including 59 deaths, 977 resolved) Saskatchewan: 639 confirmed (including 10 deaths, 568 resolved) Manitoba: 283 confirmed (including 7 deaths, 273 resolved), 11 presumptive Newfoundland and Labrador: 261 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 2

Quebec Premier Francois Legault's request for the military to stay on in nearly two-dozen long-term care homes until September is raising several concerns. Legault wants to buy time so the province can hire and train as many as 10,000 orderlies to take over when the troops leave. Instead of tying up hundreds of trained military medical personnel for another four months, sources say Ottawa is looking at whether the Canadian Red Cross can step in. Officials are also looking at how to speed up the hiring of workers in Quebec. Quebec reported 74 new COVID-19 deaths today for a total of more than

The Chinese embassy in Ottawa is angrily denouncing a ruling in the case of tech executive Meng Wanzhou, who is wanted on fraud charges in the US. Experts are warning two Canadians imprisoned in China could face retaliation because the B.C. Supreme Court ruled the charges Meng faces in America could also be a crime in Canada and the case should proceed. But Canada is holding firm, with Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne calling for the release of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor.

The first two COVID-19 patients in Canada to receive plasma transfusions rich in antibodies are showing signs of improvement as the experimental treatment expands to trials in more than a dozen sites in Ontario and Quebec. The outlook is ``favourable'' for a female patient in Montreal who was the first to receive a transfusion on May 15th. She has been released from intensive care.In Toronto, a 78-year-old man who received a second transfusion on May 22nd, is expected to make a full recovery.The patients are part of a controlled, randomized trial testing whether a transfusion of plasma donated

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau opened a major United Nations' conference this morning saying a co-ordinated response is necessary for the global economy to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.The UN estimates without such a plan, the pandemic could slash nearly $8.5 trillion from the world economy over the next two years and force 34.3 million people into extreme poverty this year.Trudeau told more than 50 heads of state and government that "our citizens need to have confidence in international institutions that leave no one behind and are capable of overcoming global challenges."Earlier this we