Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada and the United States have reached a reciprocal agreement under which they will now be sending back migrants who attempt to cross illegally anywhere at the border. Trudeau called it an exceptional measure that will protect Canadians amid the pandemic. It addresses concerns about the difficulty of screening refugee claimants for the new virus. Thousands of migrants have fled north to Canada since 2017. Trudeau also confirmed that all non essential travel between Canada and the United States will end at midnight Friday. The two countries announ

The federal government is unveiling a plan to have companies quickly produce supplies of needed medical equipment to cope with the rapidly multiplying cases of COVID-19 across Canada.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the plan will provide support to manufacturers that want to retool their assembly lines to build ventilators, masks and other personal protective gear.And it will also help those already producing the products to quickly scale up.Ottawa has been working in close collaboration with provinces and territories, who deliver health care, to determine where gaps exist in the system and

Sobeys grocery stores are taking further steps to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among customers and staff.The company began installing Plexiglas shields for cashiers in select stores last night and plan to have them in every store as quickly as possible.Sobeys is also mandating that employees wash their hands every 15 minutes and will reduce store hours to allow more time for sanitizing.

A union official says Air Canada is laying off more than 5,000 flight attendants as the country's largest airline cuts routes and parks planes due to COVID-19.Wesley Lesosky, who heads the Air Canada component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), says Air Canada is laying off 3,600 mainline flight attendants as well as all of Air Canada Rouge's 1,549 flight attendants.The layoffs are set to take effect by next month.Air Canada announced Wednesday it will suspend the majority of its international and American flights by the end of the month.Its stock has plummeted 76 per cent in t

It's about way more than flattening the curve. That from the nation's top physician, who wants Canadians to harden their resolve and make every effort to stop the spread of COVID-19. Theresa Tam says the case count is expected to continue to rise and efforts at social distancing need to continue. The effort is underway to make sure there isn't a sudden sharp increase in the number of cases, so the spread of the virus is slowed over time. Public health experts call it ''flattening the curve.'' Tam is calling for Canadians to not just flatten the curve but her words ''plank it.''

Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne is self-isolating as he awaits the results of a test for COVID-19. Champagne says he was experiencing flu like symptoms following a trip. He says he's being tested ''out of an abundance of caution'' and is in self-isolation at home.

Alberta has recorded its first death from COVID-19. Chief medical officer Dr. Deena Hinshaw says the man who died was in his 60s and had underlying health conditions. She says it appears he contracted the virus in the community and not through travel. Alberta is reporting 27 new cases of the infection for a total of 146. Alberta is the fourth province to record a death. British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec have all had people die from COVID-19.

The federal government is suspending its passport services until further notice. Canadians will only be able to obtain or renew passports if they need to travel for urgent reasons. This includes serious illness, the death of friend or family member, humanitarian work or would otherwise lose a job or business. Service Canada says anyone who does not meet the criteria for urgent travel, or is experiencing symptoms such as a fever, coughing, having trouble breathing, will have to wait. So would anyone who is in self-isolation. Social Development Minister Ahmed Hussen says that with travel restri

There are 871 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada. British Columbia: 271 confirmed (including 8 deaths, 5 resolved) Ontario: 257 confirmed (including 2 deaths, 5 resolved) Alberta: 146 confirmed (including 1death) Quebec: 121 confirmed (including 1 death) Saskatchewan: 8 confirmed, 12 presumptive Manitoba: 9 confirmed, 8 presumptive Nova Scotia: 5 confirmed, 9 presumptive New Brunswick: 2 confirmed, 9 presumptive Canadians quarantined at CFB Trenton: 9 confirmed Newfoundland and Labrador: 1 confirmed, 2 presumptive Prince Edward Island: 2 confirmed The Territories: No confirmed cases Tot