Quebec is reporting 97 more deaths linked to COVID-19, brining the provincial tally to 1,340. But Premier Francois Legault says the situation in Quebec is divided between the province's hard-hit seniors and long-term care homes and the rest of the province where the situation is stable. Legault says he knows he's been telling Quebecers to stay home for weeks, but he says the province will present a plan next week to gradually relaunch the economy and reopen schools and daycares. The province reported 22,616 confirmed cases of the virus today, with 1,460 people hospitalized and 227 in intensiv

Procurement Minister Anita Anand says Canada is facing many procurement challenges given the intense global demand for equipment and supplies, but the government is taking an aggressive approach to quickly bring COVID-19 supplies to Canada.She says much of the world's supply of these materials are in China, and moving equipment from that country is highly complex.Two planes from China were forced to return empty to Canada on Monday, one a federal charter and the other destined for a particular province arriving in Canada without the protective medical equipment that they were sent there to pic

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is announcing significant rent relief for businesses that can't afford to pay their landlords at a time when their operations are shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.The federal help, expected to lower rent by 75 percent for affected small businesses, will be provided in partnership with the provinces and territories, which have jurisdiction over rents.The Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance for small businesses will provide forgivable loans to qualifying commercial property owners to cover 50 percent of three monthly rent payments payable by eligible s

Nova Scotia RCMP are confirming a weekend rampage that claimed 22 lives began with the gunman attacking his girlfriend on Saturday night.She was able to escape and hide in the woods during the night.As she hid, shots were fired and several buildings were set on fire.Bodies were found in seven locations.Police say they set up a perimeter to try to capture the gunman and started going door-to-door. More than six hours later, the woman told police that Gabriel Wortman was wearing a police uniform and driving a replica RCMP cruiser.

The Federation of Canadian Municipalities is asking the federal government to give local governments billions in emergency funding to stave off financial ruin. The organization says local governments need between $10 billion and $15 billion over the next six months to pay for services while they see revenue declines. Transit ridership, for instance, is down as people stay home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and municipal councils are considering or have approved delays in collecting property taxes to give residents a financial break. That's why they're asking for $2.4 billion for cities with t

Canada's chief public health officer is reacting to accusations from a Conservative leadership candidate that she is working for China's Communist party, and not Canada, in the fight against COVID-19. Dr. Theresa Tam says she has but one focus during her very long work days. Conservative leadership candidate Derek Sloan says Tam should be fired. He also accuses her of working for China's Communist party, and not Canada, in the fight against COVID-19. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suggests Sloan's comments were racist and must be denounced.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says we are failing our parents and grandparents in long term care homes. Trudeau says the government is sending the military to help in long-term care homes in Ontario and Quebec. But he says it should never have come to this, and there are tough questions to be asked once the crisis is over. The outbreak of COVID-19 in long term care homes has outraged many Canadians and Trudeau says that outrage is not misplaced.

Nova Scotia is reporting four more deaths related to COVID-19, bringing the total number of deaths in the province to 16. Health officials say three of the deaths occurred at the Northwood long-term care home in Halifax Regional Municipality, and the other occurred at Harbourstone Enhanced Care in Sydney. Nova Scotia is reporting 55 new cases of the virus and has a total of 827 confirmed cases. There are 10 licensed long-term care homes and unlicensed seniors' facilities in Nova Scotia with cases of COVID-19, involving 158 residents and 79 staff.

Ontario is reporting 634 new cases of COVID-19 today and 54 more deaths. That brings the total number of cases in the province to 12,879, a 5.2 per cent increase over Wednesday. The total includes 713 deaths and 6,680 cases that have been resolved.