The federal government is expected to boost the minimum hourly wage that must be paid to temporary foreign workers in the high-wage stream as a way to encourage employers to hire more Canadian staff. Under the current program’s high-wage labour market impact assessment (LMIA) stream, an employer must pay at least the median income in their province to qualify for a permit. A government official, who The Canadian Press is not naming because they are not authorized to speak publicly about the change, said Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault will announce Tuesday that the threshold will incr

The final results of British Columbia's weekend election won't be known until at least next week. Elections BC says official recounts are being held in two tight ridings where the difference between the New Democrat and B.C. Conservatives candidates is less than 100 votes. The NDP candidates hold slim leads in both the Surrey City Centre and Juan de Fuca-Malahat ridings, and the results could determine who forms government. Elections BC says it will also be counting about 49,000 absentee and mail-in ballots. The election's initial results have the NDP leading or elected in 46 ridings, with the

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Friday said that the for the first time since independence his government is investing in teachers, schools and students for ushering in an era of education revolution in the state. Addressing the gathering here while flagging off first batch of teachers for training to Finland, the Chief Minister said that today marks a significant milestone in Punjab’s education system as we gather to see off 72 of our brightest primary teachers who will embark on a journey to Finland for professional training. He said that this is not merely a journey to a ne

Partap Singh Bajwa, leader of the Opposition, Punjab has written a letter to the Election Commission of India (ECI), requesting the postponement of the Punjab byelections on November 13, as they coincide with the sacred celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s birth anniversary. The by-polls to four Punjab Assembly constituencies are scheduled on November 13. These are Dera Baba Nanak, Chabbewal, Gidderbaha, and Barnala.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland says she is "absolutely confident" the majority of Liberal MPs still support Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as leader. Her comments come ahead of what promises to be a tense meeting of the Liberal caucus in Ottawa next week as a growing number of MPs try to convince Justin Trudeau to step down. Several media reports have uncovered efforts by some Liberal MPs to confront the prime minister at the next caucus meeting. There is no mechanism for caucus to force the prime minister to step down as leader, and he has so far not wavered in his plans to stay on. F

National Defence Minister Bill Blair says Canada is sending $64.8 million in military aid to Ukraine. Blair made the announcement at a NATO defence ministers' meeting in Brussels where Ukraine's ongoing war with Russia was a key topic. More than $50 million will go towards arms, ammunition and military drones as well as uniforms and personal protective equipment for Ukrainian soldiers. The remaining funding is to support military training for those soldiers and to strengthen Ukrainian cyber forces. The funds come from $500 million promised by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the NATO summit in

The federal and Manitoba governments have signed a deal to expand food programs. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government set aside $1 billion over five years in the last budget to expand access to such programs across the country after pressure from federal New Democrats. Manitoba is to receive about $17.2 million over the next three years under the deal. Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland says the agreement builds on the province's nutrition program that was expanded last month. Manitoba's NDP government earmarked $30 million in this year's budget to provide public schools acr

Three teenage girls have been charged with assault after two separate violent attacks took place on Metro Vancouver's transit system. Metro Vancouver Transit Police say the assaults happened on July 11, the first of which was on board a SkyTrain while it travelled from New Westminster to Surrey. Police say a 16-year-old student was attacked by the three suspects after she tried to prevent one of them from prying open the doors while the train was moving. The attackers are accused of punching and kicking the girl, then dragging her by her hair before other passengers and SkyTrain attendants in

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Russia during October 22-23 to attend the Brics Summit, the external affairs ministry announced on Friday amid growing speculation about the possibility of a meeting between the Indian and Chinese leaders on the margins of the event. Modi is expected to hold a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the summit to be held in Kazan, people familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity. China’s foreign ministry announced on Friday that President Xi Jinping will attend the summit being chaired by Russia.