Statistics Canada said Friday that the unemployment rate dropped a tenth of a percentage point to 6.9 per cent in June as the economy added some 83,000 jobs. The vast majority of those jobs were part-time, the agency said, with 47,000 positions added in the private sector. A Reuters poll of economists heading into Friday’s release had expected the jobless rate would rise to 7.1 per cent in June as employment levels held flat. The June figures buck the recent slowdown in the labour market. Last month was the first significant job gain since January and snapped a streak of three consecutive m

The Quebec government says it won't accept new applications from residents who want to sponsortheir spouses, common-law partners or adult children for immigration until next year. The Immigration department says in a news release that it has reached its cap for sponsorship in those categories. As a result, the families of those immigrants would have to wait until June 25, 2026 to apply. The government announced last year that it would process a maximum of 13,000 family applications from immigrants seeking to reunite with relatives over the two-year period from June 2024 to 2026, after approvin

Calgary police say they are investigating after three people were seriously hurt in an assault at the Calgary Stampede. Police say they responded to reports of an assault just after 11 p.m. Tuesday near the Euroslide on the Stampede's midway. They say they found a severely injured man who was transported to hospital in life-threatening but stable condition. Police say they then responded to reports of a young person and a man who were injured outside the Stampede grounds. Investigators say both people were victims of the same assault that took place on the midway and they were transported to h

Mounties say both pilots have been found dead after two small, single-engine planes collided in the skies over southern Manitoba. They say the crash happened about 8:45 a.m. in the Rural Municipality of Hanover near Steinbach, southeast of Winnipeg. The pilots were pronounced dead on the scene, and there were no passengers.Further details were not released.The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has been notified.RCMP are set to hold a press conference later today.

The premiers of Alberta and Ontario have agreed to a feasibility study of new pipelines and rail lines between provinces while increasing interprovincial trade of alcohol and vehicles. The agreements are laid out in two memorandums of understanding that the premiers signed in Calgary. The potential pipeline and rail line routes to be studied would connect Alberta's oil and gas resources and critical minerals to James Bay in eastern Ontario with a commitment to use Ontario-made steel. The memorandum for supporting new energy corridors says the study would make it easier for the private sector

The northern Manitoba town of Lynn Lake has issued a mandatory evacuation order as a nearby wildfire threatens to cause an imminent loss of power to the community. The evacuation begins Friday, though officials haven't provided a time for when residents must be out of their homes. The town says that if wildfire activity affects Manitoba Hydro transmission lines, residents could see a power outage lasting at least one month. Town officials also noted several other wildfires near Lynn Lake, including two blazes to the southeast that could cut off travel between Lynn Lake and Thompson. A receptio

Liverpool player Diogo Jota and his brother have died in a car accident in Spain, police said Thursday. The Spanish Civil Guard confirmed to The Associated Press that Jota and his brother were found dead after their car went off a road near the western city of Zamora. Authorities said the car was in flames. Police were investigating the causes. They said there were no other vehicles involved.The 28-year-old Jota and his brother, 25-year-old Andre Silva, both Portuguese players, were in the car. Jota also played for Portugal’s national team and helped it win the Nations League last month. Sil

The Canada Revenue Agency says taxpayers who already paid the now-defunct digital services tax will have to wait for Ottawa to pass new legislation before they can get their refund. Prime Minister Mark Carney announced late Sunday that, in a bid to restart trade negotiations with the United States, Canada was dropping the tax on global tech giants. The first payment was due Monday and could have cost American companies like Amazon and Uber billions of dollars. A CRA spokesperson says the agency already collected some revenue from the digital services tax before Ottawa's reversal but didn't cit

Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced that income tax cuts for the middle class will take effect tomorrow. The government has reduced the lowest personal income tax rate from 15 to 14 per cent. According to the Carney government's estimates, 22 million Canadians will benefit from this. PM Carney had promised this during the election campaign and said after the election that this cut would be implemented from Canada Day. This tax cut will apply to the two lowest tax brackets, the first whose taxable income in 2025 is up to $114,750 and the second whose income will be up to $57,375 in the