Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held their first bilateral meeting on Wednesday, October 23, after a gap of five years. The meeting coincided with the BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) summit in Russia. According to Chinese state media, President Xi Jinping told PM Modi that there is a need to strengthen communication and cooperation between the two countries. “The two sides should strengthen communication and cooperation, properly handle divergences and differences, and realize each other’s development dreams,” President Xi Jinping said. The me

The Bank of Canada cut its key policy interest rate by 50 basis points on Wednesday to bring it to 3.75 per cent. Here's what people are saying about the decision: "High inflation and interest rates have been a heavy burden for Canadians. With inflation now back to target and interest rates continuing to come down, families, businesses and communities should feel some relief." Tiff Macklem, Bank of Canada governor. "Activity in Canada’s housing market has been sluggish in many regions due to higher borrowing costs, but today’s more aggressive cut to lending rates could cause the tide to tu

Green Leader Sonia Furstenau is set to meet the media for the first time since British Columbia's indecisive election on Saturday, amid speculation about a possible minority government.The Greens announced Tuesday that Furstenau is staying on as leader despite losing her seat in the legislature, saying she was "instrumental" in B.C.'s 2017 minority government and her guidance of the party's new caucus will be "critical."The Greens say their two elected members, Jeremy Valeriote and Rob Botterell, support Furstenau's leadership as they "navigate the prospect of having the balance of power in th

Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante says she won't run for a third term in next year's municipal elections. Plante's office confirmed the news, which the mayor will make official at an 11:30 a.m. news conference at city hall.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will face down his own caucus members in a hotly anticipated meeting this morning, as several of them plan to try to convince him to step aside. Rumours have circulated for weeks about an undisclosed number of Liberal MPs who have signed on to the effort to oust the prime minister in the hopes of improving the party's chances in the next election. Trudeau's personal poll numbers plummeted more than a year ago, and successive byelection losses have compounded concerns about his leadership. The MPs have no formal mechanism to depose Trudeau as leader, which means

Police say a youth has been arrested after a report of online threats against a school in the Metro Vancouver community of Richmond, B.C. RCMP say the Richmond School District contacted them on Saturday about alleged threats that a shooting would take place at a particular school on Monday. The Mounties say they began investigating immediately, identifying and arresting a youth that day. They say nothing so far indicates the threat was being followed through on, and there are no further safety concerns at the school. Insp. Michael Cohee says such a threat is "extremely serious" and police want

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his leadership of the Liberal party is not in danger, even as members of his caucus prepare to confront him Wednesday in the hopes of convincing him to step down. He brushed off those concerns as he headed into his regular Tuesday meeting with cabinet ministers. While members of the cabinet have defended Trudeau staying on as leader, a number of Liberal MPs have signed onto a letter that aims to convince him to step aside before the next election. It's not clear how many members of Trudeau's team of MPs plan to confront him, or exactly what their message will

Mounties are investigation after a 19-year-old driver was killed in a crash on Vancouver Island on Monday night. Police were called to the single-vehicle crash scene near the Nanaimo airport shortly after 10:30 p.m. The collision occurred in the southbound lanes of the Trans-Canada Highway, south of Aqua Terra Road, between Ladysmith and Nanaimo. In a news release Tuesday, the Ladysmith RCMP said the 19-year-old man was the lone occupant of a Nissan 350Z and he was pronounced dead at the scene despite life-saving efforts from first responders. The Trans-Canada Highway was closed for several ho

Record numbers of people in British Columbia are being vaccinated against COVID-19 and flu, as the province ramps up its immunization campaign for respiratory illness season. The health ministry says in a news release invitations for priority populations started going out on Oct. 8, and on the first day of delivery on Oct. 15, B.C. pharmacies administered almost 82,000 vaccinations. It says that was a record for any single day, with about 50,000 shots for the flu, and about 32,000 for COVID-19. The ministry says there are updated vaccines for both influenza and COVID-19 on offer, including new