New data shared by British Columbia's Centre for Disease Control shows the province has one of the worst flu rates in Canada, as a holiday-season spike in respiratory illnesses continues. But the data also shows the province has one of the lowest COVID-19 test positivity rates in the country, at about half the national rate. Dr. Jennifer Vines, interim medical director for public health response at the B.C. CDC, says respiratory illness has been “steadily climbing” over the past several weeks, with RSV and influenza “driving the increase right now.” The report says about 13.5 per cent

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly is out of the running to replace Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader, a Liberal source confirms to The Canadian Press. Joly is expected to talk to media today outside a Canada-U.S. relations cabinet committee meeting on Parliament Hill. The Liberal leadership race is fully underway, now that the party has set a date for the race. More big-name candidates are expected to announce soon whether they intend to run or sit this one out. Leadership hopefuls only have until Jan. 23 to declare and must pay a $350,000 fee to enter the race, which is set to conclude on

The Liberal Party of Canada will choose its next leader and the country's next prime minister on March 9, after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's decision to step down as leader and prime minister after holding the reins for nine years. "After a robust and secure nationwide process, the Liberal Party of Canada will choose a new leader on March 9, and be ready to fight and win the 2025 election," the party said in a statement. The party's national council announced the date after a series of meetings this week. The entry fee for potential candidates has been set at CAD $350,000 (approximately $2

Finally bowing before the Akal Takht, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) working committee on Friday accepted the resignation of Sukhbir Singh Badal as the party president. The development comes two days after the Akal Takht Jathedar took a tough stance on the issue in a meeting with the SAD leaders, who had not implemented his directions on re-organisation of the party. SAD spokesperson Daljeet Singh Cheema announced this here after the working committee meeting. The SAD had been arguing that the party's constitution and its registration as a political party under the Constitution demanded it to

B.C.’s main opposition leader, John Rustad, has called for an independent investigation into the 2024 legislative election. Rustad claimed that a team investigating his candidate’s defeat in Surrey-Guildford found multiple irregularities that could have potentially altered the final results. He also questioned the electoral process, alleging that BC Elections did not verify whether those who voted were Canadian citizens. Rustad called for electoral reforms to ensure that only Canadian citizens are eligible to vote. The party further alleged that someone in Surrey-Guildford had voted twice

BC patients may face ambulance delays due to a tightening of overtime limits as part of a cost-cutting measure. According to reports, BC Emergency Health Services is implementing this change, and front-line workers are concerned that it will lead to further delays in patient care. The province’s emergency health department is reportedly facing a $200 million budget shortfall. The paramedics' union has expressed that the overtime policy change, effective January 1, has placed an increased burden on front-line workers. With fewer workers available to manage the situation amid a staffing short

A Mahapanchayat of the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha was held in Moga, Punjab today. During the meeting, it was decided to support the ongoing agitation at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders with full unity from all the farmer organizations. This will mark the first time that the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha, along with the farmer unions it includes, will participate in the current farmer agitation. Until now, for about 11 months, only Jagjit Singh Dallewal's Sanyukt Kisan Morcha Non-Political and Sarwan Singh Pandher's Kisan Mazdoor Morcha have been leading the protests at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders. The

Elections BC says it is looking into a complaint of voting irregularities from a B.C. Conservative candidate in a riding narrowly won by the NDP, giving the government a one-seat majority in October’s provincial election. It says the complaint was lodged by B.C. Conservative Honveer Singh Randhawa last Friday and it is “under review.” Elections BC declared the NDP’s Garry Begg winner of the Surrey-Guildford riding by 22 votes over Randhawa after a judicial recount conducted by hand. BC Conservative Leader John Rustad and Randhawa are scheduled to address a news conference this morning

Ontario MP Chandra Arya is the second Liberal to announce he wants to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as leader of the Liberal party. Arya posted on social media Wednesday morning that he wants to campaign on running a "small, more efficient government" and on offering "bold political decisions" to solve the country's problems. Arya joins former Montreal MP and businessman Frank Baylis as the only two declared candidates in the race so far. Higher-profile Liberals said to be considering leadership bids include former central banker Mark Carney, former finance minister Chrystia Freeland a