The Liberal government has announced an $880-million fund aimed at helping young Canadians gain valuable experience in skilled trades. Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu said that starting early next year, young Canadians will be able to access up to four months of paid job placements to gain hands-on skills and workplace experience before beginning formal training. The funding is part of an $8-billion budget set aside by the government to help train the next generation of skilled workers across Canada, including carpenters, electricians and welders. The government also announced that workers w

Canada’s International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu met with Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal in Mumbai on Friday to discuss ongoing negotiations for the proposed Free Trade Agreement between the two countries. The meeting comes at an important stage as Canada and India aim to conclude the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) by the end of this year. According to Sidhu and Goyal, both sides reiterated their commitment to finalizing the agreement as soon as possible. The proposed deal is expected to create new opportunities for businesses in both countries in

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre avoided questions from reporters as the party’s two-day federal caucus meeting wrapped up in Penticton, B.C., ahead of Parliament’s fall session. Poilievre addressed Conservative MPs for about 20 minutes during the retreat. Media were allowed to cover the speech, but he did not take questions or participate in additional photo opportunities during the gathering. He left the meeting without speaking to reporters as Conservative MPs concluded discussions aimed at setting the party’s priorities before Parliament resumes. The meeting came amid reports of

Amid the federal government’s efforts to open up new markets, Export Development Canada (EDC) said in a report released Thursday that Canada needs to invest in processing raw materials domestically and turning them into higher-value products instead of exporting them in their raw form. EDC CEO Alison Nankivell said such investments could add nearly $100 billion to Canada’s GDP over the next decade. The report used yellow peas as an example. While exporting raw peas may generate about $30 per tonne, processing them into flour can raise the value to $300 per tonne. Turning them into products

911 emergency services were temporarily disrupted across several Canadian provinces early Thursday morning, including Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Manitoba. The outage was reported in multiple areas, prompting police departments to advise residents to use non-emergency numbers or Wi-Fi calling to reach emergency services. Bell Canada confirmed that a technical issue occurred on its network at around 3:13 a.m., after which backup systems were activated to route calls to emergency services. By around 6 a.m., police departments in Toronto, Peel, York, Durham, Hamilton and Winni

U.S. President Donald Trump has signed a memorandum directing his administration to examine steps that could restrict the purchase of Canadian-origin goods and services for the operations of the U.S. federal government. The memorandum assigns the Office of Management and Budget director and the U.S. Trade Representative to identify Canadian-origin goods and services covered by government procurement rules. They have also been directed to take legally available steps to remove or restrict those products from the federal procurement system. The Trump administration has described the move as a re

A 31-year-old Calgary man accused of making death threats against Prime Minister Mark Carney has been identified as Jamie Da Costa, who will remain in custody. During a court hearing, defence counsel said Da Costa was ordered to remain in custody earlier this month. As of Tuesday morning, he was being held at the Calgary Remand Centre. According to the RCMP, police were notified on July 28 that threats had been posted from a YouTube account. Court documents allege the incident occurred between July 25 and 26. In addition to the alleged death threat, Da Costa faces charges including extortion,

The United Kingdom could join Canada-led Defence, Security and Resilience Bank, with reports indicating that high-level discussions are underway between the two countries. The financial institution is designed to provide long-term, low-cost financing for defence projects in allied countries. Canada has so far brought eight countries into the institution — Albania, Belgium, Greece, Latvia, Luxembourg, Romania, Türkiye and Ukraine, which is facing Russia’s invasion. The UK would be the first other G7 country to join the initiative. According to reports, Finance Minister François-Philippe C

Former Canadian Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper has praised Prime Minister Mark Carney’s efforts to diversify Canada’s trade during his closing remarks at the two-day Canada Investment Summit in Toronto. Harper supported the federal government’s decisions in the energy sector and said Canada had little choice but to step back from trade negotiations with the United States. He said reducing Canada’s dependence on the U.S. and redirecting trade toward other countries would bring challenges, but expressed confidence that Canadians would be able to manage them. Harper also prais