Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is welcoming the election of Mexico's next president, Claudia Sheinbaum, and pitching closer ties between the two counties as they ponder the future of North American relations. Mexicans elected Sheinbaum as their first female president Sunday, and in October she will replace Andrés Manuel Lopéz Obrador. The election comes three months after the Liberals reimposed a visa requirement for Mexican visitors over concerns that the 2016 lifting of the requirement led to a rise in ineligible refugee claims and human smuggling into the U.S. The two countries will be par

A Canadian immigration lawyer says now that Donald Trump is a convicted felon, he is technically barred from crossing the border into Canada. Trump was found guilty today on all 34 counts in his criminal hush money trial, which are punishable by up to four years in prison. Mario Bellissimo says that makes him "criminally inadmissible," and he can't apply to change that until five years after he serves his sentence. However, if Trump is elected United States president in the meantime, exemptions could be made. He would have to show the Immigration Department, or the federal minister, that he ha

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he supports France's decision to invite Russian officials to a D-Day commemoration, despite the invasion of Ukraine. Trudeau says Canada is in "extreme disagreement" with Russia and that Moscow must be held accountable for violating fundamental rules about respecting sovereign borders. But he says it's still important to recognize all countries involved in liberating France from the Nazis in the Second World War. Mission Libération, the French government committee organizing the 80th anniversary commemorations for D-Day, told European media last week they ha

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is set to attend the G7 leaders' summit next month in Italy, followed by the Ukraine peace summit in Switzerland. In a news release today, the Prime Minister's Office says Trudeau's focus at the G7 summit will be on highlighting the importance of democracy, promoting fair economic growth and combating foreign interference. Trudeau's office says he will also hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts and discuss the Israel-Hamas and Russia-Ukraine wars. At the Switzerland summit, Trudeau is expected to reaffirm Canada's support for Ukraine and push for the retur

Immigration Minister Marc Miller is increasing the number of applications that will be processed under a much-criticized program to reunite Palestinians with Canadian relatives. The move comes as he testifies about measures introduced months ago that were meant to bring relatives of Canadians from conflict zones in the Gaza Strip and Sudan to safety. The Gaza program initially had a cap of 1,000 applications that could be "accepted into processing," but Miller is now increasing that number to 5,000, each of which can include multiple family members. Palestinian Canadians have complained about

Treasury Board President Anita Anand says Ottawa is developing a new artificial intelligence strategy for government operations. She says the strategy will help make government more efficient and improve services for Canadians. The effort will include setting up a specific division to retrain existing public servants. Anand made the announcement at a meeting with experts who are convening in Gatineau, Que., to discuss developing the strategy. The federal government has already begun incorporating AI into its operations, using the technology in hundreds of different ways. These talks come as ei

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the International Court of Justice's latest ruling is in line with Canada's position on Israel's military operations in Rafah. His comments come after the United Nations' top court ordered Israel to immediately halt its military offensive in the southern Gaza Strip city, but stopped short of ordering a ceasefire for the enclave. The sharply focused decision sent a three-pronged message to Israel, ordering the country to halt the Rafah offensive, allow war crimes investigators access Gaza and immediately increase humanitarian aid into the region. Trudeau reite

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators has written a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, urging him to meet the NATO spending target Canada agreed to a decade ago. All NATO allies pledged to spend at least two per cent of GDP on defence, but Canada is spending well below that at around 1.33 per cent. In a letter dated today, 23 senators say Canada is a valued ally and note its contributions, including leading a multinational battle group in Latvia. But they say the alliance is facing a severe threat landscape and they are calling on all NATO countries to uphold their commitment. Under its ne

The Ottawa police hate-crime unit has charged an unnamed older woman with assault, harassment by threatening conduct and mischief after a woman's hijab was pulled off at a recent protest. Pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian groups gathered last week outside city hall after the Israeli flag was raised to mark 76 years since that country's establishment. Police say a woman wearing a hijab was attending a lawful demonstration when someone approached and removed the headscarf "while making lewd gestures." They say they identified that person as a 74-year-old woman, but won't share her name or when she