Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says as classrooms get over whelmed with new grade school students, her government will fast-track new school builds with 8.6-billion dollars over the next three years. In a televised address, Smith says the province's existing education budget isn't enough to keep up with rapid population growth in kindergarten to Grade 12 schools. She says often the only thing holding back cash is school boards getting projects and sites ready for construction. The government is also changing the process of approving construction funding so school boards don't need to wait eve

A federal inquiry into foreign interference is slated to hear today from current and former politicians who have been singled out by meddlers. Former Conservative leader Erin O'Toole, Conservative MP Michael Chong and New Democrat MP Jenny Kwan have all been identified publicly as targets of interference by China. The inquiry's latest hearings are focusing on the capacity of federal agencies to detect, deter and counter foreign meddling. The hearings, scheduled to continue through Oct. 16, will be somewhat broad in scope, examining democratic institutions and the experiences of diaspora commun

The Bloc Québécois leader says he's in no hurry to trigger a federal election and will instead stick with his plan to extract gains from the minority Liberal government. Yves-François Blanchet made the comments to reporters today after his party's stunning byelection victory in the former Liberal stronghold of LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, in Montreal's southwest. Blanchet says the NDP's decision to end its agreement with the Liberals that had propped up the minority government gave his party the momentum it needed to win the riding by just 248 votes. With the victory, which was announced earl

Health Canada has authorized Moderna's updated COVID-19 vaccine that protects against currently circulating variants of the virus. The mRNA vaccine, called Spikevax, has been reformulated to target the KP.2 subvariant of Omicron. It will replace the previous version of the vaccine that was released a year ago, which targeted the XBB.1.5 subvariant of Omicron. Health Canada recently asked provinces and territories to get rid of their older COVID-19 vaccines to ensure the most current vaccine will be used during this fall's respiratory virus season. Health Canada is also reviewing two other upda

Annual inflation cooled sharply to two per cent in August, according to Statistics Canada, marking a major milestone in the Bank of Canada’s efforts to tame price pressures. That’s half a percentage point lower than the 2.5 per cent annual rate recorded in July and continues a general cooling trend through 2024. Inflation remains unthreatening and the Bank of Canada should now focus on trying to stimulate the economy and halting the upward climb in the unemployment rate.The Bank of Canada’s sets its benchmark interest rate in an effort to achieve two per cent inflation, according to its

The Bloc Québécois has won the Montreal Liberal stronghold riding of LaSalle—Émard—Verdun after an extremely tight three-way race with the NDP. The resounding celebrations are another blow to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who faced calls to resign after losing another longtime Liberal seat in Toronto to the Conservatives in June. Elections Canada reported all 187 polls showing the Bloc won the seat 248 votes ahead of the Liberals. Further west in Winnipeg, the NDP maintained its stronghold in the riding of Elmwood — Transcona in a tight byelection race with the Conservatives. Electio

The municipality of Jasper in Alberta's Rocky Mountains is taking the next step this weekend as it recovers from a July wildfire that destroyed a third of its buildings. Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland says the state of emergency will formally end on Sunday. Ireland says the move means Jasper is transitioning from a short-term recovery perspective to a long-term view. He also says removing the state of emergency order will help the tourist town's much needed visitor economy return. The wildfire destroyed more than 350 of the town's buildings, including 800 housing units. The town estimates 2,

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says the government is making some changes to mortgage rules to help more Canadians to purchase their first home. She says the changes will come into force in December and better reflect the housing market. The price cap for insured mortgages will be boosted for the first time since 2012, moving to $1.5 million from $1 million, to allow more people to qualify for a mortgage with less than a 20 per cent down payment. The government will also expand its 30-year mortgage amortization to include first-time homebuyers buying any type of home, as well as anybody bu

The Canadian Parliament begins today and during this session, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre can introduce a no-confidence motion against PM Justin Trudeau's minority Liberal government at any time. The special thing is that although NDP president Jagmeet Singh has broken the agreement with the Liberals, the party has not shown any interest in elections in the near future, but Poilievre is putting full pressure to topple the government. He has also challenged the Bloc Quebecois to face the Liberals. Poilievre also alleged that Jagmeet Singh is making voters wait for a change of governm