Canada's wildfire season is on track to be the second largest in at least the last two decades, trailing only last year's record-breaking season. Federal officials say above-normal temperatures and drought conditions across parts of Canada have continued to drive fire activity, with 5.3 million hectares burned so far, though they caution that number is preliminary. Outside of last year's roughly 15 million hectares burned, federal records indicate only three other seasons have topped 5 million hectares, and the last was in 1995. Yan Boulanger, a research scientist with Natural Resources Canada

At least two Canadians have died in the escalating violence in Lebanon, as Israeli strikes kill Hezbollah militants along with civilians and children. Global Affairs Canada says it is aware of the deaths of two Canadian citizens in Lebanon while another has reached out for help with injuries. Liberal MP Fayçal El-Khoury was born in Lebanon and says Canada needs to push its peer countries more to stop a cycle in violence in the Middle East, or it could lead to a world war. He says his cousin who works as an ophthalmologist in Beirut say shocking amounts of bodily trauma in a recent explosion,

Statistics Canada says the population of the country reached an estimated 41,288,599 on July 1. The agency says the total means 250,229 people were added in the second quarter of the year for a growth of 0.6 per cent. The growth rate was slower than the same quarter of 2023 which saw a 0.8 per cent increase and the 0.7 per cent increase in the second quarter of 2022. The increase in the population was almost entirely due to international migration which added 240,303 people. The difference between births and deaths added 9,926 people. Alberta posted the fastest growth rate among the provinces

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is back in Ottawa today as members of Parliament get set for a vote that could — but likely won't — bring down his minority government. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre made his appeal to MPs during a debate in the House of Commons Tuesday, saying a future Tory government would bring back the "promise of Canada." His call for support from the other opposition parties was quickly rebuffed. The NDP and Bloc Québécois say they will oppose the motion in a vote that's set to happen after question period today. The Bloc wants to leverage its newfound positio

Pfizer Canada says Health Canada has approved its updated COVID-19 vaccine that protects against one of the most recently circulating variants of the virus. The Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA vaccine, called Comirnaty, targets the KP.2 subvariant of Omicron, replacing the previous version which targeted the XBB.1.5 Omicron subvariant. 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. Comirnaty is the third updated COVID-19 vaccine approved by Health Canada for thi

Canada says Egypt will soon stop requiring cumbersome visas for Canadian tourists nearly a year after Cairo imposed the measure on Canadian passport holders. Last October, Egypt suspended Canadians' ability to get a visa online or upon arriving in Egypt, which cost roughly $35 for a single person. Since then Canadians have been paying $150 and mailing in an application form, passport and itinerary to get a visa. Egyptian officials told media that it imposed the more arduous process after Canada made it harder for Egyptian citizens to obtain visas, though The Canadian Press could not confirm th

The House of Commons is set to debate a Conservative non-confidence motion today, as the Tories try to take down Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government. It's the first test for the minority government since the NDP ended its supply-and-confidence deal with the Liberals earlier this month. The Bloc Québécois and NDP have already said they will not support the motion, which will be voted on Wednesday. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has been criticizing NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh for his refusal to bring down the Liberals. That all but eliminates the possibility of a snap election thi

Some MPs are demanding more discipline from House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus after an exchange between two party leaders last week got so heated one MP thought it may actually come to physical blows. In Question Period on Thursday, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh had a shouting match after Poilievre called Singh a phoney and a fraud for his refusal to vote to bring down the Liberal government. The Conservatives insist Singh challenged Poilievre to a fight, while NDP House leader Peter Julian says Singh was merely standing up to bullying from the Tory leade

Calgary lifts water restrictions that lasted much of the summer following successful repairs to a major feeder main. Mayor Jyoti Gondek told in a news conference Sunday morning that the Bearspaw South feeder main is now open and back in service for the Calgary region. Since late August, there has been a ban on any outdoor water use with potable supplies, and Calgarians have been urged to take shorter showers, skip toilet flushes and hold off on laundry and dishes. It was the second round of water rationing since the feeder main in northwest Calgary burst in early June. Most restrictions had b