Statistics Canada says real gross domestic product grew 0.2 per cent in July, following essentially no change in June, helped by strength in the retail trade sector. The agency says the growth came as services-producing industries grew 0.2 per cent for the month. The retail trade sector was the largest contributor to overall growth in July as it gained one per cent, helped by the motor vehicles and parts dealers subsector which gained 2.8 per cent. The public sector aggregate, which includes the educational services, health care and social assistance, and public administration sectors, gained

Health Minister Adriana LaGrange says there's more work to be done before a new compensation contract for Alberta's doctors is finalized. LaGrange says she has to make sure the new deal, which was agreed to in part this past April, is sustainable. She says doctor compensation under the existing contract over the past few years has risen quicker than inflation and population growth and is currently over budget this year. The group representing Alberta's doctors have said the government is dragging its feet in implementing the new deal and putting patients' lives at risk in the pro

Less than 24 hours after the Conservatives lost their first attempt to topple the government the Tories are trying again. A new motion being debated this morning states that the House of Commons has lost confidence in the Liberal government and "offers Canadians the option to axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget and stop the crime." That's the list of slogans the Tories have been using for months. On Wednesday, the majority of MPs voted against the first non-confidence motion that was put forward by Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre. The series of confidence votes comes after the ND

Canada has issued a joint statement with its allies calling for "an immediate 21-day ceasefire across the Lebanon-Israel border," citing an "unacceptable risk of a broader regional escalation." The statement, issued along with the United States, Australia, European Union, United Arab Emirates and eight other countries, calls on the governments of Lebanon and Israel and all parties involved to endorse the temporary ceasefire and "give a real chance to a diplomatic settlement." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said the cease-fire plan put forward was only a proposal and that th

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron to his home in Ottawa Wednesday for an informal private dinner. Trudeau greeted Macron outside Rideau Cottage with a hug and a big smile at the start of Macron's second official visit to Canada. The two leaders will hold more formal meetings Thursday in Ottawa and Montreal. The war in Ukraine, misinformation and artificial intelligence will highlight the discussions. But the two surely will also touch on their similar political circumstances as progressive politicians who have become deeply unpopular with voters. They hav

The Conservatives' non-confidence motion against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority Liberal government has been defeated. There were 120 votes in favor of the Conservative motion, while 211 MPs voted against it. This outcome has saved Prime Minister Trudeau’s government from falling. This was the first attempt by the Conservatives to topple Trudeau's government after NDP withdrew support from the Liberals. The NDP and Bloc Québécois had already made it clear that they would vote in support of the Liberals. However, with this move by the Conservatives, the pressure on the government h

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