Justice Marie-Josee Hogue, the commissioner of the public inquiry into foreign interference, says her work is now underway and hearings will be held next year.A press release from the public inquiry says it will first focus on allegations of interference by China, Russia and other foreign actors, and any impact that might have had in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.The inquiry is also aiming to take a look at how the flow of information within the federal government worked when it came to such allegations, while a second phase will focus on the government's capacity to detect and counter f

The federal government has announced its new immigration level plan.Immigration Minister Mark Miller said the federal government is sticking to its goal of welcoming 500,000 new permanent residents in 2026.Immigration targets have increased steadily in recent years.Last year, the government released a plan to give PR to 465,000 people in 2023, a figure that will increase to 500,000 by 2025.The new targets tabled in Parliament show the government plans to equalize the number of new permanent residents in Canada in 2026, with plans to increase the 2024 and 2025 targets.It is worth noting that th

Montreal's Concordia University is warning of "devastating financial implications" if Quebec moves forward with a plan to double tuition for out-of-province students next fall.University president Graham Carr said in a message to the Concordia community that the new $17,000 tuition for out-of-province Canadian students will price the school out of the domestic market.He says the university expects out-of-province undergraduate registration will decline by between 65 and 90 per cent as a result, leading to an annual revenue decline of up to $32 million in four years.The school's total annual re

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced that former British Columbia premier John Horgan has been appointed as Canada's next ambassador to Germany.A statement from the Prime Minister's Office says Horgan has a proven track record of dedicated public service and will provide strategic advice to Trudeau in his new role.Horgan, 64, was first elected to the legislative assembly in 2005 and was re-elected four consecutive times, twice as premier.The statement says Canada and Germany face complex challenges, including food and energy insecurity, and will work to advance shared priorities.Trudeau

Today, the federal government will announce its new immigration level plan.Under this plan, targets will be set regarding how many immigrants Canada wants to admit to the country during the next 3 years.Announcing these targets last year, the government said 465,000 new immigrants would be admitted to the country in 2023, 485,000 in 2024 and 500,000 in 2025.Setting of these targets is done annually.Normally there is not much debate about these goals, but this time Canada is dealing with inflation and a housing crisis, which has led to reports and surveys in recent days expressing concern about

The Quebec government is increasing its immigration target to about 60,000 people next year and imposing new French-language requirements for newcomers.Premier François Legault says the official target will remain steady at 50,000 people a year but a document his government released today shows that number will rise by 10,000 when immigrants admitted through other programs are factored in.The premier told reporters today his government will require all economic immigrants, who are chosen by the province, not Ottawa, to pass a French test before they are admitted.Quebec will also begin requiri

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is challenging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to a "carbon tax election," and is calling on the Liberals to exempt all home heating from carbon pricing until the next federal vote.Poilievre threw down the challenge in an address to his caucus this morning, where he chided the Liberals' decision to pause the levy only for home heating oil over the next three years.That decision, along with a pledge to increase the top-up to carbon rebates for rural Canadians, came amid weak polling for the Liberals in Atlantic Canada, where the federal carbon price came into

Montreal police say they've arrested 17 people in connection with an alleged real estate fraud scheme worth more than $5 million.Police say members of the alleged fraud ring used fake IDs to borrow against the value of five properties they didn't own.They say the fake IDs were used to sign legal documents and open bank accounts in the names of the real owners.The financing obtained from private lenders was withdrawn soon after it was deposited in the bank accounts.Police say the real owners of the properties have found themselves tied to mortgages they never took out and the lenders have lost

No Canadian citizens have been included in a list of more than 400 foreign nationals who would be permitted to leave Gaza for the first time since Israel launched its retaliatory war on Hamas militants more than three weeks ago.An agreement appeared to have been reached Wednesday to allow hundreds of foreign passport holders, along with some wounded people, to leave for Egypt.The General Authority for Border Crossings in Gaza published a list of those who would be permitted to leave that included citizens of Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Finland, Indonesia, Japan and Jordan