The parliamentary budget officer is projecting inflation will return to the Bank of Canada's two per cent target by the end of the year and the federal deficit will grow amid weakening economic conditions. The budget watchdog released the latest economic and fiscal outlook today. The report predicts the central bank could begin cutting interest rates in April, given the expectation that inflation will fall back to target by the end of 2024. The PBO also anticipates the federal budget to grow to $46.8 billion for current fiscal year, which would exceed the government's fall projection of $40 bi

Former Prime Minister of Canada Brian Mulroney's funeral will be held on March 23 in Montreal. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gave this information in a release today. Mulroney was the 18th Prime Minister of Canada. He breathed his last at the age of 84 on february 29 in a hospital in Florida. He served as Prime Minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993. He is credited with free trade deals with the US and Mexico. The Mulroney government signed the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1992. Air Canada was also privatized during his government. One of the most controversial moves of his governmen

Seventeen cases of measles have been confirmed in Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan and British Columbia more than half of those in the Montreal area, while one Ontario case has been linked to a high school. Quebec public health director Dr. Luc Boileau confirmed 10 cases on Monday, almost all of them involving children and making Montreal the country's epicentre. He said only three of the cases were linked to travel outside of the country, indicating community spread in and around the city. Public Health Ontario confirmed five cases of measles and said all but one involved travel. The latest case

The Quebec government is telling Ottawa to show some respect and not ignore the province's cap on immigration for family reunification. Quebec Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette was responding today to an initiative by federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller to speed up the process of reuniting families with their loved ones. Miller informed the province in a letter that he plans to process more permanent resident applications in the family reunification category, even if means exceeding Quebec's limit. The delay to bring a spouse to Quebec is 34 months, compared with 12 months in other pr

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will present the Liberal government's federal budget on April 16, as cost-of-living issues continue to dominate Canadian politics.In a news release, Freeland says the government economic plan is about build more homes, making life more affordable and creating good jobs. The spending plan is coming at a time when high interest rates are putting a damper on the economy and raising fiscal pressures on the Liberal government. Freeland recently reiterated her commitment to new fiscal guardrails introduced in the fall that would limit deficits. The federal

Two recent cases of measles in Quebec and Ontario have raised alarms among Canadian health officials, who say the infections were not linked to travel or known exposures. That suggests the disease may already be circulating within some communities. So far, at least nine cases have been confirmed nationally. While experts say the overall risk of a large outbreak is low, they warn that areas with lower vaccination rates remain vulnerable. Federal data shows immunization coverage has slipped over the past decade – with 79 per cent of children receiving both doses of the measles vaccine in 2021,

A federal byelection is being held today in the Ontario riding of Durham to fill the seat left vacant by former Conservative leader Erin O'Toole. O'Toole served as official Opposition leader from August 2020 until February 2022 and left his seat last spring. He was first elected as a member of Parliament in 2012. Jamil Jivani, a lawyer and commentator, is running for the Conservatives to replace O'Toole. The Liberals have nominated Robert Rock, a councillor in Scugog, Ont.. Rock initially sought the Conservative nomination but says he decided to run for the Liberals because the Conservative pa

The Liberal government is extending a program that funds 400 local reporting jobs across the country. Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge says Ottawa will spend another $58.8 million to continue the Local Journalism Initiative until 2027. The program, which provides funding for news organizations to hire local reporters, was first established in 2019. The government says its journalists provide news coverage in underserved communities including Indigenous, official language minority and LGBTQ+ communities. The funding is administered by not-for-profit organizations to protect the independence of

The Government of Canada's National Child Protection Act has passed all stages in Parliament, and is now going to become law soon. The purpose of this law is to protect the funding of the National Child Care System, which would be difficult for any future government to defund. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government announced the establishment of a National Child Care System in 2021. It aims to bring the cost of day care to $10 per day by 2026. However, experts have raised concerns about a lack of spaces to meet the growing demand for subsidized childcare. The federal government announce