Finance ministers from across the country will meet up virtually with their federal counterpart Chrystia Freeland today to discuss Alberta’s proposal to quit the Canada Pension Plan.Freeland called the meeting amid concerns about the ramifications of Alberta leaving the federal retirement plan to set up its own standalone program.The Alberta government says its workers have contributed an oversized share to the national fund and would be in line for big savings and payouts if it were to leave the CPP.Freeland says Albertans need to know the CPP delivers among the best returns in the world an

McGill University says Quebec's $8,000 tuition increase for out-of-province students threatens the future of the renowned Schulich School of Music.Principal Deep Saini said Thursday that enrolment of Canadian students from outside Quebec could drop by between 20 and 80 per cent after the new $17,000 tuition takes effect next fall.He says such a loss would be "devastating" for the Schulich School, where nearly 40 per cent of students come from other provinces and territories.Saini also raises the possibility of cuts to varsity teams, a third of whose members come from elsewhere in Canada.McGill

According to Statistics Canada, the unemployment rate rose to 5.7 percent from 5.5 percent in September.The Canadian economy added 18,000 new jobs last month.The federal agency says this is the fourth time in the past 6 months that Canada has recorded an increase in the unemployment rate.Statistics Canada reports that construction added 23,000 jobs and information, culture and entertainment added 21,000 jobs, while the retail sector lost 22,000 workers and the manufacturing sector lost 19,000 jobs.Although employers have been raising wages largely since the start of the year, the overall labor

Canada's minister of foreign affairs is reconfirming that Canadians and their families will be able to leave Gaza beginning in the coming days.Melanie Joly issued a late Thursday update on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, saying she has spoken with her counterpart in Israel, Eli Cohen, about the matter.She says she also received confirmation of Egypt's co-operation.While the flow of foreign nationals leaving Gaza through the Rafah crossing since Wednesday has been slow, officials with Global Affairs Canada say they are working around the clock to evacuate Canadians from

A Canadian man trying to get out of Gaza with his family says Global Affairs Canada has asked him to gather his documents and be prepared to leave at any moment through the enclave's border crossing with Egypt.Mahmoud Nasser says his wife, who has a Brazilian passport, got a call from Global Affairs today during which an official confirmed that Nasser, his wife, his Canadian father and brother and his Palestinian sister-in-law were all registered with Ottawa to evacuate.Nasser, who is sheltering at a refugee camp that's a 20-minute drive away from the Rafah border crossing, says the official t

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is headed to the U.S. capital for a summit meeting to talk about growing trade connections across the Western Hemisphere.Friday's White House summit, hosted by President Joe Biden, will bring together the leaders of countries taking part in the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity.That's what the Biden administration is calling its hemispheric trade framework, an effort to head off migratory challenges by fostering economic growth and trade in the Americas.The Prime Minister's Office says leaders will also discuss attracting what it calls "responsible and

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