A return to a somewhat normal summer as COVID-19 restrictions are eased is putting a strain on Canada's blood supply.Several provinces have started lifting restrictions — most notably Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan — and demand is increasing as a result.Tracy Smith from Canadian Blood Services says people are resuming activities and hospitals are trying to catch up on backlogged surgeries.She says the blood agency has extended hours at some donation centres and mobile clinics in anticipation of an increased need.But many pandemic safety precautions remain in place, including a

Five years after becoming Canada's youngest Olympic champion, Penny Oleksiak is the country's most decorated summer Olympian. The 21-year-old from Toronto earned a bronze medal in the women's 200-metre freestyle for her sixth career medal, and she's not done yet. Oleksiak will soon be back in the pool to begin defending her title in the 100-metre freestyle.Canada has nine medals entering Thursday's action at the Tokyo Games. The total breaks down as two gold, three silver and four bronze. Canada is 11th place in the medal standings in between the Netherlands and Hungary. Host Japan leads the

Three suspects are expected in court today in connection with an alleged kidnapping that triggered an Amber Alert on Tuesday. Authorities say three men, two 21-year-olds and a 22-year-old will appear before a judge to face charges. Just after 11 p.m. on Monday, Montreal police say a 16-year-old girl was allegedly forced into a vehicle from her place of work at a restaurant in Kirkland, Que, a suburb in western Montreal. Fearing for the girl's safety, major-crimes investigators elected to issue an Amber Alert early Tuesday. The teen showed up at a Montreal police station herself not long after

Fully vaccinated Canadian travellers have been left out of plans to ease quarantine restrictions for entry in the United Kingdom. The U.K. announced today that fully vaccinated travellers in the U.S. or Europe will not have to quarantine on arrival to the U.K. The changes are set to go in place at 4 a.m. on August 2. The British government did not provide a reason why Canada was not included in the new quarantine exceptions. The European countries involved in the exceptions include European Union member states, members of the European free trade agreement and the microstate countries of Ando

GOLD (2) SWIMMING (1) Women's 100 butterfly Margaret MacNeil, London, Ont. (July 26) WEIGHTLIFTING (1) Women's 64 kg Maude Charron, Rimouski, Que. (July 27) SILVER (3) DIVING (1) Women's three-metre springboard synchronized Jennifer Abel, Laval, Que., and Melissa Citrini-Beaulieu, Saint-Constant, Que. (July 25) SWIMMING (2) Women's 100 backstroke Kylie Masse, Lasalle, Ont. (July 27) Women's 4x100 freestyle relay Canada (Penny Oleksiak and Kayla Sanchez, Toronto; Margaret MacNeil, London, Ont.; Rebecca Smith, Red Deer, Alta., and Taylor Ruck, Kelowna, B.C., in qualifying) (July 25) BRONZE (3)

Federal Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna says there is no question climate change is real, and she says it's accelerating. McKenna made the comment during an event in Edmonton this morning. She pointed to BC, saying Lytton was incinerated ``in a matter of hours'' by a wildfire and hundreds of B-C seniors died in a recent heat wave, while some parts of Europe received as much rain in three days as they get in three months. She says Canadians must take advantage of solutions that already exist, such as electric buses, because the future must be sustainable, and once we shed the COVID-1

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is urging Canadians who still have not gotten a COVID-19 vaccine to roll up their sleeves, saying that the overwhelming majority of cases are in people who haven't received their two shots.Trudeau says only half of one per cent of cases being recorded are in fully vaccinated people. The prime minister says the vaccines are safe, they have passed Canada's world-class standard for medical approvals and they work.He also notes they are available as Canada now has enough vaccines delivered to fully immunize everyone who is eligible for a shot, working out to over 66

Canadian swimmer Kylie Masse has won a silver medal in 100m backstroke event in swimming. Masse clocked 57.72 seconds in the event. Masse had won a bronze medal in the same event in Rio Olympics (2016). Australia's Kylee McKeown won the gold medal in the event. She established a new Olympic record while clocking 57.47 seconds. American Raegan Smith won the bronze medal with a timing of 58.05 seconds. Kylie Masse had won gold medals in the same event in 2017 and 2019 world championships.

The Canadian women's swim team is starting strong in Tokyo. Canadian swimmer Maggie Mac Neil will be bringing home the gold in the women's 100 metre butterfly, a day after helping the freestyle relay team score silver. Summer McIntosh, one of Canada's youngest athletes at 14-years-old, just missed the podium with a fourth-place finish in the women's 400-metre freestyle. Kylie Masse of LaSalle, Ontario swims the 100 metre backstroke final tonight. She's the reigning world champion at that distance. Canada has also won a silver medal in women's 3m springboard synchronized diving.