The Conservatives are criticizing the Trudeau government for not moving faster after Britain became the first country in the world to approve Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use. Health Canada is still reviewing the drug. Conservative MP Michael Barrett says Canadians are being forced to wait. He said the people in the UK, and soon the US and other countries are preparing to get vaccinated.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the vote on the tens of billions in new spending measures in the fall economic statement will be a confidence measure. That means the minority Liberal government could fall, sending the country into a winter pandemic election if at least one of the opposition parties don't support it. Trudeau doesn't think anyone wants an election now. He says he's confident of opposition support given the need for many of the proposed measures. PM says, 80 per cent of the money spent to support Canadians during the pandemic has come from the federal government Prime Ministe

The Oscar-nominated Canadian star of the film "Juno" has come out as transgender. The Halifax-raised Elliot Page, formerly known as Ellen Page, made the announcement in a powerful post on social media. The star of the Toronto-shot Netflix series "The Umbrella Academy" says his preferred pronouns are he/they. Page's letter thanks those who have supported him along the journey, and addresses the trauma trans people face from discrimination, hateful acts, and a lack of rights. He says it feels remarkable "to finally love" who he is enough to pursue his "authentic self." And he's been "endlessly

Procurement Minister Anita Anand says there has been significant misinformation about the doses of COVID-19 vaccines the government has procured and when they will start arriving. Anand says Canada was one of the first countries to sign a deal to get doses of Moderna's vaccine candidate, and the fourth to sign a deal with Pfizer. Health Canada is currently reviewing four potential COVID-19 vaccines. Pending regulatory approval, Anand says vaccine doses will begin arriving in the new year.

Statistics Canada says the economy grew at a record annualized pace of 40.5 percent in the third quarter as businesses came out of COVID-19 lockdowns.Financial data firm Refinitiv says the average economist estimate was for an annualized growth rate of 47.6 per cent for the quarter.The rebound over July, August and September was a sharp turnaround from the preceding three-month stretch saw a record drop. Driving the bounce-back were the further rolling back of public health restrictions that allowed businesses to reopen.Statistics Canada also says there was a substantial increase in the housi

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is concerned about the ballooning federal debt and is once again calling for a tax on Canadians with fortunes topping 20 million dollars. Singh held a news conference this morning in Ottawa in advance of this afternoon's fall economic statement. He wants any sector-specific support the Trudeau government offers to come with strings attached to ensure funding flows to the benefit of workers rather than shareholders or executives. Singh is also pushing for enhanced child care, universal pharmacare and the end of for-profit long-term care homes. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh

The federal Liberals will provide Canadians with a long-awaited update on the health of federal finances later today, and potentially unveil a suite of new spending. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will deliver the fall economic statement in the House of Commons around 4 p.m. local time in Ottawa, after markets close. The fall economic statement should have a full accounting of pandemic spending so far, and the depth of this year's deficit, which in July was forecast at a historic $343.2 billion amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Estimates vary of how deep a deficit the Liberals will unveil

Champion ice-dancers Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue are among 114 athletes, artists, scholars and community leaders named to the Order of Canada today. Gov. Gen. Julie Payette's office announced the new honourees this morning. Others in the group include Indigenous writer Thomas King, winemaker John Peller, dancer and choreographer Elizabeth Langley, geriatrician Roger Wong, Cree elder Doreen Spence and ex-politicians Bill Graham and Allan Rock. Moir and Virtue catapulted to national stardom with their gold-medal performances at the Winter Olympics in 2018. They're being honoured for their athle

Federal health officials say Canada now has purchase agreements with seven COVID-19 vaccine producers. Deputy Chief Public Health Officer Doctor Howard Njoo says most are in the final stages of testing before they can go to Health Canada for approval. Officials say they expect the first doses of vaccines to be delivered in the first three months of the new year. The Trudeau government has been in the hot seat this week, after the prime minister acknowledged that some countries will get COVID-19 vaccines before Canada does, because Canada doesn't have the capacity to make them.