New Democrats from across Canada are meeting in Winnipeg this weekend for a federal convention that will culminate in the selection of a new party leader. According to party organizers, voting in the six-month leadership race is scheduled to close Saturday, with the results to be announced Sunday morning. The candidates include union leader Rob Ashton, social worker Tanille Johnston, filmmaker Avi Lewis, Alberta MP Heather McPherson and farmer Tony McQuail. The leadership vote follows the party’s poorest federal election result on record last year. The incoming leader is expected to oversee

Canada met NATO’s benchmark of spending two per cent of its gross domestic product on defence in the last fiscal year, according to the alliance’s latest annual report. The 2025 report from NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte states Canada spent approximately $63.4 billion on defence, reaching the alliance target for the first time since 1990. The two per cent benchmark is a long-standing commitment among NATO members aimed at ensuring collective security and military readiness. According to the NATO report, Canada’s increased spending reflects sustained federal investments in military cap

Prime Minister Mark Carney says an English-only condolence message from Michael Rousseau following a fatal crash in New York lacked compassion, as scrutiny grows over language obligations at federally regulated companies. Rousseau, the CEO of Air Canada, is being summoned to testify before the House of Commons official languages committee after posting a four-minute video message that included only two French words. According to federal officials, the video prompted dozens of complaints to the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages. The crash occurred Sunday evening at LaGuardia Airp

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand will travel to France from March 25 to 27 for bilateral meetings and to participate in the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, according to a Global Affairs Canada news release. The department said Anand is scheduled to meet March 25 in Paris with Louise Mushikiwabo, Secretary General of La Francophonie, where Canada will formally advance its candidacy to host the 2028 Francophonie Summit. The meeting is also expected to reaffirm Canada’s support for the international organization. From March 26 to 27, Anand will attend the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting at

Authorities have identified the two pilots who died after an Air Canada Express aircraft collided with a fire truck on the runway at LaGuardia Airport late Sunday night. According to aviation officials, one of the pilots, Antoine Forest, was from Quebec. The co-pilot, Mackenzie Gunther, was a 2023 graduate of Seneca Polytechnic in Toronto and had recently begun his professional flying career with Jazz Aviation, which was operating the flight. The flight, arriving from Montreal at approximately 11:30 p.m., was carrying 72 passengers and four crew members at the time of the collision. More than

Canada’s auditor general says there are significant weaknesses in how the federal government monitors compliance within the international student program, raising concerns about oversight and enforcement. In a report released Monday, Auditor General Karen Hogan found that roughly 150,000 cases in 2023 and 2024 were flagged for potential non-compliance with study permit conditions, according to the audit of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Despite the volume of flagged cases, the report says only about 4,000 investigations were initiated. Of those, approximately 1,600 were deemed

The Supreme Court of Canada began hearings Monday into a legal challenge against Quebec’s controversial secularism law, commonly known as Bill 21, which restricts certain public-sector workers from wearing religious symbols while on duty. The law, introduced by François Legault’s Coalition Avenir Québec government in June 2019, applies to positions including police officers, teachers and judges. It was enacted using Section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, also known as the notwithstanding clause, which allows governments to override certain Charter protections. Accordi

An Air Canada Express aircraft arriving from Montreal was involved in a runway collision at LaGuardia Airport late Sunday night, leaving both pilots dead and dozens of passengers injured, according to airline and U.S. officials. The flight, AC8646, operated by Jazz Aviation, landed around 11:30 p.m. when it struck a Port Authority fire truck near the runway. Authorities said the vehicle had been responding to a separate emergency call at the time of the collision. According to air traffic control recordings, the fire vehicle was initially cleared to cross part of the tarmac. Controllers later

Canada’s food inspection agency has begun enforcement action against major grocery chains and food companies accused of mislabeling imported products as Canadian, according to a federal regulator. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said the action targets businesses that promoted foreign food items as “Canadian,” which the agency says misleads consumers about product origin. The enforcement push follows one year since the federal government launched its “Buy Canadian” campaign. According to the agency, Loblaw-owned Real Canadian Superstore and Fortinos locations in Ontario were fine