King Charles says Prime Minister Mark Carney's government vows to protect Canadian sovereignty by building up the military and redefining the relationship with the U-S. The King read the throne speech in Ottawa today to officially open Parliament. He finished his address by saying -- quote -- ``As the anthem reminds us, the true North is indeed strong and free.' The speech confirmed that Canada will join the ReArm Europe plan -- a major defence procurement project to ramp up arms production in Europe. The move could reduce Canada's reliance on the United States as a source of military

When representatives of NATO nations meet in The Hague late next month, they're expected to dramatically hike the alliance's defence spending target for members — the one Canada is failing to hit already. When Prime Minister Mark Carney attends the NATO summit next month, he'll likely be under pressure to commit to a new defence spending target of five per cent of national GDP. The meeting of NATO countries is scheduled to be held on June 24 and 25. At the 2024 NATO summit in Washington, after a series of U.S. politicians blasted Canada for failing to meet its commitments, Trudeau pledged

An evacuation order has been issued for a town in northern Alberta as a wildfire burns nearby. Officials say a wildfire is burning seven kilometres north of Swan Hills. The town's roughly 1,300 residents have been told to gather pets, important documents and medication, and to leave immediately. Officials say the Edith Lake wildfire is classified as out of control and is estimated to be 20 square kilometres in size. The highway north of Swan Hills has been closed because of the fire. Swan Hills is about 220 kilometres northwest of Edmonton. Town residents had been placed under a one-hour e

King Charles will read the speech from the throne this morning, which sets out the government's priorities for the current session of Parliament. Here are some facts about this historic event. — King Charles III will be the first monarch to use the new throne in the Senate of Canada building. — There have been 152 speeches from the throne since Confederation. — Throne speeches in Canada were read by Queen Elizabeth II in 1957 and 1977. — The first throne speech was delivered in 1867 by Viscount Monck, Canada's first governor general. — The first 10 throne speeches clocked in at an av

Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Anita Anand, spoke by telephone with Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Sunday. After the conversation, Anita Anand shared information on social media platform 'X' and said that the discussion with S. Jaishankar regarding strengthening India-Canada relations, increasing economic cooperation, and moving forward on shared priorities was productive. Anita Anand also thanked S. Jaishankar. The World Sikh Organization has expressed disappointment over the issues discussed. WSO has questioned Anita Anand's silence on the Sikh killings in this co

A resolution was unanimously passed in Vancouver yesterday at a ceremony organized by the BC Khalsa Darbar and the Guru Nanak Jahaz Heritage Society to restore the Komagata Maru to its original name as the Guru Nanak Jahaz. On the occasion of the 111th anniversary of this incident, Dr. Gurvinder Singh of the Guru Nanak Jahaz Heritage Society said that the name of this ship chartered by Baba Gurdit Singh was Guru Nanak Jahaz, therefore historians, media and politicians should use the word 'Guru Nanak Jahaz' for this ship. At the same time, the Vancouver City Council was praised for adopting the

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has said that his party will fully support the Carney government in dealing with the US trade war. Poilievre said that we all want to permanently end the tariffs with the US and his Conservative party will work with the government to do this. He made the comments while addressing Conservative MPs in Ottawa yesterday. Poilievre said that I have already expressed my intention to the Prime Minister that we would be happy to cooperate in any way on this issue. It is worth noting that Poilievre is currently preparing for a by-election and will lead the party

An Ontario judge has rejected prosecutors' final attempt to have a text message sent by a former world junior hockey player admitted as evidence in the sexual assault trial of five of his ex-teammates. In the text, Brett Howden describes to another then-teammate seeing one of the accused, Dillon Dube, slap the complainant on the buttocks "so hard" that it looked like it hurt. Prosecutors sought to have it admitted as a principled exception to hearsay, a mechanism through which hearsay — statements made outside court that lawyers raise to try to prove their contents are true — can be admitt

Police in Edmonton say a motorcycle rider died while trying to pass a car on the city's western outskirts on Saturday evening. Police say the Harley-Davidson was travelling north on Winterburn Road, but while attempting to pass an Acura, the car slowed and made a left-hand turn. The motorcycle collided with the driver's side of the car, sending the 26-year-old and his bike into the northwest ditch. Police say speed is believed to have been a factor in the collision.