The Ontario government is ordering residents to stay at home starting just after midnight Thursday morning. There are exceptions for essential activities such as accessing health care or shopping for groceries. Premier Doug Ford says he's also declaring another state of emergency effective immediately in response to surging COVID-19 infection rates.Ford announced the restrictions shortly after the province released new projections that show the virus is on track to overwhelm Ontario's health-care system. Ontario releases new modelling New modelling shows that without any changes, Ontario's he

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government has reached a deal with Pfizer to buy an extra 20 million doses of the vaccine it produced with its German partner BioNTech. He says that means Canada will receive 80 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines this year. He also says that between now and sometime between April and June, Canada will have enough doses to vaccinate up to 20 million people against the deadly coronavirus. Trudeau is also announcing the Canada-U. S. land border will remain closed to non-essential travel until at least Feb. 21. It's another 30-day extension to the re

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has conducted a small shuffle of his ministers before holding up later in the day for a cabinet retreat to plot strategy for the resumption of Parliament. The shuffle is due to the departure of Navdeep Bains, who stepped down as innovation minister Tuesday and is not intending to run again in the next election. In the first virtual swearing-in ceremony in Canadian history, Francois-Philippe Champagne shed his title as foreign minister to take up Bains' former role, while ex-transport minister Marc Garneau moved into Champagne's old job. Toronto-area MP Omar Algha

British Columbia's top doctor says the first dose of a vaccine for COVID-19 gives "amazing" immunity, so the government's decision to allow for a 35-day gap before the second dose is administered is rooted in science. Dr. Bonnie Henry's statements come as B.C. recorded a grim milestone Monday, reaching 1,000 COVID-19 related deaths. She says the decision to delay the second shot is about maximizing the vaccines' distribution, while balancing the supply and making sure the province has a safe and effective immunization program. Dr. Henry says the first dose primes the immune system while the s

US president-elect Joe Biden has received his second dose of the coronavirus vaccine. It comes three weeks after the 78 year old got his first dose with television cameras rolling in an attempt to reassure the American public. Biden got his first dose of vaccine in December last year. Speaking in Newark, Delaware, Biden says too many people are losing their lives to COVID-19. Biden says his top priority is "getting vaccines in people's arms" as quickly as possible.

Police say one man is dead and another injured after two separate overnight shootings in the Metro Vancouver area.Richmond RCMP say they were called to a home at about 11:50 p.m. on Saturday where a man had reportedly suffered multiple gunshot wounds, and later died.Police have identified the deceased as 28-year-old Dilraj Johal.The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says Johal was known to police and they believe he was targeted for murder. Sgt. Frank Jang of IHIT noted in an email statement that Johal's death is the third homicide in the past four days related to an ongoing Lower Mainlan

British Columbia health officials say they understand the frustration directed at people who defy COVID-19 restrictions, but urged residents to continue following the guidelines to prevent infection. B.C. reported 617 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday and 18 more deaths, bringing the provincial toll to 988. Health Minister Adrian Dix and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry say in a joint statement they know it can be frustrating to hear of people not following the guidelines, such as those travelling for non-essential reasons. But they say those who are making the effort to stick to the

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is again condemning violent rioters he says were incited by U.S. President Donald Trump and other politicians on Capitol Hill this week. Speaking outside his residence in Ottawa today, he called Wednesday's events an "assault on democracy" and says such violence has no place in society. He says he discussed the issue during his call with provincial and territorial premiers Thursday evening, when he said that democracy is resilient, but it also takes work. He says it is an accomplishment to have and maintain a political system where the party that loses an electio

The Canadian economy in December posted its first monthly loss of jobs since April. Statistics Canada says the economy lost 63,000 jobs in the final month of the year. CIBC senior economist Royce Mendes says another month of losses could be coming in January. But Mendes says there are brighter days on the horizon as COVID-19 vaccines roll out to Canadians. The loss of jobs in December ended a streak of monthly job gains that began in May, when initial restrictions put in place to slow the spread of the pandemic began to ease.