Officials on Vancouver Island are hoping rain in the forecast can help clear up the air quality muddied by an out-of-control wildfire. The Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District says wildland firefighters have said the rain may improve air quality locally, but that it's hard to be certain. The west central region is under an air quality statement, along with parts of Vancouver Island's east coast and the Sunshine coast region on the B.C. mainland. The intense Mount Underwood wildfire has grown to more than 34 square kilometres, with fire behaviour that the BC Wildfire Service says is "unusual" fo

German soccer legend Thomas Müller says he feels “too good to retire” as he begins a new chapter with the Vancouver Whitecaps, aiming to add Major League Soccer titles after 17 years with Bayern Munich.The 35-year-old midfielder was officially introduced in Vancouver, where he told reporters the move was about ambition: “I chose Vancouver because this team has a chance to win — not only this year, but also next year.” Müller scored 250 goals for Bayern and helped Germany win the 2014 FIFA World Cup, earning the Golden Boot in 2010. For Surrey, where several Whitecaps players trace

Thousands of people in Newfoundland and Labrador's capital and elsewhere in the province are under evacuation alerts as wildfires continue to threaten communities. About 5,400 residents in two areas of St. John's were told on Tuesday to be ready to leave their homes at a moment's notice. They joined roughly 15,000 others in parts of the nearby communities of Paradise and Conception Bay South who were placed under evacuation alerts a day earlier. The wildfire threatening the towns was about 250 metres from the Trans-Canada Highway on Tuesday night. Members of the Canadian Armed Forces and the c

Earlier this morning, several airports said flights were delayed due to an issue involving WestJet. “This morning, WestJet experienced a temporary system outage that delayed the handover of aircraft from maintenance personnel for scheduled operation,” a spokesperson for the airline said in a statement. Ottawa, Toronto, Saskatoon, Montréal and Calgary International Airports were among those who reported issues. The incident resulted in delays and cancellations for both inbound and outbound flights, leaving passengers stranded at airports and prompting advisories from airport officials and

Air Canada flight attendants are expected to picket at airports in four major Canadian cities in what their union is calling a national day of action. The Canadian Union of Public Employees says demonstrations are expected to take place at Montreal’s Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, Toronto Pearson International Airport, Vancouver International Airport and Calgary International Airport, all at 1 p.m. ET. CUPE says it is looking to raise awareness about what it calls “poverty wages” and unpaid labour when working on a plane when it’s not in the air. CUPE says the Air Canad

Police say a restaurant in British Columbia linked to a prominent Indian comedian was shot at for the second time within a month. Surrey police say the latest attack on Kap's Cafe, linked to comic and television host Kapil Sharma, came early Thursday. Police have said the cafe was the site of another overnight shooting almost one month ago, in which a gunman opened fire from inside a vehicle with a handgun. Investigators say no one was injured in either shooting, but confirmed there was damage to the building and its windows in the latest attack. No suspects have been identified in either shoo

US President Donald Trump has imposed an additional 25 percent tariff on India in the matter of oil purchases from Russia, bringing the total tariff on India to 50 percent. The White House said in a statement on Wednesday that President Trump has signed an executive order in this regard, which will come into effect from August 27. Trump said that India is currently directly or indirectly involved in importing oil from Russia. He also threatened that if any foreign country retaliates against the US in response to the tariff action, he may revise the order. Earlier on Tuesday, the US Presid

Prime Minister Mark Carney is scheduled to be in Kelowna, B.C., for an announcement at a lumber facility on Tuesday after attending the Vancouver Pride parade on the weekend and touring a military facility on Vancouver Island on Monday. Carney toured the Canadian Forces Maritime Experimental and Test Ranges facility near Nanoose Bay, outside Nanaimo, with officials from the Canadian Navy. He toured the Royal Canadian Navy vessel Sikanni accompanied by Navy Commander Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee and Commanding Officer Craig Piccolo from the testing facility. Carney on Sunday met with B.C. Premier

The number of active wildfires in British Columbia continues to spike after high temperatures and lightning strikes this week, with about 120 blazes burning in the province. The BC Wildfire Service says half of the active fires were started in the last 24 hours, with 16 declared out during that same time period. The wildfire service says the Cariboo Fire Centre region in central B.C. saw more than 1,200 lightning strikes Wednesday, and they started 13 new fires in the area. One blaze in the B.C. Interior just over 12 square kilometres in size is 10 kilometres south of Lytton, B.C., where an ev