Federal Liberal leadership candidates will have to cross another hurdle today to remain in the race — a payment of $125,000 to the party. The party requires candidates to pay a total entrance fee of $350,000 in instalments. The candidates still in the race have made two initial payments of $50,000 each — one payment to launch their campaigns and the second to obtain access to the party's membership list. Those candidates who meet today's deadline will still have to make a final payment of $125,000 by Feb. 17 at the latest. On Thursday, former Liberal House leader and leadership candidate

Tourism Minister Soraya Martinez-Ferrada says she will not seek re-election and instead is looking to become mayor of Montreal. Martinez-Ferrada posted a video on social media Thursday announcing her candidacy to lead the municipal party Ensemble Montreal. Ensemble Montreal members will select their new leader on April 6, who will represent the party as its mayoral candidate in the city's November election. Mayor Valérie Plante is not seeking re-election. Martinez-Ferrada is also one of the Liberal's national campaign co-chairs, alongside Prairies Economic Development Minister Terry Duguid. T

A Quebec furniture manufacturer says the threat of U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods has forced it to lay off 115 people in the province. South Shore Furniture says it's laying off 97 people at its headquarters and factory in Ste-Croix, Que., southwest of Quebec City, and another 18 people at its operations in the Eastern Townships. Earlier this week U.S. President Donald Trump said he would hold off on his threatened tariffs against Canada for at least a month. But in a news release today, South Shore Furniture says the uncertainty around Trump's motives has significantly affected sales, adding

Pierre Poilievre says a Conservative government would bring in mandatory life sentences for those convicted of trafficking, production and distribution of over 40 mg of fentanyl.The Conservative leader says the penalty should be the same as murder. The Conservatives also want traffickers caught with between 20 mg and 40 mg of the drug to be sentenced to 15 years in prison. The announcement by the Tories comes as U.S. President Donald Trump has been complaining about fentanyl entering the United States from Canada.The U.S. has been threatening to impose crippling tariffs on Canadian and Mexican

A US military C-17 Globemaster aircraft carrying approximately 200 illegal Indian immigrants is set to land at Amritsar airport on Wednesday morning. Most of these individuals reportedly hail from Punjab and neighboring states. This marks the first large-scale deportation of illegal Indian immigrants during Donald Trump’s second presidential term. It is also unprecedented for the US to use a military cargo plane for deportations to India. The Indian government has cooperated fully with the US administration in facilitating the repatriation process. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar pr

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump this morning regarding the ongoing trade war, which poses a significant threat to workers and businesses on both sides of the border. Another meeting between the two leaders is expected later in the evening. While neither the Prime Minister’s Office nor the White House disclosed details of their discussion, Trump claimed on social media that American banks are not allowed to operate freely in Canada. He also linked the trade conflict to the issue of drug trafficking. Trump alleged that millions of Americans have died due t

Statistics Canada says real gross domestic product decreased 0.2 per cent in November, the largest monthly contraction since December 2023.However, the agency says its preliminary estimate for December pointed to an increase of 0.2 per cent for the final month of the year. The advance estimate suggests an annualized growth rate of 1.8 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2024.For November, Statistics Canada says goods-producing industries contracted 0.6 per cent, with the mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction and utilities sectors driving most of the decline. Services-producing industri

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says Canada should bar American companies from all federal government procurement contracts if U.S. President Donald Trump hits the country with damaging tariffs. Singh is meeting with unionized steelworkers in Sault Ste. Marie today, where he's laying out his "Buy Canadian" plan. He also says any funds Canada raises through retaliatory tariffs should be put toward supporting workers affected by U.S. tariffs. Liberal leadership candidate Chrystia Freeland also pitched a "Buy Canadian" plan earlier this week, saying Ottawa should bar Americans from non-defence governmen

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly is back in Washington, D.C., today to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio as Canada faces the threat of devastating tariffs landing as early as Saturday. Joly said Monday that she still believes diplomacy can fend off President Donald Trump's plan to slap Canada with 25 per cent across-the-board duties. Joly spoke with Rubio by phone last week and described the new secretary of state as a "good interlocutor." This will be Joly’s fifth visit to the U.S. since last November's presidential election. Joly has met with multiple American lawmakers