The well-funded Conservative Party of Canada spent more than $8.5 million on advertising last year, substantially exceeding what its political rivals dropped to get their message out. The Liberals spent just a fraction of that at around $381,000, while the NDP spent only about $42,000. The numbers are detailed in federal parties' annual financial returns for 2023, which Elections Canada posted online this week. The Conservative statement shows the party held $16 million in cash at the end of 2023, an increase of more than $3.2 million from the start of the year. The Liberal Party of Canada was

Police in southeastern British Columbia say a ranch owner is dead after the helicopter they were piloting crashed on Tuesday evening. Columbia Valley RCMP say they got the call at about 7 p.m. They say search and rescue crews were sent to the crash site south of Invermere, B.C., and found the pilot, who was dead. The Mounties say the privately-owned helicopter was also carrying two passengers who were taken to hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. They have not released the name of the pilot or any further details about the crash. The RCMP say they are assisting the BC Coron

Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek says the city is no longer asking residents to restrict their indoor water use stemming from a major water main break. Gondek says residents can resume the normal number of showers, toilet flushes and loads of laundry and dishes. But a mandatory ban on outdoor water use, such as lawn-watering, remains in effect. The city and surrounding municipalities have been under the water restrictions since a water main that supplies 60 per cent of the drinking water ruptured on June 5. Crews have been scrambling to repair the breach ever since, and that work was further complic

A 40-year-old Ontario man with a long criminal history has been charged with second-degree murder in connection with the slaying of Tori Dunn in Surrey, B.C., earlier this month. The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says Adam Mann is facing the murder charge after Surrey police found him while they were on their way to Dunn's home on June 16. At the time of Dunn's killing, Mann was facing an unrelated aggravated assault charge for an alleged attack in Surrey three weeks earlier and is due in court over that case on July 2. Police say they found Dunn with life-threatening injuries after b

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed... WestJet cancels flights after second strike notice WestJet is cancelling flights ahead of a possible strike by its mechanics' union. The Calgary-based airline says in a statement the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association has provided them with another notice of strike action. WestJet says that as a result, it has preemptively cancelled 25 flights between Thursday and Friday, affecting about 3,300 customers. This comes as the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association is accusing WestJet of suing it witho

Police in Vancouver have released video showing a man who is believed to have set fire to the front entrance of a synagogue last month in the hope that someone may recognize the suspect. The security video shows a man wearing a dark jacket, light ball cap and a medical face mask approaching the front steps of the Schara Tzedeck synagogue on Vancouver's Oak Street on May 30 with a time stamp of 9:41 p.m. The man is carrying a clear bottle with liquid inside, and he unscrews the cap before disappearing from the frame. Less than a minute later, there is a bright flash and the video shows the man

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he hears the concerns and frustrations of voters in the wake of a crushing byelection defeat in a Liberal stronghold riding. Liberals had held Toronto-St. Paul's for more than 30 years, but lost it to the Conservatives in Monday's byelection, sparking speculation about the future of the party and Trudeau's political fortunes. In a statement, the prime minister says he has much more hard work ahead of him to deliver tangible progress Canadians can see and feel. Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland expressed her support for Trudeau to stay on as party leader

New projections by Statistics Canada suggest the nation's population could reach 63 million by 2073, with the number of people aged 85 or older set to triple. The agency says migration will be the key driver of population increase under all scenarios, while natural growth only plays a "marginal role" as the population ages and fertility rates remain low. It says the population will rise from about 40 million in 2023 to a range of 47 million to 87 million over the next half a century, with 63 million being the medium-growth forecast. The population of people aged 85 and over would increase from

British Columbia's election is still four months away, but Premier David Eby has held a campaign event in Vancouver ahead of what he says is a personal count down next week's expected birth of his third child. Eby says he and his wife, Cailey, are expecting a daughter on June 27, so he wanted to make an early start to campaigning for the Oct. 19 election before taking a break to spend some time with his family. He introduced four New Democrat candidates, including former broadcaster Randene Neill and Baltej Dillon, the first RCMP officer to wear a turban on duty. Eby's early campaign start com