Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has been chosen as The Canadian Press Newsmaker of the Year for 2023.Just over one-quarter of the editors who took part in the annual survey picked Poilievre, the sharp-tongued politician who has been leading the Conservative party since his whopping first-ballot victory last year. The Opposition leader has since been helping his party to rise in the polls with a laser like focus on the housing shortage and cost-of-living crisis felt by Canadians. He has revived the debate over the federal carbon price with a relentless "axe the tax" campaign, claiming vi

A large number of Canadians are unhappy with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. A majority of Canadians said again in December that Justin Trudeau should resign as prime minister and leader of the Liberal Party. However, many also believe that Trudeau will not step down from these two positions. According to the survey, more than half of Canadians believe that elections can be held next year. According to an Ipsos poll, 69 percent of Canadians say Trudeau should now step down as Liberal leader and prime minister. Earlier, 72 percent of the respondents expressed the same desire in the survey of N

Senators have passed a government bill that cements restrictions on handguns, increases penalties for firearm trafficking and aims to curb homemade ghost guns. The legislation also includes a ban on assault-style firearms that fall under a new technical definition. Senators voted 60 to 24 in favour of the bill at third reading today. Upon introducing the bill last year, the Liberals announced a plan to implement a freeze on importing, buying, selling or otherwise transferring handguns to help reduce firearm-related violence. Federal regulations aimed at capping the number of handguns in Cana

A House of Commons committee says Greg Fergus should stay in his job as Speaker, but he should apologize again and reimburse Parliament for using its resources to make a video that was shown at a partisan event. In a report released this morning, the procedure and House affairs committee also says there should be clear guidelines for future Speakers about the impartiality of their role. The Conservatives and Bloc Québécois have called for Fergus to resign over a video in tribute to the outgoing interim leader of the Ontario Liberals, and renewed those calls today. Fergus shot the video in h

Vancouver residents will have to pay more in residential taxes next year, which is set to increase by 7.5%. According to Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim, city staff presented the 2024-2028 Budget Outlook in June. It was projected to grow by 9.5% until the cuts were made. Sim said the council asked staff to figure out the savings after which the increase could be capped at 7.5%. 3% of this will be given to the Vancouver Police Department, whose budget for the year 2024 will be half a billion dollars, i.e. about $472 million. Sim was successful in getting support from the council to support a $100,00

Ottawa announced today that seniors over the age of 87 will be the first cohort that can apply to join a new federal dental-benefits plan, which will be phased in slowly over the next year. Health Minister Mark Holland announced the rollout of the program this morning, and it is budgeted to cost 13 billion dollars over the next five years.The program is for people with an annual household income under 90-thousand dollars who don't have access to private insurance. Eligibility will be slowly expanded over the course of 2024 to include all qualifying seniors, children under the age of 18 and peo

Immigration Minister Marc Miller says Ottawa will require foreigners applying to study in Canada to have double the amount of funds currently required. Miller says the change is among those meant to ensure international students aren't left vulnerable to sketchy employers and unable to afford life in Canada. He is also warning provinces that the Liberals might limit visas if colleges and universities don't adequately support students, but he tells reporters that governments need to have more conversations before such changes. The Liberals are also ramping down a policy that lengthened the

The Bank of Canada is keeping its key interest rate at five per cent because higher interest rates are clearly restraining spending. The central bank says the combination of weaker growth and a cooling job market suggests demand is no longer outpacing supply in the economy and that this slowdown is necessary to restore price stability. However, the Bank of Canada isn't ruling out future rate hikes just yet, saying it is still concerned about risks to the outlook for inflation and remains prepared to raise rates further if needed

New report from Statistics Canada suggests the problem of sexual misconduct in the military is getting worse. The survey suggests 3.5 per cent of Canadian Armed Forces personnel say they were sexually assaulted by another military member in 2022. That is a significant increase from the 1.6 per cent reported in the same survey in 2018, and 1.7 per cent in 2016. Statistics Canada defines sexual assault as sexual attacks, unwanted touching, and sexual activity when the victim was unable to consent. Victims of these assaults were more likely to be women, the survey found, and they were disproporti