The first of two official election debates takes place tonight, with five federal party leaders facing off in what may well be their best chance to sway voters before election day on Sept. 20.With less than two weeks to go, millions of voters are expected to tune in for tonight's two-hour French debate and Thursday's English debate.Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet and Green Party Leader Annamie Paul will participate in both debates.People's Party of Canada Leader Maxime Bernier did not mee

Senior Congress leader and the party's in-charge for Punjab, Harish Rawat on September 08 dismissed reports of friction between state Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh and Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Navjot Singh Sidhu, and said if there is any dispute between the two leaders in future, it would be beneficial for the party. Speaking to ANI, Rawat said, "Punjab is the land of braves. People there put their opinion very strongly there and it looks like they will fight. But, there is nothing like that, and they find solutions to their problems. If there would be a dispute betw

Farmers have continued to sit-in protest around the mini secretariat in Haryana's Karnal district after talks with the district administration failed over their call for action against officials involved in lathi-charge on farmers on August 28."The administration has tried to give an explanation over former Karnal SDM Ayush Sinha. We will hold a meeting with farmers to make a decision on our further actions. We are doing a peaceful protest. We are not stopping anyone to work here. The officers themselves will not come to work and use farmers as an excuse," said BKU leader Rakesh Tikait.Earlier

Leylah Fernandez has reached the U.S. Open semifinals, one day after turning 19.The Canadian continued her stunning run through the tournament by upsetting No. 5 seed Elina Svitolina 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5). Fernandez won the last two points of the tiebreaker to give her another three-set victory after knocking off past U.S. Open champions Naomi Osaka and Angelique Kerber in her previous two matches. Canadian teenager Leylah Fernandez continues her remarkable run at the US Open tennis tournament.The 19-year-old from Laval, Quebec, held on through some difficult stretches to post a win over Elina Svi

Over a four-day period, B.C. is reporting 2,425 new cases of COVID-19, including five epi-linked cases, for a total of 170,750 cases in the province:Sept. 3-4: 695 new casesSept. 4-5: 634 new casesSept. 5-6: 563 new casesSept. 6-7: 533 new casesThere are 5,465 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and 163,062 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 255 individuals are in hospital and 126 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation. In the past 96 hours, 15 new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 1,842. There hav

The Province is launching the BC Vaccine Card, a digital or printed document that shows the stage cardholders are at in their COVID-19 vaccine progress. The BC Vaccine Card will allow vaccinated people to conveniently and securely show their proof of vaccination at higher-risk social and recreational events and settings when new COVID-19 vaccine requirement rules take effect on Sept. 13, 2021. This will help increase vaccinations, while protecting people in these settings, keeping businesses open and allowing events to take place."Getting vaccinated means we can bring people back together and

RCMP and the Insurance Corporation of BC warn officers provincewide will be out this month targeting distracted drivers and anyone not wearing a seatbelt or other appropriate restraint. Superintendent Holly Turton, the Officer in Charge of BC Highway Patrol, says intensified distracted driving enforcement is planned in all areas during September and will cover much more than cellphone use or texting behind the wheel. She says drivers could be ticketed for activities such as personal grooming, eating or drinking, reading, insecure pets or improperly restrained passengers and not knowing their

RCMP in Surrey are search for witnesses who might have seen an altercation between Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum and the driver of a grey Ford Mustang. McCallum has said he was outside a Surrey grocery store on Saturday when the driver shouted at him and then drove over his foot, and a statement from police says the allegations are under investigation and they want to speak to anyone who saw what happened or has dashcam video. An online post by the group 'Keep the RCMP In Surrey' shows it was holding an event outside the grocery store at the time, gathering names on a petition opposing McCallum'

Part of a downtown Vancouver park is being temporarily closed as staff remove tents and other structures. The tents are being removed as staff enforce a bylaw restricting structures from being in CRAB Park, on the Vancouver Harbour waterfront just north of the Downtown Eastside. Donnie Rosa, the parks board general manager, says staff have been able to move some people camping in the park, but roughly 45 have refused to leave. Rosa says there are indoor housing options available for those currently camping in the park and they have until Thursday at 10 am to leave. Vancouver Park Board on Twi