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The 1995 referendum on independence took place 30 years ago on Thursday, when a razor-thin majority of Quebecers voted to stay in Canada. After a dramatic campaign during which the sovereigntist side came from behind to take a lead in the polls in the final weeks before the vote, 50.58 per cent of voters chose “no.” Here are five things you may not know — or may have forgotten — about the 1995 referendum. Yes and No supporters clash on the streets of Montreal, Monday, Oct. 30, 1995, as the No side won a narrow victory in the province’s referendum. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Robert Galbraith Foreign influenceInternational leaders played a role in the federalist and sovereigntist campaigns. In February 1995, U.S. President Bill Clinto...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The government shutdown has been a source of anxiety for school leaders wondering how long grant money will last and who can help them interpret federal laws. For Education Secretary Linda McMahon, it offers a preview of what she hopes to make permanent. Much of the department’s work has gone completely cold. No new grants are being awarded, and civil rights investigations have been halted. Money is still flowing for key programs, but in many respects, schools and states are on their own.That’s the vision President Donald Trump has promoted since his presidential campaign — a world where states fully have the reins of education policy with little or no influence from the federal government.Even before the shutdown, mass layoffs had left the agency with 2,400 employees, do...

By Staff The Canadian Press Posted October 30, 2025 5:50 pm 1 min read Descrease article font size Increase article font size The Quebec government has passed a law extending the province’s ban on religious symbols to everyone who interacts with students in schools. The law also prohibits students from wearing face coverings in a bid to strengthen secularism in schools.The new legislation expands on a secularism law from 2019 that banned religious symbols for public employees deemed to be in positions of authority, including teachers, judges and police officers. Get daily National news Get t...

Immigration Minister Lena Diab says the definition of a “public interest” event that would allow her department to pause or revoke immigration applications is “intentionally not defined” in new legislation. Diab told the House of Commons immigration committee today the definition was left open-ended in the government’s new border security bill, C-12, to allow Ottawa to respond to unforeseen events.“It is intentionally not defined in the legislation, as I said, to allow for maximum flexibility for the government to respond in a range of unforeseen circumstances that threaten the public interest,” Diab told the committee.Diab was asked repeatedly during the committee hearing when the government would be permitted to use the new powers to pause immigration applications or cancel existing docu...

Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday at a summit in South Korea, where he intends to talk about “a much broader set of issues than trade.” The leaders of Canada and China haven’t met formally since former prime minister Justin Trudeau visited China in 2017. One year later, the Canada-China relationship fell apart after Canada arrested a Chinese telecom executive at the request of the United States, and China responded by detaining two Canadian men, detentions Canada said were arbitrary.Xi angrily confronted Trudeau at the G20 summit in 2022 and claimed his government was leaking information to media.Here’s a look at what might be on the agenda for this week’s meeting:Last October, Canada followed the lead of the Biden administration in ...

Descrease article font size Increase article font size HONOLULU (AP) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration violated the law by imposing restrictions on accessing mifepristone, a medication for abortions and miscarriage management, a federal judge in Hawaii ruled Thursday. A lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union argues the FDA continues to overly restrict access to a safe medication without scientific justification. ACLU lawyers asked the judge to find that the FDA violated the law but didn’t seek an immediate elimination of the restrictions, which currently include special certification for prescribers and pharmacies and requiring patients to review a counseling form.The FDA’s 2023 decision to maintain the restrictions was unlawful u...

By Jack Farrell and Lisa Johnson Global News Posted October 30, 2025 2:13 pm Updated October 30, 2025 2:14 pm 1 min read Descrease article font size Increase article font size Thousands of students rallied at the Alberta legislature and Alberta Teachers’ Association building in Edmonton on Thursday, protesting the province’s decision to order striking teachers back to work. Students streamed into the legislature plaza in front of the sandstone building, carrying signs and wearing red, a colour that ...