Politics

Canada appears to be barrelling toward a spring election now that the NDP is vowing to vote down the government early next year — whether Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stays on or not. Political watchers are abuzz over the possible scenarios that could play out in the coming year following last week’s drama that rocked Trudeau’s government, and a springtime national campaign is the one that’s solidifying the fastest.The exact timing is very much up in the air, but the best bet is for the government to fall by late March, and then a general election day would fall in April or May, said Yaroslav Baran, co-founder of the Pendulum Group and former chief of staff to Conservative house leader Jay Hill.“The greatest likelihood would be that the government would fall at some point between late Feb...

Police are searching for a group of jewelry thieves who broke into a store in a brazen incident on the outskirts of Montreal on Sunday night, smashing a vehicle through the front window. A shocking video shared with Global News by the owners of Famous Jewellers on Rue De Liege captured the moment a vehicle reversed at speed into their store, with several suspects jumping out, seemingly armed and running to its display cases.The security footage shows the front of the store fly inwards, as the rear lights of a large SUV can be seen. The owner runs out toward the vehicle shouting as at least three masked figures come into the damaged store.One of the figures wields what appears to be a large hammer, while the owner tries to battle the other two. Another one of the suspects also appears to ha...

The head of the National Airlines Council of Canada says the federal government’s proposed new rules on responses to flight disruptions “fall short” of addressing concerns made by various groups including provinces, unions, airports and airlines. Jeff Morrison, president and CEO of the council, said “significant concerns” were raised by the different groups during consultations by the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) in 2023, with issues around regional connectivity, cost of air travel and ability to meet regulatory requirements all raised to officials.“The proposed regulations fall short of addressing these concerns, as they provide for requirements that are costly, burdensome and do not take into consideration the complex operational reality of airlines,” Morrison said in a statement...

Chrystia Freeland, now a member of the Liberal backbench, is the pick of several of her backbench peers to succeed Justin Trudeau as leader and as prime minister of Canada. But her popularity is not universal, some MPs have told Global News.In fact, some of Trudeau’s ministers resent the method and timing of her departure, a sharply worded resignation letter that dropped hours before Freeland was to table her government’s Fall Economic Statement a week ago.“Chrystia Freeland’s actions are deeply disappointing,” said Brampton, Ont., Liberal MP Kamal Khera who is also the minister of diversity, inclusion and persons with disabilities.“At a time when unity is critical, her decision to undermine the Prime Minister and this government is reckless and self-serving.” ...

The federal government is proposing new rules surrounding airlines’ obligations to travellers whose flights are disrupted, even when delays or cancellations are caused by an “exceptional circumstance” outside of carriers’ control. The Canadian Transportation Agency’s amendments to the Air Passenger Protection Regulations, announced Saturday, would require carriers to provide meals to passengers whose flights are delayed at least two hours, along with overnight accommodation if necessary.Airlines would also have to provide refunds within 15 days, down from the current deadline of 30 days, if a passenger prefers to be reimbursed rather than rebooked when their flight is cancelled, delayed at least three hours, or they are bumped from the flight. That timeline shift is meant to better aligned...

Donald Trump suggested Sunday that his new administration could try to regain control of the Panama Canal that the United States “foolishly” ceded to its Central American ally, contending that shippers are charged “ridiculous” fees to pass through the vital transportation channel linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Panama’s conservative president José Raúl Mulino, who was elected in April on a pro-business platform, roundly rejected that notion as an affront to his country’s sovereignty.The Republican president-elect’s comment came during his first major rally since winning the White House on Nov. 5. He also used his comments to also bask in his return to power as a large audience of conservatives cheered along. It was a display of party unity at odds with a just-concluded budget figh...

Descrease article font size Increase article font size Unifor said on Sunday that its members at Canadian National Railway CNR.TO have ratified a new four-year collective agreement, averting a potential strike action. Unifor, which represents more than 3,000 members at the railroad’s Council 4000 and Local 100 committees, said the agreement includes improvements to wages and benefits as well as job protections for members working in CN terminals and headquarters across Canada.The railroad earlier this month had reached a new tentative four-year collective agreement with the union.“This agreement secures important gains that reflect the critical contributions of Unifor members to CN’s operations,” Unifor National President Lana Payne said in a ...

Pressure is mounting on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to step down, with a growing number of Liberal MPs joining calls for his resignation after a chaotic week for his party. More than 50 of the 75 Liberal MPs from Ontario held a one-hour meeting on Saturday to talk about their party’s leadership, Global News has learned.At the caucus meeting, few MPs spoke in favour of Trudeau’s continued leadership but many spoke about the desirability that he leaves, saying his brand has now become “toxic”.Details of the Ontario caucus meeting were first reported by The Toronto Star and CBC News and those details have largely been confirmed by Global News who also spoke to MPs who were present.Michael Coteau, the Ontario Liberal caucus chair, was charged with communicating the contents of the meeting to...

Steps to make Canadian sports safer were made in 2024, but to what end? A national commission began cross-country public consultations, an online registry of people sanctioned or under investigation for maltreatment in sport went live and a seismic shift in handling future complaints was announced.Canada was said to be a long way from the culture change identified as key to draining sport of toxic behaviour.“The progress is definitely slow and a bumpy ride,” said Erin Willson, an Olympic artistic swimmer and past president of AthletesCan, which provides a unified voice for national-team athletes.“The big question that I’ve wrestled with probably for the last seven or eight years is how do we change the culture of sport? It all comes down to the values of sport, what are we valuing and what...

A Liberal MP who has called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to resign says the “vast majority” of caucus colleagues he’s spoken to feel the same way. Trudeau’s leadership has been on shaky ground for months, but it became more unstable Monday after his longtime ally Chrystia Freeland resigned from cabinet, throwing the government into chaos.A growing number of Liberal MPs have since publicly called on Trudeau to step aside and make way for a new Liberal leader ahead of a likely early election.One of those MPs is Anthony Housefather, who says there’s “a number of reasons” why he feels Trudeau’s time is up.“The top one is that Canadians have clearly lost confidence in him, and Canadians want him to go,” Housefather told Mercedes Stephenson in an interview that aired Sunday on The West Block...