Politics

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says Alberta Premier Danielle Smith understands why Canada’s political leaders need to be united in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threat, and he believes the country’s premiers are “moving her along” in her position. The premiers met virtually with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday morning to talk about Trump’s early moves as president and the looming threat of tariffs, which could come as soon as next week.Trump signed an executive order on Monday directing his government to study alleged unfair trade practices by Canada and Mexico and file a report by April 1.Later that day, he mused about imposing 25 per cent tariffs on both countries by Feb. 1, calling Canada a “very bad abuser” for allowing illegal drugs and migrants to enter the U...

Nearly 1.5 million students — both current and former — at Canada’s largest school board are among those who have been impacted by the data breach of PowerSchool, used by schools across North America to store student and staff data. According to an email from a Toronto District School Board spokesperson, approximately 1.49 million students were impacted.“I can confirm approximately 1.49 million TDSB students were impacted,” said Emma Moynihan, communications adviser for the school board.The data was confirmed by the board when Global News inquired about numbers reported by the online news site BleepingComputer, which had obtained information into the scope of the data breach of PowerSchool.Global News has not independently confirmed the numbers reported by BleepingComputer, which allege th...

A bishop leading the U.S. presidential inaugural prayer service on Tuesday made a direct appeal to President Donald Trump, asking him to “have mercy” on the LGBTQ+ community and migrant workers who are in the United States illegally. Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, the Episcopal bishop of Washington, directly spoke to Trump while he and Vice-President J.D. Vance were seated in the front row.“Let me make one final plea, Mr. President,” the bishop said in her sermon, which lasted 15 minutes. “Millions have put their trust in you. And as you told the nation yesterday, you have felt the providential hand of a loving God. In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now.“There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican an...

By Catherine Morrison The Canadian Press Posted January 22, 2025 10:25 am 1 min read Descrease article font size Increase article font size Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says a government led by him would cut the number of federal public servants — but he doesn’t mind if they work from home. When asked by Radio-Canada on Tuesday if U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order sending federal workers back to the office five days a week is a good idea, Poilievre said that what matters is whether public servants do the work.He said that work is not getting done now within the federal government. ...

President Donald Trump’s administration moved Tuesday to end affirmative action in federal contracting and directed that all federal diversity, equity and inclusion staff be put on paid leave and eventually be laid off. The moves follow an executive order Trump signed on his first day ordering a sweeping dismantling of the federal government’s diversity and inclusion programs that could touch on everything from anti-bias training to funding for minority farmers and homeowners. Trump has called the programs “discrimination” and insisted on restoring strictly “merit-based” hiring.The executive order on affirmative action revokes an order issued by President Lyndon Johnson, and curtails DEI programs by federal contractors and grant recipients. It’s using one of the key tools utilized by the B...

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday denied that his threat of sweeping tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico is meant to force early trade renegotiations, insisting he’s responding to “massive” flows of fentanyl and migrants into the U.S. The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump’s tactic was meant to kickstart talks on the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), which replaced NAFTA during Trump’s first term as president, before it comes up for review in 2026. The report cited people familiar with Trump’s thinking.Asked about the report during an unrelated press conference at the White House, Trump said his threat of 25 per cent tariffs against Canada and Mexico, which he said will “probably” begin on Feb. 1, has “nothing to do with” CUSMA.“They’ve allowed — both of them, an...

The president of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs is reversing his previous opposition to the scrapped Northern Gateway pipeline project that would have created another route for Alberta’s oil to get to the Pacific Ocean. Grand Chief Stewart Phillip said Tuesday that while he “really fought against” Northern Gateway’s construction before it was scuttled in 2016, that was a “different time” and Canada now has “no choice” but to reconsider.“We are staring into the abyss of uncertainty right now with climate change, the climate crisis and the American threat,” Phillip said in a news conference ahead of a meeting with B.C. First Nations leaders and the provincial cabinet in Vancouver, highlighting the U.S. administration under President Donald Trump.“I would suggest that if we don’t build that ki...

Elon Musk has responded to allegations that he performed a Nazi salute at President Donald Trump’s inauguration, dismissing it as “dirty tricks” by critics, but not outwardly denying the accusations. The world’s richest man and close ally of Trump, tasked with running the president’s new “Department of Government Efficiency,” sparked outrage and an avalanche of online backlash when he took the stage to speak at Monday’s inauguration and made the one-armed gesture not once, but twice.He thanked the crowd for “making it happen,” before slamming his right hand onto his chest and then thrusting it out into the air straight ahead. He then turned around and did the same action for those sitting behind the stage. Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk gestures as he speaks during ...

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said she is optimistic that since U.S. President Donald Trump did not impose tariffs on Canadian imports on Day 1 of his presidency, Canada will find options to work out an arrangement of some sort with the country’s southern neighbour. “I’m an optimist,” Smith told reporters on a video conference call from Washington, D.C., on Tuesday morning. “I think there’s a deal to be made here.“My interpretation of the president is he likes to win, so it’s up to us to demonstrate how we can get a double win here. I think it’s a double win to sell more to the United States, buy more from the United States, have a joint-energy security strategy that leads to a national and international security strategy.”Weeks ahead of his inauguration, Trump threatened to impose 25 per...

Canada’s population will grow over the years regardless of the federal government’s recent decision to slash immigration rates, a new report shows. Statistics Canada released new projection figures Tuesday that factor in Ottawa’s October announcement that it would be reducing the number of permanent residents admitted to the country by 21 per cent in 2025.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at the time the goal was to pause population growth over the next two years to ease pressures the economy has been facing, such as in housing and infrastructure.A “substantial reduction” in the number of permanent residents, as well as a decrease in non-permanent residents, would result in much lower population growth than that recorded in 2022 and 2023, Statistics Canada said.The population would even d...