Politics

Thousands of international students expected to study at three Ontario colleges are missing the fall semester, after Ottawa announced it would further tighten Canada’s study permit system. Some school officials are attributing the dramatic enrollment decline to a chilling effect created by the federal government’s policy, and to visa delays that have resulted from a stricter approach.Glenn Vollebregt, the president of St. Lawrence College in Kingston, Ont., said his college was expecting 1,600 new international students this fall, but only 775 are enrolled in courses.“This is not normal,” said Vollebregt, who confirmed many of the students had trouble getting their visas on time, and the college has approved deferral requests for about one-third of the students.“This is … a direct result o...

A historic Liberal victory in Monday’s New Brunswick election may not be the boost Justin Trudeau needs, according to local experts, who believe the provincial race was a referendum on the outgoing premier and not the embattled prime minister. Susan Holt’s Liberals beat out Blaine Higgs’ incumbent Progressive Conservatives in Monday’s election, denying the latter his seat in the legislature and a third term running New Brunswick.The victory means Holt will be the province’s first female premier, and marks a win for the Liberal brand at a time when most provinces have Conservative leaders and the federal party under Trudeau appears to be in trouble.Donald Wright, a professor of political science at the University of New Brunswick, said the result could be welcome but comes in an election fo...

New Brunswick Progressive Conservative leader Blaine Higgs will no longer be the representative for Quispamsis, Global News projects. Higgs, who was seeking a third government as premier, has lost his riding to Liberal Aaron Kennedy – a trend mirroring the ultimate result: a Liberal majority with Susan Holt becoming the province’s first female premier, according to Global’s projection.“It’s certainly not the night we hoped for but nevertheless, it is what it is,” he told supporters at his election gathering on Monday.Higgs said his party will begin discussing leadership transition in the coming days.“After those discussions are complete, I will make a formal announcement,” he added. 1:55 New Br...

Former British Columbia premier Christy Clark says she wants to be “part of the conversation” around the future of the federal Liberals if Prime Minister Justin Trudeau were to step down as party leader. Her statement Monday — which does not call for Trudeau’s resignation — comes amid a growing internal revolt from within the Liberal caucus to push Trudeau to step down and questions about the prime minister’s grasp on his leadership.“The position of Liberal leader is not going to be available any time soon,” Clark said in the statement, which her office provided to Global News.“If that were to change, I would want to be part of the conversation on the future direction of the Liberal Party and of the country.”Global News has learned Clark, a registered Liberal Party member who led the more ...

The head of the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. is facing scrutiny from members of a House of Commons committee for her roughly $6,000 worth of travel and hotel expenses at the Paris Olympics this past summer. Catherine Tait, CBC president and chief executive officer, was pressed by MPs on the standing committee on Canadian heritage on Monday about her trip to France, which included a four-night stay at a five-star hotel in Paris.Tait told the committee she was in France on a “personal trip” during the Olympic Games, but during that time she was also working for CBC/Radio-Canada, which was the official broadcaster of the Games in Canada.Tait dismissed claims that she charged tax payers for her personal trip.“I made it very clear why I was in Paris as CEO at the Olympic Games, one of the most i...

Liberal MP Sean Casey says he thinks it is in the nation’s best interest for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to step down in order to avoid a Conservative government led by Pierre Poilievre. Casey, who said last week he has been hearing the sentiment that Trudeau should resign from his constituents and agrees with them, spoke to reporters Monday as the House of Commons resumes and ahead of more expected questions about Trudeau’s leadership as his caucus prepares to meet on Wednesday.“Voting is an emotional exercise. It’s not based on logic. If it was based on logic and rational thinking, we’d be 20 points up, not down. But there’s been baggage accumulated. People have tuned him out,” Casey said to reporters.Casey confirmed he is one of up to 30 Liberal MPs who have signed on to an internal d...

Former U.S. president Donald Trump clocked in to briefly serve McDonald’s fries and greet customers during a stage-managed campaign stop in Pennsylvania on Sunday. As he worked the fryer, Trump marvelled at the McDonald’s cooking line and various tools — and used the opportunity to cast doubt on whether his political opponent, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, ever worked at the fast-food chain.It was not the first time Trump questioned whether Harris was briefly employed at a McDonald’s in Alameda, Calif., in the summer of 1983 while obtaining her degree from Howard University. The Harris campaign has said the vice president’s duties included working the counter and serving fries and ice cream. Donald Trump took tips from a local Feasterville, Penn. McDonald’s fry...

Descrease article font size Increase article font size New Brunswickers are headed to the polls after a 33-day campaign that has shaped up to be a tight race between Susan Holt’s Liberals and Blaine Higgs’ Progressive Conservatives. Higgs is seeking a third term as premier, aiming to become the first to achieve this milestone since Liberal Premier Frank McKenna in 1995.But the latest opinion surveys suggest a dead heat between the Liberals and Progressive Conservatives. The Green Party, led by David Coon, was a distant third in the polls aggregated by 338Canada.com. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they ...

Descrease article font size Increase article font size The federal government is expected to boost the minimum hourly wage that must be paid to temporary foreign workers in the high-wage stream as a way to encourage employers to hire more Canadian staff. Under the current program’s high-wage labour market impact assessment (LMIA) stream, an employer must pay at least the median income in their province to qualify for a permit. A government official, who The Canadian Press is not naming because they are not authorized to speak publicly about the change, said Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault will announce Tuesday that the threshold will increase to 20 per cent above the provincial median hourly wage.The change is scheduled to come into for...

By Jim Bronskill The Canadian Press Posted October 21, 2024 7:27 am Updated October 21, 2024 7:28 am 1 min read Descrease article font size Increase article font size The House of Commons returns on Monday from a week-long break, but it’s unlikely to be business as usual. Members of Parliament are slated to resume debating a Conservative demand for documents about federal spending on green technology projects.The matter of privilege has all but paralyzed House business as the Liberals try to maintain a grip on ...