Politics

Descrease article font size Increase article font size Skate Canada says it won’t host national and international-level events in Alberta, citing provincial law that restricts transgender athletes from participating in female-only sports. The organization said in a statement Tuesday that its decision was made following its assessment of Alberta’s Fairness and Safety in Sport Act, which took effect Sept. 1.Skate Canada says it is unable to host events in the province while maintaining its standards for safety and inclusivity.The decision applies only to national- and international-level events and does not affect Alberta athletes’ ability to participate in Skate Canada programming and competitions, the organization said.No upcoming national or ...

New polling suggests more Canadians approve of Prime Minister Mark Carney than his Liberal party, which continues to hold a slight lead over the federal Conservatives as 2025 draws to a close. The Ipsos poll conducted exclusively for Global News and released Tuesday shows 40 per cent of voters would cast a ballot for the Liberals if an election were held tomorrow, compared to 37 per cent for the Conservatives.Those numbers are down three and two points, respectively, since September, while the NDP and Bloc Québécois have each risen two points over the same time period to nine per cent.Approval of the Liberal government under Carney, according to the poll, sits at 55 per cent — 15 points ahead of the party overall.“Obviously (Carney) has had quite an effect on public opinion personally, but...

Gov. Ron DeSantis has taken aim at Ontario Premier Doug Ford for his planned Florida boycott, saying tourism to the sunshine state is up and pointing out its NHL teams have won trophies more recently than Toronto’s. Ford said on Monday he wouldn’t be taking his regular winter vacation to Florida because of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, which have led to major layoffs in Ontario’s auto and steel sectors.Speaking at an unrelated event, Ford said he was planning to boycott the state — but said he wouldn’t tell others to stay away.“It’s going to be the first time I’m not going to Florida,” the premier said. “But I talk to so many people, don’t let this guy, Trump, determine and ruin your life and everything. That’s my personal choice.”DeSantis responded to a clip of the premier’s comm...

Descrease article font size Increase article font size The federal government’s “Buy Canadian” policy for procurement for large infrastructure and defence projects kicked in on Tuesday as the U.S. trade war continues, Procurement Minister Joël Lightbound says. The policy was announced by Prime Minister Mark Carney in September and is essentially a mandate for the federal government to source components used in major government projects from domestic manufacturers.The procurement policy will extend immediately to government contracts valued at $25 million and over, but will expand to contracts valued at $5 million and over by the spring of 2026, Lightbound said. 2:08 ...

Descrease article font size Increase article font size The federal government is imposing additional sanctions against four people who are senior officials in the Iranian government, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said in a statement. The latest round of sanctions has been imposed under the Special Economic Measures (Iran) Regulations.“These individuals, all Iranian senior officials, have been involved in gross and systematic human rights violations in the Islamic Republic of Iran (Iran), and have had a significant role in facilitating and directing repressive policies,” Anand said in the statement.The four Iranian officials are:Mohsen KarimiAhmad Kadem SeyedoshohadaMustafa MohebbiHassan AkharianCanada has now imposed 18 rounds of sancti...

A federal minister dropped hints about more floor crossings Monday following the defection of Ontario MP Michael Ma to the Liberals last week. When asked whether more opposition MPs are getting ready to cross the floor to join the government, Energy Minister Tim Hodgson said people have reached out.“Let’s say I’m getting lots of inquiries,” Hodgson told a Toronto press conference.Ma’s decision to leave the Conservative caucus and join the Liberals — less than 24 hours after attending the Official Opposition’s Christmas party — brought the government to within one seat of a majority on Thursday.Hodgson wouldn’t comment on any role he played personally in courting Ma, whose Markham-Unionville riding north of Toronto is next door to his own riding of Markham-Thornhill.“Our prime minister is a...

Canada’s foreign minister has condemned the “politically motivated” conviction of Hong Kong pro-democracy activist and media mogul Jimmy Lai, and called for his immediate release from prison. Lai, an outspoken critic of Beijing, was found guilty Monday of violating Hong Kong’s stringent, China-imposed national security law. The 78-year-old has already spent five years in custody while awaiting the landmark trial, and now faces the possibility of spending the rest of his life behind bars.“Canada condemns the politically motivated prosecution of Jimmy Lai under the National Security Law in Hong Kong and calls for his immediate release,” Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said in a statement provided by her office to Global News.“We continue to express our concerns about deteriorating right...

An Ontario MP’s floor crossing appears to have caught Pierre Poilievre’s team flat-footed and gives the Conservative leader no time to rally his troops until late January. Markham-Unionville MP Michael Ma shocked Ottawa Thursday evening by announcing he would join Prime Minister Mark Carney’s caucus, bringing the Liberals to just one seat shy of a majority mandate.The news came as a surprise to Poilievre and his team, who just the night before had welcomed Ma to the Conservative party’s holiday get-together. With MPs now scattered across the country until late January, Poilievre is in the uncomfortable position of wondering if any more of his team will use the holiday break to test the waters for a potential jump.“The timing (of Ma’s decision) was catastrophically bad for Conservatives, be...

The addition of ex-Conservative MP Michael Ma to the Liberal caucus is further proof that some members of the Opposition are “extremely frustrated” with the “silly games” being played by Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, government House leader Steve MacKinnon said Friday. MacKinnon, speaking at a funding announcement in Gatineau, Que., added that the group tiring of Poilievre’s “obstructionist” approach is “sizable” but wouldn’t speculate on whether any more of them will cross the floor.“These are incredibly hard choices for those people to make,” he told reporters.“It’s an incredibly personal and, in many cases, disruptive decision that a person has to make after, in some cases, spending decades or years of active involvement in the Conservative party. But they don’t like the turn. T...

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