Politics

Once presenting itself as one of the world’s most welcoming countries to refugees and immigrants, Canada is launching a global online ad campaign cautioning asylum-seekers that making a claim is hard. The C$250,000 ($178,662) in advertisements will run through March in 11 languages, including Spanish, Urdu, Ukrainian, Hindi and Tamil, the immigration department told Reuters. They are part of a broader shift in tone by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s unpopular government on immigration and an effort to clamp down on refugee claims.Migrants have been blamed for high housing prices, although some experts argue this is a simplistic explanation, and polls show a growing number of Canadians think the country admits too many newcomers.The four-month campaign is budgeted to cost a third of the tot...

By Dylan Robertson The Canadian Press Posted December 2, 2024 1:32 pm Updated December 2, 2024 3:27 pm 1 min read Descrease article font size Increase article font size The latest attempt to bring down the minority Liberal government has stalled after the Conservatives blocked their own non-confidence motion from going ahead. On Friday, the Tories released the text of a motion they planned to bring to the House of Commons on Monday, quoting NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh’s criticism of the Liberals in a bid to get hi...

By Anja Karadeglija The Canadian Press Posted December 2, 2024 2:43 pm Updated December 2, 2024 2:51 pm 1 min read Descrease article font size Increase article font size The auditor general says the small business loan program the federal government rolled out during the COVID-19 pandemic wasn’t managed in a cost-effective way. Auditor General Karen Hogan says the Canada Emergency Business Account program wasn’t managed with “due regard for value for money.” Get weekly money news ...

By Staff The Canadian Press Posted December 2, 2024 1:53 pm Updated December 2, 2024 1:54 pm 1 min read Descrease article font size Increase article font size A prominent polling analyst says Quebec’s governing party could be reduced to fewer than 10 seats in the provincial legislature if an election were held today, based on current poll numbers. Philippe J. Fournier, creator of poll aggregator 338Canada, says Premier François Legault’s approval rating is now worse than that of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, w...

It’s been one week since U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s threat to put tariffs on Canadian imports unless Canada addresses border security concerns, and questions are mounting on exactly what the government will — or should — do. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre on Sunday called for a border security plan that includes increased border patrols and technology to cut down on illegal drug trafficking, as well as partnerships between provincial law enforcement and the RCMP and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).His call came after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made an unscheduled trip to Florida to meet with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate Friday evening.A senior government source told Global News that Trudeau was ready to beef up border security by buying new helicopters to patrol th...

Ontario is urging the federal government to amend proposed electricity regulations after an analysis by the province’s system operator concluded the rules would mean $35 billion in additional costs by 2050. A new analysis by the Independent Electricity System Operator looking at upcoming regulations around restrictions on emissions from electricity generation found that Ontario would have to add twice as much new generation as it is already planning, which is “not feasible” in that time frame.But if the province were to somehow do so, building enough new electricity generation to make up for restrictions on natural gas would add $35 billion in costs by 2050, increasing residential bills by $132 to $168 per year starting in 2033, the IESO said.Ontario Energy Minister Stephen Lecce has writt...

The ongoing Canada Post strike is having a significant impact on Canadian businesses during the busy holiday shopping season, costing firms at least $76.6 million per day, according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. After 17 days of a nationwide Canada Post strike, small- and medium sized businesses have lost out on an estimated $765 million in earnings, CFIB said in a statement on Monday.If the strike continues, it will have cost the sector more than $1 billion by Wednesday, the group warned.More than 55,000 Canada Post workers went on strike on Nov. 15, halting mail and parcel services across the country. Some post offices have also been shuttered amid the job action.There are calls from some, including CFIB, urging the federal government to step in to end the labour di...

President Joe Biden pardoned his son, Hunter, sparing the younger Biden a possible prison sentence for federal felony gun and tax convictions and reversing his past promises not to use the extraordinary powers of the presidency for the benefit of his family. The Democratic president had previously said he would not pardon his son or commute his sentence after convictions in the two cases in Delaware and California. The move on Sunday night comes weeks before Hunter Biden was set to receive his punishment after his trial conviction in the gun case and guilty plea on tax charges, and less than two months before President-elect Donald Trump is set to return to the White House.It caps a long-running legal saga for the younger Biden, who publicly disclosed he was under federal investigation in ...

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has demanded the federal government present a plan before Parliament to beef up border security as U.S. president-elect Donald Trump threatens to impose stiff tariffs on Canada. The plan should include measures to increase patrols and technology to crack down on illegal drug trafficking, as well as tightening visa rules and working with provincial law enforcement, Poilievre told a news conference on Sunday.“The reality is that Trudeau has lost control of the deficit, of immigration and of our border. In less than two months, President Trump will come into office. He’s threatened the possibility of imposing tariffs unless there is action to address Trudeau’s broken border,” he said.With gridlock in Parliament set to continue, Poilievre said Conservatives...

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she wants to see a unified approach to U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s economic threats toward Canada, but that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “hasn’t made it easy” — and that Alberta is prepared to secure its own interests in Washington. Speaking to Mercedes Stephenson in an interview that aired Sunday on The West Block, Smith said she wants to ensure that oil and gas from Alberta is exempted from the 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian imports that Trump has threatened, but that Trudeau’s policies — including carbon pricing and a proposed cap on oil pollution that Alberta says amounts to a production cap — stand in the way.“We’re saying to the Americans, we are your solution to energy security. We are your solution to energy affordability. You can’t tak...