Politics

Canada’s new minister of artificial intelligence said Tuesday he’ll put less emphasis on AI regulation and more on finding ways to harness the technology’s economic benefits. In his first speech since becoming Canada’s first-ever AI minister, Evan Solomon said Canada will move away from “over-indexing on warnings and regulation” to make sure the economy benefits from AI.His regulatory focus will be on data protection and privacy, he told the audience at an event in Ottawa Tuesday morning organized by the think tank Canada 2020.Solomon said regulation isn’t about finding “a saddle to throw on the bucking bronco called AI innovation. That’s hard. But it is to make sure that the horse doesn’t kick people in the face. And we need to protect people’s data and their privacy.”The previous governm...

The federal government has made little headway on its pledge to get rid of unused office space and transform some of it into affordable housing. A report released Tuesday by Auditor General Karen Hogan found that Public Services and Procurement Canada has made “scant progress” on that commitment, reducing its office footprint by only two per cent between 2019 and 2024.The department planned to cut office space by 50 per cent by 2034, estimating it could save nearly $4 billion over the next decade.But Hogan says there has been little movement on the initiative, which could also alleviate the housing crisis. The auditor general blamed the inaction “mainly on a lack of funding.” 1:36 Report gives ...

Canada, alongside four other countries, is formally sanctioning two Israeli ministers for comments they say are “incitements of violence against Palestinian communities.” The sanctions were announced by the foreign ministers of Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Norway on Tuesday in a joint statement.Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich will both see their assets frozen and face travel bans.Both men face sanctions for being “responsible for, engaging in, inciting, promoting and/or supporting activity which amounts to a serious abuse of the right of individuals not to be subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, in particular acts of aggression and violence against Palestinian individuals in the ...

Nearly 7,000 people joined Canada’s military over the last year, exceeding the Canadian Armed Forces’ recruitment goal and marking a 10-year high in enrollment. More recruits are enlisting at a time of heightened focus on Canadian sovereignty, and as Prime Minister Mark Carney vows to rebuild the military and reduce reliance on the United States.It’s a sign of some progress in a recruitment crisis the previous defence minister described as a “death spiral,” but government officials acknowledge significant problems with retention remain.The Department of Defence released numbers to Global News on Monday, showing that 6,706 recruits enrolled in the regular forces between April 1, 2024 and March 31, 2025, surpassing its target of 6,496. ...

Canada has invited Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the upcoming G7 Leaders’ Summit in Alberta, Global News has learned. It is not yet known if bin Salman has accepted the invitation. He did not attend last year’s G7 summit in Italy despite being invited there as well.Canada’s invitation marks the third time in recent days that Prime Minister Mark Carney and his government has reached out to leaders of countries whose relationships with Canada have been strained.Leaders from the world’s largest economies are set to gather in Kananaskis for three days of talks that begin Sunday. It is common practice for host countries to invite other world leaders to the annual summit to discuss pressing global issues.Saudi Arabia is seen as a key player in Middle East diplomacy. It has b...

If Canada decides to buy submarines from Germany, it would mean tightening ties with a “club of countries” in Europe as it looks to meet NATO defence spending goals and face an uncertain world, Germany’s ambassador says. Matthias Lüttenberg, Germany’s ambassador to Canada, sat down with The West Block‘s Mercedes Stephenson in an interview airing on Sunday and emphasized the value of working more closely together.“It’s up to the Canadian government to decide which direction they want to go,” said Lüttenberg.“The state of the art submarine that we are offering jointly with Norway, which is built in Germany, is a very good solution for Canadian security, especially when you look at the Arctic.”European countries are investing billions into their militaries and Prime Minister Mark Carney pledg...

Canada has unveiled its priorities for the G7 leaders’ summit just one week before it gets underway in Alberta as the government defends its decision to invite India to the summit. Prime Minister Mark Carney’s office says Ottawa’s top priority for the summit will be strengthening global peace and security, which includes countering foreign interference and transnational crime, as well as improving responses to wildfires.His office also says Canada will focus on spurring economic growth by improving energy security, fortifying supply chains for critical minerals and accelerating the use of artificial intelligence.Lastly, Canada will discuss creating jobs by securing partnerships to open new markets and generate large infrastructure investments.In addition, Canada plans to use its invitation...

By Staff The Canadian Press Posted June 7, 2025 3:22 pm 1 min read Descrease article font size Increase article font size Alberta is buying American alcohol and gambling machines again, three months after Premier Danielle Smith announced restrictions aimed at fighting back against U.S. tariffs. Service Alberta Minister Dale Nally said Friday that the move signals a “renewed commitment to open and fair trade” with the United States.Smith said in March that the province would no longer buy U.S. alcohol and video lottery terminals, or sign contracts with American companies. Alberta’s liquor stores are privately owned but must ord...

U.S. Vice-President JD Vance said Elon Musk was making a “huge mistake” going after President Donald Trump in a storm of bitter and inflammatory social media posts after a falling out between the two men. But the vice-president, in an interview released Friday after the very public blow up between the world’s richest man and arguably the world’s most powerful, also tried to downplay Musk’s blistering attacks as an “emotional guy” who got frustrated.“I hope that eventually Elon comes back into the fold. Maybe that’s not possible now because he’s gone so nuclear,” Vance said.Vance’s comments come as other Republicans in recent days have urged the two men, who months ago were close allies spending significant time together, to mend fences.Musk’s torrent of social media posts attacking Trump c...

“A white collar bloodbath” is how Dario Amodei, CEO of leading artificial intelligence firm Anthropic, recently described the impact of artificial intelligence on the labour market to American news site Axios. On May 28, he warned that the very technology his company is creating could wipe out half of all entry-level white-collar jobs within the next five years.And he’s not alone.Micha Kaufman, CEO of Fiverr, the popular online marketplace for freelance services, shared on social media a company email from April 8 that says: “AI is coming for your jobs. Heck, it’s coming for my job too. This is a wake-up call.”He goes on to say that this will affect a variety of fields and “it doesn’t matter if you are a programmer, designer, product manager, data scientist, lawyer, customer support rep, s...