national

Canada’s annual inflation rate unexpectedly fell to 2.8 per cent last month, amid sharp declines in cellular and internet services as well as slower grocery price growth. Statistics Canada released its February consumer price index report Tuesday, which shows price growth softened for a second consecutive month. Economists were widely expecting Canada’s inflation rate to have risen above January’s […]

The Canadian Real Estate Association says February home sales jumped 19.7 per cent compared with a year ago. The association says the increase in part reflected weakness last year, as the result for February 2023 was one of the lowest for the month in the past two decades. On a month-over-month basis, CREA says seasonally […]

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says the federal government will cap the annual alcohol excise tax increase on beer, spirits and wine at two per cent for an additional two years. The alcohol excise tax had been set to rise on April 1 by 4.7 per cent, tied to inflation, but Freeland announced today that the […]

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will present the federal budget on April 16, as cost-of-living issues continue to dominate Canadian politics. “Our economic plan is about building more homes, faster, making life more affordable, and creating more good jobs,” Freeland said in a news release on Monday. The spending plan is coming at a time when […]

There was no in-between with Martin Brian Mulroney. Canadians loved him: In 1984, they handed the youthful charmer a blank cheque and the largest majority mandate in history so he could change the country. Canadians hated him: When he announced his departure from politics in 1993, his charm was dismissed as blarney, his youth faded into a […]

The Supreme Court of Canada says it will review the case of a man arrested after calling for help to save a friend overdosing on drugs in a case that has raised questions surrounding the Good Samaritan law. The top court said Thursday it will review the case of Paul Eric Wilson but as per […]

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says the federal government is putting nearly $200 million in new money toward supporting low-income renters and shelters. Ottawa is pouring an additional $99 million into the Canada Housing Benefit, which offers financial support for low-income renters in partnership with provinces and territories. Freeland says another $100 million will go toward […]

Dalhousie University food researcher Sylvain Charlebois told MPs that there is no substantiated evidence of profiteering within the food retail industry in Canada. The government should be more concerned with price co-ordination within the industry, said Charlebois, noting a recent example where Loblaw reduced the level of discounting on last-day sale items, citing alignment with […]

The national chief of the Assembly of First Nations is trying to make inroads with Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, hoping to forestall the tensions and angst that marked the party’s last time in power. The legacy of the Idle No More movement has shaped how young Indigenous activists and leaders view the Conservatives, an image […]

The end of the road is coming for gas-powered vehicles in Canada. New regulations being published this week by Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault will effectively end the sale of new passenger vehicles powered only by gasoline or diesel in 2035. Guilbeault said the Electric Vehicle Availability Standard will encourage automakers to make more battery-powered cars […]