Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press

Manitoba became the first province to officially join Ottawa's pharmacare program on Thursday, giving it access to federal funding to cover the cost of birth control and diabetes medications as well as hormone replacement therapy for menopause.

"This is the beginning of a journey that cannot end," Health Minister Mark Holland said at the announcement in Winnipeg.

"There's no room for politics in this. It's just logic. It's the thing we must do for this country."

Multiple polls now suggest the next federal election will be a tight race, and at least one major pollster has the Liberals leading the Conservatives for the first time in nearly four years.

A survey from Ipsos released this week suggests that if an election were held today, 38 per cent of Canadians would support the Liberals and 36 per cent would back the Conservatives.

That's a major shift from just six weeks ago, when the Conservatives held a 26-point lead in Ipsos polls.

The federal Conservatives and New Democrats say the government needs to recall Parliament within the next month to act on U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff threat.

On Monday, Trump agreed not to impose punishing tariffs on Canadian imports until March 4 after striking a deal with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over two phone calls.

Trudeau says he presented Trump with the federal government's plan to secure the border and tackle fentanyl production and trafficking.

U.S. President Donald Trump has agreed not to impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico for another month, pulling back from a plan that would have tipped North America into a trade war on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke with Trump twice on Monday, their first discussions since the president took over the White House on Jan. 20. After what Trudeau described on social media as a "good call" in the afternoon, the two leaders agreed to pause tariffs for at least 30 days.

The federal public inquiry into foreign interference is calling on the leaders of all political parties to get top-secret security clearances — a recommendation that Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is not following.

In her final report, commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue said party leaders should seek such clearance as soon as possible after they are elected. She recommended that all parties in the House of Commons ensure at least two of their members have top-secret clearance.

Gen. Jennie Carignan was a little emotional on Thursday as she spoke to reporters about what it means to take over command of the Canadian Armed Forces. 

It's an honour that felt like the natural next step in her career, she said, something she's worked toward for the last 38 years. It also means, for other women or marginalized people, that "it's possible, folks — the door is open."

"This is actually what my parents used to tell me: 'Anything is possible. You can do anything,'" she said. 

After much hounding by federal officials, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control is giving Canadian dogs a slightly longer leash when it comes to new rules aimed at controlling the spread of rabies.

Health Minister Mark Holland said Wednesday that he's been able to secure some changes to the regulations for dogs entering the United States from Canada after a series of meetings in Washington, D.C.

"We made good progress, I think it significantly improves the situation, but it's not enough," he said.

The major shift in the British political landscape after Thursday's election will likely have little impact on Canada's relationship with its ally across the pond, experts say, though it is reviving hope for a possible free-trade deal.

Achim Hurrelmann, a professor of political science at Carleton University, said the two countries have maintained strong ties.

"Even though the (Canadian) Liberal Party and the Conservative Party in the U.K. are of different party families, they have generally work together well on international and trade issues," he said.

A new poll suggests the vast majority of Canadians are proud of their home and native land, but our sense of national pride is lower than it was a few years ago.

Polling firm Leger surveyed 1,607 people last weekend, asking how they're feeling about being Canadian ahead of Canada Day. The firm posed similar questions to a group of 1,003 Americans ahead of the Fourth of July.

The results suggest the vast majority of us — 76 per cent — would call ourselves proud Canadians. 

The sun was shining on the beaches of Normandy on Thursday morning as a Canadian ceremony to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day got underway in Courseulles-sur-Mer, France.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, his French counterpart Gabriel Attal and Prince William were among dignitaries visiting Juno Beach, where flags bearing the Maple Leaf fluttered in a gentle breeze.

In the front row of a crowd of thousands were 13 Canadian veterans in military uniform, the oldest of them 104 years old, who survived the war effort on the same beach so many decades ago.