National News

A summer forecast warns western wildfires will likely continue to be “a major concern," with higher-than-normal temperatures expected when the second fire season ramps up in July and peaks in August.

The Weather Network released predictions Wednesday that point to a cooler season overall in Canada, although there will likely be periods of hot and dry stretches broken up by unsettled weather in June, July, and August.

Alberta’s United Conservative Party emerged bloodied but still standing in Monday’s bitterly contested provincial election.

Danielle Smith’s UCP dominated outside Alberta’s two largest cities while retaining enough support in Calgary to overcome an NDP sweep in Edmonton and win a second consecutive majority government. 

"To paraphrase our dear friend (former Alberta premier) Ralph Klein, welcome to another miracle on the Prairies,” Smith told cheering supporters on the Calgary Stampede grounds. 

It’s election day in Alberta in what polls suggest could be a nail-biter finish between the province's two dominant parties. 

Danielle Smith’s United Conservative Party is fighting to win a second consecutive majority government, while Rachel Notley’s NDP is trying to regain the government it lost to the UCP in 2019. 

Both leaders have been premier and leaders of the official Opposition. 

A wildfire that has damaged or destroyed dozens of homes in suburban Halifax is still burning out of control because of gusty winds and dry conditions.

Halifax deputy fire Chief David Meldrum says an estimated 14,000 people were forced to flee their homes after the rapidly spreading fire broke out Sunday afternoon in Tantallon, a 30-minute drive northwest of downtown Halifax.

A new report is casting doubt on the idea that Canada is facing a widespread labour shortage and bolsters the arguments by some labour economists that high job vacancies aren't due to a shortage of workers.

The Statistics Canada analysis finds there are no labour shortages for jobs that require high levels of education, suggesting other factors, such as a mismatch in skills and pay, might be to blame for a high number of empty positions.

A Florida man pleaded not guilty to human smuggling charges Friday in a case linked to the discovery last year of a family of four migrants from India found frozen to death just steps from the Canada-U.S. border. 

Steve Shand, 48, waived the reading of the indictment before entering the plea via videoconference as part of a brief but long-awaited arraignment in Duluth, Minn.

A new plan to force hospitals to report adverse effects of "natural health products" such as herbal remedies and supplements has come as a surprise to manufacturers, who say they were blindsided by the proposed change.

The federal government included the plan in the 2023 budget bill, which is still making its way through the House of Commons.

It would see natural health products fall under the same category as pharmaceuticals when it comes to how they are monitored once they are on the market.

Special rapporteur David Johnston says that a formal inquiry into foreign interference is not needed, but he will hold his own public hearings about the issue sometime this year. 

The former governor general said an inquiry cannot be undertaken in public because of the sensitivity of the intelligence involved, and there would be considerable overlap with the work that he has already been doing to investigate the issue of alleged foreign meddling in the last two federal elections. 

Light rainfall and cooler temperatures slowed down wildfire activity in Alberta over the long weekend and more rain that's in the forecast may help firefighters catch a breath during a record-breaking season of fires.

"This could be a turning point for the firefighters working out there on the fires," Christie Tucker of Alberta Wildfire said during a news conference Monday.

"We have received rain, I understand, on almost every wildfire that's currently burning in the province except those in the far north."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sent a forceful rebuke of Russia at the conclusion of the G7 Leaders' Summit, which was taken over by the arrival of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who hoped to shore up more support for his country. 

The support of allies has been crucial to Ukraine's survival amid a Russian invasion, and countries pushing for a ceasefire must recognize Russia is squarely to blame, Trudeau said Sunday in Hiroshima, Japan.