The Canadian Press

Parliament gets back to work Wednesday with a new Speaker, a new prime minister and plenty of new faces in the House of Commons.

Speaker Francis Scarpaleggia will preside over the House of Commons for the first time today, while his office has confirmed that all 343 members of Parliament have now been sworn in.

Roughly a third of those MPs, including Prime Minister Mark Carney, were elected for the first time in April and will face their first question period today.

From Alberta to Manitoba, residents across the Prairies are out of their homes, while others remain on edge as wildfires inch closer to their communities.

The Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation in Saskatchewan has imposed an evacuation order for more than 1,800 residents of Pelican Narrows, 412 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon.

They are to flee to PAGC Urban Services, also known as the Margo Fournier Centre, in Prince Albert.

Seated in a brand-new throne and surrounded by dignitaries, King Charles opened Parliament Tuesday with a show of royal tradition — the first throne speech delivered by a reigning monarch in Canada in nearly half a century.

Reading from the speech — which is drafted by the federal government and lays out its policy priorities — the King proclaimed the "True North is indeed strong and free" and reaffirmed Canada's sovereignty while underscoring the "unprecedented" challenges the nation faces.

Prime Minister Mark Carney's vision for nation-building and economic growth is expected to form the main thrust of the throne speech when King Charles reads it today in the Canadian Senate.

Alberta is bringing in new rules this fall to ensure that only what it calls “age appropriate” books are available in school libraries.

Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides says the move was spurred by four graphic coming-of-age novels depicting sexual, LGBTQ+ content found to be in circulation in public schools in Edmonton and Calgary.

Nicolaides says he was extremely concerned to learn such novels were available.

The union representing about 55,000 Canada Post employees has called for a countrywide halt to overtime work, saying its negotiators will continue to review the latest contract offers from the mail carrier.

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers said late Thursday that members were being told to refuse any work beyond eight hours in a day and 40 hours in a week. 

Statistics Canada is set to release inflation data for April today.

Market data shows economists on average expect the annual rate of inflation cooled to 1.6 per cent last month, from 2.3 per cent in March.

The Liberal government eliminated the consumer carbon price at the start of April, offering motorists some relief at the pump.

Last month also marked the first full month of tariffs between Canada and the United States, though both sides have offered some exemptions in the trade dispute.

An evacuation order for the Rural Municipality of Lac du Bonnet in eastern Manitoba has been partially lifted as officials say crews continue to make good progress battling a wildfire that forced close to 1,000 people from their homes.

A statement from Lac du Bonnet Emergency Management posted to Facebook on Sunday afternoon says the province's Wildfire Service has recommended reopening the southern section of the evacuated Wendigo region.

The post says people who live south of PR 313 between Urban Road and Belluk Road can now return to their homes.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced Friday an overhaul of several government ministries, creating two new health services portfolios and replacing her Indigenous relations minister.

Former health minister Adriana LaGrange was sworn in as minister of primary and preventative health services, while former jobs minister Matt Jones is now in charge of hospital and surgical health services.

Previous Indigenous relations minister Rick Wilson becomes minister of mental health and addiction. He replaces Dan Williams, who moves to municipal affairs.

The sexual assault case of five hockey players faced another major upheaval Friday, abruptly converting from a jury to a judge alone in order to avoid a mistrial that would have rebooted the proceedings for a second time in less than a month.

Ontario Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia ruled to discharge the jury Friday over concerns about possible jury bias. The move came after a juror sent a note to the Carroccia indicating some members of the panel felt two of the defence lawyers were laughing at them as they came into court each day.