Nojoud Al Mallees, The Canadian Press

The federal government's priorities for improving Canada's immigration system include better aligning the number of people welcomed to the country with what the labour market needs, as well as services and infrastructure, says a report released Tuesday.

"With an aging population, people living longer, families having fewer children, Canada imperatively needs immigration to rebalance our demographics and support the growing need for workers," federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said Tuesday.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling on the Liberals to exempt all forms of home heating from the carbon price, after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a temporary exemption that only applies to home heating oil.

The federal government announced last week that it is increasing the carbon price rebate for rural Canadians and lifting the carbon price off home heating oil entirely for the next three years.

Major grocers in Canada are not yet confirming whether they have committed to special promotions to stabilize grocery prices, as was recently promised by the federal government. 

Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced last week that the grocers have presented initial plans to stabilize prices, which include discounts, price freezes and price-matching campaigns.

The Canadian Press has reached out to the grocers —  Loblaw, Empire, Metro, Walmart and Costco — to confirm what exactly each of them has promised to do. 

Canada's inflation rate jumped to four per cent last month, as economists warn the latest consumer price index report spells bad news for the Bank of Canada. 

Statistics Canada released its latest inflation reading on Tuesday, which shows the annual rate rose from 3.3 per cent in July, marking the second consecutive month inflation has risen.

Forecasters were widely anticipating inflation to come in hotter last month due to higher gasoline prices. But Tuesday's report was even more discouraging than many expected. 

Top executives from Canada's major grocery chains met with two federal cabinet ministers on Monday for "difficult discussions" to talk about measures to stabilize grocery prices.

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland and Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne met with executives from Loblaw, Metro, Empire, Walmart and Costco this morning.

"They have agreed to support the government of Canada in our efforts to stabilize food prices in Canada," Champagne said. 

The alarm bells are becoming bull horns: Canada's housing supply isn't keeping up with the rapid rate of population growth.

Academics, commercial banks and policy thinkers have all been warning the federal government that the pace of population growth, facilitated by immigration, is making the housing crisis worse.

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.

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. 

A new report says hundreds of thousands of Canadians may have missed out on government money intended to help with the rising cost of living because the housing and dental benefits rolled out last year have had "atrocious" take-up. 

The analysis by David Macdonald, senior economist at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, assesses both benefits, as well as how much the federal government has actually spent on the measures. 

Canada's inflation rate likely took another dip last month, but with many Canadians still struggling with the cost of living, the federal government is facing pressure to deliver more help in the upcoming budget.

Statistics Canada is set to release its February consumer price index report on Tuesday, giving its most up-to-date reading on inflation ahead of the federal government's budget on March 28. 

Desjardins and RBC are both forecasting the inflation rate fell to 5.4 per cent last month, down from 5.9 per cent in January.