National News

People's Party of Canada Leader Maxime Bernier appears set to announce his candidacy in a coming by-election for a federal seat in Manitoba.

A news release issued Wednesday afternoon said Bernier, a former cabinet minister who quit the Conservative caucus in 2018 to found the party, will make an important announcement about the byelection in the Portage-Lisgar riding on Friday.

The byelection was prompted by longtime member of Parliament Candice Bergen, who served as interim Conservative leader last year, stepping down in February.

Canadians who need their travel documents renewed before visiting far-off shores will soon be able to skip the line at the passport office, the immigration minister announced Wednesday.

Starting in the fall, Canadians with simple passport renewals will be able to apply online and upload the necessary documents and passport photo on a secure government website, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said.

Former members of an elite Alberta wildfire-fighting crew say government budget cuts have left the province battling its current blazes short-handed. 

"We could have been difference-makers," said Jordan Erlandson, a former member of Alberta's Rapattack team.

Those firefighters were trained to rappel from helicopters to get at wildfires while they still only covered a few hectares. When one storm sparked several fires, they could extinguish them before they merged. They also cleared landing spaces for other helicopters to bring in crews and gear. 

Canada's electronic waste more than tripled in the last two decades and is expected to keep increasing, a new study indicates, with researchers urging better e-waste management to reduce environmental harm and bring economic rewards.

Researchers from the University of Waterloo conducted what they called a comprehensive estimate of e-waste in Canada to better understand the lifecycle of electronic items from point of sale to disposal.

The study, published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials, looked at e-waste data going as far back as 1971.

Cooler temperatures and a bit of rain were delivering some relief for firefighters as they continued to battle wildfires that threaten communities in northern Alberta, but provincial officials warned the reprieve was only in some areas and lightning is sparking some new blazes.

"People have called this season certainly unprecedented in recent memory because we have so many fires so spread out," Christie Tucker with Alberta Wildfire told a media briefing Sunday afternoon.

"It's been an unusual year."

The head of the Native Women’s Association of Canada says it’s clear there's an ongoing emergency nearly four years after the final report into missing and murdered Indigenous woman and girls was released. 

“We are in a crisis,” said Carol McBride. 

Red dresses are set to be on display across the country Friday to recognize the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit People. It has become known as Red Dress Day and the empty garments serve as a symbol of lives that have been lost.

The federal minister responsible for Crown-Indigenous relations says a study has been completed into whether it's possible for a Winnipeg-area landfill to be searched for the remains of two Indigenous women.

Marc Miller's office did not release any details from the feasibility study and says in a statement that it's being reviewed.

Ottawa provided $500,000 to the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs for studying a search at the Prairie Green landfill.

Last year, while still Prince of Wales, King Charles III opened a meeting of Commonwealth heads of government in Rwanda's capital of Kigali and pitched Canada as an example for the world to follow.

In a speech that reflected on the relationship between Commonwealth countries and the Crown, and on the roots of the association that run deep into the African slave trade, he commended Canada's commitment to reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples. 

The public-sector union representing Canada Revenue Agency employees has struck a tentative deal with the federal government, ending a strike of 35,000 workers just after the tax season wrapped up.

The announcement of a prospective agreement comes after the government and Public Service Alliance of Canada came to separate deals that ended a strike of more than 120,000 other public servants.

CRA employees represented by PSAC's Union of Taxation Employees were still on strike two days after the federal tax-filing deadline.

A lost bear has found its way home thanks to a social media post.

Last week, Vancouver (YVR) airport posted a photo of a Winnie the Pooh stuffie asking for help locating its original owner. 

"On April 24th, around 3:30 p.m., this adorable Winnie the Pooh was left at Joe & the Juice in US Departures. Can you help us reunite him with his owner?" asked YVR Airport in a Tweet.

Yesterday, the airport announced that they had found the owner.