National News

More than 67 per cent of the drugs seized during a month-long cross-country Canada Border Services Agency operation were coming into Canada from the United States, the agency says.

Operation Blizzard took place from Feb. 12 to March 13 and targeted illegal drugs and precursor chemicals transported by mail, air cargo or marine container, the CBSA said in a news release Wednesday. The agency said it focused on shipments going to the United States.

Prime Minister Mark Carney fielded questions about the trade war with the United States and his decision to delay the federal budget to the fall as he faced his first question period grilling in the House of Commons Wednesday.

Conservative House leader Andrew Scheer welcomed Carney to the House before launching into a question about Canada's response to U.S. tariffs.

"This is where democracy lives, and this is where we provide rigorous scrutiny on every word he says and every dollar he spends," Scheer said.

A rapidly growing wildfire near the Saskatchewan border in Northern Manitoba has prompted a mandatory evacuation order for the entire community of Flin Flon.

The wildfire, identified as Fire WE024, was first detected on Monday near the community of Creighton, Sask., and has since ballooned in size. As of Wednesday afternoon, the estimated area is 20,000 hectares and is now threatening the community.

Canada Post on Wednesday laid out its "final offers" to the union representing 55,000 workers after negotiations resumed Wednesday morning, as tensions run high over the future of the beleaguered institution.

Included in the proposal are an end to compulsory overtime, a signing bonus of $1,000 for urban employees and $500 for rural and suburban ones, cost-of-living payments that are triggered at a lower inflation threshold.

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.

King Charles arrived in Canada Tuesday afternoon for a short visit that will include reading the speech from the throne in Parliament.

The highly symbolic visit is happening as Canada copes with U.S. President Donald Trump's attempts to upend global trade with tariffs and his repeated calls for Canada's annexation.

The Canadian Armed Forces plane carrying the King and Queen Camilla landed in Ottawa shortly after 1 p.m. 

Quebec Liberal MP Francis Scarpaleggia was elected Speaker of the House of Commons on Monday — after an unusually dramatic race that saw the only Conservative contenders drop out of the running at the last minute.

Conservative MPs Chris d'Entremont and John Nater both put their names forward but withdrew on the House floor before the election began Monday morning.

The Liberals currently have 169 seats in the minority Parliament, leaving them three seats shy of the 172 required for a majority.