National News

Alberta's Opposition NDP is set to announce its new leader today.

Outgoing Leader Rachel Notley gave a farewell speech to party members Friday night.

She says the party is the strongest it's been in its history.

Notley's New Democrats swept to power as a majority government in 2015, ending a four-decade Progressive Conservative dynasty.

She announced in January she was leaving the job, after the party lost its second consecutive election to the United Conservative Party.

Thousands of deliriously happy fans of the Edmonton Oilers roared as one Friday as the hometown blue and orange ran over the Florida Panthers to set up a winner-take-all Game 7 in the Stanley Cup final.

“We want the cup! We want the cup!” chanted fans inside Rogers Place, while the Oilers circled at centre ice with sticks skyward saluting all after the 5-1 win.

If the Edmonton Oilers can show off their trademark resilience just one more time, they will make Stanley Cup history.

Depth forward Warren Foegele had a goal and an assist as the Oilers forced a decisive Game 7 in this year's Cup final with a 5-1 win over the Florida Panthers on Friday in front of a raucous Rogers Place crowd.

The win moved the Oilers closer to breaking Canada's Cup curse and has Edmonton on the cusp of becoming just the second team to come back from a 3-0 deficit in the final.

Cheryl Oates learned that she needed to lace up a good pair of running shoes to keep up with Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley.

“When I think about her turning me into a runner, despite the fact that I didn't want to be runner, it’s an interesting parallel to her politics,” says Oates, who was head of communications when Notley was premier.

“Given the chance, she will either wear you down or convince you."

On Saturday afternoon, the party will be Notley’s crew no more. It's set to announce a new leader.

Canada needs to meet NATO's minimum defence spending target, and present a plan on how it will reach it as a way to show authoritarian regimes that Western allies are aligned, said the alliance's secretary general on Wednesday.

Numbers NATO released this week show Canada is expected to spend 1.37 per cent of its gross domestic product on defence this year, well below the two per cent target.

Health Minister Mark Holland says he hopes to launch a national pharmacare program by April 1, 2025. 

A pharmacare bill drafted by the Liberals and the NDP has made its way through the House of Commons, but still needs to be studied by the Senate.

The idea is to make birth control and diabetes medication available to anyone with a health card as part of a universal, single-payer program. 

The Liberals budgeted $1.5 billion for the program over five years. 

Statistics Canada says the country's population topped 41 million people in the first quarter of this year as it grew by 0.6 per cent.

The agency says the population reached 41,012,563 on April 1, a gain of 242,673 people in the first three months of the year.

Statistics Canada said the increase came as the country welcomed 121,758 immigrants in the first quarter.

Net emigration amounted to 12,613 people for the quarter.

Canada also added 131,810 non-permanent residents to the population.

Alberta is moving to ban cellphones in kindergarten to Grade 12 classrooms starting in the fall.

Alberta Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides said Monday that cellphones help with learning but can also be a distraction and lead to cyberbullying.

He said there will be exceptions for students who use phones for health needs, such as monitoring blood sugar levels.

Otherwise, personal devices must be turned off and stored out of sight during class time. School internet networks will also have to limit access to social media, Nicolaides said.

Mourners, dignitaries and first responders filled a park in western Manitoba on Saturday afternoon for the unveiling of a monument honouring the 17 victims of a deadly bus crash that took place one year ago.

Roughly 200 people — including Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew — were on hand for the official unveiling in the city of Dauphin, with many setting up lawn chairs in CN park and others embracing under overcast skies.

Volunteers handed out programs with small packets of seeds of forget me not flowers to plant after the ceremony.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says a recent spy watchdog report shows a "number of MPs" have knowingly provided help to foreign governments — behaviour he calls unethical or even illegal.

Singh said Thursday he is "more alarmed today" after reading an unredacted version of a report on foreign interference by the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians.