The Canadian Press

Sunwing says it has completed all of its scheduled recovery flights to bring home passengers stranded in Mexico after winter storms disrupted its operations during the holidays.

The travel company says in a statement that its teams have worked around the clock to return its affected customers home.

Some travellers from Saskatchewan say the airline has left them at airports in other provinces, while one says her flight from Mexico made it to Regina with dozens of empty seats.

The Winnipeg Police Service says the president of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms is facing charges that include attempting to obstruct justice, following his admission in 2021 that he hired a private investigator to follow a Manitoba judge.

Winnipeg police say in a news release that John Carpay, 55, was arrested with the assistance of the Calgary Police Service based on a warrant with charges issued by Manitoba Justice.

2023 is an election year in Manitoba -- and at least one political analyst thinks the governing Progressive Conservatives will have a tough time turning their fortunes around.

Paul Thomas, at the University of Manitoba, says the public mood right now is one of frustration and disappointment.

Tory support in opinion polls dropped sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic and has stayed low as hospitals and the health-care system face ongoing strain.

Utility crews in Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick are still working to restore electricity to thousands of customers who have been in the dark for days after last week's fierce winter storms knocked out their power.

As of Tuesday morning, power is still out for nearly 33,000 Hydro-Québec customers and more than 13,000 Hydro One customers.

New Brunswick Power has restored electricity to a majority of customers who were impacted by the storm, which it has said was one of the largest provincewide outage events of the last 25 years.

Canadian Blood Services says it's in need of blood and plasma donors after the winter storm disrupted donations over the holidays. 

Severe wind, snowfall and icy conditions that hit many parts of the country meant that about 10 per cent of expected blood and plasma donations did not happen. 

There's a critical need for platelets for patients undergoing cancer treatments and O-negative blood for newborns and emergencies. 

Canadian Blood Services says it has lost thousands of regular donors since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

A highway in the British Columbia Interior has reopened after a passenger bus crash sent more than 50 people to hospital.

Few details have been released about the Saturday evening incident, but Interior Health tweeted that 53 people are being treated at three hospitals in Kelowna, Penticton and Merritt.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is asking Canadians to remind themselves how fortunate they are "to live in a country of peace."

Trudeau says in his annual Christmas address that it's the season when life slows down and "Christmas movies, including Die Hard, are on repeat."

But he says that 2022 was a challenging year and acknowledges that for some, the holidays won't be easy.

This holiday season marks a return to more normalcy for millions of Canadians who no longer have to navigate holiday travel and family gatherings under COVID-19 health restrictions. 

Weather warnings remain in place across the country as major storms continue to dump snow and freezing rain on Quebec, Ontario and B.C., and batter the Atlantic provinces with heavy rain and powerful winds.

Hundreds of thousands of customers have been left without power in the final hours before Christmas, with hydro crews working around the clock to get the lights back on.

A Hydro-Quebec spokesman said about 1,000 workers were repairing power lines to restore electricity to approximately 355,256 customers as of early Saturday morning.

A major winter storm bearing down on Ontario and Quebec cancelled flights, closed schools and threatened widespread power outages Friday, with an Environment Canada meteorologist warning of a possible once-in-a-decade weather event. 

Environment Canada predicted strong winds, heavy snowfall and possible flash freezing, issuing winter storm warnings for most of Ontario and Quebec. 

"We may only see one of these storms every five or 10 years," said Environment Canada meteorologist Mitch Meredith. "I've only seen a couple of storms like this in the last 20 years." 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is heading to Jamaica after Christmas for a one-week vacation with his immediate family.

The Prime Minister's Office says Trudeau will remain in constant contact with Ottawa during the trip and continue to be briefed and updated on issues.

The PMO also says it checked with the federal ethics commissioner in advance of the travel to make sure it follows guidelines.

Trudeau had been found in violation of conflict-of-interest rules in 2017 after a 2016 vacation he took to the Aga Khan's private island in the Bahamas.