Author: The Canadian Post

The Manitoba government launched a $1-million Security Enhancement Fund on Jan. 19, 2026, to help places of worship and cultural organizations protect themselves against hate crimes. Eligible groups can apply for help paying for security cameras, lighting, alarm systems, controlled access and safety training. “Hate has no place in Manitoba” Premier Wab Kinew and Justice Minister Matt Wiebe announced the fund as a response to acts of hate, targeted intimidation and vandalism directed at community organizations. The money can support enhanced lighting, alarm systems, security cameras and controlled-access systems, as well as safety training, repairs to property damaged in hate-motivated…

Emergency physicians in Toronto and Vancouver are warning that Canada’s already-overloaded emergency departments could buckle this summer when the FIFA World Cup brings hundreds of thousands of visitors. A CMAJ editorial by Dr. Catherine Varner calls for an urgent national plan to add hospital beds and train staff. A system already in “constant surge” Toronto and Vancouver will host a combined 13 World Cup matches over four weeks in June and July 2026, drawing an estimated 300,000 visitors to Toronto alone, with hundreds of thousands more attending overlapping events such as the Luminato Festival, Pride Toronto and NXNE. The final…

Thousands of federal public servants received workforce adjustment notices last week warning their jobs may be cut under Ottawa’s comprehensive expenditure review. The Public Service Alliance of Canada says 1,775 of its members were notified in a single week, and Statistics Canada alone plans to eliminate about 850 positions. Notices across the big departments The unions’ tallies show how broad the latest wave is. PSAC says 2,273 of its members have received notices since the November budget, across departments including Public Services and Procurement Canada, Shared Services Canada, Statistics Canada and the Treasury Board Secretariat. The Professional Institute of the…

Canada exceeded its Francophone immigration target for the fourth consecutive year in 2025, Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab announced in Moncton on Jan. 19, 2026. French-speaking permanent residents made up about 8.9 per cent of admissions outside Quebec, and Ottawa will reserve 5,000 new selection spaces for provinces starting in 2026. 8.9 per cent, against a target of 8.5 Ottawa set a target of 8.5 per cent for 2025 and, according to preliminary year-end data, admitted more than 29,500 French-speaking permanent residents outside Quebec — about 8.9 per cent of all admissions outside the province. It was the fourth straight…

The Bank of Canada’s fourth-quarter Business Outlook Survey, released Jan. 19, 2026, shows business sentiment remains subdued after a weak year, but firms expect domestic sales growth to improve slightly. Most plan to maintain or reduce staffing, and inflation expectations are holding roughly stable between 2.5 and 3 per cent. An economy in a holding pattern The quarterly survey, based on interviews with leaders of about 100 firms, paints an economy that absorbed the shock of U.S. tariffs without collapsing — but is not growing with any conviction either. About one-third of firms reported that their sales volumes declined over…

Lululemon Athletica is searching for a new chief executive after Calvin McDonald announced he will step down on Jan. 31, 2026. Retail experts say his successor must restore the product innovation that made the Vancouver-based brand famous, as rivals such as Alo Yoga and Vuori win over its customers. A giant that started to look ordinary Darrell Kopke, who worked at Lululemon in its early days, says people used to ask him for discounts for their daughters and sisters. These days, he says, he sees fewer loyalists. “Don’t get me wrong, I still see Lulu, but I see a lot…

Dan David, the Mohawk journalist from Kanesatake, Que., who co-founded the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network’s news department and mentored dozens of Indigenous reporters, has died at 73. His sister Marie David said he died Jan. 12, 2026, after a long struggle with cancer. “He was Indigenous journalism in this country” Colleagues remember David as the founding force behind APTN News, which he helped launch in 2000 under the name InVision News. APTN was the world’s first national Indigenous television network, and David, its first news director, built its newsroom with a simple conviction: Indigenous stories should be told by Indigenous…

Prime Minister Mark Carney concluded the first-ever visit by a sitting Canadian prime minister to Qatar on Jan. 18, 2026, securing a strategic partnership with the Amir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Qatar committed to major investments in Canadian projects, and both countries pledged to conclude an investment treaty by summer. Billions in promised investment The centrepiece of the Doha stop was a commitment from Qatar to make “significant strategic investments” in Canadian nation-building projects. Ottawa says the money will speed up major projects and support Canada’s clean energy, health, artificial intelligence and defence industries. The two leaders issued…

Prime Minister Mark Carney says the electric vehicle agreement he signed with China is an opportunity for Ontario and its autoworkers, not a threat. Speaking in Doha on Jan. 18, he said Chinese automakers have shown explicit interest in partnering with Canadian companies to build affordable EVs in Canada. A quota, a lower tariff, and a canola reprieve Carney and Chinese President Xi Jinping signed the agreement in Beijing on Friday. Canada will admit up to 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles a year at a tariff of 6.1 per cent, down from the 100 per cent surtax Canada imposed alongside the…

An Airdrie, Alta., couple, Daria Skibington-Roffel and her husband Ron Roffel, say the Canada Revenue Agency is demanding repayment of roughly $33,000 in pandemic benefits. Skibington-Roffel collected CERB and recovery benefits after her hours were cut, and maintains the agency’s own application tools said she was eligible. A refund that never came Skibington-Roffel works part-time while living with chronic health issues, and she is the official caregiver for her husband, who is retired and disabled. During the pandemic she applied for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit and later the Canada Recovery Benefit after her work hours and salary were reduced,…