Author: The Canadian Post
Quebec Premier François Legault announced in Quebec City on January 14, 2026, that he will resign as premier and as leader of the Coalition Avenir Québec once his party chooses a successor. Facing poor polls nine months before a provincial election, Legault said Quebecers want change, including a change of premier. A surprise announcement in Quebec City François Legault ended months of speculation on Wednesday, January 14, telling a late-morning news conference in Quebec City that he will step down as premier of Quebec and as leader of the Coalition Avenir Québec, the party he founded in 2011. Flanked by…
The Competition Tribunal has issued its first ruling under the new “public interest” route that lets ordinary people ask permission to bring competition cases. It set a three-part test for such bids, then refused an independent game developer permission to sue Google and Apple, finding his evidence thin and his plan to run the case unproven. What the case was about An independent game developer asked the Tribunal for leave to bring a private case against Google and Apple. He alleged the two companies struck a deal under which Apple made Google the default search engine on more than two…
Former Winnipeg police constable Elston Bostock apologized at his sentencing hearing for photographing a dead woman while on duty and for selling drugs to friends and colleagues. Bostock, 49, had pleaded guilty to breach of trust, drug trafficking, attempting to obstruct justice and offering an indignity to human remains. The Crown sought seven years in prison. An apology in court A former Winnipeg police officer who sold drugs to friends and colleagues and photographed a dead woman while on duty used his sentencing hearing to apologize for what he had done. Elston Bostock, 49, told the Court of King’s Bench…
Ottawa, British Columbia and the City of Victoria announced more than $50 million in combined funding on January 13, 2026, to build 77 more homes at 8 Chown Place in Victoria. The second phase will add 68 apartments and nine townhomes for independent seniors and families in the Burnside Gorge neighbourhood. What is being built at Chown Place The new phase is part of a larger, multi-phase plan for the Chown Place site. It will contain 68 apartments with one, two and three bedrooms, along with nine three-bedroom townhomes. The homes are intended for independent seniors and for families, two…
Canada’s Privacy Commissioner found Staples Canada did not fully remove personal information from returned laptops it later resold. Staff sampled devices returned to four Ontario stores and found personal information on 23 per cent of them. Staples was given nine months to set clear wiping standards, improve training and arrange independent annual spot checks. What investigators found on the devices The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada said its staff analysed laptops that customers had returned to four Ontario Staples stores. On 23 per cent of the devices sampled, personal information from a previous owner was still present. The…
Quebec’s public procurement watchdog, the Autorité des marchés publics, has rebuked the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec over its SAAQclic online platform. The watchdog found the board did not manage public funds responsibly, changed essential parts of its framework agreement, and divided contract requirements in ways that avoided accountability obligations. Another blow for a board already under inquiry Quebec’s auto insurance board has taken another public hit, this time from the independent agency that oversees the province’s public procurement markets. The Autorité des marchés publics concluded that the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec, known as the SAAQ, failed…
The federal government will give Peel Regional Police up to $1 million to fight extortion, support victims and build on work already under way in Peel Region. Ottawa also announced a Regional Integrated Drug Enforcement Team for the area, backed by $4 million in federal funding over four years, after a summit in Brampton on January 13, 2026. The announcement in Brampton Federal ministers came to Brampton on Tuesday to put federal money behind the response to extortion in Peel Region, where businesses and homes in southern Ontario have been targeted by threats, arson and shootings. Public Safety Minister Gary…
Canada, British Columbia and the Municipality of North Cowichan broke ground on January 13, 2026, on 92 affordable co-operative homes at 3181 Sherman Road. The partners announced more than $65 million in combined funding. The Community Land Trust will own and operate the homes, which are expected to be completed in early 2028. A first for the Mid-Island Thom Armstrong, chief executive of the Co-operative Housing Federation of British Columbia and the Community Land Trust, called the project the first-ever Mid-Island non-profit housing co-op. In his remarks at the announcement, he said it takes commitment from all three levels of…
The total value of building permits issued in Canada fell $1.8 billion, or 13.1 per cent, to $12.0 billion in November 2025, Statistics Canada reported on January 13, 2026. Residential intentions fell $1.0 billion and non-residential intentions fell $788.2 million. Ontario’s multi-family component led the residential decline after leading gains in October. A sharp monthly reversal Canada’s construction intentions dropped sharply in November, giving back much of the previous month’s momentum in a single release. Statistics Canada said the total value of building permits issued across the country decreased by $1.8 billion, down 13.1 per cent, to $12.0 billion. Both…
Ontario marked one year of its $2.1-billion Primary Care Action Plan on January 12, 2026, saying more than 275,000 people have been attached to a primary care clinician and the province is on track to reach 300,000 in the plan’s first year. About 1.98 million Ontarians remain unattached. On track for the first-year target, minister says Health Minister Sylvia Jones delivered the first annual update on the plan on Monday, flanked by Dr. Jane Philpott, the former federal Liberal health minister who leads the province’s Primary Care Action Team. “Since this initiative began, Ontario has already attached over 275,000 new…
