🇮🇳🇺🇸 India alleges widespread trafficking of international students through Canada to U.S.

Indian law enforcement agencies say they are investigating alleged links between dozens of colleges in Canada and two "entities" in Mumbai accused of illegally ferrying students across the Canada-United States border.
#India #US
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🇺🇸Steel, plastics, Florida orange juice on Canada's list of potential retaliatory tariffs against U.S.

Among the most senior officials in Ottawa, there is a document circulating that outlines specific details about how Canada could retaliate against Donald Trump's tariff threat.

The list includes hundreds of American-made goods that Canada is considering hitting with retaliatory tariffs.

American steel products, ceramics including toilets and sinks, glassware, flowers and different types of plastics are all included as possible targets for retaliatory tariffs.
#US
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🇺🇸Canada energy minister warns Trump against an oil trade war

Donald Trump’s claim that the US doesn’t need anything from Canada is “simply false,” said Jonathan Wilkinson, Canada’s energy minister and a potential candidate in the contest to replace Justin Trudeau as prime minister.

The US doesn’t have easy alternatives to Canadian crude oil, uranium, potash and other critical minerals, Wilkinson said. And he warned that nothing is off the table when it comes to potential Canadian trade retaliation, including export taxes.

Wilkinson will be in Washington next week and is working on lining up meetings with American lawmakers.
#US
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📊Trudeau’s departure hasn’t changed Liberal prospects

Liberal prospects are unchanged since Trudeau’s resigned on 6 January 2025. Support for the Liberals has remained flat while Conservative support continues to increase (46%, +1 point since late December 2024).

Conservatives are still on track to win a decisive victory if an election were held tomorrow, leading by 26 points against the Liberals. The Conservative lead is consistent across age, gender, education level and income groups.
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🇺🇸Canadians join the fight against Los Angeles-area wildfires

Firefighting aircraft provided by the Quebec government and a B.C.-based company are helping to battle the massive wildfires tearing through the Los Angeles area.

They include a pair of Canadian-made water-bombing planes out of Quebec, as well as Coulson Aviation helicopters that the company says are "on the frontline" of the fight.

Thousands of firefighters are tackling multiple blazes that have killed at least two people and destroyed more than 1,000 structures across the Los Angeles area as of Wednesday morning.
#US #wildfires
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Convicted triple murderer in men’s institution requests move to women’s prison

A Quebecer found guilty of murdering a woman and their two children is being held in a men’s federal institution while authorities assess the convict’s request to be housed in a women’s prison.

Mohamad Al Ballouz was sentenced Dec. 20 to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 25 years for the 2022 murders of Synthia Bussieres and their sons, five-year-old Eliam and two-year-old Zac, in the Montreal suburb of Brossard. The killer, who was Bussieres’ husband at the time, was also convicted of arson for setting fire to the family condo.

Al Ballouz, who now identifies as a woman and goes by the name Levana, has asked to be incarcerated at the Joliette Institution for Women.

🍁 Maple Chronicles

Federal Liberals to announce new leader on March 9

Liberals will choose their next leader — and Canada's next prime minister — on March 9.

This gives Trudeau two more months of power he doesn't deserve.

The party is raising the entry fee for potential candidates to $350,000 — a substantial increase from the $75,000 fee required in the previous leadership race.
#Trudeau
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Jamaican immigrant who fought deportation over robbery conviction now faces murder charge

The plot twist is always the same.

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🇨🇳 Beijing says it’s willing to deepen economic ties with Canada as Trump brings trade chaos

China says it’s willing to deepen economic relations with Canada as this country’s trading relationship with the United States hits a rough patch. And what does Canada have to say to that after so many years of accusing China of foreign interference?

Choosing friends is a tough task.
#China
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⛺️Ontario reaches ‘tipping point’ with more than 81K people experiencing homelessness

According to the municipal association’s numbers, more than 81,000 people in Ontario experienced homelessness last year.

That’s an increase of 51 per cent compared with the roughly 53,000 people recorded in 2016 and a 25 per cent increase since 2022.
#housing #Ontario
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✖️India
✔️Canada

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Mark Carney expected to launch Liberal leadership bid next week, backed by 30 MPs

Former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney is expected to formally announce his bid to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau late next week, according to a source close to his campaign.

Carney has more than 30 MPs backing him. The source suggested he picked up support after Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc closed the door on leadership earlier this week.

Transport Minister Anita Anand and Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly have also previously confirmed that they would not be running to replace Trudeau as leader of the party.

🍁 Maple Chronicles

🇺🇸Alberta Premier Danielle Smith visits Trump in Mar-a-Lago

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith visited U.S. president-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday evening and again Sunday morning.

We had a friendly and constructive conversation during which I emphasized the mutual importance of the U.S. – Canadian energy relationship, and specifically, how hundreds of thousands of American jobs are supported by energy exports from Alberta. On behalf of Albertans, I will continue to engage in constructive dialogue and diplomacy with the incoming administration and elected federal and state officials from both parties, and will do all I can to further Alberta’s and Canada’s interests.

Smith wrote on X.
#Alberta #US
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Conservative leader alleges non-citizens may have voted but admits there's no hard evidence

The B.C. Conservatives are calling into question the province's election outcome, alleging — without hard evidence their leader admits — that non-Canadian citizens may have voted.
#BritishColumbia
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Canada's acceptance of refugee claims has ballooned in last 6 years — more for some countries than others

The number of refugee claimants granted asylum in Canada was close to 37,000 in 2023, up from just over 14,000 in 2018.

The most asylum seekers allowed to stay in Canada came from two countries where more than 95 per cent of decisions were positive: Iran and Turkey. This was true regardless of the type of persecution the person was fleeing.
#immigration
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Freeland expected to announce Liberal leadership bid within the week: source

Former finance minister and deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland is expected to announce a bid for the Liberal leadership within the week.

Sources said to expect Freeland to officially make the announcement before U.S. president-elect Donald Trump is sworn in next Monday.
#Freeland
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🪖We should brace ourselves for more humiliation in the years ahead.

The government cannot even meet the 2% target, and even that is no longer enough.

Perhaps the problem lies not with us, but with NATO's insatiable appetite.

🍁 Maple Chronicles