🇺🇸 Nearly 900,000 fewer people went to the U.S. in March as cross-border travel plummets

The number of cross-border travellers going from Canada to the U.S. dropped by nearly 900,000 in March compared to the same month last year.

The border figures show 4,105,516 travellers crossed the U.S. northern border in March of this year, down from 4,970,360 people who did the same in 2024 — a roughly 17 per cent decline.
#US #border
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🇺🇸 ‘Hold the line’: B.C. government reacts to California governor’s plea for Canadian tourists

The Governor of California Gavin Newsom made a pitch for Canadians to visit his state. The governor went on to distance California from President Donald Trump, pleading for the two million Canadians who typically visit to continue vacationing in his state.

Two thousand miles away from Washington, and a world away in mindset.

- Gavin Newsom.

It comes after B.C. Premier David Eby has repeatedly discouraged British Columbians from travelling to the States, even cancelling his own family’s spring break trip to Disneyland in March.

Our message to British Columbians, to Canadians, is hold the line. It’s working.

- Ravi Kahlon, chair of the B.C. cabinet committee.
#US
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🛢🇨🇳🇺🇸 China pivots from US to Canada for more oil as trade war worsens

Chinese refiners are importing record amounts of Canadian crude after slashing purchases of US oil by roughly 90% amid escalating trade tensions.

A pipeline expansion in Western Canada that opened less than a year ago has presented China and other East Asian oil importers with expanded access to the vast crude reserves in Alberta’s oilsands region.

Chinese crude imports from the port at the pipeline terminus near Vancouver soared to an unprecedented 7.3 million barrels in March and are on pace to exceed that figure this month. Meanwhile, Chinese imports of US oil have collapsed to 3 million barrels a month from a peak of 29 million in June.
#US #China #Alberta
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Debates chief cancels post-debate Q&A after Rebel News clashes with reporters

The head of the Leaders' Debates Commission cancelled a planned question-and-answer session between journalists and party leaders scheduled to take place after Thursday's English-language debate, following heated exchanges between reporters and representatives of the right-wing media group Rebel News.

The commission's executive director Michel Cormier also said Thursday he was not aware that Rebel News had registered as an official third party in the federal election when the commission gave the group more opportunities to question leaders following Wednesday's French debate than most mainstream outlets.
#election
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B.C. premier says talk of Western Canada separation ‘needs to stop’

Talk of the western provinces separating from the rest of Canada is a “tired trope” that needs to stop, British Columbia Premier David Eby says.

Eby told a news conference Thursday he doesn’t think there’s any credible threat to Canadian unity and accused people like former Reform Party leader Preston Manning of “seeking clicks and playing to a political base” that is disavowed by the vast majority of Canadians.

It is a tired trope. It is a waste of time, and it is an attack on the unity that we have right now as a country standing up to the Trump administration, for political, partisan gains. I hate it. I think it’s awful. I want them to stop.

#BritishColumbia
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🏛 Ontario Premier Ford under fire over Ontario Place redevelopment deal

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is facing scrutiny over the Ontario Place redevelopment deal with Austrian spa company Therme Group. The controversy arose after the Auditor-General's report revealed that Therme falsely claimed to own and operate six global facilities—owning only one, with others run by a different company.

This raised concerns about due diligence and political accountability. In response, Ford ordered a review of the contract to ensure it passes a "smell test".

The $2 billion project, part of a broader waterfront revitalization plan, has drawn criticism from opposition leaders and the public, who cite concerns over transparency, fairness, and taxpayer money misuse. Despite backlash, Ford continues to support the project as a major tourist attraction.
#Ontario
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🪖Conservatives pledge three northern Canadian military bases and fleet of surveillance planes for Arctic

The Conservative Party, which has already promised a military base in Northern Canada if elected, says they would in fact build three such installations in the region as part of a defence campaign platform that appears exclusively focused on continental security.

Chris Warkentin, the Conservative candidate for Grande Prairie, Alta., said in an announcement Thursday in Yellowknife that leader Pierre Poilievre’s government would also commit to buying a fleet of airborne early warning and control aircraft to increase surveillance and command abilities for the Royal Canadian Air Force in the Arctic.
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💰Major spending plans unveiled for Canada's 2025 federal election

Mark Carney has proposed a $130 billion spending plan over four years, focusing on defense, housing, healthcare, and tax cuts.

This includes boosting defense spending to meet NATO's 2% GDP target by 2030 and investing in infrastructure for Indigenous communities.

The Conservative Party's Pierre Poilievre critiques the plan, emphasizing fiscal responsibility, while NDP's Jagmeet Singh advocates for core Canadian values and support for vulnerable populations.
#election #Carney
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🗳🚶‍♂️Elections Canada announces record turnout on 1st day of advance voting

Elections Canada has announced preliminary estimates that show nearly two million electors voted Friday, the first day of advance polls.

Representatives of the non-partisan agency said that's a record turnout.
#election
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🚨 Saskatoon's escalating drug crisis

Saskatoon is facing a severe drug poisoning epidemic, with firefighters responding to 901 overdose calls since January—more than double last year’s numbers.

A toxic batch of drugs, including pink and purple pills, has worsened fatalities. Prairie Harm Reduction, the city’s only safe consumption site, temporarily closed due to staff burnout and lacks a required paramedic.

Overdoses and violence also forced two libraries to shut temporarily. The city activated its emergency operation center to coordinate responses like naloxone distribution and paramedic deployment.

#Saskatchewan
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Carney pledges to cap non-permanent resident population at below 5%

A re-elected Liberal government will cap the number of non-permanent residents in Canada at less than 5 per cent of the population, and limit the annual growth of permanent residents to less than one per cent, according to the party’s election platform released on Saturday.
#election #Carney
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📈 Canada population growth likely to be higher than forecast, CIBC says

Statistics Canada expects the population growth rate to slow to 0.3 per cent in 2025, from 1.8 per cent last year, before contracting 0.2 per cent in 2026. But the agency is overestimating the number of temporary residents who will leave once their visas expire, failing to count people holding long-term visitor permits and understating the amount of likely asylum seekers, the bank’s Deputy Chief Economist Benjamin Tal said in a report Monday.

After correcting for those issues, Tal projects the growth rate to be 1.1 per cent this year and around one per cent next year.
#immigration
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Conservatives roll out ads without Poilievre in final stretch of campaign

The Conservatives released two ads with no images of party leader Pierre Poilievre: an endorsement by Stephen Harper, and an ad that shows two golfers criticizing Liberal Leader Mark Carney but making no mention of Poilievre.
#election #Poilievre #Carney
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🩺 🇺🇸 Carney urges Canadian doctors in the U.S. to come home

Liberal Leader Mark Carney is making a direct appeal to Canadian doctors and nurses living in the U.S. to “come home.”

He said his government would streamline credential recognition and look to poach global talent, including doctors working in the U.S.

To the Canadian health-care professionals practising in the U.S., let me say this. If you’ve been thinking about coming back to Canada, there’s never been a better time.

#healthcare #Carney #US
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🗳Record 7.3 million people voted in advance polls, Elections Canada says

A record 7.3 million people voted in advance polls over the long weekend, Elections Canada says, about one-quarter of all registered voters.

This is a 25-per-cent increase over the 5.8 million people who voted in advance polls in the 2021 election, the agency said, noting that the numbers are an estimate as some polls may not have reported yet.

Over all, about 28.2 million people are registered to vote in this election as of March, Elections Canada said.
#election
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Carney accuses Poilievre of using ‘phantom numbers’ in campaign platform

Liberal Leader Mark Carney is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of relying on “phantom numbers” and lowballing the cost of his party’s platform.

Both Carney and Poilievre are looking to poke holes in each other’s platforms — Carney by claiming the Conservatives wouldn’t spend enough to counter a looming economic crisis, and Poilievre by accusing the Liberals of presenting a high-spending plan that would weaken the country’s fiscal position.

Poilievre said Tuesday a Conservative government would chop away at the deficit over the next four years, and claimed Carney would inflate government debt.
#Carney #Poilievre
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Conservatives score endorsement from Toronto Police Association

On Tuesday, the Toronto Police Association offered its support to the Pierre Poilievre’s Tories, while sharing responses from Canada’s two major party leaders on what they’ll do to solve increasing levels of social disorder.

It is clear to us there is only one party that has maintained a strong position on public safety issues and proactively supported police services. While our vote is with Pierre Poilievre and the Conservative Party, we will work with whoever leads the next government and we will hold them accountable as we continue to advocate for our members and the public.

the association posted on social media Tuesday.
#Ontario
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🇺🇸 White House cites drop in people caught at Canada-U.S. border as tariffs continue

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday there have been “successes” at the Canada-U.S. border — but offered no new hints about what might convince U.S. President Donald Trump to drop his tariffs on Canada.

Leavitt said only 54 people were apprehended last month in the Swanton Sector of the northern border — which includes areas of New Hampshire, Vermont and New York — a 95 per cent drop since March 2024. She said the area is a “main hot spot” that recorded more than 80 per cent of all apprehensions along the northern border during the 2024 fiscal year.
#US
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Pierre Poilievre pledges ‘ban’ on new taxes in costed platform that projects $14 billion deficit in four years

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre unveiled a governing plan Tuesday that envisages smaller government and billions in tax cuts which would deplete revenues, leaving a $14 billion deficit in the budget four years from now.

The platform, dropped online a short time before Poilievre addressed reporters, reveals a new pledge by the Conservatives as well, to “ban new or higher federal taxes without asking taxpayers first in a referendum.”

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🇻🇦Mark Carney to skip pope’s funeral, Gov. Gen. Mary Simon will represent Canada

Gov. Gen. Mary Simon will represent Canada at the funeral for Pope Francis at the Vatican on Saturday, says Prime Minister Mark Carney.

I’m not going to be attending the funeral, given the crucial election, and sending the right signal.

The Prime Minister’s Office says Simon’s husband Whit Fraser and Senate Speaker Raymonde Gagne will also be part of Canada’s delegation.
#Carney
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