🔥 Wildfires force evacuations in Northern Manitoba

A series of intense wildfires in northern Manitoba forced a mandatory evacuation for approximately 600 residents of Cranberry Portage after fires destroyed hydro lines and cut off power.

Smaller nearby communities were warned to prepare for evacuation as fires jumped a major highway.

Residents of Pimicikamak Cree Nation also faced ramped-up evacuations, with five flights planned to Winnipeg after the wildfire crossed the main road, filling the area with smoke and ash. The provincial government declared a state of emergency due to rapidly spreading wildfires and extreme fire conditions.
#Manitoba #wildfires
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🚨 Quebec introduces major bill to reduce interprovincial trade barriers

Quebec has introduced a significant new bill to reduce barriers to interprovincial trade, aiming to boost its economy and strengthen Canada’s internal market.

Tabled by Christopher Skeete, Quebec’s minister delegate for the economy, the legislation will allow goods from other Canadian provinces to be marketed, used, or consumed in Quebec without extra requirements. The government expects this could add between $10 billion and $25 billion to Quebec’s GDP over the next decade.

Other provinces like Nova Scotia, Ontario, and New Brunswick are already streamlining internal trade, but Quebec’s unique framework complicates full economic integration.
#Quebec
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🏥 Quebec’s Bill 106 sparks outcry among doctors

Quebec’s Bill 106, which links 25% of doctors’ pay to performance targets, has sparked strong opposition from physicians across the province.

Doctors warn the bill risks clinic closures, worsens the doctor shortage, and could degrade patient care quality by imposing unrealistic workload demands.

Health Minister Christian Dubé insists the bill aims to improve healthcare access and efficiency, but medical professionals argue it fails to recognize non-clinical duties and could lead to a “fast-food medicine” approach.
#Quebec #healthcare
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📝 Canada drafts "National Interest" bill to fast-track major projects

The Canadian government is drafting a "national interest" bill to expedite major nation-building projects by streamlining the regulatory approval process.

The bill aims to bypass the Impact Assessment Act, focus on economic security, national autonomy, clean growth, and Indigenous and provincial interests. It seeks to reduce project approval timelines to two years.

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🔥 Saskatchewan faces worst wildfire season on record

Saskatchewan is battling one of its worst wildfire seasons, with 16 active fires burning over 500,000 hectares and 8,000+ people evacuated, mostly from northern First Nations communities.

Premier Scott Moe warns provincial resources are stretched thin. Mandatory evacuations are in place in areas like Sturgeon Landing and Denare Beach, while Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation and Métis Nation–Saskatchewan have declared states of emergency.

Power outages and restricted access to Prince Albert National Park are disrupting services.
#Saskatchewan #wildfires
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🏛 Alberta Premier Danielle Smith gains popularity amid federal-provincial tensions

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is seeing a surge in popularity, with a recent poll showing her approval rating at 40%, well ahead of NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi’s 27%.

The escalating tensions between the Alberta government and Ottawa are a key factor driving her support. Nenshi has criticized Smith’s approach, calling it “stupid separatist games.”
#Alberta #Smith
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Premiers heap praise on meeting with Carney, but no specific projects identified

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Monday’s gathering of the country’s premiers to talk over nation-building projects with Prime Minister Mark Carney was the “best” they have had in the last decade.

Provincial and territorial leaders sat down with Carney in Saskatoon on Monday and each premier came armed with wish lists of major projects they hope the federal government will deem to be in the national interest, then fast track for approval.
#Carney
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First Nations threaten highway blockages over Ford government’s Bill 5

The leader of an Ontario First Nation is warning the Ford government it could face lawsuits, protests and disruptions of major Toronto-area highways if the province passes the controversial Bill 5 into law.

The legislation, which critics say gives the premier and his cabinet extraordinary powers to create “no law zones” across Ontario, is set to be fast-tracked this week before MPPs break for the summer.
#Ontario
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💰Ottawa collects extra $617M from import duties in March as counter-tariffs hit U.S.

Ottawa collected an extra $617 million in import duties this past March compared to a year earlier as counter-tariffs against U.S. trade restrictions came into effect.

The federal government’s latest fiscal monitor report, published late last week, shows revenues from customs import duties topped $1 billion in March, more than double the figure from a year earlier.

In March the federal government slapped retaliatory tariffs on billions of dollars in U.S. goods entering Canada — costs that are paid by Canadian businesses importing the items.
#US
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💸🗳 Up to 10k fine for individuals guilty of electoral misinformation

Starting in July 2026, anyone who impersonates an election candidate or spreads false information about the electoral process with the intent to deceive will be liable to a fine of up to $10,000.

A person guilty of spreading misinformation will also be prohibited from voting and running for election for a period of five years.

An organization or company that spreads misinformation could be fined up to $30,000.
#Quebec #election
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🏦 Bank of Canada holds key rate at 2.75% as tariff uncertainty persists

The Bank of Canada held its benchmark interest rate steady at 2.75 per cent Wednesday as policymakers keep waiting for more clarity on how tariffs will impact the economy.

Uncertainty remains high. At this decision, there was a clear consensus to hold policy unchanged as we gain more information.

Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem said after the release of the rate decision.

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🇦🇺 Canadians among 7 arrested in Australian drug-trafficking probe

Authorities in Australia say two Canadians are among seven men facing charges following a months-long investigation into an international organized crime ring believed to have been using “trusted insiders” to help smuggle cocaine, methamphetamine and tobacco into the country.

The Canadian nationals, aged 24 and 31, were not identified by the Australian Federal Police. Both men have been charged with participating in a criminal group and attempting to possess commercial quantities of border-controlled drugs, according to the agency.

"Canadians".... always the same story.

#Australia
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Liberals' throne speech adopted without a recorded vote

The Liberal government avoided its first confidence vote Wednesday evening as MPs adopted the throne speech.

When debating legislation in the House, the Speaker will ask if MPs request a "recorded division," or a standing vote. If no MP asks for one, the motion is deemed adopted.

No MP asked for recorded division on the throne speech when the time to vote came, meaning it was passed without MPs standing to vote.

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💰Carney's spending promises will require 'significant cuts' to the public service: PBO

Capping the public service will not be enough to pay for Prime Minister Mark Carney’s tax cut and defence spending promises, says Yves Giroux, Canada’s parliamentary budget officer.

Carney has promised to pass a tax cut for the middle class by Canada Day, reducing the lowest marginal tax rate from 15 to 14 per cent. The cut is expected to cost the government $27 billion over five years.

Giroux said that the promise of a cap on the public service will not be enough to mitigate Carney’s additional spending. He said he expects higher deficits, and as a result, higher debt servicing charges over the next few years.

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📝 First Nations, environmental groups denounce passing of Bill 5 in Ontario

Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s government has passed its contentious legislation known as Bill 5, which gives the province sweeping powers to speed up mining or other development projects but has faced widespread backlash from First Nations and environmentalists.

The bill, which would create “special economic zones” that give the government power to suspend any provincial or municipal bylaw for chosen projects, has been sharply criticized by Indigenous groups who accuse the province of trampling on their treaty rights and failing to consult them.

First Nations leaders, at Queen’s Park for the vote Wednesday, warned of protests and even blockades of mines or highways like those seen during the Idle No More movement a dozen years ago. Mr. Ford was not in the chamber when the bill passed.
#Ontario
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📉 Quebec considers slashing permanent immigration targets to 25,000

Quebec is considering a significant reduction in its annual permanent immigration targets, potentially as low as 25,000 people.

This marks a sharp decrease from the projected 64,000 for 2025. Immigration Minister Jean-François Roberge outlined three potential scenarios: 25,000, 35,000, or 45,000 immigrants annually. The move is driven by rising unemployment, a worsening housing crisis, and concerns over preserving the French language in Quebec.

Additionally, the province aims to cut the number of temporary immigrants under federal programs from over 400,000 to 200,000.
#Quebec #immigration
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🇺🇸 Carney and Trump are holding private talks to drop tariffs

Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump are having discussions out of the spotlight to reach a trade deal and lift tariffs.

Sources with knowledge of the conversations first confirmed the calls with CBC/Radio-Canada and Industry Minister Mélanie Joly later told reporters that Carney and Trump are talking to each other.

A source, who spoke on the condition they not be named, said the two leaders have had a few phone calls in the evenings and exchanged text messages about trade since Carney's visit to the White House last month.
#US
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Liberals introduce ‘citizenship by descent’ legislation

New legislation introduced today would extend citizenship by descent rules beyond the first generation.

Bill C-3, An Act to amend the Citizenship Act, would automatically give citizenship to anyone who would be a citizen today if not for the first-generation limit. Under the current rules, a Canadian citizen born outside Canada cannot pass their citizenship to their kid if that child was also born outside the country.

The new legislation would allow access to citizenship beyond the first generation so long as the parent has spent at least 1,095 consecutive days, or three years, physically in Canada prior to the birth of their child.

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📝 Liberals poised to table bill to knock down internal trade barriers

The Liberal government is poised to table landmark legislation to break down internal trade barriers and increase labour mobility within Canada.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has pledged to break down internal trade barriers by Canada Day to create one economy — although the time left on the parliamentary calendar suggests the legislation will not gain Royal Assent by the time the House rises for the summer.

Several other provinces, including Ontario and Quebec, have also tabled such legislation to remove interprovincial barriers to the trade of goods across the country.

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🚫 Company that worked on ArriveCan app barred from government contracts for 7 years

Ottawa says it has banned the largest contractor that worked on the ArriveCan app from entering into contracts or real property agreements with the government for seven years.

Public Services and Procurement Canada has announced that GC Strategies Inc. has been deemed “ineligible” after an assessment of the supplier’s conduct.

Last year, the department suspended the security status of GC Strategies, which the auditor general says was awarded more than $19 million for the project.

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Canada’s unemployment rate in May at almost 9-year high outside pandemic years

Canada’s unemployment rate in May jumped to its highest level in almost nine years, excluding the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, with 1.6 million jobless people in the country, data showed on Friday.

The unemployment rate ticked up to seven per cent in May from 6.9 per cent in April, a third consecutive monthly increase, Statistics Canada said, adding that the total of jobless people in May was almost 14 per cent higher than a year ago.

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