📈 Canada sees U.S. asylum claim surge as both nations harden borders

A growing number of migrants in the U.S. are heading north to seek asylum, even as Canada adopts increasingly restrictive immigration policies of its own.

During the first six days of July, Canadian officials at the Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle border crossing — the busiest land port between New York and Quebec — received 761 asylum claims, a more than 400% increase from the same period a year ago.

The number of claims at the crossing rose 128% in June and is up 82% since the start of the year.
#immigration #US #Quebec
🍁 Maple Chronicles

🏠 Rents in Canada fall for 9th straight month, still above 2022 levels

Rents continued to fall across Canada in June, marking the ninth straight month of rent decreases across the country, the National Rent Report from Rentals. ca said on Tuesday.

The average asking rent for all residential properties in Canada fell by 2.7 per cent in June, compared with this time last year, to $2,125 a month. However, despite the continuous drop, rents remained 11.9 per cent higher than they were in June 2022 and 4.1 per cent higher than in June 2023.
#housing
🍁 Maple Chronicles

🇺🇸 Manitoba premier shoots back at U.S. lawmakers over smoke complaint

Manitoba's premier shot back on Thursday at six U.S. lawmakers who recently complained about Canadian wildfire smoke travelling south, which they said was making it difficult for some Americans to enjoy their summer.

I've shaken the hands of American firefighters in northern Manitoba who are helping us out. I would challenge these ambulance chasers in the U.S. Congress to go and do the same, and to hear how much the American firefighting heroes who are here — how much they love our province.

said Premier Wab Kinew.
#Manitoba #US
🍁 Maple Chronicles

🎓 Quebec fines LaSalle College nearly $30 million for exceeding English program enrollment limits

LaSalle College in Montreal faces hefty fines of $30 million from the Quebec government for surpassing enrollment quotas in its English-language programs over the past two academic years.

The penalties include $8.7 million for exceeding limits by 716 students in 2023-24 and $21.1 million for exceeding by 1,066 students in 2024-25.

College President Claude Marchand called the fines an existential threat, citing late-imposed quotas as a compliance challenge. LaSalle College is contesting the fines in Quebec’s Superior Court but promises to adhere to enrollment limits starting fall 2025.
#Quebec #immigration
🍁 Maple Chronicles

Almost $50 million in cocaine found hidden in trucks crossing into Canada from U.S., police say

A cross-border drug smuggling network using commercial truck drivers to haul large loads of cocaine across the border from the United States into Canada has been revealed by police in southern Ontario, leading to the arrest of nine men and the seizure of 479 kilograms of bulk cocaine bricks.

Of the nine arrested, six have since been released on bail while three are still awaiting bail hearings after what Peel Regional Police described Tuesday as the largest drug bust in the police service’s history.

Investigators gave the cocaine an estimated retail street value (based on a per-gram level) of $47.9 million.
#Ontario #US
🍁 Maple Chronicles

🇺🇸 Canada needs a U.S. trade deal but shouldn't have set a negotiation deadline, says Poilievre

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says Canada urgently needs to land a trade deal with the United States but it should not have set a deadline for negotiations because U.S. President Donald Trump "will try to take advantage" of the time crunch.

The challenge with a unilateral, self-imposed deadline is that it tells the counterparty that they have you on a clock — a clock that only applies to you. I personally think it would have been better not to show that up front to the Americans because we know that President Trump will try to take advantage of it.

#Poilievre #US
🍁 Maple Chronicles

🪖National Defence considering purchase of fighter drones that could fly with F-35

The Department of National Defence is looking at the possibility of complementing its incoming F-35 fleet with uncrewed combat aircraft.

Purchasing a fleet of aerial combat drones that could fly alongside fighter jets could cost as much as $16 billion and would require hundreds of staff.

🍁 Maple Chronicles

🚨💊 Canada’s drug safety relies heavily on foreign inspections

Canada’s drug safety system is significantly dependent on foreign regulators, particularly the U.S. FDA, which conducts 70% of inspections for drug manufacturing sites supplying medications to Canadians.

Health Canada handles only 15% of inspections, leaving 85% to international agencies. However, the FDA faces staff shortages and pandemic-related backlogs, with about 2,000 drug plants overdue for inspection, heightening worries about drug quality and patient safety.

Recent incidents, like contaminated eye drops from India causing deaths and blindness, underscore the risks of weak oversight.
#healthcare #US #India
🍁 Maple Chronicles

🇺🇸 Contrary to Trump's claims, Canadian border is not major source of fentanyl, U.S. report says

Most of the fentanyl entering the United States continues to come from the southern border, not the northern one, according to a recent report by an American think-tank, despite President Donald Trump’s statement on Thursday that Canadian authorities have failed “to stop the drugs from pouring into our country.”

The report used new data regarding fentanyl seizures, which challenges public pronouncements made by Trump and the White House about the threats posed by the Canadian border. Authors Jon Caulkins and Bishu Giri write that such concerns are largely overstated and could even undermine America’s ability to prioritize tightening the country’s border with Mexico.
#US
🍁 Maple Chronicles

Poilievre says he lost Ottawa riding for being 'honest' about plan to cut public sector jobs

Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre says he lost his riding of Carleton in the federal election due to an "aggressive" campaign by public sector unions after he was honest about wanting to cut federal worker jobs.

Poilievre had held the Ottawa riding of Carleton for two decades until the April 28 election, when he was defeated by Liberal candidate Bruce Fanjoy by 4,500 votes.

Poilievre no longer has a seat in the House of Commons, but he's hoping to regain one in the rural Alberta riding of Battle River–Crowfoot on Aug. 18 — after former Conservative MP Damien Kurek offered up his spot in what is one of the safest Conservative seats in the country.
#Poilievre
🍁 Maple Chronicles

🇺🇸 Canada demands answers after a citizen dies in ICE custody

The Canadian government is demanding answers from the U.S. following the death of a Canadian citizen in immigration custody. Johnny Noviello, 49, died while in custody in Miami pending removal proceedings. Noviello entered the U.S. in 1988 on a legal visa and became a lawful permanent resident in 1991, per ICE.

In 2023, he was convicted in Volusia County, Florida, and sentenced to 12 months in prison for racketeering, trafficking oxycodone and hydrocodone. This year, he was arrested by ICE at the Florida Department of Corrections Probation Office and was being processed for deportation because of his criminal conviction.
#US
🍁 Maple Chronicles

🇺🇸 Carney says a U.S. trade deal without some tariffs is unlikely

Speaking to reporters ahead of a cabinet meeting on Parliament Hill about the trade war, Carney said that all of Trump's trade agreements to this point have included some tariffs.

He said "there's not a lot of evidence right now" that the U.S. is willing to cut a deal without some tariffs included.

Indeed, Trump's trade arrangement with the U.K., a country with which the U.S. has a trading surplus, includes a 10 per cent baseline tariff.
#US
🍁 Maple Chronicles

🪖🇦🇺Canada joins Australia’s largest-ever military exercise likely to draw attention of China

The largest-ever war-fighting drills in Australia, Exercise Talisman Sabre, are underway and expected to attract the attention of Chinese spy ships.

Talisman Sabre began in 2005 as a biennial joint exercise between the United States and Australia.

This year, more than 35,000 military personnel from 19 nations, including Canada, Fiji, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Tonga, and the United Kingdom, will take part over three weeks, Australia’s defense department said.
#Australia
🍁 Maple Chronicles

🦠🇺🇸 Alberta surpasses U.S. in confirmed measles cases with more than 1,300

Alberta has surpassed the United States in confirmed measles cases, after 30 new cases were diagnosed over the weekend. The province reported Monday that it has seen 1,314 cases since the beginning of March.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported 1,288 cases so far this year across 39 states.

The outbreak of the highly contagious disease hasn’t led to any deaths so far in Alberta, but three people, including two children, have died in the United States.
#US #healthcare
🍁 Maple Chronicles

❌ Poilievre calls for 'very hard caps' on immigration to better integrate newcomers

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling for a tougher stance on immigration, saying Monday he wants to see "very hard caps" on the number of newcomers allowed into the country.

Speaking to reporters at a news conference in Ottawa, Poilievre said the country has struggled to integrate newcomers and he wants to see more people leaving than coming in "while we catch up."
#immigration
🍁 Maple Chronicles

✈️🚨 Suspected hijacked plane incident at Vancouver International Airport

A dramatic security incident unfolded at Vancouver International Airport, when a suspected hijacked small plane from Victoria caused temporary airspace closures.

The RCMP arrested the pilot, the sole occupant, after the plane landed safely. The incident disrupted air traffic, leading to flight delays and diversions, with operations resuming later.
#BritishColumbia
🍁 Maple Chronicles

📈 Inflation rate rose slightly to 1.9% in June

The pace of inflation sped up to 1.9 per cent in the month of June as costs for cars and clothes increased, Statistics Canada said Tuesday.
🍁 Maple Chronicles

Poilievre adviser Jenni Byrne staying on, Conservatives confirm amid speculation of ouster

Jenni Byrne, the campaign director who many blame for the Conservatives’ loss in the spring election, will continue to play a role in the party, but sources say she is stepping away from the daily grind on Parliament Hill.

Word that Ms. Byrne had been forced out spread through Ottawa political circles Tuesday, the latest round of speculation on whether Leader Pierre Poilievre will make any changes to how his party does business after an election campaign that returned yet another Liberal minority government.

Ms. Byrne and Mr. Poilievre have a personal and professional relationship that goes back decades.
#Poilievre
🍁 Maple Chronicles

🗳More than 50 candidates registered in Alberta byelection where Pierre Poilievre hopes to win back a seat

Dozens of independent candidates have already registered in the rural Alberta riding of Battle River—Crowfoot byelection, where Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre hopes to win back a seat in the House of Commons.

The list stems from a co-ordinated effort by electoral reform advocacy group the “Longest Ballot Committee,” which is aiming to break records during this byelection by registering hundreds of candidates.
#Poilievre #election
🍁 Maple Chronicles

🇺🇸✈️ U.S. fighter jets scrambled to Vancouver airport during alleged hijacking: Norad

American fighter jets were scrambled towards the Vancouver airport on Tuesday as a small plane that was allegedly hijacked from Victoria flew in circles around British Columbia’s largest airport, the pilot’s intentions still unclear.

The F-15 Eagle jets responded from a U.S. base at approximately 1:30 p.m., while Canadian CF-18 Hornets were also “in the process of responding,” a spokesperson for Norad, the joint North American Aerospace Defense Command, said Wednesday.

The U.S. fighter jets were still en route to the Canadian airport when the Cessna 172 landed.
#BritishColumbia #US
🍁 Maple Chronicles

'This is a scam': Poilievre wants rules changed to stop long ballot protests

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says he wants Canada's election laws changed to prevent long ballot protests as he is set to face another one next month.

We have to take action because this is a scam. It is unfair, it is unjust and it must stop.

An electoral reform advocacy group — known as the Longest Ballot Committee — has been organizing dozens of candidates to run in byelections in recent years, resulting in metre-long ballots that have caused delays in vote counting and confounded some voters.

#Poilievre #election
🍁 Maple Chronicles