Canada’s carbon tax is popular, innovative and helps save the planet – but now it faces the axe

As prime minister Justin Trudeau trails in polls, opposition seek to persuade voters environmental policy is a burden

Mass hunger and malnutrition. A looming nuclear winter. An existential threat to the Canadian way of life. For months, the country’s Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has issued dire and increasingly apocalyptic warnings about the future. The culprit? A federal carbon levy meant to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

In the House of Commons this month, the Tory leader said there was only one way to avoid the devastating crisis: embattled prime minister Justin Trudeau must “call a ‘carbon tax’ election”.

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Quebec separatist leader holds Trudeau to ransom: ‘We saw an opportunity’

Yves-François Blanchet says Liberals must pass legislation or lose support of party propping up government

The leader of the Quebec independence party propping up the government of Justin Trudeau has insisted that the political lifeline depends on the quick passage of two pieces of legislation, and warned Canada’s embattled prime minister that he remains “very vulnerable”.

The Bloc Québécois leader, Yves-François Blanchet, told the Guardian the Liberals must act swiftly to enshrine protections for dairy farmers and boost payments to seniors to stave off a fatal vote of non-confidence. He warned that unless both pieces of legislation are passed into law by 29 October, his party would begin discussions with other parties to trigger a federal election.

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Justin Trudeau survives a second parliamentary confidence vote

House of Commons defeats oppositional Conservative party’s bid to topple Canadian prime minister’s reign

Justin Trudeau, Canada’s prime minister, has survived a second parliamentary confidence motion in less than a week after opposition parties vowed to keep his minority Liberal government alive for now.

Legislators in the House of Commons voted 207-121 to defeat a bid by the official opposition Conservative party to topple Trudeau, who faces increasing voter fatigue after almost nine years in power.

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Justin Trudeau survives confidence vote but other problems still loom

Main political rival of Canada’s prime minister fails to gather enough support to end nine years of Liberal rule

Justin Trudeau, Canada’s prime minister, has easily survived a vote of confidence after his main political rival failed to muster enough support to end nine years of Liberal party rule.

Legislators in the House of Commons voted 211-120 to defeat a motion by the official opposition Conservative party declaring a lack of confidence in Trudeau’s minority Liberal government.

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Canada’s Tories target Trudeau as they seek seismic shift in political landscape

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre to introduce motion of non-confidence in long-shot bid to force an election

Canada’s Conservative party will make its first bid to unseat prime minister Justin Trudeau this week, the latest attempt in its decade-long aim of restoring the Tories to power.

Buoyed by favourable polls, a cost of living crisis and an increasingly unpopular prime minister, the Conservative leader, Pierre Poilievre, will introduce a motion of non-confidence in the minority government: a long-shot bid to force the government to call an election.

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Michael Kovrig: detention by China amounted to psychological torture, Canadian says

Former diplomat Michael Kovrig, who was taken into custody in December 2018, says he spent months in solitary confinement and was interrogated daily

A former Canadian diplomat detained by China for more than 1,000 days said he was placed in solitary confinement for months and interrogated for up to nine hours every day, treatment he said amounted to psychological torture.

Michael Kovrig, speaking to the Canadian Broadcasting Corp in his first major interview since his release, also said he had missed the birth of his daughter and met her for the first time when she was two-and-a half years old.

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Justin Trudeau’s future in doubt as party loses crucial Montreal election

Victory by separatist Québécois candidate in once-safe Liberal seat puts pressure on Canadian PM to quit

Canada’s ruling Liberal party has lost a once-safe seat in Montreal, a result that is likely to put more pressure on the prime minister, Justin Trudeau, to quit.

Elections Canada said that with 100% of the votes counted in the parliamentary constituency of LaSalle-Émard-Verdun, the separatist Bloc Québécois candidate, Louis-Philippe Sauvé, had beaten the Liberal candidate, Laura Palestini, by a whisker: 28% to 27.2%. The New Democratic party (NDP) candidate received 26.1%.

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Canadian military admits new sleeping bags are not suited to Canadian winters

Soldiers who used bags, which cost army C$34.8m, reportedly found ‘several critical issues … related to lack of warmth’

The Canadian military has admitted that new sleeping bags issued to troops last year were not suited to “typical Canadian winter conditions”.

According to a briefing note obtained by the CBC, the army issued the new sleeping bags in the autumn of last year in Alberta, where several hundred troops were preparing for a joint Canada-US exercise in Alaska.

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British Columbia shaken by messy election campaign putting progressive policies at risk

Tumultuous campaign threatens to undo climate policies and Indigenous rights when voters go to polls in October

Canada’s westernmost province has been gripped by a chaotic provincial election campaign, rife with political backstabbing, abrupt resignations and unexpected allegiances.

And as an unpopular premier squares off against a climate crisis skeptic, the October vote could have profound consequences for British Columbia, a province seen as the vanguard for progressive climate policy.

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Ex-fashion mogul Peter Nygard sentenced to 11 years for sexual assault

Judge says Nygard, 83, ‘used his wealth and power’ to commit four convicted assaults in Toronto

The former Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard has been sentenced to 11 years in prison after being convicted of four counts of sexual assault in attacks on women in his Toronto office building that in some cases date back for decades.

The 11-year sentence is reduced to take into account time he has already spent behind bars. Nygard has about 6.7 years left to serve and will be eligible for full parole after one-third of that.

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Pakistani man in Canada charged with planned mass shooting of Jewish New Yorkers

Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, 20, arrested near US border after allegedly planning attack with undercover agents

A Pakistani man living in Canada is facing federal criminal charges for allegedly planning to carry out a mass shooting in New York against Jewish people on the anniversary of the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack in Israel, the US justice department announced on Friday.

Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, 20, was arrested Wednesday in Canada and charged with attempting to provide material support as well as resources to a foreign terrorist organization – in this case, the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham.

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Owner of 7-Eleven rejects $39bn takeover offer from Canadian rival

Japanese group says Couche-Tard plan undervalues firm, but leaves door open to higher offer

The parent company of the global convenience store chain 7-Eleven has rejected a near $39bn (£29.6bn) takeover offer from a Canadian rival, arguing it “grossly undervalues” the company.

Last month, Tokyo-based Seven & i revealed that it had received a bid from Alimentation Couche-Tard setting the scene for what could be Japan’s biggest ever foreign takeover.

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Canada: New Democratic party withdraws support for Trudeau’s Liberals

With possible election looming, Jagmeet Singh calls end to confidence and supply arrangement with ‘weak, selfish’ party

Canada’s New Democratic party says it has “ripped up” a key agreement with prime minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government, sowing uncertainty into the country’s politics as party leaders brace for a possible election.

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh made the surprise announcement on social media on Wednesday afternoon, accusing Trudeau of “caving” to corporate greed. “The Liberals have let people down. They don’t deserve another chance from Canadians,” he said.

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Racial profiling is systemic problem in Montreal police, judge rules

Advocates say profiling ‘characterized many arrests’ as judge awards millions in damages in class-action lawsuit

Racial profiling is a systemic problem in the Montreal police force, a Quebec judge has ruled, as she awarded damages in a class action lawsuit that advocates call a “decision that meets with reality”.

Justice Dominique Poulin found that the city bore responsibility for racial profiling committed by its police officers and was obliged to compensate those affected.

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Canada turning away more foreigners amid rise in anti-immigration sentiment

Ratio of refused visitor visas to approved ones was higher in recent months than any point since height of the pandemic

Canada is taking steps, both official and unofficial, to curb the number of people coming to the country, highlighting the way in which immigration has become a political flashpoint ahead of a federal election.

According to figures obtained by Reuters, the ratio of refused visitor visa applications to approved ones was higher in recent months than at any point since the height of the pandemic. Immigration officials rejected more applications than they approved in January, February, May and June 2024.

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Canada’s 2023 wildfires released more greenhouse gases than most countries

Had fires been ranked alongside countries they would have been world’s fourth-largest emitter, study finds

Wildfires that swept Canada’s woodlands last year released more greenhouse gases than some of the largest emitting countries, a study found on Wednesday, calling into question national emissions budgets that rely on forests as carbon stores.

At 647 megatonnes, the carbon released in last year’s wildfires exceeded those of seven of the 10 largest national emitters in 2022, including Germany, Japan and Russia, the study published in the journal Nature found.

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Canada to follow US lead in imposing 100% tariff on Chinese electric vehicles

Trudeau also announces 25% tariff on imported steel and aluminum and says ‘China is not playing by the same rules’

Canada, following the lead of the United States, on Monday said it would impose a 100% tariff on the import of Chinese electric vehicles and also announced a 25% tariff on imported steel and aluminum from China.

The prime minister, Justin Trudeau, said Ottawa was acting to counter what he called China’s intentional, state-directed policy of over-capacity. But he did not specify whether tariffs would be softened or would be the same on Tesla, whose shares were down over 3% on Monday after the announcement.

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Canadian government moves to ends nationwide rail strike

Staff to return to work and trains expected to start running in days after ministers intervene

Canada’s federal government has moved to end a nationwide rail strike that threatened to grind supply chains to a halt, less than a day after it began.

With the government saying it would force the union and rail companies into binding arbitration, picket lines came down and workers at Canadian National Railway (CN) were ordered to return to work on Friday, the Teamsters union said.

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Union dispute shuts down Canadian freight rail amid fears for US trade

Nearly 10,000 workers locked out at Canada’s two major rail freight firms in dispute over working conditions

Both of Canada’s major rail freight companies have shut down their rail networks in the country and locked out nearly 10,000 workers after unsuccessful negotiations with a major union.

The decision, confirmed by the Teamsters union, sets the stage for an unprecedented rail stoppage that could badly damage the Canadian economy and have a significant effect on cross-border trade with the US.

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US military announces $20m grant to build cobalt refinery in Canada

Pentagon investment would make North America’s first cobalt sulfate refinery as US looks to diversify supply chain

The US military has made its largest investment in Canada’s mining sector in decades, spending millions amid a looming battle among nations to control the supply of cobalt.

On Tuesday, the Pentagon announced a $20m grant to help build a cobalt refinery in the province of Ontario, saying the investment will “create a more robust industrial base capable of meeting growing demand across both the defense and commercial sectors”.

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