Man seeking asylum in Canada trapped at US Ice facility after he says he crossed border by mistake

Canada isn’t helping to repatriate refugee applicant Mahin Shahriar, a 28-year-old Bangladeshi man, his lawyer says

A refugee applicant living in Canada is trapped at a US immigration detention facility after he says he mistakenly crossed the border, but his lawyer says Canada isn’t helping to bring him back.

Mahin Shahriar, 28, who came to Canada from Bangladesh in 2019, told the Canadian Press he accepted an invitation from a “friend” to visit a property near Montreal, which he now suspects was part of a broader human trafficking operation.

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‘Inherently cruel’: Canadian parents say citizenship bill erodes rights of children adopted abroad

Rule would require adopted children born abroad to prove ‘substantial connection’ to Canada to pass on citizenship

Canadian parents of children adopted abroad say a proposed citizenship bill represents a “shocking and unconscionable” erosion of their children’s rights by the governing Liberals.

The federal government is in the midst of overhauling the Citizenship Act so Canadians born abroad can pass citizenship to further generations born abroad. The bill would also restore or grant citizenship descendants who were excluded under older citizenship laws.

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Canadian man fined for submitting AI hallucinations as part of legal defense

Jean Laprade ordered to pay $3,500 in legal saga of ‘hijacked planes’, Interpol red alerts and ‘inappropriate use’ of AI

A Quebec man has been ordered to pay C$5,000 (US$3,562) for submitting artificial intelligence hallucinations as part of his legal defense, a move the judge warned was “highly reprehensible” and threatened to undermine integrity in the legal system.

Justice Luc Morin of Quebec superior court levied the fine on Jean Laprade in a decision released on 1 October, capping a legal saga the judge said “contains several elements worthy of a successful movie script”, including a “hijacked plane passing through several complacent airports”, Interpol red alerts and the “inappropriate use of artificial intelligence” by Laprade.

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Rush reform for first time since drummer Neil Peart’s death

Canadian prog-rockers will play seven concerts in summer 2026 in the US, Canada and Mexico, after hiring new drummer Anika Nilles

Rush, the Canadian prog rockers whose epic and detailed songcraft continues to attract a large and heartfelt fandom, are to reform for the first time since the death of drummer Neil Peart.

Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, both 72, will tour the US, Canada and Mexico, playing seven concerts in summer 2026 beginning in Los Angeles on 7 June.

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Fears Quebec Starbucks gang shooting could signal shift to brazen tactics

Local media named victim as Charalambos Theologou, shot as groups vie for power after arrests of alleged mafia bosses

The brazen daylight killing of a prominent Quebec gang leader inside a suburban Starbucks in the outskirts of Montreal this week could signal a new, more chaotic and brash environment when it comes to organised crime, observers say.

The arrests of alleged senior, older members of Montreal’s mafia in June has potentially left a chasm – meaning newer, younger gangs are attempting to gain a foothold.

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Canadian government asked to clarify whether Kneecap barred from country

Opposition party says minister ‘either lied or has no clue how it works’ when he said band were ‘ineligible’ to enter

Canada’s opposition party has asked the government to clarify whether the Belfast rap trio Kneecap have been barred from the country, after doubts emerged over their status.

The Liberal MP Vince Gasparro, the parliamentary secretary for combating crime, posted a video on social media on 19 September in which he said Kneecap were “ineligible” to enter Canada.

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‘A life of captivity’: Canada refuses marine park’s request to export its whales to China

Fisheries minister says rehoming Marineland’s cetaceans in China would only ‘perpetuate the treatment’ the whales have endured

Canada’s government has refused a request by the beleaguered Marineland theme park to export its remaining 30 beluga whales to China due to concerns that the whales will face further mistreatment.

Marineland, an amusement park, zoo and aquarium in Niagara Falls, has one of the largest captive whale populations in the world, and has long been mired in controversy amid reports of poor conditions for the animals on display.

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Canada designates Indian gang linked to high-profile killings as terrorist entity

Canadian government accuses the Lawrence Bishnoi gang of being involved in murder of prominent Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar near Vancouver

Canada’s federal government has announced that a powerful and ruthless Indian gang which uses “murder, shootings and arson” to extort and intimidate diaspora communities – and has alleged links to India’s ruling government – has been designated as a terrorist entity.

Canada has accused the Lawrence Bishnoi gang of possible involvement in the murder of prominent Sikh activist and Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar near Vancouver.

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Canada postal workers strike after government orders end to door-to-door delivery

Union says it’s ‘outraged and appalled’ by government’s order of sweeping changes to the national service

Postal workers in Canada have gone on strike after the government warned of an “existential crisis” and ordered sweeping changes to the national service – including an end to door-to-door delivery within the decade.

The union representing Canada Post employees described the proposed changes as “an attack” on its workers who have struggled to compete with a surge in private courier services.

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Doug Ford to ban speed cameras in Ontario in populist appeal to suburban voters

Canada premier’s move prompts criticism from road safety activists and is likely to cue new showdown with Toronto

Doug Ford has announced plans to ban speed cameras in Ontario, describing the devices as an out-of-control “tax grab” in his latest populist appeal to suburban voters.

The move prompted criticism from road safety activists and is likely to cue another showdown with Toronto, after the mayor of Canada’s largest city urged councillors to keep the cameras in place, warning that “speed kills”.

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Quebec’s police watchdog to investigate killing of 15-year-old boy by officers

Police opened fire within seconds after responding to a report of masked teens, according to a resident

The head of Quebec’s police watchdog said it will investigate the death of a 15-year-old boy who was shot dead by officers, revealing that the only weapon recovered from the scene of the fatal shooting belonged to the police.

At a rare news conference on Tuesday, Brigitte Bishop, director of the province’s office of independent investigations, said her unit would conduct an “impartial” investigation into the death of Nooran Rezayi.

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UN votes to allow Palestinian president to address annual gathering via video link

Trump had refused to grant visas for Palestinian delegation due to attend conference and UN general assembly

The United Nations general assembly has voted to allow the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, to address next week’s annual gathering of world leaders next week in New York via video link after Donald Trump said he would not give him a US visa.

The resolution received 145 votes in favour and five votes against, while six countries abstained.

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Canada: Carney unveils array of national projects to ‘turbocharge’ economy

List leaves out oil pipelines and focuses on LNG expansion, mines and nuclear power as it fends off US trade war

Canada’s Liberal government has said that a liquefied natural gas facility, critical mineral mines, a nuclear reactor and port expansion will mark the first wave of major national projects to “turbocharge” the country’s economy as it fends off a trade war with the United States.

Notably, the list unveiled by the prime minster, Mark Carney, on Thursday does not include any new oil pipelines – projects which have proven to be deeply divisive and politically fractious in recent years.

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James McAvoy reportedly assaulted in Toronto bar

Actor promoting his directorial debut California Schemin’ at the city’s film festival is reported to have been punched by another drinker

The actor James McAvoy was assaulted in a bar in Toronto, it has been reported.

According to People magazine, McAvoy was “sucker punched” by another visitor to Charlotte’s Room bar on Monday evening, two days after the premiere of his directorial debut, California Schemin’, at the Toronto film festival.

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Canadian apiary store owner foils honey heist by marauding swarm of ‘robber bees’

Raids by rival hives aren’t rare after a dry, hot summer, but Christine McDonald was surprised to find her store besieged

A Canadian beekeeper has described fending off thousands of “robber bees” as they raided her shop in a brazen attempt to steal honey.

Christine McDonald, who owns Rushing River Apiaries in the British Columbia city of Terrace, said she entered her shop to find it overrun by the swarm.

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Shabana Mahmood to host Five Eyes meeting on people-smuggling

New home secretary will be joined in London by counterparts from US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand

Shabana Mahmood, the new home secretary, will host a meeting of the Five Eyes security alliance to discuss how to stop people-smuggling, as the number of migrants arriving in the UK after crossing the channel topped 30,000 in record time on Sunday.

Mahmood is to be joined in London by Kristi Noem, the US secretary of state for homeland security, as well as interior ministers from Australia, Canada and New Zealand – the other member countries of the intelligence-sharing pact.

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LGBTQ+ Americans consider move to Canada to escape Trump: ‘I’m afraid of living here’

LGBTQ+ people in the US contemplate heading north as they wrestle with the president’s assault on the community

The number of LGBTQ+ Americans inquiring about moving to Canada has soared since Donald Trump’s re-election, campaigners have said, as people across the US wrestle with the fallout of rising anti-gay rhetoric, anti-trans executive orders, and the more than 600 bills targeting LGBTQ+ rights.

“So much is happening in the US right now and a lot of it is terrifying,” said Latoya Nugent of Rainbow Railroad, a North American charity that helps LGBTQI+ individuals escape violence and persecution in their home countries.

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Canada’s Mark Carney signals austerity measures as government shifts focus from Trump to economy

Prime minister cautions Canadians as Ottawa moves to curb spending to balance near-record military expenditures

Mark Carney has told Canadians to prepare for austerity measures and his finance minister warned of “tough choices” in the coming months, as the government attempts to balance near-record defence spending, cuts to government programs and a trade war with the United States.

Carney, the former central banker and economist turned politician, has been meeting senior ministers before the fall budget, and hinted cuts were coming to the federal bureaucracy.

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Canada: one person killed and six injured in stabbing in remote First Nation community

Royal Canadian Mounted Police said the suspect who attacked Hollow Water First Nation has also died

One person has been killed and six others injured in a mass stabbing in an Indigenous community in central Canada, according to federal police who said that the the suspect also died in the incident.

The violence occurred in Hollow Water First Nation, a remote community with about 1,000 residents, 217km (135 miles) north of Manitoba’s provincial capital, Winnipeg, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police told AFP.

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Margaret Atwood releases short story critiquing book bans in Canada

Author quipped she wrote ‘suitable’ piece after Alberta school ban included her novel The Handmaid’s Tale

Margaret Atwood has released a new short story critiquing elected officials for a wide-ranging book ban in the Canadian province of Alberta. The controversial decision to remove books purportedly containing “explicit sexual content” has seen numerous works of literature swept up in the dragnet, including Atwood’s dystopian work The Handmaid’s Tale.

In a social media post, Atwood wrote that since her famed work was no longer permissible in Alberta schools, she had written a “suitable” short work for teens, adding the work was necessary because the province’s minister of education thought students were “stupid babies”.

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