By , Slideshow OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada’s cash-strapped municipalities will receive C$2.2 billion ($1.62 billion) in fast-tracked federal infrastructure funding to help cover funding shortfalls in budgets battered during the COVID-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday.The one-time payment will be delivered in June through the federal Gas Tax Fund, Trudeau told his daily press briefing. As of Monday, Canada had 91,351 cases of COVID-19, the respiratory disease cause by the novel coronavirus, and had reported 7,305 deaths, according to official data.Municipalities will...…By , Slideshow OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada’s cash-strapped municipalities will receive C$2.2 billion ($1.62 billion) in fast-tracked federal infrastructure funding to help cover funding shortfalls in budgets battered during the COVID-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday.The one-time payment will be delivered in June through the federal Gas Tax Fund, Trudeau told his daily press briefing. As of Monday, Canada had 91,351 cases of COVID-19, the respiratory disease cause by the novel coronavirus, and had reported 7,305 deaths, according to official data.Municipalities will...WW…

By , OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada and the United States are set to extend a ban on non-essential travel to late July as both countries seek to control the spread of the coronavirus, according to three sources familiar with the matter.Slideshow Washington and Ottawa introduced month-long restrictions in March and renewed them in April and May. The ban, currently due to expire on June 21, does not affect trade.Canadian and U.S. sources said although the governments had not yet taken a final decision, a further extension was highly likely.“It’s going to be a clean rollover” on June 21, said a...…By , OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada and the United States are set to extend a ban on non-essential travel to late July as both countries seek to control the spread of the coronavirus, according to three sources familiar with the matter.Slideshow Washington and Ottawa introduced month-long restrictions in March and renewed them in April and May. The ban, currently due to expire on June 21, does not affect trade.Canadian and U.S. sources said although the governments had not yet taken a final decision, a further extension was highly likely.“It’s going to be a clean rollover” on June 21, said a...WW…

By , OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, when asked about U.S. President Donald Trump possibly calling in the military to quell protests, paused for more than 20 seconds before responding that Canadians were observing events in the U.S. with horror.“We all watch in horror and consternation what’s going on in the United States,” Trudeau said on Tuesday at a daily news briefing, after a reporter pressed him on Trump’s idea of using soldiers against protesters.The reporter also sought comment on the tear-gassing of U.S. protesters on Monday “to make way for a...…By , OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, when asked about U.S. President Donald Trump possibly calling in the military to quell protests, paused for more than 20 seconds before responding that Canadians were observing events in the U.S. with horror.“We all watch in horror and consternation what’s going on in the United States,” Trudeau said on Tuesday at a daily news briefing, after a reporter pressed him on Trump’s idea of using soldiers against protesters.The reporter also sought comment on the tear-gassing of U.S. protesters on Monday “to make way for a...WW…

By , PORTAPIQUE, Nova Scotia/OTTAWA (Reuters) - The death toll from the worst mass shooting in Canadian history rose to 19, including a police officer and the gunman, Canadian police said on Monday, adding that they expected to uncover more fatalities from the weekend massacre in Nova Scotia.The gunman, who at one point masqueraded as a policeman and also painstakingly disguised his car to look like a police cruiser, shattered the peace of rural communities in the Atlantic province during a 12-hour rampage that started late on Saturday, authorities said on Sunday.“We’re relatively confident...…By , PORTAPIQUE, Nova Scotia/OTTAWA (Reuters) - The death toll from the worst mass shooting in Canadian history rose to 19, including a police officer and the gunman, Canadian police said on Monday, adding that they expected to uncover more fatalities from the weekend massacre in Nova Scotia.The gunman, who at one point masqueraded as a policeman and also painstakingly disguised his car to look like a police cruiser, shattered the peace of rural communities in the Atlantic province during a 12-hour rampage that started late on Saturday, authorities said on Sunday.“We’re relatively confident...WW…

By OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada’s nursing homes, which already have seen almost half the country’s total coronavirus deaths, will continue to see fatalities even as the overall number of new cases slows, Chief Medical Officer Theresa Tam said on Monday.Slideshow The number of people killed by the coronavirus in Canada rose by almost 9% to 734 on Monday from a day earlier. That is slower than the 11% reported yesterday and the almost 32% increase recorded a week ago.The total number of those diagnosed with the coronavirus rose to 24,804, a less than 5% increase from Sunday. A week ago, there...…By OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada’s nursing homes, which already have seen almost half the country’s total coronavirus deaths, will continue to see fatalities even as the overall number of new cases slows, Chief Medical Officer Theresa Tam said on Monday.Slideshow The number of people killed by the coronavirus in Canada rose by almost 9% to 734 on Monday from a day earlier. That is slower than the 11% reported yesterday and the almost 32% increase recorded a week ago.The total number of those diagnosed with the coronavirus rose to 24,804, a less than 5% increase from Sunday. A week ago, there...WW…

By , WASHINGTON/OTTAWA (Reuters) - Restrictions on non-essential travel at U.S. land borders with Canada and Mexico will be extended through Aug. 21, Canada and the United States announced on Thursday.“Canada and the United States have agreed to extend the current border measures by one month until August 21, and we’re going to keep working closely with our American neighbors to keep people safe on both sides of the border,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at a news conference.Earlier, acting U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf announced the 30-day extension on Twitter...…By , WASHINGTON/OTTAWA (Reuters) - Restrictions on non-essential travel at U.S. land borders with Canada and Mexico will be extended through Aug. 21, Canada and the United States announced on Thursday.“Canada and the United States have agreed to extend the current border measures by one month until August 21, and we’re going to keep working closely with our American neighbors to keep people safe on both sides of the border,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at a news conference.Earlier, acting U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf announced the 30-day extension on Twitter...WW…

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comOTTAWA, April 21 (Reuters) - Ontario Premier Doug Ford, facing backlash over his government's handling of the pandemic, resisted calls to resign on Thursday as Canada's most populous province grappled with a third wave of COVID-19 infections that critics said could have been prevented.With pressure building on hospitals, Ottawa is sending federal healthcare workers to help. Ontario had 3,682 new infections on Thursday and 40 deaths, the highest of any province. #Dougfordmustresign has trended on Twitter this week, while newspaper...…Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comOTTAWA, April 21 (Reuters) - Ontario Premier Doug Ford, facing backlash over his government's handling of the pandemic, resisted calls to resign on Thursday as Canada's most populous province grappled with a third wave of COVID-19 infections that critics said could have been prevented.With pressure building on hospitals, Ottawa is sending federal healthcare workers to help. Ontario had 3,682 new infections on Thursday and 40 deaths, the highest of any province. #Dougfordmustresign has trended on Twitter this week, while newspaper...WW…

Satellite controller Sean Sauve works at the offices of Telesat, a Canadian satellite communications company, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada March 24, 2021. REUTERS/Blair GableRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comOTTAWA, April 11 (Reuters) - Canada's Telesat is racing to launch a low-earth-orbit (LEO) satellite constellation to provide high-speed global broadband from space, pitting the satellite communications firm founded in 1969 against two trailblazing billionaires, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.Musk, the Tesla Inc CEO who was only a year old when Telesat launched its first...…Satellite controller Sean Sauve works at the offices of Telesat, a Canadian satellite communications company, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada March 24, 2021. REUTERS/Blair GableRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comOTTAWA, April 11 (Reuters) - Canada's Telesat is racing to launch a low-earth-orbit (LEO) satellite constellation to provide high-speed global broadband from space, pitting the satellite communications firm founded in 1969 against two trailblazing billionaires, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.Musk, the Tesla Inc CEO who was only a year old when Telesat launched its first...WW…

By , CALGARY, Alberta/OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada’s Supreme Court ruled in favour of the federal government’s carbon pricing policy on Thursday, upholding a central pillar of Prime Minister Justin’s Trudeau’s climate plan and infuriating some provinces that opposed it.Slideshow The country’s top court said climate change is a threat to Canada a whole and upheld the legality of the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, which had been challenged by Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario.Carbon pricing, often called a carbon tax by opponents, is the lynchpin of the federal government’s plan to...…By , CALGARY, Alberta/OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada’s Supreme Court ruled in favour of the federal government’s carbon pricing policy on Thursday, upholding a central pillar of Prime Minister Justin’s Trudeau’s climate plan and infuriating some provinces that opposed it.Slideshow The country’s top court said climate change is a threat to Canada a whole and upheld the legality of the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, which had been challenged by Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario.Carbon pricing, often called a carbon tax by opponents, is the lynchpin of the federal government’s plan to...WW…

By , TORONTO/OTTAWA (Reuters) - A fast-track visa program that Canada launched in 2017 has attracted a growing number of tech workers, and U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest immigration crackdown is set to further boost intake once COVID-19 restrictions ease, lawyers say.The number of successful applicants to Canada’s Global Skills Strategy (GSS) program rose five-fold over its first three years, with more than 23,000 workers approved under the top five tech categories, data provided to Reuters by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) shows.More than 2,300 applications for...…By , TORONTO/OTTAWA (Reuters) - A fast-track visa program that Canada launched in 2017 has attracted a growing number of tech workers, and U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest immigration crackdown is set to further boost intake once COVID-19 restrictions ease, lawyers say.The number of successful applicants to Canada’s Global Skills Strategy (GSS) program rose five-fold over its first three years, with more than 23,000 workers approved under the top five tech categories, data provided to Reuters by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) shows.More than 2,300 applications for...WW…