Canadians are headed to the polls after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called a federal election for next month.
The Prime Minister arrived at Rideau Hall on Sunday morning to visit with Governor General Mary Simon, kickstarting a 36 day campaign that will culminate with a vote on September 20.
Trudeau is opting for one of the shortest election campaigns, less than two years since the Liberals were reduced to a minority government.
Speaking after meeting with Simon, Trudeau said that his government did not expect COVID-19 but it focused on supporting Canadians and small businesses throughout the pandemic, delivering the Canada Emergency Response Benefit and wage subsidy for those hard-hit by the crisis.
Canadians need to choose how the country finishes the fight against COVID-19, he said.
“In this pivotal, consequential moment, who wouldn’t want a say? Who wouldn’t want their chance to decide where our country goes from here?” Trudeau asked.
“As much as we’ve done over the past many, many months, we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us. …You deserve a say, because this is your moment.”
The Liberals have also maintained that a minority Parliament had become toxic and dysfunctional and that they need a strong majority mandate in order to implement the recovery plan.
Opposition parties dismiss these claims, pointing out that the government has not lost any confidence votes, including on its spring budget, and arguing that holding an election during a pandemic is irresponsible and dangerous.
Even so, opposition leaders have been criss-crossing the country making campaign-style announcements in recent weeks.
On Sunday, Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole accused Trudeau of risking the progress that Canada has made on COVID-19. Canadians can finally see their loved ones, friends and neighbours again, and Trudeau shouldn’t risk all their hard work for “political gains,” he said.
At the same time, the Tory leader declined to say whether he would require his candidates to be vaccinated. On the question of mandatory vaccinations in general, he said he respects Canadians’ right to make their own health choices.
He said Trudeau’s government has left too many Canadians struggling to pay the bills or cover the costs of housing, food and heating, and yet the Liberal leader is asking them to reward his party with another four years.
The Conservatives’ recovery plan will ensure the economy is firing on all cylinders and get Canada’s finances under control, O’Toole said, while securing a million new jobs and ensuring more Canadian-made medical supplies.
“Canadians deserve to know what their politicians will deliver. They deserve to know that there’s a plan, and they deserve a government that will keep its word,” O’Toole said.
“Twelve years in the military have taught me to always have a plan. Canada’s Recovery Plan will unite our country and secure the future.”
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh launched his campaign in Montreal, criticizing Trudeau’s early election call as “selfish.”
The Liberal leader’s decision to call an election two years early, in a pandemic, shows that he doesn’t want to follow through on his promises and Canadians will pay the price, Singh said.
Singh told his supporters he’ll fight for working people to make the ultrarich and big corporations pay their fair share and to build a recovery from the pandemic that works for everyone.
Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet added his voice to the chorus of federal leaders blasting Trudeau for the election call, describing it as very irresponsible and accusing him of acting out of personal ambition.
Green Leader Annamie Paul launched her campaign in the riding of Toronto Centre, where she is hoping to win a seat in the House of Commons. Her speech emphasized the climate crisis and the need for urgent action.
At the time of dissolution, the Liberals have 155 seats, the Conservatives 119, the Bloc Quebecois 32, the NDP 24 and the Greens two. There are also four Independents and one vacancy.
Elections Canada says it is prepared to conduct a safe election during the pandemic, with British Columbia, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador all having successfully held provincial votes in the past two years.
However, Canada’s chief electoral officer Stephane Perrault warns it may take two to five days after election day to determine winners in some tightly-contested ridings due to the sheer increase of mail-in ballots expected this time around. While the agency still expects the majority of Canadians will choose to vote in person, it anticipates upwards of five million Canadians to vote by mail, compared to fewer than 50,000 in the 2019 election.
The extra COVID protocols to safely conduct a campaign is also expected to add millions more to the election bill, which could top $610 million, or $110 million more than it cost to run the last two elections.
Two people are in hospital after a drive-by shooting in Scarborough overnight.
Emergency crews were called to the area of Chester Le Boulevard and Morecambe Gate, near Victoria Park and Finch avenues, just before 12:30 a.m. Monday.
According to police, both victims were sitting inside a car that was parked in a school parking lot when another vehicle pulled up and multiple shots were fired.
The vehicle then fled the scene. No description of the vehicle or the shooter has been released.
A man and woman were rushed to hospital in serious but not life-threatening condition.
Investigators are asking anyone who may have any information pertaining to the shooting, including security or dashcam footage of the area at the time, to contact police.
KABUL, Afghanistan — The Taliban swept into Afghanistan’s capital Sunday after the government collapsed and the embattled president joined an exodus of his fellow citizens and foreigners, signaling the end of a costly two-decade U.S. campaign to remake the country.
Heavily armed Taliban fighters fanned out across the capital, and several entered Kabul’s abandoned presidential palace. Suhail Shaheen, a Taliban spokesman and negotiator, told The Associated Press that the militants would hold talks in the coming days aimed at forming an “open, inclusive Islamic government.”
Earlier, a Taliban official said the group would announce from the palace the restoration of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, the formal name of the country under Taliban rule before the militants were ousted by U.S.-led forces in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, which were orchestrated by al-Qaida while it was being sheltered by the Taliban. But that plan appeared to be on hold.
Kabul was gripped by panic. Helicopters raced overhead throughout the day to evacuate personnel from the U.S. Embassy. Smoke rose near the compound as staff destroyed important documents, and the American flag was lowered. Several other Western missions also prepared to pull their people out.
Fearful that the Taliban could reimpose the kind of brutal rule that all but eliminated women’s rights, Afghans rushed to leave the country, lining up at cash machines to withdraw their life savings. The desperately poor — who had left homes in the countryside for the presumed safety of the capital — remained in parks and open spaces throughout the city.
Though the Taliban had promised a peaceful transition, the U.S. Embassy suspended operations and warned Americans late in the day to shelter in place and not try to get to the airport.
Commercial flights were suspended after sporadic gunfire erupted at the Kabul airport, according to two senior U.S. military officials. Evacuations continued on military flights, but the halt to commercial traffic closed off one of the last routes available for fleeing Afghans.
Many people watched in disbelief as helicopters landed in the U.S. Embassy compound to take diplomats to a new outpost at the airport. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken rejected comparisons to the U.S. pullout from Vietnam.
“This is manifestly not Saigon,” he said on ABC’s “This Week.”
The American ambassador was among those evacuated, officials said. He was asking to return to the embassy, but it was not clear if he would be allowed to. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing operations.
As the insurgents closed in, President Ashraf Ghani flew out of the country.
“The former president of Afghanistan left Afghanistan, leaving the country in this difficult situation,” said Abdullah Abdullah, the head of the Afghan National Reconciliation Council and a longtime rival of Ghani. “God should hold him accountable.”
Ghani later posted on Facebook that he left to avert bloodshed in the capital, without saying where he had gone.
As night fell, Taliban fighters deployed across Kabul, taking over abandoned police posts and pledging to maintain law and order during the transition. Residents reported looting in parts of the city, including in the upscale diplomatic district, and messages circulating on social media advised people to stay inside and lock their gates.
In a stunning rout, the Taliban seized nearly all of Afghanistan in just over a week, despite the billions of dollars spent by the U.S. and NATO over nearly 20 years to build up Afghan security forces. Just days earlier, an American military assessment estimated that the capital would not come under insurgent pressure for a month.
The fall of Kabul marks the final chapter of America’s longest war, which began after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. A U.S.-led invasion dislodged the Taliban and beat them back, but America lost focus on the conflict in the chaos of the Iraq war.
For years, the U.S. sought an exit from Afghanistan. Then-President Donald Trump signed a deal with the Taliban in February 2020 that limited direct military action against the insurgents. That allowed the fighters to gather strength and move quickly to seize key areas when President Joe Biden announced his plans to withdraw all American forces by the end of this month.
After the insurgents entered Kabul, Taliban negotiators discussed a transfer of power, said an Afghan official. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details of the closed-door negotiations, described them as “tense.”
It remained unclear when that transfer would take place and who among the Taliban was negotiating. The negotiators on the government side included former President Hamid Karzai, leader of Hizb-e-Islami political and paramilitary group Gulbudin Hekmatyar, and Abdullah, who has been a vocal critic of Ghani.
Karzai himself appeared in a video posted online, his three young daughters around him, saying he remained in Kabul.
“We are trying to solve the issue of Afghanistan with the Taliban leadership peacefully,” he said.
Afghanistan’s acting defence minister, Bismillah Khan Mohammadi, did not hold back his criticism of the fleeing president.
“They tied our hands from behind and sold the country,” he wrote on Twitter. “Curse Ghani and his gang.”
The Taliban earlier insisted that their fighters would not enter people’s homes or interfere with businesses and said they would offer “amnesty” to those who worked with the Afghan government or foreign forces.
But there have been reports of revenge killings and other brutal tactics in areas of the country the Taliban have seized in recent days. Reports of gunfire at the airport raised the spectre of more violence. One female journalist, weeping, sent voice messages to colleagues after armed men entered her apartment building and banged on her door.
“What should I do? Should I call the police or Taliban?” Getee Azami cried. It wasn’t clear what happened to her after that.
An Afghan university student described feeling betrayed as she watched the evacuation of the U.S. Embassy.
“You failed the younger generation of Afghanistan,” said Aisha Khurram, 22, who is now unsure of whether she will be able to graduate in two months. She said her generation was “hoping to build the country with their own hands. They put blood, efforts and sweat into whatever we had right now.”
Sunday began with the Taliban seizing Jalalabad, the last major city besides the capital not in their hands. Afghan officials said the militants also took the capitals of Maidan Wardak, Khost, Kapisa and Parwan provinces, as well as the country’s last government-held border post.
Later, Afghan forces at Bagram Air Base, home to a prison housing 5,000 inmates, surrendered to the Taliban, according to Bagram district chief Darwaish Raufi. The prison at the former U.S. base held both Taliban and Islamic State group fighters.
A man has been transported to the hospital following a stabbing at the Victoria Park subway station.
Police said they were called to the station late Sunday evening for a report that a person had been stabbed during a fight in the bus bay.
Two people are currently in custody, but the police did not provide any further details.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the police directly. Tips can also be left anonymously with Crime Stoppers.
One person is dead following an early morning crash in the eastbound lanes of Highway 401.
Provincial police say around 3:30 a.m. Friday a car travelling eastbound in the express lanes of the highway collided into the rear of a transport truck that was either stopped or disabled in a live lane near Dufferin Street and burst into flames.
The driver of the vehicle was pronounced dead at the scene.
No other injuries were reported.
All traffic is being forced into the collector lanes near Jane Street as police continue to investigate. The closure of the express lanes is expected to last until at least noon.
TORONTO (AP) — Canadian special forces will deploy to Afghanistan where Canadian embassy staff in Kabul will be evacuated before closing, a source familiar with the plan told The Associated Press.
The official, who was not authorized to talk publicly about the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity, did not say how many special forces would be sent.
Just weeks before the U.S. is scheduled to end its war in Afghanistan, the Biden administration is also rushing 3,000 fresh troops to the Kabul airport to help with a partial evacuation of the U.S. Embassy.
The moves highlight the stunning speed of a Taliban takeover of much of the country, including their capture on Thursday of Kandahar, the second-largest city and the birthplace of the Taliban movement.
Britain also said Thursday that it will send around 600 troops to Afghanistan to help U.K. nationals leave the country amid growing concerns about the security situation. And Danish lawmakers have agreed to evacuate 45 Afghan citizens who worked for Denmark’s government in Afghanistan and to offer them residency in the European country for two years.
Some 40,000 Canadian troops were deployed in Afghanistan over 13 years as part of the NATO mission before pulling out in 2014.
The first planeload of Afghan refugees who supported the Canadian military mission in Afghanistan arrived in Canada earlier this month. The Canadian government last month announced a special program to urgently resettle Afghans deemed to have been “integral” to the Canadian Armed Forces’ mission, including interpreters, cooks, drivers, cleaners, construction workers, security guards and embassy staff, as well as members of their families.
Canada could see their men’s 4×100-metre relay medal upgraded from bronze to silver after British sprinter Chijindu Ujah was provisionally suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit for an alleged doping violation at the Tokyo Olympics.
The AIU announced Thursday that the doping control laboratory in Tokyo had notified the International Testing Agency of an “adverse analytical finding” in Ujah’s doping sample.
It said Ujah’s sample contained the prohibited substances ostarine and S-23, which are selective androgen receptor modulators (SARM) and help with building muscle.
Ujah was part of the British quartet, alongside Zharnel Hughes, Richard Kilty and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake, who finished second to Italy in a close race.
If found guilty, Ujah and the British team could be stripped of the silver medal.
The Canadian team of Aaron Brown, Jerome Blake, Brendon Rodney and Andre De Grasse would then be named the silver medallist of the 4×100.
De Grasse has won six medals in his two Olympic games, one gold, one silver and four bonze.
Canada’s airline association says it’s pleased to see the federal government implementing a vaccine passport for international travel.
Mike McNaney, president and CEO of the National Airlines Council of Canada, said a standardized digital certification of vaccine status is critical to restart the country’s travel and tourism sectors.
The federal government announced the passport system Wednesday, saying it’s intended to certify Canadians who choose to travel abroad.
Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino said the digital pass will include data on the type of vaccine received, and the dates and location they were given.
The news comes after the government scrapped quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated Canadian travellers earlier this summer.
McNaney said he hopes all governments will work together to ensure that a fall release date for vaccine passports will be met.
Government lawyers are expected to argue today that an international bank risked losses due to the alleged misrepresentations by one of Huawei’s most senior executives.
Meng Wanzhou, who is the Chinese telecom giant’s CFO and daughter of the company’s founder, is facing extradition to the United States on fraud charges that both she and the company deny.
Today is the second day of formal arguments in her extradition hearing, which is unfolding more than 2 1/2 years after her arrest at Vancouver’s airport soured Canada’s relationship with China.
Meng is accused of lying to HSBC about Huawei’s control of another company during a 2013 presentation, putting the bank at risk of violating U.S. sanctions in Iran.
Lawyers for Canada’s attorney general, who represent the United States in the case, are trying to convince the judge that American prosecutors have provided enough evidence to support a case against her, while Meng’s team has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
Her long-awaited extradition hearing is proceeding as courts in China prosecute Canadians whose sentencing or detentions are widely seen as retaliation for her arrest.
Western University and University of Toronto have announced they will both require all students, staff and faculty to show proof-of-vaccination in order to be on campus.
The three affiliate colleges at Western, Huron, Kings and Brescia, will have the same COVID-19 vaccine policy.
At both universities those without proof-of-vaccination will have to be tested for COVID-19 twice a week.
Western said in a statement, the decision was made after “careful consultation with public health partners and faculty experts in medicine, law and ethics.”
U of T’s special advisor for COVID-19 Salvatore Spadafora said public health evidence shows, “Vaccination provides the best protection from COVID-19.”
Western and U of T had previously mandated vaccines for students in residences.
It comes after Ottawa University also mandated COVID-19 vaccines for all who attend campus, including students, staff and faculty, earlier this week.
Seneca College became the first Ontario post-secondary school to make vaccines mandatory.
Multiple other university and colleges in the province will require students living in residences to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
The Council of Ontario Universities and Colleges Ontario have both called for a province-wide policy that would require all students, staff and faculty to be vaccinated.
