MONTREAL - Quebec is investing $603 million over the next five years to counter what its French-language minister describes as the decline of the French language in the province. Jean-François Roberge said today that the government's nine priorities include better monitoring of language trends, boosting the Fre...

MONTREAL - Jean-Pierre Ferland, the singer-songwriter who became a fixture of Quebec's cultural landscape over a career that spanned more than six decades, died Saturday at the age of 89. The agency representing Ferland confirmed the singer, who's signature song "une chance qu'on s'a" is regarded as a classic...

MONTREAL - The number of microdistilleries in Quebec has boomed in the last decade, growing from less than a dozen to about 70. But a decision by Quebec's liquor corporation to cull up to 200 homegrown productsfrom its stores is a sign of the growing pains felt by an industry struggling with strong competition, onerous...

OTTAWA - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau knows Canadians aren't listening. He knows his defence against Conservative attacks over his signature climate policy isn't working, at least not yet. But he plans to keep trying. And while he's at it, his office is trying something new to get the Liberal government's message ou...

OTTAWA - Corporate boardrooms. Military barracks. Federal government offices. They're not locales with a reputation for fostering diversity. Anita Anand has been trying to change that. Ensuring people of all backgrounds feel accepted and heard no matter the venue is a mission that has followed her at every stage in ...

Montreal says public transit trips were up between 15 and 20 per cent among people age 65 and over in the six months after it made the service free for local seniors. The program, which took effect on July 1 of last year, offers residents who are 65 or older free fare for transit trips within the city of Montreal and s...

Montreal's port authority says a man has died after an apparent accident at one of its wharves. Port of Montreal spokesperson Renée Larouche says the authority was notified of an accident involving a truck driver at the Viau shipping terminal northeast of downtown at around 2 p.m. on Friday. Police and emergency...

LACHUTE, Que. - Quebec provincial police say a 51-year-old woman has died after a head-on collision in the town of Lachute, roughly 50 kilometres west of Montreal, early this morning. Police spokesperson Frédéric Deshaies says preliminary information suggests a vehicle heading west on Quebec highway 50 en...

CALGARY - The lawyer for a residential school survivor leading a proposed class-action defamation lawsuit against the Catholic Church over residential schools says the court action is a last resort. Maxime Faille, the lawyer for Sphenia Jones, says the goal is understanding - not money. "Sphenia is 80 years-old. S...

Ottawa has plans to finally stop blocking Canadian development aid to Afghanistan this year. But by the time its new system is fully up and running, the Taliban will have been in control of the country for about three years. Humanitarian organizations say that's an interminable delay for those who need help, especiall...

MONTREAL - Tens of thousands of visitors flock to Quebec's Îles-de-la-Madeleine every summer to behold its cliff-framed seascapes and sandy beaches. But starting next month, those island sojourns will come with an added cost. The small archipelago northeast of Prince Edward Island is introducing a $30 visitor fee...

TORONTO - The Globe and Mail was the top winner at the National Newspaper Awards, which were handed out on Friday night. The Globe won nods in seven of the 23 regular categories. La Presse and the Toronto Star both won three awards, and the Brandon Sun and the Narwhal each had two. Thirteen other news outlets received ...

TORONTO - The National Newspaper Awards were handed out in Toronto on Friday night. Here is the complete list of the winners and finalists: Arts and Entertainment: Winner: Matt Simmons, Cara McKenna and Marty Clemens, IndigiNews and The Narwhal, for their feature about the return of a stolen totem pole to Nisga'a Natio...

VANCOUVER - A high-risk sex offender who went on the run for 10 days in Vancouver has pleaded guilty to breaching his long-term supervision order and failing to attend court. The province's prosecution service confirmed that Randall Hopley entered the guilty pleas in provincial court on Friday. Hopley walked away from...

VANCOUVER - The British Columbia government is asking Health Canada to "urgently change" the province's decriminalization policy to stop drug use in public. Premier David Eby says in a statement the change would make illicit drug use illegal in all public spaces, including inside hospitals, on transit and in...

MONTREAL - Parks Canada will reinstall around 30 garbage bins along Montreal's Lachine Canal after some visitors expressed frustration at their sudden disappearance earlier this month. The federal agency says the measure was a pilot project to encourage visitors to take responsibility for waste destined for landfills. ...

OTTAWA - The federal government is earmarking $3 million for production of drones in Ukraine in support of Kyiv's fight against Russia's invasion. Defence Minister Bill Blair says the financial assistance is being made in collaboration with the United Kingdom. Speaking with a group of defence leaders, Blair also announ...

OTTAWA - Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault says the world can solve its plastic problem without insisting on hard caps on plastic production. Guilbeault says talks on a treaty to end plastic waste are progressing well and he is confident a deal will be reached this fall when the final negotiations are held in Sout...

ZEBALLOS, B.C. - The young killer whale trapped for more than a month in a B.C. lagoon swam past a bottleneck at high tide this morning. The Ehattesaht and Nuchatlaht First Nations say the team is ecstatic, although she still has to leave the Inlet to reach open ocean. More coming. The Canadian Press

BROMONT, Que. - The federal and Quebec governments are spending close to $100 million to boost the country's manufacturing capacity for semiconductors, which are vital in technologies ranging from artificial intelligence to quantum computing. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters today in Bromont, Que., that Ott...

OTTAWA - Aamjiwnaang First Nation is declaring a state of emergency over a benzene leak linked to a neighbouring petrochemical facility. The community near Sarnia, Ont., which is surrounded by industrial facilities, raised the alarm last week as citizens fell ill and closed its offices to limit exposure to the cancer-c...

HALIFAX - A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student. Crown attorney Terry Nickerson told provincial youth court Judge Bronwyn Duffy that he will be seeking ...

OTTAWA - The Supreme Court of Canada says the constitutional right of judicial independence is not compromised for soldiers appearing in front of military judges. Nine members of the Canadian Armed Forces argued that military judges may have divided loyalties, because they are also military officers who are part of a c...

OTTAWA - The federal minister of Crown-Indigenous relations is calling on Air Canada to "make things right" with the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, whose headdress was removed from an airplane cabin. Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak, who leads the advocacy organization, said in a social-media post Th...

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - As more Canadians find themselves struggling to afford or find housing, the country's smallest province is the only one that can point to legislation recognizing housing as a human right. The Canadian Press asked every province whether it agrees with the federal housing advocate that shelter is a hum...

VANCOUVER - A CSIS officer's allegations that she was raped repeatedly by a superior in agency vehicles set off a harassment inquiry, but also triggered an investigation into her that concluded the alleged attacks were a "misuse" of agency vehicles by the woman. She is the same officer whose sexual assault al...

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today... Consular freeze worries Ukrainian man in Canada A Ukrainian man living in Canada says he's worried a freeze on consular services for Ukrainians abroad could put his future in peril. Mykyta Zakharchen...

Canada's farm fields are in the midst of a transformation. As the country rapidly warms from human-caused climate change, farmers are being pushed to reconsider conventional wisdom about what can and can't survive in this northern climate. Crops are getting planted later in the year than ever as killer winter frost del...