With roughly a year of employment data now in hand showing the impact of Trump's tariffs on Canadian jobs, economists say some of the early resilience to the trade disruption is giving way to a stalled labour market. A shrinking labour pool is also throttling job growth, experts warn.

And there are now risks that weakness could be spilling over from industries hard-hit by tariffs into services and sectors not directly exposed to the new trading order.

"The labour market over the past year has been pretty stable, and maybe even a better word for that is static," said Brendon Bernard, senior economist at job search platform Indeed.

While the particular Liberation Day tariffs were recently ruled illegal by the U.S. Supreme Court, the impact started even earlier for Canada, with threats in February that materialized into sector-specific tariffs in March that are still in effect.

Statistics Canada's latest labour force survey for February shows the winners of losers after a year of tariffs.

Manufacturing, a sector targeted directly by steep U.S. tariffs on steel, aluminum and autos, has shed 51,800 jobs over the previous 12 months, leading all industries for losses. The bulk of those lost jobs were in manufacturing-heavy Ontario.

Andrew DiCapua, principal economist at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said he is worried the pain isn't over for the automotive industry.

Work contracts in this sector are often set over six- or 12-month periods, he said. That could mean a further "recalibration" is coming for this part of the labour market as those contracts roll off the books.

Statistics Canada said in March that the industrial capacity utilization rate — how much Canadian industries are collectively producing compared with their potential — was 78.5 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year, down modestly from the previous quarter.

"If companies are not able to produce at these high levels, well, then they don't need the workers to fulfill orders. So I just fear that the momentum and the weakness may continue," DiCapua said.

Desjardins senior economist Kari Norman said the impact of tariffs has been steep on an individual and sectoral basis for many Canadian workers, but the hit to the national labour market has so far not been as bad as initially feared.

Norman said the outlook for manufacturing is highly dependent on the upcoming review of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico trade agreement later this year.

If Canada exits that review with a firm commitment and tariff levels similar to where they stand today, Norman said she thinks "we'll continue to see manufacturing level off, rather than decline in terms of employment."

StatCan's labour force survey shows goods-producing sectors have collectively lost 34,200 positions year-over-year as of February, though services industries have more than offset those losses with a gain of 85,900 positions.

Canada's health-care sector led those gains, adding 92,000 jobs over the past year. Norman said that makes sense as provinces continue to invest in health staffing to care for an aging population.

Strength in the services sector has been one reason Canada's unemployment rate hasn't deteriorated sharply over the past year.

But there were signs in February of cracks in that resilience: StatCan reported an 84,000-job loss in the month, led by a contraction in services.

When there's prolonged weakness on one side of the labour market — say, because of a rapid tariff-driven drop-off in export demand — it can spread to the other side of the economy.

DiCapua gave the example of an auto parts worker in southwest Ontario losing a regular shift, and therefore not getting a Tim Hortons coffee on the way into work. After a while, Tim Hortons might decide it also doesn't need as many staff to meet dwindling demand and could eventually pull back on advertising too, spurring knock-on effects through the economy.

DiCapua noted that provinces seeing the hardest hits from U.S. duties such as Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia are also seeing less growth in services.

"I don't want to draw too many conclusions on that other than to say that there could be just this general ... weaker sentiment (around) U.S. tariffs and it could be affecting sectors that are maybe not directly affected," he said.

Bernard said it's "not surprising" that U.S. tariffs combined with a sharply slowing housing market are leading to spillover effects in Ontario's labour market.

Some economists also view the steep job losses in February with a grain of salt.

While the monthly labour force survey is well-known among economists for its volatility, the less timely survey of employment, payrolls and hours — the SEPH — offers a different perspective of the jobs market.

Bernard said when the labour force survey was reporting a surge of job growth in the fourth quarter of last year, the SEPH was flat. That could suggest a more stable trend than the up-and-down monthly job headlines imply.

But whichever data source Canadians prefer to look at, Bernard said one thing is clear over the past year.

"Job growth by both metrics absolutely slowed down," he said.

"The main driver of that, though, is what's going on with population growth and demographics."

StatCan reported in March that the Canadian population shrank in 2025, the first year on record with an outright decline.

With a growing number of baby boomers hitting retirement age and fewer young workers coming into replace them, Bernard noted that the size of the labour force will likely be flat or even decline in the coming months.

He said that means Canada needs to add fewer jobs to keep the unemployment rate steady. Monthly employment declines would also be more commonplace in the more volatile labour force survey, he argued.

"When the trend is flat ... it's going to be bouncing around that flat number," Bernard said.

"Even absent the economy shifting, this is going to happen more."

Desjardins' outlook has the unemployment rate for 2026 holding around 6.7 per cent — right in line with February's figures — before improving next year.

Norman said that status-quo forecast might come with a few pockets of job gains, with projected increases in government spending on defence and construction likely to spur hiring in those fields.

She also suggested that high levels of youth unemployment might come down in the summer jobs season as an energy price spike tied to the Iran war sends jet fuel and airfare costs soaring. That could push more Canadian families to vacation closer to home this year, she said.

"That should help support the tourism sector in Canada and those youth jobs that correspond to that," she said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 2, 2026.

Craig Lord, The Canadian Press

Chrissy Isaacs, a Grassy Narrows woman suffering from mercury poisoning, was in Toronto on Monday to demand compensation from the provincial government for mercury contamination.

The Dryden Paper Mill released thousands of kilograms of mercury into Grassy Narrows' river system from the 1960s to the 1970s. It's widely considered to be one of the country's worst environmental disasters and community members are still dealing with the fallout today.

Isaacs and a group of community members and their supporters attended a news conference Carney held on Monday with Ontario Premier Doug Ford to announce new funding for housing. She and the other protesters could be heard chanting and shouting in the background about the mercury contamination.

"I can outlast her," Carney said, laughing briefly along with Ford and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow.

Grassy Narrows First Nation Chief Sherry Ackabee said Carney should apologize for his remark.

"Shame on you, prime minister. You're making a joke of my people," Chief Ackabee told The Canadian Press.

"And for all the people laughing behind him, shame on all of you."

Chief Roland Fisher of Wabaseemoong Independent Nations said governments should not dismiss the concerns of his community members and called on Carney to meet with them.

The Prime Minister's Office said in a media statement Carney could not hear what the demonstrators were saying and that members of his staff spoke to the demonstrators to hear their concerns. It's not clear if the prime minister knew what the protesters were there for at the time he made the remarks.

PMO spokesperson Audrey Champoux said Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty is "in contact with Grassy Narrows leadership to continue progress on critical projects ranging from a new health centre, housing and a mercury care home that will help ensure those suffering from mercury poisoning have the care they need, close to home."

Ackabee said she has yet to hear from the minister and does not accept the claim that Carney did not know the nature of the protest.

"He's just trying to cover himself up now because he's realizing what he said is wrong … Shame on him," she said.

Grassy Narrows is located some 150 kilometres from Dryden, Ont., close to the Ontario-Manitoba border. Wabaseemoong Independent Nation is also nearby.

A 2024 study from Western University found emissions from the mill, including sulphate, continue to wreak havoc on the community by generating methylmercury.

The report found levels of methylmercury — the most toxic form of mercury — in the Wabigoon River's fish may be twice as high as they would have been without the mill discharge.

The mill is upstream from the Grassy Narrows First Nation, a community of fewer than 1,000 people.

The community’s water was contaminated when the mill dumped 9,000 kilograms of mercury into the English-Wabigoon River system in the 1960s. The mill stopped using mercury in its industrial process in the 1970s, but mercury levels downstream from the plant haven’t decreased significantly since the 1980s.

One study estimated that 90 per cent of the Grassy Narrows population suffers from some degree of mercury poisoning. The heavy metal can be passed from mothers to babies they carry, making it a problem that spans generations.

Mercury poisoning can cause neurotoxicity and damage peoples' nervous systems, causing premature deaths. Children and babies are most at risk.

Grassy Narrows First Nation community member Julia da Silva told The Canadian Press the entire community is upset with the prime minister.

"That's just typical government reaction to our demise … At the same time, it was good that Canadian society could see the true reaction of government to our people, and it's been like that for 60 years," said da Silva, who is dealing with the impacts of mercury poisoning herself.

She said her community faces a "life and death situation" and sees at least two ambulance calls per day for people needing treatment.

"My people are very sick, and the Canadian society doesn't realize the horrific impacts we have with the mercury poisoning, with losing our relatives and our nieces, our granddaughters, our nephews," she said.

Da Silva said the community is already grappling with a youth suicide crisis and now those same youth have to see the prime minister laughing at one of their members.

She said she wants young people in the community to know others care about them and they are not alone.

NDP MP Leah Gazan said in a media statement she is "disgusted" by Carney's conduct.

"Is the health and wellbeing of Indigenous peoples not in the national interest? Is the voice of a woman living with mercury poisoning not worthy of respect? Is the protection of lands and waters not fundamental to who we are as a country?" she wrote.

"Grassy Narrows deserves justice. It deserves clean water. It deserves full accountability from governments that have failed for far too long to uphold their obligations."

Former prime minister Justin Trudeau made similar remarks after a protester who supported Grassy Narrows disrupted a 2019 Liberal party fundraiser.

When the woman interrupted the fundraiser to raise concerns about the "mercury crisis" and the suffering of community members, Trudeau thanked her for her "donation."

He later apologized, saying he "lacked respect towards them."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 1, 2026.

Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press

Celebrating his 29th birthday, Ingram made 27 saves for his second shutout of the season and ninth of his career as the Oilers extended their winning streak to four games, getting past the Seattle Kraken 3-0.

“He played really well,” said Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch. “We talk about our defensive zone coverage and how we’re playing really well, eliminating turnovers and all that, but if he doesn’t make those saves we’re probably talking about our turnovers and our defensive lapses.

“We did have turnovers, we did have mistakes in our coverage, but when your goaltender makes all the saves and plays as well as he did tonight we kind of ignore that stuff.”

Ingram became the first goalie in Oilers history to post a shutout on his birthday and the sixth in franchise history to record multiple shutouts in his first season with the club. The Saskatchewan native was picked up from Utah for future considerations on Oct. 1 as some insurance likely to remain on the farm, but has ended up becoming Edmonton’s starter, now sporting a 14-8-2 record.

“The more you play the easier it is going to get,” Ingram said. “I thought everybody in front of me did a great job today. I didn’t really have to do much back there, maybe that bad bounce on the PK that kicks out to the slot. Other than that, I thought everybody in front of me made my job really easy.”

Ingram has battled obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression, earning the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy in 2024 in recognition of his mental health struggles.

Max Jones, Kasperi Kapanen and Connor McDavid scored for the Oilers (38-28-9) who have won six of their last eight and became the second last team in the NHL to put together a four-game winning streak, with only Philadelphia unable to have a stretch that long this season.

“Our game isn’t sexy right now. It’s not fancy,” Knoblauch said. “It’s just a lot of little things, and that’s usually the difference between winning and losing. We have six D and 12 forwards each night who are doing it.”

Edmonton moved two points back of Pacific Division-leading Anaheim and three points up on third place Vegas.

“I feel like ever since we had the conversation about everyone stepping up a bit, it seems like everyone’s kind of just doing a little bit extra out there,” Jones said.

The Oilers have been playing stronger defence of late, especially since learning star forward Leon Draisaitl was lost for the rest of the regular season with a lower-body injury,

“I think we’re just trying to simplify the game a little right now, trying not to do too much,” Kapanen said. “Obviously we still have amazing players that can play with the puck and make plays, but I think the general idea is to simplify. We’re obviously missing Leo out there, so it seems to be working right now and so we need to keep doing that.

“The main thing is that we’re playing the right way right now and that counts, so we just have to keep building."

McDavid extended his goal streak to five games. He leads the NHL in goals since Dec. 1 with 32. The Oilers captain in now one point back of Dale Hawerchuk for the third-most points by a player before age 30. Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux are first and second on that list.

The Kraken (32-30-11) have lost six of their last seven and remain two points out of a wild-card playoff berth.

“We know where we are,” said Kraken forward Matty Beniers. “Obviously tonight was very important and we didn’t get it done, but there is really no reason to dwell on it now, it’s learn from it and then win the next one. Then it’s win the next one, and that’s the mentality that we have in here."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 1, 2026.

Shane Jones, The Canadian Press

Lewis, who dedicated his life to advocating for social justice, was 88.

Dr. Adrienne Chan, who has worked in the HIV sector for over two decades, said she remembers feeling frustrated as an infectious diseases resident when she saw what was happening in Africa.

Tens of millions of people on the continent were dying because they did not have access to the life-saving medications her patients had in Canada, and she said it seemed like nobody was doing anything about it.

That is until Lewis stepped in to amplify the voices of communities on the ground and call out the people in power.

"I think what Stephen Lewis was able to do was to use his position to understand the global context, understand the global players, but also, realize that he had a role in amplifying the voices of the people that he met on the ground," Chan said.

After leading the Ontario New Democrats in the 1970s, Lewis held a number of diplomatic postings, including serving as the United Nations special envoy for HIV-AIDS in Africa from 2001 to 2006.

Lewis did something very different to other public servants in high positions at the United Nations, said David Morley, co-chair of the Stephen Lewis Foundation, which Lewis established in 2003.

Lewis travelled to sub-Saharan Africa to understand what this pandemic really did to communities and then he used his strong communication skills to tell their stories and call out the silence of people in power, challenging African governments and accusing the G8 of turning its back on Africa.

"He was naming names. He was calling out international institutions. He was supporting the grassroots, the grandmothers who lost their children and were now having to raise their grandchildren. There was no other voice like Stephen in the world," Morley said.

The way Lewis amplified the voices of grandmothers spoke to Lisbie Rae, who joined his Grandmothers to Grandmothers campaign in 2007.

A year earlier, at the International AIDS Conference in 2006, Lewis brought together 100 African and 200 Canadian grandmothers in Toronto.

"That was the beginning of a powerful, effective movement," Rae said, who joined Lewis' Grandmothers to Grandmothers campaign in 2007.

Looking back at the imprint Lewis had on this "horrible time in human history," Morley said, "Stephen was the right person to come together with the mix of compassion and humanity and fury at injustice.”

“What an incredible legacy this man has left us.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 1, 2026.

Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.

Hannah Alberga, The Canadian Press

He said he noticed the number of new buildings and housing going up in the neighbourhood and a "vibrancy," but he was still shocked at the beleaguered state of people in the troubled Vancouver neighbourhood.

His appointment by the provincial government in September was for a six-month term, but Housing Minister Christine Boyle said Tuesday that his contract would be extended to allow him to continue working to "address systemic challenges" in the Downtown Eastside.

Campbell said at a news conference Tuesday that he was shocked at the "normalcy" of people stepping over others sprawled on the sidewalk in the city's Downtown Eastside without anyone calling for help.

"I hadn't experienced that before," Campbell said. "In the past, if somebody was laying on a sidewalk, almost always a citizen or somebody would turn that person over, put them in a recovery position, and call for help."

He said he needs another six months to complete his work as a provincial adviser on how to improve life for people in impoverished neighbourhood.

Campbell, who's also the former chief coroner of B.C., said he thought he'd finish gathering information from people and organization in the first two months into the job.

"But it became rapidly clear that the numbers of organizations and groups and government organizations involved in the Downtown Eastside were way more than I had expected from my previous life," he said.

The number of service groups in the Downtown Eastside has grown "exponentially," but the problems of severe mental illness, addiction and inadequate housing are ever-present.

Campbell said the problem of brain damage suffered by addicts wasn't something he had seen before fentanyl and other mixed chemical drugs were introduced into the illicit supply.

He said there's a lot funding allocated to various support groups in the neighbourhood and he hopes that his report will spur "concrete" action on improving an area that has been rife with problems for decades.

"I've been looking at the organizations, both government and non-profits, and at the street level, there's an amazing co-ordination that goes on," he said. "But there's a certain amount of fragmentation that goes on. There's a lot of organizations and government that are overlapping."

He said some single-room occupancy buildings are in such a poor state that they "should not be lived in," and added that none of those residential buildings are safe for women, especially Indigenous women.

The neighbourhood has "changed dramatically" since he was mayor, Campbell said, but the problems around housing, addiction and mental illness are similar to what is happening in communities across the country.

"The Downtown Eastside is Canada. The Downtown Eastside is in everybody's community," he said. "What do we do? How do we help these people? How do we house them?"

Campbell said he hopes any report to the government coming out of his advisory work will spur "concrete action" rather than just be another report that's "just going to sit on a shelf."

"I certainly want to see some action on these things we're talking about, both the accountability in the Downtown Eastside, the coming together of governments, and the coming (together) of ministries to work toward making things different," he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 31, 2026

Darryl Greer, The Canadian Press

"Mr. Lewis was a tireless advocate for global justice, equity and human dignity. He leaves behind a legacy that will continue to inspire generations. We extend our deepest condolences to his family, colleagues and all those around the world whose lives he touched."

— Governor General Mary Simon

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"It's really hard to encapsulate the kind of impact that he's had … It's a huge loss."

— Former NDP national director Anne McGrath

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"Stephen was a giant in our movement. He fought tirelessly to level the playing field for working class Canadians and take on inequality head-on. For me, Stephen was a trusted adviser and a sounding board who was generous with his time, kindness and wisdom."

— Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles

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"He helped position Canada as a principled leader in ending apartheid in South Africa and believed that proper health care was key to reducing poverty and growing economies. As the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, and later as the co-founder of the Stephen Lewis Foundation, he pressed the world to see the human toll of this horrific epidemic not as a distant tragedy, but as a shared responsibility that demanded global action."

— Prime Minister Mark Carney

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"I was sad to hear of the death of Stephen Lewis, who spent many decades serving the people of Ontario and Canada, including during his time as leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party."

— Ontario Premier Doug Ford

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"Stephen Lewis was a giant in our movement whose unshakable humanitarian values and drive to build a better world uplifted and inspired millions of people."

— Former NDP strategist Jordan Leichnitz

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"Stephen Lewis was a giant in our party who had a profound impact around the world. My thoughts are with Avi, the whole Lewis family, and everyone feeling this loss."

— NDP MP Heather McPherson

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"Throughout his career, Stephen Lewis worked to create a better world. As leader of the Ontario NDP, as Canada’s Ambassador to the UN, as UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDs in Africa, and then through the work of the Stephen Lewis Foundation, he dedicated his public life to making a difference. Like everyone who has had the chance to hear Stephen Lewis speak, I was inspired by the causes he fought for and the eloquence with which he comforted the afflicted and afflicted the comfortable."

— Saskatchewan NDP Leader Carla Beck

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"Celebrating his life, achievements, and contributions is easy. He was one of the greatest political orators Canada has ever produced, and it is no exaggeration to say that his work as the United Nations’ Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS saved millions of lives."

— Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi

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"Stephen Lewis was a titan in our movement. He fought for working people. He used his eloquence and moral clarity as a voice for the voiceless. He never stopped fighting. He will be dearly missed."

— Former NDP leader Jagmeet Singh

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"Stephen was a giant in so many ways. Amidst the sorrow of his passing, I’m heartened that he lived long enough to see his son become leader of the NDP."

— Former NDP MP Peter Julian

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 31, 2026.

Canadian Press staff, The Canadian Press

Early life: Lewis was born in Ottawa on Nov. 11, 1937 to Sophie (née Carson) and David Lewis, who was national secretary of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, forerunner of the NDP and later that party's federal leader. Lewis's grandfather Moishe Lewis was an activist in the Jewish Labour Committee in Montreal. Growing up the eldest of four children in a family steeped in politics and social activism, Lewis learned early on to hone his oratory.

Education: In 1956, he entered the University of Toronto, where he joined the Hart House debating team. Lewis switched to the University of British Columbia in third year, then returned to U of T for his final year, but didn't write his final examinations. He went to law school twice in the early 1960s but dropped out both times. After university, he travelled to Africa, where he taught English and fell in love with the continent.

Personal life: In 1963, he married journalist and social activist Michele Landsberg. The Toronto couple had three children, Ilana Landsberg-Lewis, Jenny Leah Lewis and Avi Lewis, who is married to writer Naomi Klein. Avi Lewis was elected leader of the federal NDP on Sunday. During his acceptance speech in Winnipeg on Sunday, Lewis acknowledged his father was "not doing too well" but was hanging on to see the next chapter of "the movement" and remained passionate "about the promise of democratic socialism."

Career: Lewis began working for the federal New Democratic Party early on and in 1963, at the age of 26, was elected to the Ontario legislature. In 1970 he became leader of the provincial NDP, which in 1975 became the official Opposition. In 1978, a year after the party suffered an electoral setback, Lewis resigned as leader and became a media commentator, lecturer and labour arbitrator. In 1984, then-prime minister Brian Mulroney appointed Lewis as Canada's ambassador to the United Nations, a post he held for four years. He was then named special adviser to the UN's secretary-general on African affairs, a post he held until 1991. From 1995 to 1999, Lewis was deputy director of UNICEF and from 2001 to 2006 served as the United Nations special envoy for HIV-AIDS in Africa. In 2003, he co-founded the Stephen Lewis Foundation, which as of last year had raised more than $200 million for grassroots organizations fighting AIDS in Africa.

Awards and honours: Lewis's awards include companion of the Order of Canada, Maclean's magazine's Canadian of the Year (2003); the Pearson Peace medal (2004); being named one of the "100 most influential people in the world" by Time magazine (2005); and Canada's Queen Elizabeth 2 Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012).

How his peers remember him: Former NDP national director Anne McGrath said Lewis had a "monumental footprint" both in Canada and internationally.

"It's really hard to encapsulate the kind of impact that he's had," she said. "It's a huge loss."

Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles said people all over the world will be mourning his death.

"What he did was extraordinary," she said. "He forced leaders all around the world to step up and take responsibility for the (HIV-AIDS) crisis."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 31, 2026.

— with files from Sheryl Ubelacker and Alison Jones in Toronto

The Canadian Press staff

THE CLAIM

In a 25-second clip shared to social media over the past week, a woman named Jennyfer shares how she imagines her final days.

"I see bubbles. I see the ocean. I see music," Jennyfer says as music swells in the background and viewers see her in different settings, including playing the cello and blowing bubbles on a beach.

"Even now, as I seek help to end my life, there is still so much beauty," she says.

On-screen text appears at the end of the video, stating that Jennyfer died in October 2022.

"Canada is now ADVERTISING government approved medically assisted suicide," reads a post about the video on the X platform with around 34,000 likes. The post replaced the first i in suicide with an asterisk.

On Instagram and TikTok others repeated the claim that the Canadian government was advertising medical assistance in dying through the video.

Several recent posts on the X platform claimed the advertisement came from "an assisted suicide company in Canada."

THE FACTS

A reverse image search of a screenshot from the video shows it comes from a 2022 campaign by the Quebec-based department store chain Simons.

Broken Heart Love Affair, the advertising agency that worked on the video, explained on its website that Simons "wanted to open our eyes and create an unignorable tribute to all the beauty that surrounds us."

It said the three-minute documentary-style video included 30- and 60-second versions made for television.

An article in the trade publication Adnews indicated the video was to air on television and appear online, as well as in public settings, though The Canadian Press could not verify whether the video appeared in those formats.

While the video seems to have been scrubbed from Simons' social media pages, the Wayback Machine archive shows the company posted the longer version to its YouTube channel on Oct. 24, 2022.

In a separate video posted the next day, the former company president Peter Simons explained the reasoning behind the project. He said the video's creators wanted to encourage people to see beauty in life's difficult moments, and the video was meant to celebrate Jennyfer's life rather than tell a story about the end of her life.

"We wanted to do something that really underlined human connection and perhaps would help people to reconnect to each other," Simons said. He added that the video was "obviously not a commercial campaign."

The Simons video received significant attention in 2022, including criticism that it "romanticized" assisted dying, though it did not specifically mention MAID.

The Simons campaign did not include Jennyfer's last name, but a keyword search shows she was Jennyfer Hatch, who had a connective tissue disorder called Ehlers Danlos syndrome and chose to end her life through MAID at age 37.

According to a CTV News report published after Hatch's death, she spoke to the broadcaster months earlier using a pseudonym to share concerns about British Columbia's health system and what she felt was a lack of support for her condition.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 31, 2026.

Marissa Birnie, The Canadian Press

The vaccine injury support program began accepting claims in June 2021, after the widespread rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine in Canada.

People who experienced a "serious and permanent injury" as a result of receiving a vaccine authorized by Health Canada after Dec. 8, 2020, are eligible to make a claim.

It's also been the subject of complaints from claimants who say the process is slow and communication is poor.

The government signed a contract with a third-party administrator, Oxaro, to run the program with an initial budget of $50 million over five years.

That contract expired on Tuesday and a news release said the Public Health Agency of Canada will take over the renamed vaccine impact assistance program. Another $17.6 million has been allocated for the transition.

Applications submitted to the old program will transfer to the new one automatically. Quebec has a separate compensation program that will continue to be administered by the province.

"PHAC will be working to address the existing backlog of applications, while improving the consistency and transparency of the claims process," the news release said.

More than 105 million COVID-19 vaccine doses were given out in Canada between December 2020 and December 2023, and data shows adverse effects were extremely rare.

Health Canada reported that 58,712 adverse event reports were made in that time — representing 0.056 per cent of all shots — and that 11,702 of those were considered serious — 0.011 per cent of vaccines given out.

Kayla Pollock, 39, is one of the people who says she was injured by the vaccine.

The Ontario woman says she was athletic and outgoing before getting her COVID-19 booster shot in February 2022. Today, she is paralyzed from the chest down with limited function in her arms.

She was diagnosed with acute transverse myelitis, inflammation of the spinal cord that can cause sudden and irreversible damage.

Pollock applied for compensation in 2022 and said her claim still has not been finalized. She's dealt with multiple case workers in that time.

"I thought my case would be really simple because it's really severe," she said.

But Pollock isn't convinced the government will do a better job.

"I think it's very fitting that the fools are to take over on April Fool's Day," she said.

Officials from the Public Health Agency of Canada said they do not have service standards for the new program to process claims and it will take several months to collect and process the data from Oxaro to better understand its operations.

The program will have a more flexible eligibility going forward, so 225 people whose claims were denied because of a three-year cutoff will now have those claims reviewed. The Public Health Agency of Canada said this will allow people whose symptoms developed gradually to apply for compensation.

An investigation by Global News last year alleged Oxaro was unprepared to handle the influx of claims, and that two-thirds of the funding was spent on administrative costs.

In a written response to questions from a member of Parliament last fall, Health Minister Marjorie Michel's office said she asked PHAC to accelerate an audit of Oxaro's management of the program in May 2025, "following allegations of mismanagement by the third-party company."

A spokesperson for Michel said that audit is not yet complete but a summary will be made public later this year.

The government's response to Parliament also noted that the public health agency tasked Dr. Kumanan Wilson with analyzing similar programs put in place by other countries in 2024.

That evaluation found that other G7 countries — and Quebec — were managing their programs without a third-party administrator.

Dr. Wilson said in an interview that he has advocated for Canada to set up a compensation program for decades, and that it's something all other peer countries had in place before the pandemic.

"It's the government's responsibility, as part their social contract," he said, to provide compensation in the rare event that a person is harmed by a vaccine.

Dr. Wilson said he recommends the program have "operational independence from those that advocate for vaccines" to build trust.

"We're seeing vaccine hesitancy rise, we're seeing outbreaks of otherwise vaccine-preventable diseases, and the old ways of doing things aren't working. People are expecting the government to engage with them differently, and this can be symbolic of that," he said.

Data from the vaccine injury support program shows 3,557 people made a claim as of Dec. 1, 2025.

Of those, 451 were found inadmissible and just over 3,000 claims were sent for a medical review. More than 850 people were still collecting medical records in December, and the medical review board had assessed just over 1,400 claims.

The 252 people whose claims were approved have collected more than $21 million in compensation.

The program's website does not provide wait times but says collecting medical records can take a significant amount of time.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 31, 2026.

Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press

Human rights. Equality for women. The plight of African families decimated by HIV-AIDS. Stephen Lewis spent a lifetime fighting for causes close to his heart — and his weapons of choice were words.

Lewis died on Tuesday at the age of 88, eight years after being diagnosed with stomach cancer.

"Stephen spent the last eight years of his life battling cancer with the same indomitable energy he brought to his lifelong work: the unending struggle for justice and dignity for every human life," his family said in a statement released shortly after his death.

"The world has lost a voice of unmatched eloquence and integrity."

Lewis had few equals in this country as a writer and orator. He spent decades passionately championing the economically downtrodden and disenfranchised, warning the world of the threat of climate change and railing against physical and sexual violence visited upon women and children everywhere.

Always eloquent and never one to mince words, Lewis didn't suffer fools gladly. But he had an inherent ability to work with others to get things done — whether as leader of the Ontario New Democrats in the 1970s, during diplomatic postings to the United Nations or as head of his foundation that provides support to African communities shattered by HIV-AIDS.

Lewis was born in Ottawa on Nov. 11, 1937 to Sophie (née Carson) and David Lewis, who was national secretary of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), forerunner of the NDP, and later that party's federal leader. Lewis's grandfather Moishe Lewis was an activist in the Jewish Labour Committee in Montreal.

Growing up the eldest of four children in a family steeped in politics and social activism, Lewis learned early on to hone his oratory. In 1956, he entered the University of Toronto, where he joined the Hart House debating team. A year later, that team squared off against then-U.S. senator John F. Kennedy on the question: "Has the United States failed in its responsibilities as a world leader?" The future president narrowly beat the Hart House team 204-194.

Lewis switched to the University of British Columbia in third year, then returned to U of T for his final year, but didn't write his final examinations. He went to law school twice in the early 1960s but dropped out both times. After university, he travelled to Africa, where he taught English and fell in love with the continent.

In 1963, he married journalist and social activist Michele Landsberg. The Toronto couple had three children, Ilana Landsberg-Lewis, Jenny Leah Lewis and Avi Lewis, who is married to writer Naomi Klein.

Avi Lewis was elected as the leader of the federal NDP on Sunday in a first ballot victory.

During his acceptance speech in Winnipeg on Sunday, Lewis acknowledged his father was "not doing too well" but was hanging on to see the next chapter of "the movement."

"Ever the political fanatic, dad has demanded daily updates about our organizing, delivered to his hospital bed — a veritable IV drip of campaign data," he said. "At age 88 he is more passionate about the promise of democratic socialism than he has ever been in his life."

The Lewis family said Avi was travelling to Toronto to be with his family.

Former NDP national director Anne McGrath said Stephen Lewis was "determined" to see his son win the NDP leadership.

"Avi's run for nominations a few times and run in a couple of elections now," McGrath said. "Stephen was there for both, even when he was not particularly well."

McGrath said she had known Lewis since the 1980s and he had a "monumental footprint" both in Canada and internationally.

"It's really hard to encapsulate the kind of impact that he's had," she said. "It's a huge loss."

McGrath said Lewis always stepped up to help with anything from speaking at a convention to providing advice.

"He was unbelievably generous with his time and his wisdom," she said. "He was someone to look up to, someone to listen to, someone to admire, someone that you really wanted to earn his respect."

Lewis began working for the federal New Democratic Party and in 1963, at the age of 26, was elected to the Ontario legislature. In 1970 he became leader of the provincial NDP, which in 1975 became the official Opposition. In 1978, a year after the party suffered an electoral setback, Lewis resigned as leader and became a media commentator, lecturer and labour arbitrator.

In 1984, then-prime minister Brian Mulroney appointed Lewis as Canada's ambassador to the United Nations, a post he held for four years. He was then named special adviser to the UN's secretary-general on African affairs, a post he held until 1991. From 1995 to 1999, Lewis was deputy director of UNICEF and from 2001 to 2006 he served as the United Nations special envoy for HIV-AIDS in Africa.

As that five-year appointment came to an end, Lewis admitted how unprepared he'd been in the beginning for what lay ahead.

"No one really knew what the job would be," Lewis told The Canadian Press in a December 2006 interview. "I certainly did not know how grim the circumstances were. I had a sense that things were bad in Africa, but I did not at the time have a sense of the carnage on the ground, and particularly amongst women."

So Lewis designed his own job description, repeatedly visiting such countries as Malawi, Zambia and Lesotho and then reporting back to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

What he discovered tore at his heart and his sense of social justice: millions dead or dying, a small number of the infected getting antiretroviral drug treatment, and millions of orphaned children caring for themselves or — if lucky — being cared for by grandmothers whose children had succumbed to the disease.

"Things were in terrible shape because the African leadership had been in a state of silence and denial until around 2001," Lewis recalled. "Africa was only beginning to adapt to the reality that they would be struggling for survival, that this was an apocalypse. It simply engulfed them."

But he refused to give in to despair. "You grit your teeth and keep fighting," said the lifelong social democrat, who went after some of the sacred cows of the international community.

Lewis accused the G8 of turning its back on Africa, rapped the World Bank and International Monetary Fund for debt repayment policies that were crippling much of the continent, and challenged African governments to legislate policies to ease the suffering of their citizens.

He continued rallying support for Africa through the non-profit Stephen Lewis Foundation, established in 2003 and run by his daughter Ilana Landsberg-Lewis. The foundation works with community-level organizations in 15 African countries to provide care and support to women, orphaned children, grandmothers and those living with HIV-AIDS.

The foundation posted a tribute to Lewis on its website Tuesday, with testimonials to the legacy he leaves behind.

"Stephen was a respected humanitarian who spent his life championing social justice and human rights," the foundation's statement said. "Throughout his political and international careers, he was committed to creating a more equitable world."

Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a statement that Lewis was "a pillar of compassionate leadership in Canadian democracy and a renowned global champion for human rights and multilateralism."

"He helped position Canada as a principled leader in ending apartheid in South Africa and believed that proper health care was key to reducing poverty and growing economies," Carney said.

Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles said people all over the world will be mourning his death.

"What he did was extraordinary," she said. "He forced leaders all around the world to step up and take responsibility for the (HIV-AIDS) crisis."

Stiles said she saw Lewis as a mentor and a friend, someone who never hesitated to reach out and offer support and advice. She recalled he once told her that he still got nervous "every single time he got up to speak in public."

"I mean, nobody that I've ever talked to could imagine that Stephen Lewis was ever nervous when he spoke, because he was, I think, probably Canada's most important and impactful public speaker," she said.

While Lewis's awards and honours are far too numerous to list, they include: companion of the Order of Canada, Maclean's magazine's Canadian of the Year (2003); the Pearson Peace medal (2004); being named one of the "100 most influential people in the world" by Time magazine (2005); and Canada's Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012).

Author of the best-selling book "Race Against Time: Searching for Hope in AIDS-Ravaged Africa," Lewis was also awarded dozens of honorary doctorates.

Endlessly energetic, he kept up a gruelling schedule of travel and speechmaking in his later years, including one presentation at the 2016 federal NDP convention in Edmonton — where, as the party's elder statesman, he masterfully laid out the challenges facing the party, Canada and the world.

Then 78, he summed up what it meant to be a social democrat by quoting from a lecture given by his father David, some 60 years earlier:

"The modern democratic socialist should proclaim his or her aims loudly and passionately. The equality of men and women is the socialist watchword; the moral struggle against injustice and inequality is the socialist's duty; to be a strong and powerful voice for common men and women against the abuse and oppression of the privileged minority is the socialist's function; and to forge an ever-finer and higher standard of values and a richer pattern of life and behaviour is the socialist's dream."

Stephen Lewis spent his life trying to live by those words.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on March 31, 2026.

— with files from Catherine Morrison, Allison Jones in Toronto and Sheryl Ubelacker

The Canadian Press