Canada – Winnipeg Free Press

Quebec Premier François Legault announces his resignation during a news conference in Quebec City Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot

Quick quotes: Quebec Premier François Legault announces resignation

The Canadian Press 4 minute read 1:13 PM CST

QUÉBEC - Tributes to departing Quebec Premier François Legault are coming in from across the country as the co-founder of the Coalition Avenir Québec party says he will leave office when his replacement is chosen. Premier since 2018, Legault told a news conference in Quebec City on Wednesday that he recognized Quebecers want change.

Here are some quick quotes from Legault and Canada's other political leaders:

“I can clearly see that right now, many Quebecers are first and foremost calling for change, including a change of premier … I can guarantee you that every day I got up telling myself, ‘I want what’s best for Quebecers.’ I didn’t always succeed, but I can guarantee that I tried — I tried very hard, with all the energy I had."

— François Legault in his resignation announcement in Quebec City

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François Legault’s CAQ ended PQ/Liberal duopoly with back-to-back majorities

Pierre Saint-Arnaud, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

François Legault’s CAQ ended PQ/Liberal duopoly with back-to-back majorities

Pierre Saint-Arnaud, The Canadian Press 3 minute read 12:25 PM CST

MONTREAL - From founding a successful airline to creating a political party that won back-to-back majority mandates, François Legault is stepping down as Quebec premier with a reputation as a builder and as someone who has had a profound influence on Quebec society.

Legault became a minister before he was even elected. It was Lucien Bouchard, premier between 1996-2001, who recruited the accountant and co-founder of Air Transat and appointed him minister of trade, science and technology in 1998. That was two months before Legault was elected for the first time as member of the legislature for the Rousseau riding, northeast of Montreal, in that year's general election.

He went on to hold the two most important positions in cabinet — minister of education and then minister of health — in the successive governments of Bouchard and Bernard Landry, before joining the opposition in 2003. Legault stayed on the opposition side of the legislature for five years before he resigned.

In early 2011, he and businessman Charles Sirois published a manifesto entitled "Coalition pour l’avenir du Québec" — Coalition for Quebec's future — that called for a political movement unburdened by the federalist-sovereigntist debate that its authors said had dragged the province down for generations. Later that year, both men founded the Coalition Avenir Québec as a middle ground between the two fighting sides — it would be federalist but nationalist, championing a strong autonomous Quebec within the Canadian federation.

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12:25 PM CST

Quebec Premier François Legault and his wife Isabelle Brais walk to a news conference to announce his resignation in Quebec City Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot

Trump says Americans ‘don’t need’ Canadian products, calls CUSMA ‘irrelevant’

Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

Trump says Americans ‘don’t need’ Canadian products, calls CUSMA ‘irrelevant’

Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 4:05 PM CST

WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement on trade is "irrelevant" to him and Americans don't need Canadian products.

"It expires very shortly and we could have it or not," Trump said while touring a Ford plant in Michigan. "It wouldn't matter to me. I think they want it. I don’t really care about it."

Trump statements have rattled Canada and Mexico ahead of a mandatory review this year of the future of the continental trade pact, known as CUSMA. The president told reporters that "Canada wants it" but the United States doesn't need anything from its northern neighbour.

The three countries have started domestic consultations on the review and Dominic LeBlanc, the minister in charge of Canada-U.S. relations, is set to meet with U.S. counterparts in mid-January to launch formal CUSMA talks.

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Updated: Yesterday at 4:05 PM CST

President Donald Trump speaks as Bill Ford, executive chairman of Ford, left, and Jim Farley, CEO of Ford, listen during a tour of the Ford River Rogue complex on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Dearborn, Mich. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Female family doctors in Ontario spend more time with patients, make less money: study

Hannah Alberga, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

Female family doctors in Ontario spend more time with patients, make less money: study

Hannah Alberga, The Canadian Press 3 minute read 12:39 PM CST

TORONTO - A new study says female family doctors in Ontario spend more time with patients than their male colleagues and in many cases earn less money as a result.

The research, published in the Canadian Family Physician journal Wednesday, says female family doctors spend 15 to 20 per cent more time with patients than men in their profession, based on self-reported survey results of over 1,050 physicians between August and October 2023.

That’s about four minutes longer per patient for the most common type of examination.

The study says this amounts to a gender pay gap — an estimated $45,500 difference in annual income.

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12:39 PM CST

A doctor wears a lab coat and stethoscope in an exam room at a health clinic in Calgary, Friday, July 14, 2023.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

B.C. RCMP Const. Mersad Mesbah fired with immediate effect over ‘vulgar’ group chats

Darryl Greer, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

B.C. RCMP Const. Mersad Mesbah fired with immediate effect over ‘vulgar’ group chats

Darryl Greer, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 5:30 PM CST

A police conduct adjudicator fired a B.C. RCMP officer with immediate effect on Tuesday, finding he "put aside" the oath he took when he joined the federal police force by making vulgar, sexualized and offensive comments on police computer terminals and in a private group chat with fellow officers.

Louise Morel said Coquitlam RCMP Const. Mersad Mesbah's conduct amounted to discreditable conduct, finding he "abandoned several of the essential core values of the force."

"He failed to act with integrity, show respect and demonstrate compassion," Morel said. "I simply cannot justify retaining Const. Mesbah as a member of the RCMP."

Mesbah is one of three officers from the Coquitlam detachment who faced code of conduct proceedings over the comments made in a group chat on the encrypted Signal messaging app, and over police mobile data terminals.

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Updated: Yesterday at 5:30 PM CST

Coquitlam RCMP constable Mersad Mesbah returns to an RCMP code of conduct hearing in Richmond, B.C., on Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns

Prime Minister Mark Carney looks to reset Canada-China relationship in Beijing

Kyle Duggan, The Canadian Press 7 minute read Preview

Prime Minister Mark Carney looks to reset Canada-China relationship in Beijing

Kyle Duggan, The Canadian Press 7 minute read Updated: 10:32 AM CST

BEIJING - Prime Minister Mark Carney landed in Beijing on Wednesday for the first visit by a Canadian prime minister to China in eight years — part of his government's efforts to rebuild Canada's fractured relationship with China and expand non-U.S. trade.

After declaring in 2022 that China is a "disruptive global power" that does not share Canada's values, the Liberal government is now shifting its China policy in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump's attempts to upend global trade with tariffs.

Carney is in Beijing with several members of his cabinet, including Energy Minister Tim Hodgson and Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand.

"This is a new government with a new prime minister, a new foreign policy and a new geopolitical environment," Anand told reporters in Beijing when asked if she still views China as a disruptive power.

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Updated: 10:32 AM CST

Prime Minister Mark Carney, right, and Chinese President Xi Jinping make their way to their seats after shaking hands at the start of a meeting in Gyeongju on Friday, Oct. 31, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Proposed sureties pledge $1.2M in bail for man accused in Ryan Wedding case

Paola Loriggio, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

Proposed sureties pledge $1.2M in bail for man accused in Ryan Wedding case

Paola Loriggio, The Canadian Press 3 minute read 12:06 PM CST

TORONTO - Four people are pledging a combined $1.2 million in bail for an Ontario man accused of playing a pivotal role in a violent criminal organization by laundering hundreds of millions of dollars in drug money.

The four, whose identities are covered under a publication ban, are offering to supervise Rolan Sokolovski if he is released ahead of his extradition hearing.

Sokolovski, who is 37, is also putting up $2 million.

The jeweller and former professional poker player was arrested alongside several other Canadians last fall, part of an ongoing investigation into Canadian athlete turned alleged drug lord Ryan Wedding.

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12:06 PM CST

Rolan Sokolovski is shown in this undated handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - U.S. Department of the Treasury (Mandatory Credit)

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Quebec Premier François Legault to resign, won’t lead his party into fall election

The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

Quebec Premier François Legault to resign, won’t lead his party into fall election

The Canadian Press 4 minute read Updated: 12:22 PM CST

QUÉBEC - Quebec Premier François Legault announced Wednesday that he would resign after more than seven years in power, triggering a leadership race and further upending the province's political landscape with only months to go before the fall provincial election.

Legault told reporters at a hastily-called news conference in Quebec City that he would remain in his position until a new leader is chosen for his Coalition Avenir Québec party.

"I see well that right now Quebecers want change first, and among other things, a change of premier," he said. "For the good of my party and especially for the good of Quebec, I am announcing today that I will leave my position as Quebec premier."

Legault’s convincing election victory in 2018 marked the start of a new era in Quebec politics, ending nearly 50 years of federalist-versus-sovereigntist Liberal and Parti Québécois rule.

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Updated: 12:22 PM CST

Quebec Premier Francois Legault speaks during a news conference marking the end of the fall session at the Premier’s office in Quebec City, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot

Charlie Angus says NDP leadership not an ‘entry level position,’ endorses McPherson

David Baxter, The Canadian Press 2 minute read Preview

Charlie Angus says NDP leadership not an ‘entry level position,’ endorses McPherson

David Baxter, The Canadian Press 2 minute read Updated: 8:28 AM CST

OTTAWA - Former Ontario MP and former NDP leadership candidate Charlie Angus says that leading the party is not an "entry level position" and he's endorsing Alberta MP Heather McPherson for the job.

Angus made the statement in a video message that was shared with The Canadian Press prior to its release.

"Let's be blunt. The last election was a catastrophe. I think it was a catastrophe that was 10 years in the making," Angus says in the video.

"I ran for party leadership myself. I understand how complex it is to build a movement that is balanced across this country. I'm sorry, but that is not an entry level position."

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Updated: 8:28 AM CST

NDP MP for Edmonton Strathcona Heather McPherson looks on as then MP for Timmins-James Bay Charlie Angus speaks during a news conference on Parliament Hill, Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

In the news: P.M. visits China and President Xi, talks on agriculture and tariffs

The Canadian Press 5 minute read Preview

In the news: P.M. visits China and President Xi, talks on agriculture and tariffs

The Canadian Press 5 minute read 3:16 AM CST

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed …

Carney arrives in Beijing today for crucial visit

Prime Minister Mark Carney is on his way to Beijing for a short but consequential visit, as China and Canada try to move past years of diplomatic tensions and Ottawa pushes to double non-U.S. trade by 2035.

"It is Carney's pragmatic foreign policy in action," said Asia Pacific Foundation vice-president Vina Nadjibulla.

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3:16 AM CST

Prime Minister Mark Carney departs Vancouver International Airport, in Richmond, B.C., on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, on a nine-day trip to China, Qatar and Switzerland. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Top court to look at whether challenge of ethics ruling in Trudeau case can proceed

Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

Top court to look at whether challenge of ethics ruling in Trudeau case can proceed

Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press 3 minute read 3:00 AM CST

OTTAWA - A group that pushes for political accountability says the courts must be allowed to review the reasonableness of a federal ethics ruling about former prime minister Justin Trudeau.

In a filing to the Supreme Court of Canada, Democracy Watch argues the Federal Court of Appeal is entitled to examine and rule on its challenge of a federal ethics watchdog report on Trudeau's involvement in a decision about WE Charity.

Federal lawyers are asking the top court to dismiss the pro-democracy group's appeal. In a submission to the court, they say the Conflict of Interest Act's very design precludes the Court of Appeal from scrutinizing the watchdog report.

The Supreme Court is slated to hear oral arguments in the case — including input from several intervening parties — Wednesday and Thursday.

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3:00 AM CST

Supreme Court of Canada is pictured prior to the Ceremonial Opening of the Judicial Year in Ottawa on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Almost one in three Canadians say U.S. might try to invade Canada: poll

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

Almost one in three Canadians say U.S. might try to invade Canada: poll

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Updated: 9:17 AM CST

OTTAWA - Following the recent U.S. military intervention in Venezuela, a new poll suggests almost a third of Canadians say the United States might attempt "direct action" to take control of Canada.

It suggests one-in-five Americans think the same.

The Leger poll, which was conducted online and can't be assigned a margin of error, surveyed 1,540 Canadians between Jan. 9 and Jan. 11.

The poll suggests many Canadians believe the U.S. likely will attempt to take control of other countries in the future, including Greenland, Cuba, Colombia, Panama, Iran and Canada.

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Updated: 9:17 AM CST

Supporters of former president Nicolas Maduro take part in a government-organized evangelical gathering calling for his release after U.S. forces captured him, in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)

A timeline of a turbulent decade in the Canada-China relationship

David Baxter, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Preview

A timeline of a turbulent decade in the Canada-China relationship

David Baxter, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Updated: 8:59 AM CST

OTTAWA - Prime Minister Mark Carney is visiting China this week — part of his government's efforts to repair the bilateral relationship after years of tensions over national security, trade and the detention of two Canadians.

Here is a look at key moments in Canada-China relations since 2016:

Aug. 29, 2016: Then prime minister Justin Trudeau travels to China for his first official visit to the country, where he met with President Xi Jinping. Both countries agreed to have an annual leaders' discussion.

Dec. 3, 2017: Trudeau makes a second trip to China for a meeting with Xi. The agreed to continue exploratory discussions for a comprehensive trade agreement, issued a joint statement on climate change and secured more access to the Chinese market for Canadian beef and pork.

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Updated: 8:59 AM CST

Prime Minister Mark Carney and Chinese President Xi Jinping make their way to their seats after shaking hands at the start of a meeting in Gyeongju, Friday, Oct. 31, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

TSB says seaplane had faulty repair job months before 2025 crash in Quebec

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Preview

TSB says seaplane had faulty repair job months before 2025 crash in Quebec

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 8:07 PM CST

MONTREAL - The Transportation Safety Board says there was a faulty repair job on the flight controls of a small seaplane a few months before it crashed into the Richelieu River last year.

On May 2, a float-equipped De Havilland DHC-2 Mk. I (Beaver) aircraft took off from the St-Mathias aerodrome, on the Richelieu River, for a local flight with two people on board.

The TSB says during takeoff, the pilot lost control and the right wing struck the water, detaching from the aircraft, which then overturned underwater in St-Basile-le-Grand, east of Montreal.

The pilot was found dead in the aircraft after it was returned to shore but the passenger managed to free himself and escape through a window.

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Updated: Yesterday at 8:07 PM CST

A De Havilland DHC-2 MK. I (Beaver) aircraft that crashed in the Richelieu River in St-Basile-le-Grand, Que., is shown in this handout photo following its removal from the river, on May 2, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - TSB (Mandatory Credit)

Some Canadians manage to contact family in Iran for first time in days amid protests

Sharif Hassan, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

Some Canadians manage to contact family in Iran for first time in days amid protests

Sharif Hassan, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Updated: 6:39 AM CST

Before the latest anti-government protests in Iran began, Shadi Dashmiz was in contact with her father every day, exchanging calls, texts and pictures.

But she suddenly lost touch with the 70-year-old who currently lives alone in the country, after the Iranian government disabled the internet and blocked landlines from placing international calls.

For nearly a week, Dashmiz didn't know what was happening with her father.

But that changed on Tuesday morning, after some people in Iran managed to make international calls and Dashmiz’s father seized the opportunity to speak with his family in Toronto.

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Updated: 6:39 AM CST

Attendees are seen during a rally to voice support for the Iranian people, in Montreal, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Quentin Dufranne

Watchdog rebukes Quebec auto insurance board after $500M online platform scandal

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Preview

Watchdog rebukes Quebec auto insurance board after $500M online platform scandal

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Yesterday at 3:04 PM CST

QUÉBEC - Quebec's scandal-plagued auto insurance board has been hit with another blow, this time from an independent government agency that oversees the province's public procurement markets.

The Autorité des marchés publics says the auto board — Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec — failed to manage public funds responsibly in its development of the online platform known as SAAQclic.

The board was the subject of a public inquiry last year after the auditor general revealed the platform was expected to cost taxpayers at least $1.1 billion, or $500 million more than anticipated.

The watchdog says that among its failings, the auto board had modified essential elements of the framework agreement that changed the nature and cost of the work.

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Yesterday at 3:04 PM CST

January 14, 2026

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