Trump gives go-ahead to major new Canada-US oil pipeline

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — President Donald Trump granted a key approval Thursday for a major new oil pipeline from Canada into the U.S. that’s been dubbed “Keystone Light” over its similarities to a contentious project blocked by the Biden administration.

The three-foot-wide (1 meter) Bridger Pipeline Expansion would carry up to 550,000 barrels (87,400 cubic meters) of oil a day from Canada through Montana and Wyoming, where it would link with another pipeline.

The pipeline needs additional state and federal environmental approvals before construction, which company officials expect to start next year. Environmentalists hope to stop the project over worries that the pipeline could break and spill.

At peak volume, the 650-mile (1,050-kilometer) pipeline would move two-thirds as much oil as the better-known Keystone XL pipeline that got partially built before President Joe Biden, citing climate change, canceled its permit on the day he took office in 2021.

Archbishop of Toronto calls on Carney to stop extension of MAID for mental illness

OTTAWA - The Archbishop of Toronto is appealing to Prime Minister Mark Carney's Catholic faith and urging him to "choose life and not death" when it comes to the planned extension of assisted dying eligibility.

In a letter dated April 20, Archbishop Frank Leo expressed support for a Conservative private member's bill that would prevent access to medical assistance in dying from being extended to people whose sole underlying medical condition is a mental illness.

That change is set to take effect in March 2027. A special joint parliamentary committee of MPs and senators is currently studying whether Canada is ready for that to happen.

Leo urged the prime minister to allow Liberal members of Parliament to vote freely on the private member's bill to restrict MAID.

Alberta voter info database shut down amidst probes of alleged data breach

EDMONTON - A database belonging to an Alberta separatist group was shut down Thursday as elections officials and Mounties probe an alleged voter-list privacy breach affecting up to three million Albertans.

“The RCMP has initiated an investigation and is working with other law enforcement partners in the province to determine if any offences have been committed,” Alberta’s Mounties said in a statement.

Earlier Thursday, Elections Alberta officials were in court where they argued for and were granted an injunction to have the group, called the Centurion Project, be ordered to take down the database.

Joey Redman, a lawyer for the elections agency, told Court of King's Bench Justice John Little that the information on the list, and therefore in the database, is "incredibly confidential."

Unruly new tenants unpack fear, safety concerns for seniors in low-income building

On a quiet weekday morning, residents of a seniors building in north Winnipeg who ventured from their rent-geared-to-income suites were on high alert.

Elderly and disabled residents at the Canadian Polish Manor say their sense of safety and community has been shattered in the past year by drug use and crime since younger residents with addictions and other issues moved in.

“I’ve never been frightened in my life and now I am,” said Agnes Breton, 73. “I’ve been here 11 years and this is the first year my daughter is at me to move out,” she said Wednesday. “It’s really awful.”

Frieda Campbell, 69, said she and some other neighbours barricade the entrance to their suites, because intoxicated people and gang members roam the hallways banging on doors. Recently, someone discharged pepper spray, prompting Campbell to call 911 as she struggled to breathe.

Hanwha offers made-in-Canada military vehicles if it wins submarine deal

OTTAWA - South Korean defence manufacturer Hanwha says it's ready to build military vehicles in Canada in a partnership with the domestic auto sector, including mobile howitzers, rocket launch systems and infantry vehicles.

But that's only if it wins its bid to construct the Royal Canadian Navy's next fleet of submarines.

Hanwha said Wednesday it would forge a joint venture with the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association to create a Canadian entity that would build a range of vehicles.

"It's not a secret Canada asked … 'Could you please take a look at the auto industry and understand what you can do?' They're under a tremendous amount of stress," said Glenn Copeland, CEO of Hanwha Defence Canada.

Antisemitism on the rise, becoming normalized, B’nai Brith warns

Canada is in the throes of a national antisemitism crisis, says B’nai Brith Canada.

The organization’s annual audit of antisemitic incidents reports 6,800 in 2025, 6,248 of which involved online hate.

That is a 9.3 per cent increase over 2024, when the total was 6,219, and it represents the highest total since 1995, said B’nai Brith, the country’s oldest human rights organization dedicated to eradicating racism, antisemitism and hatred.

The biggest spike in antisemitism occurred in 2023, when the number of incidents rose from 2,769 in 2022 to 5,791 following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

Decorated footy veterans Scott, Gale spearheading push for NSL club

Three months into her official — and final — retirement, Winnipeg’s own Desiree Scott has a new mission: bringing a Northern Super League team to Winnipeg.

“To continue to grow the game, especially for women and girls, and create those opportunities to inspire them to stick with sports and put Winnipeg on the map,” Scott said in an exclusive interview with the Free Press. “Remind people that we are here, we are the heart of Canada, and we deserve similar opportunities that other provinces are getting.”

The Northern Super League kicks off its second season Friday. The first Canadian women’s pro soccer league marked its inaugural season with off-the-charts success, drawing over 275,000 fans and generating nearly $30 million in league-wide revenue despite its small six-team size. And the league is looking to expand for the first time in 2027.

But while the league itself turns two years old, Scott enlisted veteran footy coach Rob Gale two years prior about the idea of bringing the league to the Keystone province.

‘We finished the foundation’: Northern Soccer League looks to build on first season

For those at the forefront of Canada's first women's professional soccer league, the goalposts are shifting heading into the second season.

Season one was all about launching the Northern Super League, said Diana Matheson, the league's founder and chief growth officer.

Now, on the cusp of season two, the focus shifts from making history to creating a legacy.

“From our perspective at the league and all the clubs, it just feels really, really stable," Matheson said.

Manitoba crypto companies say provincial plans would put them out of business

WINNIPEG - Manitoba's plan to charge cryptocurrency operations higher electricity rates and curtail power at peak times will drive businesses under, officials with two companies told a legislature committee.

"If this goes through, our business goes bankrupt and a lot of families will be impacted," Guildo Theriault, co-founder and chief executive officer of Gator Mining, told a committee hearing Wednesday night.

The government has introduced two bills in the legislature that are aimed at controlling the growing demand on Crown-owned Manitoba Hydro's electrical grid.

One bill would charge cryptocurrency operations and data centres up to 100 per cent higher rates for electricity. The other would allow Manitoba Hydro to temporarily reduce power to cryptocurrency operators at peak times in order to ensure stability of the grid.

Military hits 30-year recruitment high but still falls short on key trades

OTTAWA - The Canadian military just had a banner year for recruitment — but not enough for the defence minister to declare an end to what his predecessor called a personnel "death spiral."

Military recruitment hit a three-decade high when the Canadian Armed Forces brought in 7,310 new members over the past year, Defence Minister David McGuinty said Monday.

That's 600 more than the previous year, when the military brought in 6,710 recruits.

McGuinty touted a surge in enlistment applications Monday morning — just hours before a House of Commons committee heard testimony about how the Canadian Armed Forces has struggled to keep applicants from dropping out of the recruitment process.

Rural communities team up to court doctors

A close call that would have seen the Russell emergency department temporarily close has leaders in the area joining forces to entice more doctors to practise in the town.

“At this point in time, it’s becoming a crisis,” said Louise Perreault, who manages both the Lions Manor and Park Manor, home to approximately 40 seniors.

The ER at the Russell Health Centre was set to close for a weekend earlier this month, but the shutdown was avoided at the last minute when a doctor was found.

Currently, only two doctors work in the community, one at the medical centre and another at a local clinic, but the low numbers are creating concern for many in the area, located roughly 350 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg.

Gov. Gen. Mary Simon addresses United Nations forum on Indigenous rights

OTTAWA - Gov. Gen. Mary Simon told the opening of the United Nations permanent forum on Indigenous issues Monday that Canada is making progress on improving the lives of Indigenous Peoples, even if that progress is slow.

"Countries like Canada made a promise that life for Indigenous Peoples would improve, and in many ways in Canada it is improving," Simon said, citing Canada's adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, better known as UNDRIP.

"I have witnessed progress and a growing awareness among Canadians through national and regional efforts toward reconciliation. Reconciliation is transforming our understanding of history and building new relations within our society."

Those relationships are being tested in at least one province. British Columbia Premier David Eby's government briefly proposed suspending key parts of a provincial law based on the UN declaration after courts cited it in rulings against his government.

Manitoba puts up $4 million to protect Seal River watershed

Six years after a coalition of four northern Manitoba First Nations banded together to conserve the province’s last major undammed river, the Seal River watershed is “on the cusp” of permanent protection.

On Friday, the Seal River Watershed Alliance and the provincial and federal governments released a joint proposal to designate the 50,000-square-kilometre ecosystem — one of the world’s largest intact watersheds — as an Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area.

“This announcement is an absolutely historic moment in time where we have all different levels of government (and) … the nations coming together to preserve some of the most beautiful areas in the world,” Manitoba Environment Minister Mike Moyes said Friday.

“I am so proud to be part of a government that is moving forward on this historic agreement that is going to protect seven per cent of Manitoba.”

Dozens protest outside legislature over expiring federal work permits

For three days, Harpreet Singh Sandhu has stood outside the Manitoba Legislative Building, calling for an extension of soon-to-expire federal work permits.

Northern trade corridor top of mind as Manitoba premier plans meeting with PM

WINNIPEG - Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew is planning to go to Ottawa next week for a meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Kinew says it's part of a plan the two men have to meet roughly every three months, primarily to discuss the possibility of a northern trade corridor through the Port of Churchill on Hudson Bay.

The project recently made a list of projects being considered as “transformative” by the federal government.

Studies are underway to gauge private-sector interest and examine the use of icebreakers to extend the port's short shipping season.

First Nations chiefs demand apology after PM said he could ‘outlast’ protester

OTTAWA - Two First Nations chiefs are calling on Prime Minister Mark Carney to apologize for saying he could "outlast" a First Nations woman who was protesting over mercury poisoning in her community.

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.

Home care assessment wait times stagnate

Wait times to be assessed for home care in Winnipeg haven’t improved in five years, including since the pandemic, when services were stretched to the limit.

In addition, as the population ages, hiring key home-care staff hasn’t kept pace, unions say.

Roughly half of people seeking home care through the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority waited 16 days or longer in 2025.

In 2021, that number — the midway point between the longest and shortest wait times — was 14 days, data obtained via a freedom of information request show.

Construction work officially begins on $3-billion wind farm northeast of Quebec City

BEAUPRÉ - Construction on a major wind farm northeast of Quebec City has been officially launched, with an investment of $3 billion.

The first two phases of the Des Neiges wind farm — the southern sector and the Charlevoix sector — will comprise a total of 114 turbines and generate 800 Megawatts of wind energy, enough to power 140,000 homes.

The project by Quebec's hydro utility, Boralex, and Énergir — the largest natural gas distributor in the province — is to be located on the grounds of the Séminaire de Québec in the Charlevoix region.

The third phase, if completed, will bring the farm's output to 1,200 Megawatts and contribute Hydro-Québec's goal of adding 10,000 MW of wind power to its current portfolio of 4,000 MW by 2035.

Canada not worried U.S.-Mexico trade talks will upend trilateral deal, LeBlanc says

OTTAWA - Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc said on Monday he isn't worried Mexico will sign a trade agreement with the Americans that excludes Canada.

LeBlanc told reporters at a news conference that the Mexicans are also committed to a trilateral deal as the countries work to renew the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade, better known as CUSMA.

"We've also said all along that there will be a bilateral element to these discussions and there will also be a trilateral element," he said.

"The American administration and our government and the Mexicans have also been clear that there are bilateral issues that properly will be worked on together by two countries and it will necessarily form part of the discussion around the trilateral review of CUSMA as well."

Spying on Indigenous peoples fuels mistrust, threatens Canada’s economy and society

The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association published thousands of pages in 2019 that it had fought for years to be released by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.

The heavily redacted documents, the association said, show Canada’s spy agency spent years illegally conducting surveillance and documenting peaceful Indigenous protesters and community environmental organizations that opposed the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline project. They include the Dogwood Initiative, ForestEthics (now Stand.earth), Sierra Club BC, Leadnow.ca, and the #IdleNoMore movement.

This discovery followed a report by two researchers in 2016, who found that from 2014 to 2015, the RCMP operated project SITKA, which involved a list of more than 300 political activists in the country — most of whom were Indigenous — with 89 marked as “threats” to national security.

If this wasn’t enough, access to information requests by activists found that from 2009 to 2011, Gitxsan professor and child advocate Cindy Blackstock was monitored by officials at Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada and the justice department – an act that Canada’s privacy commissioner later called a violation of her privacy rights.

Environmental groups give NDP budget a ‘near failing grade’

The Manitoba government has made big promises to protect and prioritize the environment as it works to boost economic development and become a “have province.”

But climate groups say the latest provincial budget, released Tuesday, has failed to deliver.

A coalition of environmental organizations including the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, Manitoba Eco-Network and Climate Action Team Manitoba gave the province “a near failing grade for its lack of meaningful investment in climate action and environmental protection,” according to a Friday release.

“Manitoba’s 2026 budget and the past two budgets before it have been extremely disappointing for climate and nature,” Ron Thiessen, executive director of CPAWS Manitoba, said in an interview.

Lawyers for Quebec government tell Supreme Court that Bill 21 is legitimate

OTTAWA - The Quebec government is urging the Supreme Court of Canada to uphold a controversial secularism law, arguing that the Constitution allows the province to override the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The case revolves around the law, adopted in 2019, that banned some public sector workers from wearing religious symbols on the job, including judges, police officers and teachers.

Quebec pre-emptively used its powers to override the Charter when it adopted the law, and the court challenge could have implications for how other provinces handle similar cases.

The federal and provincial governments can override the Charter if they invoke what is known as the notwithstanding clause of the Constitution.

Quebec’s Bill 21 lands in the Supreme Court, with notwithstanding clause in spotlight

MONTREAL - A legal challenge to Quebec's secularism law, known as Bill 21, will be heard at the Supreme Court of Canada beginning Monday, and legal experts say whatever the eventual ruling, it will have a profound effect on constitutional law in Canada.

The highly anticipated high court challenge to Bill 21 has been years in the making, but legal debate is likely to focus primarily on Section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the provision known as the “notwithstanding clause," which shields legislation from most court challenges over violations of fundamental rights.

François Legault’s Coalition Avenir Québec government pre-emptively invoked the provision into the law passed in June 2019.

The Quebec law, known as Act respecting the laicity of the state, sets out the principles of secularism in the province. Among its most controversial measures is the prohibition of civil servants who are considered in positions of power — such as police officers, teachers and judges — from wearing religious symbols at work.

‘A life-or-death program’: non-profit’s successful at-risk youth training awaits Ottawa funding decision

An inner-city non-profit that helps at-risk youth in Winnipeg has warned it will be forced to end an employment and training program March 31 unless government funding comes through.

A year of federal funding is set to run out for Resource Assistance for Youth’s Level Up! program, which has educated and secured work experience for more than 350 young people since 2020.

“We’re in that moment where no level of government has said, ‘We want to continue to support this going forward,’” said Kate Sjoberg, RaY’s executive director.

The paid training program involves six weeks of in-class learning and 12 weeks of work experience with a local employer. Participants also receive housing and mental-health and other supports.