Politics

House Democrats have requested correspondence between Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and bridge owner Matthew Moroun as part of an inquiry after President Trump's social media post threatening to stall the Gordie Howe International Bridge; they also sought records of donations from the Moroun family.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has outlined proposals for an October referendum that would expand provincial control over immigration and limit some provincially funded services for temporary residents; experts say the move is intended to strengthen Alberta's bargaining position with the federal government, including over funding for asylum seekers.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that President Trump could not use a 1970s emergency powers law to impose broad tariffs, while sectoral tariffs under a different law remain in place.

The Supreme Court found the president exceeded authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, invalidating tariffs imposed under that law; sector-specific tariffs under other statutes remain in place.

Statistics Canada data shows Thunder Bay had the highest average annual human trafficking rate in Canada from 2014 to 2024, and a local coalition held an awareness event to share information about signs and resources.

Marten Falls First Nation has submitted a fast-tracked environmental assessment for an access road to the Ring of Fire, becoming the second community to do so after Webequie First Nation; Ontario says it has signed a cooperation agreement with the federal government and that construction could begin as soon as August 2026, according to a provincial statement.

Hunter Hess said criticism from former President Donald Trump made the fortnight before his Olympic debut "probably the hardest two weeks" of his life, and he qualified for the men's freeski halfpipe final on Feb. 20.

RCMP say a temporary foreign worker in Church Point, Nova Scotia, was coerced into long hours, paid $300 and threatened; a 65-year-old man from southern Ontario has been arrested and charged with human trafficking and related offences.

Manitoba will provide $100,000 to the Punjabi Chamber of Commerce to run a hotline after officials reported a rise in extortion affecting some South Asian communities; an extortion summit in Winnipeg was also announced.

Florida's legislature passed SB 706 to rename Palm Beach International Airport after President Donald Trump; the bill now goes to Governor Ron DeSantis and would require FAA approval to take effect on July 1 if signed.

The Alberta NDP says the government should call a general election rather than hold a fall referendum with at least nine questions; the party called the referendum a distraction ahead of a budget expected to show a large deficit.

Court documents in York Regional Police’s Project South allege multiple Toronto police officers helped track a victim with a GPS device, arranged a staged vehicle theft tied to an insurance claim, and made unlawful database queries; seven active and one retired officer have been charged. None of the allegations have been proven in court.

The U.S. Supreme Court struck down broad tariffs imposed under an emergency law, saying the Constitution gives Congress the power to impose peacetime tariffs. A majority opinion said the President lacked clear congressional authorization for the action.

An article from Fennec Pharmaceuticals reports that PEDMARK given about six hours after cisplatin was safe and could be integrated into care for adults with head and neck cancers, and early data showed signals of hearing preservation without apparent interference with cisplatin's antitumor activity.

The Waterloo Region Assembly of Public School Councils has written to the Ontario Ombudsman opposing Bill 33, which gives the education minister power to replace elected public school trustees with provincially appointed supervisors. The Ontario Legislature is scheduled to resume on March 23, when the issue could be revisited.

The federal government announced $229 million for tuberculosis, food security and child supports in Inuit Nunangat, including a one-year, $115 million renewal of the Inuit Child First Initiative; northern leaders and service providers say they want longer-term program changes rather than temporary funding.

Alberta MP Matt Jeneroux left the Conservative caucus to join the Liberals, adding one seat to the Liberal count in the current minority Parliament. Historically, more than 300 members of Parliament have changed party affiliation while in office since 1867.

Researchers at Carleton University's Math Lab are urging Ontario to introduce universal early numeracy screening beginning in kindergarten to identify learning gaps early, and recent EQAO results show a sizable share of students did not meet provincial math standards.

India's high commissioner to Canada said a comprehensive trade agreement could be completed within a year as Prime Minister Mark Carney prepares to visit India; formal negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement were launched in November.

A peer-reviewed study in The Lancet Global Health estimates about 75,200 violent Palestinian deaths in Gaza during the first 15 months of the war, higher than the roughly 49,000 figure reported by Gaza health authorities for the same period.

An estimated 3 million to 5 million people remain in Russian-controlled parts of Ukraine and face shortages of water, heat, housing and health care, officials and displaced residents say.

Residents in Russian-controlled Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia report shortages of water, heat, power, housing and health care, and human rights groups and U.N. investigators report widespread detentions and reports of abuse.

The Surrey Police Board cut $46.95 million from its provisional 2026 budget, the Surrey Police Union says this equates to about 87 officer positions; the city says it is funding 189 officers and notes an ongoing extortion crisis in Surrey.

Ottawa has launched a federal study to gather industry views on expanding the Port of Churchill, canvassing about 70 large companies and expected to be completed this spring.

Selwyn Township has directed staff to explore renaming Prince Andrew and Gordonstoun islands and will consult Curve Lake First Nation; a formal application to the Ontario Geographic Naming Board is required and the process is expected to take several months.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada added new Express Entry categories to allow highly skilled foreign military applicants and other targeted occupations to seek permanent residency, officials said. The change follows the federal defence industrial strategy and the government did not publish numeric targets for military recruits.

Youth advocates at a Parliament Hill news conference say they were excluded from drafting Bill C-63 and are calling for meaningful youth involvement and a national digital safety framework before Ottawa introduces new online harms legislation.

Ottawa has signed a letter of intent to provide substantial funding to LawZero, a nonprofit founded by Yoshua Bengio to develop technical defenses for powerful AI; a source said the amount under discussion is more than $100 million.

Fourteen temporary classroom units have been set up near Tumbler Ridge Secondary School after the Feb. 10 shooting, and counselling supports are being offered in the community until at least March 6.

The article reports Edmonton MP Matt Jeneroux crossed from the Conservative caucus to the Liberals, and three by-elections are pending with two in Liberal-held districts.