The federal Liberals will provide Canadians with a long-awaited update on the health of federal finances later today, and potentially unveil a suite of new spending. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will deliver the fall economic statement in the House of Commons around 4 p.m. local time in Ottawa, after markets close. The fall economic statement should have a full accounting of pandemic spending so far, and the depth of this year's deficit, which in July was forecast at a historic $343.2 billion amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Estimates vary of how deep a deficit the Liberals will unveil

Champion ice-dancers Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue are among 114 athletes, artists, scholars and community leaders named to the Order of Canada today. Gov. Gen. Julie Payette's office announced the new honourees this morning. Others in the group include Indigenous writer Thomas King, winemaker John Peller, dancer and choreographer Elizabeth Langley, geriatrician Roger Wong, Cree elder Doreen Spence and ex-politicians Bill Graham and Allan Rock. Moir and Virtue catapulted to national stardom with their gold-medal performances at the Winter Olympics in 2018. They're being honoured for their athle

Federal health officials say Canada now has purchase agreements with seven COVID-19 vaccine producers. Deputy Chief Public Health Officer Doctor Howard Njoo says most are in the final stages of testing before they can go to Health Canada for approval. Officials say they expect the first doses of vaccines to be delivered in the first three months of the new year. The Trudeau government has been in the hot seat this week, after the prime minister acknowledged that some countries will get COVID-19 vaccines before Canada does, because Canada doesn't have the capacity to make them.

Quebec's highest court has declared unconstitutional a provision of the Criminal Code that allows for life sentences to be served consecutively. The move reduces the sentence given to the man who killed six people in a Quebec City mosque in 2017. Alexandre Bissonnette, 30, was sentenced in February 2019 to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 40 years. With today's decision from the Quebec Court of Appeal, he will be eligible to apply for parole after serving 25 years.

The prime minister is defending the fact that Canada does not have any vaccine-making facilities in operation. He admitted yesterday that Canadians will not get COVID vaccines as fast as other countries. But Justin Trudeau told the House of Commons today that numerous vaccine manufacturers closed their facilities or moved out of Canada in years when Conservative governments were in power. Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner received no direct answer when she asked Trudeau whether his government has negotiated contracts with international drug companies to produce COVID-19 vaccines in Canad

Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet is blasting the prime minister's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, calling Justin Trudeau's pledge that vaccines will start to arrive in the coming months "unacceptable."Trudeau sought to reassure Canadians yesterday even as he acknowledged that some other countries are likely to start inoculating their citizens first, citing Canada's low capacity to churn out vaccines.Blanchet says the federal government should have moved sooner to help obtain manufacturing rights and beef up production capacity on Canadian soil.The United States, Britain and Ger

Alberta is bringing in tougher COVID-19 restrictions that include limits on social gatherings and less face-to-face class time for students. Premier Jason Kenney says there are to be no indoor gatherings, but people who live alone can have up to two personal contacts. He says students in Grades 7 through 12 will transition next week to at-home learning and the school holiday break will be extended from December 18th to January 11th. Banquet halls, conference centres and concert venues must also close. Older students will be sent home from school at the end of the month, indoor social gatheri

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is acknowledging countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany could have some of their citizens vaccinated against COVID-19 before Canadians can get their own shots. He says that's because those countries have their own vaccine-production facilities and Canada doesn't. Rebuilding that capacity will take years, but Trudeau says the federal government has started the work. He says having pre-bought an array of vaccine candidates from foreign manufacturers will help get Canadians effective doses as soon as possible. But he adds it's premature t

Federal Procurement Minister Anita Anand says Canada is working on an "end-to-end" chain for handling new COVID-19 vaccines as soon as they're delivered to Canada. That includes buying 126 freezers, including 26 ultra-cold ones, to hold millions of doses of vaccines that need to be kept at extraordinarily low temperatures. The government is also seeking private bidders to run the logistics, and determining whether the military has a role to play. Anand says storing and transporting vaccines safely is a top priority, especially when they have short shelf lives. Government officials say manufac