New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs has called a snap election, saying the campaign leading up to the September 14th vote will be unlike any other. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, candidates will not be going door to door or leaving any pamphlets in mailboxes. Higgs says candidates will have to be creative and innovative. Last week, Higgs threatened to trigger a vote unless opposition parties agreed to keep his minority government in power until 2022. On Aug. 10, Higgs invited opposition leaders to talks to reach a formal agreement not to trigger an election until September 2022, or no earlier t

The CFL has cancelled its 2020 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic, dashing hopes of a shortened season in the hub city of Winnipeg. It marks the first year the Grey Cup won't be presented since 1919. Commissioner Randy Ambrosie says the league governors decided it is in the best long-term interests of the CFL to concentrate on the future. The league couldn't secure financing from Ottawa which it said was necessary to stage a shortened season. The move comes after the CFL couldn't solve a number of issues in an effort to try to salvage a season. The league was unable to secure financing f

The Canadian Real Estate Association says home sales in July hit a record high as they continued their rebound from the lows of earlier this year when the COVID-19 pandemic froze the market.CREA says the 62,355 sales in July 2020 marked the highest monthly sales figure on record, with data going back more than 40 years.Sales in July were up 30.5 per cent compared with the same month a year ago.On a month-over-month basis, sales were up 26 per cent.The jump in sales came as the number of newly listed homes climbed by 7.6 per cent in July compared with June.CREA says the actual national average

The Canada Revenue Agency expects online services to be fully restored by Wednesday after hackers used thousands of stolen usernames and passwords to fraudulently obtain government services.About 5,600 CRA accounts were targeted in what the federal government describes as "credential stuffing" schemes, in which hackers used passwords and usernames from other websites to access Canadians' revenue agency accounts.Officials say the RCMP is investigating the breaches.The suspension of CRA's online services comes as many Canadians are using the revenue agency's website to access financial support

There are 121,652 confirmed cases in Canada. Quebec: 61,004 confirmed (including 5,718 deaths, 53,598 resolved) Ontario: 40,459 confirmed (including 2,788 deaths, 36,772 resolved) Alberta: 12,053 confirmed (including 221 deaths, 10,796 resolved) British Columbia: 4,358 confirmed (including 196 deaths, 3,533 resolved) Saskatchewan: 1,541 confirmed (including 20 deaths, 1,347 resolved) Nova Scotia: 1,072 confirmed (including 64 deaths, 1,007 resolved) Manitoba: 628 confirmed (including 8 deaths, 389 resolved), 15 presumptive Newfoundland and Labrador: 268 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 263 reso

Canada's chief public health officer is warning that there will be new surges in the number of COVID-19 cases heading into the fall. Dr. Theresa Tam says the federal government is planning for what she calls a ``reasonable worst-case scenario.'' But she says health officials will also ramp up prevention measures since they are also expecting the usual flu season as well as COVID-19. The health model suggests the number of cases by August 23rd could be as high as 127,000 and the number of deaths as high as 9,115. Tam says continuing to build hospital capacity, while encouraging people to follo

A deal has been reached between the BC government and the maker of a drug that slows the progression of ALS symptoms. The Health Ministry says supplying patients with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, with the drug Radicava would cost about 120,000 dollars a year for each patient. The ministry says it expects as many as 183 patients will get coverage in the first year. The deal was worked out under the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance and the ministry says it meet B.C.'s cost mandate.

Public Safety Minister Bill Blair says restrictions at the Canada-U.S. border will be extended another 30 days due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It means the two countries will continue their mutual ban on non-essential cross-border travel until at least Sept. 21. In a tweet, Blair says officials will keep doing what's necessary to keep communities safe. A formal announcement of the extension was expected to come later. The Canada-U.S. border has been closed to so-called ``discretionary'' travel like vacations and shopping trips since the pandemic took hold of the continent in mid-March. The Unit

Asylum seekers working on the front-lines of the COVID-19 crisis are getting an early chance at permanent residency in Canada.Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino announced the program today in response to public demand that the so-called "Guardian Angels" many in Quebec be recognized for their work in the health-care sector during the pandemic.Ordinarily, asylum seekers must wait for their claims to be accepted before they can become permanent residents, but the new program waives that requirement.To apply for residency now, they must have claimed asylum in Canada prior to March 13 and have