Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government is banning a range of assault-style guns, with an order that takes effect immediately.He says the order has a two-year amnesty period for current owners, and there will be a compensation program.In an announcement this morning, he cites numerous mass shootings, from Ecole Polytechnique in 1989 to the killings in Nova Scotia last week, as the reasons for the move.Stricter controls on firearms were a promise in the Liberals' election campaign platform last fall.Trudeau has said the government was on the verge of bringing in stricter gun-

Tiff Macklem, a former second in command at the Bank of Canada, is coming back to the central bank to take over the top job. Macklem, the dean of the business school at the University of Toronto, will take over the reins of the central bank as governor in early June when Stephen Poloz's seven-year term ends. Finance Minister Bill Morneau says Macklem brings a deep knowledge of and expertise in financial markets and will serve the central bank well as it navigates the an economic crisis like no other. The bank controls the country's money supply, trying to support economic growth and stability

There are 53,236 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada. Quebec: 27,538 confirmed (including 1,859 deaths, 6,299 resolved) Ontario: 16,187 confirmed (including 1,082 deaths, 10,205 resolved) Alberta: 5,355 confirmed (including 89 deaths, 2,161 resolved) British Columbia: 2,112 confirmed (including 111 deaths, 1,322 resolved) Nova Scotia: 947 confirmed (including 28 deaths, 545 resolved) Saskatchewan: 389 confirmed (including 6 deaths, 295 resolved) Manitoba: 264 confirmed (including 6 deaths, 220 resolved), 11 presumptive Newfoundland and Labrador: 258 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 225 re

Alberta is planning to reopen dental offices and golf courses on Monday that were shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic. The government says boat launches would also start opening next week and campsites would hopefully be open June 1. Some retail businesses, restaurants, hair salons, museums, daycares and summer camps would also be allowed to open May 14. The relaunch plan comes with some restrictions including a rule requiring people to wear masks on mass transit. Alberta reported 190 more cases of COVID-19 today, as the government launched a reopening plan for some businesses and service

Canada's airports are predicting around $2 billion in lost revenues this year. Travel restrictions from the COVID-19 pandemic have led to a precipitous decline in demand for plane tickets and, by extension, airport services. The bottom line, according to the industry, is anticipated losses of between $1.8 billion and $2.2 billion this year. Airports have resorted to terminal closures and layoffs, and at least six regional airports have lost scheduled passenger service altogether.

Canada's chief public health officer says ``things have been a little flat'' this week on the COVID-19 epidemic curve, and acknowledges it is making everyone excited about when we are going to be able to get out of our houses. Dr. Theresa Tam cautions that there are still significant challenges in some settings, including long-term care homes.

Ontario is reporting 459 new COVID-19 cases today, and 86 more deaths, the largest daily death toll so far. The province has now seen 16,187 cases, an increase of 2.9 per cent over the previous day. The total includes 1,082 deaths and 10,205 resolved cases. In the previous day there were 12,928 tests completed, despite a pledge from the province to reach 14,000 tests a day by then.

Quebec Premier Francois Legault says the province should expect the COVID-19 deaths in the province's care homes to continue over the next days and weeks as seriously-ill people succumb to the illness. There were 98 new deaths since yesterday, for a total of 1,859, and Legault said 92 occurred in care homes. There were also 944 new cases for a new total of 27,538. Legault said there are concerning situations at three hospitals in the Montreal area, as well as the north-end neighbourhood of Montreal-Nord.

Parliament's budget watchdog says that it's likely the federal deficit for the year will hit $252.1 billion as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.The figure is an estimate based on the almost $146 billion in spending measures the government has announced to help cushion the economic blow from the pandemic, estimated declines in the country's gross domestic product, and the price of oil remaining well below previous expectations.Parliamentary budget officer Yves Giroux's report assumes real GDP will contract by 12 per cent this year, and help shoot the federal debt-to-GDP ratio to 48.4 percent.T