Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is announcing multiple new flights to bring stranded Canadians home from abroad due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Trudeau says Air Transat, WestJet and Sunwing airlines all have flights planned this week.He says two Air Canada flights are to reach Canadians in Morocco in the coming days. An Air Canada flight to Spain is also confirmed, while Air Transat has been cleared for two flights to Honduras and one each to Ecuador, El Salvador and Guatemala.Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said on Twitter earlier today that the government has also arranged f

Ontario is reporting 78 new COVID-19 cases today, bringing the provincial total to 503.It's the largest increase in a day so far.The total includes six deaths and eight cases that have fully resolved.At least six of the new cases are hospitalized, including a woman in her 30s, a man in his 40s, two people in their 50s and two people in their 70s.Information on dozens of the new cases is listed as pending.Since Sunday, more than 1,950 people tested negative, while more than 8,000 people are still awaiting their test results.

Air Transat says it has temporarily laid off about 3,600 staff including all flight crew personnel.That's about 70 % of its workforce in Canada.The company says the final Air Transat flight prior to the full suspension of its operations is scheduled for April 1st.Non-essential travel around the world has come to a near standstill as governments close borders in an effort to slow the COVID-19 pandemic.

Canada won't be at this summer's Tokyo Olympics unless the Games are postponed by a year. The Canadian Olympic Committee sent out a statement Sunday evening saying it's refusing to send a team to Tokyo unless the Games, which are scheduled to start on July 24, are pushed back by 12 months. The COC's statement comes amid a chorus of criticism aimed at the International Olympic Committee's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. IOC president Thomas Bach said earlier Sunday that they'd set a deadline of four weeks to determine the fate of the Games, and that the global organization is considering opt

Conservative leadership candidate Erin O'Toole is calling for the race to be suspended. O'Toole is the latest contender to suggest the party needs to delay the June 27 vote. He says he wants his volunteers and organizers to be able to focused on the COVID-19 response. He says he's not dropping out of the race, but he says the needs of fellow Canadians must come first

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada is not at the point where the federal government needs to take emergency measures to force people to stay at home during the COVID-19 outbreak. Trudeau says that provinces and local governments continue to take steps to restrict people's movements and the federal government stepping in is a last resort. “There are many things that are being done and can be done at the local level, at the municipal level and at the provincial level. The federal Emergencies Act is a significant step that can and should be taken when we've exhausted all other steps,'' T

The latest numbers of confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases in Canada as of 8.42a.m. on March 23, 2020: There are 1563 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada. British Columbia: 424 confirmed (including 10 deaths, 6 resolved)Ontario: 503 confirmed (including 6 deaths, 8 resolved)Alberta: 259 confirmed (including 1 death)Quebec: 219 confirmed (including 4 deaths, 1 resolved)Saskatchewan: 33 confirmed, 19 presumptiveNova Scotia: 41 confirmedManitoba: 11 confirmed, 9 presumptiveNew Brunswick: 8 confirmed, 9 presumptiveCanadians quarantined at CFB Trenton: 13 confirmedNewfoundland and Labrado

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says lock downs in other countries and air-space restrictions due to COVID-19 mean Canada won't be able to get every citizen home who is trapped abroad. Trudeau is urging Canadians currently stuck in foreign countries to make safe decisions, stay in touch with Global Affairs and not head to airports unless they have a confirmed seat on a flight back. Trudeau says the federal government is working with airlines to arrange flights to countries where Canadians are. An Air Canada flight bringing a group of Canadians home from Morocco is expected to land in Montreal to

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland is asking Canadians for patience as the Liberal government hammers out the details of the major moves they are making to respond to the global pandemic of COVID-19. She says officials are doing things that would normally take several months in a matter of days and that they are aiming for speed, rather than perfection. She says that sometimes means making an announcement about the actions they are taking and then filling in the details after the fact. Freeland says that is not how they would normally operate, but she hopes Canadians understand the extra