Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says eight Canadians in Wuhan have asked his government for help. He says Canada knows of 167 citizens in the region of China that's at the epicentre of an outbreak of a new respiratory virus. China has sharply restricted travel in and out of the province of about 60 million people in an effort to keep the illness from spreading. Although the virus is new and scientists are still working on understanding it, most cases seem to be mild. Some of Canada's allies have evacuated diplomatic offices in Wuhan, the city where the coronavirus was

With a second presumptive case of the novel coronavirus in Canada, federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu says there is no reason for Canadians to be alarmed. Hajdu told the House of Commons that government agencies are ready to respond in case the situation worsens. A man in his 50s is now confirmed to have the virus. Test results are also due for his wife. She is quarantined at home in Toronto. He is in a special hospital room.

RCMP say a man from British Columbia has died in a shooting in a rural area northeast of Calgary. Mounties say officers were call out on Thursday afternoon to investigate a complaint of a firearms injury in Rocky View County. They found a man with a gunshot wound and were unable to save him, despite administering first aid. The victim, whose name is not being released, is a 30-year-old from Saanich, B.C. Police say the public is not believed to be at risk. An autopsy is being done by the office of the chief medical examiner in Calgary.

Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre is bowing out of his party's leadership race.Poilievre says he is overwhelmed by the support he received as he built a campaign to replace Andrew Scheer.But the 40 year old Ottawa MP says today his heart was not fully in it as he tries to balance family life with politics. Poilievre says he "mostly missed" the first year of his daughter's life as he campaigned to keep his own Ottawa area seat in October's federal election.Poilievre is the third high-profile contender to publicly bail out of the Conservative leadership contest in as many days, following former

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government is making every effort to ensure Canada has the best possible response to the coronavirus outbreak in China. He spoke to reporters just as the World Health Organization announced it would not yet declare the virus a global emergency. Health Minister Patty Hajdu says several people in Canada are under observation for signs they may have contracted the coronavirus from China, but that the risk to Canadians remains low.

The World Health Organization says a viral illness in China that has sickened hundreds of people is not yet a global health emergency. The decision came after Chinese authorities moved to lock down three cities on Thursday and cancelled major events in the capital, Beijing, during the Lunar New Year holiday period to try to contain the new virus. The United Nations health agency announced the decision after independent experts spent two days assessing information about the spread of the newly identified coronavirus. WHO defines a global emergency as an ``extraordinary event'' that constitu

The federal government and Mastercard are working together to develop technologies and standards aimed at ensuring safe and secure use of any device connected to the internet. Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, Navdeep Bains and Ajay Banga, CEO of Mastercard say the strategies will be developed at a new centre to be built in Vancouver. The Intelligence and Cyber Centre is to be funded by a $510-million investment from Mastercard and $49 million from Canada. The centre's goal is to ensure any internet-enabled device, ranging from phones and tablets to computers and vehicles, can be u

Federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu says several people in Canada are being monitored for signs they may have contracted a coronavirus from China.Hajdu says five or six people, including at least one in Quebec and another in Vancouver, are under observation but stresses the risk to Canadians remains low. She says there are no confirmed cases in Canada yet.At least 500 people in China are infected with the virus and 17 people have died.The city at the centre of the outbreak, Wuhan, is under quarantine as health officials scramble to understand the virus and keep it from spreading.The World Heal

A longtime public servant whose decades-long career has spanned portfolios from defence to foreign affairs is being tapped to be Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's third national security adviser in as many years.Vincent Rigby takes over the position after Trudeau's former national security adviser, Greta Bossenmaier, announced her retirement in November following a 35-year career in the federal public service. Rigby brings a variety of different experiences to the new role, including stints at the Department of National Defence, Public Safety Canada, the Privy Council Office and Global Affairs