OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales increased 0.9 per cent to $51.1 billion in August, fuelled by higher sales of food, primary metal, and petroleum and coal products. The result was better than economists had expected. They had looked for a gain of 0.3 per cent, according to ThomsonRead More

TORONTO — A large chunk of Toronto’s downtown core was hit by a power outage early Sunday morning. Toronto Hydro said an area covering roughly five blocks from east to west (Bay Street to Sherborne Street) and about six blocks from north to south (Dundas to Lakeshore Blvd.) was affected.Read More

DEER LODGE, Mont. — Inside a rusted beige trailer with a broken outside window that serves as the execution chamber at Montana State Prison, the clock on the wall always reads 12:01. Three prisoners have been put to death there since Montana adopted lethal injection in 1995 and two prisoners,Read More

OTTAWA — Canada has dispatched its special envoy on its trade deal with the European Union to meet leaders of the Belgian region that voted to reject the deal. Pierre Pettigrew, a former Liberal trade and foreign minister recently appointed by the current Liberal government, is off to Paris toRead More

OTTAWA — Conservative MP Erin O’Toole is joining the burgeoning list of candidates to replace former prime minister Stephen Harper as party leader. “As we look to the future, our priorities are clear: we need to reconnect with Canadians,” O’Toole said in a statement issued Friday as he launched hisRead More

QUEBEC – French Prime Minister Manuel Valls is wrapping up his two-day Canadian visit with several events today in Quebec City. Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard is hosting Valls and the two will hold a joint news conference. Valls is also slated to meet with new Parti Quebecois Leader Jean-Francois Lisee.Read More

Alberta: A motel owned by a Sikh family was burned to a crisp last week, in a fire that destroyed their home killing one person and seriously injuring three others. Authorities are yet to determine the cause of the fire, but discovery of racist graffiti on the property has themRead More

TORONTO — The Ontario Energy Board has approved Hydro One’s $373-million deal to buy Great Lakes Power Transmission, which operates north and east of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. In late January, Hydro One (TSX:H) said it was acquiring Great Lakes from various entities controlled by Brookfield Infrastructure, which is partRead More

Toronto: Two of the most popular animals at the Toronto Zoo will celebrate their first birthday today. Giant panda cubs Jian Panpan (Canadian Hope) and Jia Yueyue (Canadian Joy) were born on Oct. 13, 2015 to mother Er Shun. Since their birth, the cubs have drawn large crowds to theRead More

OTTAWA — French Prime Minister Manuel Valls is meeting today with Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau, hoping to learn how Canada has avoided some of the nasty anti-trade and anti-immigration sentiment simmering in Europe and the U.S. Valls wants to discuss “the political atmosphere in the Western Hemisphere with the risingRead More