Canada

TORONTO (AP) — The Canadian government designated the Proud Boys group as a terrorist entity on Wednesday, noting they played a pivotal role in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

The Proud Boys have faced increased scrutiny after seizing on the former Trump administration’s policies and the group was a major agitator during earlier protests and the Capitol riot on Jan. 6. The Proud Boys is a far-right, male chauvinist extremist group known for engaging in violent clashes at political rallies. Canada is the first country to designate them as a terrorist entity.

TORONTO (AP) — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday announced stricter restrictions on travelers in response to new, likely more contagious variants of the novel coronavirus — including making it mandatory for travelers to quarantine in a hotel at their own expense when they arrive in Canada and suspending airline service to Mexico and all Caribbean destinations until April 30.

Trudeau said in addition to the pre-boarding test Canada already requires, the government will be introducing mandatory PCR testing at the airport for people returning to Canada.

OTTAWA, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- Canada's updated restrictions against COVID-19 are on the way as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday urged the public to cancel non-essential travel plans both abroad and between provinces in the country.

Constantly evolving news about COVID-19 variants from other countries has spurred the government to consider sharpening the measures already in place and updated measures will be published very soon, Trudeau said.

TORONTO (AP) — Top officials in Canada want a chance to make the case for a long disputed oil pipeline to be built amid reports President-elect Joe Biden will cancel Keystone XL.

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said Monday he will seek legal damages if reports are true that Biden plans to scrap the pipeline on his first day upon taking office. Biden’s plan is outlined in transition documents seen by Canadian media outlets.

“We hope President-elect Biden will show respect for Canada and will sit down and at the very least talk to us,” Kenney said.

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada’s Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains resigned on Tuesday, setting in motion a reshuffle of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet ahead of a possible election this year.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. and Global News both said Bains would be replaced by current Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne. Transport Minister Marc Garneau would take over from Champagne, they said.

Bains said he was stepping aside for family reasons and would not stand in the next election.

OTTAWA, January 9. /TASS/: As many as 9,214 novel coronavirus cases were confirmed in Canada over the past day, bringing the overall number of such cases up to 644,348, the country’s health ministry said on Friday. This is a record high number of coronavirus cases confirmed over the past 24 hours in Canada. Earlier the record number of infections was 8,400.

To date, 14.3 million Canadians have been tested for coronavirus, 545,900 people have recovered, 16,707 fatalities have been registered with 128 patients died in the last 24 hours.

OTTAWA, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday that he is worried about the slow pace of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout in the country.

Canada has received more than 424,050 doses of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, but only 35 percent of those doses have been administered by the provinces, with roughly 148,000 Canadians having received a shot so far.

(Reuters) - An Air Canada Boeing Co 737-8 Max en route between Arizona and Montreal with three crew members on board suffered an engine issue that forced the crew to divert the aircraft to Tucson, Arizona, the Canadian airline company said in an emailed statement on Friday.

Shortly after the take-off, the pilots received an “engine indication” and “decided to shut down one engine,” an Air Canada spokesman said.

“The aircraft then diverted to Tucson, where it landed normally and remains.” The incident took place on Dec. 22.

TORONTO (Reuters) -Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou’s alleged actions had “no genuine connection” to the United States, her lawyers have argued in their latest bid to end her extradition from Canada, according to court documents released on Friday.

Meng, 48, was arrested two years ago at the Vancouver airport by Canadian police on an arrest warrant from the United States, where she is charged with bank and wire fraud for allegedly misleading HSBC about Huawei Tech Co Ltd’s business dealings in Iran.

TORONTO (AP) — Canada administered its first doses of a COVID-19 vaccine on Monday, becoming one of the first countries to do so in the effort to beat back the pandemic.

Five front-line workers in Ontario were among the first Canadians to receive the vaccine at one of Toronto’s hospitals.

Anita Quidangen, a personal support worker who worked throughout a COVID-19 outbreak at the Rekai Centre nursing home in Toronto, got the first dose in Ontario.

“It’s an honor, thank you very much,” she said. “I’ll continue to do my job as a PSW.”