Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday he is re-establishing a special Cabinet committee on Canada-U.S. relations to address his administration's concerns about another Donald Trump presidency. Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, who is also the country's finance minister, will chair the committee, which also will include other top officials including ministers of foreign affairs, public safety and industry. “Following the election of President Donald Trump for a second term, the Cabinet Committee will focus on critical Canada-U.S. issues,” Trudeau's office said in a statement Thursday. Canada is one of the most trade-dependent countries in the world, and 75% of Canada’s exports go to the U.S. During Trump's first time, his move to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, and reports that he was considering a 25% tariff on the auto sector were considered an existential threat in Canada at the time. Trudeau called Trump on Wednesday to congratulate him and the two discussed the new free trade deal Trump reached during his first term with Canada and Mexico, the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which replaced NAFTA. Ottawa will soon have to focus on a scheduled review of the agreement in 2026. Although Trump once called Trudeau “weak” and “dishonest” during his first term, ties between the two countries have remained among the closest in the world. Freeland addressed reporters twice on Wednesday in an effort to reassure Canadians. “I know a lot of Canadians are anxious. I want to say with utter sincerity and conviction to Canadians that Canada will be absolutely fine," Freeland said. "We have a strong relationship with the United States. We have a strong relationship with President Trump and his team. Let’s remember that our trading relationship today is governed by the trade deal concluded by President Trump himself and his team," Freeland said. During the recent election campaign, Trump has proposed tariffs of 10% to 20% on foreign goods — and in some speeches has mentioned even higher percentages. Nelson Wiseman, a political science professor at the University of Toronto, said Canada should expect new tariffs and pressure to increase its military budget. According to NATO figures, Canada was estimated to be spending 1.33% of GDP on its military budget in 2023, below the 2% target that NATO countries have set for themselves. Trudeau has said Canada will meet the alliance’s target by 2032. Trump has urged NATO countries to boost their own defense spending to ease the burden on the U.S. to deter the alliance's enemies. “I expect that the free trade deal will be slightly modified as it was during Trump’s first presidency and not dramatically," Wiseman said. "Tariffs will hurt the Canadian economy economy but not cripple it. Canada has some cards to play in negotiations including countervailing tariffs, the concerns of American business leaders, and Canada’s storehouse of critical minerals.” The Canadian government notes the U.S. and Canada are each other’s largest trade partners with nearly $3.6 billion Canadian (US$2.7 billion) worth of goods and services crossing the border each day in 2023. The ties between the two countries are without parallel anywhere in the world. There is close co-operation on defense, border security and law enforcement, and a vast overlap in culture, traditions and pastimes — with shared baseball, hockey, basketball and soccer leagues. About 400,000 people cross the world’s longest international border each day and about 800,000 Canadians live in the U.S. Robert Bothwell, a professor of Canadian history and international relations at the University of Toronto, said Canadians should be worried about potential rash actions on tariffs and trade. “How would you feel if old Uncle Donald was feeling whimsical one morning and decided to do … oh, whatever he’d just heard on Fox News?” Bothwell said.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday that the country will significantly reduce the number of new immigrants it allows into the country after acknowledging that his government failed to get the balance right coming out of the pandemic. Trudeau's Liberal government was criticized for its plan to allow 500,000 new permanent residents into the country in each of the next two years. On Thursday, he said next year’s target will now be 395,000 new permanent residents and that the figure will drop to 380,000 in 2026 and 365,000 in 2027. “In the tumultuous times as we emerged from the pandemic, between addressing labor needs and maintaining population growth, we didn't get the balance right,” Trudeau said. “Immigration is essential for Canada's future, but it must be controlled and it must be sustainable.” Trudeau, who is facing calls from within his own party not to seek a fourth term, has endured mounting criticism over his immigration policies and the negative impact that population growth has had on housing affordability. He said his government will reduce the number of immigrants Canada brings in over the next three years, and that this will freeze population growth over the next two years. Canada reached 41 million people in April. The population was 37.5 million in 2019. Trudeau said Canada needs to stabilize its population growth to allow all levels of government to make necessary changes to health care, housing and social services so that it can accommodate more people in the future. Immigration Minister Marc Miller said the lower immigration numbers will help with the country's housing shortage. He also acknowledged the change in public opinion about immigration. “That volume that we have put forward is of concern,” Miller said. Miller said the government sees the pressures facing Canadians, and that it must must adapt its policies accordingly. He said government leaders have listened and will continue to protect the integrity of the immigration system and grow Canada's population responsibly. “We are an open country, but not everyone can come to this country,” he said, noting that Canada will continue to welcome outsiders and that the government's immigration targets remain ambitious. Trudeau's government has long touted Canada's immigration policy and how Canada is better than peer countries in welcoming newcomers and integrating them into the economy. Pierre Poilievre, the leader of the opposition Conservative Party, accused Trudeau of destroying the national consensus on immigration. “He has destroyed our immigration system through his own personal incompetence and destroyed 150 years of common sense consensus with the Liberals and Conservatives on that subject," Poilievre said. “He cannot fix what he broke on immigration and housing or anything else because he is busy fighting his own caucus,” he added. Poilievre was referring to calls by some lawmakers from Trudeau's own party to not run for a fourth term. Those calls represent one of the biggest tests of Trudeau's political career, but he said Thursday that he intends to stay on through the next election. Nelson Wiseman, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Toronto, said the Trudeau government messed up badly on immigration. "The government’s logic — to grow the economy and sustain an aging Canadian population by bringing in more young immigrants — was sound. But Ottawa has little control over meeting the housing, health, education, and other welfare needs of residents, whether they are citizens or immigrants,” Wiseman said. "These are all provincial government responsibilities, and there was little cooperation or coordination between the two levels of government," he said. A certain percentage of Canadians have always been xenophobic, but much less so than in some other countries, Wiseman said. “Many Canadians have turned against the recent growing immigrant and temporary worker/student influx because of the growing housing, health, education, and other welfare challenges. Ottawa has read the polls and is responding according," he said.  

Canada announced Monday it is launching a 100% tariff on imports of Chinese-made electric vehicles, matching U.S. tariffs imposed over what Western governments say are China's subsidies that give its industry an unfair advantage. The announcement came after encouragement by U.S. national security advisor Jake Sullivan during a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Cabinet ministers Sunday. Sullivan is making his first visit to Beijing on Tuesday. Trudeau said Canada also will impose a 25% tariff on Chinese steel and aluminum. “Actors like China have chosen to give themselves an unfair advantage in the global marketplace,” he said. There was no immediate response from China. One of the Chinese-made EVs imported into Canada is from Tesla, made at the company’s Shanghai factory, though the U.S. company could avoid the tariff by switching to supplying Canada from factories in the U.S. or Germany. Chinese brands are not yet a player in Canada. However, Chinese EV giant BYD established a Canadian corporate entity last spring and has indicated it intends to try and enter the Canadian market as early as next year. Chinese officials are likely to raise concerns about the American tariffs with Sullivan as Beijing continues to repair its economy after the COVID-19 pandemic. U.S. President Joe Biden in May slapped major new tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, advanced batteries, solar cells, steel, aluminum and medical equipment. “The U.S. does believe that a united front, a coordinated approach on these issues benefits all of us,” Sullivan told reporters on Sunday. Biden has said Chinese government subsidies for EVs and other consumer goods ensure that Chinese companies don’t have to turn a profit, giving them an unfair advantage in global trade. Chinese firms can sell EVs for as little as $12,000. China’s solar cell plants and steel and aluminum mills have enough capacity to meet much of the world’s demand. Chinese officials argue their production keeps prices low and would aid a transition to the green economy. “We’re doing it in alignment, in parallel, with other economies around the world that recognize that this is a challenge that we are all facing,” Trudeau said of the new tariffs. “Unless we all want to get to a race to the bottom, we have to stand up.” Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said Canada also will launch a 30-day consultation about possible tariffs on Chinese batteries, battery parts, semiconductors, critical minerals, metals and solar panels. “China has an intentional state-directed policy of overcapacity and oversupply designed to cripple our own industry,” Freeland said. “We simply will not allow that to happen to our EV sector, which has shown such promise.” The only Chinese-made EVs currently imported into Canada are from Tesla, made at the company’s Shanghai factory. Canada "had to go with the U.S. position, when you think about the economic integration that we have with the U.S. More than 75% of our exports go to the U.S.,” said a former Canadian ambassador to China, Guy Saint-Jacques. Saint-Jacques said Canada can expect retaliation from China in other industries, adding that barley and pork are candidates because the Chinese can get it from other countries. “China will want to send a message,” he said.  

Canada's two largest railroads are starting to shut down their shipping networks as a labor dispute with the Teamsters union threatens to cause lockouts or strikes that would disrupt cross-border trade with the U.S. Both the Canadian Pacific Kansas City and Canadian National railroads, which haul millions of tons of freight across the border, have stopped taking certain shipments of hazardous materials and refrigerated products. Both are threatening to lock out Teamsters Canada workers starting Thursday if deals are not reached. On Tuesday, CPKC will stop all shipments that start in Canada and all shipments originating in the U.S. that are headed for Canada, the railroad said Saturday. The Canadian Press reported that on Friday, Canadian National barred container imports from U.S. partner railroads. Jeff Windau, industrials analyst for Edward Jones & Co., said his firm expects work stoppages to last only a few days, but if they go longer, there could be significant supply chain disruptions. “If something would carry on more of a longer term in nature, then I think there are some significant potential issues just given the amount of goods that are handled each day,” Windau said. “By and large the rails touch pretty much all of the economy.” The two railroads handle about 40,000 carloads of freight each day, worth about $1 billion, Windau said. Shipments of fully built automobiles and auto parts, chemicals, forestry products and agricultural goods would be hit hard, he said, especially with harvest season looming. Both railroads have extensive networks in the U.S., and CPKC also serves Mexico. Those operations will keep running even if there is a work stoppage. CPKC said it remains committed to avoiding a work stoppage that would damage Canada's economy and international reputation. “However we must take responsible and prudent steps to prepare for a potential rail service interruption next week,” spokesman Patrick Waldron said in a statement. Shutting down the network will allow the railroad to get dangerous goods off of its network before any stoppage, CPKC said. Union spokesman Christopher Monette said in an email Saturday that negotiations continue, but the situation has shifted from a possible strike to “near certain lockout” by the railroads. CPKC said bargaining is scheduled to continue on Sunday with the union, which represents nearly 10,000 workers at both railroads. The company said it continues to bargain in good faith. Canadian National said in a statement Friday that there had been no meaningful progress in negotiations and it hoped the union “will engage meaningfully” during a meeting scheduled for Saturday. “CN wants a resolution that allows the company to get back to what it does best as a team, moving customers' goods and the economy,” the railroad said. Negotiations have been going on since last November, and contracts expired at the end of 2023. They were extended as talks continued. The union said company demands on crew scheduling, rail safety and worker fatigue are the main sticking points. Concerns about the quality of life for rail workers dealing with demanding schedules and no paid sick time nearly led to a U.S. rail strike two years ago before Congress intervened and blocked a walkout. The major U.S. railroads have made progress since then in offering paid sick time to most rail workers and trying to improve schedules. Windau said the trucking industry currently has a lot of excess capacity and might be able to make up some of the railroads' shipping volumes, but, “You're not going to be able to replace all of that with trucking.”

A strike by plane mechanics forced Canada's second largest airline, WestJet, to cancel hundreds more flights Sunday, upending plans of roughly 110,000 travelers over the Canada Day long weekend and prompting the carrier to demand action from the federal government. Some 680 workers, whose daily inspections and repairs are essential to airline operations, walked off the job Friday evening despite a directive for binding arbitration from the labor minister. “WestJet is in receipt of a binding arbitration order and awaits urgent clarity from the government that a strike and arbitration cannot exist simultaneously; this is something they have committed to address and like all Canadians we are waiting,” WestJet Airlines President Diederik Pen said in a statement Sunday. Since Thursday, WestJet has cancelled 829 flights scheduled to fly between then and Monday — the busiest travel weekend of the season. The vast majority of Sunday’s trips were called off as WestJet pared down its 180-plane fleet to 32 active aircraft and topped the global list for cancellations among major airlines over the weekend. Trevor Temple-Murray was one of thousands of customers scrambling to rebook after their trips were scrapped less than a day in advance. Canada airline WestJet cancels more than 400 flights after a surprise strike by mechanics union “We’ll just have to wait it out,” said Temple-Murray, a resident of Lethbridge, Alberta, who waited in a car with his wife and 2-year-old son in the parking lot of the Victoria, British Columbia, airport. They were trying to get a plane to Calgary. Their 6:05 p.m. flight had been cancelled, and they wouldn’t know until the evening whether a scheduled 7 a.m. flight the next day would go ahead. “There are a lot of angry people in there,” Temple-Murray said, pointing at the terminal. Nearby, Grade 10 exchange student Marina Cebrian said she was supposed to be back home in Spain early Sunday, but now won’t return to her family until Tuesday after enduring three flight cancellations. Cyclone Remal: Flight operations resume at Ctg airport after 17 hours “It’s distressing,” she said. “I was supposed to be at home today, like seven hours ago, but I’m not.” Both WestJet and the Airplane Mechanics Fraternal Association have accused the other side of refusing to negotiate in good faith. The union’s goal remains a deal hammered out through bargaining rather than by an arbitrator — a route it opposed from the start. The union says its demands around wages would cost WestJet less than $8 million Canadian (US$5.6 million) beyond what the company has offered for the first year of the collective agreement — the first contract between the two sides. It has acknowledged the gains would surpass compensation for industry colleagues across Canada and sit more on par with U.S. counterparts. Flights to Dubai disrupted as rain hits UAE 2 weeks after its heaviest recorded rainfall WestJet says it has offered a 12.5% wage hike in the first year of the contract, and a compounded wage increase of 23.5% over the rest of the 5 1/2-year term.

The first U.N.-backed contingent of foreign police arrived in Haiti on Tuesday, nearly two years after the troubled Caribbean country urgently requested help to quell a surge in gang violence. A couple hundred police officers from Kenya landed in the capital of Port-au-Prince, whose main international airport reopened in late May after gang violence forced it to close for nearly three months. It wasn’t immediately known what the Kenyans’ first assignment would be, but they will face violent gangs that control 80% of Haiti’s capital and have left more than 580,000 people across the country homeless as they pillage neighborhoods in their quest to control more territory. Gangs also have killed several thousand people in recent years. The Kenyans’ arrival marks the fourth major foreign military intervention in Haiti. While some Haitians welcome their arrival, others view the force with caution, given that the previous intervention — the U.N.’s 2004-2017 peacekeeping mission — was marred by allegations of sexual assault and the introduction of cholera, which killed nearly 10,000 people. Romain Le Cour, senior expert at Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, called on the international community and government officials to share details including the mission’s rules of engagement and concept of operation. “We haven’t heard about a proper strategy about the mission on the ground, what is going to happen vis-a-vis the gangs,” he said. “Is it a static mission? Is it a moving mission? All those details are still missing, and I think it’s about time that there’s actually transparency.” Meanwhile, the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti issued a brief statement welcoming the Kenyans' arrival: “It is a crucial step in the fight to restore security in the Haitian capital and its surroundings and protect the rights of Haitians.” The Kenyans’ deployment comes nearly four months after gangs launched coordinated attacks targeting key government infrastructure in Haiti’s capital and beyond. They seized control of more than two dozen police stations, fired on the main international airport and stormed Haiti’s two biggest prisons, releasing more than 4,000 inmates. “We’ve been asking for security for the longest time,” said Orgline Bossicot, a 47-year-old mother of two who sells carrots and charcoal as a wholesale distributor. Gang violence has stymied her sales, and she tries to stay out as late as possible before sundown to make up for the losses despite being afraid. “You don’t know who’s waiting for you around the corner. We are a target,” she said, adding that she is hopeful about the Kenyan police joining forces with local authorities. “It would be a great step forward for me, for Haiti and for a lot of people.” Critics say the coordinated gang attacks that began Feb. 29 could have been prevented if the foreign force had been deployed sooner, but multiple setbacks including a legal challenge filed in Kenya and political upheaval in Haiti delayed its arrival. The coordinated attacks achieved their objective: preventing then-Prime Minister Ariel Heny from returning to Haiti. At the time, he was in Kenya to push for the deployment of the force, but he resigned in late April amid the surge in gang violence. Since then, a nine-member transitional presidential council was formed. It chose former U.N. official Garry Conille as prime minister May 28 and appointed a new Cabinet in mid-June. Despite the new leadership, gang violence has persisted, and experts say it will continue unless the government also addresses the socioeconomic factors that fuel the existence of gangs in a deeply impoverished country with a severely understaffed and under-resourced police department. “It’s hard to assess what is going to be the attitude of the gangs vis-a-vis the (mission),” Le Cour said. “It’s probably fair to say there won’t be a homogenous response from the gangs. Some of them might fight. Some of them might want to negotiate and open dialogue with the Haitian government." In a recent video, Jimmy Chérizier, a former elite police officer who now leads a powerful gang federation known as G9 Family and Allies, addressed the new prime minister for the first time. “You did not distribute weapons in working-class neighborhoods,” said Chérizier, best known as Barbecue. “Do not play into the hands of traditional politicians and businessmen, who used violence for political and economic ends, and who now want to recover, by force, the weapons they had distributed. The problem that exists today can only be resolved through dialogue.” Conille has not commented on the video. On Monday night, he wrote on the social media platform X that he saluted the determination of the Kenyan government and its people to support Haiti “in the fight against the insecurity that is corroding society.” “The Government and the Haitian people hope this multinational mission will be the last one that helps it stabilize for the renewal of political personnel and the return to effective democracy,” Conille wrote. The U.N. Security Council authorized Kenya to lead the multinational police mission in October 2023, a year after Henry first requested immediate help. U.S. President Joe Biden praised the arrival of the first contingent, saying that the mission overall “will bring much needed relief to Haitians.” “The people of Haiti deserve to feel safe in their homes, build better lives for their families, and enjoy democratic freedoms,” he said in a statement. “Haiti’s future depends on the return to democratic governance. While these goals may not be accomplished overnight, this mission provides the best chance of achieving them.” The use of Kenyan police has been questioned by human rights watchdogs and others who point out the years of allegations against officers of abuses including extrajudicial killings. On Tuesday, police again were accused of shooting protesters in Nairobi. The Kenyans will be joined by police from the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin, Chad and Jamaica for a total of 2,500 officers that will be deployed in phases for an annual cost of some $600 million, according to the U.N. Security Council. So far, the U.N.-administered fund for the mission has received only $18 million in contributions from Canada, France and the U.S. The U.S. also has pledged a total of $300 million in support. “While gang violence appears to have receded from its peak earlier this year, the country’s security situation remains dire,” the U.N. Security Council said in a June 21 statement. More than 2,500 people were killed or injured in the first three months of this year, a more than 50% increase from the same period last year. Many Haitians live in fear, including Jannette Oville, a 54-year-old mother of two university-age boys. She’s a wholesaler of crops like plantains and green peppers, and gangs have robbed her several times as she travels aboard public buses with her goods. “I need security. I need to work. I need the roads to open up so I can provide for my family,” she said, confiding that she tucks money in her armpit or underwear to try to keep it safe. “Being a female entrepreneur in Haiti is never easy,” she said. “There’s a lot of risk. But we take a risk to make sure our families are good.” The U.N. Security Council also noted that “the acute security situation continues to have severe humanitarian consequences.” An estimated 1.6 million Haitians are on the brink of starvation, the highest number recorded since the devastating 2010 earthquake, according to the U.N.

A 19-year-old student from Sri Lanka is accused of stabbing and killing six people he lived with, including a 2 1/2-month-old baby girl and three other kids from a Sri Lankan family, Ottawa police said Thursday. Ottawa police chief Eric Stubbs said an “edged weapon” or “knife-like object” was used by the suspect, who was identified as Febrio De-Zoysa. He has been charged with six counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder. Mass killings are rare in Canada. Stubbs said the deceased are Sri Lankan nationals who recently came to Canada. He said they include a 35-year-old mother, a 7-year-old son, a 4-year-old daughter, a 2-year-old daughter and the 2 1/2-month-old baby girl as well as a 40-year-old acquaintance of the family. The police chief said when the first officers arrived at the home the family’s father was outside and screaming for someone to call 911. Police received two emergency calls at 10:52 p.m. Wednesday. The father is in hospital with serious, but non-life-threatening, injuries. “This was a senseless act of violence perpetrated on purely innocent people,” Stubbs said. Sri Lanka’s high commission said that it is in touch with relatives in the country’s capital, Colombo. De-Zoysa made a brief appearance in court Thursday and mumbled his assent as the justice of the peace ordered him not to speak to the father who survived the attack or to four other witnesses who provided statements to the police. His case was adjourned until March 13 to give him time to find a lawyer. Police were called to the home in the Barrhaven area just before 11 p.m. Wednesday night. The suspect was arrested quickly after that, and police said there was no continuing threat to public safety. Don Perera, a neighbor, said he met the family that lived in the home last fall at a Halloween party at the nearby Catholic elementary school. He said the father was from Sri Lanka. Shanti Ramesh, who lives across the street, was alerted to a commotion late Wednesday. From her balcony, she saw a man sitting on the driveway of the home and yelling before two police officers arrived and carried him away. On Thursday morning, five marked police cars were parked on the street and in driveways near the home, which is a middle unit of a row of brick townhouses. Several people in white jumpsuits were going in and out of the home throughout the early morning, while parents and kids walked and biked by on their way to a nearby elementary school. “Our first reactions are all ones of shock and horror at this terrible violence,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said. Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe called the news distressing for all the city’s residents. “It's hard to believe,” he said. “It's devastating and heartbreaking.” Police have identified the victims as Darshani Banbaranayake Gama Walwwe Darshani Dilanthika Ekanyake, the 35-year-old mother; Inuka Wickramasinghe, a 7-year-old boy; Ashwini Wickramasinghe, a 4-year-old daughter, Rinyana Wickramasinghe, a 2-year-old daughter and Kelly Wickramasinghe, a 2 1/2-month-old baby girl. A sixth victim, Amarakoonmubiayansela Ge Gamini Amarakoon, 40, was also found deceased.

In a move that marks a significant shift in its immigration policy, the Canadian government has announced a plan to limit the number of international student permits over the next two years. This decision, as reported by CBC, comes amidst growing concerns over housing availability and the operations of certain private colleges in the country. The federal government plans to approve approximately 360,000 undergraduate study permits for 2024, which is a 35% reduction compared to the numbers from 2023. This cap will be distributed across Canadian provinces and territories based on population, leading to potentially sharper decreases in regions where the growth of the international student population has been deemed unsustainable. Canada’s Immigration Minister Marc Miller highlighted that in some provinces, the reduction in permits might reach around 50 percent. Provinces and territories will have the autonomy to decide the allocation of permits among their universities and colleges. This cap is set to remain for two years, with a reassessment planned for the end of this year regarding the number of permits to be issued in 2025. Read: US embassy holds “Super Friday” to help meet huge demand for student visa interviews The immigration minister expressed concerns about the practices of some small private colleges, criticizing their exploitation of international students. He accused these institutions of operating under-resourced campuses, lacking adequate student support, while charging high tuition fees and substantially increasing their intake of international students. In a detailed interview with the CBC, Miller spoke about institutions offering dubious business degrees, with possibly hundreds of such schools operating in Canada, a number that has surged in recent years. Alongside the permit cap, the Canadian government announced significant changes to the post-graduation work permit program. Starting September, international students enrolled in programs under curriculum licensing arrangements with private colleges will no longer be eligible for post-graduation work permits. Conversely, graduates from master’s and other short graduate-level programs will soon be able to apply for a three-year work permit. Spouses of international students in master’s and doctoral programs will also be eligible for open work permits. Read: Bangladesh requests Germany to expedite student visa processing  The housing crisis in Canada, exacerbated by the influx of international students, played a critical role in this policy change. Mike Moffatt, an assistant professor at the Ivey Business School at Western University and a senior director at the Smart Prosperity Institute, emphasized the urgent need for such measures. He pointed out the substantial impact of international students on housing markets in various cities, with low-income renters struggling for limited rental spots and investors buying single-family homes for student rentals, which hinders first-time home buyers. Read more: Australia changes int'l student visa rules Recent polls indicate increasing public concern about the influence of immigration levels on the housing situation in Canada. This policy shift by the federal government reflects an attempt to address these multifaceted issues, balancing the needs of the education sector, international students, and the broader Canadian community.

Canada has recalled 41 of its diplomats from India after the Indian government said it would revoke their diplomatic immunity, the foreign minister said Thursday, in an escalation of their dispute over the slaying of a Sikh separatist in Canada. The moves come after Canada's allegations that India may have been involved in the June killing of Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar in suburban Vancouver. India has accused Canada of harboring separatists and "terrorists," but dismissed the allegation of its involvement in the killing as "absurd" and has taken diplomatic steps to express its anger over the accusation. Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said Thursday that 41 of Canada's 62 diplomats in India have been removed, along with their dependents. Joly said exceptions have been made for 21 Canadian diplomats who will remain in India. India-Canada row: Trudeau speaks with Jordan King and UAE President "Forty-one Canadian diplomats and their 42 dependents were in danger of having their immunity stripped on an arbitrary date and this would put their personal safety at risk," Joly said. "Our diplomats and their families have now left." Joly said removing diplomatic immunity is not only unprecedented but contrary to international law, and said for that reason Canada wouldn't threaten to do the same thing with Indian diplomats. "A unilateral revocation of the diplomatic privilege and immunity is contrary to international law and a clear violation of the Geneva Convention on diplomatic relations. Threatening to do so is unreasonable and escalatory," Joly said. Joly said India's decision will impact the level of services to citizens of both countries. She said Canada is pausing in-person services in Chandigarh, Mumbai and Bangalore. India's Ministry of External Affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had previously called for a reduction in Canadian diplomats in India, saying they outnumbered India's staffing in Canada. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said last month that there were "credible allegations" of Indian involvement in the slaying of Nijjar, a 45-year-old Sikh leader who was killed by masked gunmen in June in Surrey, outside Vancouver. Canada is here to cooperate with and support Bangladesh, says its high commissioner For years, India had said that Nijjar, a Canadian citizen born in India, had links to terrorism, an allegation Nijjar denied. India also has canceled visas for Canadians, and Canada has not retaliated for that. India previously expelled a senior Canadian diplomat after Canada expelled a senior Indian diplomat. Trudeau has previously appeared to try to calm the diplomatic clash, telling reporters that Canada is "not looking to provoke or escalate." The allegation of India's involvement in the killing is based in part on surveillance of Indian diplomats in Canada, including intelligence provided by a major ally, a separate Canadian official previously told The Associated Press. The official said that the communications involved Indian officials and diplomats in Canada and that some of the intelligence was provided by a member of the "Five Eyes" intelligence-sharing alliance, which includes the United States, Britain, Australia and New Zealand, in addition to Canada. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. The latest expulsions by India have escalated tensions between the countries. Trudeau had frosty encounters with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the recent Group of 20 meeting in New Delhi, and a few days later, Canada canceled a trade mission to India planned for the fall. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has met with India's foreign minister amid the simmering row. A U.S. official said the topic was raised. U.S. officials have acknowledged that the fallout from the allegations could have an impact on relations with India, but have been careful not to cast blame in the killing of Nijjar. Nijjar, a plumber, was also a leader in what remains of a once-strong movement to create an independent Sikh homeland, known as Khalistan. A bloody decade-long Sikh insurgency shook north India in the 1970s and 1980s, until it was crushed in a government crackdown in which thousands of people were killed, including prominent Sikh leaders. US rejects report saying India-Canada dispute is threatening Washington’s ties with Delhi The Khalistan movement has lost much of its political power but still has supporters in the Indian state of Punjab, as well as in the sizable overseas Sikh diaspora. While the active insurgency ended years ago, the Indian government has warned repeatedly that Sikh separatists were trying to make a comeback. Canadian Immigration Minister Marc Miller noted that in 2022 India was the top country for permanent residents, temporary foreign workers and international students in Canada. Miller said as a result of India's decision to remove immunity Canada's immigration department will be significantly reducing the number of Canadian employees in India. Miller said the lower staff levels will hamper the issuing of visas and permits. Senior Canadian officials said India was firm on the number and rank of Canadian diplomats for whom it would lift diplomatic immunity. India also indicated it would cancel various permits, such as those permitting spouses to work in India and allowing the use of diplomatic plates on cars, officials said. Nelson Wiseman, a political scientist at the University of Toronto, said there would be no point in Canada retaliating over India's latest move. "The expulsions of the Canadian diplomats reveal the thin skin of the Indians; it suggests that they know they are complicit in the murder of a Canadian in Canada," Wiseman said. "They are trying to deflect attention from their lack of cooperation with Canada in the investigation of the murder."

Canada’s House of Commons on Tuesday elected Greg Fergus as its new speaker, making the Liberal lawmaker the first Black Canadian to hold the position. The election was triggered by the resignation of Anthony Rota, who stepped down last week after he invited — and honored — a man who fought for a Nazi military unit during World War II. Just after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke before the Canadian parliament last month, Canadian lawmakers gave 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka a standing ovation when Rota drew attention to him. Rota introduced Hunka as a war hero who fought for the First Ukrainian Division. Read: Killing of Sikh separatist: India tells Canada to withdraw over 40 diplomatic staff, reports say Observers later began to publicize the fact that the First Ukrainian Division also was known as the Waffen-SS Galicia Division, or the SS 14th Waffen Division, a voluntary unit that was under the command of the Nazis. Rota later apologized saying he had not been aware of that. Fergus, 54, is a Quebec Liberal lawmaker. Read: Despite dispute, Canada remains committed to its relationship with India: Trudeau After lawmakers elected him to the role through a secret ballot, he promised to lead with respect, and encouraged his fellow lawmakers to respect each other. Canadians are watching, he noted. “The speaker, to use the old hockey analogy, is nothing more than a referee,” Fergus said in his first speech from the chair. “And if there’s one thing I know, it’s that nobody pays good money to go see the referee. They go to see the stars: you.” Read more: Blinken meets Indian foreign minister as row between India and Canada simmers