Ontario Premier Doug Ford officially launched his re-election campaign in Windsor, Wednesday in front of the Ambassador Bridge. Standing at the podium in front of a "Protect Ontario" sign, he told the crowd that he couldn't imagine a better place to start his campaign than the manufacturing city. He asked the people of Ontario for "their trust" and for a "strong stable four-year mandate to do whatever it takes" to protect the province. The entire campaign kick-off was focused on Trump's potential tariffs. Ford also mentioned priorities such as cutting red tape and streamlining approvals to "get big things built fast" and "fighting the job-killing Liberal carbon tax." At no point in his campaign launch speech did Ford mention Ontario's crisis in health care. Read More

An Ontario fur auction house says they have no connection to an American fur and urine farm where hundreds of animals, such as coyotes and foxes, were kept in "disturbing" conditions. Read More

Three Israelis and five Thais were redeemed from terrorist captivity in the Gaza Strip on Thursday as part of Hamas’s truce with Jerusalem, 482 days after they were taken captive during the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre. Read More

OTTAWA — Ontario’s police chiefs say numerous criminal cases, including drug trafficking charges, have been stayed in the province since January because of budget cuts at the federal prosecution service limiting how much it spends on contract prosecutors. Read More

All 64 people aboard an American Airlines jet that collided with an Army helicopter were feared dead in what was likely to be the worst U.S. aviation disaster in almost a quarter century, officials said Thursday. Read More

First Reading is a daily newsletter keeping you posted on the travails of Canadian politicos, all curated by the National Post’s own Tristin Hopper. To get an early version sent directly to your inbox, sign up here. Read More

A Swedish man has been convicted for flying a drone while under the influence. Read More

OTTAWA — After Premier Danielle Smith fell out with provinces and federal Liberals over asking Alberta to bear the cost of using oil exports to fight U.S. tariffs, a new Postmedia-Leger poll shows most Canadians agree that no province should have to bear an unfair retaliation burden. Read More

Toronto Metropolitan University remains committed to medical school admissions through “equity pathways” (admissions streams for Black, Indigenous and other equity deserving groups) though it has developed a vocabulary that obscures their discriminatory impact: “excellence, inclusion and innovation;” students “from the community, for the community.” But according to TMU vice-president and dean of medicine, Teresa Chan, the university remains “committed to admitting a majority of students through equity pathways.” Read More

For you, Canadian everyman, our nation’s scandals aren’t experienced all that differently: news of deep corruption or incompetence catches wind, people get mad, bureaucratic bodies diffuse blame — and ultimately, no one pays the price. Well, except for you, who has to learn to do better. Read More

Canada would be better off being America’s 51st state because Canadians would have “much better health coverage,” Donald Trump said last week. Read More

With the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 47th president of the United States, how to appropriately respond to his administration’s initiatives — not the rumoured initiatives but the actual ones — becomes a highly relevant question for Canadians and our governments. Read More

ARLINGTON, Va. — A jet carrying 60 passengers and four crew members collided Wednesday with an Army helicopter while landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, prompting a large search-and-rescue operation in the nearby Potomac River. There were multiple fatalities, according to a person familiar with the matter, but the precise number of victims was unclear as rescue crews hunted for any survivors. Read More

OTTAWA -- With U.S. President Donald Trump making "territorial claims," the new head of CBC says defunding the public broadcaster could erode a pillar of Canada's cultural identity. Read More

CALGARY -- As the threat of 25 per cent tariffs looms over Canada, Alberta's premier says Ottawa should appoint a "border czar" to work collaboratively with the United States. Read More

The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) will change the names of three public schools commemorating Henry Dundas, Egerton Ryerson and Sir John A Macdonald. Read More

A Mississippi senator has introduced a bill aimed at banning men from participating in certain sexual activities if they do not intend to make a baby. Read More

There’s something peculiar about Doug Ford’s record as premier of Ontario. Read More

NEW YORK -- U.S. President Donald Trump has appealed his hush money conviction, seeking to erase the verdict that made him the first person with a criminal record to win the office. Read More

As so many of our native geese did months ago, thousands of Canadians will flock south to escape winter in March, many to all-inclusive resorts where food and drinks flow freely. Read More

OTTAWA — Canada's public safety minister is heading to Washington on Thursday in an effort to convince U.S. President Donald Trump's administration that the Canada-U.S. border is secure, as the clock ticks down on Trump's threat of slapping 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian imports. Read More

A Vatican document released Tuesday offers wide-ranging ethical guidelines for the application of artificial intelligence in sectors from warfare to healthcare, with an underlying call that the burgeoning technology must be used as a tool to complement, and not replace, human intelligence. Read More

OTTAWA — Former finance minister Chrystia Freeland is proposing to have a leaner and more effective team in government if she becomes Liberal leader on March 9. Read More