https://www.scmp.com/rss/507988/feed Latest news and updates on the impact of a new strain of coronavirus on Canada. The virus causes the disease Covid-19 and the World Health Organisation has declared the spread of the infection a pandemic. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faced the biggest test of his political career after Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, long one of his most powerful and loyal ministers, resigned from the Cabinet on Monday. The stunning move raised questions about how much longer the prime minister of nearly 10 years – whose popularity has plummeted due to concerns about inflation and immigration – can stay on as his administration scrambles to deal with incoming US President-elect Donald Trump. Trudeau... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3291075/canada-finance-minister-freeland-resigns-pm-trudeau-deals-declining-popularity?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3291075/canada-finance-minister-freeland-resigns-pm-trudeau-deals-declining-popularity?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Dec 2024 16:26:14 +0000 Home prices in Canada – a destination favoured by Hongkongers – are likely to decline this year, according to analysts, as Ottawa implements a two-year ban on most foreigners buying homes. Though the proscription was introduced with the aim of subduing a red hot housing market, it is unlikely to be the main factor bringing pressure to bear on house prices. Instead, it is the sharp rise in interest rates that will dampen demand, according to analysts. For a period of two years from January 1,... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3205887/canadas-home-prices-poised-decline-though-not-because-ban-foreign-homebuyers-analysts-say?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3205887/canadas-home-prices-poised-decline-though-not-because-ban-foreign-homebuyers-analysts-say?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Jan 2023 02:00:08 +0000 Plans to host a repeat of the “Freedom Convoy” in the Canadian city of Winnipeg have been called off by one of the anti-government protest groups. Canada Unity, one of the groups behind the protesters that descended on the capital city of Ottawa last year, made the announcement on Monday. “The Canada Unity Official Freedom Convoy 2.0 Reunion that was scheduled for February 17 to 20, 2023, is hereby officially being issued a 10-7 ‘out of service’,″ James Bauder wrote on the group’s Facebook... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3205357/plans-another-freedom-convoy-canada-scrapped?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3205357/plans-another-freedom-convoy-canada-scrapped?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Jan 2023 20:54:09 +0000 Canada on Saturday said it will require travellers on Canadian-bound flights departing China to test negative for Covid-19, amid concern over the country’s explosion of coronavirus cases. The requirements, which take effect at 12.01am on Thursday, apply to all travellers two years of age and older arriving on flights in Canada originating from mainland China, Hong Kong or Macao. Travellers will be required to provide evidence of a negative Covid-19 test result, taken no more than two days before... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3205207/eu-discuss-joint-covid-response-china-arrivals-january-4?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3205207/eu-discuss-joint-covid-response-china-arrivals-january-4?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 31 Dec 2022 21:45:34 +0000 Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified at a public inquiry on Friday to defend his use of emergency powers to dislodge noisy trucker-led protesters that jammed the capital earlier this year, citing what he called threats of serious violence. His testimony at the Public Order Emergency Commission wrapped up six weeks of hearings on the rarely used powers, which were invoked in February after weeks of protests that brought Ottawa to a standstill and disrupted trade. Critics have said... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3201068/canadas-justin-trudeau-defends-use-emergency-powers-against-freedom-convoy-trucker-protests?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3201068/canadas-justin-trudeau-defends-use-emergency-powers-against-freedom-convoy-trucker-protests?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Nov 2022 18:24:42 +0000 Beijing university student Kathy Yao takes occasional breaks from summer holiday preparations for the national civil service exams to check for social media posts on the latest fashion trend in mainland China – cadre style. There are hundreds of videos posted on Xiaohongshu – Little Red Book – the mainland’s leading fashion social media platform, showing how to dress like a government official or Communist Party cadre. On Zhihu, a question and answer website and mobile application, users posted... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3184343/how-communist-party-membership-and-state-sector-jobs-became?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3184343/how-communist-party-membership-and-state-sector-jobs-became?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 Jul 2022 03:00:22 +0000 Jessie Ho Jessie Ho Like citizens of many countries, Canadians are emerging from Covid-19 isolation. Mask mandates were lifted in late March, other public health measures were loosened in February, and after a gruelling two years of uncertainty, it feels good to contemplate overseas travel again. Across Canada, the coronavirus restrictions sparked conversations about social responsibility and how the pandemic had “stolen” precious years from people’s lives. We spoke with a number of well-travelled Asian-Canadian... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3178444/asian-canadian-millennials-talk-about-travel-during-covid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3178444/asian-canadian-millennials-talk-about-travel-during-covid?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 May 2022 11:00:19 +0000 Just before the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, Francis Fukuyama pronounced humanity to have reached “the end of history”, with Western liberal democracy triumphant as “the final form of human government”. In the years since, leading scholars such as the late Thomas Franck, Anne-Marie Slaughter and Georg Nolte (now a judge of the International Court of Justice) argued that there was an emerging right in international law to democratic governance, that liberal internationalism was universally... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3171568/hong-kong-canada-do-i-tell-you-governments-risk-trapping-us-covid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3171568/hong-kong-canada-do-i-tell-you-governments-risk-trapping-us-covid?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Mar 2022 22:45:20 +0000 The interior of Canadian province British Columbia is renowned for its annual deposits of deep, feather-light powder snow and the homely feel of its ski resorts, attributes epitomised by Whitewater and Red Mountain. It has been difficult, if not impossible, to access these ski resorts for anyone other than locals over the last two years, because of Covid-19 travel restrictions, so when, after much form-filling and tedious bureaucracy, I was able to visit this corner of BC last month, I wondered... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3169996/how-skiing-canada-pandemic-eases-2-resorts-british?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3169996/how-skiing-canada-pandemic-eases-2-resorts-british?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 13 Mar 2022 11:45:23 +0000 Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Wednesday he is removing emergency powers police can use after authorities ended the border blockades by those opposed to Covid-19 restrictions as well as the occupation of downtown Ottawa. Trudeau invoked the powers last week and lawmakers affirmed the powers late Monday. Trudeau said then the powers were still needed but noted they would not stay in place a day longer than necessary. “The situation is no longer an emergency, therefore the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3168156/justin-trudeau-revokes-emergency-powers-after?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3168156/justin-trudeau-revokes-emergency-powers-after?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Feb 2022 22:18:08 +0000 Police in riot gear cleared the main protest hub in downtown Ottawa Saturday, using batons and pepper spray and making dozens of arrests, as they worked to flush out a hard core of demonstrators occupying the Canadian capital. In a day-long show of force, hundreds of officers pushed into the city centre – facing off in tense scenes with determined protesters who hurled gas canisters and smoke grenades at advancing police, linking arms and chanting “freedom”. By the afternoon, police backed by... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3167701/canadian-police-end-siege-sweep-through-streets?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3167701/canadian-police-end-siege-sweep-through-streets?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 19 Feb 2022 22:46:43 +0000 Police arrested scores of demonstrators and towed away vehicles on Friday in Canada’s besieged capital, and a stream of trucks started leaving under the pressure, raising authorities’ hopes for an end to the three-week protest against the country’s Covid-19 restrictions. By midafternoon, at least 70 people had been arrested, mostly on mischief charges, and nearly two dozen vehicles had been towed, including all of those blocking one of the city’s major streets, authorities said. One officer had... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3167633/canada-police-begin-protests-clear-capital-expected?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3167633/canada-police-begin-protests-clear-capital-expected?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Feb 2022 15:34:34 +0000 Southeast Asian fast-food chains are being hit by a shortage of French fries as supply-chain snarls slow shipments of the frozen product. Signs at some of Yum Brands Inc’s KFC outlets in Singapore informed customers that the company would replace side orders of French fries with potato waffles due to a “global supply disruption.” McDonald’s Corp stores in Malaysia and Indonesia halted sales of large-size portions of fries late last month for the same reason, according to company notices posted... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3167612/singapore-where-are-all-french-fries-shortage-amid-global?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3167612/singapore-where-are-all-french-fries-shortage-amid-global?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Feb 2022 12:28:20 +0000 Ottawa’s police chief was ousted Tuesday amid criticism of his inaction against the trucker protests that have paralysed Canada’s capital for over two weeks, while the number of blockades maintained by demonstrators at the US border dropped to just one. The twin developments came a day after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked Canada’s Emergencies Act and threatened to take tough legal and financial measures to end the unrest in Ottawa and beyond by protesters decrying the country’s Covid-19... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3167184/ottawa-police-chief-resigns-trucker-protests?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3167184/ottawa-police-chief-resigns-trucker-protests?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 15 Feb 2022 18:38:27 +0000 Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau activated rarely used emergency powers in an effort to end protests that have shut some US border crossings and paralysed parts of the capital. Under the Emergencies Act, the government introduced measures intended to cut off protesters’ funding and took steps to reinforce provincial and local law enforcement with federal police. “The blockades are harming our economy and endangering public safety,” Trudeau told a news conference on Monday. “We cannot and... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3167047/canadas-justin-trudeau-invokes-emergency-powers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3167047/canadas-justin-trudeau-invokes-emergency-powers?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Feb 2022 22:15:36 +0000 Canadian police on Sunday cleared a key US border bridge occupied by trucker-led demonstrators angry over Covid-19 restrictions, towing vehicles and making “several” arrests in their bid to quell a movement that has also paralysed downtown Ottawa. “Today, our national economic crisis at the Ambassador Bridge came to an end,” Drew Dilkens, mayor of Windsor, Ontario, said in a statement. “Border crossings will reopen when it is safe to do so.” US officials, who had pressed for a quick resolution... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3166910/police-clear-and-arrest-remaining-covid-19?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3166910/police-clear-and-arrest-remaining-covid-19?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 13 Feb 2022 21:16:57 +0000 Truckers snarling a key bridge between Canada and the United States in protest at Covid-19 rules defied a judge’s order to leave on Friday night, with the crowd getting even bigger two weeks into the snowballing protest movement. The days-long blockade of the Ambassador Bridge that connects Windsor, Ontario and the US city of Detroit, has paralysed a key North American trade route, piling pressure on Canadian leader Justin Trudeau to resolve the crisis. A Canadian judge granted an injunction... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3166788/canada-trucker-protests-judge-orders-end-blockade?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3166788/canada-trucker-protests-judge-orders-end-blockade?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Feb 2022 22:59:17 +0000 Authorities in France, Belgium and Austria on Thursday banned road blockades threatened by groups organising online against Covid-19 restrictions, in part inspired by protesters in Canada. Citing “risks of trouble to public order”, the Paris police department banned protests aimed at “blocking the capital” from Friday through Monday. Police will put measures in place to protect roads and detain violators. Blocking traffic can lead to two years in prison, €4,500 (more than US$5,000) in fines and... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3166603/anti-vax-blockades-inspired-canada-trucker-protests-banned-france?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3166603/anti-vax-blockades-inspired-canada-trucker-protests-banned-france?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Feb 2022 20:48:09 +0000 Canadian police threatened on Wednesday to arrest trucker-led protesters who have shut down central Ottawa and disrupted cross-border trade in anger at Covid-19 health rules, as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau lambasted the movement as “unacceptable”. With more people joining the blockade of the Ambassador Bridge between Windsor and the US city of Detroit in solidarity with the two-week long truckers protest in the Canadian capital, Trudeau warned the action threatens the country’s economic... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3166464/coronavirus-canada-pm-justin-trudeau-slams-trucker?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3166464/coronavirus-canada-pm-justin-trudeau-slams-trucker?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Feb 2022 23:22:55 +0000 A protest movement by Canadian truckers angered over Covid-19 vaccine rules has become a rallying point for opponents of pandemic restrictions, firing up crowds from New York to New Zealand. In New York, dozens of municipal workers facing dismissal unless they get shots marched across the Brooklyn Bridge to City Hall on Monday carrying giant US and Canadian flags. “Unvaccinated Lives Matter” and “Workers Are Essential, Mandates Are Not”, read signs carried by the crowd, which included... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3166339/canadian-covid-19-anti-vax-truckers-inspire-copycat?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3166339/canadian-covid-19-anti-vax-truckers-inspire-copycat?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Feb 2022 03:54:18 +0000 The busiest land crossing from the United States to Canada remained shut on Tuesday after Canadian truckers blocked lanes on Monday to protest their government’s pandemic control measures. While traffic in both directions was initially blocked, US-bound lanes have since reopened, Windsor Police tweeted. Drivers demanding an end to federal Covid-19 vaccine mandates for cross-border traffic began blocking the streets of Canada’s capital, Ottawa, on January 28. Since Sunday night, police have... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3166314/coronavirus-protests-canadas-anti-vax-truckers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3166314/coronavirus-protests-canadas-anti-vax-truckers?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Feb 2022 20:49:29 +0000 Police in Canada’s national capital said on Monday they have seized thousands of litres of fuel and removed an oil tanker as part of a crackdown to end days long protest against the government’s Covid-19 measures, while a judge granted an interim injunction against deafening honking that has irked residents. Canada’s capital Ottawa has been gridlocked by a so-called “Freedom Convoy” consisting of truckers and other motorists for 11 days now. What started as a movement opposing a Canadian vaccine... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3166178/canada-trucker-protest-police-seize-fuel-court?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3166178/canada-trucker-protest-police-seize-fuel-court?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Feb 2022 22:32:11 +0000 Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson on Sunday declared a state of emergency to help deal with an unprecedented 10-day occupation by protesting truckers that has shut down much of the core of the Canadian capital. “(This) reflects the serious danger and threat to the safety and security of residents posed by the ongoing demonstrations and highlights the need for support from other jurisdictions and levels of government,” he said in a statement. Watson, who complained earlier in the day that the demonstrators... https://www.scmp.com/coronavirus/us-canada/article/3166039/coronavirus-hit-and-run-vaccine-protests-canada-russia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/coronavirus/us-canada/article/3166039/coronavirus-hit-and-run-vaccine-protests-canada-russia?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 Feb 2022 16:15:06 +0000 Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said on Saturday it was fraud for GoFundMe to “commandeer” US$9 million in donations sent to support protesting truck drivers in Canada and that he will investigate what he called “deceptive practices” by the website. GoFundMe took down the so-called Freedom Convoy’s page on Friday, saying it violated its terms of service. It said donors had two weeks to request a refund, then remaining funds would be disbursed to “credible and established charities.” DeSantis, a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3165970/florida-governor-investigate-us9-million-gofundme?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3165970/florida-governor-investigate-us9-million-gofundme?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Feb 2022 16:58:51 +0000 The Canadian government will not use troops against truckers whose nearly week-long protest of coronavirus vaccine mandates has brought traffic in central Ottawa to a halt, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said. More than 200 trucks and other vehicles have been blockading downtown roads in the nation’s capital since last Friday in what is an unprecedented protest by Canadian standards. Organisers say drivers plan to hold similar protests in Toronto, the country’s most populous city and its... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3165802/canada-rules-out-use-troops-against-ottawa-trucker?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3165802/canada-rules-out-use-troops-against-ottawa-trucker?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 04 Feb 2022 05:22:45 +0000 Canada’s opposition Conservatives have ousted their leader after he failed to defeat Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals in last year’s election. Erin O’Toole, who has held the top job since August 2020, lost a secret-ballot confidence vote of elected lawmakers on Wednesday, according to a statement issued by Scott Reid, chair of the party’s caucus. Of the 119 members of parliament, 73 voted against O’Toole while 45 supported him. The vote required only a simple majority to pass. On... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3165632/canada-conservative-leader-erin-otoole-ousted-after?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3165632/canada-conservative-leader-erin-otoole-ousted-after?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Feb 2022 19:13:49 +0000 Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday he has tested positive for Covid-19, while calling out truckers protesting against vaccine mandates. “I feel well and have no symptoms,” the 50-year-old premier told a news conference. Trudeau had announced last week he was isolating after being exposed to the coronavirus. Two of his three children have also since tested positive, he said. Trudeau, who received his third dose of the Covid-19 vaccine in January, urged Canadians to get... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3165459/canadian-prime-minister-justin-trudeau-tests?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3165459/canadian-prime-minister-justin-trudeau-tests?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 31 Jan 2022 16:50:39 +0000 Thousands of protesters gathered in Canada’s capital on Saturday to protest against vaccine mandates, masks and lockdowns. The sounds of honking horns echoed around Ottawa’s downtown core. A convoy of lorries and cars parked around Parliament Hill with some parking on the grounds of the National War Memorial before police asked them to move. “Parking on this sacred ground that includes the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was a sign of complete disrespect,” Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson tweeted. Some... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3165274/coronavirus-thousands-protest-against-covid-19?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3165274/coronavirus-thousands-protest-against-covid-19?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 29 Jan 2022 19:32:26 +0000 The Chinese embassy in Canada has urged travellers to China to follow Beijing’s strict pre-departure Covid-19 rules requiring them to self-isolate for a week before their journey. Earlier this month, the embassy said China had seen a “rapid increase” in imported infections from Canada and would tighten the requirements “to reduce risks”. As of January 14, anyone travelling directly to China from Canada must provide an additional negative PCR test result taken seven days before their flight and... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3163984/chinese-embassy-canada-urges-travellers-follow-strict-self?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3163984/chinese-embassy-canada-urges-travellers-follow-strict-self?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Jan 2022 14:00:25 +0000 It is extremely unlikely for Covid-19 to spread via contaminated post, Canada’s health authorities said, after their Chinese counterparts suggested this may be the source of an Omicron case found in Beijing over the weekend. The Beijing Centre for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday said traces of the Omicron variant had been found on a letter mailed from Toronto and received by the person, and suggested that the letter could have been the source of the infection. On Tuesday, the Beijing... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3163837/coronavirus-extremely-low-risk-infection-handling-mail-health?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3163837/coronavirus-extremely-low-risk-infection-handling-mail-health?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 Jan 2022 12:30:23 +0000 Quebec, Canada’s second most populous province, is planning to force adults refusing to get Covid-19 vaccinated pay a “health contribution” in a move likely to spur a debate about individual rights and social responsibility. Premier Francois Legault told reporters at a briefing on Tuesday that the proposal, details of which were still being finalised, would not apply to those who cannot get vaccinated for medical reasons. Unvaccinated people put a financial burden on others and the provincial... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3163027/canadas-quebec-tax-unvaccinated-adults-coronavirus?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3163027/canadas-quebec-tax-unvaccinated-adults-coronavirus?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Jan 2022 22:33:19 +0000 Passengers who filmed themselves partying without masks aboard a chartered flight from Montreal to Mexico face being stranded after three airlines refused to fly them home to Canada. Sunwing Airlines cancelled the return charter flight from Cancun that had been scheduled for Wednesday and Air Transat and Air Canada also both said they will refuse to carry the passengers. Adding insult to injury, they were branded “idiots” on Wednesday by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Videos of the December 30... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3162441/coronavirus-canadian-idiots-party-flight-mexico?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3162441/coronavirus-canadian-idiots-party-flight-mexico?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 Jan 2022 20:40:30 +0000 In just three weeks since the world became aware of a new variant of the coronavirus which causes Covid-19, Omicron has demonstrated a stunning pace of growth. The World Health Organization warned member states on Sunday that Omicron appears to have a growth advantage over Delta – an already highly transmissible variant of the virus – and predicts it is likely to outcompete its predecessor where community transmission occurs. But along with the high rate of transmission, Omicron appears to bring... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3159809/why-rapid-spread-mild-omicron-cause-alarm?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3159809/why-rapid-spread-mild-omicron-cause-alarm?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Dec 2021 04:00:17 +0000 Home sales in Canada hit a historic high in October this year, and Hongkongers looking to buy property in the north American country should not wait for a correction and make their purchases as soon as possible, agents and analysts said. From January to October, home transactions reached 581,275, surpassing the 552,423 homes sales recorded last year, according to data from The Canadian Real Estate Association, which represents more than 135,000 real estate professionals. Canada’s average home... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3159602/hongkongers-eyeing-canadian-homes-should-move-fast-booming-prices-only?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3159602/hongkongers-eyeing-canadian-homes-should-move-fast-booming-prices-only?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Dec 2021 23:30:32 +0000 Nigeria plans to ban flights from Argentina, Britain, Canada and Saudi Arabia from this week in retaliation for being added to those countries’ red lists over the detection of the Omicron coronavirus variant last month, the aviation minister said. Several countries have restricted the movement of people from some African nations since the Omicron variant was first detected in southern Africa and Hong Kong. It has since spread to at least 57 countries. In recorded comments shared with journalists... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3159437/nigeria-plans-reciprocal-ban-flights-four-countries-over-covid-19?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3159437/nigeria-plans-reciprocal-ban-flights-four-countries-over-covid-19?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Dec 2021 15:56:47 +0000 The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said late on Friday that it will accept mixed-dose coronavirus vaccines from international travellers, a boost to travellers from Canada and other places. The CDC said last week that it would accept any vaccine authorised for use by US regulators or the World Health Organization. “While CDC has not recommended mixing types of vaccine in a primary series, we recognise that this is increasingly common in other countries so should be accepted... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3152577/us-will-accept-mixed-coronavirus-vaccines?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3152577/us-will-accept-mixed-coronavirus-vaccines?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 16 Oct 2021 00:02:16 +0000 Canadians are voting in an election that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called two years early, seeking to turn public approval for his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic into a fresh, four-year mandate. Voting across Canada’s six time zones was scheduled to wrap up in westernmost British Columbia at 7pm on Monday (10am Hong Kong time Tuesday). An estimated 27 million Canadians were eligible to cast a ballot to select 338 members of parliament. To keep his job, Trudeau’s Liberals must win a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3149419/canada-2021-election-whats-happened-whats-stake?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3149419/canada-2021-election-whats-happened-whats-stake?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Sep 2021 08:06:09 +0000 Maxime Bernier, a former cabinet minister nicknamed “Mad Max”, is channelling anger against mandatory vaccines into surprising support for his populist People’s Party of Canada (PPC) in the country’s tight election race. His efforts may end up helping the man he calls a “fascist psychopath”: Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Bernier, 58, who quit the main opposition Conservatives in 2018 after losing a leadership race, was previously most famous for leaving classified documents in a former... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3148763/canadas-mad-max-stokes-anti-vax-rage-and-could-help?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3148763/canadas-mad-max-stokes-anti-vax-rage-and-could-help?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Sep 2021 17:45:58 +0000 Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, facing potential defeat in a September 20 election, on Thursday used a key leaders’ debate to take aim at his main rival, portraying him as weak and ineffective. Polls show Erin O’Toole’s Conservative Party has a chance of winning the election and ending six years of Liberal rule. Trudeau called the vote two years early as a referendum on his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. Trudeau, sometimes looking agitated, rounded several times on O’Toole, who has... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3148238/canada-election-2021-pm-justin-trudeau-portrays?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3148238/canada-election-2021-pm-justin-trudeau-portrays?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Sep 2021 04:00:42 +0000 Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday he will not alter how he campaigns after he and others were hit by gravel thrown by an anti-vaccine protester during the campaign this week. Trudeau has faced increasingly hostile protests by what he calls “anti-vax mobs” ahead of the September 20 election. During a campaign stop in London, Ontario on Monday Trudeau and some journalists were hit by gravel thrown by a protester as he boarded his campaign bus. “Anti-vax mobs are not respecting... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3147927/canadas-justin-trudeau-pelted-gravel-campaign-trail?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3147927/canadas-justin-trudeau-pelted-gravel-campaign-trail?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Sep 2021 17:18:25 +0000 Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, struggling ahead of a September 20 election, came under concerted fire at a debate on Thursday from opponents who said he had no business calling an election during the Covid-19 pandemic. Trudeau and the leaders of three other parties took part in a sometimes heated two-hour French language debate, often speaking over each other. But unlike previous encounters, none of the four appeared to land a knockout blow. Trudeau triggered the vote last month just... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3147412/canada-election-2021-pm-justin-trudeau-defensive?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3147412/canada-election-2021-pm-justin-trudeau-defensive?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Sep 2021 04:05:41 +0000 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau triggered an election on Sunday as he seeks to capitalise on Canada being one of the most fully vaccinated countries in the world. Trudeau announced the election would be held on September 20 after visiting the governor general, who holds a mostly ceremonial position representing Britain’s Queen Elizabeth as head of state. “We’ve had your back, and now it’s time to hear your voice,” Trudeau said. “Canadians need to choose how we finish the fight against... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3145128/justin-trudeau-confirms-canada-election-september?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3145128/justin-trudeau-confirms-canada-election-september?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Aug 2021 16:59:25 +0000 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government said it will make Covid-19 vaccines mandatory for airline and rail passengers, transport workers and federal employees, in one of its final announcements before the start of a Canadian election campaign. Government officials said Friday the plan is to require government staff to be inoculated by early fall. Workers and passengers on airlines, railways and cruise ships will also need proof of vaccination by the end of October. This is the most dramatic... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3145026/coronavirus-canada-require-vaccines-air-travellers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3145026/coronavirus-canada-require-vaccines-air-travellers?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Aug 2021 20:08:16 +0000 Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is planning a snap election for September 20 to seek voter approval for the government’s costly plans to combat Covid-19, four sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday. Trudeau is set to make the announcement on Sunday, said the sources, who requested anonymity given the sensitivity of the situation. Trudeau aides have said for months that the ruling Liberals would push for a vote before the end of 2021, two years ahead of schedule. Trudeau has... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3144863/canada-pm-justin-trudeau-call-snap-election-seeking?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3144863/canada-pm-justin-trudeau-call-snap-election-seeking?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Aug 2021 19:17:04 +0000 Canada has lifted its prohibition on Americans crossing the border to shop, go on holiday or visit while the United States is maintaining similar restrictions for Canadians, part of a bumpy return to normalcy from Covid-19 travel bans. US citizens and legal residents must be both fully vaccinated and test negative for Covid-19 within three days to get across one of the world’s longest and busiest land borders, and Canadian officials warn they will not sacrifice safety for shorter border waits.... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3144480/coronavirus-canada-reopens-border-vaccinated?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3144480/coronavirus-canada-reopens-border-vaccinated?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Aug 2021 05:39:08 +0000 Anna Pierce, the vice-president and general manager of Niagara Helicopters, an Ontario-based helicopter tour company, describes operations during the Covid-19 pandemic as a “terrible roller coaster”, with travel restrictions for domestic and international travellers curbing business dramatically. “On a typical day [before the pandemic], we would do upwards of 80 flights with six passengers in each flight,” she says. “It went down to as low as four flights a day last summer.” Pierce hopes the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3144377/canadas-short-staffed-tourism-sector-prepares-border?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3144377/canadas-short-staffed-tourism-sector-prepares-border?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Aug 2021 14:15:05 +0000 Canada announced on Monday it will begin letting fully vaccinated US citizens into Canada on August 9, and those from the rest of the world on September 7. Officials said the 14-day quarantine requirement will be waived as of August 9 for eligible travellers who are currently living in the United States and have received a full course of a Covid-19 vaccine approved for use in Canada. Public Safety Minister Bill Blair, who said he spoke with US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3141740/coronavirus-canada-let-fully-vaccinated-us-citizens?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3141740/coronavirus-canada-let-fully-vaccinated-us-citizens?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 Jul 2021 19:55:43 +0000 American hair salon owner Nik Smith-Serrano has been desperate for any signs that a border half a world away will reopen soon. Smith-Serrano’s Azul Hair Collection salon in Atlanta, Georgia, is running out of stock of premium lace wigs, which are usually assembled by hand in North Korea, a major manufacturing hub for Chinese companies. Since borders around the world began closing to try to contain the coronavirus pandemic, it has become almost impossible to ship the materials for the wigs,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3134537/how-pandemic-has-global-wig-business-hanging-thread?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3134537/how-pandemic-has-global-wig-business-hanging-thread?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 23 May 2021 14:00:26 +0000 British Columbia’s handling of Covid-19 in long-term care homes has come under fire in the Canadian province’s legislative assembly, in the wake of a South China Morning Post investigation that revealed at least 192 residents had died in homes where outbreaks were deliberately not declared when an employee was first found to have contracted the virus. In questions about the protocols that stretched over Monday and Tuesday, opposition leader Shirley Bond of the BC Liberals told Health Minister... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3133978/heartbroken-british-columbians-deserve-answers-about-post?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3133978/heartbroken-british-columbians-deserve-answers-about-post?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 May 2021 20:27:23 +0000 British Columbia’s health minister has pledged to look into the circumstances of Covid-19 infections in long-term care homes, in light of a South China Morning Post investigation that revealed at least 192 people had died in Vancouver homes where authorities did not declare outbreaks when an employee first tested positive for the virus. More than 1,000 people became infected in 42 care homes where outbreak declarations were delayed by an average of almost five days under the strategy, known as... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3133573/health-chief-says-covid-19-outbreaks-were-not-declared?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3133573/health-chief-says-covid-19-outbreaks-were-not-declared?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 14 May 2021 19:35:04 +0000