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Canada adds nearly 1,000 new coronavirus cases on Friday, highest daily increase since May 25 – Global News

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Canada added 997 new cases of the novel coronavirus over the past 24 hours, though the national case count increased by another 40 cases that were delayed in reporting.

The new cases bring the country’s total COVID-19 diagnoses to 141,789, while five new deaths linked to the virus bring the death toll to 9,205. A total of 123,715 patients have recovered from the coronavirus, while more than 7.6 million tests have been administered.

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Friday’s increase stands as the highest uptick since May 25, which saw 1,010 new infections across Canada.

Daily reported cases of the virus continue to follow a sharp increase across Canada, with the new infections averaging at 849 new cases a day over the past week, according to Canada’s chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam.

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In a press conference Friday, Tam said that it was too soon to tell if Canadians were witnessing a long-warned second wave of the virus despite the sharp increase in cases.

“This situation increases the likelihood that we could lose the ability to keep COVID-19 cases at manageable levels,” said Tam. “Now is the time for Canadians to redouble their efforts with personal precautions that will slow the spread of the virus.”

On Friday, president of the Public Health Agency of Canada Tina Namiesniowski also resigned amid the country’s growing case levels.

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In a letter to staff released by the agency, Namiesniowski said that she wanted to take a break from her role and “step aside so someone else can step up” to co-ordinate Canada’s COVID-19 response.

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Ontario announced the highest increase in cases on Friday, with 401 new infections and no new deaths.

The new cases bring the province’s total case count to 46,077 while its death toll stands at 2,825.

Quebec added 297 cases of the virus, bringing its provincial total to 66,653. One new death was also recorded by the province, but health authorities say it had occurred at an unknown date.

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The province’s death toll stands at 5,792 — the highest in Canada — while over 52,000 patients have recovered from the virus.

British Columbia added 179 new cases of the virus on Friday, though seven of those cases are considered “epidemiologically linked,” which refers to patients that are related to confirmed cases and show symptoms of the virus, but have not been formally tested.

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Forty of the cases announced on Friday were also considered historical however, dating back to early August.

The cases bring British Columbia’s total lab-confirmed cases to 7,720, while the province’s death toll has been increased to 223 after three new deaths were reported.

Alberta reported 107 new cases of the coronavirus on Friday, bringing its total lab-confirmed cases to 16,381. Health authorities also added one additional death in the province, raising its total number of fatalities to 255.

Saskatchewan added 19 new cases of the virus on Friday, raising its total case count to 1,776. Twenty-four people have succumbed to the virus in the province, while another 1,639 patients have recovered.

Manitoba reported 40 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday and no new deaths, raising the province’s total infections to 1,540. The province’s cases are comprised of an unknown number of infections considered probable, however.

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Manitoba’s death toll stands at 16, while another 1,199 patients have recovered.

Newfoundland and Labrador also reported one new case of the virus on Friday — its first new case in six days. A total of 272 people have been infected with COVID-19 there since the pandemic first began, while three have since succumbed to the virus.

New Brunswick and Nova Scotia reported zero new cases of the virus on Friday during their daily updates.

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An extension of U.S.-Canada border closure, a deal which was set to expire Sept. 21, was also announced on Friday. The agreement will now extend the border closure to at least Oct. 21 — a closure that was first implemented to curb the spread of the virus.

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Cases of the virus have now surpassed over 30.3 million worldwide, according to a running tally kept by Johns Hopkins University. A total of 949,486 people have also died, with the United States, Brazil and India continuing to lead in both cases and deaths.

With files from Global News’ Katie Dangerfield, Kalina LaFrambroise, Kerri Breen, Andrew Russell and The Canadian Press.

© 2020 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

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1 dead, 2 critically injured after car crash in Montreal

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Montreal

Three people are in hospital with critical injuries after their vehicle crashed into a tree. Police believe they might be connected to two drive-by shootings that took place early Thursday morning.

2 drive-by shootings also took place overnight

an SPVM car near a taped-off crime scene
Montreal police are investigating a car crash possibly linked to two drive-by shootings. (Mathieu Wagner/Radio-Canada)

Urgences-santé say one person died and two others were critically injured after their vehicle hit a tree in the Rosemont neighbourhood.

Montreal police believe the crash may be linked to two drive-by shootings early Thursday morning.

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The first happened around 5 a.m. on Pie-IX Boulevard. Police say a car was shot at repeatedly and the driver, a 41-year-old man, was injured in the upper body. He was transported to hospital, but his life is not in danger, say police.

Shortly afterward, shots were reported in the Plateau Mont-Royal borough, near the intersection of Saint-Joseph Boulevard and Henri-Julien Avenue. No one was injured.

Police say they are investigating to determine if there is a connection between the collision and the shootings. Montreal police spokesperson Jean-Pierre Brabant says it’s possible those in the vehicle were involved in the shootings.

The province’s independent police watchdog is now involved.

with files from Chloë Ranaldi

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Pakistan airline crew sought asylum in Canada: spokesperson – CTV News

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Typically, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight attendants who arrive in Toronto stay at a hotel overnight, meet back up with their crew the next day and then fly to their next destination.

But increasingly often, PIA attendants aren’t showing up, the airline says. According to PIA, at least eight flight attendants disappeared over the last year and a half.

They have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.

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Increased occurrences

Abdullah Hafeez Khan said at least eight flight attendants “have gone missing” after flying to Pearson International Airport in Toronto. He said these incidents have been happening over the last 10 years, but are now occurring more frequently.

“Since probably October of 2022, the number of the people that have opted asylum has increased tremendously,” Khan said in a video interview with CTVNews.ca from Karachi, Pakistan, where the airline is based.

“None of those crew members that disappeared in the last one-and-a-half years have come back. So they were granted asylum for one way or the other, and that probably has encouraged others to do so.”

The missing employees were fired immediately and lost their company benefits, Khan said.

Why did they flee?

Khan said he could only speculate as to why the flight attendants would flee.

The Canadian government underscored the volatile situation in Pakistan, warning in a travel advisory of a “high threat of terrorism,” along with threats of civil unrest, sectarian violence and kidnapping.

“The security situation is fragile and unpredictable,” the Canadian travel advisory reads. “Incidents are typically attributed to extremism, ethnic divisions, sectarian strife, regional political disputes and the situation in neighbouring Afghanistan.”

It added that many deaths and injuries have occurred from bombings, shootings and other terrorist attacks at a wide range of targets.

Since Khan isn’t in contact with any of the missing employees, he says, he assumes they decided to seek asylum in Canada for economic and social reasons.

“So I naturally assumed that all of them have been given asylum because I don’t think they would be living there illegally,” he said, adding they may already have family connections in Canada who can support them.

In this June 8, 2013, photo, a Pakistan International Airlines plane moments before take off from the Benazir Bhutto airport in Islamabad, Pakistan. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

‘PR crisis’

Khan called the flight attendants’ disappearances a “PR crisis” for PIA that is “bad” for business amid a crew shortage.

The airline is in talks with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and Pakistani law enforcement agencies to potentially create a “legal safeguard” to curtail flight crew from seeking asylum, he said.

When asked about the PIA flight attendants’ disappearances, Erin Kerbel, spokesperson for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, said the department couldn’t comment on specific cases due to privacy legislation.

In response to questions about PIA’s claim that discussions are underway about the issue, a spokesperson for the CBSA said it could not confirm any information.

“The Canada Border Services Agency does not provide comment or details on specific individuals, including any discussions that would take place with airline companies, as an individual’s border and immigration information is considered private and protected by the Privacy Act,” Maria Ladouceur said in an email to CTVNews.ca.

Since the crew members’ disappearances, Khan said, the airline has “done numerous things to curtail that.”

For instance, the airline is only staffing Toronto-bound flights with crew members who have “established linkages” in Pakistan, such as children, spouses or parents, as well as those who have worked in the organization for more than 15 years.

The airline avoids sending to Toronto those who are single or don’t have established family ties in Pakistan, he said.

Khan said he and the airline are no longer in contact with the flight attendants because, they discovered, they usually change their phone numbers soon after disappearing in Toronto.

Who disappeared?

The PIA flight attendants who vanished in Canada are seasoned pros in their late 30s or 40s, some of whom have worked for the airline for as long as two decades, Khan said.

“There was never any sign from them that they would seek something like that,” he said. “So that is something that is bothering us in the matter because working with people who have been working with you for a long time and then something happens like this is pretty unexpected.”

In one of the latest cases in February, the crew members were waiting to take the bus back to the airport from the hotel in Toronto and one of the flight attendants didn’t show up, Khan said.

The airline was unable to reach the flight attendant on her cellphone or hotel landline so, Khan says, they asked hotel management to check if she was OK.

“When the crew went there, she left her uniform there with a note saying, ‘Thank you PIA,'” Khan said, which he interpreted as a genuine sentiment of gratitude for her more than 15 years of service with PIA rather than a taunt.

Khan said the crew members who disappeared were “family values people” who had good careers in Pakistan.

Asylum policies

Individuals can make a refugee claim in Canada at a port of entry upon arrival or online if they are already in Canada, according to the Canadian government’s website.

Canadian immigration or border officials will determine if the person is eligible for a hearing before the Immigration and Refugee Board. All claimants must undergo health and security screenings, the government says.

If eligible to make a claim in Canada, refugee claimants can access social assistance, education, health services, emergency housing and legal aid pending a decision on their claim. Most can apply for a work permit after a medical examination.

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Alberta's population surges by record-setting 202,000 people: Here's where they all came from – CBC.ca

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Alberta smashed population-growth records in the past year, mainly due to people moving to the province from across Canada and around the world.

The province’s population surged to just over 4.8 million as of Jan. 1, according to new estimates released Wednesday by Statistics Canada.

That’s an increase of 202,324 residents compared with a year earlier, which marks — by far — the largest annual increase on record.

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Alberta also broke a national record in 2023 for interprovincial migration, with a net gain of 55,107 people.

“This was the largest gain in interprovincial migration nationally since comparable data became available in 1972,” Statistics Canada said in a release.


Most of the interprovincial migrants came from Ontario and British Columbia.

Statistics Canada estimates that 38,236 Ontarians moved to Alberta last year, versus 14,860 Albertans who moved to Ontario, for a net gain of 23,376 people.

Similarly, an estimated 37,650 British Columbians moved to Alberta, compared to 22,400 Albertans who moved to B.C., for a net gain of 15,250.


All told, interprovincial migration accounted for 27 per cent of Alberta’s population growth over the past year.

That put it just ahead of permanent immigration, which accounted for 26 per cent, and well ahead of natural population increase (more births than deaths), which accounted for eight per cent.

The largest component, however, was temporary international migration.

Non-permanent residents from other countries accounted for 39 per cent of the province’s population growth in the past year, reflecting a national trend.


Canada’s population reached 40,769,890 on Jan. 1, according to Statistics Canada estimates, which is up 3.2 per cent from a year ago.

“Most of Canada’s 3.2-per-cent population growth rate stemmed from temporary immigration in 2023,” Statistics Canada noted.

“Without temporary immigration, that is, relying solely on permanent immigration and natural increase (births minus deaths), Canada’s population growth would have been almost three times less (1.2 per cent).”

Alberta’s population, meanwhile, grew by 4.4 per cent year-over-year.

Alberta now represents 11.8 per cent of the country’s population, its largest proportion on record. 

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