Statistics Canada says the country will reach a new milestone on Friday as the population hits a record 40 million people.
The agency’s Population Clock — a tool that models real-time growth using factors such as births, deaths and migration — will reach the 40-million mark just before 3 p.m. EDT, StatCan said in a news release.
“This is an exciting milestone for Canada,” chief statistician Anil Arora said. “It is a strong signal that Canada remains a dynamic and welcoming country, full of potential. As we head into Canada Day, this is certainly cause for celebration.”
Canada continues to lead the G7 in population growth, StatCan says, with the country adding more than one million people between January 2021 and 2022 for the most ever in a single year.
Last year’s annual population growth rate of 2.7 per cent is the highest on record since 1957 when it was 3.3 per cent. At that time, a high number of births occurred during the post-war baby boom.
Based on current projections, StatCan says Canada’s population could reach 50 million by 2043, sooner than previously estimated.
Permanent and temporary migration is largely driving this latest trend — both accounted for 96 per cent of all growth in 2022.
Every province and territory, with the exception of the Northwest Territories, saw their populations increase last year.
The country’s Indigenous population has also risen 9.4 per cent between 2016 and 2021, much faster than the 5.3 per cent among non-Indigenous Canadians over the same period.
Indigenous Peoples in Canada accounted for five per cent of the country’s population in 2021.
JASPER, Ohio – The municipality of Jasper in Alberta’s Rocky Mountains is taking the next step this weekend as it recovers from a July wildfire that destroyed a third of its buildings.
Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland says the state of emergency will formally end on Sunday.
Ireland says the move means Jasper is transitioning from a short-term recovery perspective to a long-term view.
He also says removing the state of emergency order will help the tourist town’s much needed visitor economy return.
The wildfire destroyed more than 350 of the town’s buildings, including 800 housing units.
The town estimates 2,000 of its 5,000 residents lost their homes.
Although still burning, the wildfire that hit the community was listed as under control a week ago.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024
KINGSTON, Ont. – Police say a 47-year-old man has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder and one count of attempted murder after two people were left dead and one was seriously injured in a series of alleged assaults in Kingston, Ont.
Police had said that officers were called to an encampment near a safe injection site and Integrated Care Hub around 10:40 a.m. on Thursday after a report of a serious assault.
They allege a man may have been wielding an edged or blunt weapon, possibly both.
Police say the suspect was arrested after officers negotiated with him for several hours.
They say the man was not living at the encampment, but at a residence nearby.
Police say he has been remanded into custody.
The two people who died have been identified as 38-year-old Taylor Wilkinson and 41-year-old John Hood.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Religious persecution
Misguided religious and cultural traditions
Fear of those who challenge the established order
Long ago a horrid thing happened in Europe and in many European Colonies. It was called the Inquisition, an instrument of the Catholic Church and used by the present-day public authorities to quell political and social protest and challenges from those considered rebels(Heretics).
In that day the Church of Rome was seen as the very roots of Western society, that which kept society on a path of righteousness and functioning practice. The political rulers of the day, kings, nobles and lords allied themselves to the church with absolute reason for doing so. The church kept them in power you see. There was a hierarchy prescribed to the present-day society where authority flowed from God to the Pope, Noblemen, Cardinals, and Priests to the public. Church law was often edited for the benefit of the higher classes. Therefore rebels standing against local or regional lords were viewed as heretics who stood against the wishes of the pope, church laws and God himself. This church-established a council of the Inquisition roamed Europe looking for heretics, those different, rebels, witches and those in league with the devil. Any form of social, cultural or political wrongdoing was dealt with with a heavy hand. The rich may have been accused of a wrongdoing, but able to seek their freedom through financial donations. The poor faced the Inquisition with terror and fear since no one was there to represent them. The church-Lord alliance maintained the most severe of punishments.
The Inquisition evolved into the massive witch-hunting movement. Millions of people perished having been accused of witchcraft and being in League with the Devil. There actually existed witch hunters who simply went to a village, watching who was odd, different, threatening to the authorities and voila, a witch was found and declared. Strange methods of finding a witch were developed. One involved sticking a pin into the back side of a person, usually a woman and if she did not cry out in pain, she was possibly a candidate for interrogation. The interrogators usually got a confession leading to that person’s death.
There exists today religious authorities with similar powers to prosecute and punish those deemed different or contrary to established religious or cultural practices. Arrest, torture and disappearances happen daily in places such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, and many African Nations. Fanatical Religious Dogma has cost millions of people their lives, and for what? The Acquisition and use of power. Power encompasses every aspect of control of others whether it be through intellect, threat or violence.
Never should such horrors happen in a civilized world. Just one question needs to be asked. Do we live in a civilized world?
