Media veteran tells inquiry of Beijing’s influence on local Chinese outlets in Canada

OTTAWA – The Liberal government has survived a second non-confidence vote in as many weeks, putting at bay once again the possibility Canada would be plunged into an immediate election campaign.

Members of Parliament voted on a Conservative motion this afternoon that called for MPs to declare they have lost faith in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his nine-year-old government.

The Liberals, NDP and Bloc Québécois voted against the motion, as they did with a similar motion last week.

Last month, the NDP ended a supply-and-confidence agreement that had stabilized the minority government for more than two years.

Earlier in the day the Bloc forced a debate in the House of Commons about increasing old age security payments for all seniors, something that party says is key to earning its support.

Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet has given the government until Oct. 29 to green-light the pension bill, which is estimated to cost about $16 billion over five years.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Oct. 1, 2024.

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SAINT PAUL, Minn. – Tim Walz and JD Vance will face off on the debate stage tonight in a matchup that both parties are hoping will demonstrate their vice-presidential candidate’s ability to connect with voters in battleground states that will play a critical role in deciding November’s election.

“They will both be trying to connect with those key Midwestern voters, that’s part of why each one of them was chosen,” said Matthew Lebo, a specialist in U.S. politics at Western University in London, Ont.

“Thinking about especially male voters in those key Midwestern swing states: Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan.”

Those states swung Republican when former president Donald Trump won the 2016 election, and in 2020 they helped put President Joe Biden in the White House.

Walz, the 60-year-old Democratic governor of Minnesota, has embraced his folksy, plain-spoken demeanour since he joined the ticket earlier this summer. He’s leaned into his Midwestern roots and the title “coach Walz” from his former football coach days.

The strategy has seen him garner high favourability in polls but he will be facing a formidable opponent in Vance, the Republican senator from Ohio.

The 40-year-old has become a mainstay on cable news shows since he was announced as Donald Trump’s running mate in July.

Formerly a Trump critic, Vance was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2022 after becoming one of the former president’s loudest supporters.

Before entering the political sphere, Vance rose to fame with the 2016 publication of his memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy.”

The Republican campaign released a video ahead of the debate to show Vance’s “hillbilly energy.” In the video, which features photos from his childhood, Vance talked about jobs disappearing from communities and the sense of hopelessness that left behind.

Both men are expected to play on their working-class narratives during the debate to give credibility to their party’s plans for the economy and inflation.

Political experts have said Vice-President Kamala Harris dominated the presidential debate last month by prodding Trump into tirades that strayed far from his intended goals of focusing on immigration and the economy.

Aaron Kall, the director of debate for the University of Michigan, said it’s unlikely Vance will fall for the same strategy, and he expects Tuesday night’s debate will lean more into policy.

But that doesn’t mean there won’t be barbs.

Walz was given credit for coining the label “weird” to describe his Republican opponents and the attack has stuck to Vance, with numerous viral videos and memes targeting the senator’s past comments and encounters with voters.

“They really couldn’t be more diametrically opposed, kind of like Harris and Trump,” Kall said.

“I think there’s going to be a lot of fireworks, given their personalities.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 1, 2024.

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TORONTO – The Public Health Agency of Canada says it is not providing Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine this respiratory virus season, citing low demand.

It says the manufacturer requires a minimum order of its updated protein-based vaccine, called Nuvaxovid, which far exceeds the uptake by Canadians last year.

The agency says a very small portion of the doses ordered in 2023 were used and that its decision reflects efforts to limit vaccine wastage.

It is distributing two mRNA vaccines — made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna — that are approved for adults and children six months and older.

Both COVID-19 vaccines have been reformulated to target the recently circulating KP.2 subvariant of Omicron.

Novavax’s vaccine, which was approved by Health Canada last month for adults and children 12 years and older, has been touted as an alternative to the mRNA vaccines.

The public health agency says provinces and territories have the option of ordering the vaccine — which has been updated to target the JN.1 subvariant of Omicron — directly from the company.

As of Tuesday afternoon, several provinces – including Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Nova Scotia, P.E.I. and Newfoundland and Labrador – confirmed to The Canadian Press that they aren’t placing orders for Nuvaxovid.

The Public Health Agency of Canada said in an email that its contract with Novavax “only provides access to domestically manufactured vaccines, which Novavax has been unable to confirm for the 2024/25 season.”

The minimum order requirement was based on buying Novavax vaccines that were “internationally produced,” it said.

“Demand for Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine in Canada has been very low in previous years,” the public health agency said. “In 2023, 125,000 doses of the Novavax XBB.1.5 vaccine were ordered and available in Canada, of which only 5,529 doses were administered.”

In emails to The Canadian Press, Novavax confirmed that it produced its updated vaccine outside of Canada.

It said the company “significantly depends on its supply agreement with Serum Institute of India Pvt. Ltd,” but would not elaborate further.

—With files from Hannah Alberga in Toronto.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 1, 2024.

Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.

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