Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed...
Trump's threats bring Canadians together
McGill University undergrad Daniel Miksha made a significant decision over the weekend.
After hearing the news that U.S. President Donald Trump planned to impose 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian exports, Miksha shelved his plans to apply to Boston University, Yale and Harvard for graduate studies.
His gesture was one example of what observers say has been a growing wave of patriotic sentiment among Canadians since Trump took office and ratcheted up his anti-Canadian rhetoric, repeatedly saying the nation should become the 51st American state.
Online, people are sharing lists of products made in Canada and posting about cancelling trips to the United States. Pro-Canadian, anti-Trump memes are flooding social media. And at professional hockey and basketball games on the weekend, the American national anthem was booed.
Hundreds could seek wrongful conviction reviews
A new independent commission tasked by the federal government with reviewing miscarriages of justice could discover that more people than expected are serving prison sentences for crimes they didn’t commit.
Other countries that launched similar commissions have found that "the degree of wrongful convictions certainly was much more significant than they knew," said Sen. Kim Pate, a prominent advocate for the wrongfully convicted.
"I suspect we will see much the same."
Former justice minister David Lametti introduced the legislation to set up the Miscarriage of Justice Review Commission. His successor, Justice Minister Arif Virani, is now in the process of implementing that legislation.
Ontario votes: Leaders make stops in Toronto area
Ontario's main party leaders are mostly campaigning in the Greater Toronto area today as the focus of the snap election shifts to provincial issues.
The threat of U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods dominated the campaign trail at the start of the week, but with the hefty duties on hold until at least early March, the NDP and the Liberals say it's time to put issues such as health care and education in the spotlight.
Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie is set to make an announcement on health and poverty in Hamilton this morning, while NDP Leader Marit Stiles is expected to make another stop in Toronto.
Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford, who has continued to reiterate his tariff warnings, is set to make an announcement in Pickering, Ont., this afternoon, before an event with an international electrical workers' union in Oshawa, Ont.
Donations flowed to BC United after campaign ended
Political financing reports show that the collapsed BC United party collected more than $223,000 in donations after it suspended campaigning in last year's provincial election, including tens of thousands received after the Oct. 19 vote.
Financial reports filed with Elections BC show almost all of the donations appear to be automatic bank transfers, occurring on the 20th of each month.
BC United was the official Opposition heading into the election but leader Kevin Falcon suspended its campaign on Aug. 28 and urged supporters to switch their votes to the B.C. Conservative Party, which came close to defeating the NDP government.
The Elections BC report shows BC United received more than $86,000 after the election.
Number of video game companies dropped 9%: report
The number of video game companies operating in Canada dropped nine per cent in the wake of a pandemic-fuelled gaming boom, most of them smaller independent shops with fewer than 25 employees, according to an economic report on the industry.
The report for the Entertainment Software Association of Canada says 821 video game companies operated in 2023-24, which is 78 fewer than the peak in 2020-21.
Association president Paul Fogolin said a post-pandemic dip was expected, since gameplay surged during COVID-19 lockdowns, leading game studios and developers to scale up.
Fogolin said the number of people who played games didn't increase that much during the pandemic, but people who played did so more than ever.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 5, 2025
The Canadian Press
