National News

Residents of Ontario and Quebec were to wake up to more COVID-19 restrictions Thursday as officials plan new approaches to vaccine distribution and promise crackdowns on rule-breakers in several jurisdictions.

The latest numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Canada as of 7:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, April 7, 2021. There are 1,028,041 confirmed cases in Canada. _ Canada: 1,028,041 confirmed cases (62,136 active, 942,732 resolved, 23,173 deaths).

OTTAWA — The pressure on the federal Liberal government to introduce a universal basic income ratcheted up a notch Wednesday with a report from the parliamentary budget officer that suggests it could cut poverty rates in Canada by almost half in one

VANCOUVER — British Columbia is severely under-reporting the number of COVID-19 cases that are variants of concern, limiting the public's awareness of the threat, experts say.

WINNIPEG — Manitobans will soon pay less in property tax but fork out more to stream movies or buy certain goods online.

The latest news on COVID-19 developments in Canada (all times Eastern): 6:15 p.m. B.C. is reporting another 997 COVID-19 cases and two more deaths, bringing the total fatalities to 1,491 since the pandemic started.

A former Quebec judge convicted of first-degree murder in 2012 in the death of his wife will get a new trial, the Department of Justice said Wednesday.

EDMONTON — The Alberta Opposition is proposing legislation that it says would protect the province's Rocky Mountains from new open-pit coal mines.

EDMONTON — About 30 people sang hymns and a woman walked back and forth with a Bible in her hand as Alberta health officers on Wednesday closed down and fenced off a church charged with refusing to follow COVID-19 health rules.

WINNIPEG — Finance Minister Scott Fielding tabled Manitoba's 2021-22 budget Wednesday. Here are some key points from the fiscal plan: — Projected deficit of $1.6 billion, down from $2 billion last year, on total spending of $19.4 billion.