Canada's National Observer — News Tracking and Analysis

Conflicts and energy shocks threaten progress against global hunger, warns UN agency head

BC's Brunswick Creek wildfire triggers more evacuation orders

Evacuation orders in BC's Fraser Canyon are spreading as the Brunswick Creek wildfire continues to burn out of control.

New graphic images roll out on cigarette packs in Canada. Could more be done?

A baby swarmed by smoke. A toilet of bloody urine. A cancerous colon.

'Vicious cycle': What you should know about Trump's Great Depression-era tariff tool

Donald Trump is ramping up pressure on Canada by threatening to use an obscure Great Depression-era legal tool to impose new tariffs — and it's not clear whether there are any guardrails to rein in the president's power.

New research affirms construction workers are disproportionately affected by opioid deaths

Researchers hope a new report examining the occupations of people who have died of opioid overdoses in Ontario raises awareness about the breadth of the population affected by the drug epidemic.

P.E.I. premiers meeting continues as Trump's tariff threats loom

Canada's premiers will continue meetings in Prince Edward Island this morning, the second day of an annual summer gathering.

More than 170 wildfires are burning in Ontario's north

Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources is listing 173 wildfires as active this morning in Ontario's north, including 12 that had been sparked in the last 24 hours.

The gardening hack that could slow forest fires

A new way to manage thinned-out debris both offers benefits to the forest and mitigates wildfire risk to a community. Convincing everyone to spread flammable material across the forest floor, though, is not always easy.

Canadians asked for feedback on draft sustainable finance guidebook

The document, which is the product of a collaboration between a newly formed independent council, the Canadian Climate Institute, Business Future Pathways and other advisory groups, is open to comment until August 13.

The most successful housing-accelerating cities say a gradual approach served them well

Leonard Catling, a CMHC spokesperson, said more than 90 per cent of large and urban agreements included a change to allow some housing without extra approvals and all included at least one change to local housing rules. Of the communities that promised to allow more homes across the city through rezoning, roughly 85 per cent have already done so.