Sean Fraser

The Liberal government will table a bill this fall introducing stricter bail conditions and sentencing for some crimes, particularly those involving organized crime, human trafficking, home invasion and car theft, Justice Minister Sean Fraser said in an interview.

Prime Minister Mark Carney fielded questions about the trade war with the United States and his decision to delay the federal budget to the fall as he faced his first question period grilling in the House of Commons on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Minister Gary Anandasangaree and former housing minister Sean Fraser all threw their support behind Carney on social media.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is holding a cabinet meeting this morning ahead of the release of his government's fall economic statement.

Officials say that during the call, Jason Nixon, Alberta's minister of seniors, community and social services, expressed his government's continued willingness to partner with Ottawa and to cost-match the additional federal funding.

Trudeau also appointed a group of cabinet ministers, including Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault and Housing Minister Sean Fraser, to support Boissonnault.

The federal government has added 56 properties to a new public lands bank of locations that are suitable for long-term leases so developers can build housing, a move the Housing Minister says will help boost the supply of homes Canadians can afford.

Former public safety minister Marco Mendicino is calling for the creation of "protective zones" around political constituency offices to shield members of Parliament and their staff from a rising tide of threatening behaviour.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has introduced legislation to gatekeep and if necessary veto any future deal struck between municipalities and the federal government.

The Liberal government is setting aside $2.4 billion in the upcoming budget to build capacity in artificial intelligence, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Sunday.

Municipalities have been aggressively urging the federal government to commit more dollars toward infrastructure, noting their communities cannot significantly ramp up homebuilding to match population growth without things like water supply and roads. 

Pierre Poilievre's pledge to crack down on housing gatekeepers has proven to be little more than empty talk. Ironically, it's been Doug Ford and other Conservative politicians — the real housing gatekeepers — who have done the proving here.

The Liberal government has finalized all of its deals with municipalities under the housing accelerator fund, a program it says has triggered Canada's biggest-ever movement to increase residential density.

Scott Pearce, president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, was speaking at a news conference in Ottawa ahead of the spring budget to call on the federal government for more infrastructure money.

Allowing international students to work more than 20 hours a week could distract from their studies and undermine the objective of temporary foreign worker programs, public servants warned the federal government in 2022.