The Conservative party is maintaining a steady lead over Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberals, a new poll suggests, at a time when Canadians are reporting limited trust in their institutions. Pierre Poilievre's Tories are 14 percentage points ahead of the governing party, according to the survey by polling firm Leger. Forty per cent of respondents said they would vote Conservative, 26 per cent Liberal and 17 per cent NDP if an election were held that day.
The Palestinian death toll in the Israel-Hamas war has reached 8,805, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza. In the occupied West Bank, 130 Palestinians have been killed in violence and Israeli raids. More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, most of them civilians slain in the initial Oct. 7 attack by Hamas. In addition, around 240 hostages were taken from Israel into Gaza by the militant group.
New targets tabled in Parliament show the government plans to level out the number of new permanent residents to Canada in 2026, forecasting an end to record-breaking year-over-year immigration. Immigration Minister Marc Miller submitted new targets for the next three years, which call for the number of new permanent residents to hold steady at 500,000 in 2026.
A death review panel from the British Columbia Coroners Service is recommending community groups be allowed to hand out drugs without a prescription in an attempt to stop the relentless overdose death toll. The panel's report coincided with the monthly overdose death toll of 175 people in September, which the coroners service says is a 10 per cent drop from the same month a year ago, but still equal to 5.8 deaths a day across B.C.
A woman accused of stealing nearly two dozen vehicles -- many of them work vans loaded with expensive tools -- has been arrested in Abbotsford. Police in that Fraser Valley city say charges against Charlene Williams are linked to thefts stretching back to January.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced that former British Columbia premier John Horgan has been appointed as Canada's next ambassador to Germany. A statement from the Prime Minister's Office says Horgan has a proven track record of dedicated public service and will provide strategic advice to Trudeau in his new role.