A week after the federal and Ontario governments announced they would cut the HST for new homes bought in Ontario for a year, the federal housing minister said he is in talks to expand the initiative.

“We are in discussions with all of the provinces and territories about taking down the GST for one year on new home purchases,” Housing Minister Gregor Robertson said in an interview with Global News.

The minister did not provide a timeline as to when agreements with other provinces may be announced, but emphasized that provincial governments will be expected to put up their own money or bring forward new legislation.

“That does take some negotiating. The provinces have to do the follow-through, working with local governments,” Robertson said.

“There’s some details to work through here.”

0:41
Ford says his government will waive HST on newly built homes for 1 year

Last week, the federal and Ontario governments agreed to remove the 13 per cent sales tax on new homes in the province, valued up to $1 million for one year.

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The maximum rebate of $130,000 extends to homes valued up to $1.5 million and decreases proportionally for more expensive houses.

Both governments also agreed to split $8.8 billion over 10 years, to pay for infrastructure in Ontario cities that cut development charges, which are municipal taxes levied to pay for things like sewers and roads to new subdivisions.

The federal Conservatives have called for a complete elimination of HST on all new housing, regardless of price, but Robertson said he didn’t think the GST cut would be permanent.

“I think that the point right now is to really infuse some momentum in the market, especially in Ontario and B.C, where they’ve been struggling,” Robertson said.

6:27
Housing minister on trying to end Ontario’s homebuilding slump

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim called on British Columbia Premier David Eby to secure a similar housing deal with the federal government on Thursday.

“We know the only way to improve long-term affordability is to keep building more homes,” Sim said in a statement.

“This is a window of opportunity for the province to partner with the federal government and municipalities to lower costs and deliver the homes people need.”

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation is predicting Canadian homebuilders will continue to face headwinds from higher costs, weaker demand and more unsold homes particularly in the condominium market, with new home construction set to decline through 2028.

When asked if the removal of the HST from Ontario home purchases was done with developers in mind, the minister said he is trying to avoid the worst effects of a sluggish housing market.

“There are going to be very few housing starts in the next couple of years because the pre-sales have been so low. We’re certainly seeing layoffs in the building sector in (Toronto and Vancouver),” Robertson said.

“The construction jobs unfortunately will be impacted in the next year or two, so you know we’re going to see a ripple effect here. That’s what we’re trying to prevent.”

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Almost 38,000 people voted in the advance polls in three byelections that could give Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberals a majority government, with the highest advance turnout in Terrebonne.

Preliminary data from Elections Canada says 18,200 people in the Quebec riding cast ballots in advance elections, which amounts to almost 20 per cent of people on the voters’ list.

The riding saw 68 per cent voter turnout in the 2025 election.

9:31
Carney criticized Air Canada CEO…to win Terrebonne? Here’s why it makes sense

The Toronto area ridings saw lower degrees of voter turnout at the advance polls, with 10,300 ballots already cast in Scarborough Southwest and 9,400 in University — Rosedale. This amounts to 12 and 10 per cent voter turnout respectively.

Both the Liberals and Bloc Québécois have been making a strong push in Terrebonne, where a single vote gave Liberal Tatiana Auguste the victory over Bloc incumbent Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné last year.

In February, the Supreme Court of Canada annulled the result of that vote, citing a clerical error on the return address on mail-in ballots.

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Nearly 1,200 absentee ballot kits have been requested for Terrebonne as of April 6, according to Elections Canada.

Just over 1,100 mail-in ballots were cast in the riding during the general election last year.

Elections Canada reported about 20,000 advance ballots were cast in Terrebonne in the 2025 general election, with more than 21,000 cast in University — Rosedale and more than 19,400 in Scarborough Southwest.

2:05
Terrebonne candidates expect a tight race leading up to April 13 federal byelection

An adapted ballot has been created for the Terrebonne bylection, as Elections Canada expected an influx of independent candidates running as part of the Longest Ballot Committee protest against first-past-the-post results.

That means in the two Toronto byelections, voters will receive a ballot with all candidate names already printed on it, while in Terrebonne the ballot will be blank and voters will have to write in the name of their preferred candidate by hand. A list of all candidates will be provided at each voting booth.

There are 48 candidates on the Terrebonne ballot, 41 of them running without a party banner.

An adapted ballot was previously used in the byelection last August in Battle River – Crowfoot in Alberta, when 214 candidates ran, more than 200 of them under the Longest Ballot Committee protest. Elections Canada opted to use the adapted ballot after protests during the general election and previous byelections led to difficulties for voters and vote counters, due to the sheer length of the physical ballot.

If the Liberals win all three byelections, they will have 173 seats in the House of Commons, giving them a clear majority where they would not need opposition support to pass legislation.

If the Grits only win two, they will have still hit the 172 seat threshold for a majority, but Speaker Francis Scarpaleggia, a Quebec Liberal, only votes in the case of a tie. This means the Liberals would have 171 voting members in the House, same as the opposition.

To maintain neutrality, the speaker traditionally maintains the status quo if they have to vote. This means they normally would not pass new legislation, but would support the government on confidence matters.

The Toronto area byelections are being held to replace former cabinet ministers Chrystia Freeland and Bill Blair, both of whom resigned to take other opportunities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 7, 2026.

2:10
Supreme Court invalidates result from spring federal election in Terrebonne riding

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Prime Minister Mark Carney‘s government, keen to improve its standing in the public’s eyes when it comes to law and order issues, ordered up several taxpayer-funded polls late last year to take stock of how Canadians view their work on justice issues and identify their priorities when it comes to fighting crime.

The polls, taken in November and December, returned a clear conclusion: Canadians, at the time at least, did not think the government was doing much to combat everything from home invasions to cybercrime.

They also had a dim view of the justice system when it come to treating victims of crime fairly, and strongly favoured measures that would make bail harder to get for those accused of some crimes and would give harsher sentences to repeat offenders.

Prime Minister Mark Carney, ahead of visiting a law enforcement facility in Brampton, Ont., Tuesday, acknowledged his government was not meeting the expectations many Canadians have when it comes to fighting crime.

“This needs to be a relentless focus using all the powers of the federal government,” Carney told reporters. “We are starting to see results. We’re not satisfied and we’re going to keep at this.”

2:14
Carney under scrutiny for low question period attendance rate

Pollsters believe the Liberals’ relatively poor reputation for being tough on crime contributed to poor election results last spring in Brampton, Ont., Surrey, B.C., and in parts of Calgary.

“It’s fair to say Liberals don’t always feel comfortable talking about crime because there’s a wing of the party that is much more about not getting tough on criminals but going to root causes and trying to rehabilitate criminals,” said pollster Dan Arnold of Pollara Strategies.

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Arnold was the PMO pollster for most of Justin Trudeau’s time in office and served as pollster on Trudeau’s election campaigns.

“And while a wing of the Liberal Party feels that way, the broader public is very much in a view where they wanna get tough on criminal,” he added.

Carney, in contrast to Trudeau, has tried to take the party in a different direction on law-and-order perspective.

“It’s similar to a lot of what Carney’s doing on energy and environment where he is moving to what is seen to be more of a rightward position on crime,” Arnold said

That said,  the the polling data Carney’s PMO had collected in November and December indicates there’s still work to do to change impressions the public has about the Liberals when it comes to crime.

Among the 2,000 polled during the weeks of Nov. 10-23, 87 per cent said they feel safe in their communities. And yet, more than 55 per cent said they believe crime in Canada is on the increase — in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, 65 per cent said it was increasing, while 39 per cent across the country thought it was about the same or decreasing.

“We come to it not from an electoral perspective … but from the perspective of serving and protecting the people of Brampton, the people of Peel region, the people of Ontario, and the people of Canada,” Carney said.

In February, Carney travelled to Surrey, B.C. to meet with RCMP and deliver a statement about what his government was doing to crack down on crime, especially how it was responding to a wave of extortion crimes that have been particularly prevalent in Canada’s South Asian communities.

On the same day, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne, the Secretary of State for Combatting Crime Ruby Sahota and other Liberal MPs were in Brampton to announce new measures to combat extortion rackets.

“I would say any level of crime is too high,” Carney said.  What is happening in many municipalities is we’re starting to see a decline in the level of crime. But there is understandably always going to be a lag before, or that materializes, and it changes in view.”

The Carney government has moved on bail reform, strengthened border security, proposed a gun buyback scheme and was moving to provide money to hire more police officers. Little of that, though, seems to have registered in the minds of voters.

2:18
Conservatives accuse Carney government of blocking its own bail reform bill

The PCO polling found that, as of November at least, just 17 per cent of respondents answered “yes” when asked, “Have you seen, read or heard anything recently that the federal government has done to reduce crime in Canada?” while 78 per cent answered “no.”

More than 40 per cent of respondents in every province but Quebec said the government was on the “wrong track” managing crime and less than 33 per cent in each region thought the government was on the right track. In Quebec, though, it was the reverse: 45 per cent said the government was on the right track; 26 per cent said it was on the “wrong track.”

The PCO polling also found that Canadians overwhelmingly believe the courts and the justice system are “too soft” on people who have broken the law, although Quebec again was an outlier. While nearly two-thirds in every other region believe the courts are too soft, just 49 per cent of Quebecers believed so.

And while most Canadians polled by the PCO believe accused persons are treated fairly by the courts, a majority — 54 per cent — believe victims of crime are treated unfairly.

From Nov. 1 to Dec. 14 last year, multiple polls were put into the field by the Privy Council Office (PCO), through the weekly PCO polling program that first began during the Trudeau years.

Every week, 1,000 Canadians are asked to participate in a live-agent telephone poll on a range of issues.

The prime minister’s director of research — a political appointee — decides on the questions asked and prepares the results for distribution to the prime minister, his senior aides, cabinet ministers and deputy ministers.

It may cost you a little extra, but Canadians playing Lotto Max will also soon have slightly better odds at winning a prize as new changes roll out later this week.

Starting on Friday, Lotto Max tickets will cost $6 instead of $5, but there will now be four lines of numbers people can win on instead of three. In addition, people will choose their seven numbers from one to 52 instead of 50.

The numbers and cost are not the only things changing, though — the cap on the jackpot is, too, with it being increased to $90 million from the current $80 million.

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The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, which runs the game in the province, says Lotto Max will also have new $100,000 “MaxPlus” prizes available, similar to the $1 million MaxMillions. The MaxPlus prizes will be tied to the size of the jackpot.

But while the jackpot is higher and new prizes are available, the odds of you winning vary depending on the prize.

Those hoping for a better chance at the jackpot may be disappointed, as the odds of winning per play are one in 33.4 million, up from the previous one in 33.3 million.

People aiming for a lower amount, though, may be in luck. For example, someone who gets five out of seven numbers matched now has a one in 1,684 chance of winning compared to the previous one in 1,841. In last Friday’s draw under the previous odds, 3,579 people won $110.

The odds for fixed prizes have also increased, with the chances of winning $20 increasing to one in 72, while a free play will be one in seven.

Canadians’ chances of winning any prize overall are improving to one in 5.8.

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A Vancouver-based mining company says nine of 10 workers abducted from its project in Mexico have died.

Vizsla Silver said in a news release Monday it remains in “close contact” with the family of one of the workers who remains missing and that they continue to support authorities in the ongoing investigation.

The workers were abducted in January, and authorities said in February they began recovering bodies in a clandestine grave.

“This is a devastating outcome, and our heartfelt condolences are with all the families impacted. We stand beside them with continued support as we mourn our colleagues and friends,” said Michael Konnert, president and CEO of Vizsla Silver, in the news release.

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“We will always carry this loss with us. We will honour our colleagues through the work we do every day and our ongoing commitment to their families, our community in Sinaloa, and the values that define us.”

Mexican authorities said in February that at least one body matching the characteristics of one of the workers, who were kidnapped from Vizsla’s Panuco project in northern Sinaloa state, was found in the clandestine grave in Concordia.

Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office said then that steps were being taken to confirm the victim’s identity and collect evidence from the grave, where remains of several other bodies were found some 45 kilometres east of the Pacific coast city of Mazatlan.

Family members interviewed by Reuters earlier this year said some of the workers who went missing had received threats from organized crime groups in the area, including the Chapitos, a faction of the Sinaloa cartel led by the sons of ex-Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.

Jaime Lopez, the uncle of Pablo Osorio, a 26-year-old engineer and one of the men who went missing, said as the family was poor, they would not be able to afford a ransom.

“We are devastated,” he told Reuters, adding he had not wanted his nephew to go to Concordia as it was dangerous, but it was the only place that had responded to his job applications when he finished his degree three years ago.

— with files from Reuters

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