Leadership candidate for the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ), Christine Fréchette, is promising to revive the popular fast-track immigration program that her government recently terminated — the Programme de l’expérience québécoise — also known as the PEQ.

Fréchette says if she’s elected to replace outgoing Premier François Legault, she would reopen the PEQ for two more years.

Rival candidate Bernard Drainville has also pledged to introduce a grandfather clause for those already in the process.

“It’s urgent, because there’s a lot of uncertainty,” Drainville said. “People are worried. Entrepreneurs are worried.”

Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada said she was reassured by the candidates’ softer tone, emphasizing the importance of retaining talent and businesses in the city.

Pressure has intensified on Quebec Immigration Minister Jean-François Roberge as opposition parties and members of his own government openly question the decision to abolish the program.

During question period this week, Québec solidaire MNA Guillaume Cliche-Rivard accused Roberge of contradicting himself after weeks of defending the elimination of the program, which offered certain immigrants a fast track to permanent residency.

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Roberge has said scrapping the PEQ was necessary to protect the French language and better manage immigration levels. The move, announced last November, plunged thousands of international students and temporary foreign workers already in the system into uncertainty, triggering protests from affected individuals, business groups and educational institutions.

“We were not given the chance to stay,” said one temporary foreign worker at a recent protest in Montreal. “Now I am here, and I don’t have any future.”

Opposition parties say the conflicting messages have exposed a lack of leadership within the government.

“The immigration minister is now totally alone,” said Liberal immigration critic André Morin. “It doesn’t work.”

Interim Liberal Leader Marc Tanguay questioned who is ultimately in charge of immigration policy, while Morin urged Roberge to act immediately and introduce a grandfather clause.

Health Minister Sonia Bélanger also weighed in earlier, saying she had pressured Roberge to make exceptions for health-care workers, describing his hardline approach as concerning.

“In the health-care system, we need all of our workers,” Bélanger said.

Québec solidaire is calling on the CAQ to pause the abolition of the PEQ until the leadership race concludes, arguing the government itself appears divided.

“So now what we’re seeing is that they don’t even agree among themselves,” said Québec solidaire co-spokesperson Sol Zanetti.

Roberge has so far resisted the mounting pressure, portraying the disagreement as an internal debate. But critics say the growing dissent raises questions about how long he can maintain his position on the issue.

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Quebec government faces legal action from temporary immigrant workers

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A federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., declined a request by prosecutors to indict two Democratic U.S. senators, Mark Kelly of Arizona and Michigan’s Elissa Slotkin, on charges of seditious conspiracy, MS Now reported Tuesday night.

The attempted indictment of Kelly, a former U.S. Navy captain and the former CIA analyst Slotkin related to a video in November that they made with four other Democrats in Congress, on which they reminded members of the U.S. military that they have the right to refuse to follow illegal orders by superiors.

The video was released on social media in response to ongoing extrajudicial killings by the U.S. military of crews of boats in the Caribbean and Pacific that allegedly were carrying narcotics.

The New York Times reported that federal prosecutors also tried and failed to obtain indictments against the other four Democrats, in addition to Kelly and Slotkin. Rep. Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire, who is a former Navy reservist, and Rep. Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania, a Navy veteran, later indicated they were among the six reportedly targeted in the indictment effort.

The other two Democrats who made the video were Reps. Jason Crow of Colorado, who was an Army Ranger, and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, who is a former Air Force officer.

It is extremely unusual for a grand jury to refuse to issue an indictment when a prosecutor seeks one. An indictment is a charging document that a grand jury will issue if jurors agree there is probable cause to believe a crime was committed.

President Donald Trump had condemned the Democrats for the video after it was made public on Nov. 18.

Trump at the time accused them of “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!”

“Each one of these traitors to our Country should be ARRESTED AND PUT ON TRIAL,” Trump wrote on Truth Social then.

Kelly, who is also a former NASA astronaut, blasted the effort to indict him.

“This is an outrageous abuse of power by Donald Trump and his lackies,” Kelly said in a post on X on Tuesday.

“It wasn’t enough for [Defense Secretary] Pete Hegseth to censure me and threaten to demote me, now it appears they tried to have me charged with a crime — all because of something I said that they didn’t like. That’s not the way,” Kelly said.

Kelly is suing the Pentagon to challenge its censure of him and its effort to reduce his rank because of his participation in the video.

Slotkin, in a statement, said, “Today, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro attempted to persuade a Grand Jury to indict me. This was in response to me organizing a 90-second video that simply quoted the law.”

“Pirro did this at the direction of President Trump, who said repeatedly that I should be investigated, arrested, and hanged for sedition,” Slotkin said. “Today, it was a grand jury of anonymous American citizens who upheld the rule of law and determined this case should not proceed. Hopefully, this ends this politicized investigation for good.”

“But today wasn’t just an embarrassing day for the Administration. It was another sad day for our country,” she said.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Tuesday night that he believes the six Democrats who made the video on illegal orders to the military should be indicted.

Goodlander, in a statement, said, “President Trump directed the Justice Department to investigate me, arrest me, and hang me simply for doing my job.”

“Today an American grand jury honored our Constitution by standing up to an outrageous abuse of presidential power and taxpayer dollars,” Goodlander said. “No matter the threats, I will keep doing my job and upholding my oath to our Constitution.”

Deluzio, in a statement, said, “I will not be intimidated for a single second by the Trump Administration or Justice Department lawyers who tried and failed to indict me today. American citizens on a grand jury refused to go along with this attempt to charge me with a crime for stating the law in a way Trump and his enablers didn’t like.”

“They may want Americans to be afraid to speak out or to disagree — but patriotism demands courage in this moment. DON’T GIVE UP THE SHIP!” Deluzio said.

The head of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said on Tuesday he expected Canada would announce it was certifying some Gulfstream business jets that had been delayed for years, resolving an issue highlighted by President Donald Trump.

“I think we’ve resolved the issues with Canada,” FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford told reporters on Capitol Hill after a meeting with lawmakers. “My understanding is Transport Canada will announce the Gulfstream certifications that have been delayed for years.”

Bedford said he expected Canada would announce the certifications for the jets produced by the U.S. company later this week.

A spokesperson for Canada’s Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon said on Tuesday that regulator Transport Canada “continues to work with Gulfstream and the FAA on certification of their aircraft.”

MacKinnon did not answer questions from reporters about the Gulfstream issue while heading into a cabinet meeting in Ottawa.

General Dynamics-owned Gulfstream did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Last month, Trump said in a social media post that the U.S. was planning to decertify Canadian-made Bombardier Global Express business jets and threatened 50% import tariffs on all aircraft made in Canada until the country’s regulator certified a number of planes produced by U.S. rival Gulfstream.

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Trump targets Canada’s aviation industry

His declaration came amid broader tensions between the neighboring countries after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, citing U.S. trade policy, urged nations to accept the end of the rules-based global order that Washington had once championed.

Trump also said he was planning to “decertifying their Bombardier Global Expresses, and all Aircraft made in Canada” until the Gulfstream planes were certified.

That threat, if it had been carried out, would have a drastic impact on U.S. carriers like American Airlines and Delta Air Lines which rely on Canadian-made airplanes for many of their regional services.

However, aviation experts have expressed doubts that Trump has the authority to unilaterally decertify Canadian aircraft.

Canadian officials said last month they were working to resolve the aircraft certification dispute with Trump.

Airline officials said if the U.S. could decertify airplanes for economic reasons, it would give other countries a powerful weapon and could put the entire aviation system at risk.

Trump has since highlighted other issues with Canada. On Monday, he threatened to not allow a $4.7 billion bridge between Detroit and Canada from opening unless Canada agreed to trade talks.

—With additional files from Global News

More than 100 First Nations and First Nations organizations have signed a joint statement to B.C. Premier David Eby to uphold the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.

The Act, DRIPA, was unanimously passed by all parties in the legislature in 2019, with the provincial government stating that “B.C. is the first province to put in place the declaration on the rights of Indigenous peoples, to bring the UN declaration into law.”

The government is looking at amending DRIPA after a landmark court ruling in December that determined it was legally enforceable and not just symbolic.

On Dec. 8, the BC Conservatives asked Eby to reconvene the legislature immediately to repeal the act, and Eby said he wants to amend DRIPA, not scrap it, and is in no rush to call back the House before Feb. 18.

On Jan. 29, First Nations say that the province issued a letter of notification regarding potential amendments to the Declaration Act and Interpretation Act anticipated for the spring legislative session and invited First Nations to participate in an expedited consultation and co-operation process, subject to signing a non-disclosure agreement (NDA).

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They said that the First Nations leaders who signed the NDA received materials from the provincial government.

“The province’s actions risk pulling all who call B.C. home back to a time of blame, conflict, increased litigation, and threats of violence against Indigenous peoples,” First Nations said in a statement.

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B.C. looks to amend DRIPA following mineral rights court ruling

In the joint statement, First Nations say that despite recent court decisions that reaffirm the “crucial need to consult and negotiate, a negative narrative has begun to take hold.”

They said this narrative wrongly blames First Nations for uncertainty, while ignoring the fact that B.C. was largely settled without treaties.

“If allowed to shape public discourse or government decision-making, this narrative risks pulling our province backward — toward a time marked by blame, conflict, increased litigation, and even real threats of violence against Indigenous peoples. That is not a future any of us should accept,” the statement reads.

“Recent calls to amend the Declaration Act or appeal court rulings are rooted in this fear-based response. They suggest that the framework we have built together is the problem, when in fact it has been part of the solution. These actions would not create certainty — they would slow progress, increase litigation, and grind projects to a halt as First Nations are once again forced to defend our rights and interests through the courts.”

First Nations say that B.C. can walk two paths — one of negotiation, collaboration and shared prosperity, or one that leads backward to a place of uncertainty and conflict.

Eby has yet to respond to the statement.

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U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday he will block the opening of a new bridge and trade route connecting Ontario and Michigan until the United States is “compensated for everything we have given” Canada.

In a lengthy post on his Truth Social website, Trump called for immediate negotiations over the Gordie Howe International Bridge between Windsor, Ont., and Detroit, Mich., that he said would seek U.S. ownership of “at least one half of this asset.”

He cited Ottawa’s recent trade agreement with China, Canadian tariff quotas for American dairy products, and Ontario’s ban on U.S. alcohol among his irritants with Canada, and that the bridge is the latest example of Canada treating the U.S. “very unfairly for decades.”

“Canada is building a massive bridge between Ontario and Michigan. They own both the Canada and the United States side and, of course, built it with virtually no U.S. content,” Trump wrote. “President Barack Hussein Obama stupidly gave them a waiver so they could get around the BUY AMERICAN Act, and not use any American products, including our Steel.

“Now, the Canadian Government expects me, as President of the United States, to PERMIT them to just ‘take advantage of America!’ What does the United States of America get — Absolutely NOTHING!”

He later continued: “I will not allow this bridge to open until the United States is fully compensated for everything we have given them, and also, importantly, Canada treats the United States with the Fairness and Respect that we deserve.

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“We will start negotiations, IMMEDIATELY. With all that we have given them, we should own, perhaps, at least one half of this asset. The revenues generated because of the U.S. Market will be astronomical.”

The Windsor–Detroit Bridge Authority, the Canadian Crown corporation responsible for overseeing the bridge’s construction, said Friday that “major construction” is complete and testing work is underway leading up to this year’s opening.

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Canada’s newest border crossing links Windsor and Detroit

The bridge will serve as a new crossing within the busy Ontario-Michigan trade corridor and aims to ease traffic on the nearby Ambassador Bridge.

The Canadian government says it is funding the entire project, which will be publicly owned by both Canada and Michigan.

About a third of all trade between the U.S. and Canada occurs between Detroit and Windsor.

Trump’s post is the latest sign of souring relations with Canada since Prime Minister Mark Carney’s widely viewed and praised speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Carney in that speech warned of a “rupture” to the U.S.-led international rules-based order and urged countries to band together to withstand pressure from great powers, a reference to Trump’s global trade wars and attacks on allies.

In response, Trump told the same gathering of political and business leaders that “Canada lives because of the United States” and warned Carney to “remember that.”

Trump has since criticized Canada for reaching a deal with China that eases tariffs on each country’s goods and will allow a certain amount of Chinese EVs to be sold into Canada.

His post Monday repeated his claim that China will “eat Canada alive,” adding the U.S. will “just get the leftovers.”

“The first thing China will do is terminate ALL Ice Hockey being played in Canada, and permanently eliminate The Stanley Cup,” Trump added.

Carney has repeatedly said his government is not pursuing free trade with China as Trump has claimed, but rather seeking a “strategic partnership” that allows for limited economic cooperation.

The strained relationship comes ahead of this summer’s scheduled review of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on free trade.

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Another B.C. community is taking health care into its own hands by funding family doctors for its residents.

The City of Langford on Vancouver Island has officially opened a new primary care centre, with help from municipal funding.

The city says that when the local primary care society proposed expanding health care, and with no immediate funding available from other levels of government, it committed up to $1.7 million for equipment, marketing and doctor recruitment.

The city says that by the end of the year, the clinic will provide more than 12,000 people with a family doctor.

“Our business model is a supportive not-for-profit model that reduces the administrative burden of our physicians and staff, which allows them to give their undivided attention to patient care,” Alyssa Andres with the South Island Primary Care Society told Global News.

“In the end, residents need physicians, they need health care spaces, and municipalities can’t just put our heads in the sand like an ostrich and pretend it doesn’t exist.”

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B.C. cancer patient frustrated by delays

The City of Grand Forks in B.C.’s Interior has also announced a one-year pilot program that uses local tax dollars to help recruit and retain doctors.

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Mayor Everett Baker said they used to have nine doctors, but when many retired or left, the city was struggling.

“We said, well, let’s ask the doctors, what is it that you need from us as a municipality to make sure that my citizens have a family physician?” he said.

Baker said that one of the struggles that doctors identified was the hard costs of operating the clinic, which gets harder when there are fewer doctors to split the costs.

The council then voted to provide funds to help doctors operate in the community.

“It’s been well received by our community,” Baker said.

“My promise to my community is that if you live in Grand Forks, you deserve to have a family physician and you will have a family physician.”

Baker added that it shouldn’t be the responsibility of local municipalities to recruit doctors, but they had to do something.

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Critics are questioning the Ford government’s decision to pour more public money into an advertising blitz after the province debuted its latest commercial during the Super Bowl.

The new one-minute Protect Ontario ad for the provincial government was first aired on Canadian television Sunday night as part of a push to promote the government’s vision.

“We build, that’s what we do in Ontario,” the voiceover begins. “As Canada stares down economic uncertainty, we’re ready with a plan to protect Ontario. Today and for generations.”

The commercial — produced by an Ontario-based animator — moves through images of home, highway and pipeline construction, featuring images of ships, cars and remote parts of Ontario.

“The government’s latest advertising campaign … highlights some of the ways we are building a more competitive, resilient, and self-reliant economy,” the premier’s office said.

Critics, however, argue the government is wasting public money on a campaign designed to boost its poll ratings rather than educate the public.

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“I don’t even want to think about how much this ad will cost taxpayers. But we do know it will add to this government’s historic, unprecedented spending on self-promotional advertising — all on the public dime,” Ontario Liberal MPP Stephanie Bowman said in a statement.

“What does this ad do to help Ontario? Why is this government focused on spending millions of dollars on self-promotion when they could be spending millions to help get young people jobs, to help break up criminal networks, and to help connect people to a family doctor?”

Bowman suggested the commercial’s claims were misleading. “We’re not building,” she said, pointing to the fact that Ontario had the worst housing construction rate in the country last year.

The Ontario NDP took a similarly dim view of the advertising blitz.

“These ads paint a pretty misleading picture about life in Doug Ford’s Ontario,” the party wrote in a statement. “They had to rely on special effects because the reality is that this government isn’t building any homes, they’re not fixing our roads, and they’re not creating or protecting good jobs.”

The premier’s office declined to tell Global News how much the commercial would cost, saying only the figures would eventually be released through public accounts data.

In recent years, the Progressive Conservatives have steadily ramped up the amount of public money being spent on government advertising. It reached a record of $111.9 million in the run-up to last year’s snap election.

The auditor general has complained that many of the campaigns the government is pushing don’t appear to have a purpose — beyond improving perceptions of the Progressive Conservative administration.

One previous campaign, “It’s Happening Here,” was flagged by the auditor as being run without a clear purpose beyond improving the public’s view of the government.

“The advertisements were aimed at a general audience,” Auditor General Shelley Spence wrote in her report for 2025.

“They did not include information about services and programs, but rather appeared designed to improve Ontarians’ impression of the current state of Ontario, the subtext of which promotes the governing party.”

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