Year in review: A look at events in March 2025

By Canadian Press on December 15, 2025.

A look at news events in March 2025:

1 – Kurdish militants who have been waging a 40-year insurgency in Turkey have declared a ceasefire. The move comes just two days after their imprisoned leader called for the group to disarm. The Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or the PKK, say their leader’s “call for peace and democratic society” indicates that a “new historical process has begun.” The announcement comes against a backdrop of fundamental changes in the region. They include a change in power in Syria after the toppling of President Bashar Assad and the weakening of the Hezbollah militant movement in Lebanon and the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. The conflict between Turkey and the PKK began in 1984 and led to tens of thousands of deaths over the years.

1 – Montreal icon and Canadian poet Leonard Cohen’s notebook sold for $174,000 in a memorabilia auction. The 76-page notebook was filled with poems as well as the lyrics to the songs “Treaty” and “It’s Torn” in the biggest sale of the day at the auction house. The singer-songwriter died at the age of 82 in 2016.

1 – Canadians brought home lots of hardware in winter sports competitions around the world. Twenty-three-year-old Eliot Grondin earned World Cup silver in the men’s snowboard cross in Turkey. In Georgia, in World Cup ski cross action, B.C. native’s Reece Howden claimed gold in the men’s event and Courtney Hoffos took home bronze in the women’s event. And in Kazakhstan, Canadian freestyle skier Mikael Kingsbury earned his second World Cup gold of the weekend winning the men’s dual moguls, marking his 97th career World Cup moguls victory.

2 – Israel halted all goods and supplies to Gaza, warning of further consequences if Hamas rejects a proposal to extend the fragile ceasefire. Hamas accused Israel of derailing the truce, calling the aid cutoff a bit of “cheap extortion” and a violation of the agreement. With the first phase of the ceasefire ending yesterday, negotiations for the second phase remain unresolved. An Israeli official told the Associated Press the move was coordinated with the Trump administration.

2 – Canadian cyclist Derek Gee won the O Gran Camino road race in Spain. The 27-year-old from Ottawa finished with a 35-second edge over Italy’s Davide Piganzoli. Today’s finale covered more than 165 kilometres. It ended up in Santiago de Compostela after a difficult Category 3 climb with 20 kilometres to go followed by three challenging gravel sections.

3 – Canada has a new ambassador to Ireland. The prime minister’s office said former Prince Edward Island premier Dennis King will take up the post. King resigned as premier and Progressive Conservative leader last month, saying the decision was in the best interests of his family, the government and P.E.I. residents. He also resigned his seat as an MLA and said he didn’t want to seek elected office again.

3 – Survivors of a Saskatchewan boarding school that housed Metis and First Nations children said they reached an agreement with the federal government. Survivors said they were abused at the Ile-a-la-Crosse Boarding School, which operated for more than 100 years until it burned down in the 1970s. They said an agreement in principle would see up to $27 million paid to survivors. The deal also includes a $10-million fund for projects to address healing, education, language and culture.

3 – Dolly Parton’s devoted husband of nearly 60 years who often avoided the spotlight died at the age of 82. Parton’s publicist said Carl Dean died in Nashville, and will be laid to rest in a private ceremony with immediate family attending.

4 – The North American trade war has begun, with tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump now in place against Canada and Mexico. Canadians woke up to a new and uncertain reality after U.S. President Donald Trump’s deadline for economywide tariffs passed overnight, triggering a continental trade war. Trump’s executive order puts 25-per-cent across-the-board tariffs, with a lower 10-per-cent levy on Canadian energy as of midnight eastern time. Canada is responding with tariffs of its own, affecting some $30 billion worth of goods immediately and a remaining $125 billion of American products 21 days later.

4 – Ukrainians woke up to find Donald Trump had cut off their nation from military aid. As Ukrainians continue to fight against Russia’s invasion, the rift between Kyiv and the White House continues to grow. U.S. President Donald Trump directed U.S. assistance to Ukraine to be halted, as he seeks to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to engage in peace talks with Russia.

4 – Buffy Sainte-Marie returned her Order of Canada after being stripped of the award over questions around her identity. The singer-songwriter said she is an American citizen and holds a U.S. passport but was adopted as a young adult by a Cree family in Saskatchewan. She says she made it clear she was not Canadian to Rideau Hall, as well as to former prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau when he invited her to perform for Queen Elizabeth in the ’70s. It comes more than a year after a CBC report questioned Sainte-Marie’s Indigenous heritage. Rideau Hall said singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie had lost two more Canadian honours. A representative for Rideau Hall said two jubilee medals were stripped from Sainte-Marie since both were based on her membership to the Order of Canada. Her appointment to the order was cancelled in an ordinance signed by Governor General Mary Simon in early January. Sainte-Marie told The Canadian Press in a statement she never lied about her Indigenous heritage but has returned her medals.

5 – The federal government filed a notice to intervene in the Supreme Court of Canada’s hearing on Quebec’s secularism law. Bill 21 was passed in 2019 and prohibits civil servants like teachers and police officers from wearing religious symbols on the job. The Justice Department says the federal government is committed to upholding the rights of all Canadians, including freedom of religion.

6 – The federal government and British Columbia signed a four-year, $670-million pharmacare deal. This will support more than half a million B.C. residents with diabetes and provide 1.3 million people with a range of contraceptives. The agreement also means free public coverage of hormone replacement therapy to treat menopause symptoms – but universal access to the free medications doesn’t start until March next year.

6 – An Ontario court approved a historic $32-billion settlement that will see three major tobacco companies compensate provinces, territories and ex-smokers in Canada. The settlement was first proposed in October after years of mediation between tobacco companies and their creditors, which include provincial and territorial governments. It was unanimously approved by creditors in December and the court approval was its final hurdle. The companies will pay more than $24 billion to provinces and territories over about two decades, while plaintiffs in two class-action lawsuits in Quebec will split more than $4 billion.

7 – Hudson’s Bay filed for creditor protection and intends to restructure the business. The department store company said it has been facing significant pressures, including subdued consumer spending. Hudson’s Bay is Canada’s oldest company and dates back to 1670.

7 – Authorities said actor Gene Hackman died of heart disease and Alzheimer’s, and his wife died of hantavirus a full week before. Hackman and Betsy Arakawa were found dead Feb. 26, with rumours and mystery surrounding their deaths in the days that followed the discovery. New Mexico Authorities proposed a simple but tragic theory for the deaths, Hackman’s condition left him unable to seek help shortly after Arakawa’s death from the rare infection. Their family dog also died.

7 – A mass shooting at Piper Arms Pub in Scarborough left 12 people injured. The victims suffered injuries ranging from minor to critical. Investigators say out of the 12 people injured, six suffered gunshot wounds. Investigators are looking for three male shooting suspects.

8 – Ottawa’s Crown-Indigenous relations minister and the chief of the Musqueam Indian Band have initialed an agreement to help the band grow one step closer to self-governance. Minister Gary Anandasangaree called the agreement a “significant milestone” and a “powerful step” toward self-determination. Chief Wayne Sparrow says being self-sufficient has always been the vision. The agreement still needs federal legislation to give it legal effect, if it is approved by the Musqueam people.

8 – P.E.I. signed a four-year $30-million pharmacare agreement with Ottawa. The deal will see the federal government provide universal access to diabetes medication and contraceptives. The funding will also cover diabetes devices and supplies as of May 1. The province is the third to sign up with Ottawa following similar deals recently inked with Manitoba and British Columbia.

9 – The federal Liberals elected Mark Carney to lead the party into Canada’s next election. Carney beat former finance minister Chrystia Freeland, Liberal MP Karina Gould and former Liberal MP Frank Baylis by capturing 85.9 per cent of the vote. In his speech to the party faithful, Carney announced his government would reverse the consumer carbon tax. Carney’s step into the political arena comes as U.S. President Donald Trump continues to try to soften Canada up for annexation with escalating threats to the economy. Outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says freedom, democracy and Canada “are not a given,” delivering his farewell speech to Liberals in Ottawa.

10 – U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said 25-per-cent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports will take effect in two days. The White House has said this would stack on top of the other duties imposed on Canada. But Lutnick and President Donald Trump have suggested that tariffs on Canadian dairy and lumber may not arrive until next month. When Trump announced his intention to tariff dairy, he complained Canadian dairy tariffs were up to 250 per cent, without providing context on how dairy duties actually work.

11 – Former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte has been arrested on the order of the International Criminal Court in connection with a case of crime against humanity. Police took Duterte into custody at Manila’s international airport after he arrived from Hong Kong. Current President Ferdinand Marcos’s office said the ICC is investigating the massive killings that happened under the former president’s deadly crackdown against illegal drugs.

11 – U.S. President Donald Trump said he will double planned tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum to 50 per cent. Trump said the move is in response to Ontario’s 25 per cent surcharge on electricity shipped to 1.5 million American homes and business across three states. These levies are separate from the widespread ones enacted last week on Canadian and Mexican goods, some of which have been delayed until next month. Trump’s inconsistent tariff threats and his refusal to rule out a recession have caused U.S. stock markets to fall and created more uncertainty. He’s also calling on Canada to immediately drop duties on dairy and threatened to “permanently shut down the automobile manufacturing business in Canada” with tariffs in April.

12 – U.S President Donald Trump officially slapped all countries, including Canada, with 25-per-cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports. His executive order went into effect just after midnight. The move eliminates all exemptions from Trump’s 2018 tariffs on the metals, and bumps up the levies on aluminum from 10 per cent.

12 – The federal government will impose 25 per cent tariffs on U.S. goods worth $29.8-billion. It’s in retaliation for the 25-per-cent tariffs on steel and aluminum that U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration imposed. The dollar-for-dollar tariffs on the U.S. will take effect just after midnight.

12 – Canadian researchers and others confirmed Saturn has more moons than any other planet. The team has discovered 128 new moons orbiting the ringed planet. The discovery brings Saturn’s total number of moons to 274, almost twice as many as all of the solar system’s other planets combined. The moons were found with the Canada France Hawaii Telescope on the summit of a dormant volcano in Hawaii.

13 – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a farewell message to Canadians Thursday as he marked his last full day in office. In a video posted to several social media platforms, including X and Facebook, Trudeau said he’s proud to have served a country full of people who stand up for what’s right and always have each others’ backs. He added that despite leaving office, he will always be “boldly and unapologetically Canadian.” Trudeau is leaving office after more than nine years as prime minister and does not plan to run again in his Montreal riding when the next election is called.

14 – Prime Minister Mark Carney was sworn in along with his cabinet ministers. The new Liberal government has 24 ministers in all and includes a mix of new faces and ministers from the Justin Trudeau era. Former finance minister Chrystia Freeland is now transport and internal trade minister. Other familiar faces include Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly and former finance minister Dominic LeBlanc, who takes over the intergovernmental affairs portfolio.

14 – The Liberal government is immediately ending the consumer carbon price. Prime Minister Mark Carney ended his first cabinet meeting by signing an order-in-council to end the deeply unpopular measure. He said people who have been getting a rebate on the carbon price will get one final payment in April. Carney pledged to end the consumer price during the Liberal leadership race and said he would bolster the industrial price paid by big polluters.

15 – A U.S. federal judge barred the Trump administration from enacting any deportations under an 18th-century law that Trump invoked. The assertion that the United States was being invaded by a Venezuelan gang promised Donald Trump the powers to remove its members from the country. Chief Judge James E. Boasberg said his order was issued because the government was already flying migrants it claimed were newly deportable under Trump’s proclamation to El Salvador and Honduras to be incarcerated.

16 – The United States and Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen are fighting, with vows of escalation on both sides after the U.S. launched airstrikes against the rebels. The strikes aim to deter the militants from attacking military and commercial vessels in the Red Sea. The Houthi-run Health Ministry says the U.S. killed 53 people, including five women and two children. U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to use “overwhelming lethal force” until the Houthis stop their attacks.

17 – Tolls were lifted for the Angus L. MacDonald Bridge in Halifax for the first time in 70 years. The bridge that crosses the Halifax Harbour was closed over the weekend so crews could start taking down toll booths and concrete barriers. The governing Progressive Conservatives promised to remove the tolls during last fall’s provincial election campaign. The toll removal comes two weeks earlier than was originally planned.

17 – The U.S. Trump administration deported hundreds of immigrants despite a judge’s order to stop the move. Hundreds of immigrants were transferred to El Salvador and were in the air at the time of the federal judge’s order temporarily barring the deportations. District Judge James E. Boasberg verbally ordered the planes be turned around, but did not include the directive in his written order. The immigrants were accused gang members.

17 – The man behind a mass stabbing at Ontario’s University of Waterloo has been sentenced to 11 years in prison. The judge deemed the attack at a gender studies class was not terrorism but that it was a hate crime. Because of time already served awaiting trial, Geovanny Villalba-Aleman faces an additional seven years and seven months behind bars. The 25-year-old had pleaded guilty in the attack that left a professor and two students with stab wounds.

18 – U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to an immediate 30-day ceasefire on all energy infrastructure in Ukraine. But Putin stopped short of backing a broader 30-day ceasefire the U.S. administration wants. The Kremlin said Putin reiterated his demand for an end to foreign military and intelligence assistance to Ukraine. The two leaders spoke for more than an hour, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was not on the call. The White House said ceasefire negotiations will “begin immediately” and will be held in the Middle East. There’s no word yet whether Ukraine will be included in those talks.

18 – Two NASA astronauts returned to Earth after being stuck on the International Space Station for more than nine months. Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were on board a SpaceX capsule as it parachuted into the Gulf of Mexico just hours after departing the International Space Station. Splashdown occurred off the coast of Tallahassee in the Florida Panhandle, bringing their unplanned odyssey to an end. Within an hour, the astronauts were out of their capsule, waving and smiling at the cameras while being hustled away in reclining stretchers for routine medical checks. The pair were only expected to be in space for about a week or so but problems with Boeing’s new Starliner crew capsule kept them at the ISS. SpaceX capsule issues added another month’s delay to the astronauts’ return home to Earth.

18 – Tesla was removed from participating in this week’s Vancouver International Auto Show over safety concerns. The event’s executive director said they specifically asked the electric carmaker to withdraw because of a “primary concern” for the safety of workers, attendees and exhibitors. Eric Nicholl said the decision wasn’t easy but was made “in light of the recent escalating events throughout North America.”

19 – The European Union announced a new drive to break its security dependence on the United States. The EU’s executive branch unveiled its “Readiness 2030” security strategy today with a focus on buying more defence equipment in Europe rather than from suppliers across the Atlantic.

19 – Ontario Premier Doug Ford began his third term as premier by naming a new cabinet with a lot of familiar faces. But he shuffled his housing, education and environment ministers. Ford has kept the cabinet the same size since increasing it to 37 people in August with new associate ministers. The cabinet was sworn in during a ceremony at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto.

20 – Ukraine and Russia agreed in principle to a limited ceasefire after Donald Trump spoke with the countries’ leaders this week, though it remains to be seen when it might happen and what targets would be off limits to attack. The tentative deal to partially rein in the grinding war came after Russian President Vladimir Putin rebuffed the U.S. president’s push for a full 30-day ceasefire. After a roughly hour-long call with Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said “technical” talks would happen in Saudi Arabia this weekend to resolve what infrastructure would be protected.

20 – The International Olympic Committee elected its first female and first African as president. Forty-one-year-old Kirsty Coventry’s eight-year mandate will take her into 2033. The Zimbabwe sports minister got a win in first-round voting by members, becoming just the 10th leader in the IOC’s 131-year history. Key issues for Coventry include steering the Olympics through politics and sports challenges toward the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles, and picking a 2036 host.

20 – American safety regulators issued another recall of virtually all Cybertrucks on the road. It’s the eighth recall of the Tesla-made vehicles since deliveries to customers began just over a year ago. This time, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration warned an exterior panel alongside the windshield can come off while driving. The recall covers more than 46,000 Cybertrucks from the 2024 and 2025 model years.

21 – Ottawa announced nearly $100 million in humanitarian relief and governance support for Palestinians in a funding pledge for major agencies working in the occupied Palestinian territories. It includes $30 million for recovery and governance support in the West Bank. The federal government is also sending $45 million for health care, food and shelter for Palestinians.

21 – Boxing legend, preacher and entrepreneur George Foreman died at the age of 76. The two-time world heavyweight boxing champion won an Olympic gold medal before going on to become famous for his George Foreman grill. Foreman famously fought Muhammad Ali in one of boxing’s most legendary fights, the 1974 Rumble in the Jungle in Zaire.

22 – Canada’s Evan Dunfee has won the World Athletics Race Walking Tour distance in Slovakia, setting a new world record in the process. The 34-year-old Richmond, B.C. native shaved seven seconds from the previous record for the 35-kilometre walk set last year by Japan’s Masatora Kawano. He also knocked more minutes off his previous best time in the win. Dunfee won Olympic bronze in Tokyo in 2021 in the 50-kilometre race.

23 – Rachel Homan’s Canadian curling team won the women’s world championship for a second straight year. The 7-3 victory over Switzerland makes the Ottawa Curling Club team of Homan, Tracy Fleury, Emma Miskew and Sarah Wilkes the first Canadian team to repeat as women’s world champions since 1993.

23 – A federal election was announced for April 28. Governor General Mary Simon approved Liberal Leader Mark Carney’s request for Parliament to be dissolved, sending Canadians to cast their ballot next month. The five week campaign is kicking off after Carney made the announcement outside Rideau Hall.

24 – Decorated Canadian wheelchair basketball player Patrick Anderson retired. The 45-year-old is one of the most decorated Canadian basketball players of all time with three Paralympic gold medals and a silver. From Fergus, Ont., Anderson has been called the Michael Jordan of wheelchair basketball and was one of Canada’s flag-bearers for the opening ceremonies in Paris. He was struck by a car at age nine and his lower legs were amputated below the knee. Now he intends to launch a wheelchair basketball program in his hometown to help Canada’s next generation of basketball players.

25 – The editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine reported on his accidental invitation to a high-level group chat involving senior members of U.S. President Donald Trump’s national security team on a commercial messaging app. The White House acknowledged the text chain about advanced war plans in Yemen on March 15 appears to be real. Jeffrey Goldberg said after realizing what had happened, he removed himself from the “Signal” chat group and alerted the White House. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was reportedly part of the group text. When asked to comment, he attacked Goldberg as “deceitful,” and claimed “nobody was texting war plans.”

27 – U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in the Oval Office Wednesday imposing a 25-per-cent tariff on auto imports. Cars made in the U.S. won’t be charged the levy, which is expected to take effect on April 2. After the announcement, Liberal Leader Mark Carney acknowledged that the new U.S. auto tariffs will harm Canada, but insisted that by working together through this period, Canadians will emerge stronger.

27 – A measles outbreak in Ontario jumped by more than 100 cases in the past week. Public Health Ontario is now reporting 572 confirmed and suspected cases since the outbreak started in the southwestern part of the province last October. Of those cases, 42 people are still in hospital, including two in intensive care. Outbreaks are also being monitored in other provinces, including Alberta, where 18 people have been diagnosed.

27 – Greenland’s lawmakers agreed to form a new government on the eve of a visit from the U.S. vice-president. Four of the five parties elected to Greenland’s parliament earlier this month agreed to form a coalition. The agreement comes as U.S. President Donald Trump ramps up his effort to take control of Greenland “one way or the other.” U.S. Vice-

28 – Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby hit another personal milestone, breaking an NHL record he shared with Wayne Gretzky for point-per-game consistency. With his parents in the Buffalo stands, Crosby used his right skate to kick the puck onto his stick and then – in one motion – snap the shot inside the right post. It was his 26th goal and 80th point of the season in his 72nd game. With eight games left in Pittsburgh’s season, Crosby is assured of finishing his 20th season averaging at least a point per outing.

28 – Canada’s most wanted fugitive was arrested in Italy after more than 600 days at large. Dave “Pik” Turmel is accused of being the head of the Quebec street gang Blood Family Mafia. Police said the 28-year-old was arrested in Rome early Thursday after Quebec City police tipped off local authorities in the Italian capital. Turmel is being held in a Rome jail while he awaits extradition to stand trial in Quebec.

29 – Hundreds of protests got underway at Tesla showrooms around the world, including multiple ones organized in provinces across Canada. The Tesla Takedown Global Day of Action is the latest form of demonstrations held by those who object to the role Tesla CEO Elon Musk is playing in the U.S. government. Protests have taken place in Ottawa, Montreal, Saskatoon, Winnipeg and Halifax, and four were scheduled in B.C.’s Lower Mainland over the weekend. Demonstrators say they want people to sell their Tesla vehicles and dump any stock in the company.

30 – Iran’s president said Tehran has rejected direct negotiations with the United States in response to a letter from U.S. President Donald Trump over its rapidly advancing nuclear program. Sunday’s remarks from the Middle East nation’s president offered the first official acknowledgment of how the country is responding to Trump’s letter. It also suggested that tensions may further rise between Tehran and Washington. The U.S. State Department has said it cannot allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon.

30 – Canadian pop-punk act Sum 41 played what they said was their final performance as a group. The band from Ajax, Ont., raced through “Fat Lip,” “In Too Deep” and a medley of their other hits at the Juno Awards in Vancouver as part of their induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. Lead singer Deryck Whibley said the band is proud of its 25-year journey and success.

31 – Israeli police arrested two suspects in connection with an investigation into ties between the Gulf Arab state of Qatar and the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The case is under a sweeping gag order and police did not name the suspects. The investigation is looking into accusations that Qatar hired people in Netanyahu’s orbit to manage public relations campaigns. Qatar is a key mediator between Israel and Hamas.

The Canadian Press