Year in review: A look at events in February 2025

By Canadian Press on December 15, 2025.

A look at news events in February 2025:

1 – Hamas handed over three male hostages as part of the ongoing ceasefire deal with Israel. The latest, American-Israeli Keith Siegel, was handed over to the Red Cross, roughly an hour after the other two were freed in a similar scene. All three had been abducted during the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Israel has also begun its latest release of 183 Palestinian prisoners, hours after Hamas freed the three hostages.

1 – At least 30 people have been killed in fighting between Pakistan’s military and separatist rebels in Baluchistan. The military says 18 soldiers and 12 rebels were killed in the province bordering Afghanistan overnight. It says soldiers engaged insurgents who had put up barricades on a key highway in the province of Kalat.

1 – Six Americans who had been detained in Venezuela in recent months are freed by the government of President Nicolas Maduro. U.S. President Donald Trump and his envoy for special missions Richard Grenell announced the release on social media. Grenell’s trip to Venezuela was focused on Trump’s efforts to deport Venezuelans back to their home country, which currently does not accept them.

1 – U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to impose stiff tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico and China. Trump declared an economic emergency to put duties of 10 per cent on China and 25 per cent on Canada and Mexico, with 10 per cent on Canadian oil. The White House said Trump’s order also includes a mechanism to escalate the rates if the countries retaliate against the U.S.

1 – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced 25 per cent tariffs against the United States in response to President Donald Trump’s economic attack against Canada. Trudeau said Canada’s tariffs will copy the American tariffs, sweeping broadly and reaching $155 billion worth of American goods. The counter-tariffs include $30 billion worth of goods as of Feb. 4, followed by another $125 billion in 21 days to allow Canadian businesses to find alternatives. Ontario also cancelled an internet contract with Elon Musk’s Starlink.

2 – Former Major League Baseball Commissioner Fay Vincent died at the age of 86. Vincent became an unexpected baseball commissioner in 1989 following the death of A. Bartlett Giamatti. He would be forced out three years later by owners intent on a labour confrontation with players.

2 – Former President Jimmy Carter won a posthumous Grammy award. Carter was nominated in the audio book, narration, and storytelling recording category for “Last Sundays in Plains: A Centennial Celebration.”

2 – Montreal conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin celebrated his fifth career Grammy win this year. Nézet-Séguin split the win for best compilation soundtrack with Hollywood actor Bradley Cooper for their work together on music for the Netflix film “Maestro.”

2 – Beyoncé won her first Album of the Year award for “Cowboy Carter” at this year’s Grammy’s. The win also brought home the hardware for Canadian musician Dave Hamelin. Hamelin worked as a producer, engineer and mixer on the superstar’s country-pop album.

3 – Staffers of the U.S. Agency for International Development were instructed to stay out of the agency’s Washington headquarters after billionaire Elon Musk announced President Donald Trump had agreed with him to shut the agency.

3 – Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said her country was being granted a one-month reprieve from 25 per cent U.S. tariffs to give time for further negotiations. She said Mexico has agreed to station 10,000 members of its National Guard on the U.S. border to combat drug trafficking with a focus on fentanyl.

3 – The Giller Prize cut ties with Scotiabank. It parted ways with its lead sponsor more than a year after members of the literary community began protesting the bank’s ties to an Israeli arms manufacturer. The Giller Foundation administers Canada’s richest fiction prize and announced the news. It didn’t give a reason for the split.

3 – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to pause tariffs on Canada for at least 30 days after the two leaders spoke. Trudeau said Canada has made new commitments including tasking 10,000 front line personnel with protecting the border in addition to its $1.3-billion plan to strengthen the border. They include appointing a “fentanyl czar” and launching a joint strike force with the U.S. to combat organized crime, fentanyl and money laundering.

4 – China claps back on U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Chinese products with tariffs of its own on multiple U.S. imports. Minutes after Trump’s 10-per-cent tariffs on China were to take effect early Tuesday, China said it would implement a 15-per-cent tariff on coal and liquefied natural gas products, and a 10-per-cent tariff on crude oil, agricultural machinery and large-engine cars imported from the U.S.

4 – Swedish police said about 10 people have been killed in a shooting at an adult education centre that’s west of Stockholm. Police said the crime scene was so extensive that investigators haven’t been able to confirm a final death toll or determine a conclusive number of wounded. But authorities say the suspected gunman is among those killed and that he acted alone.

4 – Ottawa signed a new free-trade agreement with Ecuador. Trade Minister Mary Ng says the government will continue diversifying trade despite U.S. President Donald Trump backing down from his 25 per cent tariff threat.

4 – The Aga Khan, the spiritual leader of the world’s Ismaili Muslims, died at the age of 88. The Aga Khan was a key figure in an ethics scandal involving Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who vacationed on the Aga Khan’s private island in 2016. Trudeau paid tribute to the Aga Khan, calling him a compassionate global leader who will be deeply missed by people around the world.

4 – U.S. President Donald Trump said he wants to take charge of the Gaza Strip once Palestinians are resettled elsewhere. Trump made the provocative comments at the start of his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House.

5 – The daughter of Saxophone player, songwriter, and Grammy-winning producer Gene “Daddy G” Barge announced that he died on Feb. 2 in his sleep at his Chicago home. His vast catalogue of credits included working on hits by Natalie Cole, producing Muddy Waters and touring with the Rolling Stones. Barge was 98.

5 – The original members of Black Sabbath announced they were set to reunite in a gig being billed as Ozzy Osbourne’s last. Promoters billed it as the “greatest” heavy metal show ever. “The Back to the Beginning” show will happen on July 5 in Birmingham, where the singer widely known as the “Prince of Darkness” will deliver his own short set before being joined by his Sabbath bandmates.

6 – Federal Tourism Minister Soraya Martinez-Ferrada resigned from both cabinet and as the Liberal party national campaign co-chair. In her resignation letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shared to social media, Martinez-Ferrada says she has decided to run for mayor of Montreal.

6 – The Canadian government ended its boycott of advertising spending on Meta platforms. The Privy Council Office confirmed Ottawa spent $100,000 for space on Facebook and Instagram for a campaign about the federal GST/HST break. Ottawa stopped buying ad space from Meta in July of 2023 after the firm blocked all news content on its platforms in Canada in response to the Online News Act.

6 – Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford said he knew nothing about an alleged real estate rezoning scheme that was apparently carried out by former government staffers. An Oakville property owner and two companies have filed a $2.2-million suit against the staffers and a developer, saying they wanted three properties rezoned so they could be developed. The accused deny the allegations as “false and baseless.”

7 – The Municipality of Jasper received a major financial boost from the federal and provincial governments to help recover from last summer’s wildfire, with a federal commitment of $162 million to Parks Canada and Jasper, and $8 million from the province to help Jasper cover property-tax losses.

7 – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau opened a summit in Toronto, hosted by the government’s newly created advisory council on Canada-U.S. relations, saying, “It’s about time we had genuine free trade in Canada.” Business and labour leaders, Indigenous leaders and public policy experts descended on Toronto to discuss the changing landscape of North American trade. Trudeau said behind closed doors U.S. President Donald Trump is not joking about making Canada the 51st state.

7 – Ontario tourist attraction Marineland said it has euthanized a seven-year-old beluga following medical struggles. The death of Eos marked the 18th beluga to die at Marineland since 2019. The park says Eos was diagnosed with renal disease in 2021 and suffered from infection that required intensive treatment.

7 – A federal unit tracking suspected foreign interference said it uncovered a coordinated effort against Liberal leadership candidate Chrystia Freeland. The task force said the information operation directed at Freeland has been traced to an anonymous blog previously linked to the Chinese government. It briefed the Liberal party executive and members of Freeland’s leadership campaign about the findings.

7 – Singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie was stripped of the Order of Canada. The move was announced in the federal government newspaper, the Canada Gazette. Sainte-Marie’s termination also comes after a CBC report in 2023 questioned her Indigenous heritage, saying it found a birth certificate indicating she was born in Massachusetts in 1941. Family members in the U.S. told CBC that Sainte-Marie was not adopted and doesn’t have Indigenous ancestry. Sainte-Marie’s Indigenous culture was a central part of her identity as she rose to fame in the 1960s. She has said the CBC report contained mistakes and omissions and that she has never lied about her identity.

7 – Stage and film actor Tony Roberts, who often starred in Woody Allen movies, died at the age of 85. He got his start in Broadway musicals before heading to Hollywood.

7 – U.S. President Donald Trump became chairman of Kennedy Center after announcing that he has fired the entire board trustees for the Kennedy Center and named himself to the top job. Trump also says he will now be the sole dictator for programming at the premier cultural institution.

8 – A violin made in 1714 by the legendary luthier Antonio Stradivari sold for $11.3 million U.S. at an auction in New York. Sotheby’s auction house had estimated that the “Joachim-Ma Stradivarius” violin could sell as high as $18 million.

9 – Trois-Rivieres, Que. native Florence Brunelle finished first in the women’s 500 metres for her first career individual World Tour title in short-track speedskating in the Netherlands. Moncton, N.B.’s Courtney Sarault took the top spot in the women’s 1,500 metre final.

9 – The Philadelphia Eagles dominated the Kansas City Chiefs to win the Superbowl 40-22.

9 – Tom Robbins, the literary prankster-philosopher who charmed and enlightened millions of readers with such adventures as “Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, “Another Roadside Attraction,” and “Jitterbug Perfume” died at the age of 92. Robbins published eight novels and a memoir and looked fondly upon his world of deadpan absurdity and zig zag plots.

10 – More than 50 people died in Guatemala after a multi-vehicle crash sent a bus off a bridge on the outskirts of the country’s capital. Local authorities said others have been seriously injured and children are among the victims. The bus fell 35 meters into a sewage-polluted stream early this morning and landed upside down and half-submerged. The president of Guatemala has declared a day of national mourning.

10 – U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order slapping 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports into the United States, including Canadian products. The tariffs come a week after the president temporarily paused plans to hit Canada and Mexico with 25 per cent across-the-board tariffs.

11 – The Bank of Canada appointed an external deputy governor. University of Toronto economics professor Michelle Alexopoulos will serve a two-year term starting on March 17. She’ll work with the bank in a part-time role. The external deputy governor position was created two years ago to bring diverse perspectives to the bank’s policy-making process.

11 – American teacher Marc Fogel is released after being detained in Russia for more than three years. U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff was believed to have left Russian airspace with Fogel who was expected to reunite with his family. Fogel was arrested back in August 2021 and was serving a 14-year prison sentence for travelling with marijuana, which his family and supporters said was medically prescribed.

11 – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government named Kevin Brosseau, a former senior Mountie, to be the federal point person on fighting the spread of deadly fentanyl. Trudeau said Brosseau’s role will involve working closely with U.S. counterparts to accelerate Canada’s efforts to detect, disrupt and dismantle the illicit drug trade.

11 – Apple changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America on its American maps after an order by U-S President Donald Trump was made official by the U.S. Geographic Names Information System.

12 – Canada’s 13 premiers were in Washington to meet with lawmakers, business groups and lobbyists in a team effort to push back on U-S President Donald Trump’s plans for devastating duties.

12 – Jose Bautista was named to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. The former Toronto Blue Jays star slugger led the team to two post-season appearances. He’s a six-time MLB all-star who is best known for his memorable “bat flip” home run against the Texas Rangers in the 2015 American League Division Series. The class of 2025 will be inducted in June.

13 – Elon Musk said he will abandon his US$97.4-billion offer to buy the nonprofit behind Open-AI if the Chat-G-P-T maker drops its plan to convert into a for-profit company. Lawyers for the billionaire say in a filing to a California court that if Open-A-I’s board is prepared to halt its conversion, Musk will withdraw the bid. Musk and a group of investors made their offer earlier this week, in the latest twist to a dispute with the artificial intelligence company that he helped found a decade ago.

13 – U.S. President Donald Trump repeated unsubstantiated claims as he reiterated his desire to annex Canada. During a news conference, Trump falsely claimed the U.S. pays $200 billion a year in “subsidies” to Canada. He said Canada is “a very serious contender” to become the 51st U.S. state.

14 – Canada’s so-called “fentanyl czar” received his official job title. The federal government made Kevin Brosseau’s appointment official in an order-in-council. The document named Brosseau as “Commissioner of Canada’s Fight Against Fentanyl.”

14 – The Governor General appointed Daniele Henkel as an independent senator for Quebec. Henkel is a businesswoman, strategic adviser, mentor, coach and speaker whose website says she immigrated to Quebec in the 1990s. The Senate of Canada website indicates there are still six vacancies in the upper chamber.

15 – Canada marked the 60th anniversary of the national flag. It was adopted in 1965 under the government of then prime minister Lester B. Pearson. A group of young skaters made its way down the Rideau Canal in Ottawa, carrying a gigantic Canadian flag to kick off the festivities in Ottawa. The National Flag of Canada Day event included speeches and the singing of the national anthem and was attended by dozens of skaters, top athletes and Joan O’Malley, the seamstress who stitched the first-ever modern Maple Leaf flag.

15 – U.S. President Donald Trump continued to add to his growing list of tariff targets. Trump said he would launch tariffs on imported automobiles duties. The levies will be effective around April 2.

15 – Hockey fans loudly booed the American national anthem before passionately singing “O Canada” ahead of the showdown between Canada and the U.S. at the 4-Nations-Face-Off. The Bell Centre crowd gave the Canadian team a hero’s welcome when players skated onto the ice after being introduced by MMA fighter Georges St-Pierre.

16 – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he directed his ministers not to sign off on a proposed agreement to give the United States access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals. The proposal did not offer any specific security guarantees in return with Zelensky calling it too focused on U.S. interests.

16 – Saturday Night Live celebrated 50 years. “SNL50: The Homecoming Concert” boasted an epic lineup with an evening of memorable solo performances and fascinating one-time-only collaborations. The concert was hosted by Jimmy Fallon and was only one element of what has become an enormous celebration of the show’s 50 years in existence.

17 – Canada recognized Aboriginal title over the archipelago of Haida Gwaii off B.C.’s northern coast. The historic agreement with the Haida First Nation affirmed they have Aboriginal title over all of the islands’ lands, beds of freshwater bodies, and foreshores to the low-tide mark. The agreement transitions the Crown-title land to the Haida people, granting them an inherent legal right to the land and affecting how courts interpret issues involving disputes.

17 – Canadian author Antonine Maillet died at age 95. Her publisher says the novelist, playwright, and proud Acadian died overnight at her home in Montreal. Born in New Brunswick, her work was deeply inspired by the history, language, folklore, and traditions of the Acadian people, with more than 20 novels and 12 plays to her name. Maillet was also a companion of the Order of Canada among other titles.

17 – A Delta Air Lines plane crashed at Toronto’s Pearson Airport, injuring at least 19 people including a child. About 80 passengers and crew were on board the plane arriving from Minneapolis and paramedics say everyone has been accounted for. Images posted on social media showed the plane flipped over on the tarmac and caught fire, with several passengers fleeing the jet as emergency crews respond.

17 – Demonstrators braved frigid temperatures in parts of the U.S. shouting “No kings on Presidents Day” during protests against President Donald Trump. At the Arizona Statehouse many attempted to enter the building to oppose a bill that would bolster fast-changing federal immigration enforcement.

18 – The trial of the only suspect ever charged in the 1996 killing of rap icon Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas was postponed by about a year. Duane “Keffe D” Davis pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and his trial was set to begin next month, but his lawyer told a Nevada judge that the defence needs time to do critical investigative work.

18 – One of the two girls on trial in the death of a homeless Toronto man pleaded guilty to manslaughter. Her plea came after prosecutors said they had reassessed the strength of the evidence for a second-degree murder charge. The girl was 16 at the time of the man’s death and entered her plea through her lawyers, just before closing submissions were to begin.

18 – Three-time men’s world champion Patrick Chan and two-time Olympic ice dance champs Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir became Hall of Famers. They led the Skate Canada Hall of Fame’s elite class of 2025. The inductees also include 2018 women’s world champion Kaetlyn Osmond and two-time pairs world champions Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford. Longtime coaches Cynthia and Jan Ullmark and team doctor and chief medical officer Jane Moran were also named to the class.

18 – A B.C. Supreme Court judge ruled the RCMP made racist remarks about Indigenous women but the pipeline protesters’ convictions will stand. The women were arrested in 2021 during a blockade of Coastal GasLink pipeline construction.

18 – The U.S. Senate confirmed wealthy financier Howard Lutnick as commerce secretary. The 51-45 vote to confirm Lutnick installs a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump’s hardline trade polices. Lutnick is expected to spend the bulk of his time managing Trump’s aggressive plans for tariffs on American trading partners, including Canada.

18 – Russia and the U.S. agreed to start working toward ending the war in Ukraine and improving their diplomatic and economic ties. The two countries’ top diplomats said discussions have reflected an extraordinary about-face in American foreign policy under President Donald Trump.

19 – Loblaw announced a plan to open 80 new grocery and pharmacy stores this year, as part of a multi-billion-dollar expansion. The Canadian retailer says the new locations are part of a roughly $10-billion investment over the next five years. It says the majority of the stores will be discount grocers as Canadians look for ways to mitigate inflation and higher interest rates.

19 – Pat King was sentenced to three months of house arrest for his role in the 2022 “Freedom Convoy” in Ottawa. A judge found him guilty on five counts in November, including mischief and disobeying a court order. The Crown was seeking a 10-year sentence for King, while his defence had asked for time served and probation.

19 – Ottawa announced it was moving ahead with a high-speed rail network between Quebec City and Toronto. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said it will span about 1,000 kilometres and reach speeds of up to 300 kilometres an hour. Stops in between would include Peterborough, Ottawa, Montréal, Laval, and Trois-Rivières. Trudeau said this will get travellers from Montreal to Toronto in three hours.

19 – U-S President Donald Trump called the leader of Ukraine a “dictator without elections.” He said President Volodymyr Zelenskyy persuaded the United States to give billions of dollars for a war that Trump says, “couldn’t be won” and “never had to start.”

19 – Ottawa buys 500,000 doses of bird flu vaccine to make sure Canada is ready for potential health threats. The Public Health Agency of Canada said 60 per cent of available doses will go to provinces and territories while 40 per cent will be kept in a federal stockpile.

20 – Delta Airlines is offering people who were involved in a Toronto plane crash US$30,000 without any strings attached. Some of the 76 passengers and four crew members were injured in the crash, but everyone survived. All 21 people taken to hospital are released, according to the air carrier.

20 – The premier of Prince Edward Island resigned. Dennis King said he will also resign as leader of the Progressive Conservative party– effective Jan. 21 at noon. Current Education Minister Rob Lantz will succeed King as premier and interim Tory leader after being chosen unanimously by his caucus.

20 – The federal government increased the number of refugees it plans to resettle as a result of Sudan’s civil war, with changes that could see 7,000 more people reach Canada. The increase in applications it will accept puts resettlement projections at around 10,000. Immigration Minister Marc Miller says the government will also resettle 4,000 Sudanese living in dangerous conditions abroad by the end of 2026, and open spots for 700 Sudanese to be privately sponsored.

20 – Connor McDavid scored at 8:18 of overtime to give Canada a 3-2 victory over the United States at the 4 Nations Face-Off in Boston.

20 – Canadian singer Chantal Kreviazuk altered a lyric in “O Canada” while singing it at the 4 Nations Face-Off as an apparent protest. Her publicist told The Canadian Press that Kreviazuk changed the lyric from “in all of us command” to “that only us command” in response to Donald Trump’s repeated remarks about making Canada the 51st state. The Canadian national anthem was booed loudly ahead of the game.

21 – Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston were in Washington, D.C., to attend the National Governors Association winter meeting. The pair were reaching out to state governors in the latest push to stop tariffs threatened by U.S. President Donald Trump.

21 – Montreal-area police said a 13-year-old girl who was found buried in snow on Tuesday has died. Police say the girl was found unresponsive under a collapsed snowbank in front of a home on Montreal’s South Shore and was taken to hospital in critical condition. Police are continuing their investigation.

21 – A written constitution for the Heiltsuk First Nation in B.C. passed with 67 per cent of the votes. The Nation says the vote this month came after roughly two decades of development and consultation including six months of engagement with more than 2,000 members. Elected Chief Marilyn Slett says the document, which will be ratified in May, lays out a legal framework for self-governance and will help guide others who want to work with the nation on B.C.’s central coast.

21 – A New Jersey man is convicted of attempted murder for stabbing author Salman Rushdie multiple times on a New York lecture stage in 2022. Jurors deliberate for less than two hours and also find 27-year-old Hadi Matar guilty of assault for wounding a man who was on stage with Rushdie at the time. Matar ran onto the stage where Rushdie was about to speak and stabbed him more than a dozen times before a live audience, leaving the 77-year-old prizewinning novelist blind in one eye.

21 – The Liberal Party of Canada kicked Ruby Dhalla out of the leadership race. The party’s national director said a “thorough investigation” concluded Dhalla’s campaign had 10 violations of the national leadership rules, vote rules and expense rules.

21 – Two people who were on a plane that crash landed at Toronto’s Pearson airport on Monday sue Delta Air Lines and its subsidiary Endeavor Air. The lawsuits were filed separately in U.S. District Court in Georgia and Minnesota and allege negligence.

22 – The Associated Press sues three Trump administration officials over access to presidential events. It was citing freedom of speech in asking a federal judge to stop the 10-day blocking of its journalists. Filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, the AP says its case is about an unconstitutional effort by the White House to control speech – in this case, refusing to change its style from the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America.”

22 – Pope Francis took a turn for the worse and was now in critical condition after a long asthmatic respiratory crisis, the Vatican said. Francis had been hospitalized for a week with a complex lung infection, while the pontiff also receives blood transfusions to refresh his blood platelets, which are needed for clotting.

22 – Alberta Health Services documents showed a private surgical company was billing taxpayers more than twice as much per procedure than it would cost in a public hospital. An internal chart obtained by The Canadian Press showed estimates for hip replacements in Edmonton at the public health agency’s hospitals were just over $4,000 as of last fall, while Alberta Surgical Group was charging the government $8,300. The company is at the centre of allegations of government interference, with an investigation ongoing into the contracting and procurement at both AHS and Alberta Health. None of the allegations have been proven in court.

23 – Ottawa compensates 14 different First Nations in Saskatchewan to the tune of $1.72 billion for longstanding claims. The payouts are meant to address failed treaty promises that would have provided First Nations with ploughs, seeds, livestock, and other farming tools needed for economic development.

23 – Multiple cities across Canada held rallies as part of a global day of action marking the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including in Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary and Vancouver.

23 – Halifax police said a six-year-old child was in hospital after being stabbed in the city’s downtown. The child was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries. Police say the suspect – a 19-year-old woman – was located at the scene and arrested for aggravated assault. It’s reported the child suffered multiple stab wounds and that the victim and suspect are not believed to be known to each other.

23 – Israeli tanks moved into the occupied West Bank for the first time in almost two decades, shortly after the defence minister said troops will remain “for the coming year” in parts of the territory.

24 – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and 12 world leaders arrived in Ukraine’s capital by train this morning to mark the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of its sovereign neighbour.

24 – A former surgeon was set to stand trial in France for the alleged rape or sexual abuse of 299 victims. Most of the patients were children. Joel Le Scouarnec will face hundreds of victims during a four-month trial in Brittany and faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

24 – Grammy-winning singer and pianist Roberta Flack died at age 88 surrounded by family, her publicist says. Flack was known for her intimate vocal and musical style on “Killing Me Softly With His Song,” “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” and other hits. Flack became an overnight star in the early 1970s after Clint Eastwood used her song in one of his films.

24 – The United Nations General Assembly approved a Ukrainian resolution demanding an immediate withdrawal of all Russian troops from Ukraine on the third anniversary of the war. The UN body’s resolutions are not legally binding but are seen as a barometer of world opinion.

24 – Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said her government plans to build two involuntary drug addiction treatment centres. The facilities in Calgary and Edmonton are expected to cost $180 million over three years. Smith says the new facilities coincide with her government’s plan to put forward a proposed compassionate intervention act.

24 – B.C.’s legislature passed a motion condemning U.S. President Donald Trump and backing Ottawa’s response plans for tariffs. The governing NDP called for unanimous endorsement but five Conservative members voted no.

24 – Germany’s mainstream conservatives won the country’s national election. Leader Friedrich Merz’s win ensures Ukraine has an even stronger supporter in the European Union’s largest country. The far-right, anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany surged to become the second-largest political force.

24 – A woman believed to be the oldest living Holocaust survivor died at the age of 113. Rose Girone was one of about 245,000Holocaust survivors still living across more than 90 countries.

25 – An ailing Pope Francis named a new archbishop for Vancouver. He appointed Archbishop Richard Smith and accepted the resignation of J. Michael Miller. Smith was the general co-ordinator of the pontiff’s July 2022 trip to Canada, where he apologized for the Roman Catholic Church’s role in residential schools and called the abuses Indigenous Peoples faced a genocide.

25 – Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey announced he was stepping down after nearly five years in power. Furey said he couldn’t commit to another full term in office with a provincial election set for this year.

25 – A First Nation on British Columbia’s Central Coast sues the attorney general of Canada, arguing its Charter rights have been violated because the RCMP refuses to enforce its bylaws. The Heiltsuk Tribal Council says the police are emboldening drug dealers and other wrongdoers to enter and remain on reserve lands by refusing to enforce the bylaws.

26 – Liberal Party members started casting advance ballots today to select their next leader and prime minister. They can cast their ranked ballot choices by mail, or in some instances by phone, choosing between Mark Carney, Chrystia Freeland, Karina Gould and Frank Baylis.

26 – The Supreme Court of Canada announced it was moving away from social media platform X. The top court told its more than 45,000 subscribers that it’ll focus its communication efforts on other platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

26 – Actress Michelle Trachtenberg known for her roles in “Gossip Girl” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” died at the age of 39. New York City police responded to a call at a residential high-rise building in Manhattan and found her unresponsive. Emergency medical services pronounced her dead at the scene.

26 – The Manitoba government said potential human remains had been discovered at a landfill where search teams have been working to find two slain First Nations women. The province said steps are underway to identify the remains from the site, located north of Winnipeg.

27 – Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman and his wife were found dead in their New Mexico home. Foul play is not suspected, however authorities did not release any details about their deaths and said an investigation is ongoing.

27 – U-S President Donald Trump praised Wayne Gretzky as the greatest Canadian. He was defending the hockey legend in a social media post after Canadian fans criticized Gretzky for supporting Trump and attending his election party and inauguration.

27 – Manitoba becomes the first province to officially join the federal government’s pharmacare program. Health Minister Mark Holland made the announcement in Winnipeg.

27 – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a $270-million agreement for Inuit-led conservation efforts in the Arctic. He said the deal is for jobs and conservation projects in the Qikiqtani region, which is a majority-Inuit territory that’s part of Nunavut.

27 – Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Gary Anandasangaree formally apologized on behalf of the federal government for its role in Arctic relocations that started 91 years ago. The Dundas Harbour relocations were part of a strategy to maintain a national security presence in the Arctic and took place between 1934 and 1948. More than 50 people were removed by Ottawa from their ancestral homes, leaving affects Inuit communities that linger to this day.

27 – The Canadian Museum for Human Rights removed singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie from an exhibit because of questions about her First Nations identity. The musician and activist was among more than a dozen people featured in an exhibit at the Winnipeg museum titled “human rights defenders” until December.

27 – Ontario Premier Doug Ford cruised to a third straight majority government. His Progressive Conservatives were declared re-elected just minutes after most polls in the province closed. Ford will face the New Democrats as official Opposition again. Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie framed the night as a win as her Liberals regained official party status but she did not win a seat herself.

28 – Health officials said Ontario is experiencing its largest measles outbreak in almost 30 years. Seventy-eight new measles cases were identified over the course of two weeks.

28 – Canada extended its temporary visa application window for Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s invasion by one year. The new deadline to apply for new or renewed work and study permits under the Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel programs is March 31 of next year.

28 – U-S President Donald Trump shouted at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting at The White House. He berated Zelenskyy for “gambling with millions of lives,” while suggesting Zelenskyy’s actions could trigger World War Three. It happened during the final 10 minutes of a meeting in which Zelenskyy had planned to try to convince the White House to provide some form of U.S. backing for Ukraine’s security against any future Russian aggression. The Ukrainian president left the White House without signing a U.S.-Ukraine critical minerals deal Trump had demanded.

28 – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the appointment of a new independent senator to fill one of the Senate’s few remaining vacancies. Trudeau’s Office said the Governor General has appointed Duncan Wilson as an independent senator to fill a vacancy for British Columbia.

The Canadian Press