Liberals hold Sudbury riding as Viviane Lapointe re-elected to second term
With more than half of polls now reporting, CBC News is projecting her as the winner with over 50 per cent of the vote.
Conservative candidate Ian Symington is a few thousand votes behind her in second place, with New Democrat Nadia Verrelli coming a distant third.
Historically, the Sudbury riding has been a Liberal stronghold since its inception in the late 1940s.
Sudbury voters have only deviated from Liberal candidates on three occasions. The first was when the NDP's Bud Germa was elected in 1967.
Glenn Thibeault, also an NDP candidate at the federal level, was elected twice in 2008 and 2011.
Viviane Lapointe is the incumbent, having been elected in 2021. She was preceded by Paul Lefebvre, Sudbury's current mayor, who also ran as a Liberal.
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11 minutes ago
Carney and Zelenskyy speak ahead of Trump-Putin summit in Alaska
Prime Minister Mark Carney and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke by phone Monday, reaffirming their agreement that Ukraine must be a party to any discussions about a possible end to the war in that country. Speaking in advance of the Friday meeting in Alaska between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Carney and Zelenskyy welcomed Trump's leadership in working toward a lasting peace for Ukraine. The two leaders underscored that decisions on the future of Ukraine must be made by Ukrainians [and] international borders cannot be changed by force, said a statement detailing the discussion that was released by the Prime Minister's Office. The statement also said Ukraine's allies must continue to keep pressure on Russia to end its aggression and that any peace deal must include a robust and credible security guarantee. Trump announced in a social media post on Friday that he would be meeting with Putin in Alaska on Aug. 15. Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, now holds nearly a fifth of the country. In addition to Crimea, which it seized in 2014, Russia has formally claimed the Ukrainian regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia as its own, although it controls only about 70 per cent of the last three. Russia also holds smaller pieces of territory in three other regions, while Ukraine says it holds a sliver of Russia's Kursk region. Zelenskyy could attend second meeting, says Trump I am grateful for Canada's support for Ukraine and our people, Zelenskyy said in a social media post after speaking with Carney. We agreed that no decisions concerning Ukraine's future and the security of our people can be made without Ukraine's participation. Zelenskyy expressed skepticism that Putin genuinely intends to end his invasion of Ukraine, saying it's obvious the Russians simply want to buy time. The Ukrainian president said that until his country is invited to the negotiating table and Kyiv is given security guarantees, sanctions against Russia must remain in force and be constantly strengthened. Trump told a White House news conference Monday that his Friday meeting with Putin will be a feel-out meeting to gauge whether the Russian president is really willing to make a deal. So I'm going in to speak to Vladimir Putin, and I'm going to be telling him; 'you've got to end this war. You've got to end it,' Trump told reporters. Trump also said a future meeting between himself and Putin could include Zelenskyy. He said he would speak to European leaders soon after his talks with Putin and that his goal was a speedy ceasefire in the bloody conflict. Peter Zimonjic (new window) · CBC News · Senior writer Peter Zimonjic is a senior writer for CBC News who reports for digital, radio and television. He has worked as a reporter and columnist in London, England, for the Telegraph, Times and Daily Mail, and in Canada for the Ottawa Citizen, Torstar and Sun Media. He is the author of Into The Darkness: An Account of 7/7, published by Vintage. With files from Reuters
2 hours ago
Where does Carney stand on Canada's 2030 climate targets? It's not clear
Prime Minister Mark Carney is facing mounting pressure to act on climate change amid another near-record-shattering wildfire season and scorching hot summer. But five months after taking Canada's top political job, it's unclear whether he will pursue his Liberal predecessor's deep emissions cuts. Carney will need to make up his mind quickly, as the country is about to face a critical test. Canada has five years to meet or come as close as possible to achieving its international climate commitments. LISTEN | Where does Carney stand on climate targets? (new window) Those legally binding targets require the country to slash carbon pollution and other planet-warming gases by at least 40 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030. It is going to take a really heavy lift at this point, said the country's top climate adviser, Simon Donner, told CBC Radio's The House (new window) . Donner is co-chair of the independent Net Zero Advisory Body, an expert group that provides independent advice to the government on achieving net zero emissions by 2050. What is net-zero? Check out CBC's climate glossary (new window) There's a lot of things in this world that are uncertain at this time, but I think it's a safe prediction … that we will not meet that target, said Serge Dupont, a former deputy minister at Natural Resources Canada. The targets were perhaps overly ambitious to start with.… I think it's still important we make a valiant effort to go as far as we can, but we're not going to meet that target, he said. Environment and Climate Change Minister Julie Dabrusin was not available for an interview. But in a statement, her office said Canada is committed to reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. We strive towards our 2030 and 2035 targets, Keean Nembhard, press secretary for the minister, wrote in a statement. He said the government would provide an update on its emissions reduction plan. Targets slipping out of reach The federal government's January greenhouse gas projections show that Canada will fall short of its climate targets. As the data shows, the country is on pace to miss its interim 2026 target, reducing emissions by only 16 per cent by 2026 — short of the 20 per cent required. Moreover, modelling also shows Canada will miss its 2030 target — potentially even further than currently projected now that the carbon tax is gone. Enlarge image (new window) Source: Environment Canada Photo: CBC All we know that is happening is that we've been removing existing climate policies, Donner said. Removing the federal carbon tax and the requirement for provinces to either use it or have their own was one of Carney's first acts as prime minister. According to one analysis, the measure has been responsible for reducing carbon pollution by less than seven per cent. 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Asked about how a pipeline could impact Canada's emissions goals, Donner, the country's top climate adviser, suggested proponents and governments should avoid backing assets that could become stranded. WATCH | Carney ends the consumer carbon tax: The question we need to ask ourselves is who is that oil being shipped to in the year 2040, in the year 2045, when the world is shifting away from using gasoline and passenger vehicles? Donner said. Others believe we could see a shift with Carney, who, unlike Trudeau, doesn't see climate change as everything policy, according to Shannon Joseph, the chair of Energy for A Secure Future. It was [Trudeau's] economic policy, it was the foreign policy, it was the housing policy, Joseph said. People feel the pinch and so they've changed the priorities, and I think we're going to end up with a better, more measured solution. But Dupont, the former Natural Resources deputy minister, believes the government needs to recalibrate its climate target for a new reality. There's a wider set of issues at play here for Canadians, he said. Those issues, according to Dupont, who is now the head of public policy at the law firm Bennett Jones, include a softening of both economic growth and public support for green policies. The Carney government will eventually have to come clean on how and if it can meet Canada's climate targets. It's legally required to do so under the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act. David Thurton (new window) · CBC News · Senior reporter, Parliamentary Correspondent David Thurton is a senior reporter in CBC's Parliamentary Bureau. He covers daily politics in the nation's capital and specializes in environment and energy policy. Born in Canada but raised in Trinidad and Tobago, he's moved around more times than he can count. He's worked for CBC in several provinces and territories, including Alberta and the Northwest Territories. He can be reached at LinkedIn (new window) Twitter (new window)
3 hours ago
Afghan Canadian fears mother may be sent back into Taliban's hands after they nearly killed her
An Afghan Canadian man is calling on the federal government to speed up the refugee sponsorship process for his mother, who fled Afghanistan after she was beaten by the Taliban and is now hiding in Tajikistan to avoid deportation back to Kabul. Noorullah Hakemi, who lives in Ottawa and came to Canada in 2019, said his mother, Bibi Khatoon Yaqoubi, 57, remains in danger because the authoritarian government in Tajikistan has ordered the deportation of Afghan refugees. She is living in a good condition for now from the health perspective, but it's not a good condition from the safety perspective, Hakemi told CBC News. He served as an adviser in the Afghan government before the Taliban took power. There is huge human rights violation [in Tajikistan]. They're arresting people, they're beating people, they're torturing people, said Hakemi. English-language media reports (new window) from the region in June said that authorities in Tajikistan had launched sweeping immigration raids targeting Afghan refugees. Rafi Ferdous, a founding member of the Afghanistan-Canada Council, said an estimated 3,000 Afghan refugees in Tajikistan were awaiting the processing of their sponsored refugee cases to come to Canada. He said Ottawa needs to prioritize these cases. We want the government [of Canada] to process the cases waiting in Tajikistan, said Ferdous. Enlarge image (new window) Afghan Canadian Noorullah Hakemi, who lives in Ottawa, is calling on Canada to speed up his mother's refugee sponsorship process to avoid her deportation back into the hands of the Taliban. Photo: Submitted by Noorullah Hakemi Ottawa trying to 'protect' refugees destined for Canada Canada allows community groups, organizations, corporations and groups of citizens to bring in refugees through a sponsorship program. Under the program, sponsors are responsible for providing refugees with living and financial support, and help them find work and arrange for schooling. Throughout the late 1990s and into the early 2000s, Tajikistan was one of the main corridors Afghan refugees used to travel to Canada. The country has traditionally been hostile toward the Taliban, said Ferdous. They [the Tajikistan government] changed their behaviour …and this is new and this is kind of strange, he said. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said in an emailed statement to CBC News that it was deeply concerned about reports of Afghan refugee deportations by Tajikistan authorities. The statement said the government was working with the International Organization for Migration and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to liaise with authorities in Tajikistan to protect and support Afghans destined for resettlement in Canada. WATCH | Canada denies permit for Afghan refugee facing deportation from U.S.: Global Affairs Canada said in an emailed statement that Canada does not recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan and that the group remains listed as a terrorist entity. The statement said Canada was monitoring the treatment of Afghan refugees in Tajikistan, as well as in Pakistan and Iran. Helen Thibault, an associate professor of political science at Nazarbayev University in Astana, Kazakhstan, said there may be several factors behind the Tajikistan's government decision to send Afghan refugees back into the arms of a Taliban government they have historically opposed. Thibault said Tajikistan may be following the lead of Russia, which has recognized the Taliban as Afghanistan's legitimate rulers. Whenever Russia does something, Tajikistan is one of the first countries of Central Asia to follow, she said. 'Copycat effect' The Tajikistan government may also be feeling a strain on resources from hosting about 10,000 Afghan refugees in a small country, she said. The majority of refugees are in the poorer, more rural southern region that borders Afghanistan, said Thibeault. It could be that Tajikistan is seeing what is happening in the U.S. and says, 'Oh, well, you know, this is an acceptable practice now. We can deport anybody that is allegedly violating our migration laws.' It's like a copycat effect, she said. For Hakemi, the motives don't change the fear he faces every day knowing his mother could be grabbed and deported back to a country under a regime that nearly took her life. Of course I'm afraid, she is not where she is supposed to be, he said. 'Where she is living is not stable. If she goes back to Afghanistan, I don't know what will happen with the Taliban there." Enlarge image (new window) This photo, provided by Noorullah Hakemi, shows Bibi Khatoon Yaqoubi receiving treatment for fractures she suffered from a beating by Taliban officials. Photo: Submitted by Noorullah Hakemi Hakemi said his mother's sponsorship was arranged through an Afghan women's immigration group in Toronto. He said his mother fled to Tajikistan in December 2024 after recovering from a beating at the hands of Taliban officials that left her with two fractured legs and a fractured left hand, along with other injuries, according to a report submitted to Canadian immigration officials that included medical records and photographs. She was dragged into the street, whipped and beaten in front of a crowd during Aug. 15, 2024, celebrations marking the Taliban's return to power, according to the report. There were two other women. I told them that the Taliban are murderers and all that, said Yaquobi in an audio statement she recorded for CBC News describing her ordeal. Those women told the Taliban what I said. The Taliban pulled me out of the car and beat me. I was unconscious and ended up in the hospital … When I regained consciousness, I realized my arms and legs were broken. Yaquobi's case has been filed with the office of Richard Bennett, the UN's special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan. Bennett's office did not respond to a CBC request for comment. With files from Saeed Dehghani
