Four or five things any Canadian should know from the past week, each one linked to the reporting it came from. Written by Claude from live web search, checked before it goes out. No account, no card.
MPs returned to Ottawa on September 21 for the fall sitting, and buoyed by strong polling numbers and three recent byelection wins that narrowly expanded their governing majority, Prime Minister Mark Carney and his caucus introduced the Building Canada Strong Act. The new Bill C-39, introduced Monday after question period, is aimed at speeding up approvals for major projects.
Back from summer break, the usual partisan tone returned as the federal parties sparred over Canada's affordability crisis, with Poilievre arguing government policies are driving inflation and describing grocery prices as reaching extreme levels. Carney fired back, pointing to three wars affecting Canadians: the trade war with the Americans, the U.S. war with Iran and Russia's war on Ukraine.
At the UN General Assembly, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said Canada can no longer afford to be overly reliant on any one partner, pointing to renewed partnerships with China and India. Her speech reflects Carney's push over the past 18 months to rebuild ties with Beijing and New Delhi.
Ontario opened its 2026 respiratory vaccine campaign the week of September 22, offering COVID-19 and RSV shots to high-risk adults aged 60 to 74 immediately, with influenza vaccination for those same priority groups following in late September. Free shots for everyone else don't arrive until October 27, while Quebec is the outlier this year, opting not to offer free influenza vaccination to the whole population.
Health Canada has flagged a safety concern after finding that its review found a possible increased risk of weight loss in children under 6 years of age compared to older children taking the same dose of CNS stimulants. The regulator says it will work with manufacturers to update the safety information in the Canadian product monograph for all CNS stimulants used to treat ADHD.
With Canadian supplies of a key kidney-treatment injection running low, Health Canada has authorized bringing in a South Korean version to bridge the gap: due to a shortage of Calcitriol Injection USP, Health Canada has authorized the exceptional, temporary importation and sale of South Korean-authorized BONKY Injection, with Korean-only labels to mitigate the shortage. Health workers are being told to watch for labelling differences.
Jonathan David's early goal lifted Canada past Chile in a chippy international friendly this week. The match followed Canada's run co-hosting the 2026 World Cup, the tournament's 23rd edition, the first held in Canada, and the first to feature 48 teams, with games split between Toronto and Vancouver.
Cricket Canada's Global T20 Canada tournament won't be played on home soil in 2026; it was announced that the 2026 edition would instead be staged in the Caribbean, with matches to be held in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines during the October–November window, before returning to Canada for its 2027 edition.
The Weather Network greeted the season with a feature headlined "Welcome to fall, Canada! Here's your next 3 months of weather" this week, alongside a companion piece asking whether El Niño could delay persistent frost across the country this year.
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