In the news today: Ontario PCs win third majority government

By Canadian Press on February 28, 2025.

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed…

Ontario PCs win third majority government

Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives chugged to a third majority government Thursday, propelled by his visible crusade against economic uncertainty emanating from the U.S., though falling short of the increased majority he urged.

Critics said this $189-million snap Ontario election was unnecessary, dangerously timed as President Donald Trump’s tariff knife dangles over Canada’s head and called only to capitalize on good polling numbers, but voters did not appear too keen to punish Ford for it.

However, they also didn’t appear too keen to reward him for it.

Despite Ford kicking off the campaign by saying he needed the “largest mandate in Ontario’s history” in order to deal with four years of a Trump presidency, the Progressive Conservatives were returned to the legislature with nearly as many seats as in 2022.

Ford said he will work with governments at every level and of every political stripe to fight the tariffs and shore up Ontario’s economy.

Here’s what else we’re watching…

StatCan to release Q4 GDP figures today

Statistics Canada is expected to release fourth quarter gross domestic product figures today.

The agency’s preliminary estimates called for growth of 1.8 per cent on an annualized basis, an increase from annualized growth of one per cent in the third quarter.

That matches the Bank of Canada’s forecasts for the quarter as well as calls from economists polled by Reuters ahead of Friday morning.

Royal Bank’s expectation is for more modest growth of 1.5 per cent annualized to end the year.

The updated figures will paint a picture of Canada’s economy before U.S. President Donald Trump took office and embarked on his tariff-setting agenda.

Canadian peacekeeping in Ukraine could be blocked

Canada may have difficulty taking part in a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine after a future ceasefire because it has clearly taken a side in the conflict, an international affairs expert suggests.

During a visit to Kyiv on the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion on Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did not rule out deploying Canadian troops to the region as part of a possible peace deal.

But that decision isn’t entirely up to Canada.

The United Nations’ guiding principles for peacekeeping state that the parties to a conflict — in this case, Ukraine and Russia — need to agree on deploying peacekeepers. Those principles also state the nations sending peacekeepers must be “impartial.”

Canada would have a hard time proving that, given its vocal support for Ukraine and its substantial contributions to its defence, said David Perry, president of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute.

Many public servants breaking remote work rules

Large numbers of public servants working in the federal government’s three biggest departments aren’t following Ottawa’s three-days-per-week office work rule, federal data shows.

The federal government’s latest remote work mandate, which took effect in early September, requires all staff employed under the Treasury Board to work on-site a minimum of three days a week. Executives are expected to work in the office four days a week.

The Canadian Press asked for compliance rates from a number of federal departments, including the three with the largest workforces — the Department of National Defence, the Canada Revenue Agency and Employment and Social Development Canada.

Of those three, Defence, which employs about 28,700 people, saw the lowest rate of compliance with the three-day rule, especially in the National Capital Region.

The department, known informally as DND, says its average rate of compliance with the three-day rule in January was 60 per cent — but just 31 per cent in December.

Restaurants, cafés extend hours for Ramadan

Imran Kayesh remembers the smell of lightly marinated chicken and fish sizzling on a grill inside a packed restaurant in Bangladesh just before sunrise during Ramadan.

As Ramadan begins Friday, Kayesh says the vibe won’t be exactly the same in Canada. But he’s excited that more restaurants across the country are set to stay open longer or open earlier each day throughout the next month.

He’s already set his sights on Middle Eastern, Pakistani and Bangladeshi restaurants and a coffee shop in Edmonton that plan to serve halal food until midnight, through to sunrise or 24-7.

The unusual hours of operation are a tradition in countries with large Muslim populations during Ramadan, a holy month in the Islamic lunar calendar when Muslims don’t eat food or drink water from sunrise to sunset.

Such countries also allow Muslims to work shorter days so the fasts are easier to get through.