In the news: P.M. fundraises in B.C., Polievre speaks for the Tories, Ramadan arrives

By Canadian Press on February 18, 2026.

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

Carney returning to B.C. week after mass shooting

Prime Minister Mark Carney is returning to B.C. today, less than a week after he attended a vigil honouring the victims of a mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C.

While in B.C., the prime minister will attend a Liberal Party fundraiser at a private residence in Vancouver, with tickets costing $1,775.

Carney’s itinerary says he will be in Richmond, B.C., to celebrate Lunar New Year with community members and will later tour an affordable housing project.

The Prime Minister’s Office says he is not expected to make any new announcements while in B.C.

Poilievre says Jivani ‘speaks for himself’

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Tuesday Ontario MP Jamil Jivani does not speak for the party after Jivani told a right-wing U.S. news site that Canada is harming itself with an “anti-America hissy fit.”

In a scrum with reporters, Poilievre was peppered with questions about Jivani’s recent trip to Washington, D.C., and comments made to Breitbart News that Canadians would be “shooting ourselves in the foot if we continue this anti-America hissy-fit.”

When asked if he agreed with Jivani’s characterization, Poilievre said “no.”

“Canadians are legitimately upset by the unjustifiable tariffs and the comments that the president has made,” Poilievre said.

Poilievre said that is also the message he gave to Jivani when he spoke to him about the trip and the comments, but didn’t directly answer when asked if he thinks Jivani is muddling the message Conservatives are trying to send.

“He speaks for himself, and I speak for the party,” Poilievre said.

NDP leadership candidates look to stand out

The memberships have been sold, entry fees have been paid, and now the NDP leadership candidates are preparing for their second and final party-organized debate in B.C. on Feb. 19.

This second debate will be held in English. The first debate, held in November, was supposed to be a French-language debate — but since most of the candidates are not fluently bilingual, much of it was held in English.

While the candidates share a broad range of benchmark social democratic values — such as support for labour unions — the debate gives them a chance to distinguish themselves from their rivals.

The final vote will be held using a ranked ballot and the new leader will be announced on March 29 at a leadership convention in Winnipeg.

Tough sell for B.C. budget that hikes tax, deficit

British Columbia’s finance minister begins selling a budget today that has drawn critics from all sides with its soaring debt and deficit, public sector cuts, and construction delays for care homes, student housing and a cancer centre.

Brenda Bailey calls the budget “serious work for serious times.”

It raises the base income tax rate by 0.54 per cent — the first increase in 26 years — while the deficit is predicted to soar to a record $13.3 billion next fiscal year.

The province says it will also cut 15,000 full-time public sector jobs over the next three years.

Third complainant set to testify at Stronach trial

A third complainant is set to testify in Toronto today at the sexual assault trial of auto parts tycoon Frank Stronach.

Stronach, who is 93, has pleaded not guilty to 12 charges related to seven complainants over alleged incidents spanning decades.

Two complainants, both women in their 60s, have testified in the trial since it began last week, laying out their accounts of encounters with the billionaire businessman in the early 1980s.

On Tuesday, the second complainant said she met Stronach for dinner after asking him for information on her termination from his restaurant.

She said she felt obligated to accept his invitation to see his condo afterward, and that she felt “terrified” when he groped her as she was trying to leave.

Canadian Muslims mark full winter Ramadan

Canadian Muslims are marking the start of Ramadan on Wednesday, but one thing will be new about the most festive and holiest month in Islam.

For the first time in about two decades, Canada’s approximately 1.8 million Muslims are marking the entire month of Ramadan in winter, says Noor Al-Henedy, a spokesperson for the Al Rashid Mosque in Edmonton.

“Our Muslim population follows the lunar moon, which requires the moon sighting to determine when the month (begins) … so individuals will notice that Ramadan will shift every year,” she said.

“This year, it is coming earlier in winter time after a long time.”

That means community members fast from dawn to dusk, with no food and water, for fewer hours.