National News

OTTAWA — A rise in COVID-19 cases driven by the highly infectious Omicron variant of the virus has renewed concerns among experts about the capacity of Canada's hospitals and health-care workers to handle another wave of the pandemic.

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the world has lost one of the strongest moral voices with the death of Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

OTTAWA — In early September, Conservative candidate Jennifer McAndrew stood outside a suburban Ottawa transit hub in the battleground riding of Kanata-Carleton to make a major campaign promise.

VICTORIA — Economic growth in British Columbia will face erosion from recent floods and slides that crippled transportation links, but the resilience of government and industry to keep supply chains open limits the damage, says an economist.

TORONTO — No winning ticket was sold for the $18 million jackpot in Saturday's Lotto 649 jackpot. However, the guaranteed $1 million prize was won by a lottery player in British Columbia. The jackpot for the next Lotto 649 draw on Dec.

TORONTO — Public Health Ontario says the province has recorded more than 10,000 new daily cases of COVID-19 for the first time. The 10,412 diagnoses surpass the previous record of 9,571, which was set Friday.

VANCOUVER — Known for rain and mild winters, British Columbia's west coast received an unexpected white Christmas as much of Western Canada shivered through extreme cold warnings and some parts of Ontario suffered through freezing drizzle.

Fewer Canadians gathered around twinkling Christmas trees to tear open presents with friends and family Saturday as COVID-19 put a damper on festivities for a second straight year, but the holiday spirit still managed to shine through for many.

MONTREAL — As the world tuned in on Christmas morning to see NASA's James Webb Space Telescope lift off, Canadian scientists who played a crucial part in its creation were emotional.

VANCOUVER — The British Columbia government has convinced many illegal cannabis growers to begin selling legally in an effort to squeeze out illicit marijuana from the marketplace, but the efforts have faced criticism from the craft growing industry.