A byelection has been called in British Columbia after a B.C. Conservative MLA resigned last week, giving leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay a chance to sit in the legislature.

But in many ways, the timing could not be worse for Findlay, whose caucus has lost six MLAs in recent weeks.

An audio recording appeared on social media Thursday of a person who sounds like Findlay saying she thought if someone stepped aside as a legislator, “I could give them a role as senior adviser in their same portfolio.”

The MLA who resigned, Reann Gasper, has since become Findlay’s deputy chief of staff.

Findlay has addressed the recording and said suggestions it shows her illegally offering jobs to legislators in exchange for resigning so she could stand in a byelection are “preposterous.”

The B.C. Conservative leader currently does not hold a seat in the legislature. The byelection is set for Sept. 26.

Trevor Bolin, the party’s former leader, said the timing of the audio’s release “couldn’t be worse” because of various issues facing the Conservatives.

“I think, you know, Kerri-Lynne needs to get a handle on not only her leadership with the caucus, but as well as the MLAs and the members in British Columbia,” Bolin told Global News.

Findlay said on social media Thursday that it appeared the “unverified” audio recording was made at a July caucus meeting, calling it a “political smear job.”

It is illegal under the Criminal Code to negotiate a reward or benefit related to resignation from political office, but Findlay said the comments in the recording, published by an anonymous account known as “The Findlay Files,” were “normal political discussions” that did not constitute a criminal offence.

In addition to the Criminal Code bribery prohibition, which is subject to up to five years’ prison, BC legislature standing orders ban the offer of money or other advantages to members for promoting any matter “depending or to be transacted” in the house.

The B.C. RCMP said it was aware of the social media post.

“However, generally speaking, the RCMP does not confirm or deny any investigation, or the identity of any person who may be subject to an investigation, until such time as charges have been laid,” a spokesperson said in an email Friday.

It’s not only the audio hanging over Findlay going into a byelection. Six MLAs have left the party in the past month, four of them in the past week.

The exodus began Aug. 14, when longtime MLA Peter Milobar announced he would leave the party to sit as an independent.

About 10 days later, Ian Paton left the BC Conservatives and signalled he and Milobar planned to form a new party before the fall legislative session.

Since Aug. 24, four others have left: Rosalyn Bird, Teresa Wat, Brennan Day and Bruce Banman.

Bolin also said he’s hearing six to eight more Conservative MLAs could leave before the fall sitting.

“There’s obviously an issue in the party, there’s an issue in caucus, there’s an issue with the executive,” he said. “Don’t hide from it, don’t deny it, take it head on and fix this issue because the last thing we need is more centre-to-right parties popping up just to split that vote.”

He added he believes the party can recover ahead of a potential general election, which has to be held no later than October 2028, but encouraged Findlay to change the closed-door meetings policy, improve transparency and work with communities and her MLAs.

“Parties last forever, leaders come and go, MLAs come and go, politicians have expiry dates, but at the end of the day, the platforms and the policies that the members put in place are what lasts a lifetime,” he said.

If Findlay chooses to run in the riding, she would face former NDP MLA and agriculture and food minister Pam Alexis. Alexis was elected in the 2020 election before losing to Gasper in 2024 by about 2,600 votes.

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

OTTAWA – In a season that has been fraught with challenges, the Ottawa Redblacks are hoping this will be the week their luck will change.

The Redblacks (0-10) will look to pick up their first victory of the season when they take on the B.C. Lions (5-5) on Sunday night at TD Place Stadium.

“We’re playing for the love of the game right now and we owe it to the football gods to go out there and play the game the right way,” said Ottawa head coach Ryan Dinwiddie. “So you know, I think a win would do a lot for us.

“We’re going to go attack that tomorrow and try to find a way to get that win.”

Earlier this week, the Redblacks fired vice-president of football operations Shawn Burke and announced the hiring of Jim Popp as a senior football adviser. They were the latest personnel changes in a season that has fallen far short of expectations.

The Lions, meanwhile, are coming off a 30-16 victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders that extended their winning streak to four games.

B.C.’s taut defence will make things difficult for Ottawa quarterback Jake Maier, who has struggled this season. Maier, who’s averaging 7.5 yards per attempt, was ranked last among starters entering Week 13, well below the league average of 8.9.

“I try not to think about the past anymore, I think it’s just about here we are,” said Maier. “We’ve got a good team coming in (that’s) playing really well, but I think we need to just play well.

“And if that’s good enough to earn us a win, then that’s great.”

Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke has thrown for over 300 yards in three straight games. B.C.’s run game is averaging 112.8 yards per game, third-best in the CFL.

Ottawa’s defence has struggled to contain opposing offences all season. The Redblacks have surrendered an average of 435.8 net yards per game, including 329.6 through the air, while allowing opponents to convert 56.7 per cent of their second-down opportunities.

Defensive back Marcus Barnes admitted the losses have been tough, but said the players continue to put the work in to turn things around.

“We’re not going to make excuses or let it kind of break us,” Barnes says. “You can see everybody wants that win (as) bad as hell, like we’re hungry for it. So I don’t think that will be a problem.”

LIONS (5-5) AT REDBLACKS (1-10)

BAD HISTORY: A loss Sunday would put Maier on the wrong side of history. No CFL quarterback has ever lost 11 starts in a row to start a season. Maier is the fourth quarterback to start a season 0-10.

RUNNING HOT: B.C.’s Justin McInnis has 12 catches for 292 yards and a TD in his last three games. He made his 300th career reception last week.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 29, 2026.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

Ontario Premier Doug Ford delivered a message to U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday, revealing a new Lake Ontario sign and saying the lake’s name is “always going to be Lake Ontario.”

The reveal of the sign in Winona, Ont., east of Hamilton, came as the U.S. president maintains his stance that Lake Ontario has been renamed Lake America after he signed an executive order earlier this week.

“President Trump can call it whatever he wants, but I can tell you the rest of the world will always call it Lake Ontario,” Ford told reporters. “I received numerous calls from governors, they’re saying we’re always going to call it Lake Ontario, and obviously Canada’s always going to call it Lake Ontario.

“We’re resilient and we’re strong Canadians and we’re always going to protect our sovereignty, always and we’ll never, ever back down.”

Trump signed an order directing the U.S. government to refer to Lake Ontario, one of the Great Lakes, as “Lake America,” in his latest shot against Canada after trade talks fell apart last week.

He also criticized Canada’s trade policies while speaking in the Oval Office, but insisted he loved the country and that renaming the lake was not about sending a message.

Prime Minister Mark Carney responded to the change on Thursday, saying the name of Lake Ontario would remain “now and always.” Those words also appeared on the sign unveiled Saturday.

Carney also noted in a statement that the name Lake Ontario is more than 400 years old and “comes from the Wendat word Ontari’io, which, appropriately, means ‘the lake is beautiful, the lake is big.'”

Some U.S. politicians and MapQuest criticized and ridiculed the name change, with the mapping company saying it would not change the name on its maps.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, took to social media to post a video of himself at a McDonald’s restaurant signing a fast food napkin to decree Lake Michigan would now be called “Lake Wisconsin.”

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker also posted a photo of Trump Tower in Chicago, with the president’s name crossed out and the name “Natalie” featured, saying it was now called “Natalie Tower.” It appeared to be a reference to Natalie Harp, one of Trump’s closest aides.

The president has not backed down on the renaming, posting multiple images and videos on his Truth Social platform Friday and Saturday. In one such video, AI-generated Canada geese with what resembles Trump’s hairstyle march with weapons while the words “Lake America” appear below them.

Trump’s executive order says the U.S. lays claim to most of the “volume” of Lake Ontario and is mostly responsible for its security, economic activity and environmental stewardship.

The order directs U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to work with the Board on Geographic Names to ensure all U.S. federal government references to Lake Ontario, “including on executive department and agency maps, contracts, and other documents and communications,” reflect Trump’s name change.

Democrats, who are running to take control of Congress in November’s midterm elections, lambasted the move for not addressing Americans’ priorities.

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Trump was putting his own grievances first and “Americans last.”

“Inflation increasing. The Iran war raging on with no end in sight. A trade war with Canada. And what does Trump want? To rename Lake Ontario,” he wrote on social media.

–with files from Global News’ Sean Boynton and Touria Izri

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith plans to meet with U.S. officials next week during a trip south of the border.

According to Sam Blackett, press secretary for Smith, the meetings have been added to a trip planned and booked months ago.

“As the Premier said earlier this week, Canadian legislators should be doubling down on diplomacy with members of the U.S. Congress and lawmakers in both parties to ensure they understand how destructive these tariffs are for the American people, and how we will be there to help as soon as the tariffs are reversed,” Blackett said in an emailed statement.

Smith is expected to meet with Mark Ezell, the commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development, Stephanie Coleman, the head of the Nashville Chamber of Commerce and the CEO of the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp., Deana Ivey.

The premier will be joined by Alberta’s senior U.S. representative Nathan Cooper.

Earlier this week, Smith said the U.S. had “no excuse for their behaviour” after trade talks fell apart, but did not believe Canada could win through “brute force.”

She also rejected calls by the Opposition NDP, along with others such as former premier Jason Kenney, to use Alberta’s energy exports as a high-stakes bargaining chip.

The U.S. has the power to cripple Canada energy-wise, she cautioned.

Smith predicted if Canada were to enact a 50 per cent tariff on the four million barrels of oil exported south each day, the U.S. would retaliate with tariffs of 50 to 100 per cent on refined oil and gas products exported to Canada, such as aviation fuel.

Blackett said Alberta’s diplomatic efforts include participation in organizations like the Council of State Governments (CSG) Midwest, where MLA for Lacombe-Ponoka Jennifer Johnson serves as representative for the province.

Johnson, a backbencher in Smith’s United Conservative caucus, is expected to be joined next week at the U.S. organization’s annual Midwestern Legislative Conference by six members of Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe’s caucus.

Saskatchewan is a full member of the Council of State Governments Midwest, while Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario are affiliate members.

During a news conference this past week, Smith also called for an accelerated approval timeline for the West Coast pipeline her government is pitching, and that she’s formed two committees in response to the breakdown in trade talks.

Smith said one committee, made up of her cabinet members, is set to meet Thursday to discuss following Saskatchewan’s lead by imposing a 50 per cent tax on U.S. alcohol brought into that province.

She said she prefers Moe’s approach to an outright ban on American alcohol in Alberta, noting Canadian products aren’t blocked from going south of the border.

—with files from Global News’ Karen Bartko and The Canadian Press

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

President Donald Trump said Friday that his administration has entered a sweeping agreement with Venezuela that, if realized, could give the U.S. access to vast amounts of the South American country’s untapped oil reserves, at cost.

Trump in a social media post announcing the agreement said it was negotiated by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez.

“The United States of America has just entered into an Agreement with the Country of Venezuela on, THE BIGGEST OIL DEAL IN WORLD HISTORY!” Trump wrote.

Rodríguez’s government in a statement said the deal involves the development of 17 fields with a proven potential of 65 billion barrels. It said the agreement could draw US$100 billion in investment into Venezuela’s oil industry and yield over $209 billion in taxes for Caracas.

Rodríguez in a posting on Telegram predicted the deal “will have a significant impact on our nation’s revival.”

The agreement allows for the United States to partner with an unnamed private operator in Venezuela to create a new private company to take hold of the reserves, according to a U.S. official familiar with the contours of the deal.

The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity, added that Rodríguez granted the company 100-year rights to develop the oil fields.

The deal gives the United States 55 per cent effective output of the new private company — including an ownership stake and rights to buy oil at cost. The company would be the second largest corporate holder of proven reserves after Saudi Aramco, according to the official.

Trump is under pressure to show he’s lowering oil costs

The announcement comes nearly nine months after the U.S. military at Trump’s direction carried out an operation to capture Venezuela’s then-President Nicolás Maduro and spirit him to the United States to face federal narcoterrorism and drug trafficking charges.

Trump faces mounting pressure to address high gas prices as the war in Iran on Friday reached a six-month milestone with no conclusion in sight. The U.S. has tapped its strategic petroleum reserves, which in early August fell below 300 million barrels, down by more than 100 million barrels since the start of 2026.

The U.S.-Israel war against Iran has led to a dramatic slowdown of Gulf oil moving through the Strait of Hormuz, which about 20 per cent of the world petroleum passed through prior to the conflict.

The average price of gas in the U.S. stood at about US$4.09 a gallon on Friday, according to AAA. The average price was $3.21 at the same time last year.

A significant drop in U.S. gas prices tied to the agreement should not be expected immediately. Experts have repeatedly warned that a substantial boost in Venezuelan oil production will not happen quickly as repairing and expanding infrastructure takes years and requires billions of dollars.

Persuading big American oil companies to return the region could face headwinds given the political uncertainty and decades of badly damaged infrastructure.

Days after the ouster of Maduro, Trump gathered oil executives at the White House and called on them to rush back into Venezuela. Executives expressed interest in the opportunity but there was also a measure of caution given their past experience in the country.

Darren Woods, CEO of ExxonMobil, the largest U.S. oil company, said at that moment he saw the country as “un-investable.”

But Trump has insisted that his administration has brought a measure of stability to Venezuela.

He has argued that Venezuela stole U.S. oil when former Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez moved decades ago to nationalize hundreds of foreign-owned assets, including those owned by American oil companies.

Rodríguez, in one of her early moves after taking power, signed a law that opens the nation’s oil sector to privatization and reversed a bedrock tenet of the self-proclaimed socialist movement that has ruled the country for more than two decades.

Rubio said on X that the agreement would usher in billions in private investment into Venezuela and lead to lower gas prices in the United States.

“This deal is a huge win for both the American and Venezuelan people,” Rubio posted.

The oil bought from the new company would go toward filling the U.S. strategic petroleum reserve and toward military use, according to the U.S. official.

Venezuela has one of the largest oil reserves in the world, with an estimated 303 billion barrels of crude oil in the ground. That’s about 17 per cent of the world’s supply, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Unlike other parts of the world, where geologists have to search for untapped oil, the reserves under Venezuela’s soil are largely mapped and known, experts say. But because of dilapidated infrastructure, the country only produces about one per cent of the world’s oil.

Maduro remains jailed in the U.S. He has pleaded not guilty.

—Garcia Cano reported from Caracas.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

The Curator independently decides what topics and products we feature. When you purchase an item through our links, we may earn a commission. Promotions and products are subject to availability and retailer terms.

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© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

A historic home popularly known as the Little Red House has been destroyed by fire after standing in the Township of Langley for almost 140 years.

The township’s archives say the home properly known as Mclver House burned down early on Thursday.

It says the home was built by Murdoch and Annie McIver between 1887 and 1890.

While the Langley Heritage Society says in a social media post that the house in the Glen Valley area had fallen into disrepair, its location in the middle of a turf farm helped make it “one of the most photographed and painted” homes in the area.

It says the Gothic-style farmhouse, which also served as a backdrop for photo shoots and videos, “evoked memories of simpler times.”

Rob Rindt, a Township of Langley councillor, shared videos of the house being engulfed in flames, saying its destruction was “incredibly sad.”

“So many people photographed, painted and stopped to admire this house over the years, and now these images capture its final moments,” he said.

A description of the house in the Township of Langley’s archives, held by its heritage facility known as salishan Place by the River, says the house was built by the McIvers to replace an earlier log cabin, “which was most likely too small to accommodate the McIvers’ growing clan of nine children.”

It says the house was still occupied until the early 1990s “but by 2010 it had been surrounded by a turf farm and was uninhabited and falling into disrepair.”

The heritage society said in an online post Friday that it was “sad and unfortunate” the home was never preserved.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

At the corner of Dundas and Sherbourne streets, one Toronto man is making weekly visits to the area.

Rolling a wagon filled with grilled cheese-making ingredients and a travel stove top, Sean Espinoza has made it his mission to feed those in need.

“I’ll go to different parts of the city and I’ll always just find a bunch of people that are hungry,” said the creator of Picnic in the Six.

He started the initiative nearly a year ago, heading onto the streets of Toronto offering hot meals and supplies — all paid out of pocket and through GoFundMe donations.

“I had experienced homelessness myself for about six or seven years back when I was probably around 15,” he said. “I kind of know what it’s like to go hungry, to go without even having someone to talk to, you know? So, a lot of times when I’m out I’m not just cooking, I’m making friends. It’s nice.”

Going through six loaves of bread in an hour, the need is clear.

One grilled cheese recipient, Michelle Ball, was excitedly waiting for her sandwich.

“I’m smelling this grilled cheese and it’s making me really hungry,” she said.

Ball has experienced homelessness and finds that outreach like the Picnic in the Six initiative makes an impact.

“A lot of people are homeless and they don’t have food in their belly and it’s nice to know that people care,” Ball said.

“Because addicts have problems with addictions, they shouldn’t just be shunned and put to the side and just ignored,” she continued. “Everybody needs help.”

Documenting the Picnic in the Six interactions on social media, the hope is to spread awareness about what the city’s most vulnerable are facing.

“People sometimes just are so busy with their life that they’ll just walk by and not pay any attention to a lot of people,” Espinoza said. “I’m hoping that it can spark something in everybody.”

His work has already inspired others.

“It is inspiring to see someone who was at rock bottom now give back to people that may be at rock bottom, that may be experiencing the real harsh realities in the world,” said University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) student Monty Galvan.

Part of UTM’s Women and Gender Equity Centre (WGEC), her team plans to join Picnic in the Six for a fundraiser while handing out food and supplies on Sept. 7.

“Community coming together and supporting each other, especially in these hard times when not a lot of people have a lot to give but they have time and energy to give, is so important to show humanity is still alive,” Galvan said.

All in an effort to show up for one another, Espinoza questioned: If he can do it, why can’t others?

“Why wouldn’t the government be able to do something like this?” he said.

“This is just another regular person that’s been out here, that’s experienced homelessness, addiction. So, I mean, I kind of want to ruffle the feathers a little bit. Why is it on us?”

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

As rescue efforts in communities buried by catastrophic flash floods along the Nepal – China border entered their fourth day Saturday, authorities were still finding survivors and transporting them to safety. At relief centers, while some arrived, families of others waited anxiously for news of their loved ones as the death toll and the number of people unaccounted for continued to rise.

After Nepali authorities updated their figures Saturday, the combined toll in Nepal and Tibet rose to 676 dead and nearly 3,000 people missing. Chinese authorities have reported seven deaths and more than 550 missing, while Nepal’s disaster agency said the death toll had climbed to 669 with 2,426 people missing.

More than 3,700 people have been rescued in Nepal so far.

In Nuwakot, one of the Nepali districts devastated by the floods, helicopters arrived loaded with boxes and bags of aid, including clothes, instant noodles, crackers and rice. Others returned from the flood-hit areas carrying survivors.

An older man was carefully helped off one helicopter, while a soldier carried an older woman on his back to a medical tent. Most arrived with nothing except the clothes they were wearing.

About a dozen people emerged from another helicopter. Soldiers carried several babies who had been evacuated.

The evacuees had been brought from the nearby community of Trishuli.

Villagers return to devastated homes

As people were still leaving Trishuli, some village residents were returning to see what could be salvaged from their decimated homes.

One boy walked out of the village carrying muddy sandals from his house. Another woman, Shoba Shretha, returned to find Sweetie, the dog she was forced to leave behind when the floods came. Shretha sat on the ground petting her and feeding her water from a bottle.

At some point, relief coordinators cleared villagers, reporters and volunteers from the entrance to Trishuli, as excavation equipment drove into the flooded village to dig.

Families begin to lose hope

In Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital, relatives and friends gathered outside the main government hospital from early morning, desperately searching for news of missing loved ones.

Many shuffled between the help desk and the hospital notice board, clutching photographs and scanning injured patients’ lists in the hope of finding them.

Dil Maya Lama stood weeping outside the help desk at the hospital, searching for information about her missing 26-year-old brother, a driver for a hydropower company in Rasuwa. She had traveled from Ramechhap, about 130 kilometers (80 miles) away.

“I came here with the hope that I might find him,” she said. “There is no information about him.”

Nelza Moktan anxiously sought information about her missing cousin, who also worked as a driver in Rasuwa.

“I feel hopeless. It has already been four days,” she said.

Families covered hospital walls with posters showing missing relatives, photographs and contact numbers in a desperate appeal for any clue that could bring them home.

Families search paper lists for any clue

Back in Nuwakot, military personnel taped sheets of paper listing dozens of missing people to a wall at a relief center, prompting families to crowd around them.

Some scanned lists of the missing and dead, took photos and wiped away tears as they looked through the names.

Rajesh Kumar Ram desperately searched through a list for his son’s name.

“I’m hopeful, by chance, that my son is somewhere,” he said, crying as he spoke. “Maybe they find him stuck somewhere. I’m waiting for that moment only.”

Outside, people walked along mud-covered streets past signs of the disaster. On one street, a truck was stuck in the mud with its bed raised in the air.

Priti Kharel stood outside the entrance to the army barracks, holding a poster with a picture of her brother, Milan Kharel, who works as an engineering geologist at Doosan Enerbility. His family hasn’t heard from him since the floods.

“It’s already four days,” said Kharel, who believes his brother could be one of the people trapped inside the tunnel of a hydropower construction site, where authorities have rescued some people.

“We want the government to rescue him as soon as possible,” she added.

Rescuers battle to find survivors in disaster-hit areas

Search and rescue efforts continued at several locations in Nepal and China’s Tibet, including the Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project in Nepal’s Rasuwa district and the severely damaged Gyirong border crossing on the Chinese side.

Nepali Army spokesperson Brig. Gen. Raja Ram Basnet said rescue efforts would continue at the hydropower construction site, where authorities believe more than 100 people are trapped in a tunnel filled with thick mud.

Rescuers had been on high alert for more flooding from a new lake that formed high up in the Himalayan mountains after the initial floods Wednesday.

Monitoring data from the Chinese Ministry of Water Resources showed late Friday that the lake had dwindled in size. The water level dropped by 10 meters (32 feet) from the high point on Thursday morning, Chinese broadcaster CCTV said.

The Chinese broadcaster showed images Saturday of rescuers arriving at Gyirong Port, the hard-hit border crossing with Nepal. “Anyone, anyone?” rescuers yelled.

It was not immediately known how many people were at the border checkpoint building when the floods hit.

Hundreds of the missing are foreigners who were in the area to work, trek or make a pilgrimage to a sacred peak.

Steep mountains and narrow gorges hamper rescue operations

In a news briefing Saturday, Nepalese Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal said authorities have mobilized all available resources with support from international assistance for search, rescue, relief and recovery operations, with a particular focus on locating those still missing.

“This is currently our national priority,” he told reporters Saturday.

He said rescue operations are challenging because of steep, tall mountains and narrow gorges in the disaster-hit region.

Khanal said the government has sought specialized support from Nepal’s neighbors in tunnel rescue, survivor-detection technology, rapid forensic and DNA analysis, as well as morgue refrigerators.

An 11-member tunnel rescue reconnaissance team from India has been deployed while a similar rescue team from China is expected shortly, he added.

The minister said Nepal has received over 57 metric tons of relief supplies from India, with additional aid arriving from China, Japan, Australia and other countries. He added that further support will be sought as need assessments continue.

–Kafle reported from Kathmandu, Nepal. Associated Press journalists Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Sibi Arasu in Bengaluru, India; Upendra Mansingh in Nuwakot district, Nepal; Aijaz Hussain in New Delhi, India; and Didi Tang in Washington contributed to this report.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

A massive increase in immigration cases in the last six years has created unmanageable workloads at the Federal Court, says Chief Justice Alan Diner.

The Federal Court has jurisdiction over a number of immigration matters, such as visa applications, refugee claims, admissibility cases and removals.

Diner, who was sworn in as the top judge for the Federal Court on July 6, said when he joined the court in 2014, it typically saw between 5,000 and 6,000 immigration cases a year.

In 2021, immigration filings quickly began to climb, with 9,700 cases brought before the court that year. Now Diner said the Federal Court is on track to see upwards of 33,000 immigration filings this year alone.

“The judges have the pedal to the metal and are trying to do their utmost,” Diner said.

“They’re working around the clock, working weekends, working vacations, court staff, the same thing, available evenings, available weekends to try and deal with this volume.”

The rapid increase in immigration-related cases coincides with an increase in the number of permanent and temporary immigrants, in addition to asylum seekers, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

More than 14,000 immigration cases were filed between Jan. 1 and June 30, with 28,000 pending. Almost 1,000 cases have been granted hearings for a judicial review.

“It would be a lie for me to say this is without challenges. Judges are being pressured, court staff are being pressured, and I’m very proud of the way they’re handling this unprecedented increase, but we’re doing what we can,” Diner said.

The passage of Canada’s border security bill, C-12, in March is also creating additional pressures on Federal Court resources.

That bill says the Immigration and Refugee Board will only hear cases from people who make a refugee claim within their first year in Canada. The law is retroactive to arrivals in Canada after June 24, 2020 and applies to all claims made on or after June 3, 2025.

If someone makes a refugee claim more than a year after the first time they arrived in Canada, they are only eligible for a pre-removal risk assessment. The only avenue to appeal a negative assessment is through the Federal Court.

Diner said since C-12 became law the Federal Court has received more than 2,000 applications challenging the constitutionality of the law.

These challenges are going through case management, where judges will make a ruling on the core constitutional question based on a smaller number of cases.

Diner said the Federal Court is also seeing a “huge increase” in requests for a stay of deportation since C-12 was passed. He said the court usually saw 300 to 400 applications a year, but is now looking at more than 1,100 cases.

There are 44 Federal Court judges, including Diner. He said they have seen a roughly 600 per cent increase in the number of immigration cases since 2020 with no change in the number of judges.

He said the Federal Court needs more judges to keep up with the workload and the government has been made aware of the request.

“So, difficult for the same number of judges to do six times the amount of work,” Diner said.

“But obviously it’s incumbent on us to improve to the extent that we can, and be innovative and modernize and use technology to try and somehow stem this flow.”

A spokesperson for Justice Minister Sean Fraser said he is “mindful” of the significant caseload increase facing the Federal Court, and is committed to supporting fair, timely access to justice.

The spokesperson said both the department and minister assess requests for additional resources, and “evidence of growing caseloads and backlogs are important factors in those assessments.”

Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel Garner said the increased caseload isn’t surprising, given the increase in immigration over the last decade that includes the period when Fraser was minister.

She said the government was also warned about “instant challenges” to C-12 when it was being studied at committee.

“I think that the government needs to take a bit of a pause and look at why there is such a volume of caseload and then try to address some of the determinants of those causes,” Rempel Garner said.

“Their poor management of the file, putting it mildly over the last decade, has had an impact on the court system. Of course it has.”

The Federal Court registry issued a notice last month noting document processing times have increased due to a “significant surge” in filings. The notice says the goal is to process documents within 48 hours, but delays could be up to eight weeks — especially for immigration-related matters.

Diner said the court is doing what it can to increase efficiency. He said this is one of his main priorities as chief justice.

This includes expanding on digitization work that really started to advance during the COVID-19 pandemic and looking at automation and artificial intelligence tools that could assist in managing high caseloads.

The use of AI in the court could one day go beyond just administration.

“That’s obviously something we’re going to have to consider. Not to make decisions, but to see where we can assist in the process, given this unprecedented surge,” Diner said. “We do know that AI is increasingly being used and obviously we also have to consider if the judiciary can use AI to help cope with this unprecedented volume.”

Immigration related filings made up about 86 per cent of the matters brought to the Federal Court in the first six months on the year, and are consistently the majority of files brought to the court in a given year.

While the court continues to manage the major increase in immigration cases, Diner said the demand is increasing in other areas of their jurisdiction, including national security matters, class actions and judicial reviews.

“Working weekends, working holidays, working through your vacations is not really an acceptable answer to how we’re going to have long term well-being,” he said.

“When you’re under the kinds of pressure that I’ve talked about, you can imagine that people end up feeling sensitive, burned out, and so forth … The judges are always going to work hard, the employees are always going to work hard. But we have to ensure the well-being of our complement.”

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