National News

OTTAWA — Elections Canada says voter turnout in last fall's federal election was actually slightly higher than the 2015 election. The independent agency initially reported a slight decline in turnout, to 67 per cent from 68.3 per cent in 2015.

HALIFAX — During more than six years as Nova Scotia premier, Stephen McNeil earned a reputation as an ardent fiscal conservative who wasn't shy about taking on the province's public sector unions.

TORONTO — The crown prince of Saudi Arabia sent a hit squad to Canada in an effort to hunt down and kill a former top intelligence official who knows too much, a civil suit filed Thursday in court in the United States asserts.

OTTAWA — The federal government is being urged to rethink Canada's employment insurance program as millions of workers are moved off of an emergency benefit while the country's job market is still recouping heavy losses due to COVID-19.

CALGARY — A new paper suggests a federal program meant to buffer provinces against economic shocks is not up to the task — especially in the COVID-19 era.

BRANDON, Man. — Manitoba's largest increase in positive COVID-19 cases in months has prompted a union representing employees at Maple Leaf Food Inc.'s pork processing plant in Brandon to call for it to cease production.

OTTAWA — Canada is joining France and other countries in emphasizing the need for economic and political reform in Lebanon over the long term as it looks at immediate ways to help the country following this week's deadly explosion in Beirut.

TORONTO — An HIV-positive man who had protected intercourse with three women without telling them about his health status has had his aggravated sexual assault conviction upheld.

HALIFAX — Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil unexpectedly announced his departure from politics Thursday, saying he stayed on the job longer than planned because of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

OTTAWA — The Senate says harassment victims of disgraced former senator Don Meredith can now have lawyers present when speaking to an independent evaluator hired to determine potential compensation for them, and also that their legal costs might be c