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Ottawa 'disappointed' after union announces strike votes for 120,000 workers
Ottawa 'disappointed' as union calls strike votes
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
The federal government says it's "disappointed" after Canada's largest federal public service union announced 120,000 workers will take part in nationwide strike votes starting next month.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada says voting will take place from Nov. 16 to Jan. 22.
The union and Treasury Board have been in contract negotiations for a year and a half and PSAC in May called a government wage offer of less than one per cent per year "insulting."
The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat says it's "disappointed" the union has chosen to proceed with a strike vote while the groups are still working through the mediation process.
The government says that for the past year and a half, it has engaged with the union on all of its proposals and several days of mediation recently led to progress on certain points.
The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat says it respects the right to strike but the best deals are reached at the bargaining table.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2026.
By Catherine Morrison | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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Carney not worried about closer Turkish ties amid nation's treatment of LGBTQ+ groups
Carney not worried about closer Turkish ties
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Prime Minister Mark Carney says he's not overly concerned about Canada seeking closer ties with Turkey amid criticism that the country has infringed on LGBTQ+ rights.
Turkish authorities have targeted multiple LGBTQ+ groups and individuals, detaining dozens of activists, breaking into association offices and raiding popular hangouts.
Last month, Ottawa opted against joining Germany, France and others in condemning Turkey’s crackdown on LGBTQ+ organizations.
Carney told reporters in Istanbul that "engagement is not approval” and that Ottawa believes everyone should be able to live freely, safely and with dignity.
He says Canada raised the human rights concerns during bilateral meetings with Turkish officials but would not say whether he personally spoke to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan about the issue.
Carney is in Turkey for a three-day trip to strike a new strategic partnership and pursue free trade with the NATO ally.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2026.
By Craig Lord | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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Ballots cast on election day in B.C. will be counted by hand, Elections BC says
B.C. election day ballots will be counted by hand
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns
It's the last full day of campaigning in British Columbia's election ahead of final voting day Saturday, when most ballots will be counted by hand.
Elections BC has confirmed that votes cast on election day will be tallied manually, in a departure from 2024, when electronic tabulators were used to count paper ballots for the first time in a general election.
That was hailed as a success in Elections BC's report on the polls, but the agency says in a statement that it's going back to a manual count due to "short time frames and complex operational logistics of a snap election."
It says paper ballots cast at advance polling stations and at district electoral offices will be counted with electronic tabulators, and it expects those results to be reported first.
Elections BC also says the election-night count will not include absentee or main-in ballots, which will be tallied at the final count scheduled Nov. 6 to Nov. 10.
Advance voting numbers released Thursday were down more than 11 per cent compared to 2024, bucking a two-decade upward trend.
There were more than 891,000 advance votes cast from Friday to Wednesday, representing about 24 per cent of all registered voters.
That compares to more than one million advance votes cast in 2024, when numbers spiked 49 per cent over the previous election.
Elections BC's report on the 2024 election says electronic tabulation allowed the first preliminary results to be reported within five minutes of polls closing, and 59 per cent of preliminary results to reported within half an hour.
"In past elections first results typically started to be reported around 45 minutes after polls closed," it said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2026.
Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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