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Affordability measures, consumer protection legislation coming: Alberta government
Alberta to legislate new affordability measures
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Amanda May Erickson
Alberta's government says it has a suite of legislation coming this fall to protect Albertans, their pocketbooks and their personal information.
Government house leader Joseph Schow says the province will soon table new bills to lower the cost of auto insurance and give Albertans new protections when it comes to their utility bills.
Schow says Premier Danielle Smith's government is also working on new consumer protection rules around ticket resales and used vehicles.
He also says the government will introduce stronger protections around the development of artificial intelligence data centres.
The Opposition NDP says the government is missing a real plan for affordability and health care.
The legislature is set to resume on Tuesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2026.
By Jack Farrell | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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Advocates flag contributions, not costs, of newcomers in Alberta referendum aftermath
Alberta vote raises labour shortage concerns
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
A union representative for a beef processing plant south of Calgary is warning of worsening labour shortages if immigration policy proposals that narrowly passed in Alberta's referendum are enacted.
"These are tough and high turnover jobs with few candidates lining up to fill them," said Faduma Ahmed, with the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 401 at Cargill's abattoir in High River, Alta.
With 98 per cent of polls reporting in Monday's referendum, a slim majority of votes were cast in favour of limiting access to or charging a fee for provincially funded services based on immigration status. Premier Danielle Smith's government had argued that the cost to provide health care and education to temporary Alberta residents amounts to $1 billion a year and that a surge in newcomers has strained affordability and services.
But critics have warned that the referendum's outcome could make Alberta less attractive to newcomers at a time when jobs desperately need to be filled.
At the Cargill plant, temporary foreign workers, refugees, permanent residents and citizens from all over the globe work side by side and all pay taxes, said Ahmed. It's back-breaking work, with staffers often having to hoist whole carcasses.
"When we sit down to eat, we rarely think about the intense and the gruelling labour it takes to get the food onto our tables, right on our plate," she said, adding that workers have come to her concerned about their ability to pay for health care and school for their children.
"They are foundational to keeping our economy moving, and they are navigating the exact same punishing affordability crisis as every other Albertan."
Ahmed said the union will draw a "hard line" if the proposals become law.
"We will fight to ensure immigrant workers receive the same services they do today, up to and including making the employers pay at the bargaining table to fund the differences."
Another sector that relies heavily on immigration is health care for seniors.
"Often we'll find they'll work in roles that maybe some Canadians may not be interested in," said Leah Lechelt, executive director of the Christian Health Association of Alberta, which represents non-profits that employ 22,000 staff across the province.
She said some college programs for health-care aides have closed or reduced their enrolment simply because there haven't been enough applications domestically.
The workforce hails from around the world, and are mostly health-care aides, but also cleaning and food-service staff, Lechelt said. They deal with vulnerable patients, so regulations largely limit those jobs to permanent residents and citizens.
"It's really a very attractive role for somebody who is fairly new to Canada and sometimes is working on some English language proficiency skills."
The association has established an apprenticeship program that enables those in entry-level jobs, like housekeeping, to train on-site to become health-care aides and pursue a better-paying career path.
"And then we can backfill those positions with other newcomers, maybe starting out in their journey in Canada."
One of the referendum proposals asked whether Albertans would support the province taking more control of immigration from the federal government.
It was an idea the Business Council of Alberta has long advocated, said president Adam Legge.
"There's a bit of a better on-the-ground intel perspective compared to a centralized decision in Ottawa," he said.
"Oftentimes there are some skills and geographic mismatches between what Ottawa approves on an immigration basis and what is needed."
For instance, he said there's a huge demand for workers in the skilled trades, like heavy-duty mechanics, welders and electricians.
He said he heard from members generally that they don't want to see anything deter people from choosing to live in Alberta.
Research by University of Calgary economist Trevor Tombe commissioned by the Calgary Chamber of Commerce found immigrants paid an estimated $4.1 billion in Alberta personal income taxes in 2026.
It also found immigrants younger than 40 had a net fiscal contribution of almost $1 billion, after the cost of provincial family programs, workers' compensation and social assistance are accounted for.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2026.
By Lauren Krugel | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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Canada working closely with EU on foreign aid as U.S. pulls back, Sarai says
Ottawa says it's working with EU on foreign aid
Canada's deepening ties with Europe could help fill some of the massive gaps left behind as the United States pulls back from foreign aid and embraces a "transactional" approach, says the secretary of state for international development.
"When we put all our heads together, I think the opportunities are endless," Randeep Sarai told The Canadian Press.
He said this effort includes recent talks with the European Union on leveraging private dollars and philanthropy for aid, while maintaining some government funding for the world's most vulnerable.
Sarai is overseeing a shift in foreign aid as the government of Prime Minister Mark Carney cuts back on global health spending and encourages more private funding in development projects.
Ottawa is cutting spending across government, seeking new trade partners and boosting the defence budget to make Canada less vulnerable to U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs and threats of annexation.
The Trump administration shut down the United States Agency for International Development, USAID, leading to what Harvard University researchers estimate to be hundreds of thousands of preventable deaths.
In April, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development reported that the U.S. in 2025 accounted for 17 per cent of spending by rich countries on foreign aid, down from 30 per cent a year prior.
U.S. spending on foreign aid dropped by 57 per cent in 2025.
Most major donor states, including Canada, have cut back on aid funding. Ottawa spends about 1.6 per cent of its budget on foreign aid.
"Taxpayer dollars are very valuable. So if we can bring in the private sector along with them, the goal is (that) eventually the private sector will invest on their own. But initially, we'll use the taxpayer dollars to entice them," Sarai said.
Sarai added that Europe has looked to Carney for guidance on so-called blended finance because of his experience as a United Nations official.
Carney's UN role was to advise governments on climate finance, including ways for governments to work with the private sector and philanthropists to transition to net-zero carbon emissions.
Ireland hosted a meeting of EU development ministers earlier this month and invited Canada to attend.
Sarai said much of the discussion in Dublin was about how to leverage private capital without abandoning support for the world's most vulnerable people.
Sarai said Canada and European countries are also working with other nations with a reputation for robust foreign aid, including Japan, Korea and Gulf nations.
He said American officials have "come back, to some degree" on aid spending by funding vaccines for children in poor countries.
"Their aid has to benefit the American economy and American people," Sarai said.
"They have very clear guidelines on that and transactional nature of it, but that's their direction. So I would say it's very different from the other G7 partners, but at least we know where we're at."
The push for more private dollars in aid has many critics.
Co-operation Canada, a coalition of most Canadian aid groups operating abroad, said the sector supports innovative funding, with some caveats.
"If we are to use public funds to incentivize private capital, then there need to be some guardrails around … that we're we're using our public funds in the most efficient way possible," said Paul Farran, the group's advocacy director.
He said aid dollars shouldn't be used to subsidize endeavours that the private sector wouldn't have otherwise funded.
"Our international assistance should first and foremost be used to alleviate poverty and inequalities," Farran said.
Sarai said Canada is not going to surrender its support for the world's poorest to market forces.
He said that applies to Canada's programming in the 32 nations the UN describes as the world's least developed countries, as well as projects that focus on sexual health and reproductive rights.
He said the government has a different approach in high-growth countries, where it pursues "mutual economic prosperity" through projects that benefit Canadian companies and investors while creating jobs abroad.
"The Vietnams, Indonesias, Philippines in the world, we believe that they can now take care of those areas themselves. We don't need to invest in those particular areas for them," he said.
Sarai cited a new aid project in Thailand which will see Canada's development finance institution FinDev lend cash for microloans to women in rural areas looking to launch or expand businesses.
Canada is lending roughly $85 million, which is being matched by $280 million from the Japanese bank SMBC and the Asian Development Bank.
Last month, The House finance committee, which has a majority of Liberal MPs, called on Carney last month to provide predictable and clear aid funding in the Nov. 5 budget.
Aid groups told the committee that the federal government says its supports for refugees inside Canada amount to more than 17 per cent of its total development assistance. While that's a standard reporting practice for western countries, the aid groups said it makes it hard to tell how much Canadian cash is actually going abroad.
The MPs on the committee argued aid spending should be "guided by poverty and fragility" and should have "increasing transparency in the international assistance envelope."
The MPs also urged Canada to "reaffirm gender equality and women’s economic empowerment as drivers of poverty reduction and, therefore, as central priorities." Carney caused confusion a year ago by suggesting Canada no longer has a feminist foreign policy.
Co-operation Canada supports those calls and is urging Carney to reverse cuts to global health programs.
Farran said Canada should earmark $5.5 billion annually for "core" development aid abroad, which would boost funding for things like building schools or helping women advocate for political rights.
He also said Ottawa owes the public more clarity on how it is spending foreign aid and where it's cutting back.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2026.
By Dylan Robertson | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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Cette Québécoise sur TikTok donne des «hacks» pour économiser gros dans tes boutiques préfs
À toi les rabais chez Lululemon, Apple, Sephora, Nike, Under Armour! 🤑🤑🤑
On ne dit jamais non à quelques économies, et ce, surtout en cette période d'inflation où les prix en magasin, dans les épiceries et dans les restos grimpent en flèche. Suivie par plus de 371 000 personnes, une tiktokeuse québécoise, Reetu Maz (@ree2mz), propose une panoplie de trucs pour économiser ou obtenir des remboursements dans une multitude de magasins populaires tels que Sephora, Under Armour, Lululemon, Nike, Apple et plus encore.
Ces hacks en poche, tu pourrais réussir à économiser plusieurs dollars avec des rabais « cachés » ou des politiques de retour avantageuses. Gageons même qu'il y en a plein que tu n'avais jamais entendu. Sors ton calepin et ton crayon et prends des notes, car ces astuces risquent de t'être très utiles durant ta prochaine séance shopping!
Under Armour
Savais-tu que la compagnie Under Armour a un rabais spécial pour les militaires, les enseignant.es et les premier.ès répondant.es? Comme le démontre la tiktokeuse dans sa vidéo, l'entreprise de vêtements sportifs offre 20 % de rabais sur l'ensemble des achats aux militaires en service actif ou retraité.es, aux vétéran.tes ainsi qu'à leurs familles.
Celui-ci peut aussi être réclamé par les technicien.es en soins médicaux d'urgence, les infirmier.ères, les policier.ères et les pompier.ères, les enseignant.es et les éducateur.trices.
Pour l'utiliser tu devras t'inscrire à la plateforme ID.me qui après ton identification, t'enverra ton rabais que tu pourras montrer à la caisse ou appliquer en ligne.
Apple
Si tu souhaites sauver un peu d'argent sur ton prochain achat chez Apple, sache que des groupes précis peuvent demander un rabais. Les étudiant.es universitaires et leurs parents, les enseignant.es et les autres employé.es du domaine de l'éducation (de tous niveaux) peuvent obtenir des prix spéciaux sur plusieurs ordinateurs, tablettes et accessoires.
Les fonctionnaires canadien.nes et les employ.es du gouvernement peuvent, eux et elles aussi, obtenir une réduction qui équivaut à 10 % de rabais sur une panoplie de produits Apple. C'est le temps de changer ton vieil ordinateur!
Sephora
Si tu adores le maquillage et que tu collectionnes les produits de beauté, cette astuce chez Sephora est pour toi. La chaîne américaine, qui possède plusieurs boutiques au pays, propose une politique de retours pour le moins avantageuse. Eh oui, si tu n'aimes pas un produit et que tu ne l'as pas beaucoup utilisé, tu peux le retourner au Sephora malgré qu'il ait déjà été ouvert.
Tu as jusqu'à 30 jours pour retourner l'item et ainsi recevoir un remboursement complet. Toutefois, comme le mentionne Reetu, si tu as dépassé ce délai tu peux demander un crédit en argent, et ce, même si tu n'as plus ta facture puisque la compagnie devrait l'avoir dans son ordinateur. Tu as alors jusqu'à 60 jours pour demander ta carte-cadeau.
Lululemon
Si tu rêves de t'acheter les fameux leggings de Lululemon, sache que l'entreprise américaine offre, elle aussi, un rabais aux militaires et aux professionnel.les de la santé. Si tu pratiques l'un de ces métiers, tu pourrais obtenir 15 % de réduction sur ta facture.
Comme le mentionne le site Internet de la compagnie : « Cette offre s’applique à tous les pompiers, policiers, techniciens ambulanciers, médecins, infirmières auxiliaires et à tout le personnel de recherche et de sauvetage […] et à tous les réservistes et vétérans actifs ainsi qu’à tous les militaires retraités ». Autre bonne nouvelle, ta famille peut aussi en profiter.
Tu pourrais aussi recevoir un 25 % en moins sur tes achats en faisant partie du Collectif Sueur, un club promo réservé pour les athlètes, les entraîneur.euses et instructeur.trices sportif.ves et le personnel d'équipe : « En tant que membre du Collectif Sueur, vous recevrez une réduction de 25 % sur les produits lululemon, vous nous aiderez à améliorer leur conception et vous aurez accès à des événements spéciaux. Que vous soyez un(e) instructeur(rice) de conditionnement physique, un(e) athlète ou un(e) entraîneur(euse), nous invitons tous les leaders inspirants à poser leur candidature ».
Pour recevoir ces réductions, tu devras d'identifier officiellement et t'inscrire sur le site Internet de la compagnie. Tu ne peux donc pas juste te présenter en boutique et demander ton rabais.
Nike
La compagnie Nike te gâte à ta fête. Eh oui, pour l'année 2023, Nike t'offre un rabais de 10 % sur ta facture durant ton mois d'anniversaire. Pour l'obtenir, tu n'as qu'à t'inscrire à l'infolettre.
À noter que la promotion prendra fin le 31 décembre 2023.
Canada Goose
« Je suis ici pour mon manteau gratuit s'il vous plaît », s'exclame Reetu en jouant le rôle d'une cliente d'une boutique Canada Goose. En fait, c'est que l'entreprise canadienne te permet de réclamer un manteau tout neuf en cas de fautes de manufacture ou de bris s'ils sont incapables de le réparer.
« Si un produit Canada Goose présente une défaillance due à un défaut de fabrication, nous réparerons l'article à nos frais. Si le produit n'est pas réparable ou si le coût des réparations dépasse la valeur du produit, nous pouvons, à notre discrétion, choisir de remplacer le produit », indique la politique de retour de la compagnie. Pas besoin alors de mettre des sous de côté pour t'acheter un nouveau manteau d'hiver si le tien est brisé.
American Eagle
La politique de retour d'American Eagle est assez généreuse et te permet de recevoir un remboursement complet ou une carte-cadeau en magasin, et ce, même si cela fait un certain temps que tu as acheté le vêtement. Encore mieux, tu peux même rapporter l'item qui ne te plaît pas sans étiquette. Par contre, les bas de maillots de bain sont exclus de cette politique.
Amazon
« Amazon Prime m'a garanti ma livraison pour mardi, mais nous sommes mercredi […] Selon la politique de Prime, si mon paquet n'est pas arrivé dans les temps, je devrais être capable de garder le produit gratuitement », indique la créatrice de contenu sur TikTok.
Elle a raison, mais seulement en partie. Comme il est écrit sur la politique de retour de la plateforme de ventes en ligne, tu pourrais recevoir un remboursement de tes frais de livraison si ton colis n'a pas été reçu à temps, mais tu n'as pas besoin d'être un membre Prime pour le demander : « Si nous vous fournissons une date de livraison garantie au moment où vous passez votre commande, vos frais d'expédition pourraient être remboursés si nous ne respectons pas la date de livraison prévue ».
Selon, les dires de la tiktokeuse, si tu es un.e membre Prime tu devrais être capable de recevoir un remboursement complet de ton colis en discutant avec un.e employé.e du service client. Rien n'est mentionné à ce sujet sur le site Web de l'entreprise, tu peux par contre, bien sûr, essayer cette réclamation de ton côté, comme tu n'as rien à perdre.