National News

VANCOUVER — The chair of Canada's Transportation Safety Board says it was luck rather than preparedness that helped in putting out a fire on a cargo ship off Vancouver Island's coast in October 2021.

OTTAWA — The Conservative party released two new ads this week attacking NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh as a "sellout," blaming him for a national rise in crime, housing prices and costly living.

OTTAWA — Amnesty International called for the release of a First Nations chief who is serving two months of house arrest Wednesday, naming him Canada's first prisoner of conscience.

TORONTO — A father and son who were allegedly planning a violent attack in Toronto and had links to the Islamic State group are facing terrorism related charges, the RCMP said Wednesday. The two were arrested at a hotel in Richmond Hill, Ont.

VICTORIA — A sailboat captain is recovering from severe hypothermia after spending several hours in the water off British Columbia's coast.

MONTREAL — A Quebec shipbuilder's expansion to the United States is part of the Biden administration's renewed focus on Arctic defence — and a way to get around protectionist law dating back decades.

The fast-moving Jasper, Alta., wildfire was fuelled by a web of extreme conditions that converged into what experts described as a monstrous fire, serving as a disastrous example of what's become increasingly common across Canada's boreal forest.

OTTAWA — Liberals saw their donations rise in the second quarter of this year, showing the sole increase among federal parties, though Conservatives continue to dominate.

HALIFAX — Tiny grains of sand from the Sahara Desert are to blame for the almost month-long lull in this year's Atlantic hurricane season, scientists say. But it could soon come to an end.

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed...