Provincial and Territorial Update – March 6, 2026
An overview on Provincial and Territorial updates for the week of March 6, 2026. Written by Wes McLean.
New Brunswick
- Saint John police say the 69-year-old man they arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting 15 seniors at a nursing home is a family member of a resident, but questions remain about how such offences could have occurred and how to ensure vulnerable seniors at other long-term care homes are protected. In New Brunswick, nursing homes are required to follow the Nursing Homes Act and regulations, a standards manual and management directives.
- Responses have been mixed to New Brunswick’s new mining strategy, which the Holt government hopes will revive the sector and generate economic growth and well-paying jobs. Premier Susan Holt announced the strategy at a mining conference in Toronto on Monday, saying development would occur under strong environmental standards and with “meaningful” partnerships with Indigenous communities.
- The New Brunswick government is floating the idea of closing schools with fewer than 100 students as part of cost-cutting measures in the next provincial budget. The idea came to light during pre-budget consultations as part of a document titled “Difficult Decisions,” and a total of 33 schools in the province fall into that category. Three of those schools are in the Anglophone East district, where Supt. Randy MacLean said the idea raises a lot of concerns.
- A program that helps people who are caregivers for seniors in New Brunswick is expanding. The Seniors Care Navigation Workshop was developed at New Brunswick Community College (NBCC) in 2022, and now, thanks to a $2 million investment from the provincial government, it will be offered in both official languages. “In this case, can you imagine that all the francophone caregivers will have access to that training too, and that’s very, very important,” said Lyne Chantal Boudreau, minister responsible for seniors, after making the announcement at Moncton’s NBCC campus on Tuesday.
Nova Scotia
- The premier and opposition leaders battled for time on the floor of the legislature on Thursday on a topic that’s become a political lightning rod: energy. Premier Tim Houston, in his capacity as energy minister, appeared at a committee that exists for dissecting the details of departmental spending as part of the budget process. In the NDP’s first designated hour for asking questions, NDP Leader Claudia Chender accused the Progressive Conservatives of not taking seriously the issue of high power bills.
- Dalhousie University will soon be offering its nursing program to students in India. The Halifax University announced Saturday that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with the SRM Institute of Science and Technology in Chennai, India, to create a dual-degree program in nursing. Graduates of the program, which will be taught in Chennai, will receive a degree from both institutions and be accredited to practise nursing in both India and Nova Scotia. According to the memorandum of understanding, the partnership involves seats for 25 students.
- More than four years after her government did away with the Nova Scotia Health board of directors, Health Minister Michelle Thompson says there are no plans to bring it back in the foreseeable future. “We appreciate that at some point, there are probably changes coming, but they’re just not imminent,” Thompson said in an interview Thursday at Province House. Thompson said the government needs to maintain the current setup because of the agility it creates to move things along “in a respectful way, a way that is captured under the Hospitals Act.”
- The federal government announced plans Thursday to nearly double the number of military housing units in Halifax, but the increase is less than half of what has been announced at other smaller Canadian bases recently. CFB Halifax is the largest military base in Canada by population, with more than 10,000 personnel, many of whom live in on-base housing, said Halifax MP Shannon Miedema at a news conference.
Prince Edward Island
- Less than a month into the job, acting Health Minister Cory Deagle says repairing the P.E.I. government’s relationship with doctors is one of his top priorities. In recent weeks, three family physicians — Dr. Heather Austin, Dr. Andrew MacLeod and Dr. Mitchell Stewart — have each informed Health P.E.I. of their decision to either resign or retire, which will leave about 4,500 patients without a primary care provider. Austin, in particular, has spoken publicly about her decision to close her practice by summer 2028, saying it stems from concerns about how Health P.E.I. is treating family physicians.
- Health P.E.I. spent about $28.5 million on unbudgeted travel nurses in the 2024-25 fiscal year, according to the auditor general’s latest report, raising concerns in that office as well as with the Official Opposition. The report, released last week, notes that the “significant expenditure” — triple what the province spent the year prior — was not a part of the provincial budget.
- Maritime Electric made its final arguments to the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission this week in its application to recovery $42.1 million in costs it absorbed from the cleanup after post-tropical storm Fiona struck P.E.I. in 2022. Representatives from the utility made their case Tuesday during a hearing at IRAC. The recovery costs, Maritime Electric said, include:
- $19.3 million in capital spending to fix and replace destroyed infrastructure like lines, transformers and other equipment.
- $15.3 million in operational costs (staffing, overtime etc.).
- $6.6 million in interest as a resulting of borrowing the cash required to pay for the cleanup costs.
- Fuel prices on Prince Edward Island rose overnight on Wednesday, and energy experts say more increases could be on the way if tensions in the Middle East continue. In an unscheduled adjustment, the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission raised the minimum price for regular gasoline by 6 cents per litre to $1.54. Diesel increased by 9 cents to $2.04, while the maximum price for heating oil rose by 8 cents to $1.45.
Newfoundland and Labrador
- Newfoundland and Labrador House Speaker Paul Lane says he knew politicians were ready to debate as they re-entered the House of Assembly this week, but that some comments have crossed a line in a call for decorum. “It’s a sad thing that I even have to talk about this,” Lane said Thursday. “But if that’s what we have to do, that’s what we have to do.” Lane’s comments followed a discussion in the House on decorum, first raised by NDP Leader Jim Dinn.
- The Canadian government has agreed to cover fees for a proposed deepwater oil project that could come due under a United Nations convention, drawing the ire of environmental groups who say taxpayers shouldn’t be subsidizing oil companies. Federal Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson confirmed the commitment Tuesday night at an event announcing Newfoundland and Labrador’s benefits arrangement with Norwegian energy company Equinor for its Bay du Nord offshore oil development.
- The head of Energy N.L. says formalizing the next step for the Bay du Nord offshore oil project has been years in the making, but opposition remains about what the deal entails — and the project’s viability. Charlene Johnson, Energy N.L.’s chief executive officer, was all smiles on Tuesday evening following the announcement of a formal benefits agreement between Newfoundland and Labrador, Equinor and BP. The agreement could see more than $6 billion in direct revenue over a 25-year period, with first oil expected in 2031. The deal doesn’t mean the final investment decision has been made.
- On a day that’s usually marked with a lot of pomp and circumstance, framing an aspirational speech read by the monarchy’s representative in Newfoundland and Labrador, the new Progressive Conservative government took a big step towards a real change. Following Lt.-Gov. Joan Marie Aylward’s reading of the speech from the throne, the PCs introduced a bill to create an advocate for people with disabilities. “We’ve been waiting for that for a very long time. I didn’t know it was going to happen today, so I’m a little bit surprised and a little bit excited,” said Nancy Reid, executive director of the Coalition of Persons with Disabilities, Newfoundland and Labrador.
Quebec
- Data released Thursday from Quebec’s l’Institut de la statistique reveals that deaths now exceed births in Quebec. This is the second year in a row this has happened, and the gap continues to widen. In 2025, 78,200 babies were born, while 80,450 people died, according to the data. The previous year, there were 77,400 births and 78,800 deaths in Quebec. While the number of babies has increased slightly, deaths have surpassed them. In 2024, Quebec’s fertility rate fell to 1.33 children per woman, the lowest level ever recorded in Quebec.
- Finance Minister Eric Girard will table Quebec’s 2026-2027 budget on March 18, before the election of the person who will succeed François Legault as head of government. The next leader of the Coalition Avenir Québec, who will become de facto premier, will be chosen on April 12 by the CAQ members. Girard believes, however, that presenting the budget before March 31 “ensures the continuity of public services and provides the necessary predictability to citizens, businesses and government partners in a context of great uncertainty.”
- The Supreme Court of Canada is just a few weeks away from hearing the challenge to Quebec’s controversial secularism law known as Bill 21. For five days, beginning on March 23, Canada’s highest court will hear from teachers, civil rights and religious groups challenging the law. The challenge is being brought by the English Montreal School Board (EMSB), which argues the legislation is discriminatory and makes it harder to hire teachers by banning public-school employees from wearing religious symbols. The Quebec government invoked the notwithstanding clause when it adopted the law in 2019, shielding it from parts of the Canadian and Quebec charters. But the EMSB says the legislation still violates Section 23 of the Canadian Charter, which protects the rights of the English-language minority to manage its own school system.
- Québec solidaire says the province should follow New Zealand’s lead and create a front-line service to curb cyber violence and support victims. The service, which the party says it plans to implement if elected, would receive reports from victims and intervene “directly with perpetrators of violent behaviour.” The proposal was inspired by New Zealand, which in 2015 passed a law aimed at “deterring, preventing and mitigating harm caused to individuals through digital communications.” The country now has an agency, NetSafe, dedicated to enforcing the law. It resolved more than 97 per cent of cyberbullying cases within 15 days in its 2024-2025 fiscal year.
Ontario
- Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he’s exploring the idea of filling in part of Lake Ontario to add land for a new convention centre site at the Toronto waterfront. “I wouldn’t call it an island, but we may look at putting fill in until we can put a convention centre,” Ford said at an unrelated event Friday. “We’re losing out on so many large conventions in the world, because we just don’t have the size.” The Globe and Mail first reported Thursday that the province is exploring the idea of creating a new island that could be the site for the new convention centre.
- Michael Ford, a former Toronto city councillor and MPP who is the nephew of Ontario Premier Doug Ford, says he’s seriously considering tossing his hat in the ring to become the city’s next mayor. On Wednesday afternoon, Ford, who is also the nephew of former Toronto mayor Rob Ford, confirmed to CP24 that he is “giving it some strong and serious consideration.” “Like many Torontonians, we see that crime, congestion, and skyrocketing property taxes are major issues that are top of mind for residents across our city,” he said in a written statement.
- Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles says her party will force a legislative vote to reverse the Ford government’s changes to the Ontario Student Assistance Program when the legislature returns, arguing the cuts will leave students facing years of unmanageable debt. “Doug Ford’s OSAP cuts come at a time when life has never been more unaffordable,” said Stiles. “The Premier has already saddled Ontario’s next generation with record-high cost of living and destroyed their job market. They can’t afford decades of student debt on top of that.
- An Alliston, Ont., man is facing charges after being accused of making threats against Premier Doug Ford. Ontario Provincial Police said Thursday that the alleged threats date back to Feb. 13, when members of its protective services section (PSS) began an investigation. Police said 20-year-old Ramy Jamil Hanna was later arrested and charged with one count of uttering threats to cause harm. He was released from custody and is scheduled to appear in court on April 9.
Manitoba
- Premier Wab Kinew hinted on Thursday the Manitoba government “might be asking the top one per cent” to help out more with education property taxes in the coming budget. Kinew made the comment during an interview while discussing cost of living challenges and possible affordability measures in the March 24 budget. “I don’t want to see people pay higher taxes,” Kinew said in an interview with CBC Information Radio guest host Marjorie Dowhos. “I think we’re going to have some help in the budget on the education property tax front, and we might be asking the top one per cent to help us out with that.”
- Manitoba’s premier isn’t giving the green light to a new default speed limit in Winnipeg. The city’s public works committee voted on Wednesday to ask the province to change the Highway Traffic Act to allow it to lower the residential speed limit from 50 km/h to 40 km/h in residential areas. “They can do it on their own,” Premier Wab Kinew told CBC Manitoba’s Information Radio in a Thursday interview.
- The Manitoba government introduced more than a dozen bills in the legislature Thursday aimed at cracking down on machetes, reducing the use of sick notes and enacting other measures promised in its throne speech last fall. Among the proposals is a ban on possession of pepper spray and long-bladed weapons in urban public areas such as parks. Using such weapons is already prohibited in urban areas, and the NDP government said cracking down on possession goes a step further.
- Richard Perchotte will be a one-term MLA. The Progressive Conservative announced on Facebook Thursday he won’t seek re-election in the Selkirk constituency during Manitoba’s next provincial election, which must be called on or before Oct. 5, 2027. Perchotte said it’s been a privilege to serve in elected office, but after reflection and conversation with his family and loved ones, he decided “politics is not the best fit for me.” His Facebook statement says he has “great respect and regard” for his PC colleagues and believes “in the common-sense conservative principles that bind us together.”
Saskatchewan
- The Saskatchewan government is defending a pair of high-priced contracts it has awarded to trade lobbying firms, including one with former Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s consulting firm. The contracts were signed late last month, according to orders in council published on the province’s website. The Ministry of Trade and Export Development will pay up to $240,000 annually over the next three years to Harper and Associates and $450,000 to U.S.-based Nelson Mullins for consulting services over the next year.
- Parents and daycare providers in Saskatchewan say the province told them for months that Kindergartners turning six this year would be eligible for $10-a-day daycare under a new deal with the federal government. The message changed this week. Last November, after Saskatchewan and the federal government negotiated a five-year extension to the Canada-Saskatchewan Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement, the province announced that kids turning six while in Kindergarten would be eligible for the program until they completed the school year.
- Saskatchewan is among the provinces and territories that have reached an agreement to better connect power grids across the country. Ontario kick-started the deal to expand the transmission of electricity. The four western provinces, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, the Yukon, and the Northwest Territories, are also part of the partnership. “The agreement marks a major nation-building milestone, breaking down long-standing barriers between provincial grids and enabling a more connected, resilient and self-reliant energy system,” Ontario’s Ministry of Energy and Mines said in a news release Wednesday.
- China’s tariffs on canola seed and meal have been dropped to 14.9 per cent as of March 1, but Saskatchewan farmers seem to have no end to market concerns in 2026. On March 1, China suspended ‘anti-discrimination’ tariffs on canola meal and peas through 2026 and reduced its ‘anti-dumping’ tariffs on Canadian canola seed to a combined applied tariff rate of 14.9 per cent. But now that the demand and value of canola have increased, farmers could expect a jump in input costs due to the war in Iran.
Alberta
- Ottawa and Alberta have reached an agreement that will see the province take control of regulatory approvals for its major projects, something they say will expedite those projects. In joint announcements on Friday, Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith characterized the deal as the “next phase” in the relationship between the province and the federal government. “Together, we will build big and build fast to create a stronger, more sustainable, more independent economy for Albertans and all Canadians,” Carney wrote in a release.
- About a quarter of Albertans support the province leaving Canada, but the majority — nearly two-thirds — are against it, according to a new poll from Abacus Data. The poll also suggests that more than half of Albertans believe Premier Danielle Smith would vote in favour of separation in a referendum, despite Smith’s repeated position that she prefers a strong and sovereign Alberta, within a united Canada. Abacus surveyed 1,000 Albertan adults between Feb. 20 and 25. That followed Smith’s televised address to the province on Feb. 19, where she discussed frustrations with federal policies and laid the groundwork for additional referendum questions.
- Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. is deferring an oilsands mine expansion as it waits for Ottawa to finalize environmental policies. The Calgary-based oil and gas giant had been planning to spend about $150 million this year on early engineering and design work for its $8.25-billion Jackpine mine expansion north of Fort McMurray, Alta., president Scott Stauth said Thursday. But it’s putting that spending on hold until it gets more clarity around carbon pricing and methane emissions rules, which the company says have created an “economic burden for long-term growth investments.”
- The Alberta Teachers’ Association has been in court this week, asking a judge to temporarily suspend the province’s Back to School Act while the union’s broader constitutional challenge proceeds later this year. The two-day hearing in the Edmonton Court of King’s Bench is focused solely on an application for an injunction. If granted, the order would pause the operation of Bill 2 until a full hearing determines whether the law is constitutional. Bill 2, passed in October, forced striking teachers back to work by imposing a four-year collective agreement.
British Columbia
- Two northern B.C. chambers of commerce are calling for restrictions on social media and generative AI for youth under 16. The call comes as both communities, Prince George and Tumbler Ridge, have dealt with tragedies linked to online platforms. “These tools are so powerful that we shouldn’t have unrestricted access to those tools for children,” Prince George Chamber of Commerce CEO Neil Godbout said in an interview with CBC’s Daybreak North about the proposal.
- The head of British Columbia’s teachers’ union says parents will see better supports for their school-aged children after its members ratified a four-year collective agreement with the province. The B.C. The Teachers’ Federation said in a statement that those members who cast ballots voted 91 per cent in favour of ratifying the agreement, which includes a three per cent wage increase per year for four years. “That advocacy that we’ve been doing sees some modest improvements here for kids and for classrooms, and for public education,” BCTF president Carole Gordon said in an interview Thursday.
- The Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation near Tofino, B.C., says it’s frustrated and angry after the B.C. government recently issued more than 30 mineral exploration-related permits in its territory. The nation says mining is not allowed in the Tranquil Creek watershed, northeast of Tofino, where the exploration permits were granted. Tla-o-qui-aht lands and resources manager Saya Masso says the permits, which would explore quartz with gold veins in the region, go against the conservation efforts the nation has been working towards in the area.
- Most British Columbians will change their clocks for the last time this Sunday. B.C. is permanently adopting daylight time, making its “spring forward” on March 8 the last time change, Premier David Eby announced Monday. “We are done waiting. British Columbia is going to change our clocks just one more time — and then never again,” Eby said. He said changing the clocks causes “all types of problems,” from children and their parents losing sleep, to dogs getting up at the wrong time, to more car accidents. Residents will have eight months to prepare for Nov. 1, 2026, when the clocks will have been turned back one hour, but will now remain the same. B.C.’s new time zone will be called “Pacific time,” according to the province.
Northwest Territories
- A social justice group is accusing the N.W.T. government of giving “unprecedented and privileged access” to mining industry representatives as the territory develops new mining regulations. “They’ve been meeting with the mining industry about once a month to talk about the mining regulations,” said Kevin O’Reilly, a former MLA who speaks for the advocacy group Alternatives North. Last week, Alternatives North released more than 800 pages of documents it obtained through access-to-information requests. It says the documents, which include emails, presentation notes and meeting summaries, show the territorial government met mining industry representatives 11 times between August 2024 and September 2025, to discuss the development of the Mineral Resources Act.
Yukon
- The Yukon government announced this week it is splitting the mines part of the Department of Energy, Mines and Resources into two new branches: major mines and mineral exploration. It said the goal is to make the territory more “competitive, predictable and attractive” for mining investors. A new major mines and technical services division will focus on guiding mining companies – especially those with large projects – through the permitting process. “This can help guide them through what sometimes seems like a myriad of red tape for either the Government of Yukon or federal processes or the environmental assessment process,” said Mines Minister Ted Laking. “This is really just about improving our services, ensuring that our clients have support and understand what the steps are and what they’re required to do.”
Nunavut
- Some medical travel passengers flying home to Nunavut last month say they were left stranded at an airport for hours with little food, water and warmth. CBC News has spoken to several passengers on board a Canadian North flight from Yellowknife to communities in Nunavut’s Kitikmeot region on Feb. 20. They say that the flight stopped in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, mid-morning, but it couldn’t proceed further because of bad weather. They say they spent nearly nine hours at the airport before they were flown back to Yellowknife.