In the news today: pipeline announcement, minimum wage hikes, Canadian goes to space

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

Carney expected to announce decision on pipeline’s national interest designation

Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to announce today that an oil pipeline to the West Coast will be designated as a project of national interest.

Carney is scheduled to be in Fort McMurray, Alta., with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith to deliver the news.

It would be the first project to receive the designation since Ottawa passed the Building Canada Act more than a year ago.

Carney said taxpayers wouldn’t foot the bill for the pipeline when he first announced the project in 2025, but no private sector proponent has stepped up to pay for it entirely.

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Canada’s Minister of International Trade Maninder Sidhu speaks at a press conference in Toronto, on Friday, July 24, 2026.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sammy Kogan

G20 trade ministers holding second day of meetings in Wisconsin

G20 trade ministers are set to wrap up two days of talks in Wisconsin today.

Canada’s International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu is expected to speak with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, though a set time and format have not been shared.

Sidhu is also to meet with officials from India and the European Union today, ahead of the EU summit in Montreal in October and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s expected visit to Canada in December.

Canada is looking to reduce its economic reliance on the United States in response to Washington repeatedly targeting Canadian goods with tariffs.

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Mike Smith, the actor behind the character Bubbles from the “Trailer Park Boys” poses for photos at the 24th Annual Gemini Awards in Calgary, on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Larry MacDougal

Sexual assault trial begins for ‘Trailer Park Boys’ actor Mike Smith

A three-day sexual assault trial is scheduled to begin today for Nova Scotia-based actor Mike Smith, best known for playing Bubbles on the TV comedy “Trailer Park Boys.”

Smith has pleaded not guilty to one count of sexual assault that stems from an alleged incident in 2017.

Court documents do not provide details of the allegations, which have yet to be tested in court, but do show Smith has been ordered not to communicate with or visit the home, work or school of the complainant.

Last year, Trailer Park Boys Inc., at the time a Nova Scotia-based company with Smith registered as one of three directors, confirmed Smith had stepped away from his role with the company.

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Canada’s annual pace of inflation ticked higher in December, but the rate was weaker than expected as lower food prices helped offset increases in the transportation and shelter groups. A loonie is pictured in North Vancouver, in a Dec. 31, 2013, file photo.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

Minimum wage hikes set to begin across five provinces

The minimum wage is going up between 25 and 40 cents in Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

Ontario is moving its minimum wage up to $17.95 an hour, while P.E.I. is boosting it to $17.30 and Nova Scotia is moving it to $17.

In Manitoba, the wage goes up to $16.40, and in Saskatchewan to $15.70.

The changes mean all provinces and territories will have raised their rates this year, except Alberta, which hasn’t increased its minimum wage since 2019 and has the country’s lowest minimum wage at $15 an hour.

Nunavut leads the country at just over $20 an hour.

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The crew for the upcoming NASA SpaceX launch, from left, Sergey Teteryatnikov, of Russia, pilot Luke Delaney, commander Jessica Watkins and Joshua Kutryk, of Canada, pose for a photo at a news conference after arriving at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk set to launch to International Space Station

As the sun rises over Florida’s iconic Kennedy Space Center this morning, Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk will make final preparations to fulfil his lifelong dream of blasting off into space.

If the weather holds, the 44-year-old will be among NASA’s SpaceX Crew 13 launching at 11:10 a.m. eastern to the International Space Station for a six-month mission.

While on the deployment, Kutryk will be taking part in some long-term Canadian research projects but he will also be essential to documenting new science around how the human body responds to space travel.

Industry Minister Mélanie Joly, who will be watching from the ground, says it’s important to see international collaboration at a time when there are intense trade wars and geopolitical tensions.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 1, 2026.

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