Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
Canada aims to accept far more immigrants in next three years
Canada will hold a bigger welcoming party than it previously planned, with the federal government announcing Friday it is increasing immigration targets for the next three years.
Canada hopes to greet 401,000 permanent residents in 2021, compared to a previous target of 351,000; 411,000 in 2022, up from a previous target of 361,000; and 421,000 in 2023.
Ottawa also said it will offer a path to citizenship for temporary foreign workers, asylum seekers and international students currently in Canada, to make up for a critical shortfall in immigration resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Because of closed borders, shuttered visa offices, quarantine restrictions and few available international flights, Canada is expected to take in only a fraction of the 341,000 permanent residents that this country was expected to welcome this year.
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Alberta, Saudi firm in talks to build $5-billion petrochemical plant
A private Saudi Arabian company is talking with the government of Alberta about opening a $5-billion petrochemical facility in the province.
Associate minister of natural gas Dale Nally told The Globe and Mail that petrochemical companies in the middle eastern country are “looking at other jurisdictions” in which to expand – “and one of those jurisdictions is Alberta.”
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has long been critical of Saudi Arabia, repeatedly calling it an unfriendly dictatorship with a state-owned energy company that has no right to dump its oil on North America.
“A state-owned company producing oil in a Middle East dictatorship is far different from a company from the Middle East that comes to Alberta and adheres to our environmental regulations and adheres to our rule of law and treats everybody equally,” Mr. Nally said Thursday.
The latest coronavirus news: Manitoba orders Winnipeg businesses to close
Businesses in the Winnipeg region are being ordered to close after a record increase in COVID-19 cases.
On Friday, Manitoba reported 480 new COVID-19 cases – more than double the previous daily record. The provincial government says that, starting Monday, bars and restaurants in the Winnipeg area will only be allowed to offer takeout and delivery.
Movie theatres and concert halls will also be closed and most retail stores will be limited to 25 per cent capacity.
The number of COVID-19 cases in Manitoba have been rising for several days, which is straining the capacity of intensive care units in hospitals.
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Canada’s 50 Best Executives in 2020: The Report on Business Best Executive Awards celebrates exceptional business leaders at Canadian companies. Our inaugural list showcases 50 EVPs, SVPs and members of C-suite. The individuals on this list have built better companies in these unprecedented times – and built a better country in the process.
O’Toole lays out Conservative economic plan: Erin O’Toole outlined a new economic plan for the Conservative Party of Canada focused on fighting inequality through labour rights, protecting intellectual property and reducing Canada’s trading relationship with China.
Canadian Rangers deployed to Neskantaga First Nation to provide support amid water crisis: Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller says Canadian Rangers, a sub-component of the Canadian Army Reserve, should be on the ground in Neskantaga First Nation on Friday. The remote community in northern Ontario has mostly been evacuated after high levels of hydrocarbons were found in the water reservoir.
Clean drinking water, flown in from Thunder Bay,sits in the Neskantaga First Nations community centre.DAVID JACKSON/The Globe and Mail
MARKET WATCH
Canada’s main stock index endured its worst week since large corrections in March as investors got spooked by ongoing concerns about rising COVID-19 infection rates.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 90.06 points to 15,580.64.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 157.51 points at 26,501.60. The S&P 500 index was down 40.15 points at 3,269.96, while the Nasdaq composite was down 274.00 points at 10,911.59.
The Canadian dollar traded for 75.09 cents US compared with 74.91 cents US on Thursday.
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TALKING POINTS
Neither Bobby Orr – nor any other star athlete – should be leading the political conversation
“Orr is worth a lot of money. Of course he votes Republican. The super-rich would vote Republican if the candidate were a shovel with a moustache painted onto it. As with all political statements made these days, it doesn’t matter what arguments Orr made. You’ve already decided whether you agree or disagree with him based on the word ‘Trump’”. – Cathal Kelly
Thanks to Quebec millennials, another referendum isn’t looming
“Today, the provincial Parti Québécois is further from government than at any time in its history. We’re still arguing about Ottawa’s intrusions in Quebec’s jurisdiction, but there is no third referendum on the horizon. For this tranquility, we can thank young Quebeckers – specifically millennials and Generation Z.” – Michael Adams and Andrew Parkin
Family matters: Home is at the heart of the Indigenous prison crisis
“A genuine commitment to achieving equal access to justice for Indigenous peoples requires recognition of the historical betrayals of governments and the justice system itself. It requires a focus on rehabilitation, rather than punishment, through resources devoted to family support and reunification” – Ryan Beardy
LIVING WELL
The time change is Sunday. Here’s how to prolong that feeling of a better sleep
Do you feel that the first Sunday in November is about the only day in the year that you feel refreshed, after luxuriating in that extra hour of sleep?
What about the other 364 days of the year? We all know that we’re supposed to set a consistent bedtime routine and wake-up time, and follow them regularly.
But, distractions, distractions ...
From the science of sleep to finding the right pillow to solutions for snoring, we look at how to get a better slumber in our exhaustive guide to a good night’s rest.
TODAY’S LONG READ
Same street, different worlds: In Pennsylvania, Trump and Biden voters live in separate realities
Biden and Trump campaign signs are seen on a home in Freemansburg, PA., on Monday, Oct. 26, 2020.Hannah Yoon/Globe & Mail
Globe writer Johanna Schneller grew up in the archetypal swing county of a swing state that Republicans and Democrats are fighting over ahead of Tuesday U.S. general election.
She recently canvassed for Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in her former county of Northampton, Pennsylvania, which has almost always voted for the winning president.
She also walked the hilly streets of Easton, visited a trailer park in thumbnail-sized Tatamy, and smelled fall in the air in Wind Gap, on the edge of the Pocono Mountains.
What she discovered was sobering to see: Two solitudes living in different worlds. Read her full story here.
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Rob Gilroy