Tag: Canada

US haze from Canada fires rare and extreme event: expert

By Lucie AUBOURG Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The air pollution swamping the northeast United States this week from smoke spewed by fires in Canada is “exceptionally rare” and “extreme”, said Ryan Stauffer, a NASA scientist specializing in air pollution. This episode should last for at least the next two days, the expert told AFP on Wednesday. How out of the ordinary is this event? “In the last 20 or 25 years, the […]

Quebec the new epicenter of Canada’s raging wildfires

MONTREAL, Canada (AFP) — Canada’s Quebec province, not used to the huge number, scale and strength of wildfires ravaging the rest of the country, has become the latest hotspot with about 160 fires burning on Tuesday, most of those out of control. In the hardest-hit Abitibi-Temiscamingue region of the province, more than 650 kilometers (400 miles) north of Montreal, fires that have disrupted mining and forestry operations are “worrying,” said Quebec Premier François Legault. “We […]

Canada braces for possible worst wildfire season ever

OTTAWA (AFP) — Canada is facing a dire wildfire situation through the coming months, oficials warned on Monday afer vast swaths of forests and grasslands from its Pacific to Atlantic coasts have been scorched. Some 26,000 people remain displaced by fires at present, with about 120,000 having had to flee at some point over the past month. From westernmost British Columbia to Nova Scotia on the east coast, about 3.3 million hectares (8.2 million acres) […]

Heat wave and wildfires scorch east Canada

By Marion THIBAUT, with Michel COMTE in Ottawa Agence France-Presse MONTREAL, Canada (AFP) — Eastern Canada sweltered under a record-breaking heat wave on Thursday that risked inflaming wildfires ravaging the Atlantic coast and other parts of the country with “unprecedented” ferocity and scale. More than 210 fires were burning across Canada, including 82 out of control. And more than 2.7 million hectares have been scorched already this year, eight times more than the last three […]

Canadian economy grew 3.1 percent in first quarter

OTTAWA, May 31, 2023 (AFP) – Canada’s economy grew by a higher-than-expected 3.1 percent in the first quarter after remaining flat in the final stretch of last year, according to official data released Wednesday. The rise was fueled by strong trade figures, mainly exports, and an increase in household spending, Statistics Canada said. Some analysts had predicted a drop in GDP in the first quarter, or only a slight rise. Exports of goods and services […]

Thousands flee wildfire in eastern Canada

OTTAWA, May 29, 2023 (AFP) – More than 16,000 people were forced to evacuate their homes in Canada’s eastern province of Nova Scotia, officials said Monday, as one of hundreds of wildfires raging across the country threatened the city of Halifax. The fire, still burning out of control along the northwestern edge of the city, has not grown since a state of emergency was declared late Sunday, forcing suburban residents out at a moment’s notice. […]

Thailand charges Canadian over Indian gangster murder in Phuket

BANGKOK, May 29, 2023 (AFP) – Thai police said on Monday they have charged a Canadian man they described as a mercenary with the murder of an Indian gangster in the resort island of Phuket. Officers launched an investigation after Jimi “Slice” Sandhu — whose nickname came from a distinctive scar on his face — was shot and killed in February 2022. Interpol issued a red notice last year for Canadian citizen Matthew Leandre Ovide […]

Chinese diaspora bears brunt of Canada-Beijing tensions

By Mathiew LEISER, Marion THIBAUT Agence France-Presse TORONTO, Canada, May 24, 2023 (AFP) – The Chinese diaspora has been caught in the crossfire of Ottawa’s row with Beijing over its alleged meddling in Canada’s affairs — facing both intimidation from Chinese operatives and rising stigmatization. And each new spat between their ancestral home and adoptive country — the latest being tit-for-tat expulsions of diplomats in May — brings additional stress for the community. Many people […]

Canada wildfire fight turns corner after rain

OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — A weeks-long battle against wildfires in western Canada finally reached a “turning point” on Monday with scattered rains reported over hotspots and more precipitation to come, officials said. The wildfires in Alberta province have displaced tens of thousands of people and scorched more than 945,000 hectares. “We have received rain, I understand, on almost every wildfire that’s currently burning in the province except those in the far north,” Christie Tucker of […]

Smoke choking Canadians but cooling wildfires by blocking out sun

OTTAWA, May 22, 2023 (AFP) – Wildfire smoke blanketing western Canada has triggered health warnings in several cities, but was also helping to cool blazes by blocking out a hot sun across hard-hit portions of the country Sunday. The wildfires in Alberta province have displaced tens of thousands of people and scorched more than 941,000 hectares over several weeks. “It is a mixed bag certainly with smoke,” Christie Tucker of the Alberta Wildfire agency told […]

New study quantifies link between climate crisis, wildfires

  By Issam AHMED Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, May 16, 2023 (AFP) – In a first, US climate scientists have quantified the extent to which greenhouse gasses from the world’s top fossil fuel companies have contributed to wildfires. Their analysis, published Tuesday in Environmental Research Letters, found that carbon dioxide and methane emissions from the so-called “Big 88” firms were responsible for more than a third of the area scorched by forest blazes in western North […]

Worst conditions for Canada wildfires yet to come: Alberta official

MONTREAL, May 15, 2023 (AFP) – With temperatures rising and little chance of rain, Canada’s Alberta province was preparing Sunday for the worsening of wildfires that have raged for over a week and forced thousands to flee. “We are continuing to see hot and dry conditions today with a low chance of rain throughout most of Alberta,” said Josee St-Onge with the western province’s wildfire agency. She said that in the north on Sunday, the […]