Prime Minister Mark Carney stumped for Canada on a last-ditch tour Thursday, urging supporters to not only vote to stay in Confederation but to also reject nine other questions put on the ballot by Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.

“It’s time for us to come together, stand up for ourselves and take care of each other,” Carney told the cheering crowd at a city park.

“(Say) no to the nine.”

Carney and other politicians are converging in the province to rally support for Canada – and to urge pro-Canada voters to make sure to mark their ballots on referendum day Monday.

Earlier Thursday, he was met by supporters at a restaurant in the northeast. He was later given a bouquet of flowers by staff and posed for photos.

The Canadian Press has more. 

The federal government is opening applications for more than $430 million in union-led apprenticeship training, temporarily raising its share of training equipment costs to 70 per cent as it pushes to train workers for homes and major projects.

The investment will flow through the Union Training and Innovation Program, which funds union-based training for apprentices and skilled trade workers.

It’s spread over five years and split into three streams: about $197 million to build or expand training facilities, $135 million for new ways to recruit and support apprentices, and $100 million for training equipment.

Ottawa will now cover up to 70 per cent for training equipment purchases, up from 50 per cent, to help organizations manage rising equipment and material costs.

The investment is part of the Team Canada strong fund, introduced earlier this year during the spring economic update, a plan to recruit, train and hire 80,000 to 100,000 new skilled trades workers.

Sydney Ko reports. 

The Supreme Court of Canada said Thursday it will hear an appeal that will determine if Ottawa’s ban on single-use plastics can remain in place.

In 2022, Ottawa phased in a ban on the manufacture and sale of six single-use plastic items, including straws, stir sticks, cutlery, takeout containers and the six-pack rings used to hold soda and beer cans.

The government said at the time it chose those items because they were commonly found in litter and had known and accessible alternatives.

In order to introduce the ban, the federal government listed “plastic manufactured items” as toxic under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, following a scientific assessment.

In 2023, the Federal Court said that listing was too broad, in part because the federal government had failed to demonstrate that all plastic items harm human health or the environment.

CP’s got more. 

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Hasan Piker, the California-based streamer who describes himself as a socialist, has become the GOP’s political boogeyman ahead of the midterm elections.

President Trump recently called him a “terrible liability” and a “communist.” And in Michigan, political advertisements play the progressive firebrand’s most incendiary comments on repeat — including “America deserved 9/11,” language he said he regretted.

The ads tie the leftist influencer and his words to Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, who is in a tight race with Republican Rep. Mike Rogers. During the Democratic primary in Michigan, Piker campaigned with El-Sayed, who has since distanced himself from the Twitch streamer.

Despite this, Piker doesn’t think he’ll be a drag on Democrats this November.

NPR has more. 

Donald Trump has shelved a widely condemned plan to livestream the execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, who was convicted of killing 13 people at a military base at Fort Hood in Texas in 2009.

In a social media post on Thursday, Trump argued that broadcasting such an execution “might have been a strong deterrent for the World to witness how America deals with Terrorists and SCUM like Hasan” but said that “many very good and well meaning people would rather not watch him die, through streaming, or through any other visual device”.

“He will die, as scheduled, by firing squad, but this event will not be streamed,” Trump added. “That said, the execution may be viewed in person by the immediate families of the victims, if they so choose.”

Hasan, who was left paralyzed from the waist down after being shot by law enforcement officers during the shooting at Fort Hood, now uses a wheelchair.

The Guardian has more. 

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The Kicker

Former White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt did an “ask me anything” on her Instagram on Wednesday to chat directly with her 3.1 million followers.

From dishing out career advice for aspiring political communicators to teasing a potential “get ready with me” make up tutorial, Leavitt covered a bit of everything… including calling Trump the “best boss” to work with.

Looks like political comms isn’t her only calling.

Read more here.