In the news today: Ford set to dissolve government for early election

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

Ford set to dissolve government for early election

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is set to request the dissolution of provincial parliament today and trigger an early election for Feb. 27.

Ford’s office says he will visit Lt.-Gov. Edith Dumont this afternoon and ask her to end the legislature’s 43rd parliament.

Ford has said he needs a new mandate from the electorate in order to deal with U.S. President Donald Trump.

NDP Leader Marit Stiles, Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie and Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner have all said calling an election more than a year early is a waste of time and money.

Ford says he plans to act in his capacity as premier, including visiting Washington, D.C., in February with a group of other premiers, while also campaigning as leader of the Progressive Conservatives.

Here’s what else we’re watching…

Snowbirds rush to sell their homes as loonie tanks

Cesidia Cedrone has been soaking up the rays at her Florida condo every winter since 2011.

Last week, her retirement reverie came to an end as Cedrone and her husband signed the closing papers on their home sale.

Cedrone is not alone. Many snowbirds are scrambling to sell their homes in Florida as a weak loonie and high insurance costs drive a Canadian exodus from the sunshine state.

Canadians made up nearly one-quarter of foreign sellers in Florida between April 2023 and March 2024 versus 11 per cent in the same period a year earlier, according to a National Realtors Association report.

Real estate broker Alexandra DuPont, who sells properties largely to Quebecers in southeast Florida, says she’s juggling twice her typical workload with 30-plus listings.

Quebec legislature returns amid tariff threat

The Quebec legislature resumes sitting Tuesday for a spring session likely to be dominated by the threat of a trade war with the United States and a renewed focus on secularism and identity.

On the eve of the national assembly’s return, Immigration Minister Jean-François Roberge announced the government will table a new bill on integration, focused on “adherence to the common culture” and to values including democracy, gender equality and secularism.

“For the first time in our history, we will define who we are and how we want to continue to evolve as a nation,” he said in a video posted Monday evening to social media.

He said the legislation will be in the same vein as the government’s controversial secularism law and its overhaul of the French language law.

Still, the threat of U.S. President Donald Trump’s promised 25 per cent tariff on goods imported from Canada will loom large as the session gets underway. Premier François Legault has for weeks been sounding the alarm about possible tariffs, warning they could cost Quebec 100,000 jobs.

Peavey Mart closing all Canadian locations

Peavey Industries LP says it is closing its stores across Canada.

A statement from the company says store-closing sales will start at 90 Peavey Mart stores and six MainStreet Hardware locations, as it has obtained an initial order for creditor protection.

The company says the liquidation sales will begin immediately.

This comes after the company confirmed earlier Monday it was closing 22 Peavey Mart stores across Nova Scotia and Ontario.

The owner of the Peavey Mart farm and outdoor goods stores had said those 22 stores, which include shops in Bowmanville, Cornwall, Kingston, Kitchener, St. Catharines and Sudbury, would close by April.

Peavey Industries LP says the decision to seek creditor protection and close its doors is due to several factors, including record-low consumer confidence, increased operating costs and continued disruptions to the supply chain.

Historic $32.5B tobacco proposal faces final test

A historic proposal that would see three major tobacco companies pay out billions to provinces and territories as well as former smokers across Canada is set to face its final test over the coming weeks.

The proposed $32.5-billion settlement between the companies — JTI-Macdonald Corp., Rothmans, Benson & Hedges and Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd. — and their creditors received unanimous support from those creditors in a vote last month and must now obtain the court’s approval.

Over roughly half a dozen days of hearings starting Wednesday, the companies and other parties in the case will have the chance to formally voice their concerns or objections regarding the proposed deal.

At least one of the companies has opposed the plan that was filed with the court in October, saying it would be impossible to implement unless several key issues were addressed.

The Canadian Cancer Society, which is a social stakeholder in the case, has also called for changes to add smoking-reduction measures, warning governments could otherwise fumble a unique opportunity to rein in the tobacco industry and protect the health of Canadians.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 28, 2025.

The Canadian Press