Harsh temperatures and heavy smoke have triggered heat warnings and air-quality alerts for large swaths of the country this weekend, as hundreds of wildfires remain uncontained in Western and Central Canada.

Higher-risk conditions are anticipated in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, prompting special bulletins from Environment and Climate Change Canada for dozens of cities and towns. Meteorologists expect dryness, heat and lower precipitation to create ripe weather conditions for intense fire behaviour.

Reem Sultan’s uncle was killed in Gaza last December, her aunt died of malnutrition in January. Her cousin’s family of six, including children, perished when their home was bombed in May. Another cousin who went to retrieve and bury their bodies died in an air strike, killed while grieving the dead.

In all, the resident of London, Ont., has lost 15 close relatives in the Middle East conflict, but a tally of extended family members reaches closer to 100. So while Ms. Sultan welcomes the news that Canada intends to recognize the state of Palestine, she says more is needed than just words.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is demanding an apology for a report commissioned by the Town of Jasper into last year’s devastating wildfires in the National Park after firefighters said their work was impeded by the province.

Blaming the federal government Friday, Ms. Smith dismissed findings from the report. The publication surveyed firefighters and other emergency officials involved in the effort against the wind-whipped conflagrations that destroyed at least one-third of the buildings in the Rocky Mountain resort town.

A Calgary police officer has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder after Alberta’s oversight agency investigated a 2023 shooting that killed two men.

Constable Craig Stothard appeared in court Tuesday and was released, according to the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team, or ASIRT, in a statement published later in the day. His bail was set for $1,000, and he must remain in the province under a curfew from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m., with his passport surrendered.

The officer has been placed on leave, Calgary Police Service Chief Katie McLellan said in a separate statement. She declined to say whether his leave was with or without pay. He is a 15-year member of the service.

Heavy smoke and thick fumes have triggered air-quality alerts in vast swaths of the country, as some areas in Western and Central Canada are experiencing one of the most destructive wildfire seasons in recent decades.

With winds pushing plumes from Prairie wildfires toward Ontario and Quebec, causing reduced visibility in multiple regions, Environment and Climate Change Canada is now warning people to be prepared for smoke exposure thousands of kilometres away from fire zones. Residents have been advised to keep windows and doors closed, limit their time outside, and reschedule or cancel summer sports, events and activities.

Smoke alerts and heat warnings are in place across the country this weekend, as thousands of people are fleeing their homes from out-of-control wildfires.

In a rare occurrence, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew declared a second provincewide state of emergency this week, calling upon the military to airlift residents from northern communities toward safer areas, emphasizing the severity of this year’s historically bad wildfire season. The province was under a state of emergency from May until late last month, during which more than 21,000 people had been evacuated.

Alberta has issued a ministerial order to restrict books from school libraries that the province believes are sexually explicit, instructing authorities to remove the material by October and prohibit students from accessing it.

Demetrios Nicolaides, Alberta’s Education and Childcare Minister, said Premier Danielle Smith’s government will require all school boards to create or update policies to meet the province’s new safeguards. Until now, he stressed, schools had “zero standards” to select appropriate content for libraries.

Wildfires have burned through more than a million hectares of forest in Manitoba this year, prompting Premier Wab Kinew to declare a second provincewide state of emergency and call upon the military to help once again with thousands of evacuations from fly-in communities.

The province, which was under a state of emergency until late last month, made the latest declaration Thursday. More than 12,600 people across the province are now being told to leave their homes, many for the second time.

The United States is complaining about another Canadian export: wildfire smoke ruining the summer in their neck of the woods.

Six Republican members of the U.S. Congress have penned a public letter to Canada’s ambassador in Washington, demanding that their northern neighbour do better at mitigating wildfires, which have led to thousands of evacuations in this country and sent thick smoke billowing across the border over the past couple of months.

Two student pilots have died after their small airplanes crashed mid-air in Manitoba’s rural municipality of Hanover.

RCMP confirmed that the pilots – a man and a woman – were pronounced dead on scene Tuesday near wreckage, just above an hour-long drive south of Winnipeg.

Manitoba’s Accessibility Minister is apologizing after she was heard on video using “demeaning” language while questioning why a sign-language interpreter had been placed on the stage with her at a recent event.

Nahanni Fontaine was preparing to speak with reporters during a gala celebrating Indigenous graduates last week when she made the off-the-cuff comments, voicing her frustrations using an expletive with a member of her staff. Her words were captured on a hot mic.