By Canadian Press

In the news today: Wildfire evacuations in Fort St. John, B.C.

May 2, 2025 | 1:16 AM

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

Wildfire evacuations in Fort St. John, B.C.

Firefighters from Fort St. John, B.C., and the provincial wildfire service were battling a blaze that prompted evacuations late Thursday, the city said.

A bulletin on the city’s website posted at 6:04 p.m. said the fire is located in the Fish Creek Community Forest on the northern outskirts of the city.

The bulletin directed evacuees from Rose Prairie Road and the Jones subdivision area to proceed to the Pomeroy Sport Centre. It did not provide the number of people forced out of their homes or any further details.

ROAD CLOSURES

Section of Tyson Road, South Sumas Road to close overnight in Chilliwack

4h ago

PERIOD POVERTY

Demand for period products grows over 7 million in Fraser Valley, Lower Mainland

5h ago

Upcoming concerts in Agassiz, Chilliwack

Cheam Mountain Singers to hold concerts in Agassiz, Chilliwack

6h ago

The BC Wildfire Service website indicates the out-of-control blaze was discovered Thursday and spanned an estimated 0.56 square kilometres as of 7:32 p.m.

The suspected cause of the fire is human activity.

Here’s what else we’re watching…

Day of mourning as attack suspect to face court

It’s a day of remembrance and mourning in British Columbia today for victims of the deadly attack at a Filipino festival, as the suspect in the killings faces court.

A community spokesman says the official day of mourning for the 11 people who died after an SUV sped through a crowded street will be part of the healing process but “certainly not the end of it.”

RJ Aquino with Filipino BC, the group that organized the Lapu Lapu Day event last Saturday, says the government’s designation of the day of mourning shows the significance of the tragedy in the history of the province and the city.

One of the events to mark the occasion will be a 5:10 p.m. mass at the Holy Rosary Cathedral in Vancouver.

That’s about three hours after the suspect in the case, 30-year-old Adam Kai-Ji Lo, is due to face provincial court to make an application.

Carney to outline new government priorities today

Prime Minister Mark Carney is scheduled to outline the priorities of his new government this morning four days after Canadians voted in the Liberals for a fourth mandate.

Carney will speak to the media and take questions at 11 a.m. EDT.

He has promised to move immediately to address ongoing trade tensions with the United States and spoke by phone with U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday.

Trump says the two will meet in Washington within the next week though Carney’s office has not confirmed that.

Carney has not spoken publicly since election night when he gave a victory speech at an Ottawa hockey arena promising to chart a new course for Canada away from its intense dependence on the United States.

Elections Canada shows the Liberal party won 168 seats, down one from the total on Monday, after a validation process showed the winner in the Quebec riding of Terrebonne was the Bloc Québécois.

Canadian auto parts get tariff break

U.S. Customs and Border Protection guidance released on Thursday said automobile parts compliant with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade will not be hit with President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

It’s the latest sign of relief for the deeply integrated North American automobile industry besieged by multiple levels of tariffs.

Trump slapped a 25 per cent tariff on all vehicle imports to the United States last month, but made a carveout for the American-made parts of cars compliant with the continental trade pact, also called CUSMA.

“The industry has been warning, I’ve been warning, for three months that tariffs on auto parts would shut down manufacturing,” said Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association in Canada.

Six of the auto industry’s largest lobbying groups in the United States sent a letter to the Trump administration last week warning about the auto part duties would cause supply chain disruption and higher prices. The letter said “most auto suppliers are not capitalized for an abrupt tariff induced disruption.”

Sentencing set for girl in fatal swarming case

A sentencing hearing is scheduled today for a teen girl who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in a deadly group attack on a homeless Toronto man.

The girl entered a surprise plea in February as she and another teen were being tried for second-degree murder in the death of Kenneth Lee.

The trial continued for her co-accused, who prosecutors allege fatally stabbed Lee during the attack, and a verdict is expected in her case at the end of May.

Defence lawyers for that girl maintain she did not deliver the blow that caused Lee’s death, arguing it’s impossible to tell based on the evidence who stabbed Lee or when.

The teen whose sentencing hearing is planned today was 16 at the time of the incident, which took place in a downtown Toronto parkette in December 2022.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 2, 2025.

The Canadian Press