Leyland Cecco in Toronto

Canada medical mystery takes twist as study finds no evidence of brain illness

Researchers link suspected cases in New Brunswick to known diseases, suggesting ‘misdiagnosis and misinformation’

A new peer-reviewed scientific study has found no evidence of a mystery brain disease in the Canadian province of New Brunswick, suggesting instead a troubling combination of “misdiagnosis and misinformation”.

The research comes as the Maritime province prepares its own assessment of more than 220 suspected cases in the hope of giving families some answers to a medical mystery that has gripped the region for years.

Trump fixates on US-Canada border – does he actually want to tear it up?

President eager to revisit boundary drawn by 1908 treaty, but experts suggest Trump using border as bargaining chip

When Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, met with Donald Trump at the White House this week, the notoriously over-prepared former central banker was no doubt expecting to discuss tariffs, trade and defence policy.

But as he sat beside the president, he was instead treated to a discourse on one of Trump’s more recondite fixations: the centuries-old border between Canada and the United States.

Canadian police scale back search for two children missing in woods for six days

Officials say the likelihood Lily and Jack Sullivan are still alive after disappearing in Nova Scotia on 2 May is ‘very low’

Nearly a week after two young children went missing in rural Nova Scotia, Canadian police say they are beginning to scale back search efforts given the “low” odds the children are still alive – and that they are not ruling out the possibility of foul play.

Since Friday, more than 160 searchers with drones and canine units have scoured the thickly forested region of Pictou county in search of Lily Sullivan, six, and Jack Sullivan, four.

Trump and Carney to meet at White House in closely watched encounter

Vibe at meeting could hint at future relationship between the two countries and their two leaders

Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, was due to meet with the US president, Donald Trump, on Tuesday in a closely watched encounter at the White House that could hint at the future relationship between the two countries and their two leaders.

Over the weekend, Trump said it was “highly unlikely” he would use military force to annex Canada, a key trading partner and political ally. In recent months, the president has repeatedly threatened to use economic coercion to weaken Canada to the point that it accedes to Trump’s wish to make it the 51st state.

Search for two young children missing in Canadian forest enters fourth day

Officials believe Lily, six, and Jack Sullivan, four, are lost in woods of Nova Scotia after disappearing on Friday

A frantic search for two children presumed lost in the unforgiving and thickly forested lands of Nova Scotia has entered its fourth day as police in Atlantic Canada expand their search.

Nearly 150 searchers have braved rain and fog to track down Lily Sullivan, six, and Jack Sullivan, four, who were last seen on Friday around their home in Pictou county, 100 miles north-east of Halifax.

King Charles to open Canada parliament as PM Carney reacts to Trump threats

Liberal PM will also meet with US president on Tuesday amid tensions over threatened annexation and tariffs

King Charles has accepted an invitation to open Canada’s parliament on 27 May, in “an historic honour that matches the weight of our times”, the country’s prime minister, Mark Carney, said on Friday.

In his first news conference since an election dominated by Donald Trump’s threats to Canada’s sovereignty, the prime minister also confirmed he would meet the US president at the White House on Tuesday.

King Charles to open Canada’s parliament as PM Carney responds to Trump threats

Liberal PM will also meet with US president on Tuesday amid tensions over threatened annexation and tariffs

King Charles has accepted an invitation to open Canada’s parliament on 27 May, in “an historic honour that matches the weight of our times”, the country’s prime minister, Mark Carney, said on Friday.

In his first news conference since an election dominated by Donald Trump’s threats to Canada’s sovereignty, the prime minister also confirmed he would meet the US president at the White House on Tuesday.

Arctic plant study reveals an ‘early warning sign’ of climate change upheaval

A warming tundra has seen unexpected shifts, raising the alarm about fragile ecosystems and those who rely on them

Scientists studying Arctic plants say the ecosystems that host life in some of the most inhospitable reaches of the planet are changing in unexpected ways in an “early warning sign” for a region upended by climate change.

In four decades, 54 researchers tracked more than 2,000 plant communities across 45 sites from the Canadian high Arctic to Alaska and Scandinavia. They discovered dramatic shifts in temperatures and growing seasons produced no clear winners or losers. Some regions witnessed large increases in shrubs and grasses and declines in flowering plants – which struggle to grow under the shade created by taller plants.