China’s foreign minister Wang Yi arrived in Ottawa for a three‑day visit, the first by a Chinese foreign minister in a decade, while Canadians grapple with delayed electric‑vehicle rebate payments and a landmark legal plea.. at the same time, Montreal’s Canadiens face elimination in the Eastern Conference final.

Wang Yi’s Ottawa visit follows a Jan. trade mission by Prime Minister Mark Carney

During the three‑day trip, Wang Yi is scheduled to meet Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand and Prime Minister Mark Carney, according to the source. the agenda builds on Carney’s January trip to Beijing, where a preliminary trade pact was struck: Beijing agreed to lower or eliminate tariffs on select Canadian agricultural goods , and Canada pledged to cut tariffs on certain Chinese electric vehicles.

Over $122 million in EV rebate claims filed, but dealers await up to $200,000

Federal data shows Canadians have submitted more than 24,000 electric‑vehicle rebate claims since the program’s February restart, totaling over $122 million, as reported by the source. Yet many car dealers say they have not yet received the payments, with some waiting for more than $200,000, creating cash‑flow strains that could slow the recent sales rebound.

Kenneth Law to plead guilty to 14 counts of aiding suicide, murder charges dropped

Ontario‑based Kenneth Law, 60, is expected to enter a guilty plea today on 14 aiding‑suicide counts, while prosecutors will withdraw over a dozen murder charges, the source notes. Law allegedly ran websites that sold sodium nitrite and other self‑harm substances, shipping roughly 1,200 packages to recipients in more than 40 countries, including the United Kingdom.

StatCan’s flash Q1 GDP estimate flags modest growth, oil‑gas drag and Iran war impact

Statistics Canada’s first‑quarter flash estimate,released this morning, indicates modest growth in January and February but a slowdown in March, according to the source. The report cites seasonal maintenance in the oil and gas sector as a drag, even as the war in Iran lifted global energy prices.

Canadiens need a win in Game 5 to avoid a 33‑year Canadian Stanley Cup drought

Montreal trails the Eastern Conference final 3‑1 after a 4‑0 loss in Game 4, and must win Game 5 in Raleigh to stay alive, the source reports. A defeat would extend the 33‑season gap since the 1992‑93 Canadiens captured the Stanley Cup, the last by a Canadian team.