Canada in January 2026: the most important developments in society
Canada's most prominent story of January 2026 was a separatist bid in the country's oil hub. On January 16, long lineups formed in central Alberta to sign a petition for the province to leave Canada, and by January 29 allies of Donald Trump were watching the effort.
Alberta's health system and schools were also in the news. Doctors in Edmonton called on the province to declare a state of emergency as hospitals overflowed, and documents showed preventable deaths and near-misses in overcrowded emergency rooms. Dozens of library books were removed from Alberta schools as new laws took effect.
Iranian Canadians rallied in Toronto on January 13 as a crackdown intensified in Iran, and Iranians in St. John's rallied for a second week since the internet shutdown in Iran. The Iranian community said it feared for relatives after the death of a Canadian.
Prime Minister Mark Carney warned of a 'rupture' of the global order as Donald Trump rattled allies, and people in Nunavut rallied in support of Greenland. On January 19, more than 120,000 people were without power in Nova Scotia as a winter storm hit eastern Canada.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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