The Conservative Party stands to make gains in Quebec in the next election, according to a poll released yesterday that sheds light on the Harper government's apparent hurry to go to the polls and attempt to win a majority.

A Quebec think tank with a blue-chip business board of directors has waded into a controversial Canadian political issue by coming out in favour of bulk water exports.''Large-scale exports of fresh water would be a wealth-creating idea for Quebec and for Canada as a whole,'' the Montreal Economic Institute said yesterday. ''It is urgent to look seriously at developing our blue gold.''

Coke may be the official brand of the Olympics, but in Quebec, Pepsi still gets the gold. The Choice of a New Generation has beaten the Real Thing in the distinct society, well, almost since those were the taglines for the world's cola category killers. It's the opposite in the rest of Canada, and indeed almost everywhere else in the world.

A Quebec department store chain pulled its back-to-school catalogue and issued an apology this week after a stream of complaints by Quebeckers who found the models too thin.

The mess of fries, cheese 'n' gravy known as poutine has become a cultural icon – so much so that two Quebec towns lay claim to it

Three landmarks in the western Quebec village of Chapeau were destroyed by fire early yesterday.About 40 firefighters battled the blaze that broke out around 3 a.m. Allumette Island Fire Chief Virgil Dayment says the 140-year-old buildings were completely engulfed when firefighters arrived.

Mixing fries and gravy together under a heap of cheese curds in Quebec is known as the recipe for poutine. It also turns out to be a recipe for a good old-fashioned dispute.

Voter ambivalence in split federalist-separatist riding highlights the problems all parties face.

The Conservative candidate was just into the first sip of a water break when the voters started popping by with free advice. In the process, they showed the distance Stephen Harper will have to run to build a majority government from pieces of the 450 area code surrounding Montreal, even among federalist ranks.

Quebec's cheap and abundant electric power has lured one of the world's biggest solar power firms to the province. Norway's Renewable Energy Corp. said yesterday it plans to build a plant in Becancour, just across the St. Lawrence River from Trois-Rivieres, where it will produce polysilicon used in the manufacture of electronics, wafers and solar cells.

No criminal charges will be laid in the death of an Italian immigrant in police custody two days after he was shocked four times with a stun gun.Crown prosecutors say there is no evidence Quebec City police used more force than necessary in apprehending Claudio Castagnetta last September.

Since I've spent a lot of time travelling and writing about it, people sometimes ask me what trips are like when you're no longer a single footloose backpacker but the mother of a four-year-old boy.

No-fly zones for fruit flies

Why do we bend over backward to accommodate Quebec's obsession with opting out of our national health initiatives?

Young hockey players in Quebec are going to think twice about using their hockey gloves as boxing gloves after strict new penalties were announced yesterday to curb on-ice violence.

Canada's provincial health ministers announced last week the creation of a national organ-donation and transplant system.It is a welcome and long-overdue initiative but, when the system is up and running, it will not really be national.

Chief Justice of Quebec Michel Robert illustrates how dramatically the relationship between judges and the press has changed

Chief justice Antonio Lamer considered it the most important decision in the history of the Supreme Court of Canada. For this country, it could mean the difference between life and death.

Quebec will spend nearly $2-billion to maintain its bit part in the nuclear industry by sprucing up a power plant some charge is too old, too small and too dangerous to merit a new lease on life.

In a single, spontaneous outburst during a panel session at a judges' conference yesterday, Chief Justice of Quebec Michel Robert illustrated how dramatically the relationship between judges and the press has changed.