Shopping for Christmas gifts has never been easier — but choosing the perfect toys for your little ones has also never been more challenging. With so many stores and online shops at your fingertips, and more toy options than Santa could have ever imagined, deciding what to put under the tree is no easy feat. To ease some of that bah humbug-inducing burden, we’ve compiled a snapshot of some of this year’s most in-demand holiday finds for kids of all ages. Read More

OTTAWA — When Marie-Philippe Bouchard was first approached to throw her name into the running to become the next president of CBC/Radio-Canada, she declined.  Read More

Thanks largely to an outcry from the public, Newfoundland’s largest mall reversed its decision to prohibit the Salvation Army from fundraising in the shopping centre this holiday season and in years to come due to its religious affiliation. Read More

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau defended his government's decision to dole out $250 cheques to working Canadians, arguing that many of them have been left out of targeted programs meant to help seniors and young families in recent years. Read More

Jewish educators say they are alarmed after finding out that the Manitoba teachers' union cancelled a professional development talk about antisemitism in schools. Read More

The family of a woman who was killed by her husband, a former fire captain in Brampton, Ont., told the judge at a sentencing hearing this week they were still "shattered" about the "monstrous" murder. Read More

A new Vancouver-based study suggests that many “safer supply” patients are diverting their taxpayer-funded opioids to the black market and are possibly being dishonest to researchers about defrauding the system. Worse yet, it appears that safer supply may not be as effective at separating addicts from street drugs as advocates claim, even though the entire point of the program, as described by Health Canada, is to provide “a safer alternative to the toxic illegal drug supply” Read More

A recall of has been issued for American cucumbers that have also made their way north of the 49th parallel into Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan. Read More

Notorious killer Paul Bernardo faced the Parole Board of Canada for the third time this week. Read More

OTTAWA — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said Thursday she's once again taking Ottawa to court over the revised Impact Assessment Act, saying that amendments made to the federal legislation earlier this year don't make it constitutional. Read More

Five years after a catastrophic fire reduced Notre Dame Cathedral to a smouldering shell, The Associated Press entered the Gothic masterpiece for a first glimpse of its fully restored interiors during a visit with French President Emmanuel Macron that was broadcast to the public. The transformation is nothing short of breathtaking: light dances across brilliant stone, gilded accents gleam anew, and the Gothic icon's majesty is reborn. From Dec. 8, visitors will once again marvel at the cathedral's blend of history and craftsmanship. Read More

A cryptocurrency entrepreneur who bought a piece of conceptual art consisting of a simple banana, duct-taped to a wall, for $6.2 million last week ate the fruit in Hong Kong on Friday. Read More

As Australia moves to ban social media for children under 16, Quebec is debating whether to follow suit. Read More

Black Friday deals have arrived early at Sephora, offering beauty enthusiasts significant savings on popular makeup, hair, skincare and fragrance brands. Read More

First Reading is a daily newsletter keeping you posted on the travails of Canadian politicos, all curated by the National Post’s own Tristin Hopper. To get an early version sent directly to your inbox, sign up here. Read More

An elaborate and truly Griswoldian Christmas light show held annually at a southern Ontario home, drawing hundreds of spectators to the subdivision each night, won’t be going ahead this year and the family that puts it on is blaming the municipality for its demise. Read More

As the quondam-and-coming president shifts toward governing mode, anxiety will mark Canadian commentary, as even this week an emergency first ministers’ meeting assesses the tariff-tip of the America First spear hurled northward by Donald Trump. Read More

On Thursday, the Alberta government announced that it has asked the Alberta Court of Appeal to provide an opinion on whether the newly amended federal Impact Assessment Act (IAA) is constitutional. The problem? The things that rendered much of the act unconstitutional, which had been pointed out by the Supreme Court last fall, were never addressed. Read More

A nation’s moral character is defined by how it treats its minorities. By this measure, Canada’s treatment of its Jewish population today raises grave concerns. Over the past decade, our national identity and the values we once upheld have eroded. Who are we as Canadians? This loss of identity has created a void, exploited by Canada’s detractors to instill values that clash with the country we once knew.  Read More