Beyond Local

CALGARY — United Conservative Leader Danielle Smith says a candidate who compared transgender students in schools to feces in food would have "a lot of work to do" to find her way into the party's caucus.

CALGARY — The WestJet Group averted a strike after reaching a last-minute deal with the airline's pilots early Friday, but not before cancelling hundreds of flights and upending the long weekend plans of thousands of passengers.

EDMONTON — Alberta's ethics commissioner says United Conservative Premier Danielle Smith undermined democracy and broke conflict-of-interest rules by intervening in a criminal case and pressuring her attorney general to "make it go away."

Officials urged caution ahead of the long weekend as thousands of residents in Western Canada and the Northwest Territories remained out of their homes due to wildfires.

OTTAWA — The sound of ceremonial bagpipes was drowned out by helicopters overhead Thursday morning as thousands of police officers saluted the funeral procession of Ontario Provincial Police Sgt. Eric Mueller, the 10th officer killed on the job in Canada in the last eight months.

LONDON (AP) — Queen Elizabeth II's funeral and lying-in-state last year cost Britain's government an estimated 162 million pounds (around $200 million), the treasury revealed Thursday.

NEW YORK (AP) — In an interview this week, Twitter owner Elon Musk said users making false claims of stolen elections “will be corrected” on the platform.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has highlighted efforts by Republican governors and statehouses across the country to embrace proposals limiting the rights of transgender people, signing new restrictions as he moves closer to a presidential bid.

OTTAWA — Canadian members of Parliament are mulling how vigorously and publicly they should challenge moves by Israel's far-right government to curtail the power of judges and expand illegal settlements on occupied Palestinian territory.

OTTAWA — Canada's financial intelligence agency is warning that Russians subject to economic sanctions due to Moscow's attack on Ukraine could try to evade them using shell companies, cryptocurrency and real-estate transactions.