National News

With 10 days left for candidates to enter the Conservative party leadership race — and 20 before $300,000 worth in fees are due — what's capturing the attention of those watching as of late are the crowds.

TORONTO — No winning ticket was sold for the $44.5 million jackpot in Friday's Lotto Max draw. The jackpot for the next draw on Apr. 12 will grow to an estimated $50 million and there will be two Maxmillions prizes of $1 million each up for grabs.

Canada's foreign affairs minister is travelling to Asia for meetings to expand partnerships and engage with nations as part of the government's forthcoming Canadian Indo-Pacific Strategy. Mélanie Joly says she will visit Indonesia and Vietnam.

EDMONTON — Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault has written a letter to his Alberta counterpart to correct what he calls errors in Jason Nixon's recent newspaper column.

OTTAWA — The Canadian auto industry says federal budget programs for electric vehicles and charging stations aren't enough to reach the government's ambitious new sales targets.

OTTAWA — Holocaust denial is to be outlawed in Canada, in a further effort to stamp out rising antisemitism.

OTTAWA — The Liberal budget laid out money for a new dental care program Thursday, but not necessarily a plan. Now that $5.3 billion is on the table, the government has just shy of nine months to drill into the details and deliver.

QUEBEC — A former Quebec judge whose 2012 conviction of fatally shooting his wife was overturned last year by the federal justice minister won't face a new trial, the Quebec Superior Court ruled Friday.

MONTREAL — Police determined there was a low level of danger outside the Montreal venue on election night in 2012 where a gunman shot and killed a lighting technician, according to a retired provincial police officer who helped oversee security.

OTTAWA — Canada's premiers say they're disappointed the federal government didn't put forward a sustainable plan to financially shore up the country's ailing health systems in its newly tabled budget.