Tuesday, February 10, 2026
ADVT 
National

O'Toole staffer tests positive for COVID-19

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 16 Sep, 2020 05:59 PM
  • O'Toole staffer tests positive for COVID-19

Federal Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole says he, his family and some party workers are in self-isolation after an aide tested positive for COVID-19.

A statement from the party says the O'Tooles are getting tested, informing the Opposition leader's recent contacts and keeping his son home.

"My family and I are feeling well, but we take COVID-19 very seriously," O'Toole said in the statement.

"Today was going to be Jack’s first day back at school, but instead we will be getting tested and self-isolating per public health guidelines. The health and safety of my family and all Canadians is my top priority."

O'Toole was to appear at a party event in Alberta Wednesday evening, part of a mini-tour of the Conservative heartland in the West.

And he was just in Quebec, where he met Premier Francois Legault on Monday.

The Conservatives say the staffer who has the respiratory illness was travelling with him.

The federal parties are still sorting out how the House of Commons will function when it resumes next Wednesday. The Liberals favour a hybrid model, with some MPs in the chamber and others participating via videoconference with a mechanism for voting online.

The Conservatives have been arguing for MPs to participate in person only, with limits on the number of members in the chamber at a time and staggered voting when it's needed.

Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet is also in self-isolation, awaiting the results of his own COVID-19 test after both his spouse and an aide tested positive for the illness.

Blanchet's aide's positive test, a few days after the Bloc caucus met in person in St-Hyacinthe, Que., prompted dozens of MPs and party workers to isolate themselves.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau tested positive for COVID-19 early in the pandemic but recovered.

MORE National ARTICLES

Fisheries industry getting financial support

Fisheries industry getting financial support
The federal government has announced details of a $469-million program aimed at helping Canada's fish harvesters deal with the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fisheries industry getting financial support

Lebanese-Canadian group raises money for Beirut

Lebanese-Canadian group raises money for Beirut
Lebanese-Canadians who watched in horror as an explosion tore through Beirut turned their attention to fundraising on Wednesday, saying it was one of the few things they could do to feel useful from the other side of the world.

Lebanese-Canadian group raises money for Beirut

WE controversy hits Trudeau's support: Poll

WE controversy hits Trudeau's support: Poll
Nearly half of Canadians would support an election being called if the federal watchdog finds Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to have violated the Conflict of Interest Act again over the WE charity affair, a new poll suggests.

WE controversy hits Trudeau's support: Poll

Feds free up billions for COVID-19 retrofits

Feds free up billions for COVID-19 retrofits
The federal government is moving ahead with plans to make it easier for provinces and territories to spend billions of dollars on infrastructure projects to address the challenges posed by COVID-19.

Feds free up billions for COVID-19 retrofits

New type of housing for homeless coming to B.C.

New type of housing for homeless coming to B.C.
The British Columbia government and the City of Vancouver are trying a new way to help get homeless people off the streets with the country's first-ever navigation centre.

New type of housing for homeless coming to B.C.

Worker killed at northwestern B.C. mine

Worker killed at northwestern B.C. mine
A worker has been killed during maintenance at a gold mine in northwestern British Columbia, north of Stewart.

Worker killed at northwestern B.C. mine