Canada

May 30 (Reuters) - Alberta's election of conservative leader Danielle Smith puts her on a collision course with Canada's Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over climate policies that she claims will undermine the province's massive fossil fuel industry.

Smith, leader of the United Conservative Party (UCP), defeated left-leaning New Democratic Party leader Rachel Notley on Monday, and immediately targeted Trudeau, threatening the country's ambitious climate goals. 

May 21 (Reuters) - Alberta authorities hope cooler temperatures and showers forecast for the coming week will help firefighters battling blazes in the oil-rich Canadian province, although storms could complicate efforts.

Amid hot, dry conditions, forecasters were tracking a front likely to move into the province on Sunday that should bring much-needed relief, including humidity and even rain, Christie Tucker, information unit manager at Alberta Wildfire, said at a Saturday briefing.

OTTAWA, May 20 (Reuters) - Firefighters in Alberta are on high alert for a surge in blazes over a long weekend in the oil-rich Canadian province, which is enduring throttled energy production, home evacuations and property damage after an intense start to the wildfire season.

Record-high temperatures and lack of rain this year have led to widespread fires burning nearly 830,000 hectares (2 million acres) of land in Alberta, about 10 times the size of the province's largest city, Calgary, according to Alberta Wildfire.

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Canada’s second-largest airline, WestJet, and its pilots union say they have reached a last-minute deal, averting a strike on Friday before a holiday weekend in the country.

A statement from the Air Line Pilots Association says union leaders voted to approve an agreement-in-principle, with a membership vote to begin in the coming days.

The airline had grounded the bulk of its fleet Thursday, including for its Swoop subsidiary, parking their 130 planes at airports across Canada and leaving thousands of travelers in limbo across the country.

TORONTO, May 16 (Reuters) - Tinder-dry weather and shifting winds in Alberta on Tuesday elevated the risk of spreading wildfires in the Canadian oil-producing province where thousands have already been forced from their homes.

Some 90 wildfires are active in Alberta, with 23 out of control, according to the provincial government. At one point the fires pushed more than 30,000 people out of their homes while oil and gas producers shut in at least 319,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, or 3.7% of national production.

OTTAWA, May 13 (Reuters) - Canada's main oil-producing province of Alberta is bracing for another hot and dry weekend, with warnings of more intense wildfires after a week of volatile weather forced thousands to evacuate homes and shuttered energy production.

Special alerts have been declared across western Canada, where officials have urged vigilance as temperatures in some areas are forecast to hit 30° Celsius (86°F), or 10 to 15 degrees more than usual.

OTTAWA, May 9 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday Canada will not be intimidated by retaliation from China after Beijing expelled a Canadian diplomat in a tit-for-tat response to Ottawa's decision to eject a Chinese diplomat on Monday.

Canada expelled Chinese diplomat Zhao Wei over allegations related to foreign interference, and hours later, China asked a Canadian diplomat in Shanghai to leave by May 13 in response to what it called Ottawa's "unreasonable actions".

TORONTO (AP) — The Canadian government is expelling a Chinese diplomat whom Canada’s spy agency alleged was involved in a plot to intimidate an opposition lawmaker and his relatives in Hong Kong.

A senior government official said Toronto-based diplomat Zhao Wei has five days to leave the country. The official spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. It’s wasn’t immediately clear if he’s left yet.

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Fire crews battled wildfires threatening communities in western Canada on Sunday as cooler temperatures and a bit of rain brought some relief, but officials warned the reprieve came only in some areas.

Officials in Alberta said there were 108 active fires in the province and the number of evacuees grew to about 29,000, up from approximately 24,000 Saturday, when a provincewide state of emergency was declared.

TORONTO, May 6 (Reuters) - Alberta on Saturday declared a provincial state of emergency after tens of thousands of Albertans have been forced to evacuate their homes as "unprecedented" wildfires rage on in Alberta, Premier Danielle Smith, head of the ruling United Conservative Party (UCP) said at a press conference.

By Saturday at 5 p.m. Mountain Time (7 p.m. ET), more than 24,000 Albertans had been evacuated from their homes, with 110 active wildfires across the province, and 36 out of control.