Canada on Friday ordered back its heads of mission in Israel and Ramallah, as well as its envoys to the United Nations and Geneva, over Palestine's bid for an upgraded status at the United Nations.

"Canada is deeply disappointed but not surprised by yesterday's result at the United Nations General Assembly," Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said in a statement.

Canada's environment minister unveiled Tuesday new regulations to improve fuel efficiency and halve the greenhouse gas emissions of passenger vehicles and light trucks.

The tougher standards, which must still be approved by parliament, would apply to model years 2017 to 2025 and align Canada's regulatory regime with the United States.

An army of rice-grain-sized beetles, attracted by warming weather, has moved into Canada's western forests, where its tree massacre is causing the mercury to rise yet further, a study said Sunday.

The voracious horde of mountain pine beetles has invaded about 170,000 square kilometers (65,000 square miles) -- a fifth of the forest area of British Columbia, Canada's western-most province, a research team wrote in the journal Nature Geoscience.

Canada's federal government allowed the approval process to proceed Monday for the generic form of the highly-addictive painkiller OxyContin, a move that set off a quick outcry from the country's provinces and aboriginal communities.

Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq rejected a plea from Canada's provinces, which unanimously requested a delay of approval until regulators could examine the abuse of oxycodone. Ontario asked for a complete ban on the drug, which has caused widespread addictions in Canada's rural and tribal communities.

Billionaire Saudi Prince Walid bin Talal's Kingdom Holding investment group said Saturday it has purchased the luxury hotel Four Seasons Toronto, Canada for $200 million.

"The transaction was funded by a $130 million mortgage loan while $70 million came from (the company's) own resources," Hazem al-Dosari, a Kingdom Holding Company spokesman, told AFP.

Canada's natural resources minister said Tuesday a report that says the U.S. will become the world's largest oil producer by the end of the decade should serve as a wake-up call that illustrates the pressing need for Canada to diversify its energy exports.

The International Energy Agency reported this week the U.S. will become the world's largest oil producer by around 2020 as new exploration technologies help find more resources. The energy watchdog also predicted that greater oil and natural gas production, as well as more efficient use of energy, will allow the U.S. to become largely energy self-sufficient by 2035.

Fear of a 2008-style financial catastrophe is holding back the global economic recovery but investors must show more confidence, Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Wednesday.

Businesses worldwide want to invest but are "holding back because they fear something strange and unexpected could happen", the Canadian leader said in speech inaugurating the Indian World Economic Forum in New Delhi.

More than 130,000 homes and businesses in Canada were without power Tuesday morning after massive storm Sandy knocked down trees and power lines.

One woman was reported killed by flying debris as winds were clocked at more than 100 kilometers (62 miles) per hour Monday evening. Police said the woman was struck by a falling sign in Toronto.

Superstorm Sandy finally weakened on Tuesday but only after leaving a trail of destruction from the Caribbean to Canada with almost 100 dead, New York in chaos and millions without power.

The storm, which claimed 67 lives in the Caribbean and at least 32 in the United States and Canada, has left an uncertain impact on the U.S. presidential race, striking one week before the nation votes in a cliffhanger election.

A 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck the coast of western Canada, several hours after a powerful temblor nearby sparked a tsunami warning and sent Hawaiians scrambling, U.S. seismologists said Sunday.

The quake hit at 1854 GMT Sunday at a depth of 5.1 miles (8.2 kilometers) in Canada's Queen Charlotte Islands region north of Vancouver, the U.S. Geological Survey said.