TORONTO - A Pillsbury brand Pizza Pop may not seem like an obvious candidate for E. coli – given the freezing and heating that goes on before it reaches the consumer's lips – but foodborne illness experts say it's not that simple. 

A public health notice Monday stated 20 people got sick and four have been hospitalized in Canada between early October and late November after eating or handling certain pepperoni and bacon Pizza Pops. 

April Hexemer, director of the outbreak management division at the Public Health Agency of Canada, said for every case that is lab confirmed there are an estimated 32 more undetected in the community. 

"We estimate that there's several hundred illnesses associated with this outbreak at this time," she said. 

OTTAWA - U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs — and the spike in Canadian nationalism they inspired — are being described as the "dominant story" of 2025.

The tariffs story was selected as The Canadian Press News Story of the Year in an annual survey of editors and news directors in media organizations from across Canada.

Here's what voters had to say:

"There isn't a single Canadian, I believe, who hasn't felt the impact of the tariff war. It is the dominant story of 2025."

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says 20 people have been made sick and four hospitalized after an outbreak of E. coli  infections linked to Pillsbury brand Pizza Pops.

The agency says those who became ill range in age from 1 to 87 and live in B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and New Brunswick.

A national recall announced Sunday covers Pizza Pops pepperoni and bacon pizza snacks sold in 760-gram and 2.85-kilogram packages, with best-before dates of June 9 and 10, 2026, are affected.

It includes Pizza Pops Supremo Extreme pepperoni and bacon snacks in three-kilogram boxes with best-before dates between June 10 and 12, and Pizza Pops Frank's RedHot Pepperoni and Bacon sold in 380-gram packages with a best-before date of June 14.

QUÉBEC - Quebec Premier François Legault is finishing 2025 with his party running in third place in the polls, behind the Parti Québécois and the Liberals. The polling caps off a difficult year that saw his party lose six legislature members, including five who are now sitting as Independents. 

With just nine months until the next provincial election, here are five things to know about the premier's tough year.

The deficit "Super King"

Legault was given that unflattering nickname by the Liberals after his Coalition Avenir Québec party announced a record $13.6-billion deficit in March. Days later, credit agency Standard & Poor’s lowered the province's credit rating for the first time in 30 years. Opposition parties have accused Legault of mishandling public finances, citing a $46-million engineering contract relating to a controversial project to build a third span across the St. Lawrence River connecting Quebec City and its south shore, and millions of dollars in losses due to the failure of the Northvolt electric battery plant project.

ALERT BAY - Police in British Columbia say they have prevented a fraud scheme targeting a First Nation on northern Vancouver Island that had redirected more than $400,000 to a fake bank account.

Alert Bay RCMP say the case was first reported by the Namgis First Nation on May 13, where $406,000 meant for contractors in the construction of a new wellness and treatment centre was redirected by a fraudulent email to the fake account.

Police say co-ordination with authorities in Eastern Canada resulted in a freeze placed on a bank account allegedly operated by an organized crime group.

Officers from Alert Bay then led the execution of a search warrant on a home in Aurora, Ont., where they uncovered suspected counterfeit currency, forged documents, electronic devices and other items linked to organized financial crime networks.

MONTREAL - Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers say they have reached tentative agreements. 

The deals announced Monday cover both the Urban Postal Operations and Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers bargaining units. 

CUPW's national board is recommending members accept the deals during ratification votes set to be held in early 2026. 

"These outcomes reflect the strength and solidarity of postal workers," CUPW national president Jan Simpson said.