Gordon Ramsay's first and only restaurant in Canada has severed its ties with the chef, ditching his name from its title and ripping up its contract after claiming he was not devoting enough time to the venture.

Jack Layton, a career politician, was the charismatic leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP), Canada's new opposition party. With his boundless energy and folksy yet feisty no-nonsense approach, he had battled cancer and a hip replacement to lead his left-of-centre party to an historic victory in last May's federal election. He had brought hope and optimism to federal politics and was arguably at the height of his political career.

Andy Murray was at a loss to explain why he was always on the back foot as he went down to a miserable 6-3 6-1 defeat to Kevin Anderson in the Rogers Cup in Montreal.

It's a good job the Duchess of Cambridge has been brushing up on her French. William and Catherine have been told to expect vocal protests from republicans and French-speaking separatists when their first overseas royal tour reaches Quebec this weekend.

The follow-up to Dickner's debut novel, Nikolski, follows the fortunes of 17-year-old Canadian Mickey, the scion of a cement dynasty, and Hope, a redhead who has just moved into town with her survivalist mother.

If you are a young professional, without a job or have lost your bonus, then Quebec could be the place for you.

At less than seven hours from the UK, the province of Québec is closer than you think! With great shopping, fabulous cuisine and passion for life, Montréal and Québec City are gateways to Québec's Great Outdoors.

Jacques Hétu died just too soon to enjoy the first performance of his Fifth Symphony, on 3 March, with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra under its chief conductor Peter Oundjian. But he did not want for public hearings: although his music is unfamiliar in Britain, he was one of the most frequently performed of all contemporary Canadian composers.

Authorities in Canada today said they have found the bodies of all four members of a family who went missing after their house was swallowed by a gaping sinkhole.

"Where are the tepees?" It wasn't a subtle question from our three-year old, but one that's possibly on the minds of a few visitors to Quebec's Hotel-Musée Premières Nations, given that this hotel has not only been built by the Huron-Wendat, one of Canada's pre-eminent First Nations, but also is largely owned and run by them too. This four-star hotel is all about celebrating indigenous North American culture, and is set in a wooden longhouse-style building constructed with traditional materials and techniques. It's also about refined-rustic elegance and modern comforts. There's not a wigwam in sight, but there is a gourmet restaurant and a hi-tech annex museum.

Julian Hall on the Just for Laughs comedy festival in Montreal. Plus: nominate your favourite cultural moments of 2009.

I'm the cycle snob who looks down his nose at hapless riders and their rubbish bikes. But during a recent trip to Montreal I was the one eliciting scornful glances from local pedal pushers. Not because my bike was rubbish – it wasn't bad – but because, with my spidery limbs and hunched form, I looked like I'd ridden out of a Quentin Blake illustration.

A Canadian hit man whose victims included bikers, Mafiosi and innocent bystanders pleaded guilty to 27 charges of first-degree murder in a case that makes him one of Canada's most prolific killers.

The Québecois produce the most remarkable stories. I’m only here a couple of days and – bingo! – old Bill Fisk’s ghost awakes me once more. From the age of five, I would be forced to listen to Bill’s recitation of English history and, far too often, of the courage of General James Wolfe.