A Russian diplomat who was allegedly stabbed by a Canadian army reservist last week has left Canada, police confirmed Monday after the soldier was granted bail.

Ottawa police Constable Marc Soucy told Agence France Presse the Russian embassy worker identified in court documents as Andrey Gorobets "has left the country."

A snowstorm paralyzed eastern Canada on Thursday, causing highway car pileups, flight cancellations and school closures.

As much as 40 centimeters (16 inches) of snow fell from Wednesday afternoon to Thursday morning in parts of Canada's Ontario, Quebec and Maritime provinces.

Canada on Wednesday formally ended military operations in Afghanistan when a small training mission closed in Kabul three years after its combat troops withdrew from action.

Canada initially committed troops to Afghanistan in 2001 and was involved in heavy fighting against Taliban militants in the violent south of the country until 2011.

The White House will deliver two cases of beer to the Canadian Embassy on Monday after US President Barack Obama lost an Olympic ice hockey bet to Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Canada's men beat their fierce local rivals 1-0 in the semi-finals in Sochi, Russia last month while the women's team stormed back to see off the US 3-2 and snatch gold.

U.S. border authorities unveiled a new set of guidelines Friday in an effort to drastically reduce instances of agents shooting at moving vehicles or at migrants throwing rocks, reversing a policy that left several dead.

Border Patrol Chief Michael Fisher ordered customs and border agents not to shoot at vehicles when their occupants are fleeing and also barred officials from placing themselves in the path of a vehicle or using their body to block its path.

Canada's mostly French-speaking Quebec province announced Wednesday it will hold snap elections on April 7, with the ruling separatist Parti Quebecois leading in public opinion polls.

Quebec Premier Pauline Marois, who has led a fragile Parti Quebecois minority government over the past 18 months, will be seeking her first majority in the province's legislature.

Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Tuesday ordered the suspension of joint military exercises with Russia, over Moscow's troop intervention in Ukraine's Crimea region.

"I have this morning directed that, effective immediately, all planned bilateral activities between the Canadian Armed Forces and the military of the Russian Federation be suspended," Harper said in a statement.

Russia's Vladimir Putin has agreed to a proposal from Angela Merkel to set up a contact group on Ukraine, the German government said Sunday.

The German chancellor put the proposal to Putin in a telephone conversation late Sunday in which she also "accused the Russian president of violating international law with the unacceptable Russian intervention in Crimea," said a government statement.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper threatened Saturday he may join Washington in snubbing June's G8 summit in Russia over the country's military incursion into Ukraine, and recalled his ambassador to Moscow.

The Russian parliament's decision to give Putin the green light to send troops into neighboring Ukraine triggered international outcry.

Canada closed its embassy in Kiev on Wednesday after fierce clashes left at least 26 people dead in Ukraine, where anti-government protesters were locked in a stand-off with riot police.

"As a security precaution, and to ensure the protection of all staff, our mission in Kiev will be closed until further notice," foreign ministry spokesman Adam Hodge told Agence France Presse.