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Alberta separatists lost the vote. They'll continue their fight inside Danielle Smith's party

Jason Markusoff — Wed, 21 Oct 2026 11:00:00 GMT

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith waits to greet supporters as she attends a UCP fundraiser in June in Calgary. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)

Premier Danielle Smith has long expressed a desire to put the separatist issue to rest after the referendum. United Conservative Party activists stand in the way of her wish.

Now that the broad Alberta public has decisively rejected the separatist idea, the debate is returning to where it began: within Smith’s own political coalition.

The more energy she must expend on taming UCP turbulence and any challenges to her leadership, the less time she can spend on actual government priorities. And could the disappearance of the UCP’s lead in the polls and the NDP’s recent byelection victory in what used to be a cabinet minister’s safe seat be a sign that Albertans have noticed her focus appears to be more on her base than on everyone else?

In a videotaped speech Smith released Tuesday evening, she asserted her government has a “clear mandate” to support a united Canada, and begin the “next chapter.” And the country’s current state, with pro-pipeline Mark Carney as prime minister, is one the premier believes could soothe the disillusionment that created the recent push for independence.

“So tonight I want to invite every Albertan who may still feel hopeless or frustrated with the past direction of our country, to believe and hope in Canada again,” she said.

“Because although our country isn’t perfect and there is still much work to be done, I believe that Canada is on the rise again.”

That’s a video message aimed at separatists and many of her own partisans, who appear to have become synonymous.

Surveys suggest that Alberta independence is a phenomenon almost solely contained inside the United Conservative voter base and party membership.

And the referendum results appear to bear that out: the province’s major cities wanted to stay in Canada, and so did almost all rural ridings, as UCP-friendly as they are.

Independence supporters watch for voting results in the referendum on separation. Their side only mustered one-quarter of the votes. (John Ulan/The Canadian Press)

The western Canadian unity question will no longer preoccupy international media, and no longer pose the threat to business and investor certainty that chamber of commerce types have discussed.

But certainty for the premier’s future and her party’s direction? That’s not as clear — not after so many thousand United Conservatives pursued independence, as their party leader promoted Canadian unity alongside Prime Minister Mark Carney.

“Our own government is working against a large percentage of its base,” said Mitch Sylvestre the day after Albertans voted “remain” by a three-to-one margin. He’s not only the leader of the separatist group Alberta Prosperity Project, he’s also a prominent organizer within the UCP.

“They've made a decision, and, you know, they're going to have to live with the consequences.”

He and APP fellow traveller Jeff Rath have mused about trying to push Smith out of the party leadership.

On Tuesday, he also spoke of taking his separatist cadre out of the UCP if it can’t transform the party into a pro-separatist vehicle.

Throughout his lengthy campaign for a pro-independence citizen’s petition and then to have a true “leave” referendum, Sylvestre said he didn’t want to split the party “because I didn't want to split up the vote.”

“But at some point, you know, at some point you have to decide that if that's not working, then you have to go another direction.”

Smith will have to fight to keep the separatists and federalists within the same tent, and there are early indications that a pro-Smith, anti-separatist movement will line up behind her in that fight.

Behind federalist Danielle Smith, many of her party's senior organizers back separatism

Moderates and old Progressive Conservatives from that side of the Wildrose/PC unity party may show up in force at late November’s annual UCP convention to rival what their more hardened conservative counterparts used to term “the freedom movement.”

Smith has reported that 6,900 party members have already registered to attend the Calgary gathering — more than showed up at last year’s gathering or at 2024’s, when she campaigned for and secured a 91.5 per cent support vote in a leadership review.

Mitch Sylvestre was an influential figure at the 2024 UCP convention, and intends to be the same again this November. (Jason Markusoff/CBC)

Discontent after the referendum defeat may push more UCP riding associations to demand another leadership review, following on the lead of the Highwood and Calgary-Buffalo constituencies. But there have been several more pulling in a pro-Smith direction, passing resolutions in support of Smith’s continuing leadership and against a leadership review.

Two factions showing up in force, each trying to overwhelm the other? That could be a recipe for even more friction than has been on display at past gatherings, especially now that the fault line isn't PC and Wildrose — it's federalist and separatist.

But while APP’s Sylvestre and Rath may be more resolved to break up the UCP if that’s what it takes, they don’t stand for all separatists in a movement that’s wide-ranging and leaderless (and as of Monday, officially defeated and perhaps somewhat demoralized).

Sylvestre attended Saturday’s rally at the legislature, but wasn’t asked to speak alongside other top organizers and an Ultimate Fighting Championship mixed martial artist.

Chris Scott, frontman of Let’s Talk Alberta, believes Sylvestre has his own political ambitions and ideas that others don’t share.

“He thinks that if somehow the UCP has a hard-core, independence-minded, Alberta sovereigntist as premier, that they will get a better outcome on a referendum,” Scott said.

He believes that won’t happen, at least not quickly after a 25 per cent vote for Option 2.

Scott said it might be more of a long march now toward the independence he believes is inevitable. He’s applied to run for a spot on the UCP’s board of directors at the convention, in hopes he can help push the party along that road.

Scott agreed that Smith’s internal support is in trouble, but said she could shore it up by more firmly supporting the “sovereign Alberta within a United Canada” that she’s long spoken of — beyond the immigration or judicial selection powers she’s proposed with some of her other nine referendum questions.

By that, the Let’s Talk Alberta activist means starting Alberta’s own tax collection and pension agencies.

Smith already floated those ideas through the Alberta Next panel last year, and found them unpopular. They probably couldn’t marshal popular support any more than Alberta independence.

WATCH | Alberta premier's message to Option 2 voters:

Danielle Smith has a message for pro-independence voters

10 hours ago|

1:51

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is asking those who voted for a referendum on separation to believe in Canada again.

And at the same time as Smith works toward survival beyond her party’s convention, there are other dates to eyeball.

Now that Oct. 19 is behind Smith, United Conservatives (and their rivals) will pivot toward Oct. 18. The one on next year’s calendar: the fixed date for the 2027 Alberta election.

Behind federalist Danielle Smith, many of her party's senior organizers back separatism

NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi repeated Tuesday his accusations that Smith’s referendum machinations are just for her own self-preservation, and that the decline of public faith in Smith has buoyed his own party’s prospects for victory.

“Every time Danielle Smith is offered the choice to do what’s right for Alberta or do what’s right for Danielle Smith, she’ll pick Danielle Smith every single time,” Nenshi told reporters.

This may be a rare case on which Alberta separatists and the NDP leader agree: that they don’t reckon Alberta’s premier can put the big national unity question behind her.

Australian MP loses both legs after alleged vehicle attack as suspect appears in court

CBC — Wed, 21 Oct 2026 10:15:16 GMT

Helen Haines, an independent lawmaker in Australia, was struck twice by a car on Monday outside her electoral office, Wangaratta, northeast of Melbourne on Monday. (Mick Tsikas/AAP/Reuters)

Australian lawmaker Helen Haines has had both legs amputated after being rammed by a car outside her electoral office, her husband said on Wednesday, as the man accused of the attack appeared in court.

Doctors amputated Haines's left leg after she was struck twice by a car in Wangaratta, northeast of Melbourne, on Monday, Phil Haines said. They worked for days to save her right leg but were ultimately unsuccessful, he told a news conference in Melbourne.

"The good news in all this is Helen is alive and she's stable. That is the most important thing for our family," he said.

Brendan Nugent, a 43-year-old resident of the rural town of Tarrawingee within Haines's electorate, was charged with three offences: dangerous driving causing serious injury, intentionally causing serious injury, and causing harm to a public official.

Additional charges of cannabis cultivation and possession have also been laid against Nugent, court filings showed.

Phil Haines, left, Haines's husband, speaks to reporters alongside Australia's Governor General Sam Mostyn in Melbourne. (William West/AFP/Getty Images)

The suspect was restrained by members of the public at the scene before being arrested.

Haines, an independent lawmaker who has championed causes including climate change and regional housing, remains in critical condition.

Police are still investigating the motive for the rare attack on an elected official.

Appears in court

During a brief court appearance on Wednesday, the accused's lawyer said his client suffers from a rare neurological condition called idiopathic transverse myelitis and was also being treated for concussion, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported. His lawyer told the magistrate his client had some mental health concerns and that it was his first time in custody.

There was no application for bail, and the case was deferred until Feb. 4.

Anti-terrorism police are among the agencies investigating the incident. While police allege the attack was "targeted," they say they believe it was an isolated incident.

There was no intelligence to suggest any threat to Haines, and the Australian Federal Police received no warning of any imminent danger from the alleged attacker, Commissioner Krissy Barrett told reporters.

"What I can say is we didn't have any specific intelligence that would have indicated something as atrocious as happened on Monday afternoon," she said.

Victoria state police said they could not find any direct past contact between Haines and the accused, with the motive still unknown.

"Motivation is one of these things that we absolutely need to explore. His motivation for this, what we allege is a deliberate attack, is very much a centerpiece of the investigation," Victoria Police Chief Mike Bush said.

Bush declined to comment on the man's mental health, saying the matter was before the court.

Man charged in vehicle attack on Australian MP

Haines had worked in nursing, midwifery and academia before being elected to Parliament in 2019 for the rural seat of Indi, which she retained in both 2022 and 2025.

Violent attacks on politicians are rare in Australia, where federal lawmakers, state leaders and even prime ministers are often seen shopping, grabbing coffee or attending community events with relatively little security.

However, concerns about politicians' safety have grown in recent years amid rising political polarization, online abuse and threats against elected officials, prompting calls for greater protections while preserving the accessibility that has long characterized Australian politics.

Housing market 'on its knees' as odds of Bank of Canada rate hike rise

Jeff Lagerquist — Wed, 21 Oct 2026 08:00:00 GMT

Experts say a rate hike from the Bank of Canada on Oct. 28 would have significant impacts on the country's battered real estate market. (Michel Aspirot/CBC/Radio-Canada)

The Bank of Canada has not raised interest rates since July 2023.

And while an eighth-consecutive hold is widely predicted next week, a growing number of economists and traders are now expecting the central bank to hike its trend-setting rate to tamp down stubborn inflation.

Mortgage and debt experts say higher rates would have significant impacts on Canada's sagging real estate market. Payments on variable-rate mortgages would rise immediately, along with rates for new fixed mortgages. The pool of eligible buyers would shrink, shifting power from sellers to those who can qualify for the financing needed to make a purchase. Home prices could dip lower.

"The housing market is kind of on its knees right now, and rising rates is like tossing a drowning guy an anchor," said Scott Terrio, manager of consumer insolvency at Ontario-based Hoyes Michalos & Associates.

He says a hike "would reverberate massively."

Could an interest rate hike see home prices fall?

The volume of home sales nationwide is currently at a 25-year low, says Ben Rabidoux of Ontario-based Edge Realty Analytics.

He describes confidence among buyers today as "unbelievably weak across the country," owing to a slew of economic uncertainties ranging from the Canada-U.S. trade war to the impact of AI on jobs.

"The reality is that when we look at per capita home sales, we're already back to 1990s levels, which [was] a really terrible recessionary environment."

On home prices, Rabidoux believes "a gradual grind lower over the next three or six months is very plausible" if interest rates start rising.

WATCH | How AI is changing the real estate business:

That perfect Ontario real estate listing might be staged by AI. Here's what to watch for

October 19|

3:08

If you've been looking to buy a home in Ontario, you may have seen a few listings where the furniture doesn't look quite right. That's because many of them are being staged virtually, using AI. Experts say there are benefits and drawbacks. CBC's Talia Ricci breaks down what you need to know.

Last week, the Canadian Real Estate Association downgraded its forecast for 2026 home sales activity for a third straight quarter.

The industry group referenced a "notably more hawkish tone from the Bank of Canada," as it called for 444,530 homes to be sold by year-end, a 5.2 per cent drop from 2025.

The Bank of Canada's policy rate has stood still at 2.25 per cent since a quarter-point cut in October 2025.

Governor Tiff Macklem has recently warned the bank may need to raise borrowing costs if energy prices remain elevated. On Saturday, he said there is "no resolution in sight for the conflict in the Middle East" that has roiled global energy markets for the past several months.

On Monday, the latest inflation data from Statistics Canada put a spotlight on soaring energy costs. The report showed rising fuel prices have yet to meaningfully spill into other sectors of the economy. However, the Bank of Canada's latest survey, also released on Monday, found businesses are bracing for higher prices.

Odds of rate hike 'not a slam dunk'

The consensus in a recent Bloomberg survey still points to a hold, but so far this week, the Bank of Montreal, RBC Dominion Securities and Desjardins Group have flipped their predictions for Oct. 28 from a hold to a hike.

According to Bloomberg data, traders in the overnight swap market now put the odds of a 25-basis point rate hike from the Bank of Canada next week at 87 per cent, up from 70 per cent earlier this week. Swap market data measures the gap between today's interest rate and the future rate traders are betting on.

WATCH | U.S. tariffs take toll:

Canada's economy still resilient, but U.S. trade war taking its toll

September 29|

2:00

Canada's economy has shown resilience in the face of punishing U.S. tariffs, but new import bans on a range of Canadian products are creating further drag. Accounting firm Deloitte has lowered its growth forecast for next year by 20 per cent.

Derek Holt, head of capital markets economics at Scotiabank, is among those calling for a rate hike.

"It's not a slam dunk call, but there is probably enough supporting evidence for a hike," he wrote in a research note on Monday.

Macquarie Group economist David Doyle agrees. He predicts the Bank of Canada will raise its policy rate by 125 basis points by the end of 2027.

"Our baseline case remains for a rate hike at this month's meeting," he wrote in a note to clients on Monday. "We continue to see a steady rate hike cycle ahead."

Leah Zlatkin, a licensed mortgage broker and an expert commentator with LowestRates.ca, agrees.

"If there is a hike, I do think it's gonna be a cycle," Zlatkin said.

She points to a recent price drop in the notoriously expensive Greater Toronto Area as a sign that now is a "good time to buy."

"There's a possibility [that] housing prices are going to continue falling, but the reality is, if you'll qualify for the property today, then you'll qualify again later on if rates rise."

Ryan Wedding ally 'Tupac,' who allegedly offered cosmetic surgery to locate murder target, requests bail

Thomas Daigle — Wed, 21 Oct 2026 08:00:00 GMT

Former Team Canada Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding, left, was captured in Mexico in January 2026 following a high-profile international search led by the FBI. Court documents name Atna Ohna, right, as a hitman for Wedding's purported drug-smuggling network. (U.S. Embassy Mexico; U.S. Attorney's Office, Central Distict of California)

A man with alleged ties to the Montreal underworld — who goes by the aliases Tupac and Kim Jong-Un — is asking to be released on bail, a year after he was arrested for allegedly helping accused cocaine kingpin Ryan Wedding set up the assassination of an FBI informant.

Atna Ohna, identified in court documents as a hitman for Wedding's purported drug-smuggling network, is scheduled to appear in Quebec Superior Court in Montreal for a two-day hearing beginning Wednesday.

U.S. federal prosecutors want Ohna extradited to stand trial in Los Angeles on conspiracy charges related to murder, drug trafficking and witness tampering.

Montreal police have described Ohna as one the city's most prominent organized crime figures.

According to Canadian court documents, Ohna made multiple efforts to help locate the target of Wedding's purported murder plot. One such attempt included enlisting the assistance of an acquaintance and telling her Wedding would pay for a "Brazilian butt lift" and breast augmentation surgery.

Montreal-born FBI witness Jonathan Acebedo-Garcia was killed in Medellin, Colombia, in January 2025. (Submitted by name withheld)

Ohna was purportedly given $150,000 cash, plus 30 kilograms cocaine and a bejewelled red necklace, for his role in tracking down the victim, Jonathan Acebedo-Garcia, court documents say. The former Wedding associate turned FBI informant was shot in the head while having lunch in Medellin, Colombia, in January 2025.

A U.S. grand jury later indicted Wedding, Ohna and others — including a self-described "cocaine lawyer," a crime blogger and an escort service operator — for their purported roles in orchestrating the killing.

The 41-year-old — whose last name is sometimes spelled Onha — has been in custody in Quebec and fighting extradition since his arrest last November as part of an FBI-led takedown targeting Wedding and his allies.

Ohna's lawyer, Danièle Roy, did not respond to requests for comment on the allegations surrounding her client.

In a separate case, Quebec Superior Court was shown a police surveillance photo of Ohna meeting in a Laval park in May 2020 with four men police identified as high-ranking organized crime figures, including Hells Angels members.

Ohna, second from right, is seen in this police surveillance photo taken in May 2020 in a park in Laval, Que. A court heard Ohna was seen meeting with high-ranking organized crime figures, including Hells Angels members Gilles Lambert and François Vachon. (Quebec Superior Court of Justice)

Minh Tri Truong, a former Montreal police commander, previously told Radio-Canada that Ohna himself has been the target of assassination plots.

"There have been several hits out on him," Truong said. "He's been warned multiple times."

According to court documents, Ohna goes by aliases including Tupac and Kim Jong-Un. (Radio-Canada)

Mysterious assassination in 2023

A summary of U.S. prosecutors' evidence against Wedding, Ohna and other defendants — filed in Quebec Superior Court amid extradition proceedings — suggests the man known as Tupac had worked for Wedding before.

The court documents state that a co-operating witness is expected to testify at trial that in November 2023, Ohna killed an unnamed "rival gang member" on behalf of Wedding. Neither defendant is charged in connection with the purported assassination.

That month, Hells Angels-linked crime boss Gregory Woolley was gunned down in a Lamborghini SUV in a parking lot in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que.

A separate, burnt-out vehicle believed to be connected to the shooting was later found on a Montreal street, 40 kilometres away.

The shooter has not been identified.

A burnt-out car on a Montreal sidestreet is thought to be connected to the shooting death of Gregory Woolley, a well-known organized crime figure in Quebec who was shot and killed in a parking lot in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., on Nov. 17, 2023. (Mathieu Wagner/CBC/Radio-Canada)

U.S. authorities allege Wedding and his second-in-command, Andrew Clark, led an international network of "sicarios" — contract killers — to eliminate perceived rivals of their $1-billion US cocaine empire.

Wedding, a former Team Canada Olympic snowboarder, was captured in Mexico last January and flown to California after a high-profile international search. He has pleaded not guilty to charges including conspiracy to export cocaine and murder in connection with a continuing criminal enterprise. He's set to stand trial next year.

CBC News previously reported Clark, a fellow Canadian known as The Dictator, also turned FBI informant after his arrest.

Although public records don't name Clark as the co-operating witness, lawyers for Ohna and another co-accused recently told a judge it's "obvious" that he must be the informant.

Wedding's second-in-command, fellow Canadian Andrew Clark, was arrested in Mexico in October 2024. (Omar García Harfuch/Facebook)

As for Ohna, court documents say he leveraged his connection to a Montreal woman — who wanted to date him — to obtain information on Acebedo-Garcia, the target of the 2025 murder plot.

At Wedding's request, U.S. prosecutors say Ohna later obtained Acebedo-Garcia's phone number and reached him through Threema, an encrypted messaging app.

How Ryan Wedding’s ‘right-hand man’ turned on him and helped take him down

Acebedo-Garcia purportedly acknowledged to Ohna he had been working with the FBI and said he had "no choice" but to co-operate.

He was shot in the head five times on Jan. 31, 2025, before the gunman took off on a motorcycle. The shooter has not been identified, but court documents suggest he may have been part of a hit squad hired through a Colombian crime syndicate once linked to the late drug lord Pablo Escobar.

CBC News senior reporter Thomas Daigle has extensively covered the case of Ryan Wedding. He can be reached by email at thomas.daigle@cbc.ca.

Prolonged, fragile recovery ahead for soldiers severely burned at CFB Wainwright

Wallis Snowdon — Wed, 21 Oct 2026 08:00:00 GMT

Emergency crews and military personnel at the Wainwright Health Centre as injured military members are treated after a fire at CFB Wainwright, outside of Wainwright, Alta., on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (John Ulan/The Canadian Press)

Soldiers badly burned when fire engulfed a military training field face a prolonged and fragile recovery that will test the strength of Alberta's health-care system, warn doctors on the frontline.

On Saturday afternoon, a dramatic change in winds at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright sent a low-burning grass fire racing toward soldiers doing live-fire training exercises, killing four and sending 39 to hospital, many of them with serious burns.

Doctors who specialize in treating severe burn injuries say the wounded soldiers face long, painful recoveries fraught with threats of infection, complicated wound care, respiratory issues and organ failure.

“Patients with large burn injuries will have hospital stays that will be counted not in days or weeks, but in months,” said Dr. Vincent Gabriel, medical director of the Calgary Firefighters Burn Treatment Centre at Foothills Hospital.

Scarce resources, few beds

It's one of two centres in Alberta that specialize in critical burn care, along with the Edmonton Firefighters Burn Treatment Unit at the University of Alberta Hospital. Each has just eight beds.

Gabriel did not speak specifically about the patients from CFB Wainwright, 200 kilometres southeast of Edmonton.

However, he said such mass burn casualty events can quickly overwhelm resources, raising critical concerns about capacity and care.

While Alberta’s burn centres can expand into other areas of the hospital — intensive care units, for example — staffing can only stretch so far, Gabriel said.

“Everyone in the burn community comes into this space extremely dedicated to the patient to a fault. But there is an upper limit really to the number of hours per day and how many people we have,” he said.

WATCH | Inside the Alberta hospital that cared for the wounded at Wainwright:

Wainwright Health Centre director describes mass casualty event at hospital | Hanomansing Live

October 19|

8:50

A lethal fire broke out at CFB Wainwright in Alberta on Saturday. Authorities say four members of the Canadian Armed Forces were killed and dozens more injured. Dr. Cheyanne Vetter, Wainwright Health Centre director, says the rollout plan that night was ‘extremely smooth’ while working with multiple nearby hospitals.

Treatment of severe burn victims is complex. Along with severe inflammation that strains internal organs, the threat of infection is considered the greatest danger, because the patient’s compromised skin has lost its protective ability.

Once patients are intubated to maintain their airways and stabilized with fluids and oxygen, only then can the work of repairing their wounds begin.

Treatment of multiple burn victims at once can quickly deplete inventories of specialized equipment and medical supplies, such as surgical instruments, dressings and skin substitutes, Gabriel said.

“In a mass casualty incident, you may use all of that you have."

Managing and sourcing these scarce resources often becomes a national and international effort, he added.

Multiple surgeries over many months

Treatment for patients like Cpl. Sean Hiatt, who suffered burns to around half of his body, will extend far beyond the acute, 24-hour response phase, experts say. It may require months of inpatient treatment, continuous surgical reconstructions and long-term physical therapy.

Hiatt managed to call his mother before he was taken to hospital in Edmonton, and remains in critical condition.

Those who suffer severe burns must endure multiple surgeries over weeks or even months, first to remove the burned tissue, then later to graft skin from other, unburned areas of their bodies.

WATCH | Sister of wounded soldier say her brother wanted to serve:

‘He just wanted to serve his country,’ says sister of injured Wainwright soldier

October 20|

7:27

Teresa Hiatt, the sister of one of the critically injured soldiers from the fatal CFB Wainwright fire, shares an update on her brother’s health and his time in the military.

Grafting with the patient's own skin is the "surgical gold standard," Gabriel said.

Donor skin is also a critical tool, though it is in high demand even on normal days, he added.

After they leave the hospital, burn patients often require extensive ongoing support as they learn to navigate a “new normal,” Gabriel said.

“Hospital discharge is by no means the finale in their need for care."

Danielle Fuchko, a burn disaster preparedness expert and clinical nurse educator, said the disaster at Wainwright will strain Alberta’s hospital and surgical capacity for months.

Her previous research on the triage and treatment of burn injuries has served as a case study of Alberta’s ability to respond to a mass casualty like this one.

As the only province in Canada with two burn centres verified by the American Burn Association for their specialized care, Alberta is in a strong position, she said.

However, there are gaps, such as the limited capacity of those units when faced with a large influx of patients.

“A burn injury is a lifelong injury for these patients,” she said. “This is a really prolonged incident and will require significant resources for months to years to come.”

Firefighters work along a firewall next to CFB Wainwright, south of the town of Wainwright, Alta, on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press)

Burn specialists in Toronto and Hamilton say they are ready to support their Alberta colleagues.

Dr. Alan Rogers, a surgeon at the Ross Tilley Burn Centre at Toronto's Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, has said the hospital is ready to take patients if needed, and could send temporary skin from its frozen tissue bank.

Dr. Marc Jeschke, director of the burn program for Hamilton Health Sciences, said the devastating fire at Wainwright shows the need for more capacity in the system.

Burn care medical experts from across Canada ran a mass casualty exercise just weeks ago, he said, and discovered there are only 46 burn beds in hospitals nationwide.

“This is a tragedy … but this will not be the last time.”

Problem gambling jumps, suicides triple in Ontario after expansion of online casinos

Dave Seglins & Andreas Wesley & Saloni Bhugra — Wed, 21 Oct 2026 08:00:00 GMT

The number of problem gamblers in Ontario has spiked and gambling-related suicides have tripled since the expansion of private online casino games and sports betting in 2022, CBC News has learned. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)

This story is part of a CBC News series examining the public health impacts of online gambling.

Anna, a 51-year-old single mother of two teens, says online slot machine games cost her nearly everything.

And even at that point, the Ontario resident says it was hard to stop.

"The amount of money that I spent and lost — it was astronomical," she told a recent meeting of Gamblers Anonymous in Toronto, which CBC News was invited to witness.

The peer support group has been a lifeline that helped her stop betting and break free from inducements and marketing she would receive from the betting apps, she says.

"If I had gone a little while without gambling, they would literally send me thousands of dollars to say 'free money' to keep you going," she recalled.

WATCH | 'Anna' kicked her betting habit with help from Gamblers Anonymous:

Gamblers Anonymous helped 'Anna' kick her addiction

4 hours ago|

1:18

Anna says Gamblers Anonymous helped her find connection to recover from her addiction last year.

She’s not alone.

The number of problem gamblers in Ontario has spiked and gambling-related suicides have tripled since the expansion of private online casino games and sports betting in 2022, CBC News has learned.

Nearly 130,000 Ontarians now show signs of gambling problems, compared with roughly 43,000 in 2018, a tripling of the number of people who meet the criteria of gambling too frequently, losing money and struggling with addiction.

These estimates are based on new research from the Alberta Gambling Research Institute (AGRI), which found a 0.5 per cent jump in Ontario’s rates of problem gambling compared to 2018. Their analysis uses the "Problem Gambling Severity Index" and data from Statistics Canada’s 2025 Canadian Community Health Survey.

AGRI researcher Carrie Shaw says the research is "brand new" and significant, showing that six months after Ontario’s private casinos opened in 2022, the number of problem gamblers in the province climbed while dropping in the rest of Canada.

"In Ontario’s market, gambling is very much normalized through access and advertisements," said Shaw, who presented her findings at an AGRI conference in May.

"It's true across Canada, but more so in Ontario, given the amount of exposure there is," she said.

Carrie Shaw of the Alberta Gambling Research Institute found rising rates of problem gambling in Ontario after the 2022 online expansion of online betting. (CBC)

In July, Alberta joined Ontario in legalizing online gambling run by private companies. Everywhere else in Canada, it is illegal.

"With online gambling ... the barriers to access are completely removed. You can access it anytime from your computer, your mobile phone, any time of day or night," Shaw said. "You can be sitting at your desk at work and still be engaging."

Gambling suicides rising

The Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario also reports a spike in gambling-related suicides in the years after Ontario began allowing online betting.

Before Ontario’s expansion, the province had an average of five gambling-related suicides each year from 2016 to 2021. That number tripled after 2022.

Matthew Young, chief research officer for non-profit gambling research network Greo Evidence Insights, says he called on government two years ago to do a better job of tracking online gambling activity for fear of increased addiction, bankruptcies and suicides.

"We warned that we might be seeing the harms that we're now seeing in the data," he said.

Those calls were ignored, he says.

A study published in the September 2026 American Journal of Preventive Medicine found a dramatic jump in the number of people with gambling disorders showing up at Ontario hospital emergency departments in distress.

A March 2026 study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) found a 95.5 per cent increase in men and boys making gambling-related calls to ConnexOntario, the province's 24-hour mental health and addictions help line, over the last decade.

Young calls it "unfathomable" that Canada changed the Criminal Code to allow online gambling and that provinces are opening their markets without proper study of the potential public health impacts.

WATCH | Gambling addiction needs better monitoring, says expert:

Gambling researcher says Canada needs better addiction monitoring

4 hours ago|

0:48

Matthew Young, addictions researcher, says there was no harm analysis done before Canada opened the floodgates to online gambling.

Young says that amid lobbying to legalize online gambling in other provinces, he would like to see better monitoring and for a share of the billions in revenues to be dedicated to independent research into ways to curb addiction and gambling-related harms.

Greo Evidence Insights was formerly known as the Ontario Problem Gambling Research Centre.

Ontario defunded it in 2019.

Are you, or someone you know, suffering from gambling? Support is available.

ConnexOntario 1-866-531-2600 or Text CONNEX to 247247
Gamblers Anonymous 1-855-222-5542 or visit Canada or Toronto/GTA

More than 16 years after BP's Deepwater Horizon disaster, marine life has not recovered

Anand Ram — Wed, 21 Oct 2026 08:00:00 GMT

On April 21, 2010, a deadly explosion on the offshore oil rig Deepwater Horizon had crews battling for hours, and the resulting oil spill lasted for months. (Reuters/U.S. Coast Guard/Handout)

More than 16 years after one of the deadliest oil spills in history, a highly comprehensive study has found that life in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico remains severely in decline.

The Deepwater Horizon oil rig, operated by BP off the coast of Louisiana, exploded on April 20, 2010 — killing 11 people and injuring 17 others. During the three months that followed, as much as 4.9 million barrels of oil gushed into the Gulf, according to a U.S. government task force. The environmental catastrophe had a devastating impact on marine life, which continues today.

"A lot of things died right off the bat," said Tracey Sutton, a biological oceanographer at the Guy Harvey Oceanographic Research Center of NOVA Southeastern University whose team has been studying the impacts of the spill for years.

Their research found that some species declined by 60 to 85 per cent in the immediate three and a half years after the spill. Sutton's latest report, combining another eight years of detailed scanning and sampling, was just published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Time hasn't helped the situation, according to the authors.

"That low state has just maintained low," Sutton said, explaining that the dense patches of prey that predators need are missing, resulting in a "decline in things like deep-diving whales and dolphins" as well as fishes, shrimps and squids.

The immediate aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon spill killed lots of marine life, and the authors of a new study say that decline has persisted. (Charlie Riedel/The Associated Press)

Lingering in the deep

The most likely cause of this decline, the study suggests, is the Deepwater Horizon disaster, not least of which because their sampling is still finding remnants of all that spilled oil.

"What we've seen is the persistence of some of the worst components in the oil … polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs. That's the really bad stuff," Sutton told CBC News.

The study found these oil-derived compounds inside the muscle tissue and eggs of deep-sea fishes and squid, potentially affecting health and reproduction. The authors also suggest these lingering PAHs can affect some male fishes' sense of smell, which they use to find mates.

Deepsea experts who weren't involved with the research say the study accounted for the natural factors that might affect fish abundance, such as temperature, availability of food and oxygen.

"They eliminate any other factors," said Fabio De Leo, senior scientist at Ocean Networks Canada and a professor at the University of Victoria. "And so the probable cause here is the 87 days of gushing oil through the Gulf for Mexico."

Parsing out environmental factors is a sign of the report's strength, says Kelly Robinson, an associate professor at the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

"Sometimes when you work on data, it can show you a different side," said Robinson. "But if it keeps showing you the same message, that's probably what's happening.”

More than a decade later, researchers say chemical compounds from the oil spill have made their way into fish tissue. (Rich Matthews/The Associated Press)

Diverse and essential

Experts say that the negative effect on species has a larger effect for the whole Gulf ecosystem and its role in helping capture carbon in its depths.

The deep pelagic zone, where Sutton and his team surveyed sampled fishes, crustaceans and cephalopods (such as squid) for years, is an umbrella term for a range of depths — anywhere from around 200 metres to 1,500 metres below the surface.

While sunlight stops relatively high up in that zone, the biodiversity doesn't. Lanternfish, stingrays, sperm whales, krill and many more aquatic species are all normally found throughout these depths and regularly migrate between them.

Deepwater Horizon site still mostly bereft of life — except for parasite-covered crabs

"You have to remember that these animals feed at the surface," De Leo said. “They migrate downwards and then they respire at that [level]. So the carbon dioxide gets dissolved into the water and there are nutrients that they regenerate back into the water."

"They are a train that's moving energy from the surface to the deep very efficiently," Robinson adds. "And so if we see a decline in that, it's like taking cars away from a train, right? All of a sudden you're not moving as much material."

These species effectively act as a "biological pump" for carbon, and it's one of the ways that oceans help absorb carbon dioxide from the surface, including the excess greenhouse gases humans are pumping into the atmosphere. The waters still dissolve CO2 on their own, but this study shows how pollution can weaken this service that the oceans provide.

Oil booms like this were deployed to try and contain the oil spill, but the volume proved too much and many failed. (Carlos Barria/Reuters)

Risk of future offshore drilling

The Trump administration's promise to "drill, baby, drill" has led to a push for the U.S. to extract more oil and natural gas, including new areas of offshore oil exploration.

In Canada, economic uncertainty has led to the Carney government's support for Pacific Link, a proposed oil pipeline from Alberta to B.C's coast, destined for overseas markets. Despite promised ocean protections, experts fear a long-lasting impact if an oil tanker were to be damaged and leak.

"There's more discussion about increasing oil transport in these areas of the Pacific," De Leo told CBC News from Victoria.

"We're unlikely to have something of [Deepwater Horizon’s] magnitude but there's potentially more risk if there's more traffic," De Leo said.

Carney government has no launch date planned for proposed sovereign wealth fund

Kate McKenna — Wed, 21 Oct 2026 08:00:00 GMT

Minister of Finance and National Revenue François-Philippe Champagne is seen earlier this month. Six months after announcing a proposed sovereign wealth fund, there's no planned date to launch it. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)

Nearly six months after announcing plans to create a sovereign wealth fund, the federal government is still not sure when it will be launched, or how exactly it will work.

In April, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada will launch its first-ever national sovereign wealth fund, with seed funding of $25 billion over three years, to be called the Canada Strong Fund.

Carney said the fund will draw on international examples, such as Norway, but will invest only domestically, be arm's-length from the government and focus on funding major Canadian projects in fields such as energy, infrastructure, agriculture and technology.

The fund would work in conjunction with private investors and is expected to include a "retail investment product" for ordinary Canadians to buy into the fund. The details of how that would work have not been announced.

The plan was outlined in the spring economic update in April, but since then, the government hasn't said when it will roll out, nor has it announced who will be running the arm's-length agency responsible for administering the fund.

At the time it was announced, some experts criticized the proposal, noting there are already a number of federal programs available to finance and de-risk private sector projects.

Similar federal programs such as the Canada Infrastructure Bank, the Canada Indigenous Loan Guarantee Corporation and the $15-billion arm's-length Canada Growth Fund already exist.

"I don't know why specifically there's a need to set up a special fund for this," said Dana Galizia, associate economics professor at Carleton University. "That doesn't mean it's a bad idea. It just means that, without the details, I'm not really clear on what the value is here."

It also faced criticism, notably from members of the Conservative Party, for being funded by debt. Other jurisdictions with similar funds, including Alberta and Norway, invest revenues from oil and gas. They are often used as a way to spend surplus money.

"Generally, sovereign wealth funds are generated from surpluses accumulated by the government," Conservative finance critic Michael Chong said on Tuesday. "The government of Canada is not currently in a surplus."

He added that the fund is "an example of many announcements the government has made that they either have either failed to provide sufficient financial information about or have failed to execute upon."

John Fragos, spokesperson for Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne, said the upcoming fall budget will include a "significant" update on the sovereign wealth fund.

"In due course, we'll have outlined who the CEO will be, who the board will be. Reiterating that because this is a novel project, we can draw on best practices around the world and here in Canada and we can see what has not worked," said Fragos.

More work remains

In addition to needing to create a Crown corporation and appoint people to it, Fragos said the federal government has undertaken a mandate review of all of the federal investment programs to ensure they're not overlapping. The review is ongoing.

He said developing the "retail" component for Canadians to buy into the fund is also taking time, because it's a concept without an existing template from other countries.

Another potential element of the fund includes selling federal assets, such as opening up airports to private investment, and using that money to invest. But — again — the details of what exactly that looks like have not been made public.

"I think there's a really interesting opportunity here with this fund, where you could take some of the proceeds from those sales and then you could use it to build the fund," said Colin Busby, director of policy engagement with the C.D. Howe Institute.

He also said, even if it's operated at an arm's length, the fund will need to consider what projects and companies get investments.

"By picking and choosing winners in very distinct parts of the country, it creates a bit of a hurdle and a bit of a political challenge for the government in doing so," Busby said.

UN retreats from 1.5 C global warming limit and proposes a plan B

Inayat Singh — Wed, 21 Oct 2026 08:00:00 GMT

The UNEP's latest report on global climate action highlights fast progress on expanding renewable energy like solar and wind, but not enough reduction in fossil fuel emissions. (Martin Meissner/The Associated Press)

Avoiding 1.5 C of warming above pre-industrial levels is now impossible, and a new pathway to limit peak warming and then bring temperatures back down will be needed, according to an annual UN report on global climate action.

The UN's proposed new best-case pathway is to limit global warming to 1.7-1.8 C, and then eventually bring temperatures back to 1.5 C by the end of the 21st century. It's a sobering change in messaging, but not surprising given that the UN had released a related report this summer already suggesting a possible overshoot of 1.5 C.

The plan B message comes from the UN Environment Programme's Emissions Gap Report, which studies the impacts of countries' climate policies and then projects how much warming they could cause. These projections then guide negotiations at the annual UN climate conference in November, which will be in Turkey this year.

The reports have shown steady, albeit inadequate improvement in temperature projections since the global 2015 Paris Agreement was signed. This year's report, however, includes the impacts of the new U.S. administration under President Donald Trump.

On Day 1 of presidency, Trump begins to move U.S. away from climate action and toward fossil fuels

"The U.S.A. no longer has a net-zero emissions goal or target," said Anne Olhoff, director of the UNEP Copenhagen Climate Centre, a research institute.

"It's the second largest emitter globally, so it does affect global projections as well."

Passengers walk beneath a sign for the upcoming COP31 UN Climate Summit at the Istanbul Airport in Turkey. The UN's latest pathway report guides negotiations at the summit. (Emrah Gurel/The Associated Press)

Limiting 'overshoot'

Global warming averages have temporarily surpassed the 1.5 C limit several times over the past few years.

The year 2024 was the hottest year on record, reaching 1.55 C above pre-industrial levels. Scientists widely expect 2027 to break that record, another sign that the 1.5 C limit could be permanently crossed.

"It is not time to throw in the towel and give up — to the contrary. This is about how to find our way back, and finding our way back as quickly as possible with as low an overshoot as possible," said Inger Andersen, the executive director of UNEP.

The 1.5 C goal was especially precious for low-lying coastal and island nations, who face an existential threat from rising sea levels. Past 1.5 C of warming, those countries may have to relocate large portions of their populations, or move their entire countries away. These countries have vehemently pushed back on abandoning the 1.5 C goal, and said that the world must fulfill its obligations under the Paris treaty.

"1.5 C must remain the North Star, and overshoot cannot become an excuse for further inaction," the Alliance of Small Island States said in September.

What's the new pathway?

The UNEP's report says that warming could be limited to 1.7-1.8 C under a best-case scenario. To achieve this, global greenhouse gas emissions will have to be reduced 18 per cent by 2030. They will further have to come down 45 per cent by 2035 and 69 per cent by 2040.

The plan B pathway requires countries to pledge stronger emissions targets than they already have — and to deliver on net-zero promises.

There are some positive signs. Renewables like solar and wind power are growing fast and the world's clean electricity goals could be reached if trends continue.

"We see that renewable electricity capacity expansion has been three times higher than expected at the time of the adoption of the Paris Agreement, and we also see that solar [panel] capacity increase has been seven times higher than expected. We need to expand that," Olhoff said.

On the other hand, emissions from the burning of fossil fuels have headed in the wrong direction. The report says that the share of oil in global energy will have to come down 30 per cent and gas by 35 per cent by 2040 to stay on the UN's new pathway.

WATCH | Global action on fossil fuel transition:

Canada taking part in summit on phasing out fossil fuels

April 24|

2:44

Dozens of countries are meeting in Colombia for the first summit focused entirely on the transition away from fossil fuels. Canada is sending a delegation to negotiate but is also the largest oil and gas producer who'll be at the table.

Current plans not enough, UN says

Despite those daunting challenges, Andersen stressed that the new pathway "is the only way that we can get back to a semblance of a reality that is still largely manageable without major impacts."

A solar facility in Beijing, China. Solar capacity has increased seven times higher than expected, says Anne Olhoff, director of the UNEP Copenhagen Climate Centre. (Achmad Ibrahim/The Associated Press)

The report looked at various levels of climate actions, from the least to most optimistic: the current policies countries have in place, their proposed climate plans that they have submitted to the UN, and all of the pledges they have made (their proposed plans plus other net-zero promises made by governments).

Analysis
The rise of the electrostate: By dominating clean energy, China is leading on climate action

Both current and proposed climate plans are not enough, the report says. If current policies continue without countries making improvements, global warming could reach 2.8 C. In the most optimistic scenario, where countries fulfill all of their pledges, warming would still reach 2.1 C.

And the U.S. under Trump is a major sticking point. The withdrawal of the U.S. from the Paris Agreement and its abandonment of climate action could, on its own, lead to 0.1 C of additional warming.

"Climate impacts will not shield anyone, and that we are seeing and will continue to see impacts on every nation on the planet, including the U.S.," Andersen said.

Carney’s Turkish balancing act must include business, defence and human rights

Murray Brewster — Wed, 21 Oct 2026 08:00:00 GMT

Prime Minister Mark Carney and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan walk to the prime minister's car following a meeting in Ankara, Turkey, on July 7. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)

Prime Minister Mark Carney departs for Turkey on Wednesday for a three-day visit with a strategically important NATO ally whose economic and defence industries have become increasingly attractive to Ottawa.

The trip includes meetings with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara and business leaders in Istanbul, and is the first dedicated bilateral visit to Turkey by a Canadian prime minister.

The meetings are a sign of warming relations between the two countries after Canada imposed a de facto arms embargo for several years.

Ottawa initially froze and then cancelled military permits in 2021 over allegations Ankara had redirected Canadian-manufactured drone parts to Azerbaijani forces during the conflict with Armenia over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The policy has since been eased.

The visit also comes a month after Turkish authorities launched a sweeping and unprecedented nationwide crackdown on dissent and civil society, heavily focusing on the systematic dismantling of LGBTQ+ and HIV-advocacy organizations.

WATCH | Living under the shadow of fear during violent crackdowns in Turkey:

His friends were arrested in Turkey’s 2SLGBTQ+ crackdown

September 18|

1:20

Members of Turkey's 2SLGBTQ+ community are living under a shadow of fear right now after violent police crackdowns earlier this week. On Tuesday, CBC Radio's As It Happens spoke with the editor-in-chief of Kaos GL, a queer rights publication in Ankara.

Senior federal officials, speaking on background ahead of the trip, said the visit is in keeping with the prime minister's foreign policy.

"Canada is meeting this moment with values based realism. We are pursuing an approach that is both principled and pragmatic," said one official at a technical briefing.

"Principled in its commitment to the fundamental values of freedom, human rights, sustainability and solidarity. Pragmatic in recognizing that not every partner will share all of those values."

Three issues are likely to dominate Carney's visit: negotiating a free trade agreement, expanding co-operation in energy and strategic industries and developing a closer defence-industrial relationship.

Canada does about $4.3 billion in trade with Turkey. Carney and Erdoğan formally announced the launch of free trade negotiations during the NATO summit in Ankara on July 7.

Carney is attempting to build a stronger strategic partnership with Turkey at a time when Canada is seeking to diversify its international economic relationships and reduce its dependence on the United States.

The prime minister will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Anita Anand and Energy Minister Tim Hodgeson.

Canada pitching Turkey on Candu reactors

Turkey is expanding its nuclear-energy industry as part of a broader strategy to diversify electricity generation and reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels.

Canada sees a possible commercial opportunity for its Candu nuclear reactor technology.

In June, the Canadian and Turkish trade ministers explicitly identified potential co-operation involving Candu reactors.

This is significant because nuclear projects involve enormous long-term commitments, including financing, fuel arrangements, technology transfers, regulatory co-operation and industrial participation.

Federal officials were asked whether a deal was possible during the trip and said they were "not in a position to say anything about any specific outcomes at this point."

There could be more progress on the defence industrial side of the relationship.

Canada's Secretary of State for Defence Procurement, Stephen Fuhr, visited the country in May 2026, described Turkey as a trusted partner and framed the burgeoning relationship in terms of Carney's push for closer co-operation among middle powers.

"Individually we're just not big enough, but collectively we are," Fuhr said.

In a recent interview with Defense News, Fuhr identified ammunition production, drones and counter-drone systems as key areas for potential co-operation with Turkey.

He also suggested that future collaboration could involve co-development programmes rather than simple off-the-shelf purchases, particularly in sectors where Canada is seeking faster capability growth without having to start from scratch.

Carney and Erdoğan speak as the prime minister leaves a bilateral meeting in Ankara in July. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)

The dispute over military exports is rarely — if ever — mentioned between the two countries and senior federal officials said Tuesday that Canada continues to apply its export-control framework, including assessments of the risk that Canadian military equipment could contribute to violations of international humanitarian law or be transferred to unauthorized users.

"We are looking at each potential export on a case by case basis and that is the Minister of Foreign Affairs who reviews all of those, but this is a growing partnership and it's an important one," said one official.

"The resumption of more regular contact with Turkey has enabled us to have exactly these kinds of conversations. We are in a position to resume a more regular export relationship and we will continue to monitor."

Guatemalan man gets 30 years for part in smuggling tragedy that killed 53 people in Texas

CBC — Wed, 21 Oct 2026 03:06:07 GMT

Some of the 53 crosses that were part of a makeshift memorial at the site where officials found dozens of people dead in an abandoned trailer containing suspected migrants in 2022. A Guatemalan man was sentenced to 30 years in prison Tuesday for his role in the operation. (Eric Gay/The Associated Press)

A U.S. federal judge on Tuesday sentenced a Guatemalan man extradited to the U.S. over his role in a 2022 human smuggling attempt that ended in the deaths of 53 migrants who had been transported in a sweltering tractor-trailer in Texas.

U.S. and Guatemalan prosecutors called Rigoberto Ramon Miranda Orozco's sentencing another step toward justice in one of the deadliest smuggling attempts along the U.S.-Mexico border. Miranda Orozco, 50, was sentenced to 30 years in prison after admitting to arranging travel and accommodations for two people who died and another who was seriously injured.

Nearly 20 people in the U.S. and Guatemala have been convicted since the discovery of the abandoned trailer full of bodies horrified communities accustomed to seeing their young people leave, trying to flee poverty or violence in Central America and Mexico.

"It was clear that they suffered tremendously in their last few hours on this earth," U.S. Attorney Justin Simmons told reporters at a news conference following the sentencing.

Police and other first responders work the scene where officials say dozens of people have been found dead and multiple others were taken to hospitals with heat-related illnesses after a semitrailer containing suspected migrants was found, June 27, 2022, in San Antonio, Texas. (Eric Gay/The Associated Press)

People tried to 'claw their way out'

The trailer's air conditioning malfunctioned and would not blow cool air to the people trapped inside during the sweltering, three-hour ride in June 2022 from the border city of Laredo to San Antonio, authorities said. Prosecutors have said migrants paid up to $15,000 US each to be taken across the U.S. border.

When the abandoned trailer was opened on a remote San Antonio back road, 48 migrants were dead. Another 16 were taken to hospitals, where five more died.

Simmons said investigators found clothing passengers had shed to cool off and claw marks on the trailer's walls.

"They were literally trying to claw their way out," he said.

Twenty-one of those who died were from Guatemala, Simmons said.

Rigoberto Ramon Miranda Orozco, seen here in September 2024, was sentenced to 30 years in prison Tuesday for his role in the 2022 human smuggling case that left 53 migrants dead. (Moises Castillo/The Associated Press)

Miranda Orozco's attorney, Alfonso Cabanas Jr., called the sentence "very tough." He said his client was in Guatemala at the time and had no control over the type of transportation the migrants would take to San Antonio nor did he know the air conditioning was malfunctioning.

Cabanas said he doesn't think harsh punishments will "make a dent" in such operations.

"What we do need is comprehensive immigration reform," Cabanas said.

Other defendants still await sentencing

U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia sentenced Miranda Orozco, who was arrested in Guatemala in 2024 and extradited to the U.S. the following year.

He pleaded guilty in July to conspiracy to bring a migrant into the U.S. resulting in death, aiding and abetting bringing a migrant into the U.S. resulting in death, as well as aiding and abetting bringing a migrant into the U.S. resulting in serious bodily injury, prosecutors said.

Simmons said prosecutors in Guatemala were integral in securing convictions for Miranda Orozco and others. Simmons was joined by Guatemalan Attorney General Gabriel García Luna, who reflected on the suffering the migrants inside the tractor-trailer endured.

"They paid for a promise, and those who cashed in on that promise abandoned them to their fate," García Luna said.

Last year, Felipe Orduna-Torres, described by prosecutors as the leader of the smuggling operations inside the U.S., was sentenced to life in prison in the U.S. Armando Gonzales-Ortega, his top assistant, was sentenced to 83 years.

More sentencing dates to come

The tragedy is the deadliest among those that have claimed thousands of lives in recent decades as people attempt to cross the U.S. border from Mexico. Ten migrants died in 2017 after they were trapped inside a truck parked at a Walmart in San Antonio.

In 2003, the bodies of 19 migrants were found in a sweltering truck southeast of San Antonio.

Operations back to normal at Toronto's Pearson airport after tower evacuated due to reports of smoke

CBC — Wed, 21 Oct 2026 02:28:41 GMT

In a post on the social media platform X, Toronto Pearson said its 'apron management unit tower' was evacuated after reports of smoke. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)

Operations at Toronto's Pearson airport are back to normal after reports of smoke on Tuesday evening prompted the evacuation of a tower that manages the flow of aircraft traffic at gates and loading zones, the airport says.

In a post on the social media platform X, Toronto Pearson said its "apron management unit tower" was evacuated, which led to delays for fights going to and from the airport.

"Staff have since returned and resumed operations, but an air traffic management initiative is in effect resulting in delays to arriving and departing flights," Toronto Pearson said in the post Tuesday night.

As of 6:08 a.m. Wednesday, Pearson said traffic management initiatives are no longer in effect and that operations have resumed.

An airport apron is the hard surface area off the airport runways, where aircraft are parked for loading, unloading, servicing, or any other handling.

On its website, the airport says the unit manages the "safe and expeditious" flow of aircraft traffic on the airport's apron.

Gabriel Bourget, spokesperson for NAV Canada, said in an email on Tuesday night that its air traffic control tower at Pearson was not evacuated and continues to operate normally. Bourget said communications between pilots and NAV Canada air traffic controllers were not affected.

The apron management unit is operated by the Greater Toronto Airports Authority, Bourget said. NAV Canada's air traffic controllers manage the safe movement of aircraft in the air and on runways and taxiways, while the GTAA manages the areas around the terminal buildings and gates.

In a notice to passengers on flights affected by the delays, Air Canada described the situation as a "safety incident" involving the GTAA and its apron management unit.

"The situation is impacting multiple flights and is outside of Air Canada’s control," Air Canada said in the notice.

"Our teams are actively working to mitigate the impact and minimize delays wherever possible. We recognize the impact delays can have on your travel plans and sincerely apologize for the disruption."

Passengers stuck on planes

Passenger Jay Barnard landed at Pearson on a flight from Winnipeg at around 9.15 p.m. ET.

Barnard and fellow passengers were stuck on the plane for another two hours before they were eventually permitted to disembark.

Barnard, 46, of Kenora, Ont., was headed to an event at Walpole Island First Nation near Sarnia, Ont.

At first, when the plane landed, Barnard said it just sat on the tarmac. Eventually, passengers were informed there had been a fire on one of the aprons.

“That's what knocked out the power and that's what slowed down the whole entire process,” Barnard said.

At one point, passengers were told there were about 35 to 40 planes ahead of them, Barnard said.

Passengers were eventually allowed to disembark at around 11.15 p.m., he said.

Fires often break out during military training. What's the protocol?

Kevin Maimann — Wed, 21 Oct 2026 00:28:50 GMT

An ambulance enters CFB Wainwright on Tuesday as flowers hang on the front gates, after four Canadian Armed Forces members died in a fire there Saturday. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press)

CFB Wainwright had a strict fire safety protocol in place before Saturday's deadly blaze, which offers some insight into what investigators will be looking at as they probe the tragedy.

CBC News obtained a copy of CFB Wainwright's Range Standing Orders on Tuesday, a 137-page document that includes a section on how to handle on-site fires and provides guidance on optimal times for training during fire season.

Some Canadians were surprised to hear Maj.-Gen. Wade Rutland say on Sunday that soldiers continued training while a fire was burning at CFB Wainwright before it changed directions and spread rapidly, killing four soldiers and injuring dozens more.

But current and former military generals say it is not uncommon for training exercises to continue near active fires.

"Fires break out in all of our training areas frequently," Denis Thompson, a retired Canadian Armed Forces major general, told CBC News Network on Monday. "I mean, we're dealing with live ammunition."

Canada's chief of defence staff, Gen. Jennie Carignan, confirmed that fires are a "normal occurrence" that happen during training when soldiers are preparing to deploy overseas.

"We want to make sure they are well prepared. So yes, there are some risks as well that we need to take sometimes when we are training," she said.

WATCH | Carignan discusses training near fires:

'Normal' for Armed Forces to conduct training near fires: top military commander

October 19|

0:59

Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jennie Carignan says that Canadian Forces personnel on the ground determine whether or not to continue training. She spoke with Power & Politics following the deadly fire on Saturday at CFB Wainwright.

Document says firing should be done in morning

The Range Standing Orders section on fire safety warns that vegetation "can ignite readily and spread rapidly, endangering troops and destroying equipment."

It says units firing during months of high fire risk — August to October — "should plan to conduct early morning shoots" before 10 a.m., when the fire hazard is lower.

Saturday's blaze took a deadly turn around 4 p.m. local time, though it's not clear when it started.

Rutland said it had been burning for "several hours" before a sudden change in wind direction and intensity spread the flames into a training unit. NASA satellite data indicates a fire was burning near the base by around 2 p.m., according to Mike Flannigan, a professor of wildland fires at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, B.C., who runs the Canada fire weather outlook.

A National Defence spokesperson would not comment on whether the morning guideline was followed on Saturday, saying in an email that "commenting on specific details at this stage would be inappropriate" as the investigation is active.

According to the protocol document, troops are required to report any grass or brush fire "immediately" to range control, which then relays the information to the fire department and the range warden.

The highest-ranking individual present in the reporting unit is to maintain constant communication with range control and provide updates on the fire's "intensity, direction and speed of travel."

WATCH | Scott Clancy talks about training around fire:

Retired major-general weighs in on what may come next after deadly fire on military base

October 19|

5:39

Retired major-general Scott Clancy spoke to CBC News Network Monday about how training exercises are conducted, fire risks and what might happen next after a deadly blaze at CFB Wainwright in Alberta.

That senior ranking individual is also tasked with immediately fighting fires that are not in "danger areas," and ensuring that their unit does not leave the fire until authorized to do so by range control in consultation with the range warden.

When a fire is deemed "out of control," an operations officer can greenlight the deployment of additional resources, including helicopters.

"This decision to carry on while that fire was in place there, it is a decision that range control and the officers conducting the exercise would have conducted," retired major-general Scott Clancy told CBC News Network on Monday. He said he has fought fires as a helicopter pilot while training was happening on the ground.

The protocol document says fire hazard conditions are posted on signs at multiple locations on the base and are updated daily "as fire hazard conditions warrant," indicating risk levels ranging from "low" to "extreme."

Cause under investigation

Rutland, commander of the 1st Canadian Division of the Canadian Armed Forces, said on Sunday that the fire broke out during a high-intensity combat training exercise using live munitions.

Soldiers were throwing hand grenades on a grenade range at the time, he said, while others were in the section range doing a "section attack," where 10 soldiers attack a simulated enemy.

Rutland said he did not know what exactly caused the fire, but that range control knew about it for several hours and it was decided that training "could carry on for a certain amount of time."

He said heavy wind gusts rapidly and unexpectedly spread the blaze into the section training area around 4 p.m.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said 50 investigators are now on the ground as the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service, with support from the RCMP, leads a "complete investigation" into the tragedy, including a board of inquiry.

WATCH | Nineteen soldiers remain in critical condition:

CFB Wainwright disaster: What we know about the victims, investigation

9 hours ago|

2:05

Canadians across the country are expressing support for victims of the CFB Wainwright disaster as investigators try to piece together what caused a massive fire that killed four service members and injured dozens more, including 19 now in intensive care.

Clancy, the retired major-general, said the board of inquiry will look at a number of factors around not only the sequence of events that led to the tragedy, but the organization itself.

"They'll look at the leadership, the culture that was created around that leadership, the orders, the safety regulations, the specific decisions to carry on training," he said.

Fire conditions were 'extreme'

Flannigan, at Thompson Rivers University, said a combination of "extreme" conditions was at play at CFB Wainwright Saturday afternoon.

The Canadian Forest Fire Weather Index shows fire conditions across the Canadian prairies, including southern and central Alberta, ranged from very high to extreme.

But those conditions were forecast and were not necessarily unusual for the area at this time of year, Flannigan told CBC News, which has raised questions about whether the training should have stopped before the fire got out of control.

WATCH | Details on the fire:

How did this deadly Alberta fire spread so fast?

October 19|

2:08

A grass fire at CFB Wainwright in Alberta reportedly travelled one kilometre in just 36 seconds. A powerful cold front swept across the region that afternoon, bringing a dramatic drop in temperature, strengthening winds and a sudden shift in wind direction.

Environment Canada had issued yellow alerts for much of southern and eastern Alberta, with strong winds forecast to reach up to 100 km/h, coupled with an incoming cold front.

A cold front moved through the area around 4 p.m., Flannigan said, bringing a roughly 10 C drop in temperature and a sharp shift in wind direction that pushed the fire northwest toward the training area.

"Things were dry. Any fires that started would have spread rapidly and would be intense, and that's pretty well what happened," he said.

Trump walks back threat to ban Bombardier sales in the U.S.

Christopher Reynolds — Wed, 21 Oct 2026 00:12:19 GMT

Jet planes are assembled at Bombardier's aircraft assembly centre in Mississauga, Ont. U.S. President Donald Trump has walked back threats to ban the sale of Bombardier aircraft in the U.S. after realizing the Canadian company employs thousands of people in several states. (Sammy Kogan/The Canadian Press)

U.S. President Donald Trump has backed down on a threat to ban Bombardier plane sales in the United States, allowing the aerospace sector to breathe a sigh of relief after tempers flared and tariffs rose in an escalation of the trade war last month.

Speaking at a campaign rally Monday night, Trump said he's changed his perception of the Montreal-based business jet maker as a purely Canadian manufacturer.

"I'm going to be helping a certain air company get themselves straightened away," he told a crowd in a suburb of Wichita, Kan., where Bombardier employs 1,500 workers.

"I always viewed them as a Canadian company ... but now I find out they have a presence here, and we're not hurting them if they're in Kansas. So we'll take care of those people, all right? And the jobs."

Wichita serves as the home base of Bombardier's defence division. The company employs about 3,500 American workers across plants in Kansas, Texas, California and other states.

WATCH | Trump lashes out at Bombardier:

Trump tells Bombardier it can't sell in the U.S. unless it builds in the U.S.

September 7|

5:12

U.S. President Donald Trump said in a social media post Monday that Montreal-based jet maker Bombardier would no longer be allowed to sell in the United States unless it started manufacturing there, even though the company does have a manufacturing footprint in the country.

Republican stronghold Kansas now a battleground

Kansans are already feeling first-hand the effects of the president's policies. Midwestern farmers have seen the diesel that powers their tractors and combines rise to near-record prices due to the Iran war. Kansas has now turned into a political battleground as Republicans and Democrats fight for control of the typically red state ahead of next month's midterm elections.

Trump said Monday that a phone call from Kansas Republican Sen. Roger Marshall helped convince him to walk back his threat against Bombardier. Polls show Marshall is running neck and neck with Adam Hamilton, a Democrat in a state that has not elected one to the Senate since 1932.

Podcast
From Ohio to Maine, key U.S. midterm races for Canadians to watch

Last month, Trump suggested he would bar Bombardier aircraft sales in the United States unless it moved its operations there, despite the harm experts said such a move would inflict on American workers.

"NO MORE SELLING BOMBARDIER IN THE UNITED STATES!" he posted on social media on Sept. 7. "If they want our Market, they must build here, and stop treating America like a 'piggybank."'

Bombardier spells out U.S. commitment

Bombardier responded that it pays more than $2.5 billion US to some 2,800 American suppliers across 47 states each year, indirectly supporting tens of thousands of jobs.

"The American aerospace industry is a clear winner on trade and exports," Bombardier stated in September, adopting the language of the president and his fixation on triumph and trade surpluses.

Last week, the company inaugurated a skills development centre for new aircraft technicians and mechanics in Wichita, part of a $50-million US investment in the site.

"Our recently announced investments and newly inaugurated North American Learning Center will support high-skilled jobs for many years to come," a spokesperson for Bombardier said Tuesday in a statement to CBC News. "We are proud of our engaged workforce in Wichita as well as in all 20-plus states [where] Bombardier employs team members."

America enjoys a $109-billion US aerospace and defence trade surplus with the world, according to the U.S. Aerospace Industries Association.

WATCH | Bombardier crucial to both Canada and the U.S., minister says:

Bombardier important for Canada and U.S., Fuhr says following Trump threats

September 8|

1:22

Asked about U.S. President Donald Trump's threat that Bombardier's planes shouldn't be sold in the U.S., Secretary of State for Defence Procurement Stephen Fuhr said the Montreal-based jet maker is important for both countries and 'employs tens of thousands of people in the United States.'

Bombardier does the final assembly of its Challenger and Global business jets in Canada, while more than half of its revenue stems from American customers.

"We view the removal of this regulatory uncertainty as positive for sentiment as it alleviates an important headline overhang for investors," said James McGarragle, an analyst at RBC Dominion Securities.

Trump's threat did not have a "tangible impact" on demand for the luxury jets among American customers over the past six weeks, he added.

Bombardier shares rose $13.85 US or about 4.5 per cent to close at $325.32 US on Tuesday.

Despite U.S. tariffs on steel, aluminum and other goods, aerospace manufacturing remains deeply integrated across the continent and beyond.

Most Bombardier planes feature at least 40 per cent U.S. content, analysts say. More than half of the value of the ultra-long-range Global 7500 luxury jet derives from American parts.

Blocking a major manufacturer from the market would "undoubtedly" cause revenue and job losses at American parts producers, said National Bank analyst Cameron Doerksen last month.

A ban would have also been "massively disruptive" to the many American jet fleet operators awaiting Bombardier deliveries, he said.

Trump's fist-shaking went down a day before Ottawa's retaliatory tariffs on American goods took effect on Sept. 8, a response to the 50 per cent duties Washington imposed on Canadian goods in August.

Trump then proceeded to ban most Canadian alcoholic drinks, some dairy products and motorcycles, among other products, and slapped a 50 per cent levy on more items.

Trump's September Truth Social post marked the second time this year Bombardier has come into the president's crosshairs.

In January, he singled out Bombardier in a threat to ground all Canadian-made aircraft and slap them with a 50 per cent tariff unless Ottawa approved Gulfstream business jets — assembled in Savannah, Ga. — marking an earlier escalation of trade tensions between the two countries.

Pamela Wallin says it was simply 'time to move on' after surprise resignation from Senate

Colleen Silverthorn — Tue, 20 Oct 2026 23:13:09 GMT

Pamela Wallin advocated for an expansion to Canada's Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) during her time in the Senate. (Patrick Doyle/The Canadian Press)

Pamela Wallin says it was just time to resign.

After 17 years sitting as a Saskatchewan senator in the chamber of sober second thought, she wanted to move on to other opportunities.

She said that, contrary to public perception, a senator’s duties are “24-7” and she needed time to figure out what comes next.

“You know when a job has come to an end and it’s time to move on in your own head and that’s just where I was,” Wallin, 73, told Blue Sky’s Leisha Grebinski.

“I have other things to do that I want to try.”

WATCH | Pamela Wallin on why she left the Senate and what's next for Canada:

Pamela Wallin on why she left the Senate and what's next for Canada

October 20|

2:41

Former senator Pamela Wallin joins CBC's BlueSky host Leisha Grebinski to talk about her resignation from the Upper Chamber and what the future may hold for her and the country.

Wide-ranging career

Wallin has spent her adult life in the public eye.

Born in Moose Jaw, she was raised in Wadena, 222 kilometres northeast of Regina, before moving to Ontario where she spent 40 years in broadcast journalism, including hosting CTV’s Canada AM, working as that network’s first female bureau chief in Ottawa and co-anchoring CBC’s nightly national newscast Prime Time News.

She served as Consul General of Canada to New York after 9/11, appointed to the position by then-prime minister Jean Chrétien.

Former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper appointed her to the Senate in 2008. Unlike her high-profile career in journalism, her time as a senator has been quieter, according to Greg Poelzer, a political scientist and professor at the University of Saskatchewan.

“I think she was one of the more quiet senators and not really known for making a big impact, say on advancing or supporting new legislation that came into law,” Poelzer told CBC’s Peter Mills on The 306.

Wallin’s time in the Senate was marred by her involvement in the 2013 Senate expense scandal.

Senate rejects calls for outside oversight of expenses

An audit determined Wallin improperly charged to the Senate about $140,000 in travel expenses related to her work on corporate boards.

Wallin repaid the money, plus interest, and said she had made a mistake in filing the paperwork.

LISTEN | Greg Poelzer and host Peter Mills discuss Wallin's resignation on The 306:

The 3069:28Pamela Wallin resigns from Senate

Greg Poelzer, a political scientist and a professor at the University of Saskatchewan, joins The 306 to talk about Saskatchewan Senator Pamela Wallin unexpectedly resigning from her position.

Advocacy

Poelzer said Wallin was a vocal advocate in recent years for expanding access to Canada’s Medical Assistance In Dying (MAID) program.

Wallin’s mother had Alzheimer’s, and the former journalist wanted the program to expand and allow people in the early stages of the disease, and others like it, to be able to pre-authorize their medically assisted death.

Justice Minister Sean Fraser announced earlier this month that Ottawa will introduce legislation that would “open the door” for advance consent for MAID in situations where their disease will eventually impair a person's capacity for consent.

Wallin said the proposed expansion of MAID, something she’d spent 11 years fighting for, seemed like a good time to wrap up her time in the Senate.

“I’d given my final speech on that topic on the Wednesday evening," Wallin said. "Some little tiny part of my brain said ‘take the win and move on.’”

Wallin’s resignation caught many, including Poelzer, by surprise. She still had nearly two years left before hitting the Senate’s mandatory retirement age of 75.

“Normally you would expect a person to complete the term,” Poelzer said.

“That’s the part that caught a lot of people by surprise, because she’s about 18 months, two years away from her term completing.”

Saskatchewan now has two vacant Senate seats: Wallin’s and the seat belonging to Todd Lewis, who died in July.

Blood clots have halted Jalen Hurts's NFL season. They've also been a problem for other sports stars

CBC — Tue, 20 Oct 2026 22:41:24 GMT

Jalen Hurts of the Philaelphia Eagles plays against the Los Angeles Rams at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia earlier this month. He's expected to miss the rest of the season because of blood clots in his lungs, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Monday. (Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles is the latest professional athlete to endure blood clots, joining NBA players Victor Wembanyama, Chris Bosh, Damian Lillard and others.

The one-time Super Bowl MVP is expected to miss the rest of the season because of blood clots in his lungs, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Monday. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the health matter.

Hurts was placed on injured reserve Saturday, two days after the team revealed he has a blood clot in his calf. The Eagles and Hurts' agent, Nicole Lynn, released more information on his condition Monday. They said Hurts has deep vein thrombosis and bilateral pulmonary emboli, meaning a blood clot has travelled to the lungs.

The diagnosis brought new attention to the condition, its risks and treatments, while raising questions about why so many athletes have been diagnosed with blood clots in recent years.

What is deep vein thrombosis?

Deep vein thrombosis, or DVT, is the term for a blood clot that forms in a deep vein, usually in the lower legs. Sometimes, these clots can break off and travel into the lungs, lodging in a blood vessel to block blood flow. That's called a pulmonary embolism and it can be life-threatening.

Any number of things can cause deep vein thrombosis, ranging from immobility and trauma to family history and dehydration.

Symptoms include inexplicable swelling and discoloration or pain, or some combination of those factors, and experts say the worry is the clot travelling through the bloodstream, causing a pulmonary embolism or death.

"When you have a DVT in the leg or the arm, there's a chance that it will break free, and when it breaks free, it can end up lodged in the lung," Mary Cushman, a hematologist and professor of medicine at the University of Vermont, told the AP previously. "And if it's large enough, that can kill a person."

What is the treatment?

Taking blood thinners is the most common course of action when it comes to treatment.

Sometimes surgery is involved, or blood thinners are used for the long term.

The treatment Hurts is using involves blood thinners, and he will not be allowed to participate in any football activities until he is off them.

Are athletes more likely to have it?

Richard Ricciardi, a professor at the George Washington University School of Nursing, says there is no evidence to suggest elite athletes are more predisposed to blood clots than people of comparable ages in the general population.

NHL goalie Frederik Andersen minds the net for the Carolina Hurricanes during the playoffs last season. A few years ago, he had medical tests that found blood clots. (Matt Slocum/The Associated Press)

"I do not believe there are any large-scale studies that compare elite athletes with non-athletes," Ricciardi said.

"Athletes are generally considered low risk for blood clots, but they face a cluster of sport-specific risk factors, so they may have a higher risk than expected for young, fit people.

"High-contact sports theoretically could raise blood clot risk, primarily through collision and trauma-induced blood vessel wall injury," he said. "But to my knowledge no studies directly quantify how much contact sports increase risk versus noncontact sports."

The risk of people in their 20s and 30s developing deep vein thrombosis or a pulmonary embolism is one in 10,000.

Can air travel increase risks?

"Frequent long-haul air travel plausibly increases blood clot risk in elite athletes, but to my knowledge no athlete-specific studies have been conducted," Ricciardi said.

"Risk is greatest in flights of eight hours or more. However, the risk per flight remains low in healthy, fit individuals, and risk is concentrated in those with additional health risk factors."

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s website says blood clots can form in deep veins of the legs during travel because people are sitting still in a confined space for long periods of time.

It says "most people who develop travel-associated blood clots" have additional risks for blood clots, including prior blood clots, an inherited blood clotting disorder or a family history of blood clots.

San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama plays in a pre-season game against the Phoenix Suns earlier this month. (Ross D. Franklin/The Associated Press)

Other athletes with blood clots

Victor Wembanyama: His 2024-25 season ended after he was diagnosed with a blood clot in his right shoulder. The seven-foot-four phenom from France bounced back last season, when he finished third in NBA MVP voting and won the league's Defensive Player of the Year award as he led the San Antonio Spurs to the NBA Finals.

Damian Lillard: The nine-time NBA All-Star scored 16 points with the Milwaukee Bucks on March 18, 2025, and about a week later, the team said he had deep vein thrombosis in his right calf. Lillard returned for the playoffs and tore his Achilles tendon, an injury that kept him out of the lineup last season in his return to Portland.

Blood clots ended the basketball career of Chris Bosh, who played for the Toronto Raptors and the Miami Heat during his Hall of Fame career. (Steve Marcus/Getty Images)

Chris Bosh: A decade earlier, blood clots ended the career of the Basketball Hall of Famer. He was averaging 19.1 points and 7.4 rebounds in 33.5 minutes during the 2015-16 season and had just arrived in Toronto for that year's All-Star Game when a clot in one of his legs was discovered at the age of 31.

Ausar Thompson: The NBA All-Defensive team player missed the last month of his rookie season two years ago with a blood clot. He was not cleared to play during the first month of his second season while he worked through a medical process with the NBA and the players' union.

American golfer Nelly Korda plays a tee shot during a practice round for the Solheim Cup last month. (Alastair Grant/The Associated Press)

Nelly Korda: The current No. 1 player in women's golf missed four months in 2022 — the year after she won her first major title — because of a blood clot in her left arm that required surgery.

Frederik Andersen: Nearly three years ago, the Carolina Hurricanes goaltender had medical tests that found blood clots. He played for the Hurricanes last season when they won the Stanley Cup and is currently recovering from a knee injury with the Edmonton Oilers.

Merrill Kelly: The right-handed pitcher, has bounced back from his bouts of blood clots to play for the Arizona Diamondbacks, going 10-14 in 29 starts last season.

Christian Barmore: The New England Patriots defensive tackle was limited to four games during the 2024 season after he had blood clots. He started 15 games last season and has played in five this year with the Patriots. "I could have lost my life," Barmore said.

First Nations leaders praise high Alberta referendum turnout despite ballot box barriers

Brett Forester & Creeson Agecoutay — Tue, 20 Oct 2026 21:30:27 GMT

Voters leave a polling station after casting their votes in the Alberta referendum in Calgary, Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (The Canadian Press/Jeff McIntosh)

First Nations leaders believe record voter turnout in their communities helped deliver a decisive victory for treaty rights — and Canada — in Alberta's separation referendum this week, despite reports of some communities facing barriers at the ballot box.

Jay Telegdi, Treaty 8 campaign manager, said he spent all night Monday answering calls from First Nations people who said they were turned away from voting.

"We received many calls of polling stations opening up late, at least three that I can think of on reserve, but also polling stations running out of ballots early," Telegdi said, describing himself as sleepless and raw-voiced.

There were also reports of people being denied ballots over identification issues. Elections Alberta requires two pieces of ID if a voter's government-issued photo ID doesn't have a current physical address. On-reserve, a driver's licence might list a P.O. Box, requiring a second piece of ID in some situations.

"This was a systemic issue. Across the board, I heard it in every corner of the province, and I guarantee you lots of people were turned away and denied a right to vote because of it," he said.

WATCH | Polling station ballot shortage:

Siksika Nation chief seeks 'formal explanation' after ballot shortages

October 20|

0:55

Samuel Crowfoot, chief of the Siksika Nation, said he’s seeking a ‘formal explanation’ from Elections Alberta after the polling station in his community ran out of ballots, leading to the delay of results in Alberta’s referendum. Siksika Nation is located about 72 km east of Calgary, and was one of a handful of polling stations that stayed open late for voters to cast their ballots after facing delays.

In an emailed response to CBC News, Elections Alberta said the ballot shortages indicated higher-than-expected turnout among First Nations communities, with several receiving multiple ballot deliveries.

"This is a good news story, showing higher voter engagement in these locations," the agency said, adding that unofficially more communities participated than in the past — 36 in 2026 versus 33 in 2023.

Based on the calls he received, Telegdi said he believes the referendum saw the highest Indigenous voter turnout in Alberta history.

"Canada owes a deep debt of gratitude to the First Nations and Prime Minister Carney needs to recognize that," Telegdi said.

He praised First Nations chiefs for being the only people in Alberta who "stuck their neck out to challenge this referendum in court."

Chief Sheldon Sunshine of Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation was one of those people. He said the results — roughly 75 per cent of electors voted to remain while some 25 per cent voted to pursue a legally binding separation referendum — were "what we expected."

He said preliminary reports indicate "a record turnout" for his community.

"We're happy with the results, but at the end of the day it really doesn't change much," Sunshine said.

"We're still going to be dealing with a government that's been adverse to First Nations for several years."

Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation Chief Sheldon Sunshine says the whole country likely recognizes the importance of treaty now more than before the referendum began. (Eagle Andersen/CBC)

"I hope it's the end of the UCP government. The way I see it, like, I'm embarrassed for them. They initiated this whole process. They wasted a significant amount of money when we're dealing with significant challenges."

Sunshine noted "the fight is still not over," citing the Carney government's efforts to streamline pipeline development in the province.

A former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) is urging Canada to deal fairly with First Nations' concerns and grievances in the wake of the referendum.

"Albertans have made their voices heard. Now, the question is: What will Ottawa do?" said Matthew Coon Come in a statement provided to CBC News on Tuesday.

Coon Come led the AFN, which advocates for First Nations countrywide, between 2000 and 2003 but before that led the Grand Council of the Crees in Quebec for two decades, including during the province's 1995 separation referendum.

WATCH | Ready to vote in referendum:

First Nations prepare to Rock the Vote in referendum

October 18|

2:55

Ermineskin Cree Nation and Siksika Nation hosted information sessions for their community members for the referendum vote in Alberta on Oct. 19. Many say they are voting to protect treaties.

Chiefs in Alberta and Quebec have been building alliances, sharing knowledge and looking to learn from people like Coon Come as they face separatist movements in both provinces.

"It is incumbent upon Canada to address the underlying issues that fuel division, including longstanding grievances, resource jurisdiction, economic fairness, and the unresolved obligations owed to First Nations," Coon Come said in the statement.

"Ignoring these issues will only deepen the divisions within our country."

AFN's current national chief, Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak, also praised the outcome in a statement on Tuesday, thanking chiefs for their work to reject "a divisive proposal that would bring needless upheaval, conflict and uncertainty for everyone."

The chiefs are now turning their attention to an upcoming First Nations-First Ministers Meeting scheduled for Oct. 26 in Ottawa where they can make their voices heard directly.

CRA awards $12M contract to subsidiary of U.S. company over non-profit Commissionaires

Kate McKenna — Tue, 20 Oct 2026 21:21:30 GMT

Wayne Long, secretary of state for the Canada Revenue Agency and financial institutions, rises during question period in the House of Commons in Ottawa on Tuesday. Long is defending the CRA's decision to award a $12-million security contract to a Canadian subsidiary of an American multinational company. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)

The secretary of state in charge of the Canada Revenue Agency is defending the CRA's decision to award a $12-million security contract to a Canadian subsidiary of an American multinational company over the Commissionaires.

Founded in 1925, Commissionaires is a private, not-for-profit security organization that was founded to provide meaningful employment to veterans of the Canadian Armed Forces and police services.

Publicly available documents show that in June 2026, the CRA awarded the contract to Universal Protection Service of Canada Corporation, a subsidiary of Allied Universal Security Services — a security company with ties to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deportation program.

It comes months after Commissionaires said the federal government told them they will no longer have first right of refusal for most federal contracts.

"When we initially spoke with government back [in February], we were told, well, you're not going to get the right of first refusal, but we still want to support your organization," said Geoff Hamilton, president and CEO of Commissionaires Great Lakes.

The CRA contract was an outlier in that it was always a competitive bid, but the Commissionaires held the contract until the recent tender.

Aerial view of the Connaught Building, the Canada Revenue Agency's headquarters in Ottawa. (Félix Desroches/Radio-Canada)

Hamilton said the difference in bid was $80,000, representing less than one per cent of the contract's value.

"It is just sort of public sector procurement on autopilot," said Hamilton.

Opposition blasts government over decision

Conservative veterans affairs critic Michael Barrett raised the issue in question period on Tuesday.

"We can all agree that employing Canadian veterans and hiring Canadian companies is important. The question to the Liberals is why didn't they do that in this case?"

Wayne Long, secretary of state for the CRA, both defended the process and argued that cabinet wasn't involved in the decision to go with the private company.

"The process resulted in the selection of a qualified Canadian supplier," Long said in response to Barrett.

"The member knows politicians are never involved in the independent decisions by the CRA."

NDP MP Gord Johns also blasted the decision to award the contract to a private company rather than the Commissionaires.

"Canadians want to know, how does awarding this contract to a foreign owned corporation with those ties [to ICE] instead of a Canadian owned institution supporting veterans square with the Liberals' Canadian promises," Johns said in the House during a debate on military procurement.

In a statement, Allied Universal said it is a registered Canadian company with 10,100 employees and 19 offices across Canada. It said the company's relationship with the U.S. government has existed for several administrations and spans federal agencies.

A spokesperson for Long added in a statement that the CRA's evaluation criteria consider more than overall cost, and can include, among other things, past performance on similar contracts, business continuity planning and ability to recruit and deploy personnel.

The statement said the decisions are made independently, without political interference.

Renouncing oath to the King threatens National Assembly's legitimacy, lawyer argues

Cassandra Yanez-Leyton — Tue, 20 Oct 2026 20:05:23 GMT

Lawrence David, the founder of the Public Interest Litigation Institute, is asking the Quebec Superior Court to issue a stay for a provincial law abolishing the mandatory Oath of Allegiance to the King for members of the National Assembly. (Cassandra Yanez-Leyton/CBC)

During a hearing Tuesday, a constitutional lawyer argued that laws passed by Quebec's next legislature will be illegitimate so long as a majority of MNAs refuse to take the Oath of Allegiance.

Lawrence David, the founder of the Public Interest Litigation Institute (PILI), said Quebec's Bill 4, which abolished the requirement to pledge allegiance to the King, creates a situation where MNAs would be sitting inside the National Assembly unlawfully.

"Politicians who do not take the oath are not legally entitled to sit in the National Assembly, to participate in parliamentary activities, to vote on bills," he told reporters outside the Quebec Superior Court.

David and PILI are seeking to have Bill 4, passed unanimously in 2022, declared unconstitutional. In the interim, they're asking the court to issue a stay and force MNAs to take the oath between now and Nov. 17, when the National Assembly is expected to reconvene.

Quebec's lawyers told the court the government is mulling pushing that date to Nov. 24.

WATCH | Lieutenant-governor to watch swearing-in on screen:

As seen on TV: Quebec lieutenant-governor won’t attend cabinet swearing-in

October 20|

1:03

Following a written request from premier-designate Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, Lt.-Gov. Manon Jeannotte will watch the event on a screen from her nearby office.

Just under 100 MNAs were sworn in over the last week, and they all renounced the oath. Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, the incoming premier, has also asked that the lieutenant-governor — a representative of the monarchy — not preside over the swearing-in ceremony of his cabinet on Wednesday.

David says the events of the last week and St-Pierre Plamondon's stated plans to sever all ties with the monarchy undermine the "status and role of the King," and "invite disrespect to his office, his powers and legitimacy."

Failure to take the oath, he said, would also affect the lieutenant-governor's power of royal assent — the final approval the monarch or their representative gives to bills so they become law.

"This court challenge is not about monarchy versus republicanism. It’s about respect for the constitution," David said.

He says there are other avenues if Canada wants to secede from the monarchy, and those require consent from the other provincial legislatures.

Lawyers for the Attorney General of Quebec argue there's no urgency to resolve the constitutionality of Bill 4 before the National Assembly reconvenes. They pointed out that the law has been in place since 2022, and the legislature has continued to function and pass laws without any problems.

At the time, the PQ's three MNAs had been barred from sitting at the National Assembly's Blue Room until the law passed because of their refusal to pledge allegiance to the King.

The law adds to the Constitution Act of 1867 a section exempting Quebec from the application of the section that requires the oath.

Judge Ian Demers will take time to consider the arguments and come up with a decision sometime before the session begins next month.

Lawsuit challenging Trump's tariffs against Canada filed in U.S. Court of International Trade

Kelly Geraldine Malone — Tue, 20 Oct 2026 19:59:36 GMT

A lawsuit challenging U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs on Canada was filed in the U.S. Court of International Trade Tuesday. (Mark Schiefelbein/The Associated Press)

A lawsuit challenging U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs targeting Canada has been filed in the United States Court of International Trade.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday by the non-profit Liberty Justice Center on behalf of U.S. food importer Gellert Global Group, argues Trump's use of a Depression-era trade statute exceeds his power as president.

"Using the Section 338, which is, in my opinion, a dormant statute from 1930 that has never been used before, just said to us that this is wrong and we should do something about it," Liberty Justice Center CEO Sara Albrecht said in an interview from Chicago with CBC's Katie Simpson.

Trump used Section 338 to slap an array of Canadian goods with a 50 per cent levy after trade talks broke down in August.

The same statute was used the following month to ban the import of other Canadian goods, including motorcycles and some alcohol and dairy products.

Lawsuit argues Canadian policies don't justify tariffs

The White House has said Section 338 empowers the president to impose tariffs when a country puts U.S. exporters at a disadvantage relative to exporters in other countries — even though the law has never been used for that purpose.

U.S. officials have said the latest duties are a response to provincial bans on U.S. liquor, Canada's supply managed dairy system and quotas on certain U.S. vehicles.

Tuesday's lawsuit said the Canadian policies don't justify the sweeping tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.

It notes two of the measures — auto quotas and liquor bans — were actually a response to Trump's own tariff measures.

The lawsuit also said Canada's dairy supply management involves policies agreed to under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade, known as CUSMA, which was negotiated during the first Trump administration.

"This has real world consequences on not just the importers but the consumers in both countries," Albrecht said. "And I think it has even broader implications given the nature of the two countries and our historical relationship to each other."

She said she accepts that tariffs are one of Trump's signature policies, but says the way they are being implemented in this case is wrong.

"He has always been in love with tariffs, in my opinion, primarily because it's revenue … I can respect that," Albrecht said. "But in this case, it's wrong and it's violating our Constitution."

WATCH | Fighting the effects of U.S. tariffs:

Feds have hired 'best lawyers' to advise on Stelco next steps, says Joly

October 20|

0:53

Industry Minister Mélanie Joly says Ottawa took 'note' of Stelco's U.S. owner's earnings call, which she said confirmed Cleveland-Cliffs' support for U.S. tariffs against Canadian steel workers. Joly said her department is working closely with the union on a potential legal case and that she'll have more to say 'the coming days.'

A Trump administration official, commenting on background, said the president's actions will be vigorously defended in court. The official said Tuesday's lawsuit won't deter the president's commitment to levelling the playing field for American workers, farmers and firms.

Concerns beyond Canada

But in the meantime, the Trump administration's actions are leading to consequences for American businesses.

Thomas Gellert, co-chief executive officer of Gellert Global Group, said the company has "spent generations building trusted relationships with suppliers, customers and partners across the food industry."

"These tariffs disrupt those relationships overnight and create costs and uncertainty that ripple through the entire supply chain," Gellert said in the news release.

The company is being hit by the trade war on all sides, it goes on to say. It pays a 50 per cent tariff on imports of Canadian cheese but is also slammed by Ottawa's retaliatory tariffs on the American-made cheeses that its Canadian division sells in Canada.

The company cites the experience of one of its Canadian cheese suppliers to show how the integrated North American market is being disrupted by the tariff dispute. It gets milk from dairy farmers in Upstate New York, which is processed into brie in Canada, which is then sent back to the United States.

"The tariffs hit American farmers and businesses on both sides of that transaction," the news release said.

The case raises concerns beyond Canada, the news release said. If the duties remain unchecked, any president could use Section 338 to impose tariffs and trade restrictions without meaningful congressional control.

The lawsuit asks the court to declare the tariffs unlawful and order a refund.

The Liberty Justice Center was previously involved in the legal challenge against Trump's use of the International Economic Emergency Powers Act of 1977 for the so-called "Liberation Day" and fentanyl-related tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China.

In February, America's top court concluded it was not legal for Trump to use the statute, known as IEEPA, because the U.S. Constitution very clearly gives Congress power over taxes and tariffs.

As Christina Applegate reveals MS misdiagnosis, doctor warns of wrong treatment risks

Alexandra Mae Jones — Tue, 20 Oct 2026 19:03:47 GMT

Christina Applegate, seen here in January 2020, says her doctors have found that she was misdiagnosed when told she had multiple sclerosis in 2021. (Jordan Strauss/Invision/The Associated Press)

After five years of tireless advocacy for those who shared her diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS), Christina Applegate has revealed that doctors now believe she was misdiagnosed.

"To me it comes as, like, I'm back at square one," she said of the news.

Applegate shared the story in a two-part Tuesday episode of the podcast MeSsy, which she co-hosts with Jamie-Lynn Sigler, who has MS. She had spent some months away from the show, which she explained was partially to process the revelation.

Audibly emotional at times, Applegate said that while her doctor had congratulated her when revealing she didn’t have MS, she didn't feel happy — only lost.

"You don't get misdiagnosed and all of a sudden I’m better. I haven’t gotten better … if anything, I've gotten worse, in some ways," she said.

"My legs aren't working, you know, all the same stuff is happening to me."

Multiple sclerosis is a complex autoimmune disease of the central nervous system. With MS, the immune system mistakenly attacks the myelin, part of the central nervous system that serves as a protective coating for the nerves. This inhibits the brain and the body from sharing information, resulting in symptoms including numbness, memory issues, fatigue, mobility issues, and sometimes vision loss.

Applegate arrives for the 29th Screen Actors Guild Awards in Century City, Calif., in February 2023. (Valerine Macon/AFP via Getty Images)

Dr. Mark Freedman, director of the multiple sclerosis research unit at The Ottawa Hospital, compared it to when the outer rubber part of a wire wears off, exposing the copper inside.

"You've now got a bare wire, which doesn't conduct well," he told CBC News. The nerve is also then more exposed to inflammation in the body, which "can then go after that little wire and cut it and destroy it all together, and then you've lost the connection permanently."

The disease takes many forms, with some patients experiencing periods of remission and relapse, and others dealing with more consistent progression causing increasing disability.

Misdiagnosis is not uncommon globally — one U.S. study from 2019 by researchers at Cedars-Sinai found that the rate of misdiagnosis was nearly one in five patients. A 2024 review looked at studies reporting misdiagnosis rates ranging from five to 41 per cent, and found an estimate of 15 per cent misdiagnosis rate when they pooled six studies.

'Tested for everything'

Applegate first announced she had MS on social media in August 2021, but it started earlier that year, she said in Tuesday's podcast episode, when she began to experience numbness in her feet, which slowly moved up her legs.

"And then the pain started," she said. "All that time, I was being tested for everything under the sun."

She said she underwent spinal MRIs, brain MRIs and a spinal tap, and that doctors thought she might have a low-grade version of the disease at first. But her symptoms kept getting worse. When doctors found nearly 40 lesions on her brain, she was officially diagnosed with MS.

"I felt like, 'OK, I have an answer,'" she said in the podcast episode.

Applegate attends the 26th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles in January 2020. (Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Turner)

But a couple years ago, her doctor paused her infusion treatments to see how her B cells would respond. When their levels didn't change, doctors began to look closer at the diagnosis, including using "new technology that had come out" around brain MRIs, she said.

In 2024, the official diagnostic criteria was updated after a committee of experts evaluated new scientific advances — including the use of new tools like advanced MRIs capable of more specific detection.

Ultimately, it was concluded Applegate didn't have MS — but she wasn't given another diagnosis to replace it, leaving her in the dark as to what was causing her ongoing symptoms.

"I feel like I let everybody down, you know?" Applegate said tearfully to co-host Sigler, saying she felt like they'd become "the poster children for MS" together. The two started their podcast in 2024, featuring conversations about parenting and ordinary life struggles while dealing with the disease.

"It's like I had a reason … for why my day sucked every day, and now I don't have a reason. It's very unnerving."

LISTEN
How an MS diagnosis made Ardra Shephard look at life differently

The actress, who stepped away from the screen in 2021 after her diagnosis, is known for roles in movies such as Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, and Bad Moms, and for TV roles including her Emmy-nominated turn in Netflix’s Dead to Me.

Global rates of MS

Globally, more than 3.1 million people are living with MS worldwide, according to MS International Federation. Canada has one of the highest rates of the disease in the world, with more than 90,000 Canadians, roughly one in 400, affected by it. Around seven out of 10 cases are among women.

It can be difficult to diagnose because many conditions have overlapping neurological and physical symptoms — for instance, migraines can also create white spots on an MRI of the brain, and nerve damage from other conditions can create numbness.

WATCH | Trying TETRIS as a tool for patients with MS:

This McMaster study has participants with MS play Tetris

January 9|

2:14

A study that aims to improve balance in people with multiple sclerosis is ongoing at McMaster University in Hamilton. The study has people hooked up to a computer and play classic videogame Tetris with their body.

Being treated for MS when you don't actually have it can be risky for patients, Freedman said, as some of the more aggressive MS treatments work by suppressing the immune system, potentially exposing patients to viruses for no reason.

"The longer you take them and the older you are, the better the chances you're gonna have a problem," he said.

In Canada, he says, the misdiagnosis rate is much lower than in the U.S., estimating it at less than five per cent. He puts it down to Canada having a higher number of MS specialists and dedicated MS centres.

"What we teach our residents and fellows is if you're not sure of the diagnosis, you follow up the patients, you repeat testing, you look for the other thing that could look like MS, but you don't put the label on."

In the podcast, Sigler reassured Applegate that her advocacy was still important even if she was misdiagnosed, and admitted that even if Applegate couldn't feel happy, her first thought on hearing the news had been that one day, her friend might be able to dance again.

"I'm going to continue holding in my heart that this is a blessing for you," Sigler said.

No Canada-U.S. trade deal expected before American midterm elections: sources

Katie Simpson — Tue, 20 Oct 2026 19:01:56 GMT

U.S. President Donald Trump is seen with U.S. Sen Eric Schmitt as he arrives in Kansas for a campaign rally on Thursday. Sources tell CBC News that the White House is fully focused on the midterms, which are now two weeks away. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

The Canada-U.S. trade war is poised to grind on for the foreseeable future, as sources tell CBC News hope of a deal before the American midterm elections has completely faded.

According to three sources with knowledge of the situation, Canadian government officials have been informing industry groups over the past few weeks that there is no expectation a deal can be reached before the Nov. 3 vote.

There is no substantial engagement at this time, according to the sources, even though officials from both countries remain in contact.

The sources have also been told that the White House is fully immersed in the election campaign. U.S. President Donald Trump is spending much of his time on the road holding rallies, as polls suggest his Republican Party is facing an uphill battle to maintain control of the House and possibly even the Senate.

CBC News agreed not to name the sources as they were not authorized to speak publicly about this active and sensitive issue.

WATCH | No trade deal with U.S. expected before midterms, sources say:

Forget securing a Canada-U.S. trade deal before midterms: sources

9 hours ago|

2:04

Expect the Canada-U.S. trade war to drag on as hopes of finding a resolution before the U.S. midterm elections on Nov. 3 have completely faded, sources tell CBC News. The two sides remain in contact despite the deadlock.

"There was some optimism within some parts of the [federal] government and in certain parts of Canadian industry that we might have seen a deal ahead of the midterms," said Brian Clow, who was former prime minister Justin Trudeau's deputy chief of staff.

"But that window appears to be entirely closed."

The optimism was rooted in the idea that because the trade war with Canada is unpopular with some American voters — those who blame Trump's trade and tariff policies for an increase in the cost of living — the Trump administration would be motivated to cut a deal.

WATCH | Affordability a top voter issue in U.S.:

Inflation top of mind for voters ahead of U.S. midterms

October 14|

2:04

U.S. President Donald Trump’s approval ratings have dipped to around 30 per cent ahead of the midterm elections, according to recent polls, as affordability continues to be a top voter issue.

The trade war with Canada is unpopular enough that some Republican candidates have distanced themselves from the president and his agenda. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine is among the Republicans who have publicly pushed back as she finds herself in a tight re-election race.

Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc confirmed that the government isn't expecting a deal before the midterm elections in an interview with CBC's Power & Politics following publication of this story.

"We have continued to remain engaged with the United States. But we're not going to rush into some particular circumstance and … agree to something that we don't think is in Canada's sovereign interest or economic interest," he told host David Cochrane.

Trump will keep Trumping, regardless of result

Whatever the results of the midterm elections may be, Clow said that Canadians should not anticipate much change when it comes to trade.

He suggests the Democrats taking power away from Republicans would provide "a marginal benefit to Canada" at best.

He says Trump could be distracted if a Democrat-led House or Senate launches investigations into his administration. They also could pass legislation that attempts to rein in some of Trump's policies.

However, Trump has already signalled he will veto anything he doesn't like.

"He still has a lot of tools to inflict a lot of damage on Canada and the rest of the world when it comes to trade," Clow said. "I expect no matter what happens … he's still going to use those tools."

Trump has carried out his tariff strategy using executive orders, along with actions by the U.S. Commerce Department and the U.S. Trade Representative's office. None of those options go away if Republicans lose the midterms.

"We're not going to get relief from Congress changing in the short term," said Flavio Volpe, a member of the Canada-U.S. economic advisory committee and president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association.

But if Democrats are successful, Volpe says that will mean "more adults in the room."

More threatened tariffs on horizon

With no end in sight to the trade tensions, more threatened tariffs are less than three months away.

Days after trade talks fell apart in August, Trump again complained about Canada "ripping off" the United States.

"On January First, 2027, Tariffs on all Cars, Trucks, both large and small, Automotive Parts and Steel will be increased to 50%," he wrote on his Truth Social platform.

"WE DON'T NEED CANADA, THEY NEED US!"

Lawsuit challenging Trump's tariffs against Canada filed in U.S. Court of International Trade

Clow says this new deadline will incentivize Canada to see if there's some sort of agreement to be made.

"Like a lot of threats we've seen from this administration you have to take it seriously even if it may not come to pass," he said. "And unfortunately we won't know until Jan. 1 whether this is a real threat."

LeBlanc noted on Power & Politics that the administration has yet to move forward with anything official on increasing auto tariffs.

"But there's no doubt that that is obviously of concern to us. That's why we continue to say to our American counterparts … that all of this is avoidable if the two countries can come to an agreement," the minister said.

When asked about the status of these possible tariffs, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer declined to provide specific details.

Stelco's U.S. owner says steelmaker had 'strongest' quarter since acquisition as massive layoffs underway

At the G20 trade ministers' summit in Milwaukee three weeks ago, Greer rejected the assertion that this is a threat and denied that Canada is being targeted.

He said tariffs are part of U.S. "domestic economic policy" and that they're "not focused on any one country."

WATCH | More about the G20 ministers' summit:

‘Door is always open’ for U.S.-Canada trade talks, says Greer

September 30|

1:35

G20 trade ministers gathered in Milwaukee, Wis., for a summit, but no formal talks between the U.S. and Canada are expected. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told American media the ‘door is always open’ for negotiations.

If work is happening behind the scenes to move ahead with these new tariffs, Canadian industry officials say they have not been given any sort of heads up.

"We haven't seen any paperwork," says Volpe.

In order for a tariff threat to become a reality, it requires some form of legal documentation to bring the policy into force. Those documents outline the scope of the policy and the laws being used to enforce the levies.

"They know that if they tariff auto parts from Canada, they shut down the entire American automotive manufacturing structure simply because those parts will not get delivered," Volpe said.

While Volpe is confident the Trump administration will back away from new tariffs on auto parts, he said he isn't so sure about autos and steel.

"[Trump] just might be willing to sink Detroit trying to prove some point that nobody can understand," he said.

Canada the irritant

Trump routinely uses Canada as a punching bag in his campaign rally speeches.

"At some point, we're making a deal that's gonna be amazing," Trump said during a stop in Highland Heights, Ky., on Saturday.

"But for years we've lost billions and billions of dollars, and they just felt so emboldened."

Trump has long been frustrated by trade deficits, including with Canada. However, he regularly exaggerates the actual number.

He was cheered when he called Trudeau a "loser" before taking aim at Prime Minister Mark Carney.

"Your current guy's good … he's a nice guy, but he's not nice when it comes to trade," he said.

"They're learning and they're suffering."

Satellite images reveal Wainwright fire devastation

Graeme Bruce — Tue, 20 Oct 2026 16:48:19 GMT

The burned area on CFB Wainwright on Monday. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press)

The charred land where a blaze ripped through a portion of CFB Wainwright in Alberta on Saturday, claiming the lives of four service members and injuring dozens of others, can be seen from space.

Images from Planet Labs shows the extent of the fire, which was fuelled at least in part by dry land and howling winds. Environment Canada had issued a wind alert that morning and the fire danger index in the area was deemed extreme by Natural Resources Canada.

The images show a burnt area of roughly 10 square kilometres on Sunday, one day after the blaze was first reported. The general area of the base where the fire began is referred to as a "permanent danger area" by OpenStreetMap, a widely used geographic database maintained by volunteers.

On Sunday, the Municipal District of Wainwright reported the fire was being held.

Canadian Armed Forces Maj.-Gen. Wade Rutland, inaugural commander of the revitalized 1st Canadian Division, told reporters Sunday that the fire began as a grass fire and spread rapidly around 4 p.m. as the wind direction changed.

That day, soldiers were throwing hand grenades on a grenade range, he said, while others were conducting a "section attack," in which 10 soldiers attack a simulated enemy.

With files from Wendy Martinez, Elizabeth Thompson

Juror sends mysterious letter to jailed man he just helped convict of murder in Windsor, Ont.

Jason Viau — Tue, 20 Oct 2026 16:30:30 GMT

A juror sent Glen Mayer a letter, shown in this image, while he was at Windsor, Ont.'s South West Detention Centre after he was convicted of first-degree murder of a man who'd been having an affair with his wife. (Superior Court of Justice)

Roughly two months after a first-degree murder trial in Windsor, Ont., ended, one juror took the “highly unusual” step of sending the convicted man a letter requesting to meet.

In June, a Superior Court of Justice jury found Glen Mayer guilty of first-degree murder, which comes with an automatic life sentence and no chance of parole for 25 years.

On Monday, family members of Tony Bechara — who was shot dead in his own home on Jan. 20, 2024, after Mayer learned Bechara was having an affair with his wife — were waiting to read their victim impact statements in court prior to sentencing.

'Part of my heart was taken,' mom of murdered Belle River, Ont., man tells emotional sentencing hearing

Instead, the defence put forward a motion requesting what’s known as a judicial inquiry based on the letter.

The typed letter, obtained by CBC News, was addressed to Mayer and requests a meeting to “perhaps discuss some things with respect to your current circumstances.”

“I have some observations I’d like to share with you as well, and I’d be interested in your feedback on those things," it reads.

The individual, whose name and contact information is redacted from the court document, didn’t include identification as a juror in the letter.

Defence wonders if verdict was 'tainted'

The trial heard that in the overnight hours of Jan. 20, 2024, Mayer found out about the affair between his wife and Bechara, left his LaSalle home with his registered handgun and drove to Belle River to confront Bechara.

Mayer testified that he and Bechara were yelling, and Bechara grabbed a knife and came toward him. That's when Mayer pulled out his gun and shot Bechara multiple times.

Hours later, Mayer turned himself in to the LaSalle police station with his dad.

Defence lawyer Julianna Greenspan says she plans to file for an appeal of the guilty verdict on behalf of Mayer. (Jason Viau/CBC)

Mayer’s defence lawyer, Julianna Greenspan, said the letter creates a “highly unusual, very concerning dynamic.”

Since both Mayer and the juror connected to the letter heard the same evidence at trial, Greenspan said, the letter raises “a concern that he’s referencing information” beyond what occurred in the courtroom.

“It does suggest on its face that there is extraneous information that this juror is wanting and hoping to share privately with Mr. Mayer,” said Greenspan.

If outside information was used by this juror, or the jury, during the trial, Greenspan argued, it could have “tainted the verdict.”

Jurors can't discuss info not shared in open court

The Criminal Code of Canada also states a juror can be found “guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction” if the individual discloses information relating to the proceeding that wasn’t shared in open court.

"Jurors are, in the course of deliberations, to be in a private space, and that cannot be pierced," said Greenspan.

Man on trial for murder learns of wife's affair hours prior to shooting death of her co-worker, Crown says

After hearing the lawyers’ arguments for nearly two hours, Justice J. Ross Macfarlane took a 20-minute break and returned to dismiss the motion to conduct a judicial review.

He said the information presented by the defence “does not provide a credible basis that this jury may have been exposed to extraneous evidence.”

This image from surveillance video shows Mayer turning himself in to the LaSalle Police Service on Jan. 20, 2024. A jury found him guilty of killing Tony Bechara. (Superior Court of Justice)

Macfarlane also asked Greenspan why she waited so long to bring the letter to the attention of the court if she had been so concerned.

The trial ended June 26 and the letter was stamped as received by the South West Detention Centre on Aug. 26.

Lawyer consulted others about unusual letter

Greenspan explained in court that given the unusual nature of this letter, she consulted with a number of individuals on the appropriate next steps.

She also indicated she reached out to the individual to confirm he in fact was a juror and attempt to suss out his intentions.

The juror responded via email to say that they have “no information or details on the aforementioned case Mr. Mayer was involved with whatsoever, other than the information I was entrusted with during my involvement as a member of that particular jury.”

The juror also said they still want a private meeting with Mayer and he’s not “requesting an audience” with lawyers present.

Greenspan said the second correspondence is more guarded and calculated compared to the first letter, and is written in a “litigator” sort of tone.

“It heightens the need for inquiry,” she said.

Within the next 30 days, Greenspan said, she intends to file for an appeal of Mayer’s guilty verdict.

Former Blue Jay, wife charged with fraud linked to Ontario youth baseball program fees: police

Rochelle Raveendran — Tue, 20 Oct 2026 14:50:30 GMT

Former Toronto Blue Jay, wife charged in youth baseball fraud scheme: police

10 hours ago|

2:08

A former player for the Toronto Blue Jays has been charged by Durham Regional Police in connection with a fraud investigation. CBC’s Greg Ross breaks down the charges against former big leaguer Richard Butler and his wife Michelle.

A former Major League Baseball player and his wife have been charged after a fraud investigation into an Ontario youth baseball program, which allegedly took thousands of dollars for training it never provided, Durham police say.

Between April 1 and Oct. 31 of last year, approximately $60,000 in registration fees for the 2025-2026 Ontario Devil Rays training program was deposited into a bank account associated with the program, police said in a news release Tuesday. But funds were later transferred to other accounts associated with the accused — Michelle Butler, 52, and former big leaguer Richard Butler, 53, both of Frankford, Ont.

The registration fees were allegedly not used for the program, and the services agreed upon were not provided, police said.

Families who paid the registration received an email on Oct. 19, 2025, saying the business had been dissolved due to financial hardship and claiming bankruptcy, police said. But investigators later determined the lawyer’s name on the email “had allegedly been used without his knowledge or permission, and no bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings were initiated,” the release said.

Rich Butler spent parts of three seasons in the big leagues, including a long stint with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays during the team's first season. (Getty Images, David Seelig/Allsport)

Richard and Michelle Butler have now been charged with one count each of fraud over $5,000, possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000 and uttering a forged document.

Richard played parts of three seasons in the big leagues, including seven games for the Toronto Blue Jays in 1997 and 79 games for the Tampa Bay Rays between 1998 and 1999, according to the Major League Baseball website.

His brother, Rob Butler, is also a former Blue Jay and was part of the team's 1993 World Series championship. He now manages the Toronto Maple Leafs of the Canadian Baseball League, according to the club's website.

The Ontario Devil Rays competed in the Fergie Jenkins Showcase League (FJSL), based in Welland, Ont.

The league said in a statement that it was not involved in and had no knowledge of the team’s “dealings with parents or the collection and use of their payments,” as member teams operate independently.

Police encourage victims to come forward

The investigation began in early spring last year after parents approached police, Const. Bharat Sharma told CBC News.

Richard was the owner of the program, he said. Michelle was directly involved in operations, but Sharma said it's “uncertain” whether she was also an owner.

Sharma would not say how many families have been affected by the alleged fraud, but said police are concerned there may be further victims.

“A lot of times, people don’t want to come forward, sometimes out of embarrassment, sometimes out of concern of retaliation,” he said.

“But we want to remind the families that you’re not alone.”

This investigation comes after a separate police probe into the Ajax FC Soccer club. Two people employed at the club were charged after allegedly defrauding more than $650,000 of league funds, police said in a news release in September.

2 people accused of defrauding Ajax FC Soccer Club of over $650K: police

Sharma said parents should take precautions before choosing a sports program for their child.

“Trust your gut, go with the reputable sports organizations, and ask the questions you feel may be necessary before you enroll your children into programs,” he said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Durham police.

Hacker took 100,000 documents in 2025 'cyber incident,' Kingston Police say

CBC — Fri, 02 Oct 2026 19:30:37 GMT

Police in Kingston, Ont., have released more information about a January 2025 "cyber incident" in which someone gained access to the service's systems and copied about 100,000 documents containing personal and court information. (Dan Taekema/CBC)

In a Friday news release, Kingston Police said a "threat actor" accessed its network using a compromised account on Jan. 1, 2025.

By the time police noticed the breach two days later, the hacker had copied and encrypted about 160 gigabytes of data from police servers.

According to police, "experts in cybersecurity" reached out the suspected hacker who agreed to delete the data and show proof they had done so. Police did not explain why the hacker agreed to co-operate.

There's no evidence that any of the personal data has been leaked, according to Kingston Police.

"Based on the available evidence, [Kingston Police] believes the likelihood of misuse or disclosure of the extracted information is low," they said.

"However, while there is no evidence that the information has been disclosed, copied, or misused, it cannot be definitively ruled out that copies of the information were retained by the threat actor or disclosed elsewhere."

What was taken

Kingston Police said 160 gigabytes of data — for comparison, the latest iPhone model starts with 256 gigabytes of storage — contained about 345,000 documents, but all but about 100,000 were "duplication and junk."

The documents in question include several broad categories:

Twenty-three years of information on people who interacted with police from 2000 to 2023, affecting about 22,000 people including offenders, victims, complainants, missing people, witnesses and police employees. Their names, birthdays and other legal information were exposed.
Fifteen years of criminal court information from 2009 to 2024, affecting about 51,000 people whose names, birthdays and legal information were exposed.
Thirteen years of bail hearing information from 2009 to 2022, affecting about 68,000 people whose names, birthdays and remand information were exposed.
Twelve years of provincial ticketing information from 2012 to 2024, affecting 50,000 to 100,000 people whose names, birthdays and legal information were exposed.
Twenty-two years of other data from 1998 to 2020, affecting "a wide cross-section" of about 80,000 people who interacted with police. Police said from this group, about 2,000 driver's licence numbers, fewer than 1,000 social insurance numbers and fewer than 250 credit card, health card or passport numbers were exposed.

Those groups, plus anyone who provided personal information to police over those various date ranges, should consider standard precautions such as monitoring financial accounts for unusual activity, contacting government agencies if they believe a government ID was compromised, and being wary of unsolicited calls or messages asking for personal information.

The police force and the city's oversight board have plans to improve cybersecurity oversight, including investing nearly $4 million over three years and hiring more full-time information technology staff.

CBC News asked for an interview about the breach but was instead sent a statement from Chief Adam MacIntosh saying they take people's concerns seriously and remain committed to strengthening their systems.

Canadian investigation launched into data breach that exposed millions of IDs

CBC — Mon, 21 Sep 2026 23:22:58 GMT

Canada's privacy commissioner is investigating a data security breach that exposed identification details from driver's licences and other government-issued ID. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press)

Canada's privacy commissioner has launched an investigation into a data breach at IDScan.net that potentially exposed details from millions of driver's licences and other kinds of government-issued identification from Canada and the U.S.

IDScan.net provides identification verification software to several categories of businesses, from bars and casinos to car rental companies.

Earlier this month, the company published a public notice about a data security incident, stating that "an unauthorized third party may have accessed and/or copied certain customer information stored within their accounts on the IDScan.net cloud."

The company said it was notifying individuals who had potentially been affected and offered free credit monitoring services.

Two days before IDScan.net published its alert, the FBI confirmed it was looking into the reported theft of tens of millions of driver's licences belonging to people in the U.S. and Canada that were being sold on the dark net.

The bureau said it was "looking into the incident" but could not comment "due to the ongoing nature of the investigation."

Unprecedented in size and scope

The breach could be one of the largest-ever exposures of government-issued identity documents in North America.

Zach Edwards, a threat researcher at the cybersecurity company Infoblox, told Reuters the incident was unprecedented in terms of its sweep.

"There's never been a breach of driver's licences at this scale," said Edwards, who added that he discovered his own license was part of it. Edwards said that the ongoing nature of the breach "means that this attack created legitimate national security risks for high-profile individuals."

Canada's Office of the Privacy Commissioner says it's examining the security safeguards IDScan.net had in place at the time of the breach and whether its actions to notify potentially affected Canadians were adequate.

The probe will also look at whether IDScan.net breached Canada’s federal private-sector privacy laws.