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WestJet flight evacuates after hard landing in Caribbean

A WestJet flight from Toronto made a hard landing in St. Maarten in the Caribbean on Sunday, with slides activated to evacuate the plane.

Passengers and crew managed to slide down safely and were transported to the island airport’s terminal, Calgary-based WestJet said in a statement.

“Emergency services responded immediately, deploying foam as a precaution,” WestJet said. “All guests are accounted for and there are no reported injuries.”

© Carlos Osorio

FILE PHOTO: A WestJet Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner airplane taxis along a runway at Toronto Pearson Airport in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada April 28, 2021. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio/File Photo
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Protest breaks out at TIFF over documentary about Israeli general

A group of activists placed small rolled-up blankets smeared with fake blood – staged to resemble dead infants – in front of the TIFF entrance sign.

Protesters had a brief standoff with police on Toronto International Film Festival’s main strip on Saturday as they demonstrated against the screening of a film centred on a retired Israeli general.

A group of activists wearing kaffiyehs and waving Palestinian flags gathered around the TIFF sign at King Street and University Avenue, placing small rolled-up blankets smeared with fake blood – staged to resemble dead infants – at its base.

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‘Queen of Canada’ Romana Didulo’s compound declared a threat to public safety by health officials

Romana Didulo, the self-declared 'Queen of Canada' at a protest against COVID-19 vaccine mandates, Ottawa, February, 2022.

Provincial officials in Saskatchewan say parts of a former school that was serving as a compound for the self-proclaimed “Queen of Canada” and her followers have been declared unfit for human habitation, and the residents have been ordered out.

The Saskatchewan Health Authority says in an email that occupancy of the building in Richmound is prohibited under Section 22 of the Public Health Act, on the basis that the premises is a multi-person residence and is not connected to the municipal sewer system.

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Political world pays tribute to hockey great Ken Dryden’s public service

Prime Minister Paul Martin gestures to Quebec Premier Jean Charest as social development Minister Ken Dryden and Carole Theberge sign a child care deal in Montreal in October, 2005.

The death of Montreal Canadiens legend Ken Dryden resonated in political circles on Saturday where the former NHL great left his mark as a long-standing member of Parliament and former Liberal cabinet minister.

The Montreal Canadiens organization announced Dryden’s death shortly after 12:30 a.m. Saturday. He died Friday at age 78 following a battle with cancer.

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B.C. ostrich farm wins interim stay, prevents cull of 400 birds over flu

A sign calling for the protection of ostriches at the Universal Ostrich Farms is displayed at the farm in Edgewood, B.C., on May 17, 2025.

A B.C. ostrich farm fighting to stop a cull of its 400-strong flock over an avian flu outbreak has been granted an interim stay by the Federal Court of Appeal in Ottawa, delaying the execution of the birds.

Universal Ostrich Farms in Edgewood, B.C., has been attempting to stop the Canadian Food Inspection Agency from destroying the birds since the cull was ordered amid an avian flu outbreak in December that would go on to kill 69 ostriches.

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In B.C., candidates making early bids at mayoral jobs

Municipal voters have struggled to figure out where the local parties sit on the political spectrum because they haven’t aligned with the traditional Conservative, Liberal and NDP brands.

For decades, candidates for civic elections in British Columbia have held off campaigning until a couple of months before the traditional fall vote.

But this year, with more than 400 days before the scheduled Oct. 27, 2026, municipal elections, Surrey Councillor Linda Annis splashed out Wednesday with a news conference in a major hotel ballroom to announce she would be challenging Mayor Brenda Locke for her job.

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Judge proposes heated shelters at Alberta bars after two men died of hypothermia

The report recommends bars and clubs have heated cold-weather shelters or dry-out rooms available to intoxicated patrons.

An Alberta judge at a fatality inquiry for two men who died of hypothermia says bars need measures like heated outdoor shelters to keep patrons from dying in the cold after they leave.

Provincial court Justice Carol Godfrey, in a report issued Friday, says the deaths of 18-year-old Tyler Emes and 20-year-old Mohamed Munyeabdi near The Ranch Roadhouse in south Edmonton are tragic.

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Carney will introduce legislation next month to tighten bail system

The Prime Minister said Friday that he’s been working with provincial and territorial leaders on bail changes and will be proposing legislation this month when the House of Commons returns after summer break.

Prime Minister Mark Carney says his government will introduce legislation next month to tighten Canada’s bail system, making it harder for those accused of serious crimes to be released, after a series of violent incidents including assaults and home invasions.

Mr. Carney, who wrapped up two days of meetings with his cabinet in Toronto this week, said at a press conference Friday in Mississauga that his government is committed to fixing the Criminal Code.

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Brain chips from Musk’s Neuralink implanted in two Canadian men with spinal cord injuries

Dr. Andres Lozano, right, a neurosurgeon at University Health Network, at Toronto Western Hospital on Aug. 27. Dr. Lozano led the surgical team that implanted Neuralink chips in two Canadian patients.

Two Canadian patients with spinal cord injuries have received Neuralink brain implants that have allowed them to control a computer with their thoughts.

They are part of the first clinical trial outside of the United States to test the safety and effectiveness of Elon Musk’s Neuralink wireless brain chip, which he introduced to the public in 2020, and was first implanted in a paralyzed American in 2024.

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Is AI helping or hurting students? We answered your questions

Acadia professor Dr. Daniel Lametti says that you can't rely on AI detectors to identify computer-generated writing.

On Sept. 4, postsecondary education reporter Joe Friesen, online culture reporter Samantha Edwards and psychology professor Dr. Daniel Lametti from Acadia University answered reader questions on the use of AI in schools, what parents and educators should look out for, and how students could harness its potential.

Readers asked about how AI use is changing classrooms, students’ ability to learn, and how they can use it responsibly. Here are some highlights from the Q+A.

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Quebec judge declares Northvolt insolvent as province recovers nearly $200-million

The site near Montreal where Northvolt planned to build a new EV battery plant, seen in 2024. A Quebec judge placed the North American branch of the company under creditor protection on Friday.

A Quebec Superior Court judge has declared insolvent the North American branch of battery maker Northvolt as the provincial government looks to recover $260-million owed to it by the company.

Justice Janet Michelin on Friday placed Northvolt Batteries North America under creditor protection at the request of the Quebec government.

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Manitoba mass stabbing suspect was out on bail, ordered not to contact sister killed in attack

Several people were taken to hospital after a stabbing attack on Hollow Water First Nation in Manitoba on Thursday. The suspect had a history of prior offences.

It’s an oft-used cliché with smaller towns, but in Manitoba’s lakeside community of Hollow Water First Nation, everyone knows everyone, says rural band councillor Maurice Williams.

That’s why after a stabbing rampage this week left a woman and the suspect, her brother, dead, along with seven other people seriously injured in the tight-knit area, everyone is now in mourning.

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Canadian campuses are mostly female. What are men doing instead?

More on this story

Higher education reporter Joe Friesen spoke with The Decibel podcast about the factors driving the gender gap in higher education. Columnist Marsha Lederman also weighed in on what is lost when fewer men go to university.

As classes begin for students at Canadian universities this month, one group will stand out for its relative underrepresentation: young men.

© Fred Lum

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Truck fire shuts down B.C.’s Coquihalla Highway hours after key route reopened following wildfire threat

Smoke from the Mine Creek wildfire burning between Hope and Merritt, B.C., on Wednesday. The Fraser Valley Regional District declared a state of local emergency because of the blaze.

A semi-truck on fire has closed the Coquihalla Highway between Hope and Merritt, just hours after the key route to and from British Columbia’s Lower Mainland reopened following a two-day closure due to a wind-fuelled wildfire.

The province’s driver information service, DriveBC, issued an update on social media at 6:10 p.m. Friday saying the southbound lanes of the route were closed, followed by an update at 6:26 p.m. saying it was closed in both directions.

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Canada providing $3-million in humanitarian aid for Afghan earthquake victims

Afghans search remnants of damaged houses, after earthquakes at Nurgal district in Kunar province, in Eastern Afghanistan, on Sept. 4, 2025.

The Canadian government is providing $3-million in humanitarian assistance to help people directly affected by recent earthquakes in eastern Afghanistan.

Randeep Sarai, the Secretary of State for International Development, made the announcement on Friday, saying the money will be allocated to organizations working within the country.

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Carney unveils billions in aid to help tariff-hit sectors, delays EV mandate

Honda employees work along the vehicle assembly line in Alliston, Ont.

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced billions of dollars in financial aid and other measures for some of the industries hardest hit by the trade war with the United States, saying it would help Canada adjust to a “rupture” in the global world order.

The range of programs announced Friday includes hitting pause on a mandatory sales target for electric vehicles, a $5-billion Strategic Response Fund targeted at sectors directly affected by U.S. tariffs, financial aid for the agriculture sector, a “Buy Canadian” policy for the federal government, the expansion of employment insurance, and new training programs for workers.

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Quebec City couple killed in Lisbon funicular crash were on milestone birthday vacation

Quebec City couple André Bergeron and Blandine Daux enjoying their trip to Portugal for his 70th birthday before they were killed in a funicular accident in Lisbon Wednesday.

Blandine Daux and André Bergeron were enjoying the penultimate day of their trip to Portugal for his 70th birthday when the funicular they were riding through hilly Lisbon derailed, killing the Quebec City couple and 14 others.

Mr. Bergeron was retired from four decades of restoring and conserving artifacts, and Ms. Daux, still working in that archaeological field, had planned the celebratory trip, according to his younger brother Eric Bergeron.

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Morning Update: The unsung heroes of TIFF

Good morning. Just as the Toronto International Film Festival has something for everyone, the 11-day event requires the wide-ranging work of many different hands. More on the heroic effort below, plus news updates from the Middle East and Portugal. But first:

Today’s headlines

  • An internal government document obtained by The Globe lists 32 potential national projects
  • A woman has been killed and the suspect, her brother, is dead after multiple stabbings in Hollow Water First Nation, a small community in Manitoba
  • Tom Pitfield, a top adviser to Mark Carney and a Liberal Party strategist, has ties to Big Tobacco, sources say

© Chris Donovan

Volunteers take down signs after the last red carpet of the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival.
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August unemployment rate reaches nine-year high outside of pandemic

Canada had almost 1.6 million people unemployed in August as the economy lost thousands of jobs and its unemployment rate scaled over a nine-year peak barring the pandemic years, data showed on Friday.

Its unemployment rate rose 0.2 percentage points in August to 7.1 per cent, a level last seen in May, 2016, if the COVID-19 years of 2020 and 2021 were excluded, Statscan said

The economy shed 65,500 jobs in August, largely in part-time work, it said, and added that this was fuelled not only by lower hiring but also some layoffs with the layoff rate rising to 1 per cent in August, compared with 0.9 per cent observed 12 months earlier.

© Sean Kilpatrick

Signage mark the Statistics Canada offiices in Ottawa on July 21, 2010. Statistics Canada says it is working with the United States Census Bureau and plans to release the December merchandise data on March 6.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
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Darkened by ash from wildfires, glaciers in the Canadian Rockies are melting even faster

As the helicopter turned toward Peyto Glacier, located in the Park Ranges of the Canadian Rockies, John Pomeroy and his team of scientists gasped.

Prof. Pomeroy, a distinguished professor and director of the Global Water Futures Observatories at the University of Saskatchewan, has studied the ice mass in Banff National Park since 2008, visiting several times a year to adjust weather stations and photograph changes.

© Sarah Palmer

Dr. John Pomeroy, Director of the Global Water Futures Programme and Coldwater Laboratory in Canmore, walks across Peyto Glacier in Alberta on September 4, 2024.
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Saskatchewan requests notwithstanding case to be folded into Bill 21 Supreme Court hearing

The Supreme Court of Canada in Ottawa.

The Saskatchewan government said on Thursday it plans to appeal a case it recently lost in the lower courts to the Supreme Court of Canada.

And, if that’s granted, the province added an unusual request: It wants the top court to combine the proposed appeal with a major Supreme Court case already in progress on Quebec’s secularism law.

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Self-styled Queen of Canada charged after raid on Saskatchewan compound

Romana Didulo, the self-declared 'Queen of Canada,' leaves after speaking on Parliament Hill during protests of vaccine mandates in February, 2022. Ms. Didulo was arrested after an RCMP raid on Wednesday.

A day after Romana Didulo, the self-styled Queen of Canada, and 15 of her supporters were arrested in a tiny Saskatchewan town, she and the owner of her group’s compound were both charged.

The RCMP had announced earlier on Thursday that they had to release the group because no charges had been secured in the investigation, but they noted an unidentified man and woman had been taken back into custody. 

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U.S. treatment of domestic violence refugees should compel Canada to revisit asylum treaty, critics say

Claudia Ensuncho Martinez, a domestic violence victim who attempted to claim asylum in Canada, was denied entry under the terms of the Safe Third Country Agreement. She and her son now fear deportation from the United States.

The case of a domestic violence survivor from Colombia who was denied entry to Canada and now fears deportation from the United States underscores the need for Ottawa to withdraw from a bilateral treaty limiting asylum claims at the border, critics say.

The Safe Third Country Agreement prohibits most asylum seekers who pass through the U.S. from claiming asylum in Canada, and vice versa. It is premised on both countries offering robust refugee protections.

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Report on Lapu Lapu festival tragedy recommends Vancouver develop measures to mitigate vehicle attacks

Debris is seen on East 43rd Avenue in Vancouver, where a vehicle drove into a crowd at a Lapu Lapu Day festival the night before, on April 27, 2025.

Mayor Ken Sim has released Vancouver’s final report on outdoor-event safety after this spring’s deadly SUV attack at a Filipino block party, pledging to act quickly on its recommendations while conceding that the most needed fix – better mental-health services – is beyond the city’s control.

Among its eight recommendations, the joint review by city staff and the Vancouver Police Department, released Thursday, urges the city to develop formal plans for both permanent and event-specific measures to mitigate vehicle attacks.

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Wildfire near B.C.’s Coquihalla Highway triggers evacuation order and alerts

Smoke rises from the Mine Creek wildfire burning between Hope and Merritt, B.C., on Wednesday. There are about 151 active wildfires burning in the province, with nine starting in the last 24 hours.

About 84 properties along the Coquihalla Highway in the British Columbia Interior are on alert and one other has been ordered to evacuate due to an intense wildfire that saw drivers go through showers of embers before the highway was shut down.

The Thompson-Nicola Regional District says the evacuation order and alerts are due to the Mine Creek fire, which has reached 1,900 hectares in size and is burning near the highway between Hope and Merritt.

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B.C. will fight lawsuit by U.S.-based tribes over consultation rights in Canada, Eby says

In a press conference on Thursday, B.C. Premier David Eby said the province's obligations are not to Indigenous people in the United States.

British Columbia’s premier says his government will be fighting a lawsuit by an Aboriginal group based in the United States, saying B.C.’s obligations are to Indigenous people in Canada.

David Eby was responding to litigation brought by the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation in Washington state, which says it is being unfairly excluded from B.C.’s consultation with First Nations.

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Human remains found in Ontario’s Algonquin Park in 1980 identified using genetic genealogy

After more than four decades, human remains found in Ontario's Algonquin Park have been identified as Eric (Ricky) Singer of Cleveland, Ohio, seen in this undated handout image.

Ontario Provincial Police say human remains discovered in the province’s Algonquin Park in 1980 have been identified as belonging to a man from Ohio, thanks to investigative genetic genealogy.

Police say investigators located human remains, a boot, wallet, clothing and camping gear after a hiker found remains near the Hardwood Lookout Trail on April 19, 1980.

© HO

After more than four decades, human remains found in Ontario's Algonquin Park have been identified as Eric (Ricky) Singer of Cleveland, Ohio, seen in this undated handout image. Ricky was last seen at his parents' residence in Berea, Ohio, on Thursday, Oct. 4, 1973. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - OPP (Mandatory Credit)
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Measles outbreak highlights need for modernized vaccine registry, Ontario’s chief medical officer says

Ontario is lagging behind other provinces who have modernized their vaccine records, the province's Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kieran Moore said in his annual report.

Ontario’s top doctor is calling for a national immunization schedule and registry to address gaps exposed by the resurgence of measles in Canada – but first, he says his own province needs a centralized digital vaccine system.

Dr. Kieran Moore’s annual report, recently tabled with the provincial legislature, says a co-ordinated approach from all levels of government and the health-care system is needed to keep vaccine-preventable diseases at bay amid a rise in vaccine hesitancy.

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Closing of Ontario Crown Royal plant likely result of parent company’s struggles, expert says

Premier Doug Ford empties a bottle of Crown Royal whisky at a press conference in Kitchener, Ont., on Tuesday.

The looming closure of an Ontario plant that bottles Crown Royal sparked political blowback this week, but a supply chain expert says the company behind the move faced pressing decisions on how to cut costs amid ongoing financial challenges.

Spirits maker Diageo DEO-N found itself in Doug Ford’s crosshairs on Tuesday when the Ontario Premier capped an unrelated press conference by producing a Crown Royal bottle and proceeding to slowly dump it out on the ground.

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Woman and suspect killed, at least seven more injured in stabbing attack in Manitoba

RCMP officers attend one of the scenes of a mass stabbing at Hollow Water First Nation in Manitoba on Sept. 4, 2025.

A woman has been killed and the suspect, her brother, is dead after multiple stabbings in Hollow Water First Nation, a small Manitoba community on the eastern shore of Lake Winnipeg.

At least seven people remain in hospital with serious injuries, Manitoba RCMP said late Thursday afternoon. The suspect, Tyrone Simard, 26, knew all of the victims. He was killed after allegedly fleeing from the area in a stolen vehicle, succumbing to his injuries from a collision with a police cruiser.

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Union escalates B.C. public service job action, says no improved offer in sight

Members of the British Columbia General Employees' Union picket outside an ICBC driver licensing office in Surrey, B.C., on Tuesday.

Strike action by public service workers from the BC General Employees’ Union entered its third day with pickets in front of a Vancouver building that houses a Ministry of Finance office, and the union president says more strike action will come.

Paul Finch joined striking workers who wore placards and shouted slogans, one with the help of a megaphone, on Thursday.

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Canada’s top bureaucrat met with U.S. officials to pursue smaller deals on tariffs, LeBlanc says

Dominic LeBlanc, left, told reporters outside of a cabinet meeting Thursday that Canada is pursuing “technical discussions” with the Americans to try to strike deals. LeBlanc and  Industry Minister Melanie Joly return to a meeting after speaking to the media, at the Liberal cabinet retreat, in Toronto, on Thursday.

Michael Sabia, Canada’s top bureaucrat, met with senior American officials this week to try to find common ground with the Trump administration for potential deals on sectors hardest hit by U.S. tariffs, says the federal minister in charge of Canada-U.S. trade.

Dominic LeBlanc told reporters outside of a cabinet meeting Thursday that Canada is pursuing “technical discussions” with the Americans to try to strike deals that would be beneficial to both countries.

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Confusion around Alberta’s school library book ban driving sales at book stores

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced Tuesday the book ban was being rewritten to restrict only books with sexually explicit images – not literary classics.

An Alberta government order banning some books from school libraries doesn’t appear to be deterring people from reading them, say managers at several bookstores.

Kelly Dyer with Audreys Books in Edmonton said the store has noticed a jump in sales since July, when the province announced the ban on books with explicit sexual content.

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NDP proposes closing loophole that could let U.S. buy Canadian weapons for Israel

NDP MP Jenny Kwan in the Foyer of the House of Commons in Ottawa, in November of 2024. Kwan says she plans to table a private members' bill to enforce stricter arms export controls.

NDP MP Jenny Kwan will be asking Parliament to close a loophole that could allow the U.S. to purchase Canadian weapons for Israel, despite a ban on arms exports to that country.

Kwan will be speaking this morning on Parliament Hill about a private members’ bill she plans to table later this month “to ensure Canadian weapons and military components are not used to fuel human rights abuses abroad,” according to a statement from her office.

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Morning Update: Xi’s new world order

Good morning. China paraded its military – and its friends – through Tiananmen Square yesterday in a blunt message to Washington. More on that below, along with the end of Florida’s vaccine mandates for school children and Félix Auger-Aliassime’s comeback win. But first:

Today’s headlines

© JADE GAO

Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and Kim Jong Un in Beijing yesterday.
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Romana Didulo, self-proclaimed Queen of Canada, arrested by RCMP

Romana Didulo, the self-declared 'Queen of Canada' and a leading Canadian QAnon figure, speaks on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, in February, 2022.

The self-styled Queen of Canada and 15 of her followers were arrested Wednesday after a firearms complaint prompted a predawn raid on their rural Saskatchewan compound.

Dozens of RCMP officers, some wearing SWAT gear, executed a warrant at 4:30 a.m. on a decommissioned schoolhouse in Richmound, a hamlet of just over a hundred people near Alberta, RCMP Inspector Ashley St. Germaine told a press conference later in the day.

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