A dramatic shift in British Columbia has reshaped the province’s political landscape, raising questions about what comes next for both the Conservatives and the NDP.
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what → reshape → Conservatives
More on that below, plus a crucial test of Mark Carney’s relationship with First Nations leaders ahead of the federal budget, and a new poll suggesting Canadians are warming to immigration again as Ottawa prepares to set new targets.
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Ottawa → suggest → targets
B.C. Conservatives sweep to power
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Conservatives → sweep → power
Fresh off a decisive election victory, British Columbia’s incoming Conservative premier, Lorne Doerkson, is moving quickly to outline his priorities, including a review of the province’s finances, the Pacific Link pipeline and the repeal of Indigenous rights legislation.
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premier → move → legislation
The results: With 99 per cent of polls reporting, the Conservatives had won 64 seats, compared with 27 for the NDP and two for the Greens.
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Conservatives → report → Greens
The victory marks a remarkable turnaround for a party that was nearly derailed by months of infighting, defections and controversy.
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that → mark → infighting
What went wrong: NDP Premier David Eby had hoped to capitalize on a fractured opposition and secure a stronger mandate.
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Eby → go → mandate
Instead, the Conservatives regrouped, leaving the NDP with one of its worst defeats in recent history.
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Conservatives → regroup → history
Eby accepted responsibility for the result in his concession speech.
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Eby → accept → speech
What’s next: Doerkson said his government will launch an independent review of B.C.’s finances, citing the province’s $14-billion deficit, and work with Alberta and Prime Minister Mark Carney to advance the Pacific Link pipeline.
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government → ’ → pipeline
He also plans to repeal B.C.’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, setting up a potential clash with Indigenous leaders.
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He → plan → leaders
Carney faces First Nations test
Prime Minister Mark Carney and Canada’s premiers are set to meet Monday for a historic gathering focused exclusively on First Nations issues, with Indigenous leaders calling it a key test of Ottawa’s commitment to addressing long-standing concerns.
What’s at stake:
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What → face → stake
Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak says the meeting, the first of its kind, comes as First Nations push for new funding commitments ahead of the Nov. 5 federal budget.
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Nations → say → budget
The AFN has also raised concerns about Ottawa’s efforts to fast-track major projects approvals.
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AFN → raise → approvals
With Indigenous support crucial to many of Carney’s major infrastructure ambitions, the talks could help shape relations between Ottawa and First Nations leaders.
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talks → help → Ottawa
Canadians warm to immigration again
Canadian attitudes toward immigration are shifting, with a new Environics Institute poll showing fewer people believe the country is accepting too many newcomers, just as Ottawa prepares to set immigration targets for the next three years.
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Ottawa → warm → years
The proportion of Canadians who believe immigration levels are too high has fallen from 58 per cent in 2024 to 48 per cent, according to the poll.
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levels → believe → poll
Canadians are now evenly divided on the issue, with 48 per cent disagreeing that immigration is excessive.
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immigration → divide → issue
The pressure: Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab is facing calls to increase newcomer targets to address labour shortages in construction, cybersecurity and other sectors critical to Ottawa’s economic ambitions.
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Diab → face → ambitions
Menopause and dementia risk
Women account for nearly two-thirds of Canadians living with dementia, and researchers are investigating whether menopause could help explain why.
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menopause → account → dementia
New research from Toronto’s Sunnybrook Research Institute has identified biological changes during menopause that may be linked to cognitive decline later in life.
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that → identify → life
Researchers found higher levels of inflammation in the blood of postmenopausal women, offering potential clues about women’s increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
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Researchers → find → disease
Why it matters:
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it → matter → ?
Scientists hope understanding these changes could help identify women at greater risk and lead to new strategies for preventing dementia.
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understanding → hope → dementia
I grew up around people who could feel a storm coming in their bones, name the native plants around them, dowse for groundwater and read meaning in a change of wind.
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storm → grow → wind
I inherited some of that knowledge, but less than the generation before me.
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I → inherit → me
As fewer people grow up close to the land, we lose not only this knowledge but a way of understanding what sustains us.
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what → grow → us
As his 89-year-old grandfather prepares to retire, photographer and writer Kyler Zeleny reflects on the impending end of his family’s century-long farming tradition and the disappearance of a way of life that helped shape Canada.
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that → prepare → Canada
Pointed hats, bubbling cauldrons and thousands of costumed visitors take over Coldwater, Ont., for its annual Witches Walk.
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hats → point → Walk
But beyond the Halloween festivities, the event offers women the freedom to be whoever they want, as photographer Laura Proctor captured.
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Proctor → offer → whoever
The Wrap
What else we’re following
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we → follow → What
At home: After a record-low turnout in 2022, Toronto heads to the polls Monday amid a tight mayoral race.
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Toronto → head → race
Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has won a fourth term with 51.8 per cent of vote, defeating Flávio Bolsonaro, who has refused to concede and called for the results to be annulled.
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results → win → Bolsonaro
Former U.S. president Barack Obama criticized Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods at a Democratic campaign rally in Detroit, warning that the trade war is driving up prices as the U.S. midterm elections approach.
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elections → criticize → prices
Bogus online ratings are distorting competition and putting consumers at risk, according to a new Canadian report.
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ratings → distort → report
Researchers are calling for tougher regulations as fake-review brokers flourish and AI makes fraudulent ratings harder to detect.
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ratings → call → regulations
Toronto-based Greentank, created by the grandsons of Shoppers Drug Mart founder Murray Koffler, has developed vaping technology it says dramatically reduces harmful emissions.
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it → base → emissions
Big Tobacco is taking notice.
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Tobacco → take → notice
French winemakers are fighting to protect the Champagne name from misuse on products ranging from perfumes to toilet paper.
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winemakers → fight → paper
A dedicated legal team works with 70 lawyers worldwide to defend the prestigious label.
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team → work → label