Maple Express | October 25, 2026 — B.C. Conservatives win majority as Eby resigns

1. B.C. Conservatives win majority government; David Eby resigns as NDP leader

Source: CP24

CTV News declared Saturday night that the B.C. Conservative Party has won a majority government, ending nine years of NDP rule and sending the New Democrats back to the Opposition benches. The Conservatives were leading or elected in 62 of the province's 93 ridings when interim leader Lorne Doerkson gave his victory speech.

Doerkson, now premier-designate, vowed to represent rural and urban communities and First Nations alike, and repeated pledges to triple B.C.'s liquefied natural gas production by 2035 and deliver a $1,000 tax cut for nearly every worker while improving service in the strained public health system. "Our best days are still ahead of us," he told a roaring crowd.

In a sombre concession speech at NDP headquarters in Vancouver, David Eby announced he was resigning as party leader. "It is time for new leadership within our party," he said, adding that his family had paid a significant cost for the work. Eby, who was re-elected in Vancouver-Point Grey, called a snap election two years into his mandate; political scientist Stewart Prest called that a historic blunder. Doerkson has represented Cariboo-Chilcotin since 2020 and became interim leader only 34 days ago, after Kerry-Lynne Findlay resigned.

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2. Homelessness will be a key challenge for incoming Ontario mayors and councils

Source: CP24

New figures from the Association of Municipalities of Ontario show nearly 80,000 Ontarians were homeless in 2024, a number that rose to about 85,000 in 2025 and is expected to climb again. More than half of those people have been homeless for more than six months, and the issue will greet mayors and councillors elected across the province on Monday.

"Eighty-five thousand is breathtaking... it's shocking how big that number is in a province as wealthy as we are," said AMO president Riley Brockington, an Ottawa city councillor. AMO is asking for $11 billion over 10 years to provide supportive, transitional and community housing for 75,000 people, plus $2 billion over eight years to deal with encampments — nearly 2,000 of which were counted across Ontario last year.

A Financial Accountability Office of Ontario report projects provincial spending on homelessness programs at $948 million in 2026-27, falling to $708 million in 2028-29 because the funding is time-limited. Homelessness is growing fastest in northern Ontario, up 37 per cent, and in mostly rural communities, up 31 per cent. About 20,000 youth are homeless provincewide, and on any given night more than 1,000 teens and children are in Toronto's shelters or on its streets. Covenant House Toronto says its school-based prevention program has helped more than 90 per cent of at-risk young people avoid homelessness.

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3. Stabbing near Keele and Rogers leaves man seriously injured

Source: CP24

Toronto police say they were called to the area of Rogers Road and Keele Street around 7 p.m. Saturday for a stabbing and found an adult male victim.

Paramedics say the man had serious, potentially life-threatening injuries and was rushed to hospital. No suspect information has been released, and the circumstances surrounding the stabbing are not immediately known.

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4. Loblaw CEO Per Bank says discount stores are now key to winning price-weary shoppers

Source: CP24

Loblaw chief executive Per Bank is betting on small, cheap and fast. The chain's small-format stores carry about 5,000 products and have dropped the deli counters, live pizza stations and fresh bakeries typical of conventional supermarkets — and shoppers aren't complaining.

When Bank arrived from Denmark three years ago, Loblaw had about 43 stores under 20,000 square feet. Today there are more than 75 across the country, urban and rural, including communities of as few as 4,000 people. Discount banners make up about 40 per cent of the company's grocery footprint, and Bank expects discount to be more than half of its food business before long.

Loblaw's reputation remains a weak spot: it ranked last among 130 brands in the 2026 Great Canadian Brand Index, and Monica LaBarge, a Queen's University assistant professor who studies food access, said it is still the most scrutinized grocer in Canada. Bank said he met the organizer of the Reddit boycott movement even after being advised not to.

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5. No timeline yet for reopening Leviathan and Behemoth at Canada's Wonderland

Source: CP24

Six Flags confirmed Saturday that there is still no timeline for reopening the Leviathan and Behemoth roller-coasters at Canada's Wonderland in Vaughan, Ont., meaning they may stay closed until the 2027 season.

The two coasters are among eight rides in Canada and the U.S. shut since Oct. 12, after a rider was ejected from his seat and killed on the Goliath at Six Flags Over Georgia. The rides share the same manufacturer and a similar restraint system.

Six Flags' chief executive said Friday that the company will bring in independent engineers and inspectors to review safety procedures across all its parks. Park spokesperson Kristin Fitzgerald said the review adds a layer to existing inspections rather than replacing them, and that any issue needing immediate attention will be addressed promptly. She said Leviathan and Behemoth already have seatbelts as an extra restraint. Canada's Wonderland became a Six Flags property when Cedar Fair merged with the company in 2023.

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6. Columbus Crew beats Toronto FC 4-2 for fifth win in last six games

Source: CP24

Malte Amundsen scored twice for his first career multi-goal game in MLS, Gonzalo Tapia and Brooks Lennon added goals and the Columbus Crew beat Toronto FC 4-2 on Saturday.

Dylan Chambost had three assists and Patrick Schulte made five saves for the Crew, who played a man down after Sekou Bangoura picked up his second yellow card in the 70th minute. Daniel Salloi scored in the 69th minute and Josh Sargent in the 81st for Toronto, with Luka Gavran making two saves.

The win gives Columbus 38 points, two more than Toronto and the New York Red Bulls for the Eastern Conference's final wild-card spot. The Crew have won three straight and five of their last six.

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7. P.E.I. students face tuition hikes more than double the national average

Source: CP24

Statistics Canada's latest consumer price index shows tuition in Prince Edward Island rose 4.9 per cent this school year, more than double the national average of 2.4 per cent. The Island also had the highest annual inflation rate of any province in September, at 5.7 per cent.

Alissa Sonomura Cyrino, vice-president external of the UPEI Student Union, said students do not know whether they will be able to pay for their education next year or keep studying. She said students have faced three straight years of steep increases, including back-to-back hikes of up to 6.5 per cent for domestic students, and that some are working extra hours to cover courses, rent and groceries.

UPEI vice-president of administration and finance Tim Walker said in a statement that the university is operating in a "significantly challenged financial environment" driven by declining international enrolment, constrained revenues and rising costs. He said a $1.7-million (3.5 per cent) increase in the provincial operating grant offsets only about half of the school's 2026-27 budgeted cost inflation. The Association of Atlantic Universities says international enrolment at its member schools is down nearly 48 per cent since federal restrictions began in 2024.

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8. Birthplace of Confederation reopens after 12-year restoration in Charlottetown

Source: CP24

The historic provincial legislature in Charlottetown reopened Saturday after a restoration that took more than a decade, with about 2,000 people turning out to see the renovations. "Every stone and every piece of wood in this building has been touched and either cleaned or replaced," said Joey Jeffrey, clerk of the legislative assembly.

Province House opened for its first legislative session in 1847, making it the second-oldest legislature in Canada, and it was the site of the September 1864 negotiations that led to Confederation. A 2014 engineering report found the foundation crumbling and partly at risk of collapse, the roof leaking, and the masonry and plaster deteriorating. The building closed in 2015; work expected to take three to five years was delayed by the pandemic, supply-chain problems, inflated material costs and a shortage of skilled tradespeople.

Parks Canada said in 2023 that the total investment for long-term preservation was pegged at $138 million. Beyond masonry and plaster repairs, the project included interior painting, window restoration, heritage woodwork, new flooring, a new elevator and upgrades to plumbing, electrical, ventilation and fire and safety systems. The basement floor was lowered by 1.5 metres to make room for a staff room, locker room, file storage and a fully accessible washroom. "It's no longer the dungeon that it was," Jeffrey said.

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9. Young fish harvesters help save a rapidly aging industry

Source: CP24

At 30, Lillian Saul is one of the youngest captains on the water in Newfoundland and Labrador. "I've basically invested my entire adult life into fishing," she said from her new home in Twillingate.

She is part of a youth movement in an industry that is aging fast. The Fish, Food and Allied Workers union estimates more than 33 per cent of its certified fish harvesters are 54 or older, and thousands are expected to leave the fishery over the coming decade. The union has launched the Fishing Industry New Entrants Initiative with other fishery organizations, backed by more than $1 million from the provincial government, to raise the industry's profile at career fairs, immigration offices and schools.

Statistics Canada surveys suggest direct fish harvesting jobs in the province fell from about 4,300 in 2011 to 3,100 in 2025, even as the value of commercial landings topped $1.2 billion in 2025, more than double 2011 levels. Chad Waterman, a 37-year-old crab harvester in Flatrock, said the fishery still has "a black eye from the public" and that people underestimate how big an economic driver it is.

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10. Fire devastates the Eagle's Nest retreat built for Hitler in Germany

Source: CP24

A fire swept through the Eagle's Nest, the mountaintop retreat built for Adolf Hitler in the Bavarian Alps, after an alarm was raised at about 9:15 p.m. Friday. Firefighters and police heading up the narrow mountain road could see the flames as they approached.

Police stopped and arrested a man on a motorcycle driving the other way down the road. Prosecutors said the 33-year-old German citizen, who has ties to the Berchtesgaden area but does not currently live there, showed signs of mental illness and was being sent to a psychiatric facility; they will also look into whether a political motive was involved given the building's history. Police said there were no indications anyone else was involved.

Rain that turned into the season's first significant snow, along with strong wind, forced firefighters to pull out overnight after several hours. No one was injured, and crews could not enter the building Saturday because of falling material. The Kehlsteinhaus sits 1,834 metres above sea level and has operated as a cafe and restaurant since 1952. Bavaria's interior minister, Joachim Herrmann, said "we're not going to leave a ruin there," but added that the site's future would be decided with local officials, historians and preservationists.

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