Maple Express | October 19, 2026: Commons mourns four soldiers killed in Wainwright fire

1. Commons holds moment of silence for four soldiers killed in Wainwright fire

Source: CP24

Canada's House of Commons held a moment of silence today for four Canadian soldiers killed in a fire at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, a tragedy that also sent dozens to hospital. Prime Minister Mark Carney said members of Parliament are “united in grief” over a loss that touches every corner of the country.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, whose Alberta riding includes the base, said soldiers at the scene ran toward the danger to help their comrades. According to The Canadian Press, soldiers of the 3rd Battalion of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry and members of the Army Reserve were training with live munitions for an overseas deployment on Saturday when the incident occurred.

Strong winds swept up a grass fire and spread it across the training ground, sending 39 people to hospital and leaving at least 19 in critical condition. The Canadian Forces National Investigation Service is investigating the cause.

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2. What happened at CFB Wainwright? The confirmed facts behind four deaths and 39 injuries

Maj-Gen. L.W. Rutland told reporters at a Sunday afternoon briefing that base officials had been aware of a fire for several hours before it spread rapidly toward a training area where soldiers were taking part in exercises ahead of a deployment to Latvia. He said “uncommonly strong winds” caused the fire to spread quickly and shift direction toward an administrative area at the training range.

Describing the speed of the fire, Rutland said: “The fire was a kilometre away when the wind shifted. It is not normal for a fire to move a kilometre in 30 to 60 seconds.” He said the Canadian Armed Forces will undertake a board of inquiry.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said 39 people were hospitalized after Saturday's fire and at least 19 are in critical condition. Patients were transferred to four Alberta hospitals and all are now accounted for, she said, adding that Code Orange protocols have since been lifted. The Department of National Defence said there are no indications the fire and explosion was a terrorist attack. CFB Wainwright is located about 210 kilometres southeast of Edmonton.

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3. Watermain break disrupts flights at Billy Bishop airport

Flight operations at Toronto's Billy Bishop airport were disrupted this morning after a watermain break. An airport spokesperson told CTV News that water service to the terminal building was interrupted, and a handful of flights in and out of the downtown airport are listed as delayed or cancelled.

Passengers are being told to check with their airline for the latest status, with further updates to be posted on the airport's website and social media channels. The cause of the issue is unclear.

Chopper footage from the airport showed a large volume of water pooled near one of the runways.

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4. Toronto's mayoral campaign enters final week as Chow and Bradford make their pitch

Toronto's mayoral campaign entered its final week today. Brad Bradford unveiled a plan to visit all 25 of the city's wards, while Olivia Chow campaigned in Scarborough and told reporters voters faced a “simple choice” to “make life more affordable” or risk going “backwards.”

Both candidates had campaign appearances this morning, though both largely reiterated previously announced promises. Bradford spoke about public safety, congestion and affordability, while Chow focused on issues she said directly impact Scarborough voters.

“For too long Scarborough was told to wait, to wait for better transit, to wait for investment, to wait for your turn. Well not anymore. Scarborough's turn is right now,” Chow said.

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5. Toronto builders are turning condo projects into rentals. Here's why

Toronto developer Matt Young originally planned to sell condos in the first phase of a major housing development along St. Clair Avenue East in Scarborough. Now those homes will be rentals. “It made more financial sense as a rental,” the president and CEO of Republic Developments told CTV News. “There's a disconnect between the price that someone is able or willing to pay today and the cost to build.”

Developer Amir Ismailzadeh is also focusing on rentals, including a five-unit property nearing completion in North York. He says many families who want to own a home are struggling to save for a down payment even with well-paying jobs. “But in the meantime, they really need somewhere to live,” he said, adding that three of the five units have already been leased.

New Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation figures show the six-month trend in housing starts was almost flat in September, rising just 0.6 per cent from August. CMHC counted 143,929 housing units with approved building permits where construction had not yet started in Canadian centres of at least 50,000 people, up 1.1 per cent from August. A separate CMHC report found rental apartment starts in the Toronto area rose 82 per cent in the first half of 2026 compared with a year earlier.

Governments have introduced incentives, including low-interest loans through Ottawa's $55 billion Apartment Construction Loan Program and a full federal sales-tax rebate for qualifying new rental housing. In June, Ontario announced up to $178 million through the Building Ontario Fund for the first phase of Scarborough Junction, expected to deliver about 1,700 rental homes.

But Toronto real estate agent Simeon Papailias, with Royal LePage Signature Realty, argues more needs to be done to make building homes for sale financially viable. “Unless they reduce the cost to build where prices can get back in line for profit for the development community, you're not going to have any projects starting,” he said. Weak investor demand is another obstacle: developers rely on pre-sales to secure financing, and without enough buyers projects can be cancelled or switched to rentals.

Davelle Morrison, a broker with Bosley Real Estate, says her clients are increasingly wary of buying before a home is built. “They're not willing to buy pre-construction right now. The risks seem too high,” she said, citing worries about whether projects will be completed. For those ready to buy, she said resale condos can be more attractive: “The resale condo is just simply cheaper, and you can see what you're about to buy.”

Young expects the condo market to recover eventually, but says existing inventory needs to sell first. In the meantime, he believes more rental construction could help tenants. “It's certainly going to help stabilize rents,” he said. “And as less condos get built, eventually that demand will pick up. It's not going to be a dead market forever.”

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6. Man charged in deadly Vaughan hit-and-run; suspect vehicle still missing

York Regional Police announced today that a 41-year-old man has been charged in connection with a hit-and-run in Vaughan earlier this month that killed a 60-year-old woman. It happened on the evening of Oct. 4, around 8:30 p.m., in the area of Pine Valley Drive, just north of Major Mackenzie Drive. The woman was walking northbound when she was fatally struck by a vehicle heading north.

Police previously identified the victim as a live-in caregiver who had gotten off a bus at the time and was walking to work. Video released earlier this month appears to show the moments leading up to the collision, with a woman walking on the shoulder of the road with a small suitcase and flashlight. Investigators previously said that, based on the severity of her injuries, the driver would have known they had hit someone.

Investigators identified the suspect vehicle as a white Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van, model year 2020 to 2022, and police confirmed debris found at the scene belonged to that model. On Oct. 16, investigators charged Kamel Hazime, of Vaughan, with failure to stop after an accident resulting in death. The charge has not been tested in court. Police said the Sprinter van has not yet been located.

York police warned that anyone who helps conceal, repair or alter a vehicle to avoid detection may be committing a criminal offence. “This includes anyone who performs or arranges body work, paint work or mechanical repairs intended to conceal damage caused in the collision,” police said in a release Monday. Investigators are appealing to anyone who has interacted with Hazime in relation to the suspect vehicle to contact them, and anonymous tips can go to Crime Stoppers.

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7. Peel police bust 'violent' auto theft ring; 10 suspects face 128 charges

Peel police announced today they have dismantled an alleged criminal network that used “fear and violence” to carry out auto thefts across the Greater Toronto Area. At a news conference Monday, investigators revealed the results of Project High Guard, an eight-month probe that resulted in 10 arrests, 128 charges and the recovery of $1.4 million worth of stolen vehicles.

Det. Sgt. Earl Scott said the investigation began in March 2026 and focused on 21 incidents of violent carjackings and high-end vehicle thefts in the region between June 2025 and April 2026. Some carjackings left victims with “severe injuries,” and suspects would often brandish knives and firearms and carry out assaults. He said evidence led investigators beyond those carrying out the robberies, underscoring the sophistication of the network.

“Several individuals were identified as participating in this criminal network, with distinct roles ranging from planning, organizing, and carrying out the offences,” Scott said. “Some of the individuals targeted vehicles, some coordinated the offences, some carried out the robberies, some recruited younger individuals to participate, some made arrangements to sell the stolen vehicles.”

Fifteen vehicles were recovered, the majority of which appear to be BMWs. In video of one incident released by police, multiple suspects are seen ripping a victim out of what appears to be a Rolls-Royce Cullinan — a roughly $500,000 vehicle — after it was parked. The driver fights off the suspects before grabbing the door handle and being thrown off as the vehicle speeds away.

Police said vehicle thefts in Peel Region have declined by more than 50 per cent since peaking in 2023 and are down a further 10 per cent year-to-date in 2026. Chief Nishan Duraiappah said the numbers are encouraging but “more work needs to be done.” “These are significant trends, and the public needs to know that we're heading in the right way. But I think we all need to know that one incident is one too many, and today's investigation represents the victimization of people in our community,” he said.

Police also recovered four firearms with ammunition and magazines. Two of the 10 suspects charged are 17-year-olds and cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

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8. Stellantis workers give Unifor strike mandate

Stellantis workers in Canada have voted to give their union a mandate to strike. Unifor says 97.3 per cent of members who took part in the vote over the weekend were in favour of authorizing a potential strike.

The union is not yet in a legal strike position, as neither it nor Stellantis has requested a “no board” report, one of the steps required under labour law before a job action. Unifor, which represents more than 9,000 Stellantis workers in Canada, says a strike remains a last resort and that it still believes there is a path to a new collective agreement.

The bargaining committee and the company are at an impasse over key issues including job security and the future of the Brampton, Ont., assembly plant Stellantis wants to sell. The union says it “will not back down and accept a deal that weakens Stellantis' footprint within Canada's auto industry due to broken commitments.”

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9. Poll: more than half of Ottawa residents think someone they know is at risk of homelessness

A new poll conducted for the Ottawa Mission suggests a growing number of Ottawa residents think they or someone they know could one day become homeless. Nanos Research surveyed 815 randomly selected Ottawa residents between Sept. 25 and Oct. 6.

The survey found more than half of respondents believed someone they know is at some risk of losing their home: 38 per cent said there was a small risk for a loved one, 13 per cent said medium risk and five per cent said high risk, while 43 per cent saw no risk. In a similar 2019 poll, 53 per cent said they did not think a loved one could become homeless. The perceived personal risk also rose slightly, with 24 per cent seeing a small risk in 2026, up from 20 per cent in 2019, and three per cent seeing a high risk, up from two per cent.

Addiction and health issues remained the biggest contributor to homelessness, but more people now cite a lack of affordable housing: 23 per cent in 2026, up from 17 per cent in 2019, while the share pointing to physical and mental health and addictions fell from 62 per cent to 54 per cent. Eighty-five per cent said homelessness has a serious impact on the individuals affected, and 59 per cent said it has a serious impact on Canada as a whole.

Peter Tilley, CEO of the Ottawa Mission, told CTV Your Morning Ottawa on Monday that homelessness is a citywide issue. “We see homelessness beyond the market now. The number of people who are homeless have stretched down Bank Street into Somerset Ward, east into Overbrook, everywhere around the city in different places,” he said.

Forty-two per cent of respondents said everyone is responsible for addressing homelessness, up from 38 per cent in 2019; 19 per cent said the federal government carries the most responsibility, 17 per cent pointed to municipalities and 16 per cent to provincial governments. “It's amazing how many people are now seeing it as less the responsibility of the charities and more the responsibility of one of the levels of government, and that was evenly split across the table,” Tilley said.

The poll also found 65 per cent said they provide support for people who are homeless, up from 57 per cent in 2019, with 53 per cent saying they help directly through money, food or verbal support and seven per cent saying they provided housing. The Ottawa Mission served 1.2 million meals in the past year and announced it set another record on Thanksgiving with more than 19,000 meals served. “That's not a record we want to be breaking,” Tilley said. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

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10. $90-million Lotto Max jackpot up for grabs Tuesday

Canada's biggest-ever lottery jackpot could be yours. The Lotto Max jackpot has grown to $90 million for the first time ever after the maximum prize limit was increased from $80 million in April.

The odds of winning the jackpot are about one in 33 million. In addition to the jackpot, 20 Maxmillions prizes of $1 million each and 90 Maxplus prizes of $100,000 each are also up for grabs.

The draw takes place at 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

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