Maple Express | Oct. 17, 2026: Ontario OSAP pause forces Trillium College to suspend classes

1. Ontario OSAP pause forces Trillium College to suspend classes

Source: CP24

An Ontario career college has suspended its academic operations after the province paused student financial assistance to all private post-secondary institutions. Trillium College, which has campuses in St. Catharines, Kingston, Oshawa, Sudbury and Cobourg, told students it paused classroom and online instruction as of Friday.

The college said it is offering interest-free payment arrangements, but many students say they cannot make those payments without OSAP funding. Trillium wrote that continuing normal classroom operations without a viable funding solution would put the orderly completion of student programs at greater risk, and that the pause gives students time to assess their options.

The pause follows an announcement earlier this month by Colleges and Universities Minister Nolan Quinn that OSAP payments to career colleges and other private institutions are halted while an audit is underway. His office said the government is looking at low-interest third-party loans facilitated by financial institutions, but no clear timeline has been given. The pause covers career colleges, private universities, chiropractic and naturopathic medicine colleges, and performing arts schools such as Canada's National Ballet School.

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2. McGill reviewing protocols after convicted murderer found studying on campus

Source: CP24

McGill University says it is reviewing its protocols after it was revealed this week that a convicted murderer is attending classes on campus, sparking safety concerns among students. The CBC News report was published Friday morning, and the university responded on Oct. 17.

Jeffrey George Ewert, who is in his 60s, is attending law classes and faculty events. He was convicted of second-degree murder and attempted murder for attacks committed in British Columbia in 1984 when he was in his 20s, and is now out on parole after spending 40 years behind bars on a life sentence. According to a 2019 Superior Court decision reviewed by CTV News, he met his first victim, a young woman, at a bar and offered her a ride home, then strangled her until she lost consciousness and sexually assaulted her; she died. His second victim, a 15-year-old girl, was severely beaten and strangled after she refused his advances, thrown in a ditch and found the next day; she suffered significant brain damage, is now blind and quadriplegic.

In a memo to students Friday afternoon, McGill provost Angela Campbell acknowledged the concerns, particularly in the Faculty of Law, and said they are legitimate and taken seriously. She said a past conviction does not on its own bar anyone from studying there, but that commitment must be balanced against the university's duty of care to the whole community. McGill says Ewert has not been on campus since early October, the matter is under investigation and it has contacted Correctional Service Canada for more information.

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3. Toronto mayoral race: Bradford details $143M police plan, Chow pushes back

Source: CP24

With nine days until Torontonians vote, mayoral candidate Brad Bradford laid out the cost of his policing pledge on Oct. 17. He promises to hire 1,000 officers by the end of his first term, and says he would work with the province to set up a satellite campus of the Ontario Police College in Etobicoke and negotiate more training seats for Toronto recruits in Aylmer.

Fellow candidate Olivia Chow dismissed the proposal, saying Bradford "probably doesn't read the budget very much." "I should not laugh too hard. He would have known on safety, under my watch, we have hired more than a thousand police officers and mental health crisis workers," she said, adding that not everyone in trouble needs an officer to respond with a gun.

Bradford said the campus would operate out of the existing college and add recruit classes beyond the province's current intake. "We're not putting a man on the moon. We're putting police officers on the streets," he said. His campaign estimates the plan would cost about $143 million annually once fully implemented in the fourth year of his term, based on the police service's 2026 budget of $20.5 million for 143 officers, or roughly $143,000 per officer — about 10 per cent of the force's $1.43-billion budget. The Toronto Police Service's five-year plan approved in December 2024 calls for roughly 502 net new officers by 2029.

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4. $90 million Lotto Max jackpot still unclaimed after Friday's draw

Source: CP24

The largest lottery prize ever offered in Canada is still up for grabs. The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation says there were no winners for Friday's Lotto Max draw. The winning numbers were 01, 11, 13, 36, 41, 43 and 51.

The next draw for the $90 million jackpot will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 20, with the jackpot unchanged because $90 million is the cap. While no one claimed the top prize, OLG said four Maxmillion tickets worth $1 million each were sold in Ontario, and 14 other tickets won $100,000 each, including seven in the Greater Toronto Area.

Tuesday's draw will also feature 20 Maxmillions prizes worth $1 million each and at least 90 Maxplus prizes worth $100,000 each.

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5. Collision in Uxbridge leaves 45-year-old man dead

Source: CP24

Durham police say a man is dead after two vehicles collided in Uxbridge on Friday. It happened at the intersection of Sandford Road and Uxbridge Concession Road 3 just after 4:30 p.m.

Police say a silver 2001 Acura sedan was travelling south when it collided at the intersection with an eastbound 2024 Ford F-150. The passenger of the Acura, a 45-year-old man, was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver, a 53-year-old man, was taken to a Toronto trauma centre with serious injuries.

The 46-year-old driver of the Ford was taken to a local hospital with minor injuries. Police say the circumstances that led to the collision are under investigation.

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6. Calgary crash: expert says natural gas bus model considered 'extremely safe'

Source: CP24

A chain-reaction crash in Calgary on Thursday saw a transit bus hit several vehicles before rear-ending a parked bus, igniting an explosion that killed three people and injured more than a dozen others. Calgary police said an officer was taken to hospital after running toward a bus as fire erupted.

One of the 12-metre buses involved was powered by compressed natural gas. Josipa Petrunic, president and CEO of the Canadian Urban Transit Research and Innovation Consortium (CUTRIC), said on Oct. 17 that such buses are common in public transit and have been in operation for two decades. "It's considered extremely safe technology, so we all need to find out what happened to create an unsafe environment in a crash situation," she said.

According to a CUTRIC database report, 958 compressed natural gas buses operate in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. Petrunic said the roughly 1,000 such buses running in Canada are still considered "extremely safe."

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7. Maple Leafs' John Tavares out week-to-week with lower-body injury

Source: CP24

The Maple Leafs announced on Oct. 17, before facing the New York Islanders, that John Tavares is out week-to-week with a lower-body injury. The team added that the designation means the veteran centre could miss up to six weeks.

The 36-year-old has two goals and five assists in seven games this season. He was hurt in Thursday's 5-4 overtime loss to the Buffalo Sabres at Scotiabank Arena, when Sabres forward Josh Norris was bumped by Maple Leafs forward Nick Paul in the defensive zone and slid into Tavares, who crumpled to the ice and was helped to the locker room.

Toronto was already without veteran shutdown defenceman Chris Tanev. The 36-year-old remains out week-to-week with an upper-body injury suffered in last Saturday's 6-3 road victory over the Colorado Avalanche.

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8. Raptors waive five players, convert Bittle's deal to two-way contract

Source: CP24

The Toronto Raptors waived five players on Oct. 17 and converted centre Nate Bittle's deal to a two-way contract.

The seven-foot native of Central Point, Ore., averaged a team-high 16.8 points and 6.9 rebounds over 25 games last season as a fifth-year senior at Oregon.

Forward Tyson Degenhart, centre Jamarion Sharp and guards Nimari Burnett, Jalen Celestine and Tyreke Key were waived. The Raptors open the regular season Wednesday night at home against the Chicago Bulls.

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9. U.S. midterms are weeks away. What's at stake for Canada

Source: CP24

The U.S. midterm elections will be held Nov. 3. The vote will not decide who occupies the White House — the next presidential election is in November 2028 — but Americans will decide who controls Congress, a balance of power that could affect everything from tariffs and trade with Canada to how much room the president has to pursue his agenda.

CTV News political analyst Eric Ham notes that midterms are held halfway through a president's four-year term. All 435 House seats are up, while roughly one-third of the Senate's 100 seats, which carry six-year terms, are contested every two years. Election Day is Nov. 3, but states set their own rules, and many offer early in-person and mail voting, so voting can begin weeks earlier.

For Canadians, Ham says the question is not simply whether Democrats gain seats, but whether they gain enough power to challenge the president on issues such as tariffs. The U.S. is Canada's largest trading partner; if Democrats take control, lawmakers could seek to reclaim authority delegated to the executive branch over trade, though "there's no guarantee the president is going to go along with that." He says Canadians should watch how wide any Democratic margin is and how the results are received.

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10. Clashes and fires as protesters rally across France

Source: CP24

Demonstrations across France turned violent on Oct. 17. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said 110 marches drew about 550,000 people nationwide and about 400 were arrested, while organizers including the CGT union and student groups put the turnout at about 800,000. Protesters marched against rising living costs and poor conditions in schools.

In Paris, police fired tear gas and water cannons at people wearing hoods and masks who threw fireworks, paving stones and other objects at officers in Place de la République. Associated Press reporters saw thick black smoke rising from burning cars, bicycles and trash bins; a newspaper kiosk burned and several shops were looted. Several people were injured, and many metro stations were closed at police request, including around the Champs-Elysées and near the presidential palace, parliament and government offices.

In Lyon, about 20,000 protesters marched and a fire broke out inside a tourist office. In Marseille, shops and a municipal police station were damaged and protesters briefly forced their way into the City Hall lobby. In Limoges, City Hall was set on fire and flames were still raging Saturday evening. Nuñez reported violence against government buildings in Bordeaux, break-in attempts at city halls in Lille and Calais and at a police station in Brest, with violence also in Rennes, Toulouse, Montpellier and Grenoble. President Emmanuel Macron said on X that those who vandalized property and looted town halls "will be prosecuted and punished."

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