Maple Express | September 7, 2026 Floods Devastate Cape Breton, Woman Dies

1. Floods devastate Cape Breton, one woman dead

Source: CP24

A destructive storm has caused severe flooding across Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, claiming one life. Nova Scotia RCMP said a 46-year-old woman from Richmond County went missing early Saturday, and her body was later recovered by ground search volunteers and fire crews.

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston offered his condolences in a statement. "Today, Nova Scotians are mourning the loss of a woman who died during the flooding in our province," he said.

According to Environment Canada, Ingonish Beach received 211 millimetres of rain, with unofficial weather stations reporting nearly 300 millimetres. As of Sunday night, three counties — Richmond, Inverness and Victoria — remained under a state of emergency. Emergency crews have worked around the clock for three straight days.

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2. Ontario education changes take effect this fall

Source: CP24

More than two million students across Ontario are heading back to school next week, where they will be greeted by major changes in and outside the classroom. Over the past months, the province has revealed elements of its education system overhaul that will significantly change learning during the 2026/2027 school year and beyond.

One of the biggest changes is to standardized testing. Most secondary courses will now require a written exam counting toward the final mark — 20 per cent for Grades 9 and 10, and 25 per cent for Grades 11 and 12. Attendance and participation will also count toward final grades — 15 per cent in Grades 9 and 10, and 10 per cent in Grades 11 and 12.

The EQAO test will also account for 20 per cent of a Grade 9 student's final math grade, and students must pass a financial literacy test to graduate. Some 80,000 homeroom elementary teachers will have access to $750 as of Sept. 1 to purchase school supplies.

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3. School supply prices rising, parents forced to cut back

Source: CP24

As the back-to-school season arrives, many Canadian families are finding that school supply prices have risen noticeably from last year. In a Walmart parking lot in Toronto, parent Shakeel Ansari, shopping for backpacks and lunch boxes for his three kids, said he had to scale back this year, buying only essential school supplies and skipping new shoes for the kids.

The Farrell family has made sacrifices too. Parent Todd Farrell said prices are at least 20 per cent higher than last year, so the family dines out less often.

Statistics Canada data shows prices for school textbooks and supplies rose 24 per cent from June 2015 to June 2026. A Boston Consulting Group Canada poll found that among 1,200 Canadians surveyed, 56 per cent of parents said back-to-school spending does not fit within their normal household budget. Retail analysts point to the U.S. trade war and the war in Iran as factors driving up production and transportation costs.

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4. Police respond to shooting in Richmond Hill

Source: CP24

Police responded to a shooting in Richmond Hill. One victim was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

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5. Suspect arrested after man stabbed in neck in Mississauga

Source: CP24

A suspect is in custody after a stabbing sent a man to hospital in Mississauga. Police said the man was stabbed in the neck.

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6. Lithium-ion battery fires under investigation in Toronto

Source: CP24

Fire crews are investigating after multiple lithium-ion battery fires in Toronto. The two fires are just the latest in a trend of lithium-ion batteries catching fire.

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7. What's open and closed in Toronto on Labour Day

Source: CP24

Most major grocery chains, LCBO locations, banks, and Toronto public library branches will be closed on September 7 for Labour Day.

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8. Expert calls blanket cancellation of international trips a mistake

Source: CP24

School boards across Canada are taking different approaches to international field trips amid heightened geopolitical tensions, with some cancelling trips while many others continue to send students abroad. Edmonton Public Schools announced in June it would cancel all international excursions for 2026-27, citing global political, economic and public health challenges, affecting planned trips to Thailand, France, the United Kingdom, Costa Rica and Portugal.

Joe Pavelka, a professor at Mount Royal University who has run international field schools for 25 years, questions the blanket approach, saying the current environment makes it hard to judge whether one place is truly more unsafe than another.

CTV News contacted more than a dozen school boards across Canada and found most continue to allow international student travel. The Toronto District School Board and Regina Public Schools said there has been no change, while the Vancouver School Board has no policy prohibiting international field trips.

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9. Record-breaking El Niño could bring a milder winter to Canada

Source: CP24

Climate experts are warning that the current El Niño could become a record-breaking event. The UN's weather agency has forecast a nearly 100 per cent chance it will hang around until at least February, the first time it has issued such an unequivocal El Niño forecast.

David Phillips, a climatologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, says the most noticeable effect for Canadians will likely be a milder winter dominated by Pacific air, with less snow and more rain in the West — potentially meaning savings on heating bills, but disappointment for skiers.

Phillips also notes Atlantic Canada could be a winner, since El Niño tends to suppress Atlantic hurricane activity, with fewer such storms expected this fall.

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