Maple Express | October 20, 2026 — 33 military members still in hospital after Wainwright base fire

1. 33 military members still in hospital after Wainwright base fire, defence minister says

Source: CP24 / The Canadian Press

Defence Minister David McGuinty said Tuesday that 33 members of the Canadian Armed Forces remain in hospital after a deadly fire swept through a training ground at the military base in Wainwright, Alta. McGuinty travelled to Wainwright on Monday, where he visited both the base and the CAF members recovering in a local hospital.

The minister said he will not comment on the condition of those in hospital out of respect for their privacy, describing the situation for those still hospitalized as "delicate and evolving." He said the government will provide all necessary support to them and their families.

The Canadian Armed Forces said four people were killed and 39 injured in the fire, including 19 critically. Prime Minister Mark Carney said Monday there are 50 investigators on the ground examining what happened when a grass fire tore through the area where a training exercise was taking place.

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2. New poll puts Chow's lead over Bradford within the margin of error as Toronto's election nears

Source: CP24

With less than a week to go before Toronto's municipal election, a new Nanos Research poll conducted exclusively for CP24 and CTV News Toronto shows Olivia Chow's lead over Brad Bradford has narrowed to within the margin of error. Among decided voters, 49.8 per cent support Chow, 46.6 per cent support Bradford and another four per cent say they would back another candidate.

Nanos surveyed 762 adult Toronto residents between Oct. 15 and Oct. 18. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.6 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, which means the race is now effectively a statistical tie. Chow's support is down one point from a Nanos poll released last week, while Bradford is up nearly a point.

Chow leads in Scarborough (50.9 per cent) and in downtown and East York (58.2 per cent), while Bradford leads in North York (54.1 per cent) and Etobicoke (52.9 per cent). Chow has the support of more than 55 per cent of respondents aged 18 to 34, while Bradford is the preferred choice among those 35 to 54 (52.2 per cent) and 55 plus (49.7 per cent). Sixteen per cent of respondents remain undecided, down from 22 per cent in the Oct. 6 poll. Chow had a nearly 10-point lead on Oct. 6, but that cushion narrowed after former federal cabinet minister Chris Alexander suspended his campaign later that same day.

Both candidates responded at campaign events Tuesday morning. Bradford said the race is "extremely tight" and that "some polls are up, some polls are down, whatever it may be of course the only poll that matters is on election day." Chow, speaking in East York, said "the poll, really the most important poll is on election day which is six days away," adding that "it is the people that count, not the poles." CP24's "Toronto Decides: The Municipal Debate" will air live on Oct. 22 at 7 p.m.

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3. Air Canada adds a $30 fee for phone bookings

Source: CP24

Travellers who book an Air Canada flight through its call centre now face an extra charge of $30 per passenger, as the airline encourages customers to use its "digital tools" instead. The fee took effect on Oct. 15 and does not apply to tickets purchased through the airline's website or app. For a booking with two passengers, the fee comes to $60.

Air Canada says the charge appears as its own line item and is not included in the airfare or carrier-imposed charges associated with the ticket. It is non-refundable, even after cancelling a ticket or booking.

Customers who require specialized care and support, including those with accessibility needs, are exempt, and no booking fee applies if a trip is affected by a delay, cancellation or other travel disruption. Call agents remain available for bookings, and customers can still call for help with existing reservations and travel disruptions without paying the fee. The charge already applied to Aeroplan flight reward bookings made by phone and continues to do so. Other Canadian airlines, including WestJet and Flair, already charge a service fee for bookings made over the phone.

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4. A subway in Mississauga? Bonnie Crombie lays out her plan

Source: CP24

Mississauga mayoral candidate Bonnie Crombie released a seven-point plan Tuesday detailing how she would bring a subway extension to the city if elected, the next step in the "Mississauga Moves 2.0" transit plan she teased on the campaign trail last month.

The proposal would extend the Toronto Transit Commission's Line 2 west from Kipling Station, through Sherway Gardens, and into Mississauga's city centre near the Square One Shopping Centre. In her first 100 days in office, Crombie says she would meet with officials from the Ontario government, Metrolinx, the City of Toronto and the TTC to advance a joint business case, seeking agreement on the study's scope, leadership, funding and delivery schedule. She would also meet with representatives in Ottawa to establish a path toward federal participation in funding the project, and put forward a motion asking city council to initiate Mississauga's participation in the business case.

Within her first year, she would seek a formal partnership agreement and launch the jointly funded study. Within two years, she would target completion of the initial business case and bring its findings before council, with the rest of her four-year term devoted to finalizing a preferred route and delivery approach and advancing design, environmental work and funding negotiations. The full cost is unclear; Crombie said she is "hearing the number of $700 million" per kilometre, but that it will be examined in the business case. She said transit engineers believe the price could be "much, much lower" than $1 billion per kilometre.

Mississauga does not currently have a subway system, and commuters rely on MiWay buses and GO Transit. The Hazel McCallion LRT, named after the former mayor, was scheduled to open in 2024 but has been delayed; Crombie is calling for it to open to passengers no later than Dec. 31, 2028.

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5. Man seriously injured in early-morning shooting downtown, Toronto police say

Source: CP24

A man suffered serious injuries following a shooting in Toronto's downtown core early Tuesday morning. Police say it happened near Sherbourne and Wellesley streets shortly before 1 a.m.

A man in his 50s was rushed to hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. One suspect, a man in his 20s, was arrested at the scene, while a second suspect remains outstanding, police said.

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6. Former Blue Jay and his wife charged in $60K youth baseball fraud

Source: CP24

A former Major League Baseball player who suited up for the Toronto Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays, along with his spouse, has been charged after allegedly defrauding families who enrolled their children in a youth baseball training program in Durham Region.

Durham Regional Police say multiple victims registered and paid fees in 2025 for their kids to take part in the Ontario Devil Rays program, with payments made to accounts associated with Ontario Devil Rays Inc., a Bowmanville-based club and travel program for youth ages 10 to 18. Investigators determined roughly $60,000 was deposited into an account associated with Ontario Devil Rays over seven months, then transferred to other accounts associated with the suspects. Police allege the funds were not used for the training program and the services agreed upon were not provided.

Affected families were advised by email on Oct. 19, 2025 that the business was being dissolved due to financial hardship and was claiming bankruptcy, police said. Investigators later found the lawyer's name on that email had been used without his knowledge or permission, and that no bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings were initiated. Richard Butler, 53, and Michelle Butler, 52, both of Frankford, Ont., are each charged with fraud over $5,000, possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000 and uttering a forged document. Police believe there may be other victims. Richard Butler played seven games for the Blue Jays in 1997 and another 79 MLB games with the Rays over the following two seasons.

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7. Toronto man out $1,900 after receiving counterfeit cash in Facebook Marketplace phone sale

Source: CP24

A Toronto man is speaking out after he says he received $1,900 in counterfeit money from the sale of his smartphone on Facebook Marketplace. Jay, who asked CTV News to conceal his identity because the scammer knows where he lives, listed his Samsung Z Fold 8 for $1,900 and was contacted by a buyer offering the asking price.

The buyer came to his building, briefly interacted with him and handed over 19 $100 bills before leaving. When Jay returned to his apartment upstairs, he noticed the bills felt strange and all had the same serial number; compared with a $100 bill he already had, he could tell they were fakes. The buyer had already deleted his account when Jay tried to reach him.

Det. David Coffey of Toronto Police's financial crimes unit said there have been 210 reports of fraud with $175,000 in losses so far this year involving peer-to-peer sales, and that counterfeit money is "definitely up this year," at almost twice the level seen in 2025. He said $50 and $100 bills are usually the ones passed as fakes, and advised people to check serial numbers carefully and to walk away if something seems off. The Bank of Canada advises using three checks — feel, look and flip — tilting the note to make sure the metallic portrait and building change colours. Jay said he is handing the counterfeit money over to police, as it is illegal to knowingly keep or pass fake notes.

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8. Driver who hit 173 km/h before deadly crash near Barrie sentenced to prison

Source: CP24

A man who reached a top speed of 173 km/h moments before a deadly crash in Clearview Township has been sentenced to another three years in prison, after a hearing Monday in a packed Barrie courtroom.

Dan Richie, 36, was convicted in June of dangerous driving causing death and bodily harm in the September 2023 crash. Justice Jocelyn Speyer handed down a sentence of four-and-a-half years in custody less credit for pre-sentence custody amounting to close to 600 days. Richie will also be banned from driving for 15 years upon his release. The judge ruled that his "deliberate actions and choices" caused the crash, making clear it was no accident.

More than 100 people packed the courtroom as Richie heard 20 victim impact statements from the loved ones of Katie Marshall. Richie was driving 173 km/h with his partner and their five children in the car when he ran a stop sign and crashed into another vehicle. Marshall and her two dogs, Sage and Ry, were killed, and her husband Brody was airlifted to Sunnybrook in Toronto in life-threatening condition. Richie had 11 prior convictions for speeding, a record the judge called "appalling."

"I want you to understand that this was not an accident or another one of your speeding infractions," Katie's mother, Sherry Hubbert, told him. Brody Marshall said he still has nightmares and wakes up screaming, telling the court: "Because of you I lost my wife, my dogs, my whole world on the side of that road." Richie expressed remorse, telling the court: "I have no one to blame but myself," calling his driving "irresponsible."

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9. Federal immigration department now requires four days a week in the office in Ottawa-Gatineau

Source: CP24

Public servants at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada in the national capital region are now required to be in the office four days a week, after the department delayed the mandate because it lacked the office space to accommodate workers.

As of July 6, all federal employees in the core public service have been required to be in the office a minimum of four days a week, with executives on-site five days a week. Three departments — Global Affairs Canada, Statistics Canada and IRCC — told CTV News Ottawa they would delay the four-day mandate due to a lack of office space. An IRCC spokesperson said the requirement took effect in the National Capital Region on Oct. 19, and that outside the NCR the department is working with Public Services and Procurement Canada to address office space needs.

The former GCcoworking site in Charlottetown has been assigned to IRCC to accommodate public servants. PSPC said last month that its existing office space can accommodate approximately 90 per cent of staff on-site four days a week through a combination of assigned and unassigned workstations, and it hopes to reach 95 per cent by March 31, 2027. Documents tabled in the House of Commons last month showed federal departments and agencies will spend more than $18 million to reconfigure or acquire office space for the mandate.

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10. Nine people affected by overdoses at a New Brunswick shelter, six taken to hospital

Source: CP24

Nine people were affected by a surge of drug overdoses at St. Stephen's lone shelter on Sunday night, with six of them taken to Charlotte County Hospital for treatment. Mayor Steve Backman told CTV Atlantic that about five ambulances responded — "pretty much our county allocation" — raising concerns about tying up valuable resources in a single incident.

The shelter, called the Lighthouse Lodge, is operated by local non-profit Neighbourhood Works. In a statement, the organization did not specify how many overdoses happened Sunday night but said there has been an increase in overdose incidents over the past weekend, several of which needed urgent assistance. "We recognize how frightening and traumatic these experiences can be, for those directly affected, for the people who care about them and for the community members who witness them," the statement reads. Several individuals were transported to hospital and subsequently released, and have since returned to the shelter.

Neither Neighbourhood Works, Horizon Health Network nor first responders have been able to say what substance or substances led to the overdoses, but they are working to identify the bad batch. Backman said the drug supply seems to be getting more toxic over time and that more wrap-around services and mental health counselling are needed; the town will meet with officials from Social Development before the end of the month. Health Minister John Dornan, asked in Fredericton, said he wasn't aware of all the specifics but that volunteer firefighters are asking for more supports when responding to overdose calls, which the province is "actively considering."

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