Maple Express | October 18, 2026: Terrorism ruled out in CFB Wainwright blast

1. Defence Department rules out terrorism in CFB Wainwright explosion as investigation continues

Source: CP24 Canada's Department of National Defence said Sunday morning there are no indications that the fire and explosion at CFB Wainwright in Alberta was a terrorist attack. A spokesperson said the incident remains under investigation, in a live story first published at 10:04 a.m. EDT and updated at 11:38 a.m. The Canadian Armed Forces said the fire broke out in a training area at approximately 4 p.m. local time Saturday before spreading rapidly beyond its boundaries. Officials have confirmed fatalities and injuries but have not released further details while they work to notify next of kin. The NATO Military Committee extended its condolences to the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives and wished the injured a full recovery, noting that Wainwright is where Canadian soldiers and many others train.

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2. Ford says Ontario 'ready to help' after deadly explosion at Alberta military base

Source: CP24 Ontario Premier Doug Ford said in a Sunday morning social media statement that the province stands ready to help with recovery efforts after an explosion and fire at a Canadian military base in Alberta that caused an unknown number of deaths and injuries. Ford said his thoughts are with everybody affected by the "terrible incident" at CFB Wainwright, including members of the Canadian Armed Forces and first responders. He called on Canadians to come together to support those who put their lives on the line to protect the country's freedoms, and said Ontario stands ready to help however it can. Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles also issued a statement Sunday, offering condolences to military members and their loved ones and saying Canadians stand with them. She thanked first responders and health-care workers treating the injured and said she joins Canadians in awaiting further information. Global News reported that seven people were killed and dozens injured.

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3. Bradford pledges to untangle Toronto gridlock, starting with marathon-day subway service

Source: CityNews Toronto Mayoral candidate Brad Bradford said Sunday at the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon that major events are part of the city's identity, but they also show the city needs to do a better job of coordinating events with major road closures. He noted the city asked spectators and participants to take transit downtown, yet the subway did not start running until 8 a.m. "We have an event that draws tens of thousands of people into the core and that event starts at 8 a.m., you can't start running the subways at 8 a.m.," Bradford said, pledging that subways will open at 6 a.m. on marathon day if he is mayor. His proposals include requiring the TTC and Metrolinx to publish work schedules 30 days out, and investing in smart signal-priority technology so streetcars actually move. He said on Richmond, Adelaide or Dundas it is often faster to walk, describing streetcars as "a rolling stop sign." Bradford, who has long advocated a congestion relief commissioner, said the traffic czar hired early this year has not made much difference. He cited figures showing gridlock costs the GTA $40 million annually and that the average Torontonian loses 100 hours a year to traffic disruption. Incumbent Olivia Chow has proposed similar measures, including transit signal priority and better coordination of construction and closures; the city has spent $3 million to quadruple traffic agents at busy downtown intersections and raised fines for blocking the box.

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4. Markham mother pushes Ontario to require AEDs in every school after her son's death

Source: YorkRegion.com A Markham mother whose 14-year-old son died after his heart stopped at school is urging Ontario to require a defibrillator in every school and to fund it. Tricia Stanton's son Ben, a Grade 9 student at Bill Crothers Secondary School in Markham, went into sudden cardiac arrest on March 3, 2015. Stanton and the Heart and Stroke Foundation say the school had an automated external defibrillator (AED), but his cardiac arrest was not recognized quickly enough and the 911 dispatcher did not suggest using the device. Ben later died. "No family should have to wonder whether their loved one might have survived if better awareness, systems co-ordination and equipment had been in place," she said. Ben was known as a gifted volleyball player. On Friday, World Restart a Heart Day, Stanton and the foundation called for regulations under the Defibrillator Registration and Public Access Act requiring every school to have an accessible, maintained and publicly registered AED along with CPR and AED training. The law passed in 2020, but no regulations set out where devices must be placed or how they must be maintained. Dr. Lesley James, the foundation's director of health policy and systems for Ontario, said regulations should require AEDs in every school and ensure they are registered so 911 dispatchers can help callers locate them. The Ministry of Education said it is working with the Ministry of Health on whether schools should be required to have AEDs, and that any proposed regulations would go to public consultation first. It did not say when regulations would come or whether it would help pay for the devices. About 20,000 cardiac arrests happen in Ontario each year, and fewer than one in 10 people survive one outside hospital; calling 911, starting CPR and using an AED quickly can double the odds of survival.

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5. Langat defends Toronto Waterfront Marathon title as Jeruto and Davies make history

Source: Canadian Running Magazine The TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon kicked off Sunday morning, and history came quickly. Kenya's Leonard Langat crossed the line in 2:06:51 to become a two-time champion and the first man to repeat since compatriot Philemon Rono in 2017. On the women's side, Kenya's Leah Jeruto surged in the final 10 km to win her first career marathon in 2:21:19 and complete a Kenyan sweep. Canada's Andrew Davies ran 2:08:48, the fastest marathon debut in Canadian history, finishing ninth overall and winning the Canadian Marathon Championships. Dayna Pidhoresky took the women's Canadian title with a personal best of 2:26:02. Ten men were still on 2:07 pace at 30 km. After the pacers dropped off and the field passed 35 km, Langat took the lead and pushed on, narrowly avoiding the camera bike, to become the only man under 2:07 and earn the $5,000 time bonus. Fanny Kiprotich was second in 2:07:21 in only his third marathon, with Kipkemboi third in 2:07:25. Rono's course record of 2:05:00 from 2019 still stands. Haftu was second in the women's race in 2:21:34.

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6. One person hospitalized after early-morning stabbing at Exhibition grounds

Source: CP24 One person was taken to hospital after a stabbing at the Exhibition grounds in Toronto's west end early Sunday. Toronto police said officers responded to reports of a victim with a stab wound in the Dufferin Street and Saskatchewan Road area just before 3:30 a.m. Police said the victim's injuries were non-life-threatening. Toronto paramedics confirmed one person was taken to a local trauma centre in stable condition. Police have not released a suspect description and are asking anyone with information to contact them.

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7. Police seek man in suspected Danforth Village arson

Source: CityNews Toronto Toronto police are searching for a man in connection with a suspected arson in Danforth Village. Firefighters were called to a fire in the Danforth Avenue and Sibley Avenue area around 6 p.m. on October 17. In a release Sunday, police said a man went to a business in the area, paused briefly by the doorway and then left. "Shortly after a fire starts from where the suspect leaves, causing extensive damage," police said. The man is described as having a light complexion, between 60 and 70 years of age, five-foot-eight to five-foot-10 with an average build, bald with short grey facial hair. He was last seen wearing a grey winter jacket, dark pants, white shoes and a black and white toque.

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8. What Ontario voters need to know about school trustee races before Oct. 26

Source: CBC As Ontarians head to the polls for municipal elections later this month, they will also decide who to elect in local school board races amid far-reaching changes to trustees' duties. Earlier this year, the province changed trustee responsibilities, compensation and the number of positions available on some boards. Education Minister Paul Calandra said the changes were about focusing the remaining trustees on student achievement and reducing distractions. "The role of the trustee is changing dramatically," he said in April when he introduced the bill. Eight school boards, including some of the largest, have been placed under supervision with their trustees effectively suspended, but many of those jobs remain up for election on Oct. 26. Associations representing trustees say fewer people are running. The Ontario Public School Boards' Association says 673 people are running for trustee roles on English public boards, compared with 862 in 2022. The Ontario Catholic School Trustees' Association says about 380 people are running, compared with 441 four years ago. Its president, Michael Bellmore, said the provincial changes "definitely would have contributed" to the decline, given uncertainty about what the job would look like after the election. The province stripped trustees of financial decision-making and gave it to newly created board CEOs, while collective bargaining was handed to a body representing education directors. Trustees retain their advocacy work for students and parents, and Catholic trustees still control denominational issues.

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9. Ontario to import U.S. electricity this winter, months after Ford threatened to cut exports

Source: CBC Ontario will import power from the United States this winter, the province's independent electricity operator has announced, just a few months after Premier Doug Ford threatened to cut exports to the U.S. amid the trade war. In an Oct. 1 news release, the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) said the contract will help secure additional short-term capacity for the winter while facility maintenance takes place. The six-month contract with U.S.-based Alpha Generation for 600 megawatts will start on Nov. 1. IESO did not detail the maintenance work, but the province began a multi-year refurbishment of the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station in September. Lewis Krashinsky, a Harvard postdoctoral fellow who studies U.S.-Canada politics, said the contract undercuts recent statements by the Ford government. "For all the tough talk, I think it doesn't look at all that good for Doug Ford," he said. In August, Ford said he was willing to cut off electricity and critical minerals to the U.S.; Ontario sends power to about 1.5 million people in Michigan, New York and Minnesota. IESO said Ontario remains a net exporter of power, exporting seven times more electricity to neighbouring jurisdictions such as Quebec and New York than it imported in 2025, and that the Alpha Generation contract is part of normal system planning to manage system-wide maintenance and peak winter demand.

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10. Record $90M Lotto Max jackpot rolls over to Tuesday's draw

Source: Toronto Star There was no winning ticket in Friday night's draw for Canada's largest lottery prize, so the record $90-million Lotto Max jackpot will carry over to Tuesday, when about $119 million in prizes will be available, including 20 Maxmillions prizes worth $1 million each and 90 Maxplus prizes worth $100,000 apiece. OLG said in a release Saturday that it will be the largest lottery prize ever offered in Canada. The jackpot was increased to $90 million on Wednesday after no one won the $85-million draw the night before, and the prize is now capped at $90 million. The $85-million prize would also have been a Canadian record, having been bumped up last Saturday after no winner the night before. The largest lottery prize ever won in Canada is $80 million. A British Columbia man first won that amount in May 2025, and then two friends from London, Ont., matched the total with their win in April.

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