Maple Express | November 4, 2026 GTA home sales fall nearly 8% as buyers and sellers stay on the sidelines

1. GTA home sales fall nearly 8% as buyers and sellers stay on the sidelines

Source: CP24

Home sales across the Greater Toronto Area fell nearly eight per cent last month compared with a year earlier, with 5,603 homes changing hands, according to new figures from the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) released Wednesday. Sales were down 7.9 per cent from October 2025, while new listings dropped 11.9 per cent year over year to 14,173. The report comes after the Bank of Canada raised its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 2.5 per cent — its first increase since July 2023 — with inflation currently at 3.1 per cent.

Jason Mercer, TRREB's chief information officer, told CP24 Breakfast that uncertainty about the economic outlook has left both buyers and sellers reluctant to make major financial decisions. "You essentially have both buyers and sellers sitting on the sidelines right now, waiting to see how things shake out with the economy, inflation and borrowing costs," he said, adding that the impact of would-be rate hikes has been felt for two or three months.

The average selling price of a GTA home was $1,024,108 in October, down 2.7 per cent from a year earlier, and the MLS Home Price Index composite benchmark fell 4.3 per cent year over year. Mercer said buyers have benefited from better supply and more negotiating power, but cautioned that affordability has not returned to pre-pandemic levels. He expects the usual seasonal slowdown in November and December, and said progress on trade, a resolution to the conflict in the Middle East and signs of easing inflation could help restore consumer confidence next year.

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2. York police arrest 23 in cross-border cannabis trafficking network

Source: CP24

York Regional Police have charged 23 people and are searching for another suspect after an investigation into an alleged cannabis trafficking operation that stretched across Ontario and parts of North America and Europe. The probe, dubbed Project North Star, was launched in February 2026 and involved York police, the Ontario Provincial Police, the Canada Border Services Agency and the London Police Service. Investigators allege the group sourced cannabis from several locations across Ontario, including a large-scale illegal grow operation in London, before distributing it through the underground market.

Police say the group also ran an online illicit dispensary and allegedly shipped cannabis to destinations across North America and parts of Europe using commercial parcel delivery services. Between July and September, search warrants were executed at properties in Markham, Scarborough, Vaughan, Burlington, Milton, London and the rural community of Ailsa Craig. Investigators seized more than 1,550 pounds of cannabis, 8.5 pounds of hashish, 4.4 pounds of cannabis derivatives, infused edibles, small quantities of ketamine and cocaine, two firearms, high-capacity magazines and more than $250,000 in Canadian currency.

Two Ford pickup trucks were also seized, one of which police allege had been re-vinned. The online dispensary was shut down and the London grow operation was dismantled, with the cannabis seized there estimated to be worth approximately $4.8 million. Zongyu Zhu, 26, of Markham remains wanted on charges of conspiracy to commit an indictable offence and possession for the purpose of distributing. Police are asking anyone with information about his whereabouts to contact investigators.

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3. 'Couldn't be happier': Ford says Trump must 'look in mirror' after midterms

Source: CP24

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he "couldn't be happier" with the results of the U.S. midterm elections, arguing the outcome sends a message to U.S. President Donald Trump, whose tariffs have hammered the province's economy. "The American people spoke, and I couldn't be happier," Ford told reporters Wednesday. "They can blame everyone they want, but President Trump has to look in the mirror, take responsibility for the results of last night."

His comments came after the Democrats trounced the Republicans in the midterm elections, gaining control of the House and Senate in a vote widely viewed as a referendum on Trump's policies. Ford has repeatedly spoken out against the president's tariffs, which he says have damaged Ontario's economy. CP24 is covering this as a breaking news story, with more details to come.

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4. GTA gas prices drop 11 cents overnight, with another cut possible Friday

Source: CP24

Gas prices at GTA pumps fell 11 cents overnight Wednesday, and both gasoline and diesel could keep trending downward this week, according to gas price analyst Dan McTeague. In an interview with CP24, McTeague said markets are showing "some optimism over what's happening in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz." "Silence on the geopolitical front means that we could be seeing another decrease," he said Wednesday.

McTeague expects gas could fall another four or five cents by Friday, while diesel could see a seven-cent drop. That would bring gas prices down to about $1.62 a litre and diesel to around $2.34 a litre. Still, he noted this remains "substantially higher" than a year ago, when gas was about 30 to 35 cents a litre cheaper and diesel was down about 80 cents a litre. "It is heading in the right direction," he added.

McTeague said warmer-than-normal weather has also helped, because less diesel is being used. "The pressure is off for a little bit at least for the foreseeable future," he said. As for the impact of the midterm election results on prices, he said it is "too early to tell."

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5. Ex-RBC employee found guilty of opening fraudulent accounts, viewing Carney's data

Source: CP24

A former Royal Bank of Canada employee has been found guilty of three criminal charges after opening fraudulent accounts and viewing the personal banking information of Prime Minister Mark Carney. Ibrahim El-Hakim worked at a downtown Ottawa bank branch, and an agreed statement of facts filed in an Ontario court says he was recruited by someone he believed "to be associated with organized crime."

The RCMP began investigating last year following a complaint from RBC. According to the agreed statement, El-Hakim opened at least 43 fraudulent accounts between November 2023 and June 2025. In late June 2025, he admitted his involvement to an RBC corporate security official, saying he had been recruited on Telegram by a person using the alias AI WORLD because he was experiencing financial difficulties. Court documents show he pleaded guilty in August to fraud over $5,000, unauthorized use of a computer and identity theft.

On June 17, 2025, El-Hakim accessed the customer banking profiles of Carney, Justin Trudeau and another individual; the Trudeau account "was determined not to belong to the former prime minister," the statement says. He received $500 for each account issued, at least $5,000 in total. RBC has paid $14,634 so 27 clients could receive two years of credit monitoring. El-Hakim did not turn up for a sentencing hearing late last month, and the court has set a new sentencing date later this month.

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6. W5 investigation: alleged cult leader pushed followers to leave Canada for Florida

Source: CP24

The second instalment of a five-part W5 investigation, "Fake Filtered Cult Leader," examines a self-described spiritual teacher whose online presence helped attract followers around the world. CTV News' investigative unit found that a Hawaii-based alleged cult leader persuaded more than two dozen Canadians to move to Florida, telling them Canada was a danger zone.

The teacher is Liana Shanti, whose real name is Liane Wilson. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in December 2022, 16 Canadians from Regina and the surrounding area in Saskatchewan moved to Jacksonville, Florida. They say Shanti repeatedly told them Canada, with its vaccine rules and public gathering restrictions, was becoming an oppressive state, and she shared conspiracy theories suggesting the vaccine was dangerous.

Former student Amanda Brady said Shanti would speak of Canada "literally turning into the depths of hell" and likened it to The Handmaid's Tale. The Canadians bought a large property in Jacksonville they nicknamed Destiny Manor. Several followers took their children across the U.S. border without the consent of the children's fathers. Brady's ex-husband, Wade Martin, said he barely saw his two daughters for much of the next four years — "four years that I feel were stolen from me." Another follower, Riley Lawson, said all but one of the group eventually left and returned to Canada. In August, a civil jury in Honolulu found Shanti defamed three Canadians and awarded damages of more than C$55 million.

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7. Quebec to launch diplomatic offensive in the U.S. after midterms, premier says

Source: CP24

Quebec Premier Paul St-Pierre Plamondon says his government will launch a diplomatic offensive south of the border following the U.S. midterm elections. He believes there is a better chance of finding ways to resolve the trade war now that the Democrats have regained control of Congress.

St-Pierre Plamondon said Canada and Quebec will have an easier time finding allies to ease tensions after a result widely viewed as a rejection of President Donald Trump's policies. Democrats flipped long-held Republican Senate seats in Texas, Kansas and South Carolina while holding on to battleground seats in Georgia and Michigan. The trade war with Canada became a ballot box issue in close contests in Maine and Michigan, where Democrats defeated their Republican rivals.

Quebec is one of the provinces most affected by U.S. tariffs, which target softwood lumber, aluminum and various manufactured goods. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2026.

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8. Republicans lost the House and Senate. What could it mean for Canada?

Source: CP24

As Canada and the U.S. remain embroiled in an extended trade war, President Donald Trump suffered a huge domestic blow Tuesday as the Democrats swept the midterm elections, taking control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Several long-held Republican seats flipped, in a major rebuke of the president and his policies. Trump still holds veto power, however, and has threatened to use it.

Sources told CTV News last week that trade talks between Canada and the U.S. were gaining momentum and that a deal before the midterms was not impossible, but the two sides are still without an agreement. Speaking to reporters at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Antigua and Barbuda on Tuesday, Prime Minister Mark Carney said talks have intensified and some of Canada's "red lines" have been taken off the table, including language, culture and Canada's ability to negotiate trade deals with other markets. "They're asking less and they're offering more, but we're not quite there," Carney said.

Three sources told CTV News last week that U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra told a closed-door meeting Ottawa could be blamed if key midterm races went against Trump's Republican Party. A U.S. Embassy spokesperson said the reported comments were "grossly taken out of context." Former Michigan governor and U.S. ambassador to Canada James Blanchard said a big Democratic victory would be "good for Canada-U.S. relations." Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc told reporters on Parliament Hill Wednesday that Canada's "focus hasn't changed," noting the current Congress remains in place until the new one is sworn in in January.

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9. Why mosquito season is lasting longer this fall in parts of Canada

Source: CP24

Canadians who thought mosquito season was over may be surprised to learn the insects are still around. Experts say mosquitoes appear to be living longer this fall in parts of southern and eastern Ontario and Eastern Canada, including Nova Scotia, because of warmer-than-usual temperatures. Mosquitoes typically thrive in warm, humid conditions, and this year's strong El Nino has extended them.

Laura Ferguson, an assistant professor in Acadia University's biology department who studies how ticks and mosquitoes respond to environmental change, said the insects will stick around "as long as those mosquitoes haven't been exposed to temperatures low enough ... so cold that it damages them and kills them." Overnight temperatures have to dip below freezing for a consistent period to have an effect, she said. Bill Merryfield, a research scientist at Environment and Climate Change Canada, said this year's El Nino warming has already exceeded three degrees, well above any previous event, and is expected to go higher before the usual peak in November or December.

In Toronto and surrounding parts of southern Ontario, mosquitoes were present into late October, with temperatures reaching the low 20s at the end of the month and in the first week of November. The Weather Network said Toronto hasn't recorded any temperature at or below freezing since May 3. Marc Avramov, a Carleton University PhD candidate who focuses on mosquito-borne diseases such as West Nile virus and eastern equine encephalitis, said the longer the season is extended, the longer the risks of virus transmission to humans and animals remain.

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10. Truro, N.S., to host 2028 World Women's Curling Championship

Source: CP24

The world's top women's curling teams are headed for Truro, N.S., in 2028. The town will host the BKT World Women's Curling Championship from March 17 to 26 at the Rath Eastlink Community Centre.

"We are delighted to take one of our biggest events to Truro, Nova Scotia, for the first time," Eeva Röthlisberger, head of competitions for World Curling, said in a news release. "We are aware of their track record of hosting major events, and we are confident that their experience will help us deliver an exceptional experience for our athletes and the curling community." According to Curling Canada, some international teams are already familiar with the venue, which hosted Grand Slam of Curling events in 2015 and 2018.

Truro Mayor Cathy Hinton said this is the first time a world championship curling event will be held in Truro, and welcomed the 18 teams, their families and curling enthusiasts. Nova Scotia most recently hosted the world women's championship in 2024 in Sydney. Mandy Mulford, executive director of Nova Scotia Curling, said next year's championship will build on that tradition. Curling Canada said ticket and volunteer information will be released at a later date.

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