Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberals are proposing to give themselves the power to take away workers’ right to strike in a wide range of federally-regulated industries, including port workers and those in the postal service. This would fundamentally alter the legal framework that has created relative peace between workers and management since 1946. The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) has said they will defy the legislation if it passes.
A former member of the Canadian military, Sean Ward, is alleged to have shot a Belleville police officer who was guarding a synagogue while congregants were inside for the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. Ward was shot by police and died days later in hospital. Ward was let go from the military in 2022 for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine. He reportedly blamed Jews for losing his job, and also held anti-immigrant views. This has again raised concerns about radicalization within far-right circles and the Canadian military.
Tenants in the building at 75 Spencer Ave. in Parkdale ended their seven-month-long rent strike in September after their landlord cancelled a proposed above-guideline rent increase. The victory came just a week after several tenants drove to Montreal to protest outside the home of their new landlord. “The rent strike won because our neighbours did the thing that everyone talks about but almost no one does,” Bryan Doherty of Parkdale Organize said in a statement. “They formed an independent organization, stepped outside of legal and political convention, and directly confronted their landlord.”
Recently, a student ran into Ontario Premier Doug Ford, and begged the premier not to cut funding to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP). “Please don’t take OSAP from us, bro, please,” the student said in a video later posted to social media. Ford replied that there was still some OSAP funding (the grant reduced from 85 per cent down to 25 per cent) and that students should apply to agencies other than the province for funding. Ford also told the young Black student to get a job with the police.
The Church Street pedestrianization was praised by local business owners and city officials as a major success this summer, with thousands of people visiting the car-free area in the heart of Toronto’s gay village. However, the pilot project received criticism for only closing two blocks and for ending too early, on Aug. 21. The new city council will decide on whether to repeat or modify the pedestrianization next summer.
Mississauga’s city council voted unanimously in September to put a pause on approving any new data centres for one year. The move came after sustained pressure from residents over the impacts on energy, water and noise.
This article appeared in the 2026 Oct/Nov issue.
