Families with young kids in Ardrossan are nervous after being told one of their daycares in the community east of Edmonton would be shutting down.

They’re now left wondering where their kids will go and why this is happening in the hamlet about seven kilometres east of Sherwood Park, in Strathcona County.

Where It’s at Country Daycare has welcomed hundreds of families, like Brianna Morris’, but that will soon be coming to an end.

“It’s a gut punch. I honestly can’t imagine sending them anywhere else,” Morris said.

“I don’t know what to do.”

Her kids, Hunter and Eden, have attended the daycare for years. Morris and her husband both have full-time jobs, and now have to find a new daycare before the end of the school year.

“We don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t know what to do with my kids. I don’t have family here to look after them,” she said.

2:00
Alberta parents criticize $15/day child care plan replacing low-income subsidy

Where It’s at Country Daycare opened in 2019 in a building on the grounds of Holy Redeemer Catholic School in Ardrossan.

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This winter, instead of their annual lease renewal, the daycare’s owner received a different message from their landlord, Elk Island Catholic Schools.

“On the 20th of March, I received a termination letter that says you have 90 days to be out of here,” said daycare owner Loraine Durocher.

“Needless to say, the panic set in.”

The daycare offers year-round services and outdoor programming. Around 30 families are currently registered and more are signed up.

“I have kids that are scheduled to start next week, I have kids scheduled for May, I have kids scheduled for September, I have kids scheduled for next September and the September after that,” Durocher said.

Where It’s at Country Daycare how has to turn everyone away.

The daycare and its families say despite asking why this is happening, they’ve heard nothing.

The situation is frustrating to Shannon Sawatzky. Her youngest daughter attends the daycare, and instead of going to school with the rest of her siblings, she’ll now have to go elsewhere.

“Now it means she’ll need to attend daycare in another community, go to school in another community, which is just something I’m really struggling with. That concept of having my kiddos, one in Fort Saskatchewan, while two are here. They’re all very excited that they’re going to be in school together,” said Sawatzky.

“It is really important that we keep this daycare running.

“We are a small community here, and it’s vital that our kids keep the comfort, the security for their well-being.”

4:11
Ask the Educator: What is the 100 Voices program?

So why is the lease being terminated?

Global News reached out to Elk Island Catholic Schools for information and was told the division was “unable to provide a comment on the situation at this time as staff are currently on spring break.”

The daycare is asking families to stay optimistic for their kids, but they say it’s not easy.

“I need child care. So I’m really hoping the school will work with us to find a solution so that we can turn this around and my kids can keep coming to the place they love,” Morris said.

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The Prince Albert Raiders enter the playoffs this year, sitting comfortable at the top of the standings, having won 52 of the 68 games played in the regular season.

According to head coach Ryan McDonald, these victories are a result of dedication.

“Our guys have done a tremendous job with that day in, day out, managing pucks, making sure that you’re making the opposition come 200 feet, and capitalizing on your opportunities, and continuing to play that winning brand of hockey,” said McDonald.

Their opponent in the first round is the Red Deer Rebels. It’s not the first showdown between the two teams this season, with the two teams neck and neck.

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Two games won, two games lost. The Rebels are known for their strong forecheck, putting pressure on defence to perform. For captain Justice Christensen, it’s his last season on the blue line, and he intends to perform.

“Just get back to pucks quick, don’t give a lot of time to set up or get close to us when we’re going back for pucks, making sure we get to pucks quick, and trying not to take a lot of hits back there,” said Christensen.

The Raiders are eager to break the tie against the Rebels.

“We split the regular season with them, that’s alright. Not exactly how we wanted it, but that’s alright, we learned from those games we didn’t come out on top of. Heading into this series a lot of excitement, we know they’re a really good team and we cant take them lightly,” said Rebels defenceman Daxon Rudolph.

Although the Raiders are far ahead of the Rebels in the standings, their even record is still cause for concern. Coach McDonald says that they’re still going to have to bring their A-game.

“It’s sticking to our process, sticking to what has brought us success all season, and making sure we put a real premium on our starts,” said McDonald

The series is set to start in Prince Albert where the first two games will be played Friday and Saturday.

The Raiders will then hit the road to play Red Deer on March 31st.

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Three separate incidents in Saskatoon involving overheight loads striking overpasses this month are under investigation, after the latest crash caused renewed traffic disruptions.

According to a news release by Saskatoon police, all three incidents, on March 5, March 11 and March 22, involved overheight or overweight loads damaging infrastructure.

In the March 22 incident, a vehicle struck the CPKC rail overpass near Circle Drive and 108th Street.

Investigators later confirmed the McKercher Drive overpass along College Drive was also struck.

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Police say the McKercher Drive overpass was also later confirmed to have been damaged.

The driver initially left the scene but was later located by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Martensville.

Charges in that case include exceeding regulated weight limits, damaging public infrastructure and failing to comply with permit conditions.

In an earlier incident on March 5, a semi-trailer hauling an excavator struck the Circle Drive overpass along Highway 11.

Charges include damage to public improvement, driving without due care and attention, operating with a major defect and exceeding maximum height restrictions.

A second incident on March 11 at Circle Drive and 108th Street resulted in charges including failing to comply with permit conditions, failing to complete a daily inspection and exceeding permitted dimensions.

Police say all charges were issued as summary offence tickets.

Investigators said the files will be forwarded to the City of Saskatoon solicitor’s office to consider legal options due to the damage to municipal infrastructure.

Authorities are reminding operators to follow all height, weight and transport regulations and inspect their loads before travelling to help prevent damage and ensure safety.

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

The bodies of the two Air Canada pilots who died in a collision on a runway at LaGuardia Airport on Sunday have returned to Canada.

Pilots carried the casket of Jazz Aviation first officer Mackenzie Gunther off a plane at the Ottawa International Airport on Thursday afternoon. Capt. Antoine Forest’s body was then flown from Ottawa to Montréal Trudeau International Airport.

2:13
What we know about 2 pilots killed in Air Canada plane crash at LaGuardia Airport

Forest’s death has sparked an outpouring of sympathy in his hometown of Coteau-du-Lac, Que., southwest of Montreal. The Air Line Pilots Association says the deaths of the two young aviators have also shaken up the industry.

“As we navigate the coming days, look out for one another,” Gil Renaud, a captain with Jazz, told his colleagues in a message posted by the association.

Renaud, who is based in Montreal, flies the CRJ-900 aircraft, the same model implicated in the tragedy on Sunday night. He was recently elected to serve a two-year term as an officer at the pilots union. “If the seat next to you feels a little heavier or the silence feels a little louder, reach out. We are a community built on mutual support, and we will move forward together.”

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Gunther, 24, and Forest, 30, died when their Air Canada plane collided with a fire truck after landing at the New York City airport. The fire truck, responding to a separate incident aboard another plane, was cleared to cross the runway, seconds before the Air Canada plane landed.

Roughly 40 people were treated at hospitals for injuries, including the two firefighters and a flight attendant who survived after being thrown onto the tarmac while still strapped in her seat. Most have since been released from hospital.

The runway where the plane landed at LaGuardia was reopened Thursday morning. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said the tarmac resumed operations at around 10 a.m. after the runway and its associated infrastructure were “repaired, inspected and confirmed” to meet Federal Aviation Administration regulations for safe operation.

0:57
LaGuardia Airport runway reopens after fatal Air Canada collision

The agency, which oversees the region’s airports, said reopening the second of two runways at LaGuardia, one of the busiest airports in the country, will help “restore full operational capacity,” though it advised travellers to still check with their airline for flight statuses.

LaGuardia continues to register the most delays and cancellations among airports in the United States with more than 300 cancelled in the last 24 hours, according to FlightAware, a flight tracking website.

The destroyed Air Canada plane and the fire truck were towed from the crash site late Wednesday as the National Transportation Safety Board continues its investigation. The agency said Thursday that the truck has been placed in an undisclosed, secure location and deferred questions about the status of the plane to Air Canada.

2:12
Calls for resignation of Air Canada CEO following his failure to speak French

The airline has said the plane would be placed in a hangar and that it would soon begin the process of reuniting passengers with their baggage and other personal belongings.

Michael Rousseau, the company’s CEO, also apologized Thursday for his inability to express himself in French after facing calls to resign over his English-only message of condolence.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 26, 2026.

— With files from The Associated Press

&copy 2026 The Canadian Press

A scathing watchdog report into the federal government’s multi-billion-dollar Indigenous procurement system has led to renewed calls for the program to be run by First Nations, Inuit and Métis people rather than public servants.

Dawn Madhabee Leach with the First Nations Procurement Authority told Global News that the federal government should make Indigenous people responsible for managing the Procurement Strategy for Indigenous Business (PSIB).

That’s particularly the case in verifying businesses are legitimately majority-owned by First Nations, Métis or Inuit people before gaining preferential access to government contracts.

“When Indigenous people deliver the programs themselves, there’s a higher success rate rather than having the government deliver programs, especially business and economic programs,” Madhabee Leach said.

“We have had the successful delivery of programs over the years where we’ve proven that we’re in a better position to deliver and still be fully accountable to the federal government on all funding … I really believe that we need to have Indigenous people manage the (Indigenous Business Directory) because we can better assess who is an Indigenous person.”

In a report released Thursday, Procurement Ombud Alexander Jeglic’s office found Indigenous Services Canada and other government departments were failing to administer a program that’s supposed to guarantee five per cent of Ottawa’s contracts go to Indigenous firms.

The government’s “systemic disregard” for the principles behind the Procurement Strategy for Indigenous Business (PSIB) meant that mandatory audits were not performed, departments did not ensure Indigenous businesses were actually benefiting, and the government’s claims that departments are hitting their targets are unsupported by hard numbers.

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Indigenous business leaders have long warned the federal government about problems with the PSIB process, in particular that non-Indigenous businesses are gaming the system to gain access to work otherwise meant for First Nations, Métis and Inuit companies.

Madhabee Leach said she wasn’t surprised by Thursday’s report, which she said reflects the “concerns and the feelings that Indigenous people have had for many years.”

“We really thought that this whole initiative was going to be an amazing boost to Indigenous businesses across the country, but it hasn’t really turned out that way,” Madhabee Leach said in an interview with Global News.

“The dollars aren’t really reaching our people in the way that we were hoping (they) would.”

Jeglic’s office found that Indigenous Services Canada, which is responsible for administering the PSIB, failed to perform mandatory audits to confirm that businesses awarded PSIB contracts were at least 51 per cent owned and operated, and repeatedly ignored departments’ queries about the program .

Because the government did not track if the work was actually done by Indigenous firms, Jeglic’s office said they had no way to “credibly” claim departments were hitting the five per cent target for Indigenous procurement.

The ombud report broadly confirmed the findings of a joint investigation by Global News and the First Nations University of Canada into the PSIB in 2024. Those stories revealed the federal government was not only aware of the issues, but had been warned that failing to ensure only legitimate Indigenous businesses benefitted could erode public support for the program.

“There are some great stories about procurement across this country that have brought small, medium and large Indigenous businesses to success stories … (they) need to be highlighted,” said Billy Morin, the Conservative MP for Edmonton Northwest and former chief of the Enoch Cree Nation.

“But too often (Indigenous Services Canada’s) negligence is getting in the way of that. And who is suffering? The Canadian taxpayer is suffering, Indigenous businesses are suffering,  and reconciliation takes one step forward … but five steps back. This contributes to the radical racism out there.”

Morin said his party supports transferring responsibility for the PSIB to Indigenous leadership — something he said would improve the system and result in smaller government.

Indigenous Services Canada accepted Jeglic’s recommendations to overhaul the system, but despite knowing about these issues for years, changes are not expected any time soon.

The department also said it is currently in talks with First Nations, Inuit and Métis groups about significant changes to the PSIB, and is expected to outline new policy guidance for government departments later this year.

More structural changes like transferring some responsibilities to Indigenous groups, however, are not expected until 2027.

ISC also said it would advocate to the Treasury Board for reforming how government departments report their results against the five per cent target. While Jeglic’s office finds fault with  the PSIB’s current calculations, Indigenous Services Canada still boasted that departments exceeded their targets in 2023-24.

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Four years after the Progressive Conservatives promised to build 1.5 million homes in a decade, Ontario’s battered housing sector is looking at lowering expectations again.

As part of its 2022 re-election campaign, the Ford government promised it would solve Ontario’s housing crisis by ramping up the construction of new homes.

But it’s yet to come close to that target, even after adding in long-term care beds to try and boost the struggling statistics.

Ontario’s 2026 budget presents another round of bleak reading for those hoping the tide will turn. Private sector forecasts have, again, knocked tens of thousands of new units off their projections for the next four years.

Figures included in the fall economic statement released in November 2025 suggested Ontario would see 315,000 new housing starts from 2025 to 2028. That figure has dropped by more than 10 per cent to 276,900 in the latest budget.

“Construction activity softened and is expected to remain subdued in 2026 as private-sector forecasters continue to highlight the negative effects of uncertainty on homebuilding,” the government’s annual blueprint acknowledged.

The reductions have come across the board. Last year, the projections were revised from 71,800 down to 65,000, while 2026 is dropping from 74,800 to 64,800.

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The figures essentially make Ontario’s goal of 1.5 million new homes by 2031 impossible.

The government had taken a staggered approach to its annual housing targets, seeking 110,000 new homes initially, a figure it broadly reached.

Those numbers then rose to needing 175,00 new homes from 2026 to 2031 to achieve the goal. The budget shows Ontario will struggle to even get close to that figure. In 2026, the forecasts say the province will manage 64,800 starts, with 70,300 in 2027 and 76,800 in 2028.

If those projections materialize, it would repeat its slump from 2025, when the government approached the end of the year more than 100,000 short of its target.

Increasingly, the government has been working to temper expectations.

Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy referred last year to the goal of 1.5 million homes as a “soft” target. Housing Minister Rob Flack has said he is targeting the spring to see the impacts of recent policy changes.

Bethlenfalvy continued to distance himself from the goal during the 2026 budget.

“No, no, I’m not focused on the target,” he said when asked if it was still achievable. “I’m focused on what we can do today to make it more affordable for people to own homes.”

While new homebuilding has dropped dramatically, the resale market has also dipped substantially.

“Economic uncertainty has weighed on Ontario’s housing market activity despite easing mortgage rates,” the 2026 budget explained.

Last year, resales dropped 5.6 per cent and the average price fell by 4.4 per cent. That, forecasters believe, is temporary and will begin to reverse this year.

“Looking ahead, home resales are projected to rebound, supported by pent-up demand and economic growth,” the budget says. “Home resales are projected to grow 9.1 per cent in 2026, 5.6 per cent in 2027. 4.2 per cent in 2028 and 4 per cent in 2029.”

The government is hoping to take that improving resale picture and try to apply it to new construction through a billion-dollar-plus policy to try and stimulate the sector.

On the eve of the budget, the province announced it was expanding a plan to waive HST for first-time homebuyers on new projects to include anyone buying a new build.

For one year, anyone in Ontario who buys a new home will have the sales tax waived by both the federal and provincial governments. The measure is expected to cost the treasury $1.4 billion.

Announcing the plan, Premier Doug Ford implored people to take advantage and buy a new home.

“Let’s start selling these homes, let’s start building them,” he said in Mississauga on Wednesday. “And people of Ontario, please go out and purchase a new home.”

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

A sprawling military training base in southern Alberta can expect to see more activity this summer, says the commander of the Canadian Army.

Lt-General Michael Wright told an audience at a defence trade show Thursday that Canadian Forces Base Suffield, the country’s largest training area, will be used increasingly as a testing hub for new technology and for increased training.

“Suffield is a training base that we have not used very much over the past 10 or 11 years, but in an agreement between Canada and the United Kingdom, we’re going to be starting to use it increasingly this summer,” said Wright at the Defence Aerospace and Security Exhibition of Western Canada, or DEFSEC West.

“It’s fantastic to see, but we’ve also got some investments we need to make into CFB Suffield, like so many of our bases across the country.”

Wright didn’t specify what kind of investments would be made but said it would not be to the point where thousands of troops would be training there, as was seen in the past.

The base, which is located in the southeast corner of Alberta, just north of Medicine Hat, is nearly 2,700-square-kilometres in size — more than three times the size of the city of Calgary — and its use dates back more than half a century.

In the early 1970s, the British Army signed a deal with Canada to send thousands of troops to the base east of Calgary for armour training and exercises, until the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 brought everything to a halt.

When reports in 2021 suggested the British would pull out of Suffield entirely, the U.K.’s then-defence minister Ben Wallace hinted that armoured training would be “flexed” to other locations.

In 2023, the U.K. defence ministry announced it would start to wind down operations and training at Suffield.

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The U.K. government has since indicated it will spend £17 million (Cdn$31 million) on maintaining British Army Training Unit Suffield.

1:51
British troops take part in live-fire at Alberta military base

In January, the U.K.’s secretary of state for defence Al Carns said Suffield continues to be used for both training and experimentation activity.

Two British training missions were planned at Suffield for 2025-26.

In an interview, Wright said there could be more. “I won’t speak for the British Army, but they’re absolutely planning for increased use as well,” he said.

One more was slated for 2027, the U.K. government says.

The base is also still used by Canadian reserve units for training, with some of those soldiers joining the NATO mission in Latvia.

Each year, the Defence Research Development Canada branch hosts allied biological and chemical agent training.

Wright said the base needs to be used after a long period of inactivity.

“As the Canadian army builds and the Canadian Armed Forces builds, we’re going to need that ability to do larger-scale training across the country,” he said.

1:52
Canadian Forces exploring drone defenses at CFB Suffield

&copy 2026 The Canadian Press

Alberta’s government has tabled legislation — Bill 21, the Interprovincial Trade Mutual Recognition Act — to ease regulations and barriers to more easily enable the sale of some goods from other provinces.

It’s part of a commitment Alberta made with its provincial and federal counterparts in signing an interprovincial free trade pact in November.

That trade accord, which is supposed to take effect this summer, would see provinces recognize each other’s regulations for most consumer and capital products to avoid duplicative inspections and requirements.

The agreement doesn’t apply to the sale of alcohol, cannabis, food, live animals, tobacco or plants, and it lets provinces maintain certain restrictions on items for health and safety reasons.

Alberta is keeping its own rules in place for several products, including pesticides, plumbing equipment and safety helmets.

Another Alberta exemption is for gift cards, which the province requires to have no expiry date. The province retains the right to add or remove items from the list of goods and they must still meet Alberta rules.

Jobs and Economy Minister Joseph Schow said that despite the limitations, he expects the new rules will have a major economic effect for the province.

“This is a great news story for small- and medium-sized businesses,” he said. “These are mom and pop shops, in some cases, where they don’t have a lot of staff, and the last thing they want to be dealing with is cumbersome regulation.”

9:13
Provinces, territories sign interprovincial trade deal

He added that for years in Canada, it has sometimes been easier for businesses to sell products internationally rather than to other provinces.

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Schow said by eliminating red tape, businesses will be able to expand and access new markets without having to bring on more staff, or hire lawyers or consultants to deal with regulations.

Heather Thomson at the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce said at the government news conference that having consistency across the country will open doors for businesses and allow them to scale up.

“This means more time spent on hiring, innovating and selling,” she said. “It gives Alberta businesses the competitive edge that they need to succeed, not just here, but across the entire country.”

Government officials told reporters before the bill was tabled that manufacturers in industries such as oil and gas, lumber and logging and fertilizer producers will likely see the most positive impact once the pact takes effect.

Provinces such as Ontario and British Columbia have already introduced similar pieces of legislation to implement the commitments in November’s agreement.

5:33
Food and alcohol excluded in interprovincial trade agreement

Alberta officials told reporters that the government purposely waited longer so it could study and learn from what other provinces did.

Thursday’s bill also sets out the process for future mutual recognition agreements between provinces to be implemented.

Schow didn’t provide specifics about what future deals he’d like to ink, noting only that the legislation allows the government to be nimble and make changes without reconvening the legislature as needed.

Opposition NDP jobs critic Rhiannon Hoyle said the legislation is good news for businesses and the economy, but she would have like to have seen it sooner, given long-standing business interest in seeing trade barriers removed.

— More to come…

&copy 2026 The Canadian Press

The Toronto Police Service is investigating a fatal stabbing in the city’s east end that left a 27-year-old man dead.

Police said in a release that officers were called to the area of Gamble Avenue and Donlands Avenue at approximately 9:35 p.m. on Wednesday for reports of unknown trouble.

Investigators said an altercation was heard behind a low-rise residential building on a nearby residential street.

Officers found the victim suffering from stab wounds and without vital signs. Despite life-saving efforts by paramedics, he was pronounced dead at the scene.

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The victim has been identified as 27-year-old Ahmed Hassan Asif. He did not live in the immediate area, according to police.

Det. Sgt. Sajeev Nair described the victim as a “hard-working young man,” an auto mechanic who was “very much loved by family and nieces.”

Police said the suspect fled the area before their arrival and has not yet been found.

A white vehicle believed to be involved has been seized by forensic investigators, and officers are canvassing the neighbourhood for witnesses and surveillance footage.

Police also confirmed a vehicle involved in a collision within the taped-off area is part of the broader investigation, though its connection to the altercation has not been confirmed.

“We are coming for you.… Contact a lawyer and turn yourself in. We are going to catch you,” Nair said.

The killing marks Toronto’s fifth homicide of 2026.

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.