OTTAWA — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she’s open to having a “conversation” with her fellow premiers about rewriting parts of the Constitution relating to Indigenous treaty rights.

Smith told reporters on Friday that Section 35 of the Constitution , which governs Crown-Indigenous relations, has been stretched beyond recognition by the courts.

She said that an Alberta judge’s decision earlier this month to throw out a petition for a binding independence referendum, on the grounds that the province failed to meet its duty to consult with First Nations, was a prime example of this overreach.

“I don’t even know what the court would expect of a citizen-initiated petition to satisfy a bar to a duty to consult before they can even ask a question,” said Smith.

Smith has vowed to appeal the ruling, and is inviting her fellow premiers to help prevent similar decisions in the future.

“It needs to be challenged, we’re going to and, if there’s an appetite among the other premiers to talk about defining that ever further through some kind of constitutional amendment, I’m opening to having that conversation,” said Smith.

Smith was taking questions from the media in Calgary after announcing on Thursday evening that she’ll be adding an independence-related question to the fall referendum ballot.

She noted that Alberta isn’t the only province grappling with overly broad judicial interpretations of treaty rights.

“My reading of (Section 35) is that it was never intended to continue being open-ended and redefined by the courts, to create new and increasing rights over and over again with each new decision,” said Smith.

“It was never intended to undermine property rights (or) to undermine the ability of provinces to have control over their resources.”

Her comments follow a series of controversial treaty-related decisions in British Columbia that critics say have created uncertainty surrounding the property rights of private landowners and the viability of major resource projects.

Multiple candidates in the ongoing B.C. Conservative leadership race have said they’ll amend the Constitution to scale back Aboriginal title and inferred Indigenous veto powers over resource development.

B.C. Conservative leadership candidate Yuri Fulmer says he agrees with Smith’s assessment of Section 35.

“Section 35 must not be twisted into a tool to erase private property rights, override democratic decision-making, or paralyze responsible resource development. It was never meant to become an endlessly expanding veto over the lives, land, and livelihoods of British Columbians,” said Fulmer in an email.

Unlike B.C., Alberta is located entirely on numbered treaty land.

The Supreme Court announced this week that it will hear the appeal to a controversial B.C. decision finding that the province’s mining rules are inconsistent with Indigenous rights.

Smith said she’ll raise the issue of Indigenous treaty rights at a premiers’ meeting set for next week.

Changing Section 35 would require convening a constitutional conference that includes the prime minister, premiers and Indigenous leaders.

Smith will be putting four constitutional questions to Albertans in October’s provincial referendum, including questions on amending the Constitution to give provinces more power over judicial appointments and to abolish the Senate.

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rmohamed@postmedia.com

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OTTAWA — Marilyn Gladu was planning to leave politics when she says a conversation with Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon changed her mind.

Gladu had a few offers lined up as she contemplated exiting her role as a Conservative MP, one she had held since 2015, and was pondering a return to engineering, a field she had spent years working in before entering politics.

“I was not really enjoying being on the Opposition benches, asking the food pricing question again and again and again, and not really being free to speak to the media, do meaningful roles,” Gladu recounted in a video published on Friday.

That conversation, a 45-minute sit-down with a community podcaster from her riding of S arnia—Lambton—Bkejwanong, offered Gladu’s most detailed account yet of her decision to defect to the Liberals and her experience inside the Conservative caucus.

“I was ready to leave the Conservative party, because, like I said, it was a very toxic environment, I found,” Gladu said.

Poilievre’s office has not yet responded to a request for comment. A spokesman in Gladu’s office declined any further comment, saying in an email that she has “ expressed the extent of her views on the subject and doesn’t have anything more to add at this time.”

The MP recounts in the video how she never dreamed that the Liberals, a government that she admits she has said “terrible things about” for the past decade would ever take her — until she had a conversation with Solomon.

As the minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, a region Gladu represents, she says she had approached Solomon on a “begging mission” to restore funding that she says had been cut in her riding.

“And he said, ‘Sure, when are you coming over,'” recalled Gladu.

“And I looked at him, and I laughed. I said, ‘Well, I didn’t get a call, and I don’t expect I will.'”

That’s when she says Solomon asked: “Would you like a call?”

“I said, ‘Well, I think that would be a discussion worth having.'”

That conversation in West Block set into motion a series of events that culminated on April 8 when Gladu stunned the Conservative caucus and many others on Parliament Hill with her decision to defect to the Liberals, a move that inched Carney’s party even closer to securing a majority government, which it ultimately did after winning a trio of byelections days later.

Gladu was the fifth MP to defect to the Liberals and the fourth from the Conservatives, with Lori Idlout arriving from the New Democrats.

When it came time to announce her decision, Solomon was in the room as Carney welcomed her to the team.

As for the private conversation she had with the prime minister, Gladu recalled in Friday’s video how she had been upfront about her past criticisms.

“I said, ‘Well, thank you for the meeting, but I’ve said awful things about you and the party for the last 10 years, and I can’t really fix that,'” she says she told Carney.

“He was super gracious. He looked at me, and he said, ‘You know what, I’m not interested in the past, I’m interested in moving forward.'”

She says Carney citied her background in global business and engineering as being well-suited to address the challenges of the present day and, according to Gladu, told her: ‘”Everybody in the Liberal caucus loves you.'”

That’s when she responded. “I said, ‘Well, not everybody.'”

Later in the conversation, Gladu offered up the two names she says told the prime minister might have opinions about her joining: Government Whip Mark Gerretsen and Quebec Liberal MP and former Trudeau-era environment minister Steven Guilbeault. When she mentioned Guilbeault, Carney asked her to elaborate.

“I said, ‘Well, I did call him a convicted felon several times in the House of Commons’, and that made him laugh,” Gladu said of the prime minister.

Gladu said Guilbeault’s scaling of the CN Tower back in 2001 when he was a Greenpeace activist later came up between the pair during a committee meeting, which she admits started with silence between them.

That changed after Gladu says some Conservative MPs began making comments about the guts Guilbeault showed to criticize Carney’s approach to climate policy in a recent opinion piece he had penned.

“He said to me, ‘I don’t think I’m ballsy.’ I said, ‘Are you kidding? Did you not climb the CN Tower?'”

She said Guilbeault laughed and said, ‘Yeah, but I was younger then.'”

When it came to Gerretsen, Gladu said she figured he would “probably give me the smallest desk in the smallest closet he can find,” as seating assignments in the House of Commons fall to the party whip.

Ultimately, she said, that never happened. “He gave me a very nice office.”

As for other topics she says she covered with Carney, Gladu says they discussed the government bills that she took issue with, including Bill C-9, the Liberals’ anti-hate legislation that she voiced concerns over for the removal of an exemption for religious speech. Gladu says she also addressed the Liberals’ ban on hundreds of makes and models of firearms.

“He seemed to think my ideas were very creative and interesting, and so you know, I’m moving forward and bringing that conservative voice into the (Liberal) tent.”

She says they also discussed what portfolios she was interested in, with Gladu now sitting as a Liberal MP on the parliamentary committees for justice and the status of women.

Gladu served as chair of the status of women committee when she was a Conservative and defecting to the Liberals cost her that position, along with what the MP says was a $14,000 stipend for the role.

While Gladu says she has felt welcomed among Liberal MPs, she says she is unsure about reoffering. She said she and her staff have endured threats and harassment that at one point required her constituency office to close for several days because of vandalism.

The reaction among her former Conservative colleagues has been split, she said.

She said around half have offered comments suggesting they understand her decision, while others, as she put it, “are firebombing me.”

The MP said she never felt “rewarded with any kind of a role” from Poilievre after having served as one of his co-chairs in Ontario during his 2022 leadership.

She also described hearing from constituents once MPs began crossing the floor about how much they liked Carney over Poilievre. Since last summer, Gladu added that she also heard from Conservatives who expressed “we don’t think Pierre can win” and “that there’s nobody coming behind him.”

She also said she gave what she thought “was a reasonable plan” to Poilievre for how he might deal with U.S. President Donald Trump that involved leveraging Ontario MP Jamil Jivani’s relationship with Vice-President JD Vance and other advice to the Conservatives in the lead up to the last election, as navigating the Canada-U.S. relationship was shaping up to be the central ballot question. “They decided that this was not the direction,” Gladu said.

Poilievre has publicly stated that he plans to remain as leader, citing the 87 per cent vote he received at his leadership review in January and the gains made during the 2025 election.

Successive public opinion polling suggest Poilievre’s Conservatives to be trailing Carney’s Liberals by a roughly 10-point lead, with the government enjoying high approval ratings.

After crossing the floor, Poilievre has said Gladu ought to resign and seek a new seat.

In Friday’s video, the Liberal MP shot back at her former leader.

“I mean he can say ‘she has to look in the eyes of her constituents.’ Well, what about the constituents of Battle River—Crowfoot that elected Damien Kurek, and weeks later all of a sudden he gives up his seat,” Gladu said, referring to how Kurek stepped aside to allow Poilievre to run in a byelection after losing his seat in last election.

“I think we all have to look in the eyes of our constituents, but we all have to look in the mirror too.”

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Police shared new information about Esther in hopes it will help find the 14-year-old Jewish girl who has been missing since Friday.

The parents Shira and Joseph said on Thursday that their daughter has been diagnosed before as being on the autism spectrum, CP24 reports. The parents added that the “only reason we’re okay saying it now because she’s still missing.” Her mother said, “ It’s like her medical information that she should have the right to disclose when she chooses to.”

This week, Toronto police say they have elevated the search for Esther to Priority 1 status and on Thursday announced that they have launched a dedicated phone line for tips about her disappearance, committing all available resources as community volunteers join in the effort to find her.

A Priority 1 or Level 1 search is the highest level of response from the police, and mobilizes extensive resources like specialized K-9 units, drones, mounted officers and large-scale ground searches, in addition to community outreach.

14 year old Esther is missing and was last seen Friday night in the Earl Bales Park area near Sheppard and Bathurst in North York.

Anyone with information should contact @TorontoPolice immediately at 1-416-808-2222 or @CanStopCrime at 1-800-222-8477.

Please share this widely.… https://t.co/IL7xNkoUEH

— Pierre Poilievre (@PierrePoilievre) May 18, 2026

Esther, also known affectionately as Esti, was last seen on Friday, May 15, in the area of Earl Bales Park , a large green space located at Bathurst Street and Sheppard Avenue West in northern Toronto.

She is described as 5-foot-2, medium build, with brown hair, and was last seen wearing grey sweatpants, a green shirt and no shoes.

“It was Friday night,” her mother, Shira, told Global News. “It was cold outside and she left, and it was dark and she didn’t have her shoes. Both of her pairs of shoes are by the door. And she doesn’t have her phone. Her phone is in the house.”

Shira added that Esther had left her home before but always returned.

Police have released an image of Esther, as well as several blurry security camera images, which have been widely shared on social media.

“I don’t know who else she might have contact with,” her mother said. “I really hope that she’s OK and maybe she’s just scared to come home and she has friends or someone helping her.”

Volunteers in the search include many from Toronto’s large Jewish community, including Shomrim Safety Patrol , an organization founded in 2021 and committed to ensuring the safety and security of Jewish communities across the Greater Toronto Area.

A command centre is operating from the nearby Petah Tikvah Synagogue parking lot. Police say they have deployed a drone as well as marine, canine and mounted units in the search.

Today Chief Demkiw attended our Command Post at Earl Bales Park to get an update from officers on the ground and speak with community members and @ShomrimToronto regarding the search for 14 year old Esther.

If you have any information, please call @TPS32Div at 416-808-3200,… pic.twitter.com/P8GL9eaR05

— Toronto Police (@TorontoPolice) May 20, 2026

Duty Inspector Peter Wallace said in an update: “We are currently appealing to the pubic to please check your backyard if you reside in this area, your sheds and also your surveillance camera.”

At that time, Shira also delivered a direct appeal to her daughter.

“Esti, my love, if you are watching this, please come home,” she said. “We love you so very much. We miss you terribly. Your family, here, across the country, and around the world, are searching and praying for you every minute. Your friends, classmates, neighbours, and community are all worried about you and hoping to see you safe.”

In a brief press conference on Thursday afternoon, TPS had no new information to provide, but announced a new dedicated phone line of 647-355-4148 for anyone with information that could assist their search. They can also call 911, TPS directly at 416-808-3200, or contact Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), or at www.222tips.com .

“Anyone with information, no matter how small, please come forward,” Inspector Jon Rose said.

“ We do know and we deeply appreciate how concerning this is to the community and to the family when a young person goes missing, especially for this length of time. We would very much like to find Esther and get her home safely to her family.

Police have also created a QR code which people can scan and upload any video which may assist the investigation.

Officers continue to actively search for 14-year-old Esther, who has been missing since May 15. As the investigation continues, we’ve set up a dedicated phone line for tips.
📲If you have information, you can call the line at 647-355-4148. In addition, a QR code continues to be… pic.twitter.com/MbRWlSypfh

— Toronto Police (@TorontoPolice) May 21, 2026

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OTTAWA — If Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre ultimately finds himself in the job of prime minister he will have completed an extraordinary journey since winning his party’s leadership in 2022: from scrappy upstart, to massive front-runner, to election loser, to finally, comeback kid.

It’s not a unique journey, but it’s fraught with difficulty and has produced more losers than winners in politics.

Can he do it? Pollsters have both good and bad news for the Conservatives leader.

The bad news, and perhaps the most important, is that Prime Minister Mark Carney and the Liberals continue to enjoy broad support, just a few percentage points from 50 per cent in recent polls. They also show that many Canadians continue to trust Carney more than Poilievre. In one recent poll, Abacus Data found that four in 10 Canadians said that Poilievre is “a lot like Donald Trump.”

But, as Poilievre has found out more than anyone, times can change.

“If Carney is successful, Poilievre will have a very difficult time in trying to become prime minister. If Carney is not successful, Poilievre will have a chance,” Donald Savoie, an academic at the University of Moncton who has written extensively about political leadership and power in Canada.

Savoie recommended that Poilievre simply “hang tight” and wait for the political winds to start blowing in a different direction.

Fred DeLorey, a Conservative strategist and the party’s former national campaign director, said one of the obstacles in front of Poilievre’s comeback bid is that he’d like to be seen as an agent of change but many Canadians still see the Carney government as new, instead of a Liberal government that has been in power for more than a decade.

The good news for the Tories is that Canadians also continue to feel vulnerable to a range of threats, particularly affordability, an issue that Poilievre has emphasized for years.

Poilievre now faces the conundrum of needing to show Canadian voters that things in Canada aren’t working well enough without framing the landscape as so unstable that voters look to Carney who they see, at least so far, as most able to deal with instability.

So where does Poilievre, who could not be reached for comment, go from here in his comeback bid?

Poilievre has the choice to work on his perceived deficits, such as improving his listening, inching over a bit to the centre, or he could lean into his authenticity and stay on the same path, said John Malloy, a political scientist at Carleton University in Ottawa

DeLorey said Poilievre must work out precisely why the party lost another election and what needs to be done differently before voters go to the polls again. The Conservatives also need to show Canadians that they’re ready and able to govern if Poilievre is to complete his comeback bid, he added.

But the Liberals’ greatest threat — and perhaps the Conservatives’ most imposing weapon — is time.

Voters tend to build up grievances against governments as mandates advance over time, especially when the economy is weak and the party in power has been at the helm for more than a decade.

Lessons from the past

Could Poilievre and the Conservatives improve their chances by examining whether there are lessons from history about how to mount, or not mount, a political comeback?

One lesson, analysts say, is that while successful comebacks often become legendary, most fail. And that the first rule in trying to understand political comebacks is that there are no rules. Not to mention no formula about how to pull one off.

“Comebacks by definition are exceptional,” said Malloy. “Each one has its own circumstances.”

But there is some overlap in these circumstances, analysts say, among many of the great historical examples. The architects of these political comebacks, loosely defined as a political figure’s surprising return to power following a major political defeat or disgrace, do often have certain traits and involve specific tactics.

As is the case with many successful leaders, analysts say those who are able to endure a major loss, rebuild and then mount a successful comeback tend to have certain personal traits: extreme self-confidence, perhaps to a pathological degree, passion, single-mindedness, and the endurance to fight a long-term comeback battle.

“You need the fire in the belly,” said Savoie. “If it’s not in the soup, you’re not going to make it.”

In terms of their politics, comeback artists also tend to be consistent in their core beliefs.

That dogged consistency was perhaps the key trait that allowed Winston Churchill to complete one of the most famous political comebacks in history.

First appointed to cabinet in 1908, after crossing the floor to the Liberals, Churchill had returned to the Tories by the 1930s but had spent much of that decade out of step with his party’s leaders. Often described as his “wilderness years,” Churchill stayed busy writing books and giving speeches about the need for a strong British military.

When Hitler took power in Germany and showed early signs of expansionist ambition, Churchill, unlike most politicians in Britain at the time, was unequivocal that the threat should not be ignored.

As Churchill’s warnings came to fruition, he regained credibility and a new role as First Lord of the Admiralty. Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, meanwhile, had pursued a policy of appeasement, which eventually led Churchill to leading a coalition, war-time government.

Allen Guelzo, an historian at the University of Florida who has studied leadership, said one of the keys to Churchill’s comeback was that he was consistent, clear and unambiguous in the face of the Nazi threat, even when that view was far from his party’s orthodoxy.

The art of the comeback

For Poilievre, dogged consistency is right in his wheelhouse but, unlike Churchill, he doesn’t have the luxury of going off into the wilderness. He remains the leader of the Opposition and, at this point in his career, any departure from the limelight would likely be permanent.

The tactics that foster a political comeback are often so specific to the particular time and place that there’s little to be learned from the overlap, analysts say.

But one thing that many of the comebacks have in common is that the fallen leader steps away for a period of time — whether by choice or not.

Those who eventually return to power often have used that time in exile to their advantage.

In some cases, they’re given the time to work on weaknesses in their game, whether it’s skills, image, or tactics. And sometimes it just gives the public a little time to forget why they didn’t like that person in the first place.

Lori Turnbull, a political scientist at Dalhousie University in Halifax, said there are also upgrades that a comeback candidate in exile can make to their political operation or “ground game,” the behind-the-scenes parts of a political operation that includes fundraising, choosing campaign personnel and, in a contemporary setting, developing a strong social media presence.

Some comeback artists also take the time away to work on themselves.

Carleton’s Malloy said sometimes aspiring leaders, for example, need time to evolve personally. In the case of former prime minister Brian Mulroney, for example, Malloy says he needed time in political exile after losing the Conservative leadership to Joe Clark in 1976 to heal his wounds and mature, not to mention change his image so that he was more Baie-Comeau, Que., less Bay Street.

“In a comeback, an important element is that a leader needs to change people’s impressions,” Malloy said.

All in good time

But perhaps most importantly, part of changing impressions is simply allowing the passage of time, analysts say, because it gives the political landscape a chance to shift.

Sometimes society changes too, leading to voters wanting something else. And sometimes the big change is that the incumbent endures a scandal or is simply seen to fail, opening the door for a comeback bid.

By 1979, many Canadians were tired of Pierre Trudeau after 11 years in power. When Joe Clark and the Progressive Conservatives won a minority that year, Trudeau initially said that he’d step down as Liberal leader. But when the Conservatives’ budget bill failed to pass in Parliament, an election was called. Trudeau was convinced to stay on and Canadians, after just nine months to set aside their grievances against the former prime minister, gave the Liberals a majority.

U.S. President Donald Trump was able to return to the White House in 2025, at least in part, because the Democrats had failed to sufficiently deal with the illegal immigration problems that had become a major irritant in many communities.

“It really helps if someone you’re running against is an incompetent goofball,” said Guelzo, who has written several books about Abraham Lincoln, who also staged a comeback after leaving national politics.

While sometimes that time away allows for the political winds to change direction, comebacks can also be helped by a broader change in society.

After losing a presidential election to John Kennedy in 1960 and then a California gubernatorial race to Pat Brown two years later, Richard Nixon famously told reporters: “You won’t have Nixon to kick around anymore.”

But that didn’t mean he had any intention of permanently leaving the public stage or giving up his presidential dream. Nixon knew that he had to use his time on the sidelines to make changes to image, his connections, and even his skills. After being seen as an inferior communicator to Kennedy during the first televised presidential campaign debate, for example, Nixon worked on his TV skills. He knew that he needed to be seen as warmer, chattier, less combative, and more trustworthy.

But Nixon’s comeback ambitions, perhaps most of all, also needed time. And in the eight years during his time out of office, the world changed dramatically — to his benefit.

Nixon is probably best remembered for the Watergate scandal that led to his 1974 resignation, and all the poor decisions that led up to it. But his 1968 win marked an incredible political comeback that was carefully orchestrated and crafted, but also rested on changing circumstances that tilted the landscape his way.

John A. Macdonald, Canada’s first prime minister, also pulled off a remarkable comeback. He resigned in 1873 following the Pacific Scandal, where his Liberal-Conservative government was accused of receiving campaign money from railway supporters.

Five years later, the Liberal government was facing a weak economy and Macdonald was able to regain support based on his “National Policy” that packaged the railway, western expansion and tariffs. The Conservatives won big in the 1878 election, completing Macdonald’s comeback.

But most political comeback bids fail, analysts say, often because they don’t include a good reason why the fallen leader should be viewed differently than they had been in the past.

“You can’t just put yourself in a freezer and expect people to come get you out,” said the University of Florida’s Guelzo.

The first ‘comeback kid’

Years before most people had heard the name Monica Lewinsky, Bill Clinton was chasing his party’s presidential nomination and was already being accused by various women not named Hillary of chasing much more than that.

But Clinton, who had been considered a strong candidate to win the Democratic nomination, was also dealing with accusations that he had dodged the Vietnam draft and had used marijuana, leading to countless jokes related to his claim that he had may have tried weed but had never inhaled.

Buried in controversy, waning opinion poll numbers, and morbid campaign narratives, Clinton looked done. He had finished a disappointing fourth in the Iowa caucuses in early February, the first big test in the presidential campaign cycle, and needed a strong result in the New Hampshire primary a couple of weeks later to save his nomination bid.

As positive results began to emerge that night, Clinton deftly pivoted to reframe the narrative of his campaign. “New Hampshire tonight has made Bill Clinton the comeback kid,” he told a crowd of supporters in Manchester, that state’s largest city, before eventually going on to win the presidency.

While he may have been the first to give himself such a moniker, Clinton didn’t invent the political comeback.

Napoleon Bonaparte, was famously exiled to the island of Elba in 1814 after his failed invasion of Russia in 1812, before escaping a year later and then regaining power over France.

Deng Xiaoping, Julius Caesar, Indira Gandhi, Nixon and, of course, Trump also made famous and improbable comebacks, as did Canadian leaders such as Mulroney, Jean Chrétien and Macdonald.

Poilievre, who was ahead in the opinion polls by as many as 24 percentage points just a few months before losing last April’s federal election, is now attempting to orchestrate a dramatic political comeback.

Lessons for Poilievre

So where or to whom should Poilievre look for lessons on how to pull off a political comeback?

Turnbull said there’s some overlap between Poilievre’s situation today and Nixon’s after 1962 in that both are actively working on their comebacks — one from an elected office, one from an exile of sorts. Both were also coming off stinging election losses, with strong party support and the passion for the task ahead. Poilievre also hopes to benefit from the passage of time, as Nixon did.

The difference, Turnbull said, is that it doesn’t appear Poilievre will adopt the risky strategy of stepping away from the limelight before the next election, one of the keys to the comebacks by Nixon and others.

“It’s hard to make a comeback if you haven’t left,” she said. “Poilievre won’t let people miss him.”

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OTTAWA — Andie Bower, a farmer for Ferme Mont-Vulley Inc., allows wildlife to roam freely on his farm but worries this won’t be possible if a new high-speed rail line gets built.

“There will probably be quite a few different animals that would be displaced because of that tree line being knocked down and turned into a corridor,” said Bower.

The federal government announced in February 2025 that it would plan to develop a high-speed rail network, also known as Alto, connecting the Toronto-Quebec City corridor.

The $60- to $90-billion project could increase Canada’s annual GDP by 1.1 per cent, which translates to $24.5 billion per year, according to government projections.

Alto would also generate around 55,000 jobs and introduce a revenue of $800 million in tourism per year.

However, since its initial proposal, there has been pushback from local farmers, snowmobilers and MPs about its disruption to the intersections of wildlife and community.

Bower received three notices of the planned route, which suggests shaving a 30-metre strips of land on either side of his approximately 2,000-acre property.

Bower said that land cuts could make-or-break task flow during the year because he would spend more time and money on fuel to travel around the train tracks.

He wants to oppose the plan to his property, but said that the notice letters do not have a return address.

“[There are] just no resources out there for us to reach out to and voice our opinions on the matter to express the overwhelming feeling that we do not want this coming through our community,” said Bower.

Bower was preparing to build a new home on his property but, with the government’s plans for a new high-speed rail line heating up, he may have to rethink his plans.

The Expropriation Act allows the federal government to purchase land at the property’s value for public works and purposes.

Land can also be subject to a notice of right of first refusal (ROFR) through the High-Speed Rail Network Act, giving the government the opportunity to match third-party property offers.

In Bower’s case, the government estimates around $1,500 per field, but his field is worth more than that, he said.

Cutting a 30-metre strip down the field can amount to about one acre, which he values between $15,000 to $16,000.

A notice of prohibition can also be placed, which forbids owners from exercising certain activities on their property or they will be fined.

Bower plans to build a new home on the property this summer, but seeing as Alto may be placed close to his blueprint, he said he worries that it may be too disruptive.

The major concern for Bower is the noise and possible displacement of species and their effects on his crops and beef raising project, he said.

Bower said that the noise may scare animals that pollinate his crops and the cows he raises for his beef-raising project.

Moreover, the proposed Alto corridor zips through tree lines, which may result in animal displacement, Bower said. Therefore, animals will need to come from other areas.

In theory, that could possibly drop our yields, Bower said.

“If the Alto train goes forward without mitigation, it creates an impenetrable barrier for wildlife to move between the Adirondacks and Algonquin, whether they take the northern route or the southern route,” Jessica Lax, executive director for Algonquin to Adirondacks Collaborative (A2A), said.

There is an “existential threat” to the A2A corridor and the ability for wildlife to move between the two protected areas, Lax said. This type of plan may result in a loss of genetic connection and irreplaceable habitats for wildlife populations, she added.

Lax also said that the train will create a buffer on the north and south side of the train where vibrations and noise can disrupt species, especially birds.

Alto may also need to construct the train over wetlands, whether that means filling or dredging the area, which would have hydrological impacts on the land, Lax said.

Lax said that A2A is neither for or against the project, but rather seeks to mitigate development to maintain ecological integrity of the area.

Alto has a platform for A2A to express their suggestions, Lax said.

“If the project went ahead without any mitigation, it would be. . . a complete disaster,” Lax said.

Using research and data, A2A can evaluate trends where wildlife tends to cross. Their findings suggest investing in elevated rails and crossing structures.

Although this innovation would increase projected costs, it is essential for wildlife and hydrological features to continue moving and maintaining connections, Lax said.

Not only may Alto disrupt the intersections of wildlife but also trails for the Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Club (OFSC), said Ryan Eickmeier, CEO of Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Club (OFSC).

OFSC manages over 300,000 kilometres of snowmobiling trails that connect northern and southern activity, 2,000 kilometres of which could be impacted by Alto, Eickmeier said.

Snowmobiling brings people together, generates sled traffic and spending to communities so that businesses can exist entirely in the winter, Eickmeier said.

“This network is going to cut directly through the heart of an important part of snowmobiling in Ontario. . . If we can’t maintain connectivity, if we lose trail, if we’re not able to reach the same places that we do today, it will decrease the impact the sport has,” Eickmeier said.

Eickmeier said the snowmobiling industry generates around $6 billion per year and supports approximately nine thousand jobs through indirect and induced spending.

Eickmeier suggests not building Alto at all and rather utilizing existing transportation corridors.

It is a nearly impossible effort, and a significant one at best, for our volunteers to be tasked with the “monumental effort” to reconnect their communities if this train is built, Eickmeier said.

Ontario MP Scott Reid, who represents the riding of Lanark-Frontenac, said that he experienced a similar community division when Highway 416 was created.

Reid lived on Phalen Road where he would walk half a kilometre to his neighbour. However, that road was severed with the creation of the highway.

What used to be a short walk to the neighbour’s house is now a seven kilometre drive on highways and overpasses.

“You were in a position where there was an integrated community of people who were able to be neighbourly and now they are at the edge of a divided community,” Reid said.

Reid said that he sees the “barrier” the project created and worries his constituency will experience a similar division with Alto.

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An Ontario resident who’d recently travelled to Ethiopia has tested negative for Ebola while no further cases of hantavirus linked to a virus-hit cruise ship have been found in Canada, the country’s chief doctor announced Friday

The Ontario traveller was tested for Ebola “out of an abundance of caution” after developing symptoms “consistent with a range of illnesses,” said Dr. Joss Reimer, Canada’s chief public health officer.

Initial testing conducted in Ontario as well as confirmatory testing at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg were negative, Reimer said.

“This is a good example of how quickly measures are activated, even when the likelihood of Ebola here in Canada is low,” she said.

Reimer added that there have been no more cases of hantavirus identified in Canada beyond one case confirmed over the weekend by B.C.’s Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry. The individual, part of a couple from the Yukon in their 70s, is one of four people isolating on Vancouver Island after arriving in Canada from the hantavirus-infected MV Hondius cruise ship.

Earlier this week, an Air France flight bound for Detroit was diverted to Montreal after a Congolese passenger boarded when departing Paris, violating entry restrictions put into place in the U.S. to reduce the risk of the Ebola virus.

The traveller was assessed by a Public Health Agency of Canada quarantine officer, found not to have any symptoms and returned to Paris.

Enhanced screening of travellers took effect Wednesday but Reimer was guarded on whether she’s in favour of a travel ban.

“It’s important that we look at how effective things like travel bans are. We need to be looking at whether or not there is any evidence that the outbreak is escaping the area” where it’s currently concentrated, she said. “We also need to be looking at things like how the virus is spread.

“Ebola is very different from respiratory viruses like COVID,” she said.

The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak of Ebola in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern “due to the evidence of cross-border spread, uncertainty around the true size of the outbreak” and the potential for wider regional and global impact, Reimer said.

“It’s important to be clear that while this is a serious and evolving situation, cases remain localized and the global risk is low,” Reimer said.

The risk to people in Canada is also considered low, she said. “There has never been a case of Ebola disease imported into Canada, despite Ebola outbreaks in the affected region.”

At least 177 people are suspected to have died from the virus, almost all in the DRC, where the bulk of at least 750 suspected cases are located.

On Friday, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the outbreak is spreading rapidly within the region. However, the risk remains low at global levels, he said.

Ebola is transmitted through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person who is showing symptoms, or through contact with infected animals or contaminated materials, Reimer said. “It is not spread through casual contact and it does not spread through the air like respiratory viruses.”

Unlike the U.S., Canada has not imposed travel bans on foreign travellers who have been in the affected regions in the past 21 days.

Reimer said any decision around border measures must be made by cabinet ministers. “However, I will be providing advice to cabinet on this very fluid, rapidly evolving situation,” in collaboration with WHO and Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, she said.

“Today, it is not possible to predict what will evolve and change from one day to the next.”

Reimer said enhanced screening questions were implemented on May 20 at airport kiosks across Canada for travellers who have been in the DRC or Uganda within the past 21 days.

Travellers are now asked whether they’ve been in the countries and if they’re experiencing symptoms, or whether they may have been in contact with someone with Ebola, Reimer said.

Additional quarantine and screening officers have also been deployed at key airports, she added.

When asked why Canada had to accept the diverted flight from Paris, Reimer said those discussions don’t fall within her agency’s purview.

Anyone returning from affected regions should watch for symptoms for 21 days, she said. If symptoms develop, “it is critical that they isolate immediately away from others and contact local public health authorities before seeking in-person care,” Reimer said.

The Ebola outbreak is being driven by the Bundibugyo strain of the severe, often fatal disease. Early “dry” symptoms include fever, aches and pains and fatigue, and later “wet” symptoms such as diarrhea, vomiting and unexplained bleeding, according to the U.S. Centres for Disease Control.

National Post

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OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney said Friday morning that he’d continue working with Alberta on shared economic goals , with a referendum relating to the province’s future in Canada now officially set for the fall.

“Canada is the greatest country in the world, but it can be better. And we’re working on making it better. We’re working with Alberta on making it better,” Carney said, to a pool camera at the Library of Parliament, which was not broadcast live and didn’t allow for questions from reporters.

Carney’s comments come after Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said on Thursday that she was opting to present her own referendum question to Albertans in the fall.

Carney touted progress on the Canada-Alberta memorandum of understanding on energy development, including last week’s agreement on the industrial carbon tax and the construction of a new heavy oil pipeline to the West Coast.

“Just a week ago, I was in Calgary with Premier Smith and we announced a landmark agreement, the next step in landmark agreement on a wide range of issues. It’s very much centred on the energy sector, all aspects of energy pipeline, and carbon capture opportunities to cooperate with neighbouring provinces, moving forward, with new technologies like geothermal, nuclear, others,” said Carney.

At her own press conference on Friday, Smith said she’d be campaigning for the “remain” side but added she’ll stay on as premier irrespective of the referendum’s outcome. She said that, if her side loses, she’ll “start the legal process” toward a binding referendum on independence.

Carney also took a moment to reflect on the historical contributions of various Albertans to Canada, such as former prime minister Stephen Harper and the “Alberta Five” who advocated for women’s suffrage.

“I think when I come to Parliament of the great Albertans, there’s too many to list,” said Carney.

Fellow Albertans, please join me this evening for an important update on the 2026 Referendum. https://t.co/XG5SeCKvZs

— Danielle Smith (@ABDanielleSmith) May 21, 2026

The Alberta government’s proposed question does not explicitly offer an option of Alberta independence, instead asking whether the province should agree to have a later legally binding referendum on whether to separate from Canada.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford told reporters on Friday that leaving Canada would be a “disaster” to voters.

Ford said that Smith was only putting forward the independence question to “protect her 30 per cent base,” adding that he’d never entertain the idea himself.

”That’s up to Premier Smith to decided, but I would never ever put that poll to Ontarians,” said Ford.

Smith shrugged off Ford’s criticism at a media availability on Friday afternoon.

Smith said that if Ford and other critics were looking for someone to blame for the situation they can start with the remaining anti-oil and gas remnants of the federal Liberals.

Smith singled out the 14 unnamed Liberal MPs who reportedly sent Carney a letter expressing concerns about his environmental and climate concessions to Alberta. Although Radio-Canada obtained the letter, the outlet did not name the signatories because “the MPs do not want to be publicly identified.”

“I think, quite frankly, the people who are to blame are the 14 cowards who sent a letter… trying to detail out MOU,” said Smith. “I think they should man up and say who they are, and say why they don’t want this deal to go ahead.”

National Post
rmohamed@postmedia.com

• Danielle Smith's Captain Canada moment
• Danielle Smith says she will put her own separation-related referendum question to Albertans in October

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OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney has said on multiple occasions a referendum on separation in any province has to be consistent with the principles of the Clarity Act.

While the mere mention of the act makes separatists in Quebec roll their eyes, many Canadians have never heard of the federal legislation which could be used for the first time should Alberta eventually hold a binding provincial referendum to separate from Canada.

The Clarity Act ensures that Parliament will have a role in making a judgment about the referendum question but also on what constitutes a clear majority for separation.

It was passed years after Canada’s near-death experience during the 1995 referendum on Quebec independence which saw a razor-thin majority vote “No” to separation.

So, what exactly does the act say? And how did it come about? And will it apply to Alberta’s vote this fall?

What is the story behind this legislation?

Following the 1995 referendum, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, on the advice of his late wife Aline, recruited Stéphane Dion, an influential academic in federalist circles, to his cabinet.

Dion was appointed minister of intergovernmental affairs in January 1996. In that role, he went on to make the federal government’s case that unilateral secession by Quebec would be illegal if it took place without a clear set of pre-conditions.

A few months later, the Governor in Council would refer three questions to the Supreme Court of Canada to ask if the constitution of Canada or the principle of self-determination under international law can give Quebec the right to secede from the rest of the country.

The opinion, rendered in 1998 , became the legal basis on which Dion would eventually draft his bill.

“Quebec could not, despite a clear referendum result, purport to invoke a right of self-determination to dictate the terms of a proposed secession to the other parties to the federation. The democratic vote, by however strong a majority, would have no legal effect on its own,” it read.

“Nor, however, can the reverse proposition be accepted: the continued existence and operation of the Canadian constitutional order could not be indifferent to a clear expression of a clear majority of Quebecers that they no longer wish to remain in Canada.”

The court came to the conclusion that “it will be for the political actors to determine what constitutes ‘a clear majority on a clear question’ in the circumstances under which a future referendum vote may be taken.”

Dion tabled in 1999 “An Act to give effect to the requirement for clarity as set out in the opinion of the Supreme Court of Canada in the Quebec Secession Reference” — which is better known as the Clarity Act.

What does the Clarity Act say exactly?

In essence, the legislation sets pre-conditions for the federal government before it recognizes the results of a secession referendum and before it starts negotiating.

Firstly, it calls on the House of Commons to consider the referendum question and determine whether it is clear. The law establishes it is to happen within 30 days after the government of a province has officially released the question that it intends to submit to its voters relating to the secession of the province from Canada, but it can be extended.

“In considering the clarity of a referendum question, the House of Commons shall consider whether the question would result in a clear expression of the will of the population of a province on whether the province should cease to be part of Canada and become an independent state,” it reads.

It would not be deemed a clear expression of the will of the people if it considers other possibilities to secession, such as “economic or political arrangements with Canada.”

Secondly, the House of Commons will also have to determine, following the referendum on secession, if there has been “a clear expression of a will by a clear majority of the population of that province” for them to cease to be part of Canada.

The legislation calls on MPs to take into account the size of the majority of valid votes cast in favour of separation, the percentage of eligible voters voting in the referendum and other political views and statements inside the province, including from Indigenous peoples.

One of the longstanding criticisms about the Clarity Act is that it leaves the interpretation of the “clear majority” to politicians and does not necessarily mean 50 per cent plus one.

The legislation was quickly adopted in the House of Commons, but it faced opposition in the Senate, where it was debated for more than three months. Chrétien quickly appointed new senators to fill vacant seats and get it to pass. The bill became law in June 2000.

A few months later, the Parti Québécois passed its own legislation as a response to the federal Clarity Act: “An Act respecting the exercise of the fundamental rights and prerogatives of the Québec people and the Québec State.”

Can the Clarity Act apply to Alberta’s referendum?

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced on Thursday that she would add a question to this fall’s referendum that could eventually lead to a future referendum on secession.

The question goes as follows: “Should Alberta remain a province of Canada or should the Government of Alberta commence the legal process required under the Canadian Constitution to hold a binding provincial referendum on whether or not Alberta should separate from Canada?”

Even if, at first glance, the Clarity Act does not seem to apply to this question because it is not asking if Albertans want their province to secede from Canada right away, the House of Commons could still technically want to make its voice heard in this debate, suggested Patrick Taillon, professor of constitutional law at Université Laval in Quebec City.

Taillon said MPs could still pass a motion in the House of Commons on whether the question posed to Albertans on wanting to remain in Canada is clear and, after the referendum, whether there was a clear majority. But he said those votes are non-binding and symbolic, and therefore, would essentially hold no real weight.

The father of the Clarity Act wrote in a Substack blog that his legislation will not be applicable.

“In either case, the government of Alberta is committed to respecting the Canadian constitutional framework; it does not envisage unilateral secession. And in either case, nothing is required of the Government of Canada,” Dion wrote.

For the moment, the federal government is saying it is too early to give a definitive answer as to whether the Clarity Act will apply to Smith’s question this fall.

The real test will be if Albertans decide to choose the second option.

In that case, Ottawa would enact the Clarity Act for the first time in its history.

National Post
calevesque@postmedia.com

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The fight between separatists and federalists in Alberta appears to be coming to a head with an anticipated vote this October on whether the province remains in Canada.

The movement has seen its popularity grow among some Albertans. But how did we get to this point?

Journalist Tyler Dawson, author of a new book called The Republic of Alberta: An Idea That Won’t Go Away joins the show to discuss the history of the movement, what has led to this latest push for independence, and what lessons federalists should take in trying to win a victory for unity in October.

Background reading:The idea of Alberta separatism is closer to mainstream than ever before

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An investigation by CTV News has found that at least 17 passengers on flights out of Canada were detained on drug smuggling allegations in the past year after their luggage tags were switched with suitcases full of drugs. Here’s what to know and how to protect yourself.

What is tag switching?

When you check your bag at an airport, it gets a tag that wraps around the handle and identifies it as yours.

“Baggage tag switching is when someone purposely changes the labels on bags at an airport,” the RCMP says . A different piece of luggage is now identified as yours, while your own suitcase is now ownerless and unclaimed.

How is it done?

All it takes is a few seconds out of the view of security cameras, and an unscrupulous airport worker to make the switch. In one case last summer, the RCMP arrested and charged two Swissport baggage handlers attempting to smuggle over $147,000 worth of cannabis to France.

“Each baggage tag tells airport machines where a bag should go and who it belongs to,” the RCMP said in a release at the time. “In this case, the baggage tag was switched so it looked as though the piece of luggage with the cannabis in it belonged to an unknowing traveler.”

They continued: “A French national arrived in Paris and was detained by authorities on suspicion of importing Cannabis from Canada. After further investigation, French authorities released the passenger without charges, and the case was subsequently referred to the RCMP Toronto Airport Detachment.”

The investigation revealed that the two baggage handlers, each with more than 20 years of experience, allegedly manipulated baggage tags without the passenger’s consent.

What are the risks to passengers?

Being caught transporting drugs across international borders can result in police investigation and, in some countries, prison time or even a death sentence.

In a case this year , RCMP officers were called after the Canada Border Services Agency found 33 kilograms of cannabis in each checked bag of two German citizens scheduled to depart on a commercial flight from Toronto to Germany.

The RCMP arrested them, but each denied ownership of the luggage. Investigators then found that an Air Canada employee working in the baggage room had allegedly placed luggage tags bearing the passengers’ names onto suitcases that contained cannabis. Both passengers were released, and the Air Canada worker was arrested and charged.

What can passengers do to protect themselves?

Mitesh Shah, CEO of professional security company Empire Protection in Mississauga, Ont., has some suggestions, based on his own practices, that can help prevent tag switching but also guard against standard theft or loss.

“When I travel with my family, I like to take pictures of our bags, when it’s packed, when it’s ready to go, when we’re at the airport, as it’s being weighed,” he tells National Post. This can be helpful if airport authorities suddenly accuse you of being the owner of a different bag.

He adds: “My family loves to add a ribbon or something that’s unique to our bag, so we can quickly be able to identify them as they come off the baggage claim. But more importantly … something like that is a little bit harder for bad actors to replicate efficiently with limited resources.”

Even better, he says, is to make your entire bag stand out.

“You go to Walmart or Target or Amazon and you order a bag,” he says. “There’s over 5,000 reviews. What that tells me is over 5,000 people have that same bag. It’s pretty easy to replicate or duplicate, so bad actors will probably do the same.”

Shah also uses air tracker tags in his luggage, but he cautions that some of the standard ones can be easily detected by would-be thieves.

“If you have an iPhone or Android, it’ll actually tell you that there’s an air tag nearby. So if airport employees are switching tags, it’s not that difficult for them to open up a bag and remove an air tag. But there are other tracking devices that are not detectable that the average person can buy online.”

Each of these techniques will provide some measure of safety, but more is better.

“As an individual item, it may not help too much, but collectively it’ll prove to any officer or law enforcement agency that … you are able to trace your steps and show three to four different ways that identify that is or isn’t your bag.”

What can airports do?

Shah says security protocols differ at airports around the world, but there are some best practices that more could be doing.

At Toronto’s Pearson airport, for instance, bags are collected by passengers within the airport’s secure zone. “That’s not usually the case,” he says. In many airports, “you can come in from the outside to collect the bag, and you can leave.”

He would also like to see more screening of airport personnel. “Airport employees don’t go through the same scrutiny that travellers do,” he says.

One security expert told CTV for its investigation that workers in secure baggage areas should wear body cameras and be prohibited from carrying personal cellphones while on duty.

Shah says that, at the end of the day, everyone has a role to play in fighting this problem.

“My take on this is we are all responsible for our own safety in some way, shape or form,” he says. “Security is a shared responsibility, so airports do their part, travellers do their part, airlines can do their part. If everyone plays their part well, you hope to become as secure as possible.”

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