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Remains found in B.C. identified as man who went missing from hospital in 2015
Remains identified as B.C. man missing 11 years
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
RCMP say human remains found in B.C.'s Peace Region in June have been identified as those of a man reported missing 11 years ago.
Police say Raymond Chalifoux was last seen on May 25, 2015, leaving the Fort St. John Hospital against the advice of his doctors.
Mounties say an extensive missing person investigation was undertaken at the time, but no sign was found of the 57-year-old man.
The remains were discovered along the Peace River near the community of Old Fort on June 8, setting off an investigation by the coroner and police
The BC Coroners Service notified RCMP on Monday that the remains had been "positively identified" as Chalifoux.
Sgt. Ian Rissanen with the Fort St. John RCMP says although it's not the outcome anyone hoped for, being able to identify the man and offer answers more than 11 years later brings some closure to the "long-standing" missing person investigation.
Police say investigators don't have any reason to believe that the death involved foul play.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2026.
Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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Ballots cast on election day in B.C. will be counted by hand, Elections BC says
B.C. election day ballots will be counted by hand
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns
It's the last full day of campaigning in British Columbia's election ahead of final voting day Saturday, when most ballots will be counted by hand.
Elections BC has confirmed that votes cast on election day will be tallied manually, in a departure from 2024, when electronic tabulators were used to count paper ballots for the first time in a general election.
That was hailed as a success in Elections BC's report on the polls, but the agency says in a statement that it's going back to a manual count due to "short time frames and complex operational logistics of a snap election."
It says paper ballots cast at advance polling stations and at district electoral offices will be counted with electronic tabulators, and it expects those results to be reported first.
Elections BC also says the election-night count will not include absentee or main-in ballots, which will be tallied at the final count scheduled Nov. 6 to Nov. 10.
Advance voting numbers released Thursday were down more than 11 per cent compared to 2024, bucking a two-decade upward trend.
There were more than 891,000 advance votes cast from Friday to Wednesday, representing about 24 per cent of all registered voters.
That compares to more than one million advance votes cast in 2024, when numbers spiked 49 per cent over the previous election.
Elections BC's report on the 2024 election says electronic tabulation allowed the first preliminary results to be reported within five minutes of polls closing, and 59 per cent of preliminary results to reported within half an hour.
"In past elections first results typically started to be reported around 45 minutes after polls closed," it said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2026.
Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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Advocates flag contributions, not costs, of newcomers in Alberta referendum aftermath
Alberta vote raises labour shortage concerns
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
A union representative for a beef processing plant south of Calgary is warning of worsening labour shortages if immigration policy proposals that narrowly passed in Alberta's referendum are enacted.
"These are tough and high turnover jobs with few candidates lining up to fill them," said Faduma Ahmed, with the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 401 at Cargill's abattoir in High River, Alta.
With 98 per cent of polls reporting in Monday's referendum, a slim majority of votes were cast in favour of limiting access to or charging a fee for provincially funded services based on immigration status. Premier Danielle Smith's government had argued that the cost to provide health care and education to temporary Alberta residents amounts to $1 billion a year and that a surge in newcomers has strained affordability and services.
But critics have warned that the referendum's outcome could make Alberta less attractive to newcomers at a time when jobs desperately need to be filled.
At the Cargill plant, temporary foreign workers, refugees, permanent residents and citizens from all over the globe work side by side and all pay taxes, said Ahmed. It's back-breaking work, with staffers often having to hoist whole carcasses.
"When we sit down to eat, we rarely think about the intense and the gruelling labour it takes to get the food onto our tables, right on our plate," she said, adding that workers have come to her concerned about their ability to pay for health care and school for their children.
"They are foundational to keeping our economy moving, and they are navigating the exact same punishing affordability crisis as every other Albertan."
Ahmed said the union will draw a "hard line" if the proposals become law.
"We will fight to ensure immigrant workers receive the same services they do today, up to and including making the employers pay at the bargaining table to fund the differences."
Another sector that relies heavily on immigration is health care for seniors.
"Often we'll find they'll work in roles that maybe some Canadians may not be interested in," said Leah Lechelt, executive director of the Christian Health Association of Alberta, which represents non-profits that employ 22,000 staff across the province.
She said some college programs for health-care aides have closed or reduced their enrolment simply because there haven't been enough applications domestically.
The workforce hails from around the world, and are mostly health-care aides, but also cleaning and food-service staff, Lechelt said. They deal with vulnerable patients, so regulations largely limit those jobs to permanent residents and citizens.
"It's really a very attractive role for somebody who is fairly new to Canada and sometimes is working on some English language proficiency skills."
The association has established an apprenticeship program that enables those in entry-level jobs, like housekeeping, to train on-site to become health-care aides and pursue a better-paying career path.
"And then we can backfill those positions with other newcomers, maybe starting out in their journey in Canada."
One of the referendum proposals asked whether Albertans would support the province taking more control of immigration from the federal government.
It was an idea the Business Council of Alberta has long advocated, said president Adam Legge.
"There's a bit of a better on-the-ground intel perspective compared to a centralized decision in Ottawa," he said.
"Oftentimes there are some skills and geographic mismatches between what Ottawa approves on an immigration basis and what is needed."
For instance, he said there's a huge demand for workers in the skilled trades, like heavy-duty mechanics, welders and electricians.
He said he heard from members generally that they don't want to see anything deter people from choosing to live in Alberta.
Research by University of Calgary economist Trevor Tombe commissioned by the Calgary Chamber of Commerce found immigrants paid an estimated $4.1 billion in Alberta personal income taxes in 2026.
It also found immigrants younger than 40 had a net fiscal contribution of almost $1 billion, after the cost of provincial family programs, workers' compensation and social assistance are accounted for.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2026.
By Lauren Krugel | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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8 activités qui vont t'en faire voir de toutes les couleurs ce week-end à Montréal
Pour démarrer le mois d'août en grand!
C'est le premier week-end du mois d'août et il te reste encore bien du temps pour profiter au max de l'été dans la métropole. Tu pourras donc encore faire le plein de festivals, de street food, de vues incroyables et de soirées qui n'en finissent plus.
Au programme pour ces trois jours de congé, faire une saucette à la piscine, découvrir un resto aux allures de la Californie, faire un tour au cinéma, faire la fête dans le Village et bien sûr, manger, manger, manger! Parce que Montréal est définitivement le meilleur endroit pour les foodies invétéré.es. Attention, car les prochaines semaines s'annoncent autant festives!
Participer au défilé du festival Fierté Montréal
Coût : gratuit
Quand : dimanche 7 août à 13 h
Adresse : rue Renée-Lévesque (Le Village) Montréal, QC
Pourquoi tu dois y aller : Viens célébrer les communautés 2SLGBTQI+ lors de la parade hyper colorée du festival Fierté Montréal. Sors tes plus beaux atours funky et va danser dans les rues du Village.
Accessibilité : Accessible aux fauteuils roulants et aux poussettes.
Site Web
Se bourrer la panse au Shack Attakk
Prix : 💸💸
Type de bouffe : casse-croûte, californien
Adresse : 2500, rue Beaubien E., Montréal, QC
Pourquoi tu dois y aller : Si tu rêves de la Californie, ce restaurant du quartier Rosemont devrait te faire de l'oeil. En plus de la décoration qui te plonge directement dans une beach house de Malibu, tu pourras y retrouver un menu hyper varié et hautement cochon. Ça vaut le détour!
Accessibilité : Accessible aux fauteuils roulants et aux poussettes.
Site Web
Voir un bon film au Cinéma Moderne
Coût : 15 $ pour l'admission générale
Adresse : 5150, boul. St-Laurent, Montréal, QC
Pourquoi y aller : Pour passer une soirée collé-collé avec ta personne préférée ou faire le plein de culture, direction le Cinéma Moderne, un établissement unique en son genre à Montréal. Ce cinoche du Plateau propose des films documentaires et des fictions internationales qui ont fait les palmarès de nombreux festivals. En plus du décor intime, tu peux y consommer de l'alcool durant la présentation puisqu'un bar se trouve sur les lieux.
Accessibilité : Accessible aux fauteuils roulants et aux poussettes.
Site Web
Faire un tour à l'événement culinaire les Premiers Vendredis
Coût : varié
Quand : du 5 au 7 août 2022
Adresse : Quai de l'Horloge, Montréal, QC
Pourquoi tu dois y aller : Pour cette édition spéciale du mois d'août, les Premiers Vendredis auront lieu au Vieux-Port de Montréal et se tiendront sur trois jours! Ainsi tu n'auras aucune raison de ne pas profiter de la bonne ambiance et du meilleur du street food de la métropole. Mets ça à ton agenda.
Accessibilité : Accessible aux fauteuils roulants et aux poussettes.
Site Web
Prendre un verre avec une vue sur la ville
Coût : 💸💸
Adresse : 55, rue Saint-Jacques 8e étage, Montréal, QC
Pourquoi tu dois y aller : L'été, rien de plus agréable que de prendre un verre sur une terrasse. Encore mieux lorsque celle-ci offre l'une des plus belles vues en ville. Cocktails, plats à partager et repas décadents : le menu de la Terrasse Place d'Armes est à faire saliver et l'horizon à couper le souffle. Ça promet une soirée que tu ne risques pas d'oublier.
Accessibilité : Accessible aux fauteuils roulants et aux poussettes.
Site Web
Faire du lèche-vitrine à la Grande Fabrique de Montréal
Quand : Les samedi 6 et dimanche 7 août
Adresse : rue Sainte-Catherine E., à l’est de l'avenue Bourbonnière, Montréal, QC
Pourquoi tu dois y aller : Un énorme marché extérieur prendra place sur la rue Sainte-Catherine ce week-end. Artisan.es, marchand.es, restaurateur.trices seront de la partie pour te proposer leurs spécialités et créations. Ça promet d'être un lèche-vitrine qui sort de l'ordinaire.
Accessibilité : Accessible aux fauteuils roulants et aux poussettes, site extérieur.
Site Web
Boire une bonne bière fruitée et rafraichissante
Prix : 💸💸
Type de bouffe : pub
Adresse : 380, rue Saint-Paul E, Montréal, QC
Pourquoi tu dois y aller : Tu ne sais pas si tu as plus envie d'une bière ou d'un cocktail? Le pub BreWskey dans le Vieux-Port t'offre un mélange des deux avec ces bières mousseuses aux fruits. Tu pourras goûter à une bière coco-framboise ou même à une stout crème à la glacée chocolat vanille.
Accessibilité : Accessible aux fauteuils roulants et aux poussettes.
Menu
Faire un pique-nique au Canal Lachine
Coût : gratuit
Adresse : Canal Lachine, Montréal, QC
Pourquoi tu dois y aller : Pour un joli panorama de la ville et un pique-nique instagrammable à souhait, tu dois te rendre sur les berges du canal de Lachine dans le quartier Sud-Ouest à Montréal. Tu peux faire tes emplettes au marché Atwater, aller te chercher des bières à la succursale de Tite Frette à quelques pas de là avant de t'étendre sur ta couverture dans l'herbe.
Accessibilité : Accessible aux fauteuils roulants et aux poussettes.