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Quebec Conservative leader says his newly elected members will make mistakes
Quebec Conservatives will make mistakes: leader
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot
Quebec Conservative Leader Éric Duhaime says Quebecers should expect the newly elected members of his caucus to make some mistakes.
Duhaime made the comments as members of his team were sworn in at Quebec's national assembly.
His party had no seats before the Oct. 5 election, but now have the second-largest opposition caucus in the legislature.
The vast majority of the elected Quebec Conservatives are newcomers and several have already caused confusion and controversy.
The party's new whip, Renaud Labrecque, has called on his colleagues to exercise greater discipline.
This is the first time the Quebec Conservatives have had members elected to the Quebec legislature since a previous iteration of the party had members in the legislature in 1935.
Duhaime's Conservatives made a breakthrough by securing close to 21 per cent of the votes and winning 19 seats.
The leader called on English-speaking Quebecers during the swearing-in ceremony, placing himself as an alternative to the Quebec Liberal party.
"They've been taking you for granted for ages. You don't need to be hostages of those Liberals anymore," he said.
"They don't deserve your support. Our doors are open at the Conservative Party of Quebec, and we're welcoming you for the next blue wave."
Duhaime faces many challenges ahead, notably managing a largely inexperienced team.
Only former Coalition Avenir Québec member Maïté Blanchette Vézina, who joined the Conservatives in 2025, and Caroline Simard, a Liberal member of the national assembly from 2014 to 2018, have prior legislative experience.
But the Conservatives hold part of the balance of power in this new legislature, where the Parti Québécois government is in a minority with 60 of 127 seats.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2026.
By Patrice Bergeron | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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Vancouver approves non-binding drug plebiscites that mayor-elect Pete Fry disavowed
Vancouver approves drug plebiscites
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns
Voters in Vancouver have voted by about two-thirds in favour of two plebiscite questions proposed by the city's outgoing mayor on drug use, despite ejecting him from office in the same election.
The City of Vancouver says about 137,000 people voted in favour of stronger laws on open-air hard-drug use, and about 136,000 voted for the city to ask the province to provide "100-plus" involuntary care beds in the city.
But the plebiscite questions were non-binding and mayor-elect Pete Fry said during the campaign that he did not think that putting them on the ballot was necessary, criticizing the questions as cynical and lacking details.
Fry has said he supports managing drug use in public spaces, but differs from outgoing Mayor Ken Sim in believing people should be diverted to supervised consumption sites or shelters.
Sim had said a "yes" vote would have given the city a stronger mandate to deal with drug use in Vancouver.
Fry convincingly defeated Sim in the Oct. 17 vote, which also saw progressive parties sweep Sim's ABC party out of all but one council seat.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2026.
Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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University of Toronto isn't the top school in Canada's best universities ranking for 2027
You might not expect some of the universities that are on this list.
A new ranking of the best universities in Canada for 2027 is out, and the top school isn't the University of Toronto.
Ontario post-secondary schools, including a few you might not expect, dominated the list but didn't get the number one spot.
Maclean's recently published the 2027 University Rankings for post-secondary schools in Canada.
It includes lists of the best large, mid-size and small universities, along with rankings based on student awards, graduation rates, faculty awards, scholarships, research, student services, reputation and other criteria.
There are 15 post-secondary schools ranked on Maclean's list of the top large universities. The Canadian universities must have more than 30,000 students and offer a wide range of programs at both the undergraduate and graduate level.
In the ranking of Canada's best large universities for 2027, the top school is McGill University.
Maclean's said that McGill has more Rhodes Scholars and Nobel Prize laureates than any other university in Canada. Its standout programs are Population and Global Health, Education in Global Contexts, and Food Science and Agricultural Chemistry.
Then, the University of Toronto is second, and the University of British Columbia is third.
University of Toronto is "in a class of its own," according to Maclean's, because it has more than 16,500 faculty, over 700 undergraduate programs and more than 102,000 students across three campuses. The standout programs are AI Engineering, Game Studies, and Management Co-op.
Maclean's said the University of British Columbia has an international reputation for research and graduate programs. The university's standout programs are Management, Indigenous Land Stewardship, and Freshwater Science.
Those schools are Canada's big three in university rankings, but the University of Toronto is typically the number one school in Canada, so you might not have expected McGill to take the top spot.
After the top three, the University of Waterloo is fourth, and Queen's University is fifth.
Then, the University of Alberta and McMaster University are tied for sixth, the University of Ottawa is eighth, the University of Calgary is ninth, and Western University is 10th, according to Maclean's.
Université Laval is 11th, Université de Montréal is 12th, York University is 13th, Toronto Metropolitan University is 14th, and Concordia University is 15th in this ranking of Canada's top universities.
Ontario is the most represented province, with eight schools in the province ranked in the top 15, compared to four in Quebec, two in Alberta and one in B.C.
READ NEXT: Canada's top schools fell in this best universities ranking but others aren't close to U of T
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Cette friperie ultra tendance à Montréal te permet d'échanger ta garde-robe à petit prix
Quand l'abonnement à l'année te coûte moins cher qu'un pantalon du Aritzia! 🤑
Tu manques d'inspiration lorsque vient le temps de choisir tes vêtements le matin? Cette friperie nouveau genre pourrait bien être la solution à ce problème récurrent. Avec trois locations sur l'île de Montréal, les boutiques Le Shwap Club allient aisément, morceaux de qualité et écoresponsabilité. Ça peut être une bonne idée d'y faire un tour pour économiser de l'argent tout en comblant tes envies de fashionista.
Eh oui, basée sur un concept ingénieux de troc, cette entreprise te permet d'échanger les vêtements qui ne te plaisent plus pour de nouveaux. Tu peux donc obtenir une garde-robe presque à l'infini pour moins de 120 $! Bonus? Tu encourages la mode responsable en offrant à tes vêtements une seconde vie. C'est la définition même de rendre l'utile à l'agréable.
Le concept est simple. Tu sélectionnes préalablement des morceaux que tu souhaites donner pour les apporter au « Shwap ». Tu devras ensuite payer des frais d'entrée de 18 $ ou de 10 $ si tu es accompagné.e d'une personne membre. L'équipe se chargera, par la suite, de faire le tri dans tes vêtements. Un abonnement annuel à 115 $ est aussi disponible si tu trippes sur le principe et que tu comptes y aller plusieurs fois pour faire du troc.
Pour chaque pièce sélectionnée, que ce soit un short, un manteau, une écharpe, tu reçois un crédit que tu pourras ensuite échanger, « Shwapper », pour un autre item en magasin. Chaque morceau vaut un crédit que ce soit une robe Aritzia, un chandail du H&M ou une paire de chaussures de L'Intervalle. Tu as bien compris, tu peux donc aisément échanger un pull de chez Zara contre un manteau Frank and Oak par exemple.
Attention, l'équipe du Shwap Club ne prend pas n'importe quoi et est très sélective quand vient le temps d'inspecter et de choisir les morceaux qui entreront dans l'inventaire de la boutique.
Ainsi, les vêtements salis ou qui possèdent des défauts (trou, taches aux aisselles, fermeture éclair défaillante, bouton manquant, etc.) te seront remis. Même chose pour les pièces qui ne correspondent pas à la saison recherchée ou qui auraient un prix original de moins de 25 $. Certains styles plus populaires et aimés de la clientèle seront aussi privilégiés.
Le Shwap Club détient deux locaux sur l'île de Montréal soit l'un dans Saint-Henri et l'autre dans le Mile-Ex. Notons qu'un petit nouveau s'est ajouté en 2022 à Verdun, Le Petit Shwap Club, qui permet d'échanger des vêtements pour bébé.
Le Shwap Club
Coût : 115 $ pour un abonnement d'un an, 18 $ pour une entrée sans abonnement et 10 $ pour une entrée accompagné.e d'un.e membre.
Adresse : 4710, rue Saint-Ambroise #265, Montréal QC (Saint-Henri); 6682, rue Jeanne-Mance, Montréal, QC (Mile-Ex); 5025, rue Wellington, Verdun, QC (Le Petit Shwap Club)
Accessibilité : Accessible aux fauteuils roulants et aux poussettes
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