In the news today: military drones, sentencing for child killer, B.C. election debate
Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed …
As drones reshape war around the world, the Canadian Armed Forces sprints to catch up
As drone-fuelled warfare rages on half a world away in Ukraine, the Canadian Army's program for rapidly acquiring basic drones is just revving up.
The pressure is on for the Canadian Armed Forces to speed up its adoption of drones as the technology changes the nature of modern warfare.
Lt.-Col. Jonathan Penney, who is co-ordinating the Army's Minerva drone program, says while the army feels pressure to pick up the pace, it's also focused on finding the right mix of tech for its current needs.
The Minerva program published a batch of tenders in recent months, from low-cost Arctic surveillance drones and targeting drones for indirect artillery fire.
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Father set to be sentenced in New York for the murder of nine-year-old Montreal girl
A Montreal man found guilty of drowning his daughter in a creek in Upstate New York is set to be sentenced today in Essex County Court.
On Aug. 10, a jury in Elizabethtown, N.Y., found Luciano Frattolin guilty of second-degree murder and concealment of a human corpse in the death of nine-year-old Melina Frattolin.
During the trial, the defence tried to argue that local police had not adequately investigated Frattolin's claims that his daughter was kidnapped.
District Attorney Michael Langey has said Frattolin could face a life sentence for the murder charge with eligibility for parole after a minimum of either 15 or 25 years.
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Trial for man accused in Pearson gold heist set to hear more from key figure in case
The man who received a prison sentence for his role in the Toronto Pearson airport gold heist is expected to continue his testimony today at the trial of another man accused in the case.
Arsalan Chaudhary was sentenced this spring to four years in prison after pleading guilty to theft over $5,000, and he was given 40 years to pay $22 million in restitution.
He took the stand Tuesday in the Brampton, Ont., trial of Parmpal Sidhu, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of theft over $5,000 and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence in the 2023 heist.
Chaudhary said he planned the heist with another man who is still wanted by authorities, and he ended up taking 30 per cent of boxes full of one-ounce gold bars.
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More than half of doctors surveyed would leave an independent Alberta: medical group
More than half of hundreds of physicians surveyed would not practise in Alberta if the province leaves Confederation.
The Alberta Medical Association says the doctors, among the 1,600 it surveyed, would instead move to another province or territory.
The association says 15 per cent of responders would continue living and practising in Alberta if it became an independent nation.
Today is the second of five days of advanced voting on separation ahead of the official polling day on Oct. 19.
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Three B.C. party leaders to face off in only televised debate of election
The leaders of British Columbia's three main parties are to face off today in their only debate of the snap provincial election.
NDP Leader David Eby, interim Conservative leader Lorne Doerkson and Green Leader Emily Lowan are to debate from 6:15 p.m. to 8 p.m., with all major television and radio networks broadcasting the event.
It's set to be moderated by Angus Reid Institute president Shachi Kurl.
The debate follows the Greens releasing a platform for the Oct. 24 election, promising initiatives in health care, education and other social services worth almost $9.3 billion per year over the next two fiscal years.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 14, 2026.
Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
More than half of doctors surveyed would leave an independent Alberta: medical group
Hundreds of physicians would not practise in Alberta if the province leaves Confederation, a survey by the organization that represents doctors in the province indicates.
Of the 1,649 physicians surveyed by the Alberta Medical Association, 15 per cent said they would continue living and practising in Alberta if it became an independent country, and less than a quarter were uncertain about what they would do.
Those who would elect to leave said they would move to another Canadian province or territory, while a small percentage would retire or leave the medical field earlier than planned.
The survey results were published Tuesday in a letter released by the association's president Dr. Heidi Fell, which was the first of five days of advanced voting on separation ahead of the official referendum day on Oct. 19.
"As Albertans prepare to vote, the AMA is focused on an important question," Fell said in the letter. "What could the referendum outcomes mean for patients, physicians and Alberta’s health-care system?"
Premier Danielle Smith's United Conservative Party government has put 10 questions on the ballot. The 10th question asks whether the province should stay in Canada or hold a second, binding referendum on leaving the country.
The first nine questions are about Canada's Constitution, as well as immigration, including whether the government should impose limitations and financial fees for newcomers and temporary workers accessing health care.
The AMA said if Albertans choose to separate, not only would the medical workforce shrink, but health care in an independent Alberta would be left in limbo.
Fell said it's unclear, for example, how an independent Alberta would fill the health-care funding gap that would be created after it loses federal money.
"In addition to assuming federal health-care funding responsibilities, significant health-care concerns remain, including maintaining access to medicines, equipment and medical services," she said.

The association also has questions about the effects of the immigration questions on health care, Fell said, should the government receive a mandate on them.
Fell said she wrote to the province's health ministers last week for more clarity.
She has asked them, for example, what doctors should do when someone needs necessary care but their eligibility can't immediately be confirmed.
She has also asked how questions about eligibility should be resolved without delaying care.
"Physicians often need to make clinical decisions before a patient’s identity, residency status or coverage can be verified," she said.
"Our position is straightforward: uncertainty about coverage should not unnecessarily delay care, and physicians and their staff should not be placed in the position of determining or enforcing a patient’s immigration or coverage status."
Fell said the AMA hopes to hear from the government soon.
"Ultimately, we believe questions about coverage should be addressed through a reliable and timely administrative process so physicians can remain focused on clinical decisions and patients can receive the care they need."
Hospitals Minister Adriana LaGrange's office said it is reviewing the association's letter.
"It would be inappropriate to speculate on the outcome of the referendum or any technical legislative, policy or program changes that may follow until Albertans have had their say," her office said in an email Tuesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 14, 2026.
By Fakiha Baig | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Emily Lowan's journey from coffee-grounds advocacy to BC Greens' leadership
When Emily Lowan was in her late teens, not so long ago, she would pedal around Victoria collecting coffee grounds for local farms to use as fertilizer.
Now, the 26-year-old from the Saanich Peninsula is leading British Columbia's Green Party in a snap election campaign and running to represent the same region where she camped, snorkelled and crabbed in her childhood.
Lowan credits those experiences with inspiring a "deep reverence" for the natural world, and activating her political convictions.
"As a young person, I saw how deeply these ecosystems are under threat," she said in an interview.
Ever since, Lowan said she has been on a mission to challenge what she described as "the politicians and the corporate forces that are threatening our democracy and a livable future on this planet" and put power in the hands of communities.
Lowan played a key role in a student-led campaign that pressured the University of Victoria into directing its investments away from fossil fuels, before climate advocacy with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and Climate Action Network Canada.
She won the Greens' leadership contest last year, succeeding Sonia Furstenau.
Lowan said she recognizes why climate action isn't top of mind for many voters.
"People have a really hard time thinking about climate when they don't have their basic needs met, and so I want to do both," she said.
"I want to take climate action and deliver that affordable life for regular people with, you know, a guarantee on good, green jobs, with universal child care and social housing."
Lauren Latour was Lowan's manager while she worked at Climate Action Network Canada between 2023 and 2025, co-ordinating efforts among non-profit and Indigenous groups while pushing for phasing out the extraction of fossil fuels.
Latour said Lowan has a "positive magnetism" that served her well in her bridge-building role with the network, along with her knowledge of climate policy in Canada and experience with organizing at the community level.
"She's incredibly audacious. She's not afraid to be bold in her campaign ideas and in her dreams and aspirations for her (work)," Latour said.
Outgoing Green legislator Rob Botterell, too, said Lowan has a clear vision for bringing young people into politics and pushing for "bold, courageous change" to tackle climate change, affordability and health-care challenges.
"Here is the leader of the future," Botterell said of his first impression of Lowan.
Botterell had always intended to serve one term after winning in Saanich North and the Islands in 2024, becoming one half of a two-member Green caucus along with Jeremy Valeriote, who is seeking re-election in West Vancouver-Sea to Sky.
The retired lawyer said he "would have loved to carry on for the next couple of years" in the legislature and directed his ire at NDP Leader David Eby for "calling a completely unnecessary election" with two years left in the government's term.
But Botterell said he was "thrilled" Lowan is running in Saanich North, where he fondly recalled knocking on doors alongside her and "watching constituents' eyes light up when they recognize her and just seeing how well they connect."
Botterell said Lowan is a leader beyond her years, and "somebody that you can trust."
Lowan's campaign in Saanich North is a family affair, with her grandmother — who previously ran a children's book shore in Sidney, B.C. — dropping off signage materials at her office shortly before she spoke to The Canadian Press.
Lowan said her grandparents worked blue-collar jobs and opened a small business, enough to buy a home and provide generational wealth for the family.
"That is just not the reality for my generation," she said.
"I've spent my whole adult life watching establishment parties manage decline as the lives of young and working people get harder."

Lowan said people have "lost trust in a political class" across B.C.'s major parties, whose politicians have "bought in and sold out" to corporate interests.
But the Greens offer a different vision, she said, one that centres on young people, workers, renters and "everyone else who is being crushed by the status quo in B.C."
Lowan said the province has a revenue problem, allowing major corporations to walk away with billions of dollars in what she described as "corporate welfare."
She said the Greens' platform will outline how to find the money required to fund affordable housing, child care and health care, including taxing the ultra-wealthy, while building up the economy to be more independent and resilient to shocks.
"We need leadership that isn't corrupted by the system," Lowan said. "We need young leaders with bold ideas and real hope to bring back half the population who has stopped voting, who has given up and tuned out."
Lowan has said the two Greens had made a difference in the legislature and the snap election offered a path to growing and holding the balance of power.
"We can hold the government to account and get real results to make our province safer, healthier and more democratic," she told a campaign event last month.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 14, 2026.
By Brenna Owen | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Je me suis fait expliquer comment les gars utilisent les dating app
Loin de moi l'intention de généraliser. Special snowflake and all. Tous les gars ne sont pas machos. Ou faciles. Ou brillants. (De toute façon, c'est pas ma généralisation, mais celle de mon ami macho, facile et brillant.)
Peu importe, j'étais en pleine discussion sur le fonctionnement de Happn avec l'ami en question un beau dimanche après-midi quand il m'a lancé : « Tu comprends pas comment ça marche les gars ».
Non, en effet. Je comprend pas comment ça marche les gars. Explique-moi.
C'est à ce moment que j'ai appris la méthode d'utilisation des app de rencontres par le gars moyen (ou macho, facile et brillant) selon mon ami.
Il ne trie pas. Enfin oui, mais plus tard dans le processus.
Le gars moyen (macho, facile... On a comprit) ne connait pas le swipe à gauche. Non. Quelle perte de temps que le swipe à gauche! Et mieux vaut mettre toutes les chances de son côté...
Le gars moyen ne s'adonne qu'au swipe à droite. Réelle économie de temps. Ça permet aussi de mesurer son niveau de côte auprès du sexe (ou des sexes) recherché.
Mais oui! Pense-y : si il est trop difficile, qu'il swipe juste des 10 (peu importe ce qui définit un 10...Tous les goûts sont dans la nature. La beauté, c'est subjectif people!) et que turns out que sa face lui permet pas de viser si haut, il a très peu de chance d'aller prendre un verre ce soir et, par la même occasion, tous les soirs qui suivront.
Sa solution? Swiper à droite pendant un bon deux, trois minutes et regarder ses matchs.
Et c'est seulement à ce moment que le gars se permet de trier.
C'est pas con. C'est même une bonne méthode... Si t'es macho, facile et brillant.
Quant à moi, je travaille encore à élaborer une technique pour éviter le gars moyen qui fait juste swiper à droite pour augmenter ses chances d'une soirée sans lendemain...
La seule façon que j'ai trouvée à date c'est de pas swiper du tout. À toi de voir.