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Alberta introduces new flag rules and restrictions for all schools starting in 2027
Alberta introduces new flag rules for schools
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
The Alberta government has announced new rules on when, how, and what flags can be displayed at schools.
Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides says the flags of Canada and Alberta must be flown outside schools during the school year.
Other flags -- including the Franco-Albertan flag, municipal flags and the Royal Union Flag -- can be displayed on specified days.
First Nations and Metis Settlement flags and foreign national flags can be displayed inside a school building during official occasions and on other specified days.
No other flag displays are permitted without permission from the province.
The new rules begin on Jan. 4, 2027.
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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Ces plaques d'auto ont été refusées au Québec en 2022 et certaines sont épouvantables
Il y en a qui ont l'esprit tordu! 😲
Nul doute que les Québécois.es ont beaucoup d'imagination et cette liste de refus des demandes de plaques d'immatriculation personnalisées en est bien la preuve. Chaque année, des automobilistes de la Belle Province, désireux.euses d'orner leur voiture d'une plaque qui leur ressemble plus qu'un agencement aléatoire de chiffres et de lettres, tentent leur chance en envoyant leur proposition à la Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ).
Pour que ton idée soit acceptée, ce n'est pas chose si facile. Après ton envoi, les équipes de la SAAQ se penchent sur plusieurs critères afin d'évaluer si oui ou non ta plaque sera personnalisée comme tu le souhaites. Tu devras notamment t'assurer que la combinaison choisie n'exprime pas d'idées obscènes, scandaleuses ou de nature sexuelle, qu'elle n'utilise pas un langage abusif et qu'elle n'encourage pas une infraction criminelle. Tu devras aussi payer 272,49 $ pour les frais de changement, puis 37,66 $ par année.
Narcity a répertorié quelques-unes des 2725 combinaisons refusées les plus cocasses de 2022 dénichées sur une liste envoyée par la SAAQ. Et oui, tu vas vite t'apercevoir qu'il y a quelques petites thématiques qui semblent bien populaires chez les conducteurs et conductrices du Québec.
Marques de commerces
Les propriétaires de véhicule ne peuvent détenir « une plaque d'immatriculation qui renvoie à un nom distinctif utilisé comme marque de commerce enregistrée ». Cette consigne est inscrite bien clairement sur le formulaire de demande. Toutefois, certain.es tentent tout de même leur chance… Juste pour voir!
On a pu retrouver, entre autres, des noms d'entreprises bien connues telles que : VERSACE, AIRBNB, VISA, UBIS0FT, TWITTER, KIJIJI, AMAZ0N, Y0UP0RN et TINDER.
Les marques d'autres véhicules ont aussi été très populaires dans la dernière année avec P0RSCHE, TESLA, MUSTANG, T0Y0TA et plus encore. C'est sûr que de se promener en vieille Toyota Tercel avec une plaque FERRARI, c'est le comble de l'ironie.
Autres petites perles qui ouvriront certainement l'appétit aux automobilistes se trouvant à l'arrière de la voiture en question : 0RE0, TIMBITS et KFC. Tiens donc, j'ai une soudaine envie de poulet frit qui me tenaille!
Langage abusif et vulgaire
Peut-être en doutais-tu déjà, mais les « mauvais mots » et autres grossièretés ont la cote chez ceux et celles qui font des demandes de modification et ce n'est pas toujours très subtil. Parmi les nombreuses plaques refusées qui contiennent un langage abusif, voici celles qui se sont démarquées par leur candeur : WTFL0L, FUCKY0U, AZZH0LE, SXYMILF, CALISS, DATASS et le très chic 2FASTBK.
Une personne aurait même proposé FCKCOPS, ce qui semble être un moyen de s'attirer du trouble.
Film, télévision et musique
Plusieurs ont voulu se gâter un brin avec une plaque d'immatriculation qui fait référence à leurs films, chanteur.euses ou séries télévisées préférées. Hélas, ces propositions n'ont pas passé au conseil. Dans la liste on peut entre autres retrouver GANDALF, Y0SHI, P0KEM0N, MAD0NNA, JAGER, MINI0NS, NEM0 et AVENGER.
Voir une plaque écrite PIKACHU devant toi, c’est sûr que ça redonne le sourire, mais comme dirait un.e candidat.e au Banquier, c'est RE-FU-SÉ!
Infractions et actes criminels
Certaines personnes semblent avoir voulu mettre de l'avant leur penchant vers la criminalité. Est-ce pour appâter les forces de l'ordre? Sur la liste, les actes violents et les références à la mort sont nombreux : MURDER, MAFI0S0, DEATH, DEVIANT, PYR0MAN, KILLR, SANSL0I, CADAVR, M0RGUE, C0CAINE, PIMP1, ASSASIN, ILLEGAL.
La SAAQ est claire à ce sujet, le numéro choisi ne doit pas comporter une expression ou un message « qui encourage une infraction criminelle ».
Amoureux.euses de sports
On peut compter plusieurs fanatiques de sports parmi ceux et celles qui désirent une plaque d'immatriculation personnalisée. Avec des compositions comme WEBER, BRUINS, FIFA, WWE, LEBRON, PEEWEE et NASCAR on comprend que certain.es sont très fier.ères de leurs équipes et souhaitent le démontrer de toutes les manières.
Cependant, ce ne sera pas sur le derrière de leur véhicule, car le numéro de plaque ne doit pas laisser faussement croire que le propriétaire du véhicule routier est une autorité publique.