Members of Quebec's official Opposition Liberals sworn in at the legislature
Quebec Liberal Leader Charles Millard urged his caucus to serve with clarity and humility today as they were sworn in at the provincial legislature.
Millard said his party's work isn't done after a strong Oct. 5 election result.
The party more than doubled its seat count, going from 18 to 40 and will serve as the official Opposition to the minority Parti Québécois government.
Former premier Jean Charest was on hand to watch as his son Antoine was sworn in as the new representative for the Verdun riding.
All of the Liberals opted to swear the oath to the Quebec people and not to the King, after the oath to the monarch was made optional in 2022.
One member, Affine Lwalalika, was not sworn in since a judicial recount is underway in her riding.
Milliard told his elected members to be proud, but also urged them to approach the role with “a healthy dose of clarity and humility.”
“If our work of rebuilding were complete, we would be the ones forming the government today,” he said, adding, “There are still many regions to win back.”
“The result on Oct. 5 is certainly an important milestone, but it is by no means the culmination of all our efforts.”
He said it's unclear how long the minority PQ government led by Paul St-Pierre Plamondon will last, and called for both discipline and teamwork.
“When it comes to resolving crises, the government will find in us a reliable and open partner, but when it comes to creating crises … it will find in us a tough and unyielding opponent,” he said.
Milliard also stated that the Quebec Fleur-de-lis is “just as striking alongside the Maple Leaf," in a plea for federalism that drew thunderous applause.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2026.
By Caroline Plante | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
CFB Wainwright fire highlights long, painful process of burn recovery, specialists say
Burn specialists in Toronto and Hamilton say their hospitals are ready to support their Alberta colleagues as they care for dozens of patients injured in Saturday's devastating fire at CFB Wainwright.
Although they don't know the specific condition of the 39 hospitalized patients — 19 of them in critical condition — they say recovering from serious burns is a long and painful process fraught with threats of infection.
Dr. Alan Rogers, a burn surgeon at the Ross Tilley Burn Centre at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, says the hospital is ready to take patients if burn centres in Calgary and Edmonton need backup and they could also send temporary skin frozen in Sunnybrook's tissue bank.
Rogers says age and chronic illnesses are factors in the chances of recovery for severely burned patients.
He says it's possible for younger healthy adults to survive burns to 80 per cent of their body, although other injuries, including smoke inhalation, are other factors.
Rogers says severely burned patients must endure multiple surgeries over weeks or even months — first to remove the burned tissue and cover the areas with donated cadaver skin or artificial skin substitutes, then later to graft skin from other areas of the patient's body.
The burn care team can use techniques like expanding the skin grafts to cover more of the exposed area.
They prioritize areas to be covered, including the face and hands, he said.
Seriously burned patients are immunocompromised because they don't have a skin barrier, Rogers said, so they are often kept in isolation rooms for weeks to protect them from infection.
Extensive burns can also prompt an "overwhelming" inflammatory response in the body that can strain the patient's organs, he said.
Dr. Marc Jeschke, director of the burn program at Hamilton Health Sciences Centre, said his team wants to help their colleagues in Alberta however they can, noting the long road ahead for patients with severe burns.
"It is severe injury that causes significant burden to the patients, to the families, to the loved ones, to everybody," Jeschke said.
"It is not over like a fracture when you walk out a couple of days later. This is something that will affect their lives forever."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2026.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
By Nicole Ireland and Hannah Alberga | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Doerkson says B.C. Conservative growth projection of 3.2% 'absolutely doable'
British Columbia's interim Conservative leader Lorne Doerkson says his party's projection of 3.2 per cent economic growth by 2029 represents about one per cent "more optimism" than the New Democrats had previously budgeted.
The Conservatives' figure, which is more than 50 per cent higher than the forecast in the last provincial budget, is also considerably higher than recent projections by the Bank of Canada and International Monetary Fund at the national level.
But Doerkson told a campaign stop in Maple Ridge, B.C., in the final days before the Oct. 24 provincial election that the growth is "absolutely doable."
He says industries, including natural gas, forestry, mining and agriculture, are waiting for a change in government to invest in the province because of "fear" under the previous NDP regime.
The Conservative platform promises to create $2.6 billion in new revenue over three years, while shrinking the deficit to $10.8 billion based on gross domestic product growing by 2.5 per cent next year, 2.8 per cent the year after and 3.2 per cent in 2029.
NDP Leader David Eby says the Conservatives are "torquing the numbers" and their platform has "major omissions" in how the party would pay for its plans.
"They failed to cost basic platform commitments like their cut to the (Provincial Sales Tax) on alcohol, which costs almost $300 million," Eby told a campaign stop in Vancouver on Monday.
"It is all with the aim of minimizing the reality of the cuts they're going to have to make."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2026.
By Brenna Owen | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Rafaëlle Roy commente les interventions à propos de son bébé et revient sur ses paroles
« C'est juste tannant d'avoir constamment des remarques du genre. »
Après avoir partagé une vidéo de son bébé Milo lors d'une sortie dans un magasin, sur ses réseaux sociaux, Rafaëlle Roy a reçu des messages lui expliquant que son garçon n'était pas bien attaché dans sa poussette. Dans une série de stories sur Instagram, Rafaëlle a ensuite répondu aux commentaires qu'elle reçoit et a finalement rectifié le tir après quelques échanges avec sa communauté.
Dans sa réponse aux interventions, la jeune maman a expliqué que les gens n'avaient pas à s'inquiéter, bien qu'elle comprenne le désir qu'ont ses abonné.es de l'informer :
« Je le sais que personne intervient avec des mauvaises intentions, mais ayez confiance en notre jugement […]. C'est juste tannant d'avoir constamment des remarques du genre. »
Quelques heures plus tard, Rafaëlle a partagé un nouveau message où elle souhaite revenir sur ses paroles puisqu'elle ignorait qu'il était important de bien attacher son bébé en tout temps, même s'iel n'est pas en voiture, afin de réduire les risques d'asphyxie positionnelle :
« [Deux] personnes ont pris la peine de rectifier en me mentionnant ceci! Alors la gang, je reviens sur mes paroles - C'est bien correct vos interventions bienveillantes. C'était une petite accumulation, car suite à ma dernière publication, les gens pensaient que mes enfants faisaient face à l'avant dans l'auto et je recevais une tonne de remarques donc il a fallu que j'explique! »
« Je n'aurais pas voulu ne pas le savoir parce que je n'aime pas qu'on intervienne pour m'informer… You know? », ajoute la chanteuse.
Après avoir partagé quelques ressources supplémentaires pour aller chercher davantage d'informations sur le sujet, Rafaëlle a spécifié que le but de ses stories n'était pas de lancer une discussion, mais plus tôt d'apprendre :
« Ne partons pas de débat, c'est propre à vous. Si ça ne vous tente pas, suite à ces informations, d'attacher votre enfant tout le temps, si ça ne vous tente pas de changer quoi que ce soit, il n'y a zéro stress. Moi, c'est venu me chercher, je partage l'information, mais moi je pense que c'est mieux qu'on le sache puis qu'on prenne nos propres décisions en toute connaissance de cause. »
Elle a terminé en souhaitant une bonne soirée à tous.tes et en disant qu'elle ne s'attendait pas à lancer un tel débat.