Alberta pro-unity rally held in wake of CFB Wainwright fire on final day before vote
The leader of Alberta's flagship federalist referendum campaign is urging Albertans to keep in mind the privileges the Canadian military affords them after tragedy struck yesterday in the province.
Four military members were killed and dozens more seriously injured following a violent fire at CFB Wainwright, a massive military training base about 200 kilometres southeast of Edmonton.
Thomas Lukaszuk, leader of the Forever Canadian group, told pro-unity demonstrators at the legislature it was a "difficult day" to hold a rally, but it's because of soldiers training across the country that Albertans are able to gather in protest.
Attendees waved Canadian flags strapped to hockey sticks, wore red and white, and hoisted signs denouncing Premier Danielle Smith's referendum and encouraging Albertans to "fight back!"
Tomorrow, voters go to the polls to decide if Alberta should stay in Canada or if it's time for a second, binding referendum on leaving Confederation.
The rally, spearheaded by the Alberta Federation of Labour, comes a day after separatists assembled at the legislature with blue Alberta flags to cheer for independence.
On Sunday, Federation leader Gil McGowan led the crowd in a moment of silence for first responders and those killed or injured in Wainwright.
He said fellow Canadians responded to the call for help when it came.
"That's why we are stronger together in one Canadian federation,” he said to cheers and applause.
Premier Smith has said she wants Alberta to remain in Canada, but the vote was necessary to finally put the question of independence to rest.
Polls across the province will be open Monday from 9 a.m. until 8 p.m.
Results on the independence question are expected to start trickling out in the wee hours of Tuesday morning.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 18, 2026.
By Lisa Johnson | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Rough ride for some incumbents: B.C.'s municipal elections at a glance
Some incumbent candidates have taken a beating in British Columbia's municipal elections.
Voters on Saturday evicted the mayors of Vancouver and Surrey, the province's two biggest cities.
Here's a look at some of the results.
BIG TURNOUT IN VANCOUVER, FRY WINS
Pete Fry will be Vancouver's first Green mayor, after a resounding win over incumbent Ken Sim.
It's a big turnaround for businessman Sim, just four years after he swept to power when his ABC Party claimed a majority on council with seven out of 10 seats.
ABC has now been reduced to one seat, secured by Mike Klassen, while a mix of progressives from the Greens, the Coalition of Progressive Electors, and OneCity Vancouver take nine seats.
Turnout surged to more than 209,000, up 36 per cent from 2022.
The preliminary tally shows Fry won more than 98,000 votes, far ahead of Sim on 67,000, with Colleen Hardwick a distant third with about 18,000 votes.
Sim's former chief of staff, Kareem Allam, received about 10,500 votes.
MCCALLUM BACK IN SURREY AGAIN … AGAIN
Doug McCallum is back for his third separate stint in the Surrey mayor's office, which he first occupied 30 years ago.
Preliminary results show he received about 32 per cent of the vote to comfortably defeat incumbent Brenda Locke, who had 23 per cent.

McCallum was bested by Locke four years ago, and the pair have clashed repeatedly over Surrey's switch to a municipal police force from the RCMP, a move McCallum supported and Locke fiercely opposed.
McCallum, 82, first sat as mayor from 1996 to 2005, then again from 2018 to 2022.
VOTERS BACK AMALGAMATION OF VICTORIA, SAANICH
Voters in Victoria and Saanich have supported amalgamation by about a two-thirds majority in a non-binding ballot.
Mayor Marianne Alto was meanwhile re-elected in Victoria, with about 44 per cent of the vote, defeating Bruce McGuigan on about 34 per cent.
The ballot question of whether to combine Victoria and Saanich into a single municipality received 62 per cent support in Victoria and 68 per cent support in the District of Saanich, where Rishi Sharma is forecast to win the mayoralty.
KAMLOOPS MAYOR'S TUMULTUOUS TENURE ENDS
Incumbent mayor of Kamloops Reid Hamer-Jackson has been soundly defeated, finishing fourth with just 12 per cent of the vote after a turmoil-filled tenure.
The new mayor will be Mike O'Reilly, a former councillor, who won 44 per cent of the vote, according to preliminary results.
Hamer-Jackson was stripped by council of his position as the city's official spokesman in 2024, amid protracted conflict with council and city staff.
PRINCE GEORGE GETS NEW MAYOR AFTER TIGHT RACE
Simon Yu has been defeated in his bid to retain the mayoralty in Prince George, in a tight three-way contest.
Preliminary tallies show Yu was defeated by Garth Frizzell, a longtime councillor, who won 28 per cent of the vote, compared to 24 per cent for Yu and 23 per cent for Kyle Sampson.
RICHMOND GETS FIRST NEW MAYOR IN 25 YEARS
Richmond is getting its first new mayor in a quarter century, with Rob Howard gaining a narrow win over former Olympian Alexa Loo.
Howard, a former provincial legislator, received almost 20,000 votes to defeat Loo by fewer than 900.
Malcolm Brodie had held the mayoralty since 2001, but decided not to run again.
BRAD WEST GETS 90 PER CENT OF PORT COQUITLAM'S VOTES
One of B.C.'s most prominent and popular mayors has been re-elected with a massive share of the vote.

Port Coquitlam's Brad West received about 90 per cent of the vote to retain the office he first won in 2018.
He says he's "deeply humbled and grateful" in a message on social media.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 18, 2026.
By Canadian Press Staff | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Former Quebec minister named interim CAQ leader after election wipeout
Former Quebec cabinet minister Mathieu Lévesque has been named interim leader of the Coalition Avenir Québec after the party suffered a crushing defeat in the Oct. 5 provincial election.
Lévesque replaces former premier Christine Fréchette, who resigned after the once-dominant party failed to win a single seat in the provincial legislature.
The CAQ held 79 of the national assembly's 125 seats before the election campaign began.
Lévesque had represented the riding of Chapleau, in the Gatineau area near Ottawa, since 2018 but lost his seat in the election, finishing third.
In a statement, Lévesque says he accepts the responsibility with humility and that the party needs to engage in collective reflection.
A lawyer by profession, Lévesque served as minister responsible for youth and associate minister responsible for the regions under Fréchette.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 18, 2026.
-- with files by Audrey Sanikopoulos and Helen Moka in Montreal
Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Rosalie Vaillancourt ne mâche pas ses mots envers les insinuations d'une internaute
« Très dommage que vous n’avez pas l’intelligence de voir les efforts d’un artiste. »
Le 23 juillet, l'humoriste Rosalie Vaillancourt animait un gala dans le cadre de Juste pour rire. Sous une publication partagée sur Facebook au sujet de cette apparition de l'humoriste, un.e internaute ne s'est pas gêné.e pour écrire un commentaire désobligeant à propos de Rosalie, ce qui n'a pas passé.
La personne en question a écrit les mots suivants : « Mon opinion : C'est sûrement pas son talent qui l'a menée là ». Rosalie lui a alors dit sa façon de penser en lui répondant.
L'humoriste a tout d'abord fait part de son avis sur le message directement en commentaires :
« C'est mon intégrité dont il est question ici. Je n'ai jamais couché avec personne pour faire avancer ma carrière si c'est ce que vous insinuez. C'est tellement bas. Je réussis parce que je travaille continuellement, que chaque soir (une fois que mon bébé est couché), je vais pratiquer mes numéros dans des bars pour 25 $, que je suis sympathique avec les gens et que je couche avec mon chum qui me rend tellement heureuse que je ne bitch par contre autrui. Très dommage que vous n'avez pas l'intelligence de voir les efforts d'un artiste. »
Rosalie est revenue en force en faisant une capture d'écran du commentaire pour continuer son explication sur sa page Instagram :
« Alors que mes collègues masculins ont eu de superbes critiques toute la semaine et que les gens étaient bien contents pour eux. Moi quand j'en ai une bonne, c'est pas grâce à mon talent, mais parce que j'ai couché avec des gens... super. »
À propos de ses collègues masculins, celle-ci s'est d'ailleurs exprimée concernant les allégations sur Philippe Bond, en montrant son appui aux victimes présumées.