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The number of people using food banks continues to rise in Quebec
Quebec food banks break record in 2026
A new report says the demand at Quebec food banks is continuing to break records.
The 2026 Hunger Count report was published by Food Banks of Quebec.
It says the food banks are now fulfilling 3.27 million requests each month.
But close to 14 per cent of the network's 1,400 community organizations say they had to turn people away because of food shortages.
The report adds that 70 per cent of organizations say they faced a shortage in the last year.
The report says the situation has been deteriorating since the pandemic.
“Needs remain at a historically high level,” Food Banks of Quebec Executive Director Alexandre Lebel told The Canadian Press. “There are far too many people who still have to rely on food assistance.”
Among the households assisted in 2026, nearly a quarter derive most of their income from a job, shows the report.
“Having a job doesn’t necessarily protect you from food insecurity,” says Lebel.
Chantal Vézina, executive director of Moisson Montréal, says that inflation is making it harder for households to get out of difficult financial situations.
“Unfortunately, food is a discretionary expense, and people will do whatever it takes, of course, to avoid ending up on the street," she says.
Children account for around one-third of recipients in food banks, says Lebel.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2026.
By Stéphane Rolland | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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Carney appoints astronaut Jeremy Hansen to advise government on new space strategy
Carney taps astronaut Jeremy Hansen as adviser
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
Prime Minister Mark Carney has appointed Jeremy Hansen as a special adviser on space.
In a social media post, Hansen says he hopes to build on Canada's strengths in the field and find new ways to harness opportunities.
He says the role involves advising Carney and Industry Minister Mélanie Joly.
Joly says Hansen proposed helping the government craft a new space strategy, which she says will look to expand industrial innovation and get more Canadians into space.
In April, as part of the Artemis II mission, Hansen and three other astronauts travelled around the moon and further out into space than any humans before them.
His appointment comes as Canada looks to expand space co-operation with European countries, and as Washington warns it can also seek partners other than Canada for its space missions.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2026.
By Dylan Robertson | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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Risk to Windsor, Ont., 'very low' after Ohio chemical leak: mayor's office
Windsor, Ont., monitoring Ohio chemical leak
A spokesperson for the mayor of Windsor, Ont., says the border city is monitoring a toxic chemical leak in Toledo, Ohio that prompted evacuations on Tuesday night.
The spokesperson says the risk to Windsor residents is "very low" as the city is about 90 kilometres northeast of Toledo on the shores of Lake Erie and winds are blowing in the opposite direction.
Hundreds of Toledo residents fled their homes and sheltered in place Tuesday night after a chemical tank exploded, raising fears of an ongoing glycidyl methacrylate leak.
The industrial chemical can burn the eyes, nose, mouth and skin and is toxic if ingested, according to local officials in Ohio.
Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz says a police officer was injured while responding to the tank explosion and there's concern the tank could explode again.
He says officials don’t know what caused the explosion.
Director of the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department Karim Baroudi is advising Toledo residents to close their windows as officials work to determine the level of toxicity in the air.
The city ordered people within a 1.6-kilometre radius of the explosion to evacuate their homes and businesses Tuesday night.
A shelter-in-place order was issued for residents beyond the evacuation zone within a 4.8-kilometre radius.
The Canadian Press has reached out to federal and Ontario environment ministries for comment but did not immediately hear back.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2026.
-- with files from The Associated Press
By Kathryn Mannie | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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