Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed …
Olivia Chow re-elected as Toronto’s mayor, staving off challenge from Brad Bradford
Toronto voters have handed Olivia Chow her second term as mayor of Canada’s largest city.
Chow won with a commanding double-digit lead over her main challenger, Brad Bradford, in what polls had suggested would be a very tight race.
Chow’s re-election pitch rested largely on her track record, including the deal to upload city expressway costs to the province, tighter rules for bad-faith evictions, and reduced 911 wait times.
Bradford conceded defeat last night and congratulated Chow on her victory.
—
Minister of Justice Sean Fraser speaks as Minister of Health Marjorie Michel looks on during a media availability on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Liberals set to table bill restricting access to MAID in cases of mental illness
The federal government is set to introduce changes to Canada’s medical assistance in dying law today to bar people suffering solely from a mental illness from accessing MAID, and to allow for advance directives.
Advance requests are documents that allow a person who suffers from a degenerative condition, such as dementia or ALS, to ask that an assisted death be carried out once they no longer have the capacity to consent.
A news release from the Department of Justice says “rigorous safeguards” will be put in place for advance requests that follow a diagnosis of an incurable illness.
The proposed bill will need to pass the House of Commons and the Senate before March 17 — the date on which the law states people with a mental illness as their sole underlying condition would become eligible for MAID.
—
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith arrives at the Legislature for the throne speech, in Edmonton, on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Amber Bracken
Alberta’s Smith aims to turn the page after referendum as legislature returns
Alberta’s legislature is set to reconvene today — just over a week after the province voted overwhelmingly to stay in Canada.
Premier Danielle Smith has said she considers the separatism debate settled, after it riled the province all summer.
This fall, Smith’s government says it’s focusing on top-of-mind issues for Albertans like affordability and education, along with consumer protection rules for event ticket sales, changes to auto insurance, and stricter guidelines for artificial intelligence data centres.
New provincial laws governing municipal bike lanes, illegal garbage dumping, and standards for school report cards are also expected before the legislature breaks for Christmas.
—
Stelco’s Hamilton operations steel production facility is pictured from across the Hamilton Harbour in Burlington, Ont., on Friday, Oct. 9, 2026.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nick Iwanyshyn
American steel — not overseas dumping — dominates Canadian imports, trade data shows
Federal trade figures show American steel makes up more than half of Canada’s imports of galvanized and coated steel, complicating Cleveland-Cliffs’ argument that an influx of cheap overseas steel is one of the top causes of Stelco layoffs.
Global Affairs Canada steel import data shows that 54.1 per cent of the country’s 625,726 tonnes of galvanized and coated steel sheet imports during the first nine months of 2026 came from the United States.
Stelco owner Cleveland-Cliffs has blamed the idling of its Hamilton, Ont., steel plant partly on what it describes as dumped overseas steel imports in Canada, arguing that Ottawa’s trade protections have failed to create a viable market for Canadian producers.
In an Oct. 9 letter to Industry Minister Mélanie Joly, Stelco president and general counsel Paul Simon blamed the company’s difficulties in part on the “market-depressing impact of dumped, offshore imports” and U.S. tariffs.
—
A Eurovision flag flies at the port of Burgas, on Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast, which will host the 71st Eurovision Song Contest in 2027, Friday, Aug. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova, File)
Canada’s Eurovision finalists to be announced today by CBC
The musical acts vying to represent Canada at the 2027 Eurovision Song Contest are set to be announced today.
CBC/Radio-Canada says it will reveal the five finalists at 3 p.m. ET.
Artists from across Canada submitted applications for a chance to make history as the country’s inaugural representative at the famed international music competition.
A jury of professionals in the music industry decided on the shortlist, while the public will be invited to vote to determine Canada’s Eurovision entrant.
Eurovision is considered one of the world’s largest live music spectacles.
—
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 27, 2026.
Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.