Quebec’s demographic decline looms large in sovereignty debate

The first time the Parti Québécois came to power promising to hold a referendum on sovereignty, in 1976, Quebec accounted for 27.2 per cent of Canada’s population. More than 100,000 anglophones left the province during the PQ’s first term in office alone. The exodus continued after the 1980 referendum that saw Quebeckers vote to stay in Canada.

By the time of the second referendum – in 1995, following the PQ’s return to power the previous year – Quebec’s share of the Canadian population had declined to 24.7 per cent. While fewer anglophones left the province in the wake of that plebiscite, lower immigration levels than in the rest of Canada meant that Quebec’s population grew much more slowly than the populations of Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia during the subsequent three decades.

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Blue States’ Demographic Nightmare

The Democratic Party has come a long way from 1996, when President Bill Clinton’s reelection campaign declared that America “cannot tolerate illegal immigration” and added, “We continue to firmly oppose welfare benefits for illegal immigrants.”

When we seek explanations for why today’s Democrats refuse to call those here without permission “illegal,” oppose lawful deportations, and seek government benefits for those who’ve snuck into the country, we probably need to look no further than the population woes of Democratic states. At a time when states are governed increasingly by one party or another, the latest migration trends, released last week, show Americans continuing to move heavily away from states with politics dominated by Democrats, and toward Republican locales—significantly shifting population, political power, and economic resources.

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Parliament Can Say ‘No’ to MAID for Mental Illness

By age 40, around half of Canadians will suffer or have suffered from mental illness, according to the Canadian Mental Health Association. The other half will have someone close to them who has.

Canada’s MAID (medical assistance in dying) law is scheduled to expand to make people who suffer solely from mental illness eligible for MAID on March 17, 2027. While Canada’s approach to mental illness importantly focuses on mental health care, the expansion of MAID threatens to significantly alter that approach.

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First major medical group opposes gender transition surgeries for youth

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons has issued a broad recommendation against gender transition surgeries for youths, becoming the first major medical association in the United States to narrow its guidance on pediatric gender care amid a crackdown by the Trump administration.

A statement sent Tuesday to the group’s 11,000 members and obtained by The Washington Post recommends surgeons delay gender-related chest, genital and facial surgery until a patient is at least 19 years old. Fewer than 1,000 minors in the United States receive such surgeries every year, according to research published in JAMA, the American Medical Association’s journal, and the vast majority of the procedures are mastectomies, not genital surgeries.

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3 accused in Ontario explosives investigation were developing anti-drone weapons system

The three Ontario men accused of storing materials that could be made into explosives had been looking for money to back the production of a military system designed to prevent drone attacks.

The accused, Jerry Tong, Zekun Wang, and Fei (Frank) Han, had created videos to pitch the project, which include footage of a device that could be transported in the back of a pickup truck. The most recent video, viewed by CBC News, was uploaded on Oct. 25, 2025.

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In Virginia, You Must Love Islam — Or Else

In one sense, Saddam Azlan Salim is a classic immigrant success story. Born in Bangladesh, he grew up in northern Virginia and quickly demonstrated an aptitude for the political rough-and-tumble of his adoptive land. Now he is 36 years old, a Virginia state senator, and a rising star in that state’s now-dominant Democrat Party establishment. In another sense, however, Saddam Azlan Salim clearly retains at least some of the sensibilities of the land of his birth, and he wants to bring them to his new land: He has just introduced a bill to criminalize “Islamophobia” in Virginia.

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Canada on recession watch, economy on ‘life support’: Economist

The Bank of Canada needs to cut interest rates further as Canada is in recession watch and its economy is on life support, according to a new report.

The report, Canadian Economy on Life Support by Rosenberg Research,  states that despite cuts to interest rates from a high of 5% in 2024, Canada’s per capita gross domestic product is still failing, and the economy is growing at only 1% per year.

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Nolte: Grammy Ratings Crash Due to Fewer Young Viewers

For the second year in a row, the Grammy Awards took a dive in the ratings, primarily due to a collapse in younger viewers.

On Sunday, only 14.4 million people tuned into a show that regularly drew somewhere between 25 and 40 million viewers from 2016 to 2019.

Sunday’s 14.4 million represents the fourth-worst ratings in Grammy history, only ahead of 2021’s 9.23 million, 2022’s 9.59 million, and 2023’s 12.55 million.

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The overlooked story of Canada’s politics: The luck of the Liberals

As Conservatives celebrate the 20th anniversary of Stephen Harper’s first election victory this week, there’s a lot of chatter about what Pierre Poilievre can learn from his success.

In 2006, Mr. Harper captured 36 per cent of the popular vote, and won. In 2025, Mr. Poilievre was a far better vote-getter, earning 41 per cent of the popular vote – and lost. Those totals would appear to indicate there’s not much to gain in the way of lessons.

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Doping chiefs investigate claims ski jumpers used injections to enlarge penises

Anti-doping chiefs have said they will look into extraordinary claims that Olympic ski jumpers have injected acid into their penises to enhance performance.

While Witold Banka delivered his warning here in Milan, host of the Winter Games, on Thursday with a wry smile in response to one of the more unusual questions he has faced during his presidency at the World Anti-Doping Agency, there may be some legitimacy to the concerns.

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What’s the future of electric vehicles when even Elon Musk wants out?

Elon Musk’s pivot away from the electric vehicles that made him rich and famous raises a thorny question: Whither the EV market when its Atlas shrugs?

On Tesla Inc.’s quarterly earnings call last week, Mr. Musk said the company would stop production of its model S and X cars. Instead of retooling affected plants to build new models, the factory space will be converted to build humanoid robots.

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A Wargame Shows Just How Vulnerable Europe Is to a Russian Attack

MARIJAMPOLE, Lithuania—European governments are preparing for war with Russia. A newly released wargame suggests they aren’t ready.

A Russian incursion, or outright invasion, into countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union has become more likely because of Europe’s tensions with President Trump over Greenland, Ukraine, trade and other matters, many European security and political leaders say.

They point out that Russia has switched to a war economy, focusing national resources on a rearmament program and military recruitment that goes well beyond the needs of the campaign in Ukraine.

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73 Percent of Millennials Say Retirement Will Be Harder for Them Than for Their Parents

More than two-thirds of young Canadians are worried they will face greater challenges than their parents in accumulating savings for their retirement years, a new survey suggests.

But the survey also found more and more parents plan to help their adult children, even to the detriment of their own finances.

A report published this week by the Bank of Montreal (BMO) found that 73 percent of Millennials surveyed say retirement planning will be more difficult than it was for their parents, followed by Generation X at 67 percent, Generation Z at 61 percent and Boomers at 60 percent.

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