Portugal’s manager says he’s disappointed there aren’t more men’s World Cup matches scheduled for Toronto after falling in love with the city’s waterfront stadium.

Speaking after his side beat Croatia in a thrilling round-of-32 knock-out match at Toronto Stadium, Roberto Martinez heaped praise on the Canadian host city.

“It’s the first time I arrived in Canada, I must admit, congratulations to everybody, to the organizers, to everybody who’s involved in football in the city,” he said.

“The welcome we had was incredible, the training session yesterday, and the quality of the grass was fantastic.”

Since Portugal and its megastar captain Cristiano Ronaldo arrived in Toronto, the city has been abuzz.

Fans stopped on the edge of the highway, crowded around the training pitch, set up outside the team hotel and marched in the thousands to the game on Thursday night.

The game at Toronto Stadium delivered on the promise with a dramatic comeback win for Portugal over Croatia, whose 40-year-old captain, Luka Modric, likely played his last-ever World Cup match in the city.

Croatian manager Zlatko Dalic said the support of the fans tempered the sadness of the match’s result.

“A wonderful atmosphere, a lot of our fans, a lot of support, and I believe that this wonderful football is connecting people, makes people happy and proud,” Dalic said. “I would like to keep the feeling that football is such, and not become a business that it actually has become.”

Toronto boasts the smallest stadium of the 16 venues for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, even after adding two temporary stands to expand its capacity.

Still, Martinez said it was a welcome change of scenery for his team, wishing more games had been scheduled in Ontario.

“It reminds me a lot of the old-fashioned Premier League grounds, a wonderful field, a wonderful field, so congratulations to everybody,” he said.

“I think it is a shame there are no more games here in Toronto because we really enjoyed it.”

Thursday’s match between Portugal and Croatia was the final World Cup match in Toronto.

Vancouver will host a round-of-16 tie, as will Mexico. The quarterfinals and beyond are played exclusively in the United States.

— with files from The Canadian Press

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Proposals to build new Canadian pipelines have faced multiple challenges over recent years that have seen projects delayed or derailed repeatedly — and those challenges could offer clues into some of the issues developers behind the newly announced project from Alberta to B.C.’s coast will need to tackle.

From financial hurdles, including proving the project can actually make a profit, to consulting with Indigenous communities and navigating environmental regulations and fees, these projects are seldom easy to get started.

They can also take several years to get built and become operational.

“Even if there were a business standing up today saying, ‘We’re shovel ready, let’s get going,’ by the time you get all the permits, by the time that you deal with all of just the basic stuff, let alone the outside forces that might try and disrupt the process, we’re still talking about the mid-2030s before we see a pipeline,” says Moshe Lander, a professor of economics at Concordia University.

Here’s what was announced.

Details of the new pipeline were announced Thursday night from Calgary for a new Alberta pipeline proposal that will send oil to B.C.’s Roberts Bank Terminal, near Richmond in the south of the province.

The new pipeline is estimated to cost between $35.2 billion and $43.7 billion, according to the project submission package, and will run almost entirely along the same path as the current Trans Mountain Expansion pipeline.

The Trans Mountain Corporation will also be planning and constructing the new pipeline.

The Pembina Pipeline Corporation will act as a private sector partner in the new pipeline. The company said in a statement that it has a 10 per cent stake during the construction phase and that it may increase its stake to 20 per cent once the pipeline comes online, and hopes to sign definitive agreements by September.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday that Pembina “will bring its private sector expertise, its capital discipline to the construction and operation of the pipeline.”

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said she thinks it’s a possible full private sector takeover of the project could occur down the line.

Based on some of the biggest Canadian oil pipelines currently operating and recent proposals that failed, here are some of the key challenges the new Alberta project will have to grapple with.

 

One of the biggest challenges a company or government faces when getting a pipeline from the proposal phase to construction is convincing all stakeholders that the project will be commercially viable — will it consistently make more money than it costs over the long-term?

The Trans Mountain Expansion pipeline is one of Canada’s largest oil pipelines by capacity and the largest one that sends oil to the West Coast. It took more than a decade to get the project up and running from its initial proposal stage in 2012 before oil started flowing in 2024.

TMX wound up costing $34 billion once oil started flowing and after Ottawa purchased it in 2018 for $4.5 billion, with some of those delays translating to higher costs for the company and taxpayers.

Since oil started flowing through the pipeline, oil exports via Canada’s West Coast doubled in 2025, and oil extraction and exports also contributed to higher GDP in April 2026.

Despite how much its costs ballooned, Carney pointed out Thursday during the announcement of the new pipeline proposal that the existing Trans Mountain pipeline is “highly profitable.”

Demand for Canadian oil and other resources has increased over the past few years since Russia launched a war with Ukraine and after the war in the Middle East this year. Although the latter has seen tensions somewhat ease in recent weeks after a peace agreement was signed.

But these pipelines take a long time to build, so just because there is a certain level of demand now doesn’t automatically reflect what the demand levels will be in the future.

“Where are we going to be a decade from now? What’s global demand going to look like?” says Lander.

Most of these pipeline proposals involve running pipeline infrastructure through Indigenous communities and land claims and a lack of proper consultation — as required under the Constitution Act — with these groups in the past have led to lengthy delays or derailed them altogether.

For the original TMX pipeline, the project faced years of delays due, in part, to insufficient consultation.

In 2018, the Federal Court of Appeals overturned Ottawa’s approval of TMX, ruling the federal government failed to engage in meaningful consultations with First Nations groups.

While TMX was eventually completed, the Northern Gateway proposal was scrapped after similar consultation failures and cost Enbridge a net $373 million.

“What’s been demonstrated a couple of times in B.C. is the federal government didn’t understand its obligation to consult with Indigenous groups,” says Richard Masson, former CEO of the Alberta Petroleum Marketing Commission.

Smith and Carney said the new pipeline project has opportunities for Indigenous ownership and that details will come. The submission package says the proposed route will go through the traditional territories of as many as 125 Indigenous communities.

It says the province consulted some First Nations before Thursday’s announcement, though it notes many were consulted under the premise that Alberta would be pitching a route to the northern coast rather than the southern one.

Carney said consultations with First Nations on the new route would begin immediately.

Smith said the proposal will be submitted to the federal government’s Major Projects Office in Calgary as a “project of national interest,” which could see approval by a deadline of Oct. 1, 2026.

Carney’s new Major Projects Office was launched as a way to help fast-track federal approvals and expedite construction for “projects of national interest,” but overlooking any consultations with Indigenous groups presents substantial legal and logistical challenges.

“You can’t skip that piece through this Major Projects Office because it’s beyond the federal government’s legal framework — this is Indigenous inherent rights,” says Masson.

If the federal government overlooks First Nations communities, Masson says, “then they’re very likely to end up in court, which just adds to the complexity and delays the whole thing.”

Whether it’s expanding or building new pipelines, more oil production ultimately means higher emissions, which also raises costs to businesses under the industrial carbon tax.

Unlike the consumer carbon price, which was reduced to zero in 2025, businesses like oil companies must factor in these commercial taxes that are mostly still in place when budgeting their operations or when considering investing in new pipelines or expanding capacity.

When considering the cost of emissions and new pipeline proposals, Masson says, “the oil sands companies are not keen right now because the cost of that is high.”

Those federally regulated industrial carbon taxes were reduced in Alberta under a new framework announced earlier this year, in addition to the province scrapping its own increase to the tax, but it isn’t clear if that’s sparked confidence in businesses to invest more in pipelines.

Although Canada is still committed to Paris climate agreement goals to significantly reduce emissions by 2030, Carney said earlier this week that his government’s new energy plan will mean higher emissions.

At the same time, Carney hasn’t indicated if there will be any further changes to the industrial carbon tax.

Working to offset emissions could help oilsands producers save some costs from these taxes.

Smith and Carney also announced Thursday that they are close to finalizing an agreement with the Oil Sands Alliance for its Pathways carbon capture project. Last year’s energy deal between Carney and Smith made her pipeline conditional on advancements on the carbon capture deal.

Still, the overall uncertainty surrounding these costs and environmental regulations may give producers some pause about increasing production or investing in new pipeline projects.

“Businesses want clarity, they want certainty, they want as sure thing as they can get in a 20-, 50-, 100-year project that you’re asking them to invest billions of dollars into,” says Lander.

 

– with files from Global’s Amy Judd and Ken MacGillivray, and The Canadian Press

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared that the hantavirus outbreak onboard the MV Hondius cruise ship in May is over, putting an end to the three-month saga.

On Thursday, the WHO stated that the last identified contact ​of an exposed ⁠person has ⁠completed quarantine ‌and tested negative for the virus.

“All identified contacts have completed the 42 day follow-up period by local health authorities in line with WHO guidance. The completion of the contact follow up without detection of additional secondary cases demonstrates effective interruption of transmission and confirms outbreak containment,” the WHO said.

“This outbreak no longer poses a public health risk and no further related transmission is expected.”

Three people died and a total of 13 people were infected in the outbreak, the WHO says.

Health Canada confirmed to Global News on June 24 that the 34 Canadians who may have had exposure to Andes hantavirus related to the cruise ship have now completed their self-isolation and monitoring period.

Nine Canadians located in Ontario, Alberta and B.C. were deemed to have experienced “high risk exposure,” with one Canadian testing positive for the virus. As of June 9, that person has recovered, according to health officials.

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

More than 30,000 clients are still without power after severe thunderstorms swept across southern Quebec last night.

At the peak of the outages nearly 140,000 customers were knocked off the grid.

Audrey St-Pierre, spokesperson for Quebec’s hydro utility, says about 200 teams of workers have been dispatched to restore service.

St-Pierre says Hydro-Québec expects power to be restored to most clients by 11 p.m.

The Laurentians region, northwest of Montreal, is the most affected with about 13,000 customers still without power.

Environment Canada says strong winds accompanying the thunderstorms uprooted many trees across southern Quebec, knocking down power lines.

The Montréal-Trudeau International Airport recorded wind gusts of 96 kilometres per hour.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy to Greenland says Trump “has not forgotten” about his desire to take over the Danish territory, saying it was raised as recently as last weekend.

In a podcast released Wednesday, Jeff Landry, who is also the sitting governor of Louisiana, said the U.S. could “bring them right into the fold” with “some little things,” like sending more military personnel and opening up more trade, which he claimed Greenlanders support.

“He was talking to me Saturday night, ‘We need to get Greenland,'” Landry said of Trump while speaking on Breitbart’s Alex Marlow Show. “He has not forgotten about it.

“I laid out some things with the president,” Landry said later. “Let me tell you, from a strategic natural resources standpoint, that place is unbelievably important to us. I mean, there’s a great oil and gas reserve there. There are great rare earth minerals there. There’s great fishing there. I mean, it’s a great place, so we’re gonna get it.”

Trump’s vocal push to acquire Greenland early this year — and refusal to rule out using military force to do so — rattled Greenland and Denmark, a NATO ally that controls the self-governing island, and threatened to further rupture U.S. relations with the rest of the alliance.

Trump backed down on his threats in late January after speaking with NATO leaders and agreeing to talks between the U.S., Greenland and Denmark.

Landry visited Greenland in May and claimed on Wednesday’s podcast that, based on that trip, “the people of Greenland want to be with the United States” and are seeking “a closer relationship,” including more military presence.

“They want to free themselves from Danish control, and so now it’s a matter of just making that happen. And I think it’s easy,” he said.

He pointed out that the U.S. once had a much larger military presence in Greenland but reduced it in recent decades. Only one permanent U.S. military outpost, the Pituffik Space Base, remains in Greenland today.

“It’s like … you had a girlfriend in high school, OK?” Landry said. “And y’all dated. Maybe you dated into college. It was great. It was a great relationship. And then it just fell apart. You didn’t leave on bad terms, you just left. And then you see her like 10 or 15 years later and you’re like, ‘Oh my God, let’s just get married.’

“And so the Greenlanders are just a little gun-shy. … They wanna know that if we’re coming back, there’s gonna be some permanence to it and it’s gonna be good for them. And so I think we’re gonna get it. I really do.”

A February poll conducted for The Copenhagen Post found that 62 per cent percent of Greenlanders don’t support independence from Denmark, while only five per cent favour closer ties with the U.S.

Roughly 90 per cent of Greenland’s population of about 57,000 people are Inuit.

In a statement to Global News provided by his office, Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said Landry’s visit had only “reinforced our position.”

“The position in Greenland has not changed,” Nielsen said. “The government and the people of Greenland has no desire to be part of the USA.”

Landry posted on social media after leaving Greenland that he would “continue to work to deepen ties between our people” and framed a future agreement between Greenland and the U.S. as one of “cooperation on security, economic development, and shared strategic interests in the Arctic.”

However, in a post on X marking Greenland’s National Day on June 21, Landry equated the holiday’s “celebration of liberty and opportunity” with America’s upcoming 250th anniversary on July 4.

“Perhaps America’s 251st birthday can be celebrated with the addition of it’s 51st state!” he posted.

Canada — which has faced its own “51st state” rhetoric — has found common cause with Greenland amid Trump’s threats, opening a new consulate in the island’s capital Nuuk in February.

In March while visiting Norway with European leaders, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada will continue to “stand with Denmark and Greenland.”

He has also pointed to the issue as an example for needed increases to Canada’s military presence in the Arctic, though he stressed during that Oslo press conference that the biggest threat to Arctic sovereignty remains Russia.

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

A sentencing hearing is underway for two Burlington, Ont., women who abused two Indigenous brothers in their care, killing the oldest.

Becky Hamber and Brandy Cooney were found guilty in early May of first-degree murder in the death of a 12-year-old boy, and of unlawful confinement, assault with a weapon and failure to provide the necessaries of life regarding his younger sibling.

First-degree murder carries an automatic sentence of life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years.

The couple took in the two boys, who cannot be identified under a publication ban, in the fall of 2017 and sought to adopt them.

Five years later, the older boy — by then so thin that first responders questioned his age — died in the basement of their home.

His brother was taken away by child welfare services and later testified at the women’s trial, describing years of abuse both siblings endured at the couple’s hands.

The boy testified he was locked in his room for long stretches of time and denied food at times for days, court documents show. He told the court he was forced to wear a wetsuit that was fastened to his feet with zip ties, leaving him with deep cuts on his feet.

In his written ruling, Ontario Superior Court Justice Clayton Conlan said Hamber and Cooney hated and resented the children for “having come into their lives and not having turned out to be what was expected.”

The women’s lawyers argued their clients had no intention of hurting the children, who they said had significant behavioural issues.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

People are being urged against any recreational activities on the South Saskatchewan River as officials warn of increasing water flow.

This includes fishing on the shore, swimming, boating and any other water-based activity.

The warning comes after Saskatchewan’s Water Security Agency advised on Tuesday that the heavy rainfall that hit Alberta earlier this week prompted it to increase outflows from the Gardiner Dam. It also said it would be operating the spillway to release water from Lake Diefenbaker.

Those actions were set to begin Thursday and continue from July 3 until July 25.

It said the South Saskatchewan River would as a result see a rise in water levels and an increase in speed from downstream of the Gardiner Dam all the way to the City of Saskatoon.

“Flows at this level can pose a serious safety risk for residents and recreational users in and around the water at this time of year,” the WSA said in a news release.

The City of Saskatoon says the river is “very unpredictable” and, in addition to the changing, dangerously fast currents and unstable bottom, there will be additional hazards. This includes hidden material such as broken concrete and floating debris.

Due to the various hazards, the city says the public boat launch beneath Broadway Bridge and River Access points in the Meewasin Valley will be closed. River safety devices will also be monitored during high-flow conditions on a regular basis.

Residents are urged that if they see someone in distress to call 911 immediately and provide details, including about the individual, time and situation.

They should keep track of recognizable landmarks around the area where the person was first seen in distress. People should then coach the individual from the shore edge, urging them to stay calm, keep their head above the water, to remove any bulky or heavy clothing items and not to fight the current. If in distress, move with the current as you work your way to the shore edge.

The city says even with the greater flows, Saskatoon Water is prepared and service is not expected to be affected.

Bridges will also not see issues, with the city saying in a news release the faster flowing water is not expected to pose any threat or cause challenges to construction projects.

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

More than 120 passengers and crew members fell sick during a norovirus outbreak on the Ruby Princess cruise ship, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The CDC said that 102 passengers and 23 crew members reported becoming ill during the voyage on the Ruby Princess, which took place from June 12 to July 2 from San Francisco to Canada and Alaska.

In response to the outbreak, Princess Cruises and the crew aboard the ship reported increased cleaning and disinfection procedures in accordance with its outbreak prevention and response plan, the agency said.

The Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP), which helps the cruise ship industry prevent and control the introduction and spread of gastrointestinal illnesses on ships, was consulted about sanitation cleaning procedures and reporting illness cases.

VSP is remotely monitoring the situation, including review of the ship’s outbreak response and sanitation procedures, according to the CDC.

Norovirus is highly contagious and thrives in places where people gather in close quarters, making cruise ships susceptible to outbreaks. There have been three norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships so far this year, the CDC reports.

According to the CDC, norovirus can be contracted from an infected person, contaminated food or water or by touching contaminated surfaces. The virus causes inflammation of the stomach or intestines, which leads to stomach pain, nausea, diarrhea and vomiting.

There have been seven illness outbreaks reported on cruise ships in the CDC’s jurisdiction in 2026.

In June, 19 passengers and one crew member reported becoming ill during a norovirus outbreak on the Lindblad Expeditions’ National Geographic Sea Bird during a voyage from June 25 to June 30.

In late May, the same ship reported a norovirus outbreak on May 28 with nine passengers and three crew members affected by the illness.

In April, more than 100 passengers and crew members fell sick during a norovirus outbreak on the Caribbean Princess cruise ship, according to the CDC.

The CDC said that 102 passengers and 13 crew members reported becoming ill during the voyage, which took place from April 28 to May 11.

“Princess Cruises can confirm that a limited number of individuals reported mild gastrointestinal illness during the April 28 Caribbean Princess voyage from Port Everglades,” Princess Cruises previously said in a statement to Global News.

“Our crew responded promptly by implementing enhanced sanitation protocols across the ship, and cases have since decreased and remain low,” the cruise line added. “Caribbean Princess arrived in Port Canaveral the morning of May 11, as scheduled, and is undergoing comprehensive cleaning and disinfection prior to departing in the afternoon for her next voyage, as scheduled.”

The outbreak on the Caribbean Princess came more than a month after another norovirus outbreak was reported on the cruise line’s Star Princess ship.

In March, the CDC reported that 141 passengers and 52 crew members reported becoming ill with norovirus on the Star Princess cruise ship. The ship left Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and made stops in the Caribbean, Honduras, Belize and the Mexican Riviera.

In April 2025, 240 people fell sick on the Cunard Line’s Queen Mary 2 following a norovirus outbreak.

The CDC said in an outbreak report that 224 of the ship’s 2,538 passengers had fallen ill from the virus, as well as an additional 17 staff members.

The vessel departed Southampton in the U.K. on March 8, 2025, for a nearly month-long cruise to New York and then through the Caribbean, making various stops along the island chain. It was due back in Southampton on April 6, 2025.

According to the CDC, passengers experienced vomiting and diarrhea during the outbreak. The health agency said Cunard had stepped up its cleaning and disinfection protocols and that sick passengers and crew were being quarantined.

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

A hostage-taking that prompted a massive police response in an Ottawa neighbourhood has ended after a more than 14-hour standoff.

Officers were called Thursday morning over concerns that a woman was being held hostage inside a home on Finlayson Crescent, according to a news release from the Ottawa Police Service.

“For more than 14 hours, officers and negotiators worked to peacefully resolve the situation,” the news release said.

At about 9 p.m., members of the tactical unit entered the home and rescued the woman.

Police said she was “physically unharmed and is receiving appropriate supports.”

The male suspect was taken into custody and taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Charges are pending.

Police said the Special Investigations Unit has also been notified, as a police firearm was discharged.

The investigation is ongoing.

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Like plenty of local boys before him, Neil has come home to the stretch of Australian coast where he was born. Unlike most of them, he trails fame, fans and property damage in his wake. He is also a 1,000 kg (2,200 pound) elephant seal.

In June, the bellowing and blubbery 5-year-old mammal hauled himself onto land for his twice-yearly tour of beachside towns in southern Tasmania state after months of feeding at sea. That’s posing problems now that he weighs as much as a small car and has a social media following more than double Tasmania’s human population.

His rampage through local infrastructure has claimed bent traffic bollards, a sign warning the public about seals and a fence that did not survive Neil’s attempt to vault it. The rest of the time he lies placidly any place he likes, which is sometimes the middle of the road, bringing towns he visits to a standstill.

But officials say their biggest concern is that Neil’s popularity could lead to ill-advised human-seal encounters that are dangerous for both sides.

Neil, the only male elephant seal to visit Tasmania in years, has commanded an enthralled TikTok following of 1.4 million in part because he acts like kind of a jerk. During this visit to shore, his 12th, his crimes have included picking fights with parked cars and smashing through barriers erected to keep him off roads.

Those antics have prompted some online to hail Neil as a kind of anti-authoritarian hero. But experts say it’s normal experimentation for a growing seal.

Juvenile male elephant seals need to practice for dominance battles in which adults rear up and crash their chests together as they compete for breeding opportunities, said Sophia Volzke, an elephant seal scientist based at the University of Tasmania in Hobart.

With no other juveniles to practice with, Neil can only rehearse on Toyotas.

Local officials fear that Neil is the latest wild animal whose social media stardom has outgrown what’s good for him.

“Neil’s fame is a bit of a double-edged sword,” said Kris Carlyon from Tasmania’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment, at a news conference in Hobart on Thursday in which he asked the seal’s fans to give him privacy.

“We have had some pretty silly behavior, instances with people carrying their small babies up close to him and simply trying to get that shot for Instagram,” he said.

Officials have urged the public to refrain from identifying the town Neil is currently delighting or terrorizing, depending on who you speak to. They fear a disastrous encounter between the seal and an admirer could force rangers into a risky operation to move him elsewhere.

Carlyon also warned of worse. In a 2023 episode, a walrus known as Freya who drew huge crowds in Norway was euthanized after officials cited a growing risk to human safety.

“There is a risk here of essentially loving Neil to death,” Carlyon said.

It’s usual for seals to return biannually to the place they were born to rest, fast and shed fur. Many species roam inland during visits to shore, sometimes leading them into beachside towns.

What’s unusual about Neil is that he’s the only male elephant seal hauling ashore in Tasmania.

Sub-Antarctic islands south of Tasmania are home to breeding populations of elephant seals and Neil’s mother would have arrived from one of them to give birth, Volzke said. Females have been spotted ashore in Tasmania before, but topping out at the size Neil reached when he was a year or two old, they don’t cause the same kind of chaos, she added.

“Humans got rid of those animals and now maybe they are coming back and repopulating areas that they were previously seen in,” she said. “We do need to find a way to coexist.”

That could prove tricky for Neil, and for the rangers, police officers and security guards who follow in his wake. If he survives to adulthood, Neil could measure up to 5 meters (16 feet) in length and weigh triple what he does now.

However, about 90 per cent of male elephant seals die before they reach a breeding age of around 10, Volzke said.

For now, Neil the seal is occupying a stretch of sidewalk, unmoving and unbothered. Sometimes he canoodles with an orange traffic cone, to the delight of his online followers. It isn’t clear why he prefers that location, which he has returned to even after being ushered away by rangers.

“He’s obviously decided this puddle surrounded by bollards, which are horizontal at the moment, is his spot,” said Carlyon on Thursday.

His fans can relate. The locals have mixed feelings.

“He’s one of our biggest exports at the moment,” said Dale Creamer, a resident of the town that the seal is currently trashing, who has not been personally inconvenienced. “It’s Neil’s world and we’re just living in it.”

© 2026 The Canadian Press