Here's what to pack for the perfect beach day

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Is there anything quite as blissful as the sound of waves gently lapping the shore while you soak up golden sunshine? We doubt it.

Whether you’re lounging with a good book, chasing the surf, or sharing laughs with friends, the perfect beach day is all about comfort and thoughtful essentials. Ahead, we’ve gathered the must-pack items that’ll keep you cool, protected, and ready for every sun-soaked moment – from stylish sun hats to refreshing snacks and beyond. With trending picks from Quince, Tatcha, Stanley and more, get ready to make your next beach escape your best one yet!

 

Sunscreen is a non-negotiable step in protecting your skin from harmful sun exposure. Formulated with 100% mineral titanium dioxide, the La Roche-Posay Anthelios Tinted Mineral Face Ultra-Fluid SPF 50 delivers high broad-spectrum UVA/UVB protection and a natural, healthy glow. Its ultra-light, non-greasy texture absorbs quickly, leaving skin mattified with a lightly tinted finish.[/product_listing]

 

With its lightweight 100% organic cotton and breathable eyelet design, this dress keeps you cool and comfortable even on the hottest beach days. The smocked, relaxed fit and flowy tiered skirt keeps you cool while still Instagram-ready.[/product_listing]

 

This adorable crochet bucket hat from Time and Tru is the perfect finishing touch for your summer fits. Crafted from lightweight straw with an open crochet knit and playful appliqué details, it’s practical for keeping skin protected and keeping you cool.[/product_listing]

 

Handwoven from natural raffia in Madagascar atelier, she’s roomy, lightweight, and made for strolls through farmers’ markets or seaside getaways. With soft cotton lining and leather tie closure, she swings easily from hand to shoulder. Vacation has officially begun.[/product_listing]

 

Never waste time deciding which book to bring – carry your entire library with you on the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite.[/product_listing]

 

Beach bag essential? Absolutely. This silky, spray-on moisturizer delivers a dewy glow and instant hydration – perfect for sun-kissed skin and makeup refreshes between dips. Spritz, shine and soak it all in.[/product_listing]

 

For that golden-hour glow before the sun even sets, toss in Bronze Balm in Seine from Merit – sheer, buildable, and made for minimal effort.[/product_listing]

You may also like:

Summer Striped Maxi Dress – $33.99

Wide Brim Straw Sun Hat – $36.99

Men’s Inseam Beach Shorts – $37.99

 

There’s something about this umbrella that just screams ‘holiday in Positano.’[/product_listing]

 

And don’t forget the matching towel from Simons! Your coordinated beach setup will be the envy of every sun-seeker.[/product_listing]

 

Stay cool and sip happy – this Stanley Quencher ProTour Flip Straw Tumbler (with a leakproof lid!) is your beach day’s best companion.[/product_listing]

 

Keep your beach snacks fresh even in the summer heat. This insulated reusable grocery bag is thoughtfully designed with premium canvas, leak-proof insulation and roomy pockets.[/product_listing]

 

With its slim and stylish design, this handheld fan keeps you cool for up to 17 hours, offers three refreshing speeds, and folds neatly for on-the-go or desktop comfort.[/product_listing]

You may also like:

Inflatable Pool Float – $26.99

Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunscreen – $15.97

Owala FreeSip Insulated Stainless Steel Water Bottle – $28.99

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

Recipe: Kingfisher seafood chowder

Kingfisher seafood chowder

Seafood chowder celeriac “chowder” puree

Ingredients 

Celeriac: 2 cups

Onion: 1/2 cup

Garlic: 3 cloves

Clam juice: 1 can

White wine: 1 cup

Cream: 3 cups

Salt to taste

Lemon juice to taste

Instructions

1. Sweat onion and garlic. Once tender, deglaze with white wine

2. Add clam juice, cream, celeriac, and cook until the veg is very tender

3. Puree fine

4. Season with salt and lemon juice

Chowder assembly

Ingredients

Clams: 5 pc

Mussels: 5 pc

Carrots diced and blanched: 1 small carrot

Salmon: diced 1/4 cup

Halibut: diced 1/4 cup

Shrimp: diced 1/4 cup

Yukon gold potato diced and blanched: 1 small potato

Celeriac chowder puree: 2 cups

White wine: 3 tablespoons

Butter: 1 tablespoon

Parsley: 2 tablespoons

Baguette: 1/4 baguette

Juice from a lemon to taste

Salt to taste

Heavy cream to adjust consistency

Instructions

1. Blanche the potato and the carrots separately

2. In a pan, add mussels, clams, butter and white wine

3. Bring to a boil. Once they open, add the celeriac chowder puree

4. Bring puree mix to a boil, add salmon, halibut, shrimp, potato and carrots

5. Adjust the consistency with heavy cream

6. Season with salt and lemon juice

7. Garnish with chopped parsley

8. Serve with a baguette

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

Is listening to FM radio in the car endangered? It just might be

What’s the first thing you do when you get behind the wheel after buckling up and hitting the ignition? You probably dial up some audio entertainment — and more often than not, it’s the radio. We’ve been listening to the radio in the car since Paul and Joseph Galvin introduced their “travel radio” (brand name: Motorola) in 1930.

According to a 2025 Radio Connects study, about 80 per cent of Canadian radio listeners tune into terrestrial broadcasts on AM or FM. And it’s not just older drivers. About 60 per cent of people 18-34 also go for AM/FM listening, putting it on par with that demographic’s love for streaming services.

Not only is radio listening in the car a long-term habit, but it’s also cost-effective. AM and FM listening is free with the tuner in your dashboard, plucking electromagnetic waves out of the ether at no charge, often when we’re dozens and dozens of kilometres away from the source. You’ll have to be pretty far out into the boonies for there not to be any radio stations to be heard.

And when there’s breaking news, dangerous weather or an emergency, all you have to do is turn on the radio, and you get everything you need in real time.

Broadcasters love cars, too. Because so many people listen while commuting, it’s an excellent way to reach a captive audience, which, in turn, is good for clients who buy advertising. And if you’re listening to public or community radio, drivers don’t even hear commercials.

In short, we, the driving public and purchasers of vehicles, love free radio in the car. So why are some auto manufacturers trying to get rid of it?

Let’s start with AM radio. AM is the oldest broadcasting medium there is, with its underlying technology dating back more than 100 years. While it’s been a faithful servant, it does have its physical limitations. Frequency response is narrow (about 100 to 5,000 Hz) compared to FM (~50 to 15,000 Hz), making it a tough listen when it comes to music.

For voice, though, it’s perfectly serviceable. AM signals also have the advantage of being able to cover a larger area — hundreds and even thousands of miles from the transmitter — thanks to their ability to use the atmosphere, specifically the ionosphere, as a giant mirror. FM is line-of-sight, meaning that the moment the transmitter tower can’t be detected at the horizon beyond 100-120 km, we lose contact.

But that very property makes AM signals prone to static from lightning, overhead powerlines, and, increasingly, the electromagnetic fields generated by today’s electric vehicles. Consequently, manufacturers of EVs, including Tesla, BMW, Audi, Porsche, Mazda, Polestar and Rivian, say that the electronic noise created by the motors that drive the wheels make AM radio unlistenable. Funny how Ford, General Motors, Stellantis, Hyundai, and Kia have figured out a fix.

This move away from AM radio has greatly annoyed the U.S. government, which is advancing the bipartisan AM Radio Vehicle Act of 2025 through Congress. If passed into law, this will make it mandatory for AM radio to be included on all new vehicles. If an AM-less car is sold before the law is enacted, there must be full disclosure to the purchaser. This bill has a real chance of passing.

Fine. But no one would ever think of removing FM from vehicles, would they? Yes, they would. The reason will make your blood boil. The problem is that FM radio is free.

Vehicle manufacturers have discovered the cash cow that are subscription services. If you’ve been looking at a new car lately, you might have run across some unwanted options. Want heated seats? The hardware is installed, but if you want to be able to turn them on, you’ll have to pay a monthly fee.

BMW was first out of the gate with this little surprise in 2022, but was forced to drop it because of consumer backlash. Want remote start? That’ll be an extra monthly fee. What about a self-parking function? Same. Premium traffic data and map updates. That’ll cost you. On-board Wi-Fi? That, too.

Now some manufacturers want us to move away from free radio to subscriptions-based listening for all news and entertainment. This would not just generate a new source of income, but it will cut costs of making infotainment systems.

The first maker to do this was — shock! — Tesla, specifically the Model 3 and Model Y. The latest is Rivian R2, which doesn’t come with an FM tuner at all. Instead, it offers the Rivian Digital Radio, which was created with American broadcasting giant iHeartRadio. Not only will drivers pay to use RDR like you would with a Netflix account, but it operates on cellular services, meaning that you’re going have to pay for a dedicated sim card within the vehicle (with the complications that involves) so you can receive and pay for data.

And if you’re ever out of cell range, good luck. No audio for you, period. Good luck if you’re somewhere off the grid or there’s some kind of emergency when cell service goes down.

Rivian won’t be the only manufacturer to try this given the revenue potential. They’ll try to sell us on how this is a more flexible way to listen to audio and one that will offer more choice. It’s another example of a pseudo-innovation being pushed on us and a way to extract more money.

The joke may be on Rivian, though. According to these posts on Reddit, no free radio in a vehicle is a deal breaker for most people. The last thing any of us need is another subscription to something that used to be free.

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

1 dead, 1 injured after fire at high-rise Toronto apartment building

One person is dead after a fire at a high-rise apartment building in Toronto on Sunday morning.

Crews were called to 1420 Victoria Park Ave. at 1:58 a.m. for reports of a fire in one of the building’s units.

After extinguishing the flames, crews entered the unit and found a person inside.

The person was pronounced dead on scene.

A second person was also transported to hospital with minor injuries.

Officials say an investigation is ongoing.

Fire and police crews were called to an apartment on Victoria Park Road on June 28 for reports of a fire.

Fire and police crews were called to an apartment on Victoria Park Road on June 28 for reports of a fire.

Toronto Fire Services

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

France records around 1,000 additional deaths amid extreme heat wave leading to European records

BERLIN (AP) — France saw around 1,000 additional deaths last week at the height of its record-smashing heat wave, the country’s public health agency said Sunday, as Europeans elsewhere were suffering through yet another day of new temperature highs that sparked wildfires in Germany and had Berlin police using water cannons to cool down the crowds.

Temperature records were toppled in several countries on the weekend as the heat wave slowly moved toward eastern parts of the continent.

In Germany, a new nighttime temperature record was reported Sunday from Kubschütz, in eastern Saxony, where the temperature did not drop below 29.4 degrees Celsius (84.9 Fahrenheit). The nightly record came only hours after a daytime record of 41.5 C (106.7 F) in Möckern-Drewitz in Saxony-Anhalt, according to preliminary data by the German Weather Service DWD. The previous record was set a day earlier.

A new study from the World Weather Attribution, a Europe-based collaboration of scientists, reported Friday that the record-breaking heat and humidity in Europe this week would not have been possible without climate change.

The rapid study found that the heat would have been virtually impossible just five decades ago, and is 200 times more likely today than it would have been 20 years ago.

France records surge in deaths during heat wave

France saw a surge in deaths last week at the height of its record-smashing heat wave, including a sharp increase in calls to private homes, especially in the Paris region, the national public health agency said Sunday.

There were more than 1,200 deaths on Wednesday, when France was sweltering under its hottest temperatures ever, increasing to more than 1,400 deaths on each of the two following days, Public Health France said.

In April and May, before the heat wave, France’s rate of deaths was about 900 to 1,000 per day, it said.

The agency concluded that France experienced a total of at least 1,000 additional deaths during those three days alone, an estimate it cautioned is likely to increase as more data is collected, including for deaths at home.

The increase in deaths was sharpest in areas under red warnings of extreme heat, it said. Those warnings blanketed about three-quarters of the country at the peak of the heat wave. The agency said that 85% of the deaths involved people aged 65 and above.

Heat sparks wildfires in forests contaminated with WWII ammunition

In Gohrischheide, in eastern Germany, a fire broke out in a large forest that’s still contaminated with ammunition from World War II, which made the firefighters’ efforts to put out the flames even more dangerous and complicated.

Similarly, a major firefighting operation was underway in southwest Germany near the town of Traisen, where the heat sparked a forest fire in an area that also contained unexploded ordnance. Firefighting efforts had to be temporarily suspended after explosions took place and an ordnance disposal unit was brought in to continuously assess the situation, German news agency dpa reported.

In addition, the big cities’ fire departments were busy sending out ambulances to people suffering from heat-related illnesses. In Berlin, an additional 500 ambulance dispatches were reported on Saturday, most of them heat-related.

Berlin police uses water cannons to cool down locals and tourists

The German capital’s police found a unique way to help suffering Berliners and tourists alike. They put up two huge water cannons — usually used to disperse unruly protesters — in front of the city’s iconic Brandenburg Gate and sprayed the cool water across the cheering crowd.

The heat also continued to damage the country’s infrastructure with the concrete surface on countless highways breaking up, and a weekend warning by national rail operator Deutsche Bahn to avoid all unnecessary train travel.

In the eastern city of Leipzig, no trams will be running until early Monday morning due to heat damage to tracks and switches. The Leipzig Public Transportation Authority said that the high temperatures had caused the joint sealant for asphalt and concrete in switches and tracks to run and clump together in many places throughout the city’s network.

Greece is on alert for high fire risk, while Denmark is hit by thunderstorms

In Greece, in southeastern Europe, the country’s Civil Protection agency warned of a “very high fire risk” in five regions of the country on Sunday.

Wildfires are especially challenging in Greece, which has a dry mountainous mainland and over 100 inhabited islands, prompting authorities to introduce innovative space technology to help put them out quickly.

In Denmark, in northern Europe, which marked new temperature records on Saturday, the extreme heat was followed by heavy thunderstorms.

By Sunday morning, the country had recorded 1,156 lighting strikes, according to public broadcaster DR.

——

Leicester reported from Paris.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

Will new CRTC rules truly lead to lower bills?

Every couple of years, Marc Nanni makes a call to his home internet provider to see if he can find some savings on his monthly bill.

Unexpected charges always seem to add up within that time frame, he says, whether it’s a “system access” fee here or a “basic service” fee there.

Nanni’s efforts are usually enough to score a handful of rebates — he estimates he’s negotiated $35 worth of charges waived from his current bill — but the Gatineau, Que., man still doesn’t know what those charges were meant for in the first place.

“They sort of monkey the prices. There’s $2 for this, $2 for that,” he said.

“They’re dinging you with these fabricated fees.”

Eliminating certain “junk fees” is one of several measures recently introduced by Canada’s telecommunications regulator, with more to come, as it attempts to reduce barriers it says have long stood in the way of consumers seeking cheaper cellphone and internet plans. New consumer protections for the sector had been required as part of recent legislative amendments by the federal government.

While some say it’s a welcome step, others question whether the moves will actually lead to meaningful savings for Canadians, especially as major telecom companies push back on the new regulations.

In addition to a prohibition on activation, cancellation and modification fees that came into effect June 12, the CRTC has implemented rules that give consumers self-serve options to adjust their plans and mandate service providers to notify customers when a discount on their bill is about to expire.

The commission is also planning to soon announce guidelines that would require carriers to publicize key information about their home internet plans — such as price and speed — through a standardized label.

“What we’re trying to do is make it easier and to facilitate consumers shopping around for their telecom services,” said Scott Hutton, the CRTC’s vice-president of consumer, analytics and strategy, in an interview.

“Canadians are tired of being nickel-and-dimed.”

He said that while costs have been coming down over the past five years, Canadians are still paying “amongst the highest prices in the world for both cellphone and home internet services.” Compounding that problem, the regulator said it found from its outreach that consumers share a common sentiment that it can be too difficult to switch providers, keeping them locked into plans even when there are better, discounted offers on the market.

“I don’t know of a Canadian who’s not frustrated with their telecom bill,” Hutton said.

The moves are encouraging, said PlanHub.ca co-founder and CEO Nadir Marcos, whose platform helps shoppers compare offers across telecom providers.

Marcos said consumers may be unaware of options that can help lower their bills, recalling a client who hadn’t changed plans in a decade and was paying nearly 10 times the price of current market offers. But calling customer service to make a change can be an arduous process; it’s not uncommon to spend hours on hold before finally getting through.

That’s why the new self-service and notification requirements could be a “game changer,” he said.

“I think people just forget to shop,” said Marcos.

“Just being proactive and getting text messages when the promotion’s finished will help for sure to make the consumer aware.”

He’s also hopeful these changes could create a chain reaction in the marketplace. While many promotions are only available to new customers, Marcos said increased competition could prompt providers to offer better deals to existing customers too as part of their retention efforts.

However, some of the new regulations have been met with resistance from major players in Canada’s telecom sector.

Earlier this month, the CRTC issued warnings to Bell Canada, Telus Corp. and Rogers Communications Inc. after each introduced fees that the regulator says could violate its new ban on ancillary charges.

The companies each argue those specific fees, which range in description from device “handling” or “setup” to SIM purchase, should qualify for exemptions to the CRTC’s policy meant for optional services or equipment. They also said the charges serve a purpose — recovering their own costs.

“It costs money to activate a customer,” said telecommunications consultant Mark Goldberg.

“There’s costs of resources, the assignment of a phone number, the management of that. There’s costs associated with activating a new device and loading up the database, costs associated with running credit checks.”

Goldberg questioned whether banning activation and cancellation fees would truly save consumers money at the end of the day. For the providers, he said “that money has to come from somewhere” in order to maintain profits.

“Where do the legislators and the CRTC think the money’s going to come from? Does it mean that discounts are lower, that the overall monthly rate is a little bit higher?” he said.

“You’re ultimately loading all of the cost recovery into the monthly bill.”

National Bank analyst Adam Shine said the elimination of “so-called junk fees” comes as no surprise.

“Still, the carriers do have costs involved with the provisioning of devices and setting up of accounts,” Shine said in a note published earlier this month.

TD Cowen analyst Vince Valentini estimated lost revenue from the elimination of those fees could total $50 million to $75 million per year.

And with the CRTC appearing “unwilling to budge on its position” to remove those charges, the industry could look to replace that revenue stream with higher base monthly rate plans, Valentini said in a June 18 note.

Hutton acknowledged that likelihood, but he said higher prices upfront at least provide more transparency, while possibly encouraging competition.

“If you have to increase your prices so be it, but do that through the front door. Charge a price, don’t surprise consumers with price increases in the middle of the contract, don’t have these special little fees that come out of nowhere,” he said.

“Canadians need to shop around. So sending a clear message, cancelling your service, going with another provider, exercising your consumer rights are how that will occur.”

For Nanni, the CRTC’s direction is a good start, but he feels there is still a long way to go when it comes to empowering consumers, especially those less proactive than him.

He said stronger restrictions on what fees providers can charge can help the regulator avoid playing “whack-a-mole” as far as enforcement.

“I mean, you’re getting dinged with fees that people never saw before,” said Nanni.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 28, 2026.

Companies in this story: (TSX:BCE, TSX:T, TSX:RCI.B)

© 2026 The Canadian Press

Lawyers 'shocked' by lack of answers on 'Lost Canadian' citizenship recalls

Canadian immigration lawyers say they are in “disbelief” over how the federal government has dealt with a wave of citizenship certificate suspensions involving so-called “Lost Canadians,” and the lack of answers about why the recalls occurred.

“We certainly think that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) could have handled this better,” said Barbara-Jo Caruso, a member of the Canadian Immigration Lawyers Association.

“It creates a lot of uncertainty and anxiety for the individuals concerned. Uncertainty also leads to a lack of trust in the system.”

Earlier this month, the immigration department began sending letters to an unknown number of people ordering them to surrender recently issued Canadian citizenship certificates.

IRCC will only say a “few dozen” are affected.

One of those individuals is American Tom Maher.

“Playing fast and loose with citizenship rules is not the sort of thing I imagined from IRCC,” he told Global News.

Maher has an ancestor from Quebec and applied for Canadian citizenship under legislation passed last year. He also prepared applications for his mother and sibling.

A photo provided by Tom Maher shows what he says is his Quebec ancestor (left) and his family in 1861.

A photo provided by Tom Maher shows what he says is his Quebec ancestor (left) and his family in 1861.

Submitted to Global News

The law allows people living abroad who can trace their lineage to a Canadian to qualify for citizenship.

The bill was tabled after an Ontario court ruling found the previous “first-generation limit” on citizenship by descent was unconstitutional.

“The main motivation for me doing this is I have a younger sibling who is trans,” said Maher.

Maher and his two family members received their citizenship certificates in April.

But last week, Maher was emailed a suspension letter. Days later, the department reversed course again, informing him his certificate had been revalidated.

“The whole thing’s been a bit of a roller-coaster,” he said.

“I have no problem providing exhaustive proof. I have no problem being investigated, but once a decision has been made it seems to me there should be some consistency.

After receiving his surrender letter, Maher consulted Montreal immigration lawyer Lisa Middlemiss who told Global News he provided a “well-documented chain of lineage.”

Middlemiss added she has never seen anything like these recalls and is shocked and in disbelief the department would repeatedly “flip-flop” on such an important document.

“It’s highly disruptive. People have either moved their lives to Canada or are in the midst of selling their homes,” said Middlemiss.

“How is it possible that the immigration minister does not know or cannot state exactly what happened?”

Immigration Minister Lena Diab said Tuesday she ordered a review after “something” was brought to her attention, but wouldn’t say what that “something” was.

Asked Thursday whether affected individuals deserve a timely explanation, Prime Minister Mark Carney responded, “The simple answer is yes,” pledging to follow up.

IRCC has since paused approvals for new citizenship-by-descent applications while it reviews the process.

More than 82,000 applications are currently backlogged, with processing times of at least 15 months, according to the department’s website.

Caruso called the confusion “unfortunate” adding it raises questions about how prepared the department was for the legislative change.

“Thei initial guidelines on acceptable documentation should have been clearer, and more or better training of officers and staff would likely have mitigated this situation,” she said.

Middlemiss said the government needs to provide answers.

“How many of these letters were sent? Why?” she asked.

“It would be nice to know before Canada Day, quite frankly.”

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

Canada eyes victory over South Africa in 1st World Cup elimination match

WATCH: Canada is advancing to the knockout rounds of the World Cup, but the team's immediate outlook is now different after losing to Switzerland. Eric Sorensen recaps Canada's loss in the final group stage game, and what it means for the Round of 32.

The Canadian men’s national team is looking to keep their FIFA World Cup dreams alive and aiming for a win against South Africa Sunday afternoon.

Canada now enters uncharted territory, playing in its first FIFA World Cup elimination match and marking the furthest the men’s team has gone in a World Cup. It’s also the first time Canada has played outside their home country for the 2026 tournament, which is at Los Angeles Stadium.

Canada finished in second place in Group B on Wednesday afternoon following a 2-1 defeat to Switzerland, meaning they had to play the second-place finisher from Group A.

That spot was locked up by South Africa following their 1-0 upset victory over South Korea in Wednesday night’s match.

Canada’s sits 23 spots ahead of South Africa in official FIFA rankings, which is 31 compared to South Africa’s 54. South Africa is in its fourth World Cup after failing to qualify for the last three.

South Africa won the only international match the two have played against one another in a 2-0 final in an international friendly back on Nov. 20, 2007.

Canada had the opportunity to finish in first place in Group B with a win or draw against Switzerland, affording the team a week off before playing again in Vancouver.

“We just (wanted) to continue the energy that’s taken place here in Canada,” Canadian head coach Jesse Marsch said following the match against Switzerland, admitting that he was “disappointed” the team couldn’t get the result needed to remain in Vancouver.

However, Marsch stated he was “proud” of the players’ response after going down 2-0.

“I know our team has heart. … We’re going to focus on the positives. We’re going to focus on the response (in the second half).”

Marsch has many decisions to make for the crucial match, especially deciding on whether star defender Alphonso Davies will lace up for the all-important match. Midfielder Stephen Eustáquio also sat out Wednesday’s match due to muscle tightness.

With all the firsts the Canadians are experiencing this tournament, the team is seeking to make their mark on the big stage.

“We got past our group; that’s something that we really wanted,” Eustáquio said following Wednesday’s match.

“Obviously wanted to stay in Vancouver for one or two more games … but we still have a World Cup to play so we’re going with everything to Los Angeles.”

The winner will advance to the Round of 16. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m., EST.

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

Landlords in the House: Advocates see a bias in Parliament against renters

WATCH: After much debate and discussion, the Canadian government’s signature housing legislation is now law. But the legislation, which received royal assent last week, is facing heavy criticism for ignoring demands from renters. Canada’s Parliament is full of landlords and homeowners. And as David Akin reports, advocates say that introduces an unacknowledged bias against Canadian renters.

When Prime Minister Mark Carney looks around his cabinet table, he sees nothing but homeowners and plenty of landlords.

A Global News analysis of the financial disclosures of all MPs as well as a series of follow-up questions to a select number of politicians has determined that every single person in Carney’s 38-person ministry — ministers plus secretaries of state — are homeowners. None of them rent their principal residence.

Not only are none of them renters — except, perhaps, of their secondary residence while in Ottawa — 38 per cent of Carney’s ministers are landlords, earning rental income or as investors in property management businesses or real estate investment trusts.

There is, for example, the immigration minister — Nova Scotia MP Lena Metlege Diab — who owns or co-owns 14 rental units in Halifax. Carney’s finance minister, Quebec MP François-Philippe Champagne, owns or co-owns a pair of rental properties in London, England. And the Secretary of State for International Development, B.C.’s Randeep Sarai, owns a half-dozen rental units in Burnaby and Surrey.

Carney’s assets are in a blind trust and so his status as a landlord is unknown even to him, but among the dozens of companies he used to own that are part of his disclosed conflict-of-interest screen, there are plenty that earn their income by extracting rent from commercial or residential tenants.

Meanwhile, in the House of Commons there are even more landlords: 103 MPs or their spouses have disclosed rental income, owning rental properties, or owning a business involved in renting or managing investment properties.

The landlord list in the House includes the Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre and 44 other Conservative MPs, 52 Liberal MPs (including those in cabinet), six Bloc Québecois MPs and one New Democrat: Alexandre Boulerice who reports on his disclosure form that his spouse earns rental income.

And at least 295 MPs own their principal residence while only a handful rent their principal residence in their riding.

The overwhelming weight in our national legislature of homeowners and landlords is not lost on those who advocate on behalf of the 30 per cent of Canadian households who are not homeowners and who pay rent every month to a landlord.

“I do find that those statistics are very helpful in calling attention to the power and politics of housing,” said Ricardo Trajan, who studies housing policy for the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and is the author of the 2023 book The Tenant Class.

“These stats cause us to pay attention to the simple political facts that tenants are underrepresented in city halls and in provincial legislatures, and in the Canadian Parliament, and that obviously it’s going to be harder to make the case for their policies if they’re not there.

Indeed, during committee hearings this spring on the Carney government’s signature housing bill, C-20: The Build Canada Homes Act, several advocates for tenants and renters asked the government to amend the bill to include more support for tenants and renters — things like vacancy control, security of tenure for renters, and a tenants’ bill of rights. Not a single amendment recommended by tenants advocates was adopted.

“It’s hugely disappointing, of course,” said Julieta Perucca, co-founder of the human rights group The Shift, which was one of the advocacy groups that submitted a brief to the House of Commons committee that studied C0-20.

“It shows that there is a bit of an institutional bias to keep the housing system working exactly as it is right now because it is the most profitable business in Canada — unfortunately for the rest of us, the tenants, the people who are trying to access home ownership and most acutely for those living in homelessness or housing precarity.”

The Global News analysis of MPs’ real estate assets and investments is drawn from financial disclosures every office holder must file with Parliament’s Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner. The commissioner’s office then publishes a summary of those disclosures. As of June 23, the disclosures for every cabinet minister and all but 11 of 343 MPs have been published.

The summary does not include the value of any asset or liability but does disclose, for example, the name of the stocks each one might own and what kind of outside income they or their spouse expect to earn in the next 12 months. Dozens of MPs listed shares or units in real estate investment trusts (REITs), investment vehicles set up precisely to earn profits on rents.

“Politicians themselves are homeowners or landlords and the interests of the tenants are not represented directly in their conversation,” Trajan said.

Are MPs, then, thinking about their investment portfolios when it comes to policies which would put more power in the hands of tenants at the expense of landlords?

I think it’s possible, yes,” said Perucca. “I think there would be a lot of different ideas proposed, but even if we’re not quite there yet, what about if our MPs didn’t have money tied up in real estate investment trusts and weren’t dependent on those strong returns from those real estate and investment trusts? Could that then maybe support how they legislate to change the status quo of these corporate landlords? I mean, we could ask ourselves that question. ”

So what did renters advocates want the government to do?

The DisAbled Women’s Network (DAWN) of Canada submitted a brief to the House of Commons committee that studied C-20 recommending, among other things, that the government should create a national “Renter Bill of Rights”. This initiative would shield tenants—particularly those with disabilities—from exploitation and “secondary victimization” by housing authorities or landlords.

The Trudeau government, in its 2024 budget, did, in fact, try to do this.

“This is a really important document that talks about ensuring that tenants have rights they can vindicate, including in front of tribunals and, potentially, courts of law,” then-justice minister Arif Virani told the House of Commons on April 18, 2024. But the Trudeau government’s tenants’ bill of rights needed provinces to sign on. They did not and the initiative died.

Sources in the Carney government say current Housing and Infrastructure Minister Gregor Robertson is working on a successor to the Trudeau-era tenants’ bill of rights.

But the committee studying C-20 considered — and rejected — other suggestions. To address the immediate threat of homelessness, Samuel Watts of the Welcome Hall Mission and Tim Ross of the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada urged the government to implement a targeted rental protection fund designed to keep current tenants in their homes and prevent evictions.

Another group, the Front d’action populaire en réaménagement urbain (FRAPRU), asked MPs on the C-20 committee to shift the definition of “affordable housing”  away from market rent benchmarks and instead towards a tenants’ ability to pay. The suggestion was ignored.

Perucca’s group, The Shift, argued that security of tenure should be a mandatory legal condition for any developer receiving financial assistance through the newly created Build Canada Homes agency. Liberal MPs on the committee, who have the majority, declined to recommend such an amendment.

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

Stampeders spoil Lions’ party with 41-33 win

KELOWNA – There wasn’t a shortage of touchdowns — nine in total — but when the dust settled, Vernon Adams Jr. and the Calgary Stampeders played spoiler by prevailing 41-33 over the B.C. Lions on Saturday evening for their first win of the young CFL season.

“I’m just glad to come out on top this time,” Stampeders receiver Tevin Jones said after suffering two close losses, including one in overtime, to start the 2026 campaign.

He hauled in the only touchdown of the third quarter, a 56-yarder with 1:06 remaining, to keep Calgary ahead by two scores at 31-17.

More than 19,000 fans attended the opener of Touchdown Kelowna at the Apple Bowl, with the Lions punted from B.C. Place in Vancouver for the FIFA World Cup, but Adams Jr. delivered three touchdown passes to defeat his former team.

“V.A. is a strong leader. Everybody gets behind him, and he just slings the ball around,” said Jones. “So as long as we keep doing that, we’ll be all right.”

Nathan Rourke, who replaced Adams Jr. as B.C.’s starter, resulting in his trade to Calgary, had a strong first half — matching Adams Jr.’s effort to that point, with two passing touchdowns — but couldn’t rally the Lions in the fourth quarter as they slipped to 0-3.

“That’s usually a sticking point that the media likes to go to. It’s all respect and admiration for me, to V.A.,” Rourke said of their rivalry. “He made some big plays. He did a really good job protecting the ball. Hats off to V.A., he played very well, and we had to do a better job just finishing drives. I thought we left some things out there.

“We just got to continue to control what we can control. It’s very easy at this point, you’re 0-3, to point fingers everywhere else. But I think it’s more important to look at yourself in the mirror and try to figure out how you can improve. And that’s what I’m going to do.”

His coach agreed on that front, with special teams, turnovers and penalties preventing the Lions from getting into the win column and giving the fans more reason to celebrate.

“The crowd showed up for us,” said bench boss Buck Pierce, who also serves as the Lions’ offensive coordinator. “Momentum and excitement … you need to make sure, as a football team, you’re able to sustain that. It can’t be peaks and valleys, and we had too many of those tonight.”

The Stampeders improved to 1-2 after getting touchdowns from five different players and a record-tying field goal for this stadium.

Adams Jr. connected with Dedrick Mills, Jalen Philpot and Jones through the air, with Calgary also getting a rushing touchdown from Quincy Vaughn and a 90-yard punt return from Tyreik McAllister as their exclamation point in the final frame.

Jude McAtamney rounded out Calgary’s scoring with two field goals, including a 57-yarder — equalling the longest here, a mark previously established by Steven Shott of the Okanagan Sun junior program before going on to play for the Lions.

“The fans were great. I don’t know where they came from, but they came. There’s a lot of people out here giving good energy, and I felt it. We all felt it,” said Jones. “And we’re always gonna put points on the board when we feel the energy like that, so shout out to Kelowna.”

Rourke put on a good show too, with TD tosses to Zander Horvath, Jermaine Jackson and Hergy Mayala. Horvath added a late score on the ground, and Sean Whyte kicked a 36-yard field goal to account for B.C.’s offence.

“This felt like a home game for us. It was awesome,” Rourke said of the atmosphere. “I know it’s been a long time cooking, a lot of planning, a lot of people involved. From our perspective, it was fantastic. And we just wish that we would have played a little bit better for the crowd because they deserve that. And hopefully we can get it done next week.”

KEY MOMENT

B.C.’s Silas Bolden fumbled on a kickoff return late in the second quarter, allowing Calgary to score two touchdowns just over a minute apart for a 10-point lead at halftime.

That was a huge momentum swing after Rourke had the crowd roaring en route to the Lions’ first lead. Adams Jr. responded with a six-yard TD pass to Philpot with 1:09 remaining in the second quarter, then quickly marched the Stampeders back into scoring territory and Vaughn plunged in from two yards out with three seconds left to capitalize on that special teams turnover.

KEY STAT

The quarterback battle lived up to its billing, with Rourke throwing for 462 yards — running that total up with the Lions chasing in the second half. He finished 32-of-42 with three touchdowns and one interception — picked off deep in Stampeders’ territory on the Lions’ third possession of the first quarter, when Zy Alexander stepped in front of his intended receiver at the three-yard line.

Adams Jr. completed 19-of-27 for 229 yards with three TDs and no interceptions.

At halftime, their stats were almost identical: Rourke 12-17 for 176 yards and Adams Jr. 12-18 for 124 yards.

UP NEXT

Stampeders: Host the Toronto Argonauts (2-1) on Thursday.

Lions: Host the Edmonton Eskimos (3-0) on Saturday, July 4, in Kelowna.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 27, 2026.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

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