In the 1980s, hardcore punk was among the hardest, heaviest, and most intense genres in this arm of the galaxy. It was very heavy with testosterone. Speaking generally, the music was angry, confrontational, and anti-establishment. Sometimes anti-everything. The bands took no prisoners, and neither did audiences. Gigs could be very intense, places where rage was burned off with slam dancing, mosh pits, circle pits, crowd surfing, and stage diving that looked like an army battalion heading over a cliff at full speed. We had bands like Black Flag, Circle Jerks, Agnostic Front, the Cro-Mags, and Bad Brains. But the scene also had room for Hüsker Dü, a band from Minneapolis that introduced more melody into hardcore. And D.C. gave us Minor Threat, who, while still maintaining that hardcore spirit, lived a drug-free and alcohol-free lifestyle that they called “straight edge.” Sometime in the late ’80s, people plugged into the hardcore punk subculture started talking about a new flavour that grew out of whatever Hüsker Dü and Minor Threat were having. There were groups like Rites of Spring, Embrace, and Fugazi. Their music was still loud, hard, and often very fast, but there was something different about the lyrics… They were personal, honest, and even vulnerable… Things could get screamy, but there was no mistaking the emotion that came through… When Gen X entered their coming-of-age years in the 1990s, this emotional punk found itself rippling through the alternative nation… Its DNA showed up in bands like Nirvana and Weezer, while newer groups such as Sunny Day Real Estate and Jawbreaker stayed closer to the emotional punk playbook while also incorporating some of the sensibilities of ’90s indie rock. A couple of parts of North America really embraced this. The Midwest of the U.S. and the Northeast: New York, New Jersey, and parts of New England. By the end of the decade, emo—we’d already been calling it that for a while—started experiencing wider success. Jimmy Eat World, Alkaline Trio, Dashboard Confessional, Saves the Day. This set the stage for the main event: the emo explosion of the early aughts. And while many of the original bands continue to do their thing, one group in particular is doing better than ever. They took a genre built in tiny clubs and scaled it to stadiums. Yes, I’m talking about My Chemical Romance. But it wasn’t eas. This is a band with a career filled with trauma. Here are ten of them. Songs heard on this show (all by My Chemical Romance)

• • Skylines and Turnstiles

• • Helena

• • I’m Not Okay (I Promise)

• • Famous Last Words

• • Welcome to the Black Parade

• • The Only Hope for Me is You

• • Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)

• • Boy Division

• • Fake Your Death

• • Foundations of Decay

This is Eric Wilhite’s playlist. The Ongoing History of New Music can be heard on these stations:

• • 102.1 The Edge/Toronto – Sunday night at 7pm

• • Q107/Toronto – Sunday night at 9pm

• • Live 88-5/Ottawa – Saturdays at 9am and Sundays at 6pm

• • 107.5 Dave-FM/Kitchener – Sunday nights at 11pm

• • FM96/London – Sunday nights at 8pm

• • Power 97/Winnipeg – Sunday nights at 10am and 10pm

• • 107-3 The Edge/Calgary – Sundays at 10am and 10pm

• • Sonic 102.9/Edmonton – Sunday at 8am and 8pm

• • The Zone/Victoria – Sunday at 9am and 9pm

• • The Fox/Vancouver – Sundays at 10am and 10pm

• • The Goat Network/Interior BC

• • WAPS/WKTL The Summit/Arkon, Canton, Cleveland, Youngstown – Mon-Fri at 9pm

 

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

When System of a Down was working on the Toxicity album, there was a lot of tension within the group, tension that led to actual fistfights. One night in the studio, drummer John Dolmayan punched guitarist Daron Malakian. He responded by slamming Dolmayan with a mic stand. Both of them ended up in the same emergency ward that night, getting stitched up next to each other.

When the album came out in September 2004, the band had a free concert planned for a parking lot in Hollywood. They figured about a thousand people would show up. Instead, the gig attracted 10,000 people. When fire marshals cancelled the gig, there was a riot. The crowd rushed the stage and destroyed about $30,000 worth of gear. Cops had to fire on the crowd with rubber bullets. Six people were arrested.

And while the gig was a disaster, it made System of a Down more famous than ever.

© 2026 Corus Radio, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Brandon Duhaime walked into an unfamiliar locker room back in September.

Teddy Blueger and Zack MacEwen were in the same boat after the Maple Leafs’ summer roster renovation.

After some early hiccups, Toronto has found a fourth line that can help set the tone — and when the opportunity arises, put the puck in the net.

Duhaime, Blueger and MacEwen combined for seven points Thursday in their new team’s roller-coaster 5-4 victory over the New York Rangers.

“Our game is not really going to be judged on offence,” said Duhaime, who finished with a goal and two assists, including on Troy Stecher’s late winner. “Our game is going to be more about momentum swings and playing the right way, defending hard.

“Any time you can chip in offensively, it feels good.”

All signed in free agency in July as part of general manager John Chayka’s reimagined forward group, the trio was put together last week by head coach Jim Hiller when MacEwen was inserted into the lineup after sitting out six straight games.

Thursday was an example of how a straight-line approach and identity can be an effective tool for a club that also boasts offensive flair from the likes of Auston Matthews and William Nylander.

“Fast, predictable, hard hockey,” said MacEwen, who finished with a pair of assists. “We know what each one of us is going to do with the puck. We want to get it behind their defence, we want to wear defence down, we want to set it up for the next line. When we get rewarded, that’s great.

“We know what our job is.”

Blueger and Duhaime scored their first goals for Toronto against New York after a fruitless 10 games.

“Nothing was going in,” said Blueger, who also had an assist as part of a two-point performance. “Our attitude, our mindset didn’t change. It’s hard because you’re judged on results.

“You try not to focus on the results and just keep your mentality, your attitude, your work ethic the same no matter what.”

Hiller was thrilled to see some of his lesser-known lights get rewarded.

“They do the dirty work,” he said. “They’re blocking shots, getting all the forechecks going … that’s what makes the night extra special.”

Depth scoring has been an issue throughout the Matthews era in Toronto. Getting contributions from the fourth line every so often would be a massive boost.

“They’re ultimate pros,” Stecher said of Duhaime, Blueger and MacEwen. “They’ve been around, they have experience. Felt like we were kind of sluggish (against New York). They dragged us in the fight.”

Blueger and Duhaime are also key pieces on the NHL’s top-ranked penalty killing unit that snuffed out 29 straight opposition chances.

“Guys just putting their bodies on the line, blocking shots,” Duhaime said. “We’re aggressive. We’re attacking teams.”

The same can be said at even strength when MacEwen rejoins the fray.

“Every game you get to build that momentum and to build that chemistry is really important,” Duhaime said. “Just going to keep snowballing.”

“Any time you’re on a fourth line, you’ve got to bring it every day,” he added. “There’s no games off.”

AMPED UP

Stecher’s winner with 26.3 seconds left in regulation set off wild celebrations on the ice, the bench and in the stands. A journeyman defenceman before arriving in Toronto, the 32-year-old has embraced life in hockey’s biggest media market.

“There’s so much passion around the city and so much love for the Leafs that, as a player, it’s really hard not to feel,” Stecher said. “It’s a big-time fan base. I feel fortunate to be a part of it.”

CLOSE CALL

Maple Leafs blueliner Jake McCabe took an ugly high stick from Columbus Blue Jackets forward Kent Johnson in Tuesday’s 6-2 victory.

Sporting a blackened, bloodshot left eye Thursday morning, there was a level of frustration following the incident.

“Guys can take better care of their sticks, for sure, but obviously it’s an accident,” McCabe said. “I’m not going to fault him for that, but just a general consensus: I’ve gotten a couple high sticks the last three, four games, and they seem to be from younger players.

“Keep your stick down.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2026.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

EDMONTON – While the Edmonton Oilers’ big guns continue to make a lot of noise, another weapon was added to their arsenal and paid immediate dividends on Thursday.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored the shootout winner in his first game of the season as the Oilers came back for a 6-5 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes.

Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid each shone with two goals and three assists apiece for the Oilers (8-1-1), who have won three straight and seven of their last eight.

The Oilers trailed 4-2 to start the third but battled back to tie the game before falling behind again with just 2:40 to play.

They forced extra time with their goalie pulled with 1:28 remaining. McDavid sent a shot on net that deflected off Jesperi Kotkaniemi’s skate before sliding into the net.

“I’ve seen it all year just watching the team battle and compete no matter what the score is and what the time of the game is,” Nugent-Hopkins said. “I thought we really came on in the third and had a really good pushback. Down two goals to that team, that’s hard to do.

“It’s fun to be a part of and I’m definitely glad to be back out there.”

Nugent-Hopkins, who also scored in regulation and had an assist, returned after sustaining a lower-body injury during training camp. The 33-year-old became the franchise leader for most seasons played with the Oilers at 16.

Meanwhile, McDavid is on a legendary run with 31 points in just 10 games.

“What do you want me to say? It’s just not real,” Draisaitl said. “He’s maybe the greatest player to ever play, in my books. It’s a pleasure to share the ice with him, a pleasure to learn from him every day. He deserves everything.”

McDavid, who has points in every game this season, joined Mario Lemieux, Mike Bossy and Wayne Gretzky as the only NHL players to reach the 30-point mark in 10 games or fewer.

It’s his fifth career 10-game assist streak, passing Paul Coffey and Lemieux (both four times) for the second most in NHL history behind Gretzky (13 times). Of his 22 assists, 18 have been primary helpers.

Draisaitl himself is on a bit of a run, reaching 21 points with his own five-point performance. He has 10 goals on the season and extended his goal-scoring streak to five games, during which he has seven goals.

“They’re going in right now,” he said. “There are going to be times where it’s not going to go in as easy, then there’s times where you seem to get two for three nights in a row. I know how this goes.

“I’m trying to not read too much into the goal scoring or the points situation. It can be fluky sometimes.”

New Oilers head coach Mike Babcock has seen a number of impressive showings of late.

“I thought Leon might have had his best game tonight, just so competitive,” he said. “(Vasily Podkolzin) was unbelievably competitive. But I thought (Nugent-Hopkins) in the second half of the game was a star for a guy who’s got to be legless.”

Devon Levi made 22 stops for the Oilers. He was perfect in the shootout session.

Jackson Blake, Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis, Logan Stankhoven and Juuso Valimaki replied for the Hurricanes (8-2-2). The reigning Stanley Cup champions have lost two of their last three games.

Jarvis, who also played his first game of the season following off-season shoulder surgery, said McDavid and Draisaitl were in top form.

“They’re incredible, they’re two of the best players in the world,” he said. “It takes everybody in here and everybody got their chances with them and just making sure we’re aware when they’re on the ice.

“Some nights that’s going to happen and you can see why they’re so highly regarded.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2026.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

OTTAWA – Back-to-back games are a reality for all NHL teams but the Ottawa Senators have struggled with them this year.

Despite posting a season-high 43 shots, the Senators dropped a 6-2 decision to the San Jose Sharks on Thursday, one night after an emotional win over the Florida Panthers.

Ottawa (7-4-0) is now 0-3 on the back half of back-to-back games. The Senators will play on consecutive days seven more times this season.

A few defensive miscues proved costly against the Sharks.

Ottawa surrendered a short-handed goal and then another goal just seconds after a power play expired, leaving head coach Travis Green frustrated with his team’s special-teams play.

“Our power play’s got to be better,” Green said. “They can’t just give up goals. That’s for sure.”

The Senators will need to lock down their defensive play for the next couple weeks as they deal with Linus Ullmark’s absence.

Ullmark was placed on injured reserve Thursday following a lower-body strain he suffered early in the third period Wednesday.

The earliest he could return is next Thursday, but it’s expected he’ll be out seven to 14 days.

Ullmark has been exceptional for the Senators. Entering Thursday’s games, he led the league with seven wins and a .945 save percentage, while his 1.33 goals-against average ranked second.

His strong play has been a major factor in Ottawa’s early-season success. In his absence, the Senators will turn to Samuel Ersson, who has yet to register a win with the team.

Ersson has played the second game of all three back-to-backs this season and lost each one.

“He was fine,” Green said. “He gave us a good enough game. I can’t pin this game on him, that’s for sure.”

Ersson was a little more critical of his performance and knows he needs to be better with Ullmark sidelined.

“I mean it’s fun, you want to play, but I obviously (have) to play a whole lot better,” he said. “It (hasn’t) been good, not near good enough.”

Ersson is hoping more starts might help him find his game. Ottawa hosts the New York Rangers on Saturday before heading west for a four-game trip that includes a stop in Vegas and visits to all three teams in California.

“It’s just about finding a way, that’s what it’s all about,” Ersson said.

Asked if there’s one specific area of his game he’d like to improve, Ersson said it was more of an “overall thing.”

“Obviously, you talk about timely saves, that’s kind of the big thing,” he said. “You’ve got to find ways to come up with the big saves at the right time for the team. So when you boil it down, that’s what it’s all about.”

The Senators could also turn to Jonas Johansson, who has 93 NHL starts and a 43-36-14 record. He’s been with Ottawa’s American Hockey League affiliate in Belleville.

Ottawa acquired the 31-year-old from the Tampa Bay Lightning last month for future considerations. The move came after Leevi Merilainen was claimed off waivers by the Vancouver Canucks, leaving the Senators with little goaltending depth.

Ersson says he doesn’t feel any additional pressure knowing Ullmark could be out for a couple weeks.

“I’ve played hockey for a long time and I know how to do it,” Ersson said. “So, it’s just about me finding a way to kind of come back to myself. Just settle down a little bit and play my game.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2026.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

The biggest songs. The hottest stars. The stories behind the songs.

Every week, American Country Countdown with Ryan Fox counts down the Top 30 songs in Country music, featuring exclusive artist interviews, songwriter insights, and the latest news from Nashville.

Catch American Country Countdown with Ryan Fox every Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon on CISN Country 103.9 Edmonton and Country 105 Calgary.

Lauren Alaina and Chase Matthew have reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart with “All My Exes.” The duet jumps four spots to the top, giving Alaina her fourth No. 1 and Matthew his second.

“All My Exes” is from Lauren Alaina’s fourth studio album, Stages, released August 28. Written by Alaina, Ben Johnson, Jimmie Gutch and Whitney Phillips, the song was inspired by an argument Lauren had with an ex-boyfriend in downtown Nashville when she was in her early twenties. After several years of rewrites, it eventually became a duet with Chase Matthew.

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Lauren Alaina and Chase Matthew shared their excitement on Instagram, thanking country radio and everyone who helped make their No. 1 possible.

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Lauren’s husband, Cameron Arnold, had a hand in bringing Chase Matthew onto “All My Exes.” Lauren and Chase became friends while touring with Jason Aldean in 2024, and Cameron was convinced they’d make a great pairing on the song. He reached out to Chase himself, encouraging him to record it with Lauren. When Lauren later played Chase the song, he pretended he was hearing it for the first time, even though Cameron had already let him in on the idea.

For Lauren, this latest No. 1 is another milestone in a career that began on American Idol in 2011. In a personal Instagram video, she reflects on 15 years of chasing her country music dreams, the sacrifices along the way and her gratitude to country radio.

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Lauren’s latest album, Stages, tells the story of that journey. Released August 28, the 17-song collection reflects on her life growing up in Rossville, Georgia, chasing her dreams in Nashville and becoming a wife and mother. Through heartbreak, love, loss and new beginnings, Lauren says the album is her story from beginning to end.

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From an idea that began during the pandemic to a No. 1 hit on country radio, “All My Exes” has been quite a journey for Lauren Alaina and Chase Matthew. Here’s the official music video for the song that brought them together.

 

© 2026 Corus Radio, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

EDMONTON – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored the shootout winner to give the Edmonton Oilers a 6-5 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night.

Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid both shone with two goals and three assists apiece for the Oilers (8-1-1) who have won three straight and seven of their last eight.

Nugent-Hopkins, who also had an assist, scored the other goal in regulation.

Oilers goalie Devon Levi made 22 stops.

Jackson Blake, Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis, Logan Stankhoven and Juuso Valimaki replied for the Hurricanes (8-2-2). The reigning Stanley Cup champions have lost two of their last three games.

Brandon Bussi recorded 16 saves for Carolina.

TAKEAWAYS

Hurricanes: Jarvis scored in his first game of the season, making his debut following off-season shoulder surgery. The 24-year-old has had more than 30 goals in each of the last three seasons.

Oilers: Nugent-Hopkins also scored in his season debut, returning after sustaining a lower-body injury during training camp. The 33-year-old became the franchise leader for most seasons played with the Oilers at 16.

KEY MOMENT

Edmonton tied the game with their goalie pulled with 1:28 to play. McDavid sent a shot on net that deflected off Jesperi Kotkaniemi’s skate for his eighth goal of the season.

KEY STAT

McDavid, who has points in every game this season, extended his league-leading point totals to 31 in just 10 games. He joined Mario Lemieux, Mike Bossy and Wayne Gretzky as the only NHL players to reach the 30-point mark in 10 games or fewer.

UP NEXT

Hurricanes: Conclude a five-game road trip in St. Louis on Saturday.

Oilers: Continue their homestand against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2026.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

Nursing a three-game losing skid, the Winnipeg Jets were hoping to turn things around in Dallas Thursday night.

For a while, it looked like they were going to, but they were unable to protect the lead late in the third period before falling 3-2 in overtime to the Stars.

Roope Hintz evened the score for the Stars with the goalie out and only two minutes left and Hintz struck again on a breakaway in overtime to force the Jets to settle for a single point.

But the Jets were badly outchanced throughout the night, getting outshot by a wide margin 38-19.

“I think Stu (Skinner) kinda got us a point there to be honest with you,” said Jets forward Gabriel Vilardi. “They were better than us tonight. Their structure – they play a really tight-checking game and we couldn’t get much going offensively I felt personally.

“I think the details of our D-zone game were really good, and our neutral zone were really good, but I mean, they obviously outplayed us and when you give up that many chances, Stu can’t stop everything.”

Vilardi scored his first goal of the season in the win, while Kyle Connor notched the other marker for Winnipeg.

The Jets are now 0-3 in overtime games this season and have dropped five of their last six games overall.

“We gave up two five-on-six goals and an overtime goal,” said Jets head coach Scott Arniel. “So, did a lot better things than in the St. Louis game. There’s still some things we got to work on, but at the end of the day, it was closer to how we wanted to play. That’s a good team over there that push you hard. They got a lot of depth up front with their scoring and we had some good chances, some good looks as well.

“It’s a tough division. We got our point and we’ll have to move on and go home and make sure we get the next two.”

The Jets went a long stretch to start the second period without a shot on goal. They were outshot 12-6 in the first, 14-8 in the second, and 11-4 in the third period. But Skinner made some fantastic saves among his 35 stops.

“It’s tough to lose that point,” said Skinner. “Obviously a divisional matchup, really tight in points with all the four guys that are above us now.

“So, those were big points. Yeah, it’s tough to lose that way especially like we felt like we had it in the bag going into the 6-on-5.”

Brayden Yager made his season debut for the Jets after his recent callup from the Manitoba Moose. He was stopped on a breakaway and had just over 14 minutes of ice time in just his fourth career NHL game.

“He did some good things,” said Arniel. “That’s a fast game. That’s a good team. Had a great look on the shorthanded breakaway. Would have loved to see that go in but a lot of good things he did.”

The Jets had a 0-3-1 record versus the Stars last season and haven’t beat Dallas since the 2025 playoffs.

Nino Niederreiter had to leave the game in the third period after taking some friendly fire with a high stick from teammate Tyrel Bauer.

Mario Ferraro appeared in his 500th career NHL game, while Cole Perfetti hit another milestone with game number 300.

Neither side found the back of the net during the first 20 minutes. Dallas failed on their lone power play while Winnipeg had 3:50 of unsuccessful 5-on-4 time.

Things got much more eventful in the second period, and it didn’t take long for the action to pick up.

With a penalty pending against the Jets, Dallas pulled their goalie and took advantage as they were able to find a wide-open Wyatt Johnston who put one past a diving Skinner just 77 seconds into the period.

The Stars continued to ramp up the pressure in the first half of the period, outshooting the Jets 10-2 over the first 9:11 of the second.

But Winnipeg began to turn things near the midway point. With Dallas on another power play, Yager was sprung on a breakaway and was denied by Jake Oettinger, but it seemed to ignite a shift in the Jets’ level of play.

About a minute later, after Winnipeg killed off the penalty, they tied the game. After the Jets won a puck battle below the goal line in the Dallas zone, Alex Iafallo got the puck and sent it back to Dylan Samberg at the point.

His wrist shot was handled by Oettinger, who thought he had the puck frozen, but it was sitting on top of his pad and Vilardi dug it out before slamming it into the net for a pressure-relieving first goal of the season.

Less than two minutes later, Winnipeg took their first lead of the night.

Dallas had the chance to clear the puck but botched a breakout, resulting in the puck landing on the stick of Neal Pionk at the left point. He skated it towards the middle of the ice before sliding a pass across to Connor that the Jets’ leading scorer sniped into the back of the net for his ninth of the season.

Each side had some decent chances to find the back of the net as the period wound down. Viggo Bjorck had a great look in tight for his first NHL goal but was denied by Oettinger while Skinner had to show off some lightning-quick reflexes to pull a bouncing puck off the goal line in the final seconds.

The Jets almost built on their lead when a wrist shot from Samberg rang off the post about four minutes into the final frame.

Winnipeg was unable to generate much on a power play midway through the period, and the game stayed 2-1 for much of the third before an icing call with just under 2:30 to go.

With the faceoff in the offensive end, Dallas decided to pull the goalie and with exactly two minutes left on the clock, the Stars drew level.

The puck was cycled behind the Winnipeg goal to Mikko Rantanen, who held onto it for a moment before spotting Hintz cutting to the front of the net. Rantanen passed it to his fellow Finn who made no mistake.

Just 16 seconds after Hintz scored, Tyler Myers sent the puck over the glass in his own end, giving Winnipeg a glorious opportunity to take the lead back but they were unable to generate much of anything before the final horn sounded.

It took a couple of minutes for the chaos to begin in overtime but once it did, the teams went up and down the ice. Bjorck made a great play to deny Jason Robertson in the Winnipeg end, springing an odd man rush that Winnipeg hoped would end the game.

Instead, a Pionk wrist shot was blocked by Robertson, sending the puck to the corner where Miro Heiskanen got there first as Hintz started to skate up the ice. Heiskanen sent an area pass to Hintz with nobody around him, he collected it, walked in alone on Skinner and fired a shot five-hole to end the game.

Skinner did all he could, stopping 35 shots while Oettinger only had to make 17 saves to get the win.

Winnipeg now heads home to take part in the much-anticipated Heritage Classic Sunday against Montreal at Princess Auto Stadium.

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

Crime and public safety are emerging as key issues in Kelowna Centre, where candidates from the BC NDP, BC Conservatives and OneBC say addressing safety concerns is a priority ahead of the provincial election.

“Undoubtedly it comes down to making streets safer,” said NDP candidate Loyal Wooldridge.

“The number one issue is crime and safety,” said Conservative candidate Kristina Loewen.

OneBC candidate Bill Desrosiers also identified crime as a major concern.
“The biggest thing for me right now is crime,” Desrosiers said.

The riding is drawing attention after the 2024 election, when Loewen narrowly defeated Wooldridge by just 40 votes.

The result made Kelowna Centre one of the closely watched battlegrounds in a region traditionally considered a Conservative stronghold.

Now, the two candidates are facing off again, with the NDP hoping to win the riding.

BC NDP Leader David Eby has made several campaign commitments in Kelowna, including expanding capacity at Kelowna General Hospital.

“Our government is committed to put $30 million into Kelowna General Hospital to build out the sixth-floor inpatient unit,” Eby said.

The NDP has also pledged to create 75 involuntary treatment beds at the Oliver correctional centre.

Wooldridge says the party has a detailed plan to fund and deliver on its commitments.

“We’re the only party that has a costed plan with these commitments that are built into how we’re going to pay for it and how we’re actually going to execute those commitments,” Wooldridge said.

Loewen, however, questions whether voters should trust the NDP to follow through on its promises.

“Why would we believe the NDP? They’ve come to Kelowna many times in the last two elections, promising many things, and they’ve failed to deliver on all of them,” Loewen said.

She pointed to the NDP’s 2024 promise to replace the aging Cottonwoods care home, a project that was later put on hold.

While Loewen did not outline specific commitments for Kelowna Centre on addiction and mental health, she said the BC Conservatives have strategies planned to address the issues.

“We have committed to a bunch of strategies and steps around that as Conservatives, and I look forward to that being implemented,” Loewen said.

Desrosiers says improving access to detox services is an important first step in helping people struggling with addiction.

“We have to be able to get these people when they come for help because right now that window is so narrow and there is nowhere for them to go,” he said.

With crime, health care and addiction among the issues being raised on the campaign trail, voters will soon decide which candidate they believe is best positioned to address the riding’s concerns.

The outcome could once again come down to a narrow margin in a race that was decided by just 40 votes in 2024.

 

 

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

A confrontation in a Langley parking lot was caught on camera.

Video circulating online appears to show a woman assaulting a driving instructor while saying, “Go back to your country.”

Langley RCMP confirmed to Global News that they are investigating the incident.

“What we know so far is that an assault that occurred was a dispute inside the parking lot between two individuals,” Cpl. Mansoor Sahak with Langley RCMP, said.

“One of them being a driving instructor, and the driving instructor was assaulted.”

Police said officers were called to the 4800 block of 207 Street around 9 a.m. on Wednesday.

The alleged assault happened in a church parking lot, which was empty at the time.

Police are not commenting on what may have led to the incident, but officers say they arrested a woman on scene for the alleged assault.

She has since been released and is expected to appear in court.

“This individual has not been charged, so you know there’s privacy concerns if I do share more details, so I won’t be able to get into details at this point,” Sahak said.

The driving school involved issued a statement, saying they are deeply concerned about what happened.

“We strongly condemn the racism and aggressive behaviour depicted in the video,” the statement read.

“The safety and well-being of our team members and customers remain the priority. Out of respect for the privacy of those involved and the ongoing police process, we are unable to comment further on the specific circumstances.”

RCMP is asking anyone who witnessed the incident to speak with investigators.

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