Ford says glowing comments about Chow were not an endorsement

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is walking away from his near-endorsement of Olivia Chow in Toronto’s mayoral race, saying his glowing words earlier this week were misinterpreted.

Ford was asked about work on a new funding deal for Toronto and whether he’d be endorsing anyone in the Toronto election.

“The mayor and I have a phenomenal relationship, phenomenal,” he told reporters.

“We’ve given the City of Toronto more money than they’ve ever seen in their lives — over $9 billion. We’re going to continue supporting the mayor. She’s doing an incredible job, so read between the lines.”

The glowing words were interpreted by Brad Bradford, Chow’s closet rival in the race, as an endorsement.

“Of course the premier endorsed Olivia Chow,” his team wrote in a news release immediately afterwards. “She is the easiest negotiation he has ever had. Everything she told Torontonians she would fight and oppose, she handed over on a silver platter.”

The premier’s office was silent on the issue for more than a day, suddenly issuing a statement to clarify that Ford hadn’t endorsed Chow some 30 hours after he made the comments.

“We would like to clarify that Premier Ford did not endorse Olivia Chow and will not endorse any candidate in the Toronto mayoral race,” Ford’s office wrote in a 6:30 p.m. statement on Thursday.

“The premier has demonstrated that he will work with anyone no matter their political stripe to advance the interests of the people of Ontario.”

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

Canada's privacy czar seeking information in massive driver's licence hack

A sweeping data breach is on the radar of the RCMP and FBI, with the scale appearing to be massive — possibly affecting more than 150 million people in Canada and the U.S. The hack is so widespread that it’s even made its way into U.S. President Donald Trump’s inner circle. Touria Izri has the latest.

Canada’s federal privacy commissioner office is “aware” and “engaged with the company” hit by a recent massive hack that appears to have exposed the driver’s licence data of millions of North Americans.

“The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) is aware of this matter and is engaged with the company to obtain more information, ensure that it is aware of its obligations under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), Canada’s federal private-sector privacy law, and determine next steps,” said the commissioner’s office in a statement to Global News.

According to the PIPEDA: “An organization shall report to the Commissioner any breach of security safeguards involving personal information under its control if it is reasonable in the circumstances to believe that the breach creates a real risk of significant harm to an individual.”

Examples of “significant harm” under that legislation include, but are not limited to “financial loss, identity theft, negative effects on the credit record.”

The spokesperson for the federal privacy commissioner was not able to confirm other specifics to Global News, and it is still not clear how many Canadians may have had their personal information exposed, including driver’s licences.

This comes after the RCMP confirmed to Global News earlier this week that it is “monitoring” the situation” and remain engaged with domestic and international law enforcement and cybersecurity partners as appropriate.”

Law enforcement officials haven’t named the company hit by the hack, but it has been widely reported to be IDScan.net after independent cyber security journalist Brian Krebs said he had discovered a dark web site selling digital scans of millions of driver’s licences from people in the U.S. and Canada. He said he confirmed the authenticity of the data being sold with nine people, Reuters reported.

Global News has not independently verified his data and neither the RCMP nor the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security said whether the numbers were accurate, but Krebs pegged the figures at roughly 153 million stolen identity documents from people in the United States and Canada.

Krebs said refining the search for Canadian driver’s licences yielded about 1.1 million results.

In a brief statement on Sept. 2, the U.S. FBI said it was “looking into the incident” but could not comment “due to the ongoing nature of the investigation.”

The source of the identify documents has not been confirmed by officials but Krebs quoted a representative of New Orleans-based identity verification provider IDScan.net as saying that it was investigating the matter.

On Sept. 4, IDScan.net had posted a statement saying that on or around Sept. 1, it became aware of data that may have been accessed without authorization.

It then “determined that an unauthorized third party may have accessed and/or copied certain customer information stored within their accounts on the IDScan.net cloud.”

Global News sent an initial request on Tuesday, and a follow-up on Thursday to IDScan.net asking if it knows how many Canadians may have had their data, IDs or other information compromised.

A spokesperson acknowledged receipt of both requests but did not provide a response.

Global News has asked RCMP, the Canadian Cyber Security Centre, and nearly a dozen provincial and federal government officials whether those numbers are accurate, but none have been able to provide a tally of the number of Canadians impacted.

Global News sent a request to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) asking if Prime Minister Mark Carney or anyone in his caucus had their information exposed. A spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree responded after the PMO deferred the request to them and said, “we will not be commenting on an ongoing investigation,” noting that was in reference to the FBI’s work.

The RCMP has not confirmed whether any investigation is currently underway in Canada, although the FBI in the U.S. has said it is “looking into the incident.”

Similar requests were also sent to opposition party leaders.

The Conservative Party, NDP, and Bloc Quebecois did not respond to a request for comment.

“The Green Party of Canada has just been made aware of the reported breach. While neither Elizabeth May nor anyone in the Green Party has been affected, we are deeply concerned about the exposure of North Americans’ personal data and believe that all available measures should be considered to protect Canadians and their personal information,” said a Green Party spokesperson in a statement.

Multiple provincial and territory authorities that handle driver’s licence registrations and renewals also responded to requests from Global News, but none were able to confirm how many people in their respective regions may have had their data compromised.

The breach could be one of the largest digital breaches of driver’s licence data in North American history, and with millions of people potentially having their sensitive data exposed, experts are urging everyone to be vigilant and aware of bad actors that could exploit that information.

IDScan.net said in its statement that those who may have been exposed to its breach will be contacted directly, and are being provided with access to free credit monitoring and identity protection services.

The breach means Canadians are especially at risk of falling victim to identity fraud and financial scams.

“Having actual driver’s licences out there is very, very risky because this is actually an ID: proof that is used for when you go to open a bank account, open a credit card, etc,” says Gururaj Saileshwar, a professor of cyber security and computer science at the University of Toronto.

“If somebody could get your driver’s licence, they could impersonate you and cause real harm, financial harm, identity theft, things like that. So the risk is very real, and given the size of the data breach, a large volume of people are affected.”

Saileshwar says that although this particular breach potentially exposed millions of peoples’ data, including driver’s licences, all Canadians should adopt safe habits and best practices online regardless if they are notified by IDScan.net, because most peoples’ personal information has likely been leaked online at one point or another.

“If you see an account that’s being opened for you, like a credit card that’s been opened for you, it’s important to take action and keep monitoring your credit scores,” says Saileshwar.

“If you are not looking to either apply for a loan or apply for a credit card, it’s probably a good practice to just freeze your credit so that there aren’t unauthorized accounts opened on your behalf.”

Saileshwar also says this breach signals that businesses need to do more to bolster their cyber defences as these breaches become more common.

“There really needs to be better security measures adopted, best practices adopted. Things like not storing data beyond what you need and making sure you’re having good access control and authorization for all of the sensitive data,” he says.

“Regulators and governments also need to make sure that the right regulations are in place, the right laws are in place to make sure companies are doing the due diligence both proactively and reactively in the event of these data breaches.”

“This isn’t going to be the last data breach. We’re only going to see more and more of these and we should make sure that we are learning from this and improving.”

Are you a Canadian who has been notified that your driver’s licence or other data may have been exposed during the IDScan.net cyber breach? We want to hear from you. Use the contact form below to let us know.

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

Zara Larsson condemns White House for using 'Midnight Sun' in ICE video

Pop star Zara Larsson is the latest artist to condemn the White House for using her music in a social media video to promote deportation.

The White House shared a TikTok video on Wednesday, showing footage of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arresting and deporting people while Larsson’s Midnight Sun plays in the background with the caption, “Never ending deportations.”

@whitehouse

Never ending deportations… ✨

♬ original sound – The White House

On Thursday, Larsson shared a response by stitching the White House’s video and said, “Like, I don’t even know what to say. I saw some comments. I got tagged in this obviously, and some people were like, ‘She’s going to be pissed.’ You know what? I’m just sad. I’m just really sad. That really makes me sad to see that, genuinely. My heart’s heavy.”

“I wish I could speak to whoever made this video. I wish I could talk to you and I wish I could help you remember that you and I, we aren’t that different. At all. And we’re not that different from the people in this video either. The biggest difference between us is that we were dealt a different hand in life,” Larsson continued.

The Swedish singer said that she considers herself “so lucky” with the life that she’s been dealt.

“The fact that I’m born in Sweden, I have healthcare, I’ve had an education and I’ve had all these opportunities just sort of laid out in front of me. I can travel and get to do all these amazing things. That’s luck, so much of that is luck. There are people out there who are not that lucky, and they want to have a better life for their families or for themselves and their children. I just don’t understand how it could be the worst thing in the world to be an undocumented immigrant,” the 28-year-old pop star said.

“I think, sure, if you want to talk about politics and immigration politics, fine. But that’s really not what this is. Like, this video is so dehumanizing. These people in this video are real people,” Larsson said. “There’s a f—ing guy in there with construction wear. He’s working. Half majority of these people who are undocumented are regular people with jobs and are just trying to have a better future.”

“I don’t understand why you would do this video,” Larsson continued. “It’s so crazy how everything is so meme-ified and and ha-ha-ha video, especially to this song, which is about feeling connected to nature, the universe and people, essentially. And this just creates this massive divide between people. I just don’t get it. It’s so f—-ing uncool… You guys are such f—-ing losers, like it’s crazy.”

@zaralarsson

#stitch with @The White House

♬ original sound – Zara Larsson

Global News has reached out to the White House for comment, but has not received a response.

This isn’t the first time Larsson has spoke out about the White House using her music in social media posts.

In January, the White House posted a video of U.S. President Donald Trump dancing to her song Lush Life with text on the screen that read, “We love America First, we love deportations. We love cheap gas prices. We love a secure border. We love world peace. We love law and order. We love work not welfare. WE LOVE ICE and our law enforcement!”

@whitehouse

WE LOVE AMERICA 🕺🧊

♬ original sound – The White House

Larsson took to Instagram to respond to the TikTok video, writing, “I love immigrants, I love criminals, I love trans people, I love abortions, I love queers, I love sl—y women, I love contraception, I love welfare, I love socialism, I f—ing hate ICE.”

The Symphony singer joins a long list of celebrities that have asked the White House not to use their music in ICE-related content on social media.

In July, Katy Perry said she was “deeply appalled” after the White House used her hit song Firework in a video of military strikes.

“Iran has been warned,” the White House wrote in the caption of the TikTok video showing “unclassified” missiles hitting targets, as Perry sings “boom, boom, boom, even brighter than the moon, moon, moon.”

“I am deeply appalled and angry to see Firework used on the White House TikTok account as a backing track for video footage of military strikes,” the 41-year-old singer wrote in a post on X. “I did not approve this, I was not asked, and I absolutely do not condone it.”

Perry said she wrote Firework as an anthem of “hope, healing, and inner strength for people going through their darkest personal moments.”

“To see a message of self-worth and upliftment weaponized to soundtrack destruction and violence is a complete violation of everything my song stands for,” Perry wrote. “My music is for bringing people together, not celebrating warfare.”

https://x.com/katyperry/status/2081032309508047136

When Global News reached out to the White House for comment, they shared the link to deputy assistant to Trump and deputy communications director Kaelan Dorr’s response on X to Perry’s post.

Dorr shared a montage of clips from Perry’s Part of Me music video, where the singer is seen joining the U.S. Marines.

“This you?” Dorr wrote in the tweet alongside the video.

https://x.com/Kaelan47/status/2081091891802579233

In June, Ariana Grande told Trump’s administration to stop using her music to promote its policies.

The comment came after the White House shared a video on TikTok highlighting its immigration policy. The video, which depicts federal ​agents arresting and handcuffing people, features the Grammy Award-winning ​singer’s 2024 song Bye.

“Please do not ever use my music ⁠in relation to this barbaric, inhumane, heinous nonsense,” Grande ​wrote in a comment posted on the White House video on ​TikTok.

Responding ​to Grande, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said: “We’ll say this ​one last time: what’s actually barbaric, inhumane, and heinous are the criminal illegal ‌aliens ⁠who have injured and murdered innocent American citizens.”

In December, pop star Sabrina Carpenter condemned the White House for using her song Juno in a United States ICE video depicting ICE raids.

The video, shared to The White House’s official X account, shows ICE officers detaining people while quoting lyrics from Carpenter’s song in the caption.

“Have you ever tried this one? Bye-bye,: the White House X account wrote in the post attached to the video featuring Carpenter’s song, followed by a pair of waving and heart eyes emojis.

“This video is evil and disgusting,” Carpenter, 27, wrote in response. “Do not ever involve me or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda.”

https://x.com/SabrinaAnnLynn/status/1995876972405420114

The White House defended its immigration policy after Carpenter criticized it.

“Here’s a Short n’ Sweet message for Sabrina Carpenter: we won’t apologize for deporting dangerous criminal illegal murderers, rapists, and pedophiles from our country. Anyone who would defend these sick monsters must be stupid, or is it slow?” White House spokesperson Jackson said in a statement, using another Carpenter reference from her song Manchild.

—With files from Reuters

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

Winnipeg woman accused of criminal harassment spanning 15 years

A Winnipeg woman is facing a slew of charges for the alleged long-term harassment of several people.

Eleven victims were targeted over 15 years, according to the Winnipeg Police Service (WPS). They include family members, former acquaintances, co-workers, media members and legal professionals.

The alleged harassment began in 2011 and continued until this year, the service said.

“The duration of contact varied by victim, ranging from several months to more than a decade,” WPS continued.

The woman sent hundreds of text messages, emails and letters to victims, as well as phone calls, police said. She is also accused of finding victims in person and speaking with them or leaving gifts.

The 58-year-old woman was arrested after police carried out a search warrant at a property in the 400 block of Stradbrook Avenue Sept. 3. Police also seized multiple electronic devices.

The woman is facing seven counts of criminal harassment and two counts of uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm. She was also charged with breaking and entering with intent to commit theft, attempting to obstruct justice, intimidation of a justice system participant, public defamatory libel known to be false and public mischief.

She remains in custody.

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

Peterborough man facing murder charge in 2024 case of missing person

An 81-year-old Peterborough, Ont., man is facing a second-degree murder charge in connection with a 2024 disappearance.

Ontario Provincial Police announced the charge on Friday, more than two years after a missing person report was filed.

On Jan. 7, 2024, police began investigating after a family member reported that they had been unable to reach 58-year-old Michael Walker and were concerned for his well-being.

The Norland, Ont., man couldn’t be located, and police later gathered evidence that led them to believe Walker’s disappearance was the result of foul play.

On Wednesday, Bazil Walker was arrested and charged with second-degree murder and indignity to a dead body.

He is expected to appear in court on Sept. 24.

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

Toronto police seize 2 dogs over attack beside off-leash area

Toronto police say it’s found two dogs that allegedly attacked another dog and its owner over the weekend.

On Sept. 12, police said they were told about an animal complaint around Avenue Road and Roxborough Street, which had happened two days earlier.

Investigators said a woman had two dogs in the off-leash area in the park, while the victim was walking their dog on a leash nearby.

The two dogs allegedly escaped the off-leash area and attacked both the victim and their dogs. The dog suffered life-threatening injuries and the owner was also hurt.

Police had already arrested a woman over the attack and announced Friday the dogs had also been seized.

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

Remains of Esther Jones recovered two years after homicide

Police in Nova Scotia say the remains of Esther Jones, who was the victim of a homicide, have been recovered two years after her death.

Dale Allen Toole, 56, was initially charged with first-degree murder in her death, but her body had never been found. Earlier this month, Toole pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of second-degree murder.

RCMP say the Southwest Nova RCMP Major Crime Unit located the remains in a wooded area in Cloud Lake, south of Greenwood, N.S., on Sept. 9.

The Nova Scotia Medical Examiner Service has since confirmed they belong to Jones, RCMP added.

The 55-year-old music teacher was reported missing from Torbrook, N.S., in Annapolis County, on Sept. 2, 2024, and was last seen at the Kingston Bible College in Greenwood two days earlier.

On Sept. 13, 2024, RCMP revealed that their investigation into Jones’ disappearance had identified enough information to lay a charge of first-degree murder against Toole.

Toole had been detained by American authorities at the Houston airport, just before attempting to board a plane to Mexico. He was returned to Canada and arrested upon arrival in Toronto.

At Toole’s first court appearance in September 2024, Jones’ friends and family showed up to share their memories of her and to show support for her family.

“I want her to be remembered as the kind, loving, sweet sister and community member that she was. Where she was forever trying to make somebody else’s life better,” her sister, Margery Parker, told Global News at the time.

Cpl. Mike Robinson, a spokesperson for the major crime unit, said investigators hope the recovery will bring a sense of closure.

“The dedication and perseverance of the investigative team, together with the support of our policing partners, were instrumental in advancing this investigation,” he said in a news release.

“We’re grateful to Esther’s family and the community for their support throughout the investigation and court process. We hope this recovery provides answers to outstanding questions and helps bring a measure of closure and healing to those closest to Esther.”

Toole is scheduled to return to court on Oct. 16.

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

Three-vehicle crash kills 3 people in eastern Ontario: OPP

Three people are dead after a three-vehicle collision near the Ontario-Quebec border, Ontario Provincial Police say.

OPP said officers were called to County Road 17 near County Road 27 in South Glengarry Township just after 9:45 p.m. Thursday for reports of a collision involving three vehicles.

Three people were pronounced dead at the scene, including a 61-year-old driver from South Glengarry, a 54-year-old passenger from South Glengarry and an 18-year-old driver from North Glengarry.

The occupants of a third vehicle were transported to hospital for assessment, police said.

The investigation into the cause is ongoing.

Anyone who may have information or dashcam footage relevant to the incident is asked to contact police.

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

Canada and the EU want an energy alliance. What would it look like?

WATCH ABOVE: Carney says he will sign no new deals with EU until Canada's Parliament can vote on them

Canada has the potential to bolster Europe’s energy security through a new alliance, but experts say it doesn’t necessarily mean tankers crossing the Atlantic Ocean laden with oil or liquefied natural gas.

Prime Minister Mark Carney was in Strasbourg, France, this week where he and European Union leadership discussed strengthening ties on several fronts amid strained relations with the United States.

Werner Antweiler, an economist at the University of British Columbia, says Europe is in a “precarious situation” as it aims to pivot away from Russian energy imports following that country’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Canada has pipelines and port infrastructure to export oil and gas from the West Coast to Asia, but no such option exists in the east, and any such project could take a decade or more to come to fruition.

In the meantime, Antweiler says European companies have the ability to secure a stable gas supply from Canada through what’s known as swap contracts, where a cargo headed for Asia, for instance, could be traded with another one bound for its shores.

Rachel Doran, executive director at Clean Energy Canada, sees a promising opportunity to supply critical minerals to Europe, helping it transition away from fossil fuels and grow its clean power supply.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

Tate McRae Reveals Which Song Was Inspired by the Ying Yang Twins

Tate McRae’s “Sports Car” has a very unexpected connection to a 2000s hip-hop classic.

In this archival interview with show host Mr. D, she reveals that the song’s signature whispered chorus was inspired by the Ying Yang Twins’ “Wait (The Whisper Song).” The idea came from co-writer Julia Michaels, who wanted to bring that distinctive whispering style into a new pop song.

Tate admits she initially thought the idea was a little wild, but it ended up becoming a key part of “Sports Car,” and one of the standout tracks from her album So Close To What.

Watch the video to hear her explain the surprising connection and how the idea came together.

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

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