The bad news: One more normal weekend and then it’s Labour Day. The good news: We’re getting more interesting stuff for New Music Friday.

Singles

1. Bryan Adams, The Ballad of Terry Fox (Coady./Platoon/Bad Records)

I believe that Terry Fox was not only a hero but also the greatest athlete in Canadian history because of his guts, courage, and physical grit displayed during the Marathon of Hope. Put him on our money, already. This song from Canadian patriot Bryan Adams will appear in Run Terry Run, a documentary that will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.

2. Criminal Hero, Don’t You Wanna Go (Independent)

Indie rock born in Toronto, hammered into shape in Detroit, and now based in Vancouver. The key person is songwriter and guitarist Rick Harkness. SPIN calls this record, Walk Through the Fire, “a refreshing blast of pure Detroit-powered punk rock from Canada in the spirit of The Stooges and the MC5.” That got my attention.

3. Featurette, Castles (Division 11)

Looking for a little upbeat shoegaze? Toronto’s Featurette has you covered. Fun fact: This video was shot during a heatwave when temperatures hit 39C, not counting the humidity. The things you will do for your art. The band recently had a good run through the UK, so here’s hoping they can keep up the momentum.

4. Queens of the Stone Age, Easy Street (Matador)

The first couple of songs from the upcoming QotSA album have been on the mellow side. The latest has been called “a starry-eyed psych track” that “embraces imperfection rather than polish.” Perfecth (yes, that’s spelled correctly) will be available on October 30. Anticipation is running pretty high. Google around for some of the fun videos Josh Homme has put out over the last couple of weeks.

5. Amy Winehouse, Tears Dry – Alternative Demo (Island Records)

It’s been twenty years since Amy released the awesome Back to Black album, so that means it’s time for a special reissue. Among the extras is a never-before-released stripped-down version of Tears Dry On Their Own. The reissue will appear October 23 (four days short of its 20th anniversary) and will feature many more demos, rare B-sides, as well as a live performance captured in Amsterdam.

Albums

1. Mike D, Thank You (Capitol)

One of the two remaining Beastie Boys has broken his silence with his first-ever solo album. It was made with help from his sons Skyler and Davis who reported pushed Dad into new areas and to try new things. His backing band, 5D, features musicians his kids met on the LA music scene. A tour stars Sunday in Boston.

2. Dinosaur Jr., There Near (Jagjaguwar)

J Mascis has been leading Dino Jr. since 1984. This is the band’s 13th album and first since 2021. Expect more slacker rock with great hooks from J, Murph, and Lou Barlow on songs that were recording largely in J’s basement. This will take you back to the 90s.

3. Everlast, Embers to Ashes (Martyrs Inc/Thirty Tigers)

It’s been a minute since the House of Pain man released a new record. Eight years, in fact. What we’ve got are 17 tracks of American roots rock made in Nashville filtered through his perspective and experience. That includes a divorce, the pandemic, and losing his house in the LA wildfires of 2018.

4. Interpol, This Mirror Weighs a Ton (Partisan)

The sharp-dressed members of Interpol have delivered a sharply good eighth album. It’s elegant (as you would expect) but things aren’t all that rosy lyric-wise (as you’d also expect). They remain one of the best examples of the NYC indie-rock revival of the early 00’s. Intersting stat: Half of the band’s 2.5 million monthly listeners on Spotify are under the age of 35. Their sense of doom resonates across generations.

5. The Linda Lindas, GOTTA GET OUT (Reprise)

The LA moppets (no one in the band legally allowed to buy alcohol yet) are already up to their third album, this one produced by the father of two of the bandmembers. Hayley Mills of Paramore is such a fan that she makes a guest appearance on the record. This single rocks really hard in a doomy way. It’s also very political. The kids are alright.

6. Mastodon, Marrow Deep (Loma Vista/Concord)

If you liked that Linda Lindas track, you’ll enjoy this slab of progressive sludge from the Atlanta masters of the genre. This is their ninth album and their first since the death of former guitarist Brent Hinds that horrible 2025 motorcycle accident. In fact, they started recording the album just a week after he died. Rolling Stones says this album may be there Shine on You Crazy Diamond, which is high praise indeed.

7. The Warning, Everything’s Falling (Lava/Republic)

Here are three sisters from Monterrey, Mexico, who rock really, really hard. The Villarreal Vélez women are up to their fifth album of alt-rock/alt-metal and have a worldwide fanbase ready to eat it up. As with The Linda Lindas, the future of rock is safe in the hands of women.

 

 

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

Economists are expecting fresh data will show growth rebounded sharply in the second quarter of the year when Statistics Canada publishes new gross domestic product figures this morning.

StatCan is set to report updated GDP results for June and the second quarter overall.

A Reuters poll of economists expects the Canadian economy expanded at an annualized rate of 3.4 per cent in the second quarter, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.

RBC economists also believe GDP will top three per cent for the second quarter as the economy bounced back from some temporary drags on growth in the previous three months.

StatCan reported back in May that real GDP declined slightly in the first quarter, fueling debates over whether a recession had hit the economy.

The agency regularly revises its data and economists will be looking for confirmation of whether or not the economy really did start the year with a mild contraction.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

King Harald V of Norway, who went into exile in the United States as a child during the Nazi occupation of his homeland and refused a string of potential brides from the European nobility so he could marry his school sweetheart, died Friday. He was 89.

The palace said he died at the National Hospital in Oslo at 6:35 a.m.

Harald was Europe’s oldest monarch. The popular king modernized the royal house but refused to follow in the footsteps of other aging monarchs who have abdicated in recent times. His son automatically became King Haakon VIII.

Like other royal houses in Europe, the Norwegian monarchs serve a largely symbolic role, enjoying celebrity status while real power in the democracy of 5.5 million rests with an elected parliament. Harald was crowned after his British-born father, King Olav V, died in January 1991, and reigned during an oil-and-gas-driven economic boom in his country.

“A whole nation is in mourning and the people of Norway are left with a deep sense of gratitude for a long life in the service of Norway,” Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said in a statement. “For more than three decades as monarch, Harald V demonstrated an unwavering faith in the Norwegian people. He helped us to see the best in ourselves — and in one another.”

https://x.com/RoyalFamily/status/2093255622019994008?s=20

Harald was born in 1937 in Asker, near Oslo, becoming the first Norwegian prince to be born in the country since King Olav IV in 1370. In the following centuries, Norway didn’t have a king of its own until Harald’s grandfather, Haakon VII, was elected king following the 1905 dissolution of the union between Sweden and Norway.

Harald was 3 years old when the Nazis occupied Norway at the start of World War II. To avoid capture, his mother fled with him and his sisters, Ragnhild and Astrid, first to Sweden and then by boat to the U.S., while Harald’s father and grandfather went into exile in Britain with Norway’s government.

Haakon’s refusal to go along with German demands garnered respect among his people.

 

During their time in the U.S., the Norwegian royals were often guests at the White House. Harald was 6 when he carried out his first official duty, christening new warplanes at a Norwegian air base in Canada.

The family was reunited in Norway in June 1945, shortly after the end of the war in Europe. Harald attended public schools, the Norwegian military college and Oxford University.

Like his father — an Olympic champion sailor in 1928 — Harald loved the sea and sailboats. He represented Norway at several Olympics, and in 1987 he skippered his yacht to gold in the World Championships.

https://x.com/NorwayMFA/status/2093232144927637794?s=20

As a young man, Harald was urged to find a bride among Europe’s noblewomen and princesses. For nine years he shunned a series of prospects, holding out until he finally won his father’s permission to marry his school sweetheart, Sonja Haraldsen, the daughter of a successful businessman.

King Olav had feared the marriage would weaken Norway’s still-young monarchy. Instead, Norwegians greeted the Aug. 29, 1968, wedding with jubilation, and later embraced Sonja as their queen. The couple had two children, Haakon and his older sister, Märtha Louise.

The Norwegian Constitution was altered in 1990 to allow the first born, regardless of gender, to take precedence in the line of succession. However, it was not applied retroactively, meaning that Haakon continued to take precedence over his sister.

When Harald assumed the throne on Jan. 21, 1991, he adopted the same motto his father and grandfather had used: “All for Norway.” He spent the next years trying to modernize the monarchy.

“It has been my experience that the monarchy stands strong,” he once said. “This is not least because my father and grandfather did most things right. That puts me under pressure, but I take it as a challenge.”

Harald won the praise of the country with an emotional speech at a memorial service after a right-wing extremist, Anders Behring Breivik, killed 77 people in bomb and gun attacks in Norway in 2011.

“I remain convinced that the belief in freedom is stronger than fear. I remain convinced in the belief of an open Norwegian democracy and society. I remain convinced in the belief in our ability to live freely and safely in our own country,” the king said.

In 2016, Harald gave an unexpected and impassioned speech in support of LGBTQ+ equality, refugees and religious tolerance, saying “Norwegians are girls who love girls, boys who love boys, and girls and boys who love each other.” He added that many Norwegians have emigrated from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Poland and other countries and that they “believe in God, Allah, the universe and nothing.”

The public speech extolled the diversity of the Scandinavian nation and was viewed on social media by millions.

Scandal and serious allegations have hung over the Norwegian royal family this year. Harald’s daughter-in-law, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, faced renewed scrutiny over her connections with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. That raised questions over her judgment, though she is not accused of any wrongdoing. Mette-Marit apologized for the situation she put the royal family in, part of a broader apology for all those she had “disappointed.”

At around the same time, her eldest son, Marius Borg Høiby, was convicted of rape in a high-profile trial and sentenced to four years in prison. Høiby, Mette-Marit’s son from a previous relationship before she met Haakon, has no royal titles or official duties.

In 2022, Harald’s daughter Märtha Louise gave up royal duties after raising eyebrows by saying she could communicate with angels and becoming engaged to an American man who identifies as a shaman. They married two years later.

In January 2024, after the abdication of Denmark’s Queen Margrethe — his second cousin — Harald said that he stood by the oath he made when ascending the throne: “It lasts for life.”

However, he was hospitalized twice on foreign trips after that, including during a 2024 vacation in Malaysia when he was fitted with a pacemaker and during a February 2026 holiday on the Spanish island of Tenerife when he had a skin infection.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

Here’s a little bit of music psychology. Studies on the power of opinion have found that you are more likely to say that you like a song if you know other people like it. Here’s a sample of one of those studies from Columbia University.

They found 14,000 individual people to sample downloads of 48 unknown songs, tracks no one in the study had ever heard before. And this is important: everyone could see what everyone else was downloading. When all the results were tallied up, there was broad agreement about which songs were best, and it seems that the quality of the music had nothing to do with it. It was all about what other people said they liked as they sought validation for their choices.

It’s a complete bandwagon effect, a herd mentality.  Weird, huh? But somehow, deep down inside, you probably knew that.

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

Charles Rousseau says he’s always believed in Quebec independence but it won’t be his top priority at the ballot box come Oct. 5, when the province chooses its next government.

In an interview outside a sovereigntist-themed coffee shop in Montreal on Thursday, the 27-year-old Masters’ student said he expects the tariff war and negotiations with American President Donald Trump to be top of mind for Quebecers during the electoral campaign.

“What has really dominated political discourse lately is inflation, the cost of living,” he said. “I get the impression that the sovereignty movement is losing some of its momentum as well. So, people are clearly concerned about this whole conflict.”

He added that despite having two parties making sovereignty a top priority, he’s “not interested in the proposals currently on the table.”

Rousseau’s concerns appear to reflect a shift in political messaging that is already emerging after the first day of the Quebec election campaign.

For months, it seemed the provincial election could hinge on the question of a sovereignty referendum. Parti Québécois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, who has been leading in public opinion polls since 2023, promised a referendum on the issue in his first term if elected.

But the trade war with the United States is changing electoral priorities, experts say.

A new report released by National Bank a few days before the campaign began found that Quebec is facing the highest effective tariff rate on exports among all of the provinces.

It’s a situation that already appears to be placing St-Pierre Plamondon on the defensive as his opponents argue it would be unwise to separate while Trump is threatening Canadian sovereignty.

“My opponent is named Donald Trump,” said incumbent premier Christine Fréchette after dissolving the legislature on Thursday.

“He’s the real adversary.”

With polls showing that only about 30 per cent of Quebecers would vote for sovereignty in a referendum, St-Pierre Plamondon may need to appeal to federalist voters to win the election.

A week before the campaign began, he announced that a PQ government would not call a referendum until Trump is out of office in 2029.

Speaking to journalists Thursday, the PQ leader said his party would propose the best platform to weather the economic uncertainty caused by the trade war with the U.S. But, he urged Quebecers not to let Trump dictate the result of the election.

“Do not allow the Trump administration’s tactics to rob us of this important debate. Do not allow our election to be hijacked,” he said. “At the end of the day, it is up to us, the people of Quebec, to decide our future and our destiny.”

Ruba Ghazal, parliamentary leader of the leftist sovereigntist party Québec solidaire, promised to consult Quebecers on the question of sovereignty if elected. “It doesn’t depend on Trump or any other thing that is happening in the world,” she said.

But political analysts believe Trump’s influence will be felt throughout the electoral campaign after trade negotiations fell through last week.

Danielle Pilette, a political science professor at the Université du Québec à Montréal, compares the campaign period to the 2025 federal election, when Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives seemed poised to win a majority government. Canadians then rallied behind Prime Minister Mark Carney and his Liberals in the face of tariff talks.

Carney also positioned himself as a defender of the French language and Quebec culture after the latest rounds of negotiations with the U.S., which Pilette believes could benefit Fréchette as the incumbent.

“We can see that public opinion is highly volatile in this unpredictable context,” she said. “In the face of that, the safe bet at federal level was the Liberals in the last election, whilst the safe bet in Quebec for this election seems to be the (governing Coalition Avenir Québec).”

According to Université de Montréal political science professor Evelyne Brie, support for Quebec sovereignty briefly went up, but quickly diminished after Trump was elected for a second term.

“I think it was a real disadvantage for the PQ in terms of timing, because Trump seems to have had a deterrent effect on grassroots sovereignty ever since he was sworn in,” she said. “People aren’t exactly thrilled to have an additional source of uncertainty if (the PQ) might be holding a referendum.”

Like Pilette, Brie says instability typically benefits those who are already in power.

But Stéphane Paquin, the director of a group for studies and research on international affairs and Quebec, says there are significant differences between Fréchette and Carney.

He says Carney was new on the political scene and gained credibility with his background in finance and policy. Fréchette inherited the Coalition Avenir Québec when former premier François Legault resigned after the party tanked in the polls.

“It’s easy to contrast Justin Trudeau and Mark Carney as a significant change,” said Paquin. “Christine Fréchette doesn’t have the same aura of competence as Mark Carney, and it’s going to be difficult for her to set herself apart from François Legault.”

Daniel Turp, a Université de Montréal law professor who represented both the Bloc Québécois and the PQ in Ottawa and Quebec City, agrees with Paquin. He points out that the PQ is still a favourite in the polls, with the Coalition Avenir Québec and Liberals neck-and-neck for second place.

Turp believes talks around Canadian sovereignty in the face of American threats could even benefit sovereigntist parties.

“What’s interesting is that sovereignty is clearly becoming an important issue,” he said. “I reckon that Paul St-Pierre Plamondon could say the same thing during the campaign, that if sovereignty is so important for Canada, it’s important for Quebec too.”

Nonetheless, all four analysts agree that anything can happen on election day as polls have shown most Quebecers are open to changing their voting intention.

“It’s going to be the most interesting campaign in recent history,” said Turp.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

FAN EXPO Canada kicked off on Thursday at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, with all things pop culture.

The event, which is billed as the largest comics, sci-fi, horror, anime, and gaming convention in Canada, is celebrating 30 years.

It’s a milestone anniversary shared with Pokémon.

Sarah Natochenny is a long-time voice actor behind Ash Ketchum, among other characters in the multi-billion-dollar franchise.

She says she’s looking forward to meeting dedicated fans over the next few days.

“I love meeting people’s children who are like ‘Oh, I just got into this.’ It’s such an honour to be able to meet the people that have had my voice in their living room,” Natochenny said.

From Pokémon cards to plush toys, you can catch ’em all at FAN EXPO.

“It’s so timeless and I think Ash Ketchum specifically, he never grows up, to me, because he needs to be there for every generation. He needs to be there for the parents who are going to show the show to their kids and the kids that are going to show it to their siblings,” Natochenny said.

If you want a Star Wars photo op, the LEGO booth has a massive AT-RT you can sit inside.

It’s made up of more than 142,000 bricks and took more than 1,000 hours to build.

This year, attendees are also invited to join the Fellowship.

The actors behind Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin are reuniting for The Lord of the Rings‘ 25^th film anniversary.

“ are taking to the stage for two special events on Friday and Saturday night. I believe there’s still some tickets on Friday night. And some people are lucky enough to have Second Breakfast with the Hobbits too on Sunday morning,” said Andrew Moyes, vice president of FAN EXPO HQ.

“It’s a great way to learn unique things about the movies that you may not have known before.”

People can even get up close to Mark Hamill who played Luke Skywalker, and legendary wrestler-turned-actor, John Cena.

You can also meet Canadian actor Ari Millen, who plays the title character in Ice Cream Man, a slasher flick shot in Toronto that sees children transform into homicidal maniacs.

“What I normally like to do is read the script and then get into costume. It’s a very distinct costume that when I would get out of it, people wouldn’t even recognize me on set,” said Millen, whose character is silent.

“The new challenge in this role was just sort of understanding the different moments and what they meant to him and learning how to express that with my eyes, with my smile or with body language.”

At FAN EXPO, many take on an alter ego.

Samantha Elford, who came dressed as Rogue from X-Men, says it’s her first time cosplaying.

“I’ve had a couple people look at me, a couple people compliment me, a couple people shout at me, and I’m just like, ‘This is nice,'” she said with a laugh.

“It’s a fun community here. There’s no judgement, everybody’s here just doing whatever they want to do.”

Another attendee, Amarion Johnson, is playing the part of Kiba Inuzuka from the anime series Naruto.

“Trust me, it’s really easy to make friends. You go up to a person in costume and you’re like, ‘I love your costume,’ and they’re like, ‘I love yours,’ and it’s just such an amazing experience,” he said.

Maria Martin transformed into Raven from Teen Titans.

“I love Halloween so, any chance I get to dress up, cosplay, I’ll take it,” she said.

“Never be shy, just go out and do it and have fun, be yourself, it’s always the best thing.”

Organizers are expecting around 130,000 people to make their way down for the four-day event, which wraps up on Sunday.

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

Follow along with Susan Hay and executive chef Paul Shewchuk from the Fairmont Royal York as he prepares a unique dish with Ontario Cauliflower.

Ingredients
Cauliflower
1 large whole cauliflower, leaves trimmed and stem cleaned
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp garam masala
½ tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp black pepper

Curry Sauce
2 tbsp butter or vegetable oil
4 threads saffron
½ onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp turmeric
½ tsp garam masala
All of the cauliflower trimmings and core, chopped
1 cup vegetable stock
½ cup coconut milk
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 tbsp lemon juice

Garnish
½ cup thick Greek yogurt
½ cup crispy fried onions
3 tbsp fried garlic chips
3 tbsp crispy fried ginger
1 tsp Espelette pepper
2 tbsp chopped chives
¼ cup chopped cilantro
½ cup toasted sliced almonds, chopped
Olive oil

Instructions

Marinate the Cauliflower. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Blanch the whole cauliflower for 5–6 minutes. Remove and allow to cool completely. In a bowl, mix together the yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander, turmeric, smoked paprika, garam masala, salt, and pepper. Coat the cauliflower thoroughly with the marinade, ensuring it gets into all of the florets. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. Roast the Cauliflower. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Place the cauliflower on a parchment-lined baking tray. Roast for 45–60 minutes, basting once or twice with any remaining marinade, until the cauliflower is deeply golden and a knife slides easily into the stem. Let rest for 10 minutes.

Make the Curry Sauce. Sweat the onion in the butter over medium heat until translucent. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the curry powder, turmeric, cumin, coriander, and garam masala. Toast the spices for 1 minute. Add the chopped cauliflower trimmings and vegetable stock. Simmer for 20 minutes, or until the cauliflower is very tender. Add the coconut milk and simmer for another 5 minutes. Blend until completely smooth using a high-speed blender. Pass through a fine chinois, if desired, for an ultra-smooth sauce. Season with salt, pepper, and lemon juice.

To Finish

Spoon a generous pool of the yellow cauliflower curry sauce onto a large serving platter. Place the roasted cauliflower on a roasting rack. Spread the thick Greek yogurt evenly over the cauliflower, then coat it completely with the following toppings:

Crispy fried onions
Fried garlic chips
Crispy fried ginger
Toasted almonds
Chopped chives
Fresh cilantro
Espelette pepper

Carefully place the coated cauliflower in the centre of the curry sauce. Finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and serve immediately.

 

 

 

 

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

One of the five men convicted in the Surrey Six murders has lost a court battle to have his conviction overturned.

In 2014, Red Scorpion Cody Haevischer was convicted of six counts of first-degree murder in the October 2007 killings at Surrey’s Balmoral Tower.

Six men, including two innocent victims, Ed Schellenberg and Christopher Mohan, were shot in the head.

Mohan’s mother, Eileen, was at the courthouse on Thursday and cried when Haevischer’s application was dismissed.

“These are tears of happiness and confidence in the law,” she said.

“To respect the death of my son… And now courts have respected Christopher also and everyone who died that day, so it’s a beautiful day.”

Haevischer and fellow Red Scorpion, Matthew Johnston, applied for a stay of proceedings following their convictions, alleging abuse of process.

The pair claimed systemic police misconduct and inhumane conditions in custody prejudiced their rights to a fair trial.

Johnston died in 2022.

A year later, the Supreme Court of Canada granted the Surrey Six killers a new evidentiary hearing.

After 39 witnesses and 209 exhibits, Justice Martha Devlin ruled on Thursday that “the vast majority of Mr. Haevischer’s allegations simply have no merit.”

While acknowledging some of the killer’s solitary confinement breached his Charter rights, she found it was “prompted by legitimate concerns” for his safety.

Devlin dismissed Haevischer’s application, saying: “Any other outcome would not serve to protect the integrity of the justice system.”

Eileen said Devlin delivered justice.

“The people who took my son’s life have used the taxpayers’ dollars to their advantage in every turn to set themselves free while we grieve for the loss of our people,” she said.

Before entering convictions for six concurrent terms of life imprisonment, Devlin noted that Haevischer “extinguished the lives of six defenceless men.”

Eileen said justice has prevailed.

“You just can’t walk to the doorstep of my home, steal my innocent son’s life and expect to walk free from the courts,” she said.

“There’s some peace in my heart and soul and mind.”

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

After nearly three weeks away, residents of Faulder were finally allowed to return to their properties, getting their first chance to walk through the areas hit by the Bald Range wildfire.

For many, the return was not about going home. It was about seeing what was left.

Ashley Jestin pulled into the driveway of the property where she and her husband had lived their for more than a decade.

“Oh wow, they are gone. Nothing is there, just the tin roofs,” Jestin said.

As she walked through the property, she pointed to the places that once held pieces of their everyday life.

“This was our front door. It was right here. Over there was our workshops.” she said.

The house, which sat on five acres, was destroyed. So were three older Ford trucks and her husband’s motorcycle.

“Our house was perfect. It had a big yard, It had a mobility bathroom, and to find that somewhere else is impossible,” Jestin said.

One thing did survive: a small tractor.

“It’s not dead. It’s making a noise. I think that’s good!” Jestin said as she turned the key and the tractor made a noise.

More than 100 structures were damaged or destroyed in the Faulder and Meadow Valley areas during the wildfire.

For those who lost their homes, returning to their properties marks the beginning of a difficult rebuilding process. Jestin estimates it could take up to two years to rebuild, leaving families searching for rental housing while they wait.

“I don’t know where we will live yet. We have two dogs and with me on crutches it’s hard to find a place that has a bathroom that works for me,” she said.

The financial burden is also immediate. Some residents have started GoFundMe campaigns to help cover expenses that insurance may not fully address.

“I still have pay a mortgage even though there isn’t a house there, and my income was home-based,” Jestin said.

And while returning home provided some closure, it also made clear how much work lies ahead.

“Over the next two years there is no plan. I don’t even know what I am going to do next week,” Jestin said.

For Faulder residents, the day was a chance to finally return to their land.

Now, the long process of rebuilding their lives has begun.

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

Higher oil prices, geopolitical uncertainty and Mother Nature are all affecting the Saskatchewan government’s bottom line.

The provincial government released its first-quarter financial update with a deficit now sitting at $825 million, slightly worse than the $819 million projected when the budget was released in March. But finance minister Jim Reiter said provincial economy remains strong.

Total revenue is up $331 million from budget, primarily stemming from the conflict in the Middle East. In fact, the province said the West Texas Intermediate forecast increased to $75 US per barrel, up significantly from $59.75 forecasted in the budget.

Total expenses are up $337 million from the budget, with the biggest pressures relating to growing demand for health care and the cost of coping with the damage left behind by spring flooding in parts of Saskatchewan, particularly in the northeast.

“In the ag theme, there’s a $24 million increase due to unseeded crop insurance claims resulting from excess moisture in the spring,” Reiter added.

Major hailstorms have also put a dent in provincial coffers.

By and large, however, Reiter said the province is weathering the storm through the geopolitical uncertainty and trade tensions with the United States. The exceptions are Saskatchewan’s manufacturing, forestry and honey industries, which have been targeted by U.S. tariffs.

“In certain industries, they’ve been hit very hard. But most have not been hit. So, Saskatchewan has been very fortunate in that regard,” said Reiter.

Reiter said the province’s net debt-to-GDP ratio is projected to be 14.9 per cent as of March 31, 2027, which is an improvement from the 16.1 per cent projected in the 2026-2027 budget. Saskatchewan’s net to debt-to-GDP ratio remains the second best among all provinces.

NDP calls on government to make life more affordable

The Saskatchewan NDP said the government had a chance to use higher oil revenue to help fund affordability measures in Saskatchewan.

“But yet is still growing the deficit and the debt and is not offering an ounce of relief to the people of this province,” said Wotherspoon.

The NDP says costs have gone up on everything from food to housing to gas prices and is still calling for a pause in the gas tax and PST on children’s clothing.

Reiter pointed out that the government continues to recognize challenges around affordability through measure announced in the March budget.

“That’s why our government continues to implement our plan to lower personal income taxes for everyone across the province on a permanent basis,” Reiter added.

“In the 2026-2027 budget, permanent enhancements to broad based tax credits, an indexation to tax credits and tax bracket will provide tax savings of $200 million this year.”

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