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Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Byelection day in Alberta nears for vote with 214 candidates, including Poilievre
EDMONTON — Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and 213 others vying for a seat in the House of Commons will be in the spotlight Monday, as voters in a rural Alberta riding head to the polls. Two political science professors say Poilievre is expected to handily win the byelection in Battle River-Crowfoot, a sprawling eastern Alberta riding stretching from Edmonton to Calgary. The riding and its previous incarnations have been a Tory stronghold for a century. They say the only question is: by how much? "In every election from 2004 to 2025, the vote share garnered by the Conservatives' winning candidate has been at least 80 per cent," said Julie Simmons with the University of Guelph in Ontario. The one exception was in 2021, when Conservative incumbent Damien Kurek got 71 per cent of the vote, largely due to the right-wing People's Party of Canada eating up some of his votes, Simmons said. "This is just certainly an exceptionally strong riding for the Conservative Party," she said. Lori Williams, a political science professor at Mount Royal University in Calgary, said Poilievre needs to not only win the riding but do it "decisively," so electors can trust he'll be a good Opposition leader and pass his January leadership review. "He absolutely needs to sail over this hurdle," she said. "But if he clears this one, he's then got to clear the, 'How am I going to be an effective Opposition leader in this climate? How can I be pro-Canadian and critical of the government?'" The byelection was called in June after Kurek, who won the seat again in the April general election with 83 per cent of votes, stepped down to allow Poilievre to run. Poilievre lost his long-held Ottawa-area seat to Liberal Bruce Fanjoy. Simmons said if Poilievre sees less than the average percentage of votes Conservatives have received in the last few elections, it could be because of vocal challengers like Independent candidate Bonnie Critchley. The military veteran has described Poilievre as a parachute candidate who only wants to represent the riding to progress his political career. Poilievre was born and raised in Calgary but has lived in Ottawa for the last two decades. A majority of the candidates on the ballot are part of the Longest Ballot Committee, a protest group calling for various changes to Canada's election system. They could also put a dent in Poilievre's vote share, Simmons said. "For some people, this might be a protest vote against the Conservative Party," she said. Other candidates include Darcy Spady, from the energy sector, for the Liberals. The NDP's Katherine Swampy is a former band councillor for Samson Cree Nation. Also running for the seat is Libertarian Party candidate Michael Harris, who wants to win so a referendum over whether Alberta should separate from the rest of Canada can make headway. Thick coil-bound, 32-page laminated booklets listing the record 214 candidates are to be available at voting stations. Elections Canada has said, for the first time ever in Canadian history, it's using a blank ballot because there are too many candidates to put on the piece of paper. Voters won't be marking a box with an X. Instead, they must hand write the name of their preferred candidate in a blank space. If a voter misspells a candidate's name, Elections Canada said it will still be counted. More than 14,000 people out of almost 86,000 registered voters cast votes in advance polls. A spokesperson for Poilievre's campaign has said the party leader plans to be in Camrose, the riding's largest municipality, on Monday Elections Canada said counting on election night is expected to take longer than usual. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 17, 2025. — With files from Lisa Johnson Fakiha Baig, The Canadian Press
National Post
26-06-2025
- Sport
- National Post
Up Close: Meet Roughriders linebacker AJ Allen
Article content Not only is the Saskatchewan Roughriders' linebacker excelling on the field, but he loves playing video games off the field. Article content Article content After being drafted by the Green and White in the fourth round of the 2020 CFL draft out of the University of Guelph — where he earned two degrees; one in criminal justice and public policy, and the other political science — Allen has racked up 47 special teams tackles and was tied for the league lead last year with 22. Article content Article content But more recently, he's been starting at linebacker and against the Toronto Argonauts last week, Allen notched his first career sack as he downed quarterback Nick Arbuckle in Saskatchewan's 39-32 victory. However, that play still doesn't top his interception returned for a touchdown last year against the B.C. Lions in Week 19, which remains a career highlight. Article content Ahead of Saskatchewan's Week 4 CFL contest against the Lions on Saturday at Mosaic Stadium, we caught up with Allen to chat about life on and off the field: Article content Position: Linebacker Article content Number: 32 Article content Age: 27 Article content Height and weight: 6-foot-0, 210-pounds Article content Hometown: Burlington, Ontario Article content How did you get into football? Article content 'I got into football in Grade 4. I started out life playing basketball and volleyball, but I was a huge (video) gamer. So after school, I'd go and I play the games. Article content 'My mom wanted to get me out of the house, so she saw an ad to play Burlington Stampeders football. I went there and I had a fun time, and I wasn't that bad. Article content Article content 'I started out my career playing defensive end and fullback. (B.C. Lions quarterback) Nathan Rourke was my teammate back then. I played with (NFL receiver) Josh Palmer and a few other guys as well. But yeah, that's where it started.' Article content Article content 'It's definitely got to be scoring last year versus B.C. In terms of on-field, that was definitely the most exhilarating thing I've ever done.' Article content 'But I love to play chess. So, before game day, I'm playing at least three games. I'll play a best-of-three. If I'm getting my butt kicked, I'll switch it to a best-of-five. Article content 'It gets the mind right, trying to think a few steps ahead and what's someone trying to do. I love chess because you can see all the moves ahead of you. All the moves are on the table. You can prepare. I can see what you're doing. You can see what I'm doing. There's no tricks, there's no scams. It's kind of like football, right? If you prepare well enough, I can see what's going on before it happens, or while it's happening.'
Forbes
14-06-2025
- Health
- Forbes
‘Razor Blade Throat' Symptoms As ‘Nimbus' COVID-19 Variant Spreads
Recently, there have been informal reports of a symptom described as 'razor blade throat' associated ... More with COVID-19. (Photo: Getty) The idea of having this symptom may be a bit hard to swallow. But recently you may have heard mention of 'razor blade throat' as a COVID-19 symptom. And chances are razor blades fall way down the list of things you'd like in your throat. But more and more informal reports of a severe, razor blade like soreness in the throat have corresponded with the emergence and rise of the NB.1.8.1 severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 variant, the one that I described recently in Forbes. Does this mean that the NB.1.8.1 variant is leading to some different type of COVID-19? Not exactly. But it is a reminder that COVID-19 hasn't simply become a non-issue. It is important to stay 'sharp' about what COVID-19 can do and what precautions to take. There's also an informal new term being used on social media to describe this newish SARS-CoV-2 variant: 'Nimbus.' That's probably a bit easier to remember than NB.1.8.1, which looks more like some kind of password than a name. T. Ryan Gregory, PhD, a professor of integrative biology at the University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario, Canada, appears to be the first to use the name 'Nimbus' when he did so on a tweet or perhaps you'd call it an X in late May to describe the NB.1.8.1 variant. Now, nimbus may sound like a combination of 'nimble" and 'incubus.' But it is often used meteorologically to refer to a jagged type of storm cloud. It also mythologically refers to the shining cloud that surrounds a deity like Zeus, Athena or Taylor Swift when he or she appears on earth. The naming of variants and subvariants has been quite an odyssey. It started off as a Greek odyssey of sorts with a formal variant naming convention using prorgessively different Greek letters like alpha, beta and delta. But not too long after the Omicron variants became dominant, it was no longer all Greek to everyone as that naming schema did not continue. The default became just these alphanumeric sequences devised by scientists following the genetics of the variants that looked more like the names of Star Wars droids. That motivated some like Gregory on social media to give some new emerging variants more memorable names like Arcturus, Kraken, Eris and Pirola. The NB.1.8.1 has already caught the attention of who else besides the World Health Organization. The WHO on May 23 declared this variant as "a variant under monitoring," based on the mutations in its spike proteins and its fairly rapid spread in different parts of the world. It's already become the second most common SARS-CoV-2 variant in the U.S., detected in around 37% the reported and tested COVID-19 cases, only a percentage point behind the leader of the pack LP.8.1, according to the CDC. Take these numbers with a gigantic fanny pack of salt, though, since a large percentage of COVID-19 the U.S. are going untested and unreported these days. Of course, informal reports aren't the same as peer-reviewed scientific studies or data from established clinical surveillance systems. It's also difficult to tell how common this so-called 'razor blade throat' may be. After all, social media and the Internet can make something seem more common or popular than it really is. For example, it's not as if everyone was putting Tide Pods in their mouths several years ago. Moreover, it's not clear what percentage of these 'razor blade throats' are actually cases of COVID-19. A number of different things can cause 'pharyngitis,' which is inflammation of your pharynx. Your pharynx sits behind your nasal cavity and mouth and connects them to your esophagus. Basically anything that goes down your pie hole will travel through this muscular tube. Lots of different viruses and bacteria can cause pharyngitis. Allergies can give you pharyngitis as well. So can acid reflux or eating things that are particularly hot or spicy. Pharyngitis can be a sign of a growth or tumor too. Heck, even sleeping with your mouth open can dry the mucus membranes out and give you a very sore throat. The degree of soreness is not a reliable indicator of what may be causing the pharyngitis. Since your typical viral infection should clear up well within a week, contact your doctor if your sore throat lasts longer than a week. it will be important to rule out any of the uh-oh stuff and treat stuff that needs treatment like a bacteria infection. Ultimately, you can't tell what's causing a very sore throat without a real medical exam and further testing. Therefore, you should never begin a sentence with, 'I have a severe sore throat, therefore I must have [such and such].' The next step in a medical evaluation a very sore throat is checking for other symptoms and a true health professional performing a physical exam, which should include looking at your throat, tongue and other things connected to your throat like you ears. Such an evaluation could entail swabbing the back of your throat and sending the sample to be checked for things like strep and SARS-CoV-2. These days you may hear the words, 'I'm pretty sure I don't have COVID' without the words that need to follow, namely 'because I tested negative.' Again the only way to tell whether or not you actually have an infection like COVID-19 is through such testing. And that back-of-the-throat-feel-like-my-brain-is-being-tickled test that you get at a health clinic is a lot more accurate than those home tests. Home tests have a very high false negative rates, meaning that just because the test is negative doesn't mean you can really rule out COVID-19. Nonetheless, a sore throat has long been one possible symptom of COVID-19. It become even more common with all the Omicron variant. So a sore throat that feels like razor blades wouldn't be a new symptoms or nay indication that the NB.1.8.1 or nimbus variant should cause on average worse, more severe outcomes than previous variants. That doesn't mean, though, that the NB.1.8.1 is no big deal. COVID-19 has still been landing people in the hospital, killing a number of them and saddling many more with the awful consequences of long COVID. Just because many politicians aren't talking about COVID-19 doesn't mean that it's ceased being a threat. As I've written previously, there is evidence that the NB.1.8.1 is better able to bind to human cells, making it potentially more transmissible. The rapid spread of the NB.1.8.1 seems to support this possibility. Again, it's not clear how many of these 'razor blade throat' cases have occurred to date and how many are due to the new SARS-CoV-2 variant. But chances are you are not hearing this symptom and thinking, 'I want some of that.' Therefore, it's better to be prepared for this possibility and another possible Summer COVID-19 surge. The same evidence-based precautions are available including good quality face masks when in more crowded areas, good ventilation and air purification and frequent and thorough hand washing. There's also staying up to date on the COVID-19 vaccine and keeping in mind that the immune protection offered by the vaccine usually starts to wane at the four-to-six-month mark. On top of all this, stay sharp on any new COVID-19 developments, meaning in a keeping up to date way and not a razor blades to the throat way.
CTV News
12-06-2025
- Health
- CTV News
49 years later, Ontario man graduates from the University of Guelph
Dave Burnett in his graduation gown at the University of Guelph on June 12, 2025. (Spencer Turcotte/CTV News) When Dave Burnett enrolled at the University of Guelph (U of G), he was fresh out of high school and the university itself was just 12 years old. That was in 1976. The self-proclaimed farm boy referred to that time as a generation of rebellion. 'None of us followed the recommended path,' Burnett said in a post on U of G's website. That may be the ultimate understatement. He enrolled in the university's agriculture program in the late 1970s. Then came some significant twists and turns – an alcohol addiction and recovery, hitting pause on school, focusing on marriage and kids, then a divorce and remarriage. Burnett was forced to find work as a miller and, for a stretch, he managed corporate farms. Eventually he started his own accounting business, but he never gave up on U of G entirely. Burnett popped in and out of campus when he could and accumulated some credits along the way. During that time, he also dealt with serious health challenges – a bout with skin cancer, a stroke and then, two years ago, he was diagnosed with Parkison's disease. Dave Burnett University of Guelph U of G grad graduate Dave Burnett ahead of his upcoming graduation from the University of Guelph. (Courtesy: University of Guelph) Yet, 49 years after beginning his Bachelor of Science (Agriculture), he has completed his degree and will cross the stage with the Class of 2025. 'There was no grand plan,' he said. 'I just took it one course at a time, one assignment at a time.' Completing his degree became a bucket list item for Burnett. His schedule consisted of early morning classes, followed by an AA meeting, back to campus for afternoon labs, a break for dinner, and then to the library to study in the evening. Even in the 1990s, he remembered sitting down in a biochemistry classroom, looking around and thinking: 'My jeans are older than most of the people here.' Over his nearly half a century in academia, lots has changed. 'At U of G, what you're learning about is research that has contemporary relevance, not something from 25 years ago,' Burnett said. When he turned 65, he learned he was eligible for a tuition waiver. So, he re-registered and began again with applied animal science courses. 'The whole class respected Dave,' said Joshua Nasielski, professor in the university's Department of Plant Agriculture. 'He always brought energy and humour to class and students often joked that he was the class clown. Dave was willing to share lessons from his years of real-world experience as a farm accountant with the class, which was a huge asset. He must be one of the only undergraduate students to deliver a guest lecture for a class that he was enrolled in.' If he had more time on his hands, Burnett said he would pursue a graduate degree. 'There's not enough years in the timeline,' he said. 'I'm still getting my head around the fact that I'm done.' CTV's Spencer Turcotte has more on Burnett's story. This article will be updated.
CBC
06-06-2025
- Science
- CBC
Researchers look at how N.W.T.'s Giant Mine closure plan can consider climate change
Social Sharing Yellowknife residents had a chance this week to learn more about a research project that's looking at how a changing climate could affect the management and remediation of legacy mine projects, like Giant Mine. A drop-in session was hosted on Wednesday by a research group undertaking a three-year project focused on how the mining sector can adapt to climate change. The Climate Ready Mine project is being led by RFS Energy and the University of Guelph and is funded by the federal government with in-kind support from the Giant Mine Oversight Board. The research group hopes its work will be applicable in a wider northern context, and for other mines as well. Nicolas Brunet, an associate professor at the University of Guelph who's helping lead the project, says there is very little known about the topic. "I had a student working with us for the last year who did a complete review of industry documents, everything, scoured the internet — and our knowledge of how climate will impact [mine] closure planning is in its infancy," said Brunet. He added that the researchers aren't looking to critique the work now happening around Giant Mine's closure, but rather to use the high-profile mine site as a jumping-off point to explore some of the issues. "We don't have any guidance right now, and so you kind of have to invent it as you go," said Brunet. Branda Le, executive director for the Giant Mine Oversight Board (GMOB), says the project and its outcomes will be helpful for assessing how climate change should be factored into the mine's perpetual care plan. Brunet said they hope the research project will offer a different perspective on what mine closure could look like, with a focus on the environmental and human impacts even hundreds of years into the future. This week's information session in Yellowknife was a first step toward keeping the community informed about the research work, and to get some local input. "It's really important for us to talk to people who live here and hear their experiences, and get an understanding from the people that live here," said Laura Guerrero Sanchez, the CEO of RFS Energy. "And so we wanted to introduce the project in person and be able to have these dialogues and hear feedback." One of the goals of the project is to develop an assessment tool to determine how different elements of a mine closure plan can be adapted in response to the impacts of climate change. Sanchez says that could be useful to Indigenous governments, NGOs, and the mining industry itself as it develops final closure plans. A major part of the Giant Mine Remediation Project is determining the long-term management of 237,000 tonnes of arsenic trioxide dust at the site. The current method of storing it underground was determined as the best temporary solution by the remediation team. Having an assessment tool would help the GMOB determine a long-term plan for dealing with the arsenic trioxide that accounts for climate change, the researchers suggest.
