Life In Canada

Every fall, polar bears gather near Churchill, Manitoba, waiting for Hudson Bay to freeze. The town calls itself the Polar Bear Capital of the World. 🐻‍❄️ Is it on your bucket list?

Imagine opening the door to your curling rink and finding it full of snakes. 🐍
That's life right now in Eriksdale, a small community in Manitoba's Interlake region, where red-sided garter snakes are turning up everywhere: in schools, offices, yards and on the highway.
Larry Weatherburn, president of the Eriksdale Curling Club, says he has taken "as many as 30 out of here in one day" from the rink alone. "They are just everywhere," he said. "They've never been this bad. This is the worst year we've ever had."
The Interlake is home to a huge population of red-sided garter snakes, which migrate every spring and fall to their winter dens. The snakes are harmless to people and protected under Manitoba's Wildlife Act, so the municipality can't simply remove them. Weatherburn expects the invasion to last "another two or three weeks, maybe more," until the weather turns cold.
Manitoba Conservation suggests sealing foundation cracks, keeping lawns short and clearing away debris piles.
Harmless, protected and absolutely everywhere, at least until the snow arrives.

Remember the nerves, the tiny window and the free peanuts? ✈️ Tell us where your very first flight went, and how old you were!

Canada is about to send another astronaut into space, and the countdown is on. 🇨🇦🚀

Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk is scheduled to launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket no earlier than 11:10 a.m. ET this Thursday, Oct. 2. He'll fly with two American astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut for a six-month stay on the International Space Station.

While on board, he'll run experiments including AstroFit, a study of how astronauts' strength changes in space. The station is set to be retired after 2030, so Kutryk could be the last Canadian ever to live aboard it.

The news came as SpaceX's giant Starship reached orbit for the first time on Sunday, Sept. 28, in an uncrewed test flight from Texas. It deployed 26 Starlink satellites before an engine problem cut the planned 10-hour flight to about three hours. NASA hopes to use Starship as a moon lander for its Artemis program.

One Canadian, 400 km above us, carrying the flag for six months. Go Josh! 🍁

Only on P.E.I. is the sand this colour. ❤️ It gets its red from iron oxide, which is basically rust. Have you walked it barefoot?

First council voted to rename it. Then the sign disappeared. Then it showed up online, marked "sold." 😅

There's a real Trump Avenue in Ottawa's Central Park neighbourhood, where several streets have New York–themed names. It was named more than 20 years ago, long before Donald Trump became president.

Last week, Ottawa city council voted to rename the street. Councillor Riley Brockington pointed to Trump's "repeated threats to Canada," including tariffs. A working group will consult residents and bring a new name to council for a vote in the spring.

Days later, a Trump Avenue sign at the corner of Whitestone Drive went missing. It then appeared on Facebook Marketplace listed as "sold." The City of Ottawa says it's replacing the sign and reminds everyone that street signs are critical for emergency crews to find addresses.

Somebody out there has a very unusual souvenir. 🪧



Sources: CTV News Ottawa (Sept 28); CBC News Ottawa (Sept 25)

A 1972 classic by a Canadian legend that topped the charts in the U.S. 🎸 Answer in the comments, and no Googling! 😉

Ontario police are asking the public to watch for a man serving a life sentence for murder.

A Canada-wide warrant has been issued for Mason Jenkins, 49, who has been unlawfully at large from the minimum-security unit of Collins Bay Institution in Kingston since he was reported missing on Sept. 24.

Jenkins is serving a life sentence for the 1998 first-degree murder of his sister. He is described as white, about 5'9" (179 cm) and 255 lbs, with a fair complexion, brown eyes and a shaved head. He was last seen wearing a light green jacket, blue jeans and rubber boots. Police say he is known to frequent Kingston, Kitchener and Chatham.

Do not approach him. Call 911, the OPP R.O.P.E. Squad at 1-866-870-7673 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

Please share this. One tip could bring him in.



Sources: Kingstonist (updated Sept 28); CTV News Kitchener; Napanee Today (Sept 28)

Roughly 300 km of cliffs, ocean and fall colour. 🍁🚗 Have you driven the Cabot Trail? Or does another road deserve the title?

"Christmas ain't that far away, and we have no idea the duration of these layoffs."

That's Ron Wells, the union leader for steelworkers at Stelco's Hamilton Works, after the company announced it will indefinitely idle its cold-rolled and coated products division.

The company says up to 500 employees will be affected. The union estimates about 350 steelworkers will lose their jobs, with operations starting to wind down on Oct. 9.

Stelco says U.S. tariffs of up to 50 per cent on Canadian steel have made the market "challenging and unsustainable." A company vice-president called it "an unfortunate but necessary action to help ensure the survival of Stelco." Ohio-based Cleveland-Cliffs bought Stelco in a $3.4-billion deal in 2024.

A steel town known for its grit, facing a hard fall.



Sources: CBC News / Yahoo News Canada (Sept 28); CTV News (Sept 28)