Strathmore

The federal riding of Terrebonne in Quebec has gone from the Liberals' win column back to the Bloc Québécois after a postelection vote validation process.

Bloc candidate Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné, who had represented the riding since 2021, said in a social media post that she came out with a lead of 44 votes and that a judicial recount will take place.

"For someone to be officially elected, you have to wait until the end of this process," Sinclair-Desgagné wrote in French. "I hope to have the honour of representing Terrebonne again in the coming years."

Conservative MP Damien Kurek is set to step aside to allow Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre to run in a byelection in the Battle River—Crowfoot riding in Alberta.

Kurek says he is "temporarily" stepping aside as MP for the riding, which he has held since 2019.

The Conservative party confirms that Poilievre will run in the Battle River—Crowfoot byelection once it's called.

Alberta

The St. Mary River Irrigation District (SMRID) is notifying irrigators that they are now accepting water orders.

For the 2025 irrigation season, water allocation will remain at 12 inches at the farm gate based on the recent Irrigation Water Supply Forecast from Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation.

Crews have started flushing lines and are charging the system for water startup, expected to be available across the entire district by May 5th to 9th.

David Bexte has responded to the news of his election as the new MP for the Bow River riding.

Bexte won the seat for the Conservative Party of Canada, securing 44,511 votes, about 78 per cent of all ballots cast in the riding.

The new MP took to social media to express his gratitude.

“Throughout this campaign, I heard loud and clear that Pierre Poilievre’s message of putting Canada first resonated with the hard-working families of our riding,” Bexte wrote.

“We have a lot of work ahead of us, and now it is time to get at it.”

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is deflecting accusations that she's stoking the fires of separatism, despite her government moving to lower the bar for holding a referendum.

Earlier this week, Smith's government proposed legislation that would make it easier for citizens to call for a vote to secede from Canada, drawing heated condemnation from Indigenous leaders who warn it would violate treaties.

A vocal set of right-wing supporters are pushing for an Alberta exit following the federal Liberals' election win Monday.

The Calgary Humane Society is in possession of 33 dogs after an animal cruelty investigation in the city.

According to a social media post by the society, the small dogs were in an "unsafe living situation" on April 21.

"Thank you for your patience and understanding as our team carefully assesses each one, making sure they receive the medical attention, comfort, and compassion they deserve," wrote the society.

The group will be nursing the dogs back to health before placing them up for adoption over the next few weeks.

In the last issue we discussed warm and cold clouds, and we learned that most of our local precipitation is produced in cold clouds, which means that most of it starts off as snow, even in the summer.

This week we are going to look at the different types of precipitation we experience and examine how each type forms.

Next on our list of precipitation types is sleet or ice pellets.

This form of precipitation is created when raindrops freeze in the air before they reach the ground.

A year-and-a-half after announcing it would massively reorganize the health-care system, Alberta's government says it's now in the final stages of the still-controversial revamp.

The United Conservatives are dismantling the provincial health authority, Alberta Health Services, reducing it to a hospital services provider and putting four new agencies in charge.

Health Minister Adriana LaGrange is proposing legislation that would officially shuffle workers represented by five different unions from AHS to a different agency and the Health Ministry.

The idea of Alberta opting out of the Canada Pension Plan isn't moving ahead — at least for now.

Premier Danielle Smith says she won't be putting the creation of a provincial pension plan to a referendum any time soon.

"I'm not seeing that there's an appetite to put it to the people at the moment," Smith told reporters at an unrelated press conference Thursday.

"I have said that I would put it to the people if I saw evidence they wanted to vote on it (but) I'm not seeing that at the moment."

Charlie Mayer, a prominent figure in Canadian agriculture and politics, has passed away at the age of 89. Born in Saskatoon in 1936, Mayer attended the University of Saskatchewan before purchasing a farm in Manitoba in 1965. He grew grain, potatoes, and raised Simmental cattle, becoming active in the Manitoba Beef Growers Association. Mayer played a key role in opposing the introduction of supply management to the beef industry.