In the news today: Ottawa-Alberta MOU, Military inquest wraps, New Drake albums

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed…

Carney, Smith set to make energy announcement; carbon price deal expected

Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith are to meet today in Calgary, where they’re expected to announce an agreement on the future of industrial carbon emission pricing in the province.

A source with knowledge of the discussions has said the leaders are expected to reveal a plan for Alberta to raise its emission price to $130 per tonne by 2040.

The two governments pledged in a memorandum of understanding in November to several steps, including a carbon price plan, in order to build a bitumen pipeline to the West Coast, and Carney says today’s agreement would advance that.

Smith and Carney have said their deal is necessary to convince Alberta’s separatist movement not to give up on Canada.

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Rare hearings wrap on alleged mishandling of suicide by military police

It’s the final day of hearings into the tragic death of a Canadian defence analyst in 2024, launched over allegations military police mishandled a welfare check on the day he took his own life at his Ottawa home.

The rare public interest hearings, which have been taking place since April 20, were called by Canada’s military police watchdog due to the seriousness of the allegations and questions about whether the military police system failed to help Master Cpl. Shaun Orton.

His wife, Sarah Orton, accuses military police of unreasonably delaying a welfare check for some six hours after she first called to raise concerns about her husband’s well-being, and that they violated protocol by failing to attempt resuscitation.

Public interest hearings do not result in disciplinary judgments but are meant to establish whether military police acted appropriately under the circumstances, and to produce policy recommendations.

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As clock ticks down for Ontario consumption sites, users fear they won’t survive

As the clock ticks down for Ontario’s remaining supervised drug consumption sites, those who rely on the centres say they worry about how they’ll survive without those services.

Riley Bisson regularly visits the Moss Park site in downtown Toronto, and she says without it, she’s certain she’ll end up behind bars, in hospital, or dead on the street.

The Ontario government announced it will stop funding the province’s eight remaining safe injection sites in June — a move denounced by harm-reduction advocates who say it will lead to more overdose deaths, increase health-care costs and compromise public safety.

A spokesperson for Ontario’s health minister says the government is investing $560 million to replace “the failed approach of drug injection sites” with its abstinence-based model known as homelessness and addiction recovery treatment hubs.

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Liquidation grocery stores are booming as appetite for food deals soars

As food inflation continues to climb, many Canadians are turning to grocery liquidation stores to keep food costs in check, even if that means foregoing top quality.

Unlike typical grocery stores, liquidation supermarkets buy overstock inventory or food with minor defects from large-scale manufacturers or wholesalers at a discount and then sell it to consumers at similarly lower prices.

Charles McGregor with the Ontario-based Stratford Outlet says he had to open a separate facility dedicated to retail customers and that when the store opened last year, there was a long line of customers waiting to get in.

Quebec-based Liquidation Marie has seen similar appetite for deep discounts on food, and owner Marie-Ève Breton is aiming to have nearly 20 stores by the end of the year.

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Wait officially over for Drake fans as Toronto rapper drops long-awaited album

The wait is finally over for Drake fans after the Toronto-born rapper dropped his long-awaited “Iceman” album and two other surprise projects.

Schools of eager fans watched as the CN Tower was bathed in an icy blue glow Thursday, making it look as if it were encased in ice to promote the album’s release.

Near the end of a livestream leading up to the project’s release, a caption appeared announcing that two more projects — “Habibti” and “Maid of Honour” — would also be released.

The event capped off a weeks-long, headline-grabbing album-release campaign that saw the rapper erect massive ice blocks in a downtown Toronto parking lot with the release date for “Iceman” hidden inside.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 15, 2026.

The Canadian Press