Canadian Crossing

2025 Victoria Day notebook: Where to go in Canada this summer

This view is waiting for you 🏔️

As you arrive into Banff National Park, Cascade Mountain stands tall and offers a towering welcome to the Canadian Rockies.

Do you remember the first time you saw this view? Let us know what year in the replies below 👇#MyBanff pic.twitter.com/dpsHSugQeV

— Banff & Lake Louise Tourism (@banfflakelouise) May 10, 2025

Welcome to Victoria Day 2025, the unofficial start of summer in Canada. Go and check in on your cottage, if you have one. Change your winter tires to summer tires. Find your summer games and toys while still keeping around the hockey sticks because you never know what will happen.

My name is Tim and I am Nova Scotian 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/n3TAws0fIa

— Tim Houston (@TimHoustonNS) April 23, 2025

This is a great showcase for Nova Scotia, if you don't look at this video through any political lens. The thought was that this was a message sent to Pierre Poilievre, former leader of the official opposition. We don't know if Nova Scotia premier Tim Houston is fluent in French.

From a travel standpoint, every Canadian province and territory should do this. If somehow there is a similar video, let us know in the comments.

We updated the cut from 20 to 10 in the Canada travel destinations from the contest from The Current on CBC Radio. Tofino in British Columbia (above) made the cut.

Keep the list of 20 as a guide, depending on what part of Canada you might want to visit. Perhaps you have a family connection to a different part of Canada or a mild curiosity about a part of Canada where you know nothing. The Bay of Fundy can sound good to someone in Saskatchewan while the Canadian Rockies could appeal to a person in Thunder Bay.

We have resources in every province for travel ideas. We may not have traveled much of late due to anxiety and financial issues but we have been to every province in Canada.

CBC Radio's The Current is compiling a Canada travel bucket list

Canadian travel notebook: Brittlestar talks up Atlantic Canada

Where to visit Canada in 2025

Yesterday, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador agreed to tear down trade barriers between their provinces. Ontario, P.E.I., and Nova Scotia have all introduced legislation to do the same.

My government will remove all federal barriers to internal trade by Canada Day.…

— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) April 25, 2025

Dulse from New Brunswick. Elk from Alberta. Salmon candy from British Columbia. Oatcakes from Nova Scotia. Butter tarts from Ontario. Tourtière from Quebec. Cod tongues and scrunchions from Newfoundland and Labrador.

Okay, so I think of foods in terms of regional products of note. Canadians will tell you they know little about other parts of the country. People in Newfoundland and Labrador might know Alberta if they have worked in the oil fields out west. Actors and artists from all over Canada may end up in Toronto or Vancouver or even Montréal.

We're sending a few of our province's best products to Canada's Premiers to give them a taste of what New Brunswick has to offer as we continue working together to break down trade barriers.

We can't wait for the rest of Canada to have easier access to these and the many, many… pic.twitter.com/YeVxV6nANE

— Susan Holt (@susanholt) May 10, 2025

Food and other regional products can be a good gateway to learning more about other parts of Canada. More provincial trade is a good idea, regardless of politics or personal philosophy. Provincial barriers are often quite weird. Stories about alcohol between Quebec and New Brunswick were shocking to your humble narrator.

More markets within Canada for wine from Ontario and British Columbia, beer from New Brunswick, and even items that aren't alcoholic. I drank Alexander Keith's beer in Halifax and loved it. How many other Canadians can access a local beer from somewhere else within the country?

Speaking of patriotism, Hudson's Bay was gutted by U.S. hedge funds. The fact that Canadian Tire is buying the Hudson's Bay brands ... feels very Canadian.

Even more! I can teach you what a Chesterfield is, and how when you go out you put your car in a Parkade & make sure if it's cold that you wear a Toque! 🧢

Loonies and Toonies aren't cartoons: they are money! 😳😱

There's so much to learn boys and girls but I'm here to help! https://t.co/cGAiSe9uzM

— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) May 8, 2025

Nanaimo Infusion is a great name for a THC experience. Instead, this is a gathering of Americans coming to Canada to appreciate the country.

Tod Maffin put out the idea of a festival to Americans through a TikTok video. The festival was created to welcome the new visitors. A few hundred people reportedly attended the festival.

You humble narrator has briefly been through Nanaimo on the way to and from Tofino on Vancouver Island. Wish I had more time there.

Most Canadians would now rather road trip at home than in the U.S.https://t.co/eL5aBPB6vV

— blogTO (@blogTO) May 9, 2025

A lot of our Canadian journeys have been to larger cities in Canada. We do enjoy nature, even within large cities, such as the islands in Toronto, Banff and Lake Louise outside of Calgary, as well as Stanley Park and Wreck's Beach in Vancouver.

If we break this down by population centres in Canada, I have spent time in the top 9: Toronto, Montréal, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa–Gatineau, Winnipeg, Quebec City, and Hamilton. Have slept in all of them except Hamilton.

Have also spent time in Victoria (12), Halifax (13), Windsor (15), Regina (18), and St. John's (19).

I thought Saskatoon (16) was the largest city I have not visited, but missing these Ontario cities: Kitchener (10), London (11), and Oshawa (14). Rounding out the top 20 are St. Catharines – Niagara Falls in Ontario (17) and Kelowna, British Columbia (20).

There are a few cities of note where I have passed through on a bus but didn't spent significant time there: London (11); Nanaimo, British Columbia (31); Red Deer, Alberta (35); and Brandon, Manitoba (63). Add Sarnia, Ontario (45) and substitute car for bus.

Places where I have spent time: Moncton, New Brunswick (29); Fredericton, New Brunswick (52); Saint John, New Brunswick (53); Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island (59); and Stratford, Ontario (87). I have slept in all of these places.

Places of note where I would like to spend time: Thunder Bay, Ontario (36); Lloydminster, Alberta / Saskatchewan (90); and Cape Breton – Sydney Nova Scotia (91).

CanadianCrossing.com Quebec coverage

When we parle Quebec and language, we talk about their desire for more French and less of other languages, especially English.

Now, Quebec is requiring vous in schools, saying tu is too informal.

When I learned French many moons ago, I learned the difference between tu (you singular) versus vous (you plural).

Tying theoretical civility to language feels like a stretch. We recognize that people in Quebec are more sensitive to language, especially in Montréal. Stretching that nuance to high school while CEGEP students can still say tu.

We should note that Quebec secondary school goes to Grade 11 so graduates tend to be 17.

Good choice for the @ndp to name Don Davies as interim leader. #cdnpolihttps://t.co/VIswX7O2GB

— Chad Rubel (@canadian_xing) May 6, 2025

Some federal political updates. The NDP wasted little time picking an interim leader in Don Davies, one of the 7 MPs in Parliament. Better to have one of the current MPs in that position.

If you think the by-election will be soon, there are a bunch of logistics that go into this before a by-election can happen.

Traditionally, when a party leader runs in a by-election to regain their seat, the other parties don't run a candidate in that riding.
In 1942, PM William Lyon Mackenzie King adhered to that, but still found way to prevent the election of his hated rival Arthur Meighen. pic.twitter.com/glX5ZpSOBA

— Craig Baird - Canadian History Ehx (@CraigBaird) May 4, 2025

I still think about Rachel Notley, even if I have no clue as to whether she wants to be in federal politics. I do want Notley to run in Battle River-Crowfoot against Pierre Poilievre. Mark Carney may not want a Liberal person to run in the by-election. The NDP isn't obligated to let the by-election go without a candidate.

The Conservative Party selected an interim party leader in Andrew Scheer. He has been the House party leader and a former leader of the party. Scheer is also a U.S. citizen, offering to give that up once he got caught during the 2019 election campaign. Scheer, unlike Ted Cruz, did not give up his U.S. citizenship. You might recall that the party used Scheer in a campaign ad in 2025 rather than Poilievre, the party leader.

Scheer has other skeletons in his closet.

Canadian TV notebook: Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent comes to The CW

Canadian TV notebook: NBC finally gives U.S. the final season of Transplant

We are down to the top 5 Canadian TV shows for the Audience Choice for the upcoming Canadian Screen Awards. You can vote for your favourite until 11:59 pm Eastern tonight. There will eventually be 3 choices.

Here are the 5 nominations and their networks: Heartland (CBC); Made for TV (Crave); Murdoch Mysteries (CBC); The Way Home (Hallmark); Wild Cards (CBC).

Here are the shows that made the top 10 but not the final cut: Abroad (Omni); Don't Even (Crave); Dragons' Den (CBC); Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent (Citytv); The Office Movers (Crave).

2025 Stanley Cup notebook: Winnipeg, Toronto, Edmonton advance to the second round

2025 CFL preseason schedule

2025 Toronto Blue Jays preview

We usually wonder if MLB Network will pick up the Rogers Sportsnet feed for the Toronto Blue Jays. 2025 asks a different question: How the [tabarnak] did MLB not schedule the Blue Jays on Victoria Day?

The Blue Jays are in the middle of a homestand with Tampa Bay and Detroit already in town. San Diego comes into Canada to play the Blue Jays tomorrow night. The Roberto Alomar trade is the most famous moment between the 2 teams. The Padres came into the National League in 1969 along with the Montréal Expos.

Looks like fewer #BlueJays fans than usual down are from Canada for tonight’s game in Seattle, especially compared to some of the peak years I’ve been here for.

Fairly small crowd overall tonight, though, and the weekend is typically busier, but still noticeable.

— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) May 10, 2025

The Jays already made their lone trip to Seattle over Mothers Day weekend. This is normally a weekend when the Seattle ballpark is filled with the blue of Blue Jays fans. Canadians from British Columbia traditionally flood down for Seattle Seahawks (NFL) as well.

I had fun in Seattle watching the Blue Jays many years ago. I've seen the Blue Jays in Chicago (both teams), Milwaukee, Detroit, Boston, and Seattle.

Anecdotally, there were a lot fewer fans because of the tariffs and overall concern over safety with traveling within the United States. We sadly understand their concern.

Edmonton advances to the conference final while Winnipeg came close to being the other team. A tripping penalty cost the Jets Game 6. The Oilers will play Dallas starting on Wednesday.

Toronto didn't really show up at home for Game 5 or Game 7. Still, a cheap hit that took the starting goalie, a hit that went unpunished, did a lot of damage.

More on the NHL tomorrow.

The Calgary Stampeders and the BC Lions start the CFL preseason in a new location: Starlight Stadium in Langford, British Columbia, about a 25 minute drive west of Victoria on Vancouver Island.

The Minnesota Frost, PWHL defending champions, edged out the Toronto Sceptres in a 4-3 OT win to advance to the PWHL finals. The Frost plays the Ottawa Charge, victorious over the Montréal Victoire. The finals start tomorrow night in Ottawa.

The highlight of the latter series came on May 11 when Montréal's Catherine Dubois was the quadruple-overtime hero with the game-winning goal to beat Ottawa 3–2 and end the longest game in PWHL history. Her goal gave the Victoire its first-ever playoff win.

OTTAWA IS GOING TO THE PWHL FINAL!!

The Charge upset the Montreal Victoire to book their ticket to their first Walter Cup final. #PWHL #YOW pic.twitter.com/lVBNnqVCyo

— Claire Hanna (@clahanna) May 17, 2025

Windsor mayor making travel much more difficult to get between Canada and the United States

Travel infrastructure. One of the many topics that should have been part of the federal election campaign. Via Rail is too expensive with limited coverage. Canada should create a national bus service similar to Greyhound but more affordable than the train system. If you do see a Greyhound bus in Canada, they are buses running (from New York City and Boston) to Montréal; (from New York City via Buffalo) to Toronto; and (from Seattle) to Vancouver.

The logistics I had in getting a rental car in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador still boggle my mind.

Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkins wants people to come to Windsor for various events and festivals yet cancels the main service that brought them from the United States. we would love to hear if Dilkins has a better plan. Travel infrastructure.

CanadianCrossing.com now has stories grouped by provinces and territories

CanadianCrossing.com border crossings coverage

CanadianCrossing.com travel coverage

Expedia’s Summer Travel forecast shows Canadians want to explore Canada this summer. Top spots include Tofino, Quebec and Newfoundland. jimbyerstravel.com/2025/04/11/e... #Canada #Newfoundland #BC #BritishColumbia #Quebec #travel #Expedia

[image or embed]

— jimbyerstravel.bsky.social (@jimbyerstravel.bsky.social) April 11, 2025 at 10:35 AM

Unfortunately, wildfire season in Canada is well underway, including the Lac du Bonnet wildfires in Manitoba. Hopefully, not too many more wildfires.

Let's hope for a really great summer in Canada. 

Twitter captures: @banfflakelouise; @TimHoustonNS; @MarkJCarney; @susanholt; @WilliamShatner; @blogTO; @canadian_xing; @CraigBaird; @KeeganMatheson; @clahanna
photo credits: me; @DrewDilkins and @canadian_xing
BlueSky captures: @jimbyerstravel.bsky.social

2025 CFL preseason schedule

Date	Game	Time
May 19	Calgary @ BC	4p
May 24	Saskatchewan @ Winnipeg	4p
May 24	Ottawa @ Montréal^	4p
May 24	Toronto @ Hamilton*	7p
May 24	Edmonton @ Calgary	9:30p
May 30	Hamilton @ Toronto	7p
May 30	Montréal @ Ottawa*^	7p
May 30	Winnipeg @ Saskatchewan	9p
May 30	BC @ Edmonton	9:30p
All times Eastern Daylight. * TSN broadcasts. ^ RDS broadcasts.

Welcome to the CFL preseason, 2025 version. Calgary and the BC Lions play each other on May 19 (Victoria Day) to start the preseason schedule.

Each of the 9 teams plays a home game and a road game. Games reside within the division so no crossovers. Teams play in their regular stadiums with noted exceptions. Toronto Argonauts train and play its preseason home game in Guelph, ON.

The BC Lions are mixing it up and playing its home preseason game Monday at Starlight Stadium in Langford, British Columbia. Langford is about a 25 minute drive west of Victoria on Vancouver Island.

There is a rivalry pattern to most of the preseason matchups. Winnipeg — Saskatchewan. Hamilton — Toronto. Montréal — Ottawa. The Alberta teams and British Columbia will do a round robin scenario.

TSN shows the Toronto @ Hamilton game on May 24 (TSN2) and goes even further east for the Montréal @ Ottawa match (TSN4) on May 30.

RDS carries both Montréal Alouettes preseason games en Francaise.

CFL+ has the other preseason games in Canada and all the preseason games outside Canada. The service is free, though you need to register. There are simultaneous preseason games so you can't watch every game live.

The English-language rights holder's pattern has been 2 televised preseason games going back the last 2 seasons with 4 in 2022.

2024 CFL preseason schedule

2023 CFL preseason schedule

2022 CFL preseason schedule

2019 CFL preseason schedule

2018 CFL preseason schedule

The Toronto Argonauts have become entrenched in their preseason home in Guelph, Ontario. The Argos had used Varsity Stadium at the University of Toronto for preseason games. Varsity Stadium has hosted more Grey Cup games than any other structure in Canada.

Toronto Argonauts win yet another Grey Cup over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers

CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage

The regular season starts June 5. Our league preview will run on June 4.

photo and logo credit: CFL

Canadian TV notebook: Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent comes to The CW

We know virtually nothing about future The CW plans, yet we are still doing a Canadian TV notebook based on what we know about the U.S. upfronts. Our mental telepathy messaging has worked. The U.S. network has picked up the first 2 seasons of Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent via Citytv.

We figured NBC and/or Peacock was a logical match, given the network's run with the original and spinoffs in the United States. The CW will start with Season 1 next fall. Citytv has renewed the show in Canada for Season 3 but that may be a future acquisition for the U.S. network.

Aden Young and Kathleen Munroe are relative unknowns in the United States while Karen Robinson and K.C. Collins have some traction on the U.S. side. The plots drive the content of the franchise. We have seen all the episodes in The CW acquisition (don't ask how) and the U.S. audience will be very happy. They might even learn things about Toronto and Canada, such as a real bread price-fixing scandal.

Tassie Cameron has done a wonderful job as showrunner and executive producer.

"Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent is the next gripping chapter of one of the greatest and most recognizable broadcast television brands of all time, and we can't wait to bring this series to The CW this fall," Brad Schwartz, The CW network president, said in a statement.

Hudson & Rex has had some U.S. exposure, the only other Citytv show to reach over the 49th parallel.

The CW has had a few Canadian series for CW, including Wild Cards, Sight Unseen, Moonshine, Sullivan's Crossing, Run the Burbs, Son of a Critch, and Children Ruin Everything.

The CW takes two seasons of Citytv’s Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent stateside https://t.co/tqEDcOLgGa

— C21 Media (@C21Media) May 14, 2025

U.S. over the air networks are discovering the appeal of live sports. NBC is running prime-time NBA on Tuesday nights this fall and Sunday nights after the end of the NFL regular season. The networks have used Saturday nights to show college football, baseball, and hockey.

NBC brought in Transplant in part to fill space on the TV schedule because of the pandemic. Live sports is cheaper programming, even with the money shelled out to get that programming. In other words, outside of The CW, there isn't much of a need to grab cheap Canadian TV programming. Fox is still an exception with Murder in a Small Town.

The CW is very happy with having WWE NXT, which is wrestling. We know that will run on Tuesdays.

We are seeing this a bit on the Canadian side with CTV running a lot more CFL games in 2025: Saturday nights in June and July; Saturday afternoons in August through October with a 2-week break starting Labour Day weekend. The games are not exclusive so they also run on TSN. We criticize the Canadian private networks for running American programming but running this Canadian content is saving Bell Media money AND promoting the CFL.

Canadian TV notebook: NBC finally gives U.S. the final season of Transplant

We find the TV world odd when we have no clue what is coming with The CW yet Netflix has an upfront. We haven't been encouraged from a Canadian content standpoint about what Netflix is doing. Well, not counting North of North, but did they have much of a hand at that show?

So Netflix has an upcoming limited series set in Newfoundland, Canada. There is no title right now. let's look at some of the people behind this show.

Jesse McKeown is the creator, showrunner, and executive producer. McKeown is married to Marthe Bernard, St. John's native who started on Republic of Doyle. Writers?! Karen Walton (Orphan Black), Perry Chafe, and Natty Zavitz are the writers. Chafe has some background in Newfoundland as co-creator, executive producer, and writer for Republic of Doyle and Saint-Pierre as well as executive producer and writer for Frontier, Caught, and Son of a Critch.

We also know that directors include the legendary artist Helen Shaver, Stephen Dunn (Closet Monster), and English director Jamie Childs. There are 6 episodes. The synopsis: "When a mysterious sea creature terrorizes a remote Newfoundland town, a hard-bitten fisherman must fight to protect his family, his community, and his vanishing way of life."

No idea who is in the show and when this will run. Still curious more than usual for a Netflix project.

We know some about Dan Levy's new Netflix project. No title as well but 8 episodes of a family crime comedy series starring Levy as well as American actors Taylor Ortega and Laurie Metcalf. Levy and Ortega play siblings while Metcalf plays their mother.

The most intriguing element of this show IMHO is that the co-creator and executive producer is American actor/writer Rachel Sennott. Telling that Sennott, who is not Canadian, has done more Canadian work in the last 5 years than Levy has. Sennott starred in Canadian films I Used to Be Funny (currently on Netflix) and Shiva Baby.

Levy hasn't really thought about Canada since Schitt's Creek. He seemed to like how the CBC let him do his thing but chasing the American market is definitely tempting. He did the American film Good Grief, outside of acting, but very little on the writer/producer side in the last 5 years.

We will root for both projects for very different reasons.

Canadian TV notebook: Shoresy back for Season 4

The CW picks up Canadian TV shows hopefully not just because the programming is already made. Found this about Wild Cards from an article where we didn't save the link (sorry).

"Still, the numbers look good: It's averaging 799,000 total viewers (with delayed playback), down just 10% from its freshman run, making it the most-watched of The CW's nine dramas."

Delayed playback means those recording the show on a DVR or PVR or perhaps watching through the Web site. The CW has shows that are better known on the U.S. side, such as All American. Wild Cards feels like a co-production where anything distinctly Canadian is scrubbed (money, for example). Still, Canadian actors shooting in Vancouver in a well-crafted show that draws your humble narrator as a regular viewer. CBC is happy enough to give the show 2 more years. The CW will announce its plans soon.

Your humble narrator is fascinated by the Audience Choice for the Canadian Screen Awards since they reflect the Canadian audience about Canadian television. The most popular isn't always the "best" but that is what works for this as well as the Golden Screen Award (formerly the Golden Reel Award) for Canadian film. Then again, the winner of the latter award is almost always a Quebecois film en Francaise.

Here are the 5 nominations and their networks: Heartland (CBC); Made for TV (Crave); Murdoch Mysteries (CBC); The Way Home (Hallmark); Wild Cards (CBC). Eventually, this list of 5 will get cut to 3.

Here are the shows that made the top 10 but not the final cut: Abroad (Omni); Don't Even (Crave); Dragons' Den (CBC); Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent (Citytv); and The Office Movers (Crave).

The Canadian Screen Awards will be on June 1 only on CBC Gem.

We know nothing about the Image Comics series also called Revival. We know a TV version is coming to CTV Sci-Fi Channel in Canada and Syfy in the United States. The Syfy premiere is June 12 with a week delay on Peacock in the States.

The supernatural series is set in Wisconsin, yet shot in Canada with a Canadian cast. Melanie Scorfano plays the lead in local police officer and single mother Dana Cypress. Romy Weltman, David James Elliott, and Andy McQueen are high up on the callsheet. Lara Jean Chorostecki, Derek McGrath, and Nathan Dales (fellow Letterkenny alum with Scrofano) are lower on the callsheet.

The show was shot in New Brunswick. Glad to see that province get some more film work.

Mark Carney, Liberals get a 4th term but a minority government once again

How Pascale St-Onge sees the future of CBC and Radio-Canada

We were slightly annoyed that Mark Carney had given over Canadian identity and culture (previously Heritage Ministry) to Steven Guilbeault, best known for his past work in the environment portfolio. We excused it at the time because there was a federal election and the cabinet isn't as high a priority when running for election.

Guilbeault is still in that portfolio with the new cabinet following the Liberal win. Our issues is that Guilbeault would be great for environment but the right-wing screams loudly at the prospect of that, so politically shifting him to a different portfolio somehow wins out.

In his previous time with this portfolio, Guilbeault didn't communicate well and didn't seem to have his heart in this portfolio. We can hope for something better but we have very little faith. Pascal St-Onge, who at least pushed a plan to help the CBC, did not run for re-election.

Guilbeault is better than having a Conservative person in that role. There used to be shadow cabinet members from the opposition on some of these portfolios. Maybe just not from the Conservative Party.

The Conversation has an excellent piece on Canadian films being dragged into the trade wars.

2025 Canadian Screen Awards nominations

2025 Canadian Screen Awards nominations: Television

Fox has a new streaming service called FOX One. We don't know if this runs alongside the Fox shows currently on Hulu or how that will work this fall. Murder in a Small Town (Canadian show) and Doc (not Canadian show) are our primary concerns.

The Rookie enters Season 8 as a mid-season replacement on ABC. Nathan Fillion, along with Molly Parker on Fox, is a rare moment with a Canadian lead on an American TV show.

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian TV coverage

CanadianCrossing.com television coverage

We have asked, sometimes begged, for a U.S. outlet to show all 3 seasons of Mary Kills People. The Global TV show ran the first 2 seasons on Lifetime. Hulu had the show but again only the first 2 seasons. Well, Fawesome TV has all 3 seasons. That is the good news. The bad news is that the closed captions run ahead of the actual show so they aren't much help. Ugh.

Tubi and Freevee don't have those issues. Still, if you haven't watched this show, Caroline Dhavernas is so wonderful as Mary, a doctor on the forefront of helping those who want to die. The show is complicated in a good way.

If you didn't see Coroner on The CW in the States (CBC in Canada), you can catch up in the States on Hulu. Roger Cross had more fun on Coroner than he has on Sight Unseen. Tamara Podemski is great in a supporting role.

We aren't trying to pick sides but I noticed this Bell Media ad. Your humble narrator would find this to be a good combo for streaming.

photo credits: Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent/Citytv; CFL; Bell Media
Twitter capture: @C21Media
Instagram capture: thecdnacademy
video credit: Revival/Syfy/CTV Sci-Fi Channel.

Canadian film review: Adoration

Adoration explores the impact of a story. The story in the film is not presented as real, though based on a real story in real life.

Simon (Devon Bostick) hears the story, used for a French translation in school: A man plants a bomb in his pregnant girlfriend's luggage but the plot is halted. 

Simon transfers the story to his own life, since his parents Sami (Noam Jenkins) and Rachel (Rachel Blanchard) were killed in a car crash. Simon, who lives with his Uncle Tom (Scott Speedman), tells the story as if this happened with his parents. Simon's teacher Sabine (Arsinée Khanjian) encourages him to develop the story for drama class.

Simon's classmates are mostly on board with this story, real or not. The dynamic of an innocent car crash becomes more sinister if somehow his father Sami was responsible for the deaths of himself and his wife Rachel, as in the fake story. Morris (Kenneth Welsh), Rachel's father and Simon's grandfather, already thinks Sami was responsible for the deaths. There appears to be some racism in Morris' feelings. 

Turns out Sabine is more involved with the real story than we first might imagine.

Atom Egoyan (writer/director) shows us the path of a fake story and the damage that can do in real life. Simon lives with the uncertainty of how the car crash happened and perhaps he is reassured with known elements within a story. 

Egoyan reportedly based the story partly on the 1986 Hindawi affair.

We also get flashbacks of Simon's parents in real and imagined scenarios.

Reality and imagination get interwoven of the stories within the film. This also shows how memories can shift as time passes.

The acting is good. Bostick is playing a character with a lot of hidden emotions and has to carry a lot in this film.

This is a thinking person's film, in other words, an Atom Egoyan film. A good second or third date film unless you want to screen somebody out on a first date.

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

Adoration won Best Canadian Feature Film at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival. The film won the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the Palme d'Or.

Adoration is available on Pluto TV in the United States.

video and photo credit: Adoration

Canadaland ponders how to improve the CBC

We wrote back in March about the ill-fated Cross Country Checkup episode on CBC Radio One on how Canadians felt about the whole "51st state" idea and using those words. We don't bring this up as a trigger of any kind.

Canadaland did a take on this topic, albeit from some time ago, as we are catching up on a few items.

We genuinely like Jesse Brown and his take on Canadian journalism. We had a good time with his typical Canadian take on Canadian film some time back. Plus, Brown does a decent Rex Murphy impression (Murphy being a former host of the CBC Radio program).

The episode takes the Cross Country Checkup format except Jesse Brown weighs in more than current Cross Country Checkup host Ian Hanomansing. 

What makes the episode work is actual Canadians weighing in on the CBC and how the public broadcaster has many good points and some struggles from more local viewpoints. The f-word does get mentioned quite a bit so keep that in mind.

They go into a bit as to what "defunding the CBC" actually means. Brown talks about, and we agree with, how CBC should show more arts programming and true Canadian content (e.g., not Family Feud Canada).

How to unfck the CBC (Canadaland)

Cross country fckup (Canadaland)

This is what we wrote back in March.

This is highly depressing and a sad commentary on #cdnjournalism via the public broadcaster. https://t.co/WVlz1vw3Du

— Chad Rubel (@canadian_xing) February 23, 2025

Cross Country Checkup on CBC Radio One had a theoretically good idea with a bad title. A binational discussion on the matters between the 2 countries. Tying into the 51st State rhetoric with the CBC and NPR from the United States was troubling and triggering.

Ian Hanomansing is a step up from the days of listening when Rex Murphy hosted the show. Yet the CBC should put the program on an equal footing and that didn't happen. Also, we get why foolishly where American journalists will bring on Kevin O'Leary. Canada should know better. They won't even ask O'Leary about a certain night on a boat, much less challenging his very false assertions.

The public broadcaster should have the courage to not use the language and spokespeople of the bullies.

Canada-U.S. notebook: The illogical tariffs start today

Finding good Canadian films not just because they're Canadian

The CBC can be better and there should be ongoing iterative improvement. It is a public institution and should move with the public. But if we burn it down, we would have to rebuild it to protect ourselves from private industry, foreign actors, and ourselves.

— Peter MacDougall (@pmacdougall.bsky.social) February 8, 2025 at 7:31 PM

"The CBC" depends upon interpretation. Are we talking news, TV, radio, online, local coverage? Some or all of them?

Generally speaking, news is overall good. They have run scared at times on not offending conservatives and make decisions accordingly. The idea of news from a public broadcaster being "left" is not reflective in reality. The NDP and Green Party will tell you that the CBC doesn't treat them well in news coverage.

"Reasonably neutral" is a difficult stance in reality in 2025 with so much right-wing domination of mainstream media and social media. Yet CBC News should aim for that as a presentation model.

Front Burner is a theoretically great idea: 25 minutes on a topic in the news. Unfortunately, Jayme Poisson is pretty far to the right and surprisingly not that curious. 

Our focus has also been on the TV side. Unlike some of the callers, CBC does have a lot of good and sometimes great Canadian television. Programming decisions have been mysterious, such as why Frankie Drake Mysteries and Run the Burbs suddenly disappear.

The CBC flat out runs way too many British shows and, of late, American shows that run on Fox, of all places (e.g., Animal Control).

Would any of the private networks air Canadian films? The CBC doesn't do that often enough yet they do at times. Well, mostly on Saturday nights when hockey is off the ice.

It's time to renew CBC/Radio-Canada's mandate, and ensure it remains a strong, representative national public broadcaster. pic.twitter.com/vnUQv1myKJ

— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) April 4, 2025

Unlike federal money given to provinces that is supposed to be spent on health care but isn't (we are looking at you, Doug Ford in Ontario), the idea of more funding for the CBC should be a rethinking of its TV approach.

More Canadian TV shows, more Canadian feature films and documentaries, more arts programming, more investment in a late-night and prime time show such as what George Stroumboulopoulos and Rick Mercer used to have on the CBC. The reality of Canadian TV is that CBC has the majority of Canadian TV programs. Bell Media is second, though a lot of that are not on CTV. Global and Citytv meet, presumably, the very low standards (thanks CRTC) for producing original Canadian TV content.

You could argue that the 3 private networks should do more but until they do, CBC is the main portal for Canadian TV.

For those young people, and one of the young callers mentioned how broadcast TV is becoming more irrelevant, that should be a consideration. Like all media outlets, CBC needs to go to where people consume content. When we did track CBC promos on Hockey Night in Canada, they stopped trying to shift people to CBC and are guiding them to CBC Gem.

We would argue that an Acorn TV or Britbox equivalent type setup featuring Canadian content could provide money that would go into producing more and better Canadian content, TV or film.

How Pascale St-Onge sees the future of CBC and Radio-Canada

CanadianCrossing.com CBC coverage

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian TV coverage

CanadianCrossing.com television coverage

CanadianCrossing.com radio coverage

CanadianCrossing.com journalism coverage

The CBC deserves more funding so that the public broadcaster can make smarter, more thoughtful decisions. Airing programming important to Canadians that maybe don't get the best ratings. Quality of Canada rather than watered down versions of American shows with Canadian people.

The Republicans in the U.S. want to cut funding for PBS and NPR while Conservatives in Canada want to defund the CBC. Canadians surprisingly love PBS more than you might think. 

ICI Radio-Canada Télé may have some competitive issues versus Quebec private networks such as TVA, Noovo, and Télé-Québec. Let's be clear: the Conservatives don't go after Radio-Canada not on principle but because of the power of the Quebec vote.

Yes, the CBC needs to improve and needs money to be a better product. Does that mean going commercial-free on television (outside of ads from Rogers on Hockey Night in Canada)? Let's put that on the table. More thoughts, more solutions.

Feel free to weigh in on how to improve the CBC in the comments section.

photo credit: Canadaland
BlueSky capture: @pmacdougall.bsky.social
Twitter capture: @MarkJCarney

Canadian film notebook: 2025 Cannes Film Festival preview

Anne Émond is back with a new film as we look into the Canadian content at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, running May 13-24.

Peak Everything | Amour Apocalypse is a romantic comedy film, written and directed by Émond. Patrick Hivon (Babysitter, Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person) plays a person suffering from depression and climate anxiety. American actor Piper Perabo plays the love interest.

The cast also includes Connor Jessup, Gord Rand, Éric K. Boulianne, Gilles Renaud, and Élizabeth Mageren in supporting roles. We know Perabo has been in one other Canadian film: Lost and Delirious (2001).

Émond directed Lucy Grizzli Sophie (2024) but hasn't written and directed a film since Jeune Juliette | Young Juliette (2019).

Death Does Not Exist | La mort n'existe pas is an animated drama film starring Karelle Tremblay and written and directed by Félix Dufour-Laperrière. This is a Canada-France co-production.

Lucky Lu is written and directed by Canadian Lloyd Lee Choi in his feature film directorial debut. This film is adapted from Choi's 2022 short film Same Old.

These films are running in the Directors' Fortnight section.

Co-productions of note: La Maison de Poupée from Caroline Poggi and Jonathan Vinel (Luxembourg, Canada) running In Competition as well as A Magnificent Life | Marcel et Monsieur Pagnol from Sylvain Chomet (France, Canada, Belgium, Luxembourg, United States) in Special Screenings.

Short films of note: Bread Will Walk | Le pain se lève from Alex Boya as well as co-productions in the Focus section: Ceci est mon Coeur from Nicolas Blies and Stéphane Hueber-Blies (Luxembourg, France, Canada) and Oto's Planet from Gwenael François (Luxembourg, Canada, France).

Matthew Rankin's new film was a highlight at Cannes 2024

Simple comme Sylvain | The Nature of Love wins the César for Best Foreign Film

Canada has had some strong success in the last 2 years with films at Cannes. Universal Language and Simple comme Sylvain have brought international acclaim to Canadian film.

"I thought I was doing them a favour by showing them Winnipeg without having to go" - Guy Maddin & Matthew Rankin joke about how Winnipeg was the "it city" of #TIFF24 pic.twitter.com/f2mt5Au4Fb

— TIFF (@TIFF_NET) September 18, 2024

The Canadian documentary Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story got another accolade, winning a Peabody Award. The transgender soul singer Jackie Shane documentary, directed by Michael Mabbott and Lucah Rosenberg-Lee, was a winner in the documentary category.

Toronto Film Critics Association named the film as best Canadian documentary in February. The National Film Board of Canada co-produced the film. You can find the film on Crave in Canada.

Celebrating National Canadian Film Day 2025

Ted Kotcheff passed away in April, 3 days after he turned 94. Kotcheff was from a generation where, as a Canadian director, he needed to look south for opportunity. You can't pigeon hole a diverse track record, such as the Fun with Dick and Jane (1977), North Dallas Forty (1979), the original Rambo film First Blood (1982), and Weekend at Bernie's (1989).

As impressive as that was, we want to acknowledge Kotcheff as the director of The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1974). Kotcheff, a former housemate of Mordecai Richler, directed Richler's adaptations of that film and Joshua Then and Now (1985).

The Toronto International Film Festival ranked The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz in the Top 10 Canadian Films of All Time in 1984 (the original list) and 1993. The film came out in a time where few Canadian actors were used: Richard Dreyfuss stars in the title role with Micheline Lanctôt (Canadian), Randy Quaid, Joseph Wiseman (Canadian), Denholm Elliott (English), Joe Silver, and Jack Warden.

Every Canadian filmmaker knows it’s important to make sure Canadians know that people outside of Canada like your Canadian film.

— Kazik Radwanski (@redvineski) January 17, 2025

The Walrus has a really good, extensive story about the beginnings of David Cronenberg dealing with the pitfalls of Canadian cinema at that time. Even if you aren't into Cronenberg, this is a must read about the relatively ancient times of the world of Canadian film and the infighting of that era. The Walrus is a good example of fine and thoughtful Canadian journalism.

This CBC story came out just before National Canadian Film Day and has some background about Canadian film. A discussion worthy of the notebook but in a different realm than The Walrus story.

Canadian film notebook: Breaking down the 2025 Canadian Screen Awards nominations

Canadian film notebook: Your Tomorrow is available on TV Ontario

We do wonder about how this has impacted the Best International Feature Film at the Oscars in recent years. The new Academy Awards rules say that members will now be required to watch all nominated films in each category to be eligible to vote in the final round of Oscar voting. The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences went from encouraged to mandatory.

Changes specifically designed for the Best International Film Category: The academy is allowing filmmakers with refugee or asylum status to be represented by a country not their own. The new regulation: "The submitting country must confirm that creative control of the film was largely in the hands of citizens, residents, or individuals with refugee or asylum status in the submitting country."

Germany submitted The Seed of the Sacred Fig in part because Mohammad Rasoulof emigrated to Germany. The idea would seem that filmmakers such as Rasoulof, if he was still in Iran, would have an easier time submitting a film to the Oscars. The details of this are not clear to your humble narrator so we will see what happens this fall when we get a new crop of films.

Since countries decide which films to enter, some great films are lost in the proverbial dust. Recent examples: France passed up Anatomy of a Fall and Poland politically passed up Green Border. The practicality of adding 5 wild cards is non-existent but a fun idea. An international jury could decide 5 international films where political or other pressure is involved. Maybe even a second Canadian film could be in the mix.

Reese Witherspoon was so iconic for this pic.twitter.com/tj3lZeRJD5

— Women Posting W's (@womenpostingws) December 4, 2024

These stories may seem more like Toronto real estate stories than related to Canadian film. Still, places to see a Canadian film are important, especially since Toronto is the city most likely to show a Canadian film in a theatre.

The Toronto International Film Festival needs a new location for press and industry film screenings after Scotiabank Theatre Toronto was sold off for high-end condos.

Your humble narrator has been to see TIFF films in the Scotiabank Theatre Toronto. The location at 259 Richmond Street West, corner of Richmond and John streets in downtown Toronto, was ideal.

Hot Docs is in the process of selling Ted Rogers Cinema, its flagship theatre, in the midtown Annex neighbourhood. Hot Docs said the deal allows the organization to continue programming at the venue year-round.

The particular elusiveness of Ste. Anne even among Canadian films

By my count, your humble narrator has been picking off Canadian films from recent TIFF Canada's Top 10 lists. Some reviews are yet to come but we are down to these unseen films since 2017:

2024 Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story — Lucah Rosenberg-Lee, Michael Mabbott
2021 Ste. Anne — Rhayne Vermette; The White Fortress — Igor Drljača
2020 Fauna — Nicolás Pereda

We have confidence of seeing the Jackie Shane documentary before the end of the calendar year. 2 of the other 3 are co-productions, which normally makes that easier to find the titles. Not always. Then there is Ste. Anne, the film that few humans have seen.

2025 Canadian Screen Awards nominations: Film

2025 Canadian Screen Awards nominations

We rarely see Canadian journalism, especially on TV, talk about Canadian film, much less the Canadian film industry. Still, let's reward when outlets manage to stumble upon this portfolio. Thanks CP24.

We aren't freaked out over the petulant toddler rant over "foreign films." If you are, which is perfectly reasonable, we have some links that might answer some questions you might have.

• CBC News interview
• The Current CBC Radio segment
• Commotion podcast episode

We generally believe there should be more collaboration in Canadian TV, provided Canada doesn't surrender its cultural sovereignty. Just show more Canadian films in the U.S.

Dealing with films about suicide that could be triggering

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

We wrote about the Belgian film Close in our look at suicide related films in 2023. Émilie Dequenne played Sophie, the mother of the child who died in the 2022 film.

The Cannes Film Festival is dedicating the Official Selection to the memory of Émilie Dequenne, who passed away in March after being diagnosed with adrenocortical carcinoma. Dequenne was 43. We are heartbroken at this loss to cinema.

photo credit: Peak Everything | Amour Apocalypse
Twitter captures: @TIFF_NET; @redvineski; @womenpostingws
video credit: CP24

Canadian film review: Kanaval

"We don't know who is whom tonight." Rico (Rayan Dieudonné) wants to explore Kanaval in their home in Haiti. Rico's mother Erzuile (Penande Estime) is concerned for his safety.

You get the impression throughout the film that danger is lurking in his mother's life. Since the story is told from his point of view, we don't have a full sense of what is happening.

Rico sneaks out to experience Kanaval, a celebration filled with masks.

Soon after, Erzuile and Rico emigrate from Haiti in 1975 (where the film takes place) via Chicago to a small town in Quebec. They live with a childless older couple Albert (Martin Dubreuil) and Cécile (Claire Jacques). Well, Rico lives with them. Erzuile disappears at times to go to Montréal. 

Rico understands abandonment. Losing his friends and way of life in Haiti. The cold and snow in his new home, which wasn't in his old home. His mother's disappearances. Being in a brand new land in Quebec.

Albert and Cécile warmly accept Rico and introduce him to Quebec culture. Charles (Rykko Bellemare), an indigenous man who works on the couple’s farm, is accepting of Rico. Gabouri (Sylvain Massé) shows his disdain purely because of the colour of Rico’s skin.

Rico also survives with the help of his imaginary friend Kana, who gives the audience a sense of Haitian mythology. He also uses his vivid imagination to produce a version of his mother as a proud battler.

TIFF selects Top 10 Canadian films of 2023

Henri Pardo gives us an immigrant story with 2 feet in Haiti and a foot in Quebec. We see the coping that Rico needs as a transition into his new life. He is worried for himself but likely more worried about his mother. Rico may not know a lot of what is happening. He just knows that things are not good.

The film says quite a bit but so much is left off screen. The mother-son dynamic is wonderful but they have such limited moments.

Rico survives, hoping to find a silver lining to his new world.

There is a sense of wonder and adventure that keeps the story going well. If you aren't concerned about knowing too much, Kanaval is an above-average ride for a film. 

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

Kanaval debuted at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival where the film won the Amplify Voices Award for Best Film and came in second for Best Canadian Film (behind Solo). The film received 4 Canadian Screen Awards nominations: Best Director (Pardo), Best Lead Performance in a Drama Film (Rayan Dieudonné), Best Supporting Performance in a Drama Film (Martin Dubreuil), and John Dunning Best First Feature.

Kanaval was named to TIFF's annual Canada's Top Ten list for 2023. The film is available on Crave in Canada.

video and photo credit: Kanaval

Canadian TV notebook: NBC finally gives U.S. the final season of Transplant

Canada said goodbye to Transplant on CTV almost 16 months ago (January 29, 2024). We figured NBC would take its sweet time to show Season 4 to the U.S. audience. Season 4 of the show debuts May 22 and will run Thursdays at 8 pm Eastern.

Season 3 was depressing on multiple levels. No main character was having a good time. Bash (Hamza Haq) went back home to be a doctor in a refugee camp. We got to see Pascale Bussières, one of my absolute favourite Canadian actors, on an English language Canadian TV show.

Would be good to have the core people have an easier Season 4: Dr. Bashir Hamed (Haq); Magalie "Mags" Leblanc (Laurence Leboeuf); Dr. June Curtis (Ayisha Issa); and Dr. Theo Hunter (Jim Watson). We saw Watson and Gord Rand on Doc, a U.S. medical drama.

CTV could simsub those episodes either on the main network or on CTV2.

There are only 10 episodes. Americans can find the episodes on NBC.com and Peacock the next day. Canadians can catch up via CTV.ca and Crave.

We’re back on @nbc! @NBCTransplant season 4 will have a 2 episode premiere on May 22. (This final season already aired in Canada and most of the world but is finally coming to the US.) https://t.co/XTu5xKsSma

— Sugith Varughese (@SugithVarughese) April 21, 2025

Canadian television is so much more difficult to break down for the Canadian Screen Awards. One More Time seemed like a decent show that didn't get much of a chance. That show is not coming back but got a shockingly large number of CSA nominations. Lots of love for Run the Burbs, which is also done.

Got to have Crave to get a lot of Canadian comedy. Speaking of Crave, we wrote some time ago about the animated Super Team Canada, which finally gets a debut date of May 16. There will be 10 episodes.

You should also factor in corporate decisions: Global ran Season 3 of Family Law this winter so the show wasn't eligible for the 2025 awards but will be back for the 2026 awards. The CW viewers digested Season 3 sometime ago. There will be a Season 4 in both countries, though we have no dates on this.

Speaking of the Canadian Screen Awards, the 10 Audience Choice Canadian TV nominations will be reduced to 5 nominations. Voting ended at 11:59 pm last night. You can find out the finalists.

Here are the 10 nominations and their networks: Abroad (Omni); Don't Even (Crave); Dragons' Den (CBC); Heartland (CBC); Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent (Citytv); Made for TV (Crave); Murdoch Mysteries (CBC); The Office Movers (Crave); The Way Home (Hallmark); Wild Cards (CBC)

2025 Canadian Screen Awards nominations

2025 Canadian Screen Awards nominations: Television

We had some fun this spring with Doc having a number of Canadian actors as guest stars since the show shoots in Molly Parker's native country (Canada).

Al Mukadam (Pretty Hard Cases) and Melanie Leishman play a newly engaged couple who both end up in the hospital in the season finale.

The Canadian film industry has a lot of projects featuring Americans so this isn't new. Easier to hire Canadian actors to guest star and gets them recognition south of the border. While there were only 10 episodes in Season 1, Doc has a full 22 episodes for Season 2. The show airs on Fox in the United States and Global in Canada (not a Canadian TV show).

There will be a Season 2 of Murder in a Small Town, also shot in Canada, on Fox and Global.

Twitch City is where my love for Canada started

Molly Parker has done more Canadian films and American television in her extensive career. Q checked in with Molly Parker about Doc. The interview noted her breakthrough in Kissed (such a good film) and even mentioned Twitch City. Parker described how much fun she had doing that show. She noted the episode where Tracy Wright was a guest star. Something about puncturing a milk carton.

Parker's last presence on Canadian TV was the limited series Essex County on CBC in 2023.

Golden Antlers should be an option for the Canadian Screen Awards

The CW wraps up Children Ruin Everything with the rest of Season 4 starting Wednesday, June 18. CTV finished running the show in Canada on February 27. David Cronenberg, Carolyn Taylor, Scott Thompson, and Jesse Rath are guest stars in the final half of Season 4.

The series concludes with 4 seasons and 50 episodes on CTV and The CW.

Sullivan's Crossing (Season 3) premieres May 14 on The CW. The debut got pushed back a week. The Season 2 finale of Wild Cards airs tomorrow night on the U.S. network. CBC has renewed this show for 2 more seasons.

The U.S. network is showing Family Law reruns from Season 3, starting Monday at 9 pm Eastern.

Keeping a watchful eye on The CW and whether Son of a Critch and Sight Unseen are on The CW summer schedule. CTV showed Season 2 of Sight Unseen this winter. Giving Sight Unseen more of a look these days and the show is better than we originally thought. Haven't changed our mind on Sullivan's Crossing though Nova Scotia looks beautiful on the show.

Speaking of Nova Scotia, The CW is offering the first 2 seasons of Moonshine online. The CBC series ran 3 seasons while the U.S. network only aired Season 1. Season 2 starts out really slow but gets better. The Mommy Issues episode (Season 2, episode 6) is outstanding. We aren't asking for The CW to broadcast the last season of Moonshine, just to import the last season to the Web site.

The Season 2 finale of Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent is scheduled for May 15. Colour me cynical in the beginning on how this would work but the quality is very high. Such a contrast in writing compared to Citytv's other essential Canadian TV show, Hudson & Rex.

Canadians are definitely watching this show. Americans should have a chance to watch. There will be a Season 3.

After a day spent very focused on Canadian politics, we're going to lean in even further and embrace some CanCon this evening by tuning into the premiere of the new CBC cop show "Saint-Pierre" at 9pm: www.cbc.ca/television/t...

[image or embed]

— Marilyn C. (@canadafuture.bsky.social) January 6, 2025 at 6:41 PM

We would love to see U.S. distribution for Saint-Pierre and Small Achievable Goals, new shows this past winter on CBC. This is wishful thinking at the moment, though Allan Hawco and the duo of Meredith MacNeill and Jennifer Whalen have recognition in the States. MacNeill and Whalen talk about their show on Q. A reminder to our American friends vacationing in Canada this spring and summer that you can watch CBC Gem (with commercials) for free once you are on Canadian soil.

CBC will have another season of Saint-Pierre, among other dramas. More on CBC later this month.

How Pascale St-Onge sees the future of CBC and Radio-Canada

Canadian TV notebook: Shoresy back for Season 4

We should find out next month whether the Jason Priestley and Cindy Sampson spinoff Private Eyes West Coast will run this fall or winter on Global. The original Private Eyes series ran 5 seasons from 2016-2021 on Global with the first 2 seasons on Ion in the United States.

Global hasn't been too great on developing Canadian TV so at least this show has a shot at actual success.

Would love to see both the original series and the new series get picked up in the States.

Season 3 of Surrealestate is underway. The premiere episode of Season 3 was more interesting than most of Season 2 but not terribly enticing. Will catch up at some point. We love the cast and the approach of the series. Watch Season 1.

Surrealestate runs on CTV Sci-Fi Channel in Canada and Syfy in the United States with past seasons on Hulu.

We heard a lot of pleasant things about North of North. Anna Lambe is outstanding as Siaja, who is trying to turn her life around. The show has a strong supporting cast with Maika Harper, as Siaja's mother Neevee, Jay Ryan (Mary Kills People), Braeden Clarke, Zorga Qaunaq, Bailey Poching, and the token American, Mary Lynn Rajskub. Ryan is from New Zealand.

North of North is polished, unlike a lot of Canadian TV in production values, and formulaic on some level. Normally, formulaic isn't good but it works here because they are looking for a Netflix audience who can appreciate some Inuktitut dialogue. Good use of music to set emotion. Reminded me of how The Bear uses music.

The supporting characters are more dimensional than in a lot of American shows. The show feels authentic to this part of Canada and the Indigenous people.

You can hear from the creators of the show — Stacey Aglok MacDonald and Alethea Arnaquq-Baril — on Q with Tom Power on CBC Radio One.

Lambe has a rather strong track record in Canadian TV in shows such as Trickster and Three Pines as well as the Canadian film The Grizzlies. Americans might know Lambe from her work on True Detective.

Yes, there will be a Season 2.

The show is on Netflix, CBC Gem, and APTN Lumi within Canada. We've talked a ton about CBC Gem but not much about APTN Lumi, which is similar to CBC Gem but with Indigenous programming. Like CBC Gem, APTN Lumi is geofenced for Canada only. The subscription rate is only $4.99/month. There are some Crave programs that are Indigenous themed that are on the service.

Here are some upcoming shows on APTN this spring, including the return of Season 2 of Tallboyz. The CBC show with the comedy troupe ran 3 seasons from 2019-2022. We weren't aware of a Season 1 on APTN. The Season 2 premiere on APTN is May 20.

There are a lot of places in Canada that can't pick up CTV with an antenna. Digital signals can come in and out (imagine "and the winner is" and the signal cuts out) and they don't travel as far as analog signals.

— Chad Rubel (@canadian_xing) March 7, 2025

I contemplated this around the Oscars, hence the reference to "and the winner is." Now that your humble narrator is without cable, I can stream the Academy Awards via ABC in the United States but I need a cable or satellite login to stream the same awards show on CTV. Same applies for Global and Citytv. CBC Gem is free but there are some good Canadian shows on the private networks. Well, mostly Bell Media.

The realities of streaming in terms of live programming

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian TV coverage

CanadianCrossing.com television coverage

CBC and APTN have bailed out on a show based on the Snotty Nose Rez Kids. The target date was 2025. Jennifer Podemski had been attached as showrunner and executive producer, but left the project in July.

Found a list of the "The 20 greatest Canadian TV shows" recently. Somehow Sticky (too recent) is on the list as well as When Calls the Heart, the latter more popular than great. I would feel under-informed if I tried to make a list since I know more about Canadian film than Canadian TV and I still haven't done a Canadian film list. Still, could be an interesting read.

The next 30 days or so will give you some frame of mind for the upcoming TV season. The U.S. upfronts run next week (May 12-16). The CBC schedule comes out in late May (May 22, last year). The private Canadian networks run their announcements generally during the first week in June.

The 2025 Canadian Screen Awards are on June 1 only on CBC Gem. Here are the nominations.

video credits: Transplant/CTV; North of North/Netflix
photo credits: Transplant/CTV/NBC; Private Eyes West Coast/Global
Twitter captures: @SugithVarughese; @canadian_xing
BlueSky capture: @canadafuture.bsky.social

2025 Stanley Cup notebook: Winnipeg, Toronto, Edmonton advance to the second round

IT’S OVER! IT HAPPENED! ✈️

Adam Lowry scores the Subway Canada OT for the Jets in Game 7! 🚨 pic.twitter.com/48TfVW6jrW

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 5, 2025

Winnipeg gave us a spectacular comeback. Down 3-1 at home in Game 7, a couple of goals in the last 2 minutes, including a tip in with 1.6 seconds from Cole Perfetti. The Jets needed most of a second overtime before Adam Lowry tipped in the winner.

With 5 Canadian teams in the first round, the scenarios ran from 1-4 teams advancing to the second round. So 3 is a rather good number, even as the Montréal Canadiens wish that was 4.

Toronto took an unusual path, winning 3 and then losing 2. Game 6 in Ottawa went back and forth with Max Pacioretty, of all people, scoring the goal that gave the Maple Leafs their second winning playoff series in the last couple of decades.

Edmonton didn't have home ice with Los Angeles and went down 2-0 to the Kings. The Oilers had home ice in the previous 3 playoff series and looked a bit rough. Sure enough, Edmonton got a second wind and won 4 straight in that series and now 4 years in a row over Los Angeles.

Winnipeg dazzled at home against St. Louis and lost every game in St. Louis. Mark Scheifele was done in by a cheap shot to the head early in Game 5 and missed the rest of the series. Josh Morrissey was injured early in Game 7. This was the Winnipeg Jets first Game 7 at home since the WHA days on April 24, 1977 versus the San Diego Mariners.

The Ottawa Senators and Montréal Canadiens were playing with house money, just thankful to be back in the playoffs. Washington was allowed to go above and beyond physically, because the NHL has favoritism and loves the senseless violence that is playoff hockey. Well, until a Canadian team tries that.

Still, the Sens and Habs hope this playoff experience is a sign of things to come, as in making the playoffs against next year.

Toronto draws Florida while Edmonton gets to play Las Vegas. A lot of non-Canadians will root for the Canadian team in those series. Winnipeg draws Dallas, a team with a ferocious 3rd period comeback in Game 7 to advance. The Maple Leafs and Jets have home ice while the Oilers start off in the desert.

Toronto starts tonight while Edmonton starts on Tuesday. Winnipeg gets to rest and starts on Wednesday.

Turns out that 3 teams is remarkable since 2004 was the last season where 3 Canadian teams advanced into the second round 2 (Toronto, Calgary, and Montréal).

So Mark Scheifele, who had never been suspended before, gets four games for leaving his feet on the Jake Evans hit, but Brayden Schenn, who has been suspended before, gets zero for leaving his feet on a hit on Mark Scheifele… Who missed Game 6 and has officially been ruled out…

— Jesse Pollock (@jpolly22) May 4, 2025

Toronto was 1-3 with Florida in the regular season.

November 27 @ Florida 5, Toronto 1
March 13 Florida 3, @ Toronto 2
April 2 @ Toronto 3, Florida 2
April 8 @ Florida 3, Toronto 1

Winnipeg was 3-1 versus Dallas this season.

November 9 @ Winnipeg 4, Dallas 1
December 1 @ Dallas 3, Winnipeg 1
March 14 @ Winnipeg 4, Dallas 1
April 10 Winnipeg 4, @ Dallas 0

Edmonton went 2-2 with Las Vegas in the regular season.

November 6 Las Vegas 4, @ Edmonton 2
December 3 @ Las Vegas 1, Edmonton 0
December 14 @ Edmonton 6, Las Vegas 3
April 1 Edmonton 3, @ Las Vegas 2

Rogers Sportsnet has second-round previews.

Winnipeg  Toronto   Edmonton

BRING ON GAME 5!!!

Jake Sanderson's first career #StanleyCup Playoffs goal is a Subway Canada OT winner 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/TvjCuoGcNw

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 27, 2025

"We're working, we're digging our way out & trying to find ways to win games."

Leon Draisaitl scored his first playoff overtime goal to complete the comeback as he propelled the #Oilers past the Kings 4-3 to even up their series. @paigymartin has your @Scotiabank Perks summary. pic.twitter.com/x7iiCtZToy

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) April 28, 2025

Last time @senators won a @NHL playoff game, marijuana was still illegal in #Canada. #StanleyCupPlayoffs

— Chad Rubel (@canadian_xing) April 27, 2025

GAME 3 HEROICS!!! 🚨

The Maple Leafs take the 3-0 series lead following the Subway Canada OT winner pic.twitter.com/8f46fQYyzu

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 25, 2025

There was a theme of players on Canadian teams getting hit in the head. Some weren't aiming for the head though hit the head. Alex Ovechkin on Montréal's Jake Evans leaps to mind. Still a penalty to be called.  

Brayden Schenn of St. Louis left his feet and aimed at the head of Winnipeg's Mark Scheifele in Game 5. These were called minor penalties but nothing for hitting the head of an opponent.

Cole Caufield of the Habs got cross checked in the face multiple times with no penalty.

Cole Caufield is furious after a missed cross-checking call late in Game 2 pic.twitter.com/RCeJz2Ns4h

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 24, 2025

If Cole Caufield did what happened to him but against a Washington player, Caufield would have had either a major penalty or a suspension. Cross check to the face. This wasn't the only one against the Canadiens against the Capitals.

Montréal players are based in the "wrong" country in playoff hockey. We've seen Toronto get much better refereeing against Ottawa versus recent first-round opponents such as Boston and Tampa Bay. The Habs and Sens are great stories about overcoming odds to get to the NHL playoffs. Their stories are drowned out over deliberate subpar referee behaviour. There is a pecking order and Canadian teams are on the other side when teams from different countries meet up.

Toronto Raptors, when they make the NBA playoffs, don't have this issue. Toronto Blue Jays, in the MLB playoffs, have issues but not this issue. The 3 MLS teams don't even think about this. Only the NHL.

If Tom Wilson wasn’t in the NHL, he’d be serving time in prison for multiple assaults. Literally a thug on skates, nothing more.

Josh Anderson playing big man hockey tonight. So proud. #GohabsGo #WSHvsMTL

— Jennifer (@Draven1683) April 26, 2025

2025 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs preview for Canadian teams

MITCH MARNER, THAT WAS DISGUSTING! 🤢 #StanleyCup

🇺🇸: @espn ➡️ https://t.co/ybuZDYvoTH
🇨🇦: @Sportsnet or stream on Sportsnet+ ➡️ https://t.co/4KjbdjVctF pic.twitter.com/jQ6PwU3Z1V

— NHL (@NHL) April 20, 2025

THE BIG 4 SHOWED UP FOR TORONTO IN GAME 1 😤 pic.twitter.com/ilKh1tEHnT

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 21, 2025

The Montréal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators have one odd dynamic in common. Neither team had played to a full house in a home playoff game since 2017.

The Senators just haven't made the playoffs, not even the expanded playoffs in 2020 due to COVID-19. The Canadiens did make those expanded playoffs in 2020 (no fans) and 2021 with a run to the Stanley Cup final (no more than 3,500 fans).

Brendan Gallagher is the only Habs player who experienced a home playoff game in a sold-out Bell Centre.

Ottawa got 3 home playoff games this spring while the Canadiens only had 2 home playoff games.

NHL notebook: Longtime HNIC colour analyst Greg Millen has passed away

We know long-time Chicago TV play by play person Pat Foley complained rightfully so about the 8:30 pm Central time playoff starts in the middle of the continent.

Foley would love (sarcasm) the start time of the April 22 playoff game with the Minnesota Wild (Central) playing at Las Vegas (Pacific): 11 pm Eastern/8 pm Pacific. That is 10 pm in the Twin Cities, not that the game would actually start at 10 pm, more like 10:15 pm. Building future Wild fans is tricky when they have to go to bed BEFORE the game starts.

The ESPN/TNT situation is why we have this. Their NBA commitments, which will be significantly reduced next year, account for this as well.

It does, begrudgingly, appear that John Forslund and Jennifer Botterill are calling the Winnipeg–St. Louis game remotely from TNT's Atlanta studio today. https://t.co/RYPhFqafaG

— Braylon Breeze (@Braylon_Breeze) April 19, 2025

TNT has set a dividing line. Toronto and Montréal are acceptable but every other Canadian city is not acceptable. That is the pattern in the first round. Game 1 in Winnipeg. Games 3 and 4 in Edmonton. Game 4 in Ottawa.

WBD (Warners Bros. Discovery), parent company of TNT and TBS, sent a crew to Montréal for Games 3 and 4 in La Belle Province. That crew (Alex Faust and Jennifer Botterill) could have driven back and forth to cover Game 4 in Ottawa. The distance is 200 km or 120 miles down Trans-Canada Hwy/Autoroute 40 O and Trans-Canada Hwy/ON-417 W. John Bartlett and Garry Galley have done that trip in their sleep. They could recommend places to eat and gas up along that route. Yes WBD, Canada has cars and paved highways.

WBD made the situation even worse by employing known insomnia cures Steve Mears and Colby Armstrong to call the games from Edmonton and Ottawa from a studio in Atlanta. Fly Ken Daniels and Mickey Redmond to Atlanta. Armstrong is okay as a studio analyst but, well slight above Brian Boucher on game analysis but that is a low bar.

They send on-ice reporters: Jackie Redmond (Canadian) in Edmonton and Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre (Canadian) in Ottawa. When TNT don't put announcers on-site — again only in Canada — the crowd noise is significantly muted in telecasts where the announcers are in Atlanta. This diminishes the impact of how loud Canadian crowds are.

WBD could have hired John Shorthouse and Dave Tomlinson to stay in Edmonton to cover those games.

ESPN sends crews to all Canadian cities during the playoffs. ESPN is scared to be on Canadian soil during the regular season. TNT isn't as afraid to go to Canada during the season, just the playoffs.

TNT did send Brendan Burke and Darren Pang to Ottawa for Game 6 and the top crew to Winnipeg for Game 7. If they were in Ottawa and Winnipeg, then the question begs why not send crews to Canada before Game 6 of a series?

Since Toronto and Edmonton won their series in 6 games, we won't know if either Game 7 would have been on ABC in the States. There were windows for such an event and one of them could have included a Canadian team. We've seen ABC bail at such a move in the past.

Rogers Sportsnet has released second round coverage in Canada.

THIS JUST IN..@Bonsie1951 & @Jim_Ralph will NOT be traveling to Ottawa to call Game 3 & 4 of the Battle of Ontario.

WTF are we doing here? RIDICULOUS..

Me & @Jay_D_Rosehill broke it down: pic.twitter.com/teXVc48SK8

— Nick Alberga (@thegoldenmuzzy) April 23, 2025

Bell and Rogers share the Maple Leafs coverage for TV and radio. Leafs radio hasn't been allowed to do road games all season. This now includes playoff games in Ottawa. Not a long plane ride but the rich companies are pinching pennies, which Canada doesn't even have anymore.

Hockey has too much going on to call games off a monitor.

TBS lost their feed of the Capitals-Canadiens NHL clash (a rare series in Canada where they do have on-site announcers) and shifted to the Sportsnet feed after a fade to black and a couple of minutes of commercials. Here's Liam McHugh's explanation of the technical difficulties. pic.twitter.com/YIh0Yub1BL

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 28, 2025

Good to be a bit of Rogers Sportsnet and CBC on TBS. Ironically, given that Alex Faust and Jen Botterill were at the Bell Centre in Montréal. You can hear the crowd noise so much better with the Sportsnet feed than the WBD feed.

There wouldn't be shame if WBD ran the Canadian feed. Really. So much better than what the American audience is getting from most of Canada.

NHL notebook: Some Canadian teams in surprising contention down the stretch

Joe Micheletti is also retiring from the New York Rangers TV crew. Sam Rosen got a huge send-off earlier. I recall fondly when Micheletti, his brother Pat, and Gord Miller called a Jets playoff game in St. Paul in 2018.

Good luck in retirement. One of the best analysts.

NHL notebook: Canada wins 2025 4 Nations Face-Off

Canada doesn't have local coverage of first-round games and not sure if they ever did. U.S. regional outlets have always done the first round, as far as I know. John Buccigross of ESPN wants that to change.

"Again, the first round we're not exclusive. I'm surprised, and I would think that next time, whether it's us or TNT, we need exclusive playoff games," Buccigross said on Sports Business Journal’s The Sports Media Podcast. "I mean, we just can't sacrifice a round where these big markets can watch on their regional sports network, whether it's Philadelphia, Boston, Detroit, New York especially."

None of those cities are in the playoffs, unless you count the New Jersey Devils. Doesn't mention Chicago, also not in the playoffs, where national coverage means local people can actually watch their team. The U.S. deals expire in 2028, so status quo until then.

Given how late games are presented, starts are often shifted (ESPNU and Tru TV) to an obscure channel where the local audience can watch from the start with their announcers. Rogers Sportsnet makes sure an outlet has the game from the start, such as the Edmonton Oilers going on Rogers Sportsnet West, if an early game goes to overtime.

We get Buccigross' point but the issue is more that the U.S. market has a ceiling of potential NHL fans to watch games. Every local viewer is one they don't get for their national broadcasts. U.S. outlets don't use the NHL Network anymore for games. The channel would be perfect for the games ESPN and TNT don't want to do, such as the Battle of Ontario.

The situation used to be worse in the U.S. where national broadcasts were blacked out in local markets. At least, the telecasts can run in local markets.

Would help ESPN's cause, since the network almost never shows Winnipeg in the regular season, to know the nickname of the Winnipeg team and not mix that up with the Toronto nickname.

Winnipeg's own Randy Bachman is in the house to support his Jets 🎸 @BTObandofficial pic.twitter.com/5ZRj0xSPvM

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 20, 2025

We often hear of delayed concerts in the spring in arenas where there might be NHL playoff games. Randy Bachman had to move his concert from the night of Game 1 in Winnipeg to the next night. Plus he got to watch the hometown Jets win Game 1.

There is word this afternoon that Rick Tocchet will not be returning as head coach of the Vancouver Canucks.

Believe there will be a full statement with his rationale in the next little while...but add Vancouver to the teams looking for a new bench boss.

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) April 29, 2025

The JT Miller vs. Elias Pettersson nightmare. Will Quinn Hughes want to stay in Vancouver? Trading JT Miller for less than market value in the middle of the season (just like Bo Horvat).

These would be plenty of reasons why Rick Tocchet isn't coming back to coach the Vancouver Canucks. The team offered him a 5-year contract after his current 3-year contract. Tocchet said he needs time off. There are NHL teams looking for a coach who would be glad to hire him, unless he really needs time off. I would do almost any job in Vancouver with the security of a 5-year contract.

Tocchet and Bruce Boudreau. If the Canucks struggle with good coaches, well, let's hope they find a fit like Travis Green (former Vancouver coach) has been for Ottawa.

Utah has reportedly picked Mammoth for the nickname. I personally like Quebec Nordiques better. Odd when the perception was that the NHL needed more western markets that no one mentioned Salt Lake City. Seattle, Kansas City, and Houston made more sense and still do. The Kansas City Scouts was a thing in the 1970s (1974-1976). The franchise jumped around to Denver and became the Colorado Rockies (1976-1982) and now the New Jersey Devils.

Speaking of the Quebec Nordiques, we found this Gary Bettman interview. Bettman mentioned Quebec City, saying if "somebody is prepared to own the franchise, incur the cost attendant to that — yes, there is an arena there," according to Simon Houpt of The Globe and Mail. Bettman sounds sharp on matters where he cares and sounds like Jim Ignatowski on Taxi.

The NHL had this pretend expansion tryout where they took money from Quebecor and were never going to give them a franchise. The league asked for a $10 million down payment, $2 million of which was nonrefundable. If I extorted $10 million (presumably U.S.) and ultimately kept $2 million, I would remember names and places.

"Nobody has made the case to us yet whether or not the economics of Quebec City and Eastern Quebec make sense," Bettman said. Centre Videotron has a higher capacity than Utah has now or will have someday. A sellout rate higher than Ottawa has in Kanata. TVA Sports (Quebecor-owned) and Rogers Sportsnet East would be chomping at the bit to get the rights.

More random NHL fans NOW wear Quebec Nordiques hats and sweaters than the Utah Mammoth ever will.

Dispatches from Montreal, Quebec — and no, this is not The Onion.

Quebec’s language police say “GO HABS GO” is verboten.

We live in the stupidest of times. pic.twitter.com/corYcliuh1

— Elias Makos (@eliasmakos) April 24, 2025

I have been to home games in Montréal for the Expos (MLB) and Alouettes (CFL) but not Les Habs at the Bell Centre. Yes, Go Habs Go is Anglais while Allez! Canadiens Allez! is, well, en Francaise.

The provincial government telling the Société de transport de Montréal (bus system) to drop the English word “Go” on bus messages got reversed rather quickly. As French Language Minister Jean-François Roberge noted, "Go Habs Go" is "an expression that's part of our DNA, our identity." Très vrai (very true)!!

Despite the language police, Montréalers set their own rules on language. The beauty of being bilingual is making choices that make sense in that world. Think "hot dog" more than "chien chaud" or saying "tabarnak" instead of swearing in English.

This comes from an anglophone whose French is limited.   

2024 NHL preseason schedule

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

The PWHL reach — 3 in Canada and 3 in the United States — has been east with an exception in Minnesota. Now like the MLB in 1958, the PWHL will be on the West Coast with teams in Vancouver and Seattle.

The Vancouver team will play at the Pacific Coliseum. The arena is in Hastings Park on the site of the Pacific National Exhibition. The Vancouver Canucks (NHL) played there from 1970 to 1995.

photo credits: NHL; TBS/NHL; TNT/NHL; ESPN/NHL
Twitter captures: @Sportsnet; @jpolly22; @Sportsnet; @EdmontonOilers; @canadian_xing; @Sportsnet (x2); @Draven1683; @NHL; @SportsCenter; @Braylon_Breeze; @thegoldenmuzzy; @awfulannouncing; @Sportsnet; @FriedgeHNIC; @eliasmakos

Odds and ends from the 2025 Canada federal election

This is an actually ballot in Canada. In one riding. pic.twitter.com/XlXS1aMSjw

— Michael de Adder (@deAdder) April 30, 2025

The long ballot, as we noted in previous Canada election updates, as presented by the very talented Michael de Adder. The ballot existed in by-elections before the campaign and 2 ridings during the campaign: Carleton (Ottawa) and University-Rosedale (Toronto).

Former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said a major regret was not getting electoral reform done in his time. The idea behind the potential reform is that you get a first choice, a second choice, and so on. If a candidate in a riding gets 50%+, then the other choices are not factored in. If a candidate doesn't reach that threshold, then second choices are considered, and so on until there is a 50% threshold.

CBC looked into how that might have changed the 2025 election. The consensus is that smaller parties (NDP, Green) would get more representatives in Parliament. The interesting twist in the 2025 elections were Conservative wins in Hamilton and Windsor in Ontario, where orange (NDP) voters likely flipped blue (Conservative) and not red (Liberal).

Chrystia Freeland easily won University-Rosedale on Monday a lot earlier in the evening than Bruce Fanjoy's upset win over Pierre Poilievre.

If Poilievre tries to take over a previously won Conservative riding to get back into Parliament, the long ballot may indeed return for that by-election.

Update: "No games, nothing like that." Prime Minister Mark Carney weighed in on the possibility of a by-election if the Conservatives wanted one for Poilievre. Shortly after that announcement, we found out that Conservative MP Damien Kurek, who was just re-elected to the Battle River-Crowfoot (Alberta) riding, will resign to allow Poilievre to run for the riding in a by-election.

Kurek won on Monday with a 81.8% turnout for him.

Ce fut un honneur. It’s been an honour. pic.twitter.com/LBt1o40LSU

— Jonathan Pedneault 🇨🇦 (@j_pedneault) April 30, 2025

Jonathan Pedneault's time as co-leader of the Green Party of Canada has come to an end. Pedneault ran 5th in the Outremont riding in Montréal. He previously ran in a by-election in the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce–Westmount riding (Montréal) in June 2023.

Pedneault has been co-leader of the party with Elizabeth May since the fall of 2022. He did step down for "personal reasons" in June 2024 to return to the leadership in January 2025.

Pedneault was scheduled to debate for the Greens before the Leaders Debate Commission decided hours before the French language debate to disallow the Green Party from the debates.

Elizabeth May remains in Parliament. May talked about possibly running for the Speaker of the House, which is usually someone from the party in power.

Mark Carney, Liberals get a 4th term but a minority government once again

The New Democratic Party eventually will have to find a new leader. The NDP doesn't have official party status. Some have speculated that NDP MPs may cross the aisle to the Liberals but your humble narrator does not see that happening.

Naheed Nenshi and Wab Kinew are 2 of the most known NDP politicians in Canada. They have good day jobs as opposition leader in Alberta and premier in Manitoba, respectively. Rachel Notley is also well-known and doesn't have a political day job.

Notley would have to find a safe NDP seat and then run in a by-election. Likely, the interim leader will be a current NDP MP. Here are the 7 candidates, if that happens. When Jagmeet Singh first became the NDP leader, he had a difficult time getting into Parliament.

Gord Johns (Courtenay—Alberni) British Columbia
Heather McPherson (Edmonton Strathcona) Alberta
Alexandre Boulerice (Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie) Quebec
Jenny Kwan (Vancouver East) British Columbia
Don Davies (Vancouver Kingsway) British Columbia
Leah Gazan (Winnipeg Centre) Manitoba
ᓘᕆ ᐃᓪᓚᐅᖅ Lori Idlout (Nunavut)

Having a party leader in Parliament is rather important but not having official party status makes everything more difficult.

A look at Canadian 'patriotism' on Election Day in Canada

Marjorie Michel (Liberal) won the Papineau riding on Monday. The previous incumbent — former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — chose not to run for re-election. Trudeau won the seat from Vivian Barbot (Bloc Quebecois) in 2008. Except for Barbot's time in Parliament (2006-2008), the Liberals have held the riding since 1953.

Trudeau has kept a low profile of late. That is likely to stay that way for awhile.

🇨🇦 I don't want to brag, but...

"Prince Edward Island once again leads the country for voter turnout in Canada's 45th general election...

A total of 97,046 of the 123,822 registered voters on the Island participated — a voter turnout of 78.38 per cent"https://t.co/G8kKDoIgpe pic.twitter.com/t95NclM29c

— Amber Mac (@ambermac) April 30, 2025

Prince Edward Island is known for potatoes, red sand beaches, mussels, the difficulty in getting an abortion, and yes, voter turnout. The province had a voter turnout of around 10 percentage points higher than the national turnout. PEI consistently is the top province in voter turnout for a provincial election.

This was the day millions of Canadian women understood who he really is.
The derisive arrogance and mocking bully-behaviour @PierrePoilievre displayed in that Okanagan orchard was too familiar to women.
“We know that guy. He can never be PM”#Election2025
🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/cCqSKlt7EN

— Barbara Levesque (@belle_levesque) April 29, 2025

Legendary Canadian actor Donald Sutherland used an apple in Animal House to symbolize temptation in John Milton's Paradise Lost. Pierre Poilievre showed his arrogance by eating an apple and throwing questions back at a journalist.

Conservatives will argue that Poilievre got them gains they otherwise would not have. Others argue that Poilievre is too arrogant to get them to form government. The party will have to decide that on its own.

Would Erin O'Toole have won this election?

Canada election 2025: The debate about the debates

Canada election 2025: Where we are before this week's debates

2025 Canada election preview

608 votes are what stopped a 172 seat Liberal Majority Government. 608 votes..

- NDP won in Nunavut by 77 votes.
- CPC won another riding by 238 votes.
- CPC won another riding by 298 votes.

Never ever let anyone tell you that your vote doesn't matter, because it clearly does.

— Jinglai He 🇨🇦 (@JinglaiHe) April 30, 2025

Have been searching for a breakdown by gender on MPs but have not found any information. Factoring in that between party leaders and debate hosts, there was not a single female in key positions. (May is co-leader but wasn't going to debate.)

If that changes, or you found information, let us know.

2025 Canadian politics preview

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian politics coverage

Newfoundland and Labrador has the only scheduled provincial election in Canada in 2025. 

We will know on Saturday whether John Abbott or John Hogan, previously in Premier Andrew Furey's cabinet, will replace Furey as Liberal Party leader and the new premier.

That election has to happen on or before October 14. That date moved up from November 24 since that election wouldn't conflict with a federal election.

Twitter captures: @deAdder; @j_pedneault; @ambermac; @belle_levesque; @JinglaiHe
video credit: CBC News
photo credits: BBC/Elections Canada; Green Party of Canada