Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed…
Alberta finance minister to give fiscal update
Alberta’s finance minister is set to deliver the final bottom line number today on last year’s provincial budget.
Nate Horner’s new figure will close the books on the budget for the fiscal year that ended in March.
That budget was last forecast to come in with a nearly $6-billion surplus.
Alberta’s new budget year is now a few months old, but its expected bottom line number is deep in the red.
This budget, introduced by Horner in February, predicts Alberta will register a $5.2-billion deficit at the end of March 2026.
Here’s what else we’re watching…
Smith says separatist desire high in Alberta
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says the public desire in her province to quit Canada has never been higher.
Speaking Thursday to reporters in Calgary, Smith said Albertans feel deeply frustrated and angry with Ottawa.
She cited a separatist candidate who garnered almost 18 per cent of the vote in a byelection in the Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills riding earlier this week.
Speaking alongside Smith was federal Internal Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland.
Asked what she thought of Smith’s assessment, Freeland said she hopes Albertans will see recently passed legislation to speed up the approval process of major projects as a sign that Canada has reached a “turning point.”
Controversial major projects bill becomes law
The Liberal government’s controversial major projects bill became law Thursday — legislation Indigenous leaders have warned could lead to widespread protests and legal challenges if Ottawa doesn’t respect their rights and title.
Bill C-5 gives Ottawa the power to fast-track projects meant to boost the national economy by side-stepping environmental protections and other legislation.
An initial draft of the bill gave Ottawa the ability to sidestep the Indian Act, but that law was removed from the bill before its passage.
The politically charged legislation has angered Indigenous and environmental groups, who criticize the government for rushing to grant itself sweeping new powers to speed up development.
Several Indigenous leaders called on MPs and senators to slow the bill’s passage to give Indigenous communities more time to suggest amendments and review the legislation with their lawyers.
Winnipeg’s Portage and Main reopens to pedestrians
A landmark intersection in Winnipeg is set to reopen today to pedestrians more than four decades after it closed.
Mayor Scott Gillingham is expected to take part in a ceremonial first crossing at the Portage Avenue and Main Street intersection later today when it opens to pedestrians in the city’s downtown.
The landmark intersection has inspired a song, a stamp, and been a place where people have congregated by the thousands to celebrate milestones and protest injustices.
Concrete barriers have prevented pedestrian crossings at the intersection for 46 years, forcing people to go through an underground concourse.
The move has critics arguing the barriers should be kept in place to reduce accidents and traffic snarls, while advocates say forcing pedestrians to walk underground creates an accessibility issue.
Beer companies expanding liquor-based offerings
A waft of fruity scents surround you as you enter what’s known as the flavour kitchen at the Molson Coors brewery in west Toronto.
The 23-acre facility — the company’s largest brewery in Canada — opened in 1955, and has for decades served as the base of its operations. It’s there where popular beers such as Molson Canadian and Coors Lights are brewed, quality tested, and packaged before being shipped to stores and restaurants across the country.
On a late-May morning tour through the factory, the familiar aroma of beer-filled cans and bottles engulfing much of its footprint ends at the flavour kitchen, where it is replaced by jumbled notes of strawberry, peach, lemon and other fruits — smells you wouldn’t have found here more than just a few years ago.
“I call this ‘Flavour Town,'” says brewery general manager Tan Le, before listing off some of the products that originate there, from Coors Seltzer and Vizzy Hard Seltzer to Simply Spiked Lemonade.
As Anthony Purchase, vice-president of commercial operations for Canada, puts it: “We’ve got almost every flavour under the sun.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 27, 2025.
The Canadian Press
