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CF Montreal transfers midfielder Mathieu Choinière to Swiss club Grasshopper Zurich

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MONTREAL – Mathieu Choinière is heading to Europe.

CF Montreal announced Tuesday that Choinière is joining Switzerland’s Grasshopper Club Zurich, ending a months-long saga after the homegrown midfielder reportedly requested a trade in May due to an impasse in contract negotiations.

Choinière signed a contract through 2027 with GC Zurich, the team announced.

The transfer fee for the two-time Major League Soccer all-star was not revealed by either club.

“Joining GC Zurich is the right move for me,” Choiniere said in a statement. “I’m looking forward to playing in the Swiss Super League and proving my skills for GC. It’s an exciting challenge that I’m highly motivated to take on.”

Choinière joined Montreal’s academy in 2011. He made his professional debut in 2018, played in 119 MLS games and twice won the Canadian Championship with Montreal.

The versatile 25-year-old from Saint-Alexandre, Que., was Montreal’s MVP last year after a breakout campaign of five goals and five assists in 28 MLS games. This season, he had two goals and three assists through 17 games.

Internationally, the five-foot-nine, 150-pound Choinière has five caps for Canada. He made his first start for the national team and scored in the shootout of a 4-3 penalty kicks loss to Uruguay in the Copa America third-place game on July 13.

“We are very happy for Mathieu, and I would like to congratulate him on his exceptional career with the club,” CF Montreal president and chief executive officer Gabriel Gervais said in a statement. “We have been supporting his development since the age of 12, and he has made remarkable progress thanks to his work ethic and passion for soccer.

“Mathieu aspired to experience the European game, and his departure is another fine example of the sporting project we are building in Montreal. We wish him the very best of success in Switzerland and for the remainder of his career.”

Choinière’s move adds to a busy transfer window for Canadian internationals.

Midfielder Ismael Kone (Marseille) and defenders Derek Cornelius (Marseille) and Moise Bombito (OGC Nice), among others, are also joining new clubs after Canada’s impressive showing at Copa.

“I’ve always said I wanted to go to Europe someday. It’s my dream,” Choinière said on July 16.

Choinière was under contract through the end of the season, with Montreal holding a club option for 2025. He had a US$250,000 base salary last year.

Montreal (6-11-9) is 11th in the Eastern Conference, one point back of the playoff cutline with eight games remaining in the MLS regular season.

The club was active in the transfer market, adding left back Tom Pearce (Wigan Athletic FC), right back Dawid Bugaj (Italian Serie C club SPAL), midfielder Caden Clark (Minnesota United FC) and Canadian winger/wingback Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty (Toronto FC) this summer.

Winger Ariel Lassiter (Chicago Fire FC), right back Ruan (FC Dallas) and striker Mason Toye (Portland Timbers) also earned permanent moves out of Montreal, while several others were sent out on loan.

GC Zurich are currently eighth in the 12-team Swiss Super League standings with one win, one draw and three losses to start the 2024-25 season.

“We are delighted to welcome Mathieu to the team,” sporting director Stephan Schwarz said. “He is a flexible midfielder who gives us more options in the game.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 27, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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RCMP investigating after three found dead in Lloydminster, Sask.

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LLOYDMINSTER, SASK. – RCMP are investigating the deaths of three people in Lloydminster, Sask.

They said in a news release Thursday that there is no risk to the public.

On Wednesday evening, they said there was a heavy police presence around 50th Street and 47th Avenue as officers investigated an “unfolding incident.”

Mounties have not said how the people died, their ages or their genders.

Multiple media reports from the scene show yellow police tape blocking off a home, as well as an adjacent road and alleyway.

The city of Lloydminster straddles the Alberta-Saskatchewan border.

Mounties said the three people were found on the Saskatchewan side of the city, but that the Alberta RCMP are investigating.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Sept. 12, 2024.

Note to readers: This is a corrected story; An earlier version said the three deceased were found on the Alberta side of Lloydminster.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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Three injured in Kingston, Ont., assault, police negotiating suspect’s surrender

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KINGSTON, Ont. – Police in Kingston, Ont., say three people have been sent to hospital with life-threatening injuries after a violent daytime assault.

Kingston police say officers have surrounded a suspect and were trying to negotiate his surrender as of 1 p.m.

Spokesperson Const. Anthony Colangeli says police received reports that the suspect may have been wielding an edged or blunt weapon, possibly both.

Colangeli says officers were called to the Integrated Care Hub around 10:40 a.m. after a report of a serious assault.

He says the three victims were all assaulted “in the vicinity,” of the drop-in health centre, not inside.

Police have closed Montreal Street between Railway Street and Hickson Avenue.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.

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Government intervention in Air Canada talks a threat to competition: Transat CEO

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Demands for government intervention in Air Canada labour talks could negatively affect airline competition in Canada, the CEO of travel company Transat AT Inc. said.

“The extension of such an extraordinary intervention to Air Canada would be an undeniable competitive advantage to the detriment of other Canadian airlines,” Annick Guérard told analysts on an earnings conference call on Thursday.

“The time and urgency is now. It is time to restore healthy competition in Canada,” she added.

Air Canada has asked the federal government to be ready to intervene and request arbitration as early as this weekend to avoid disruptions.

Comments on the potential Air Canada pilot strike or lock out came as Transat reported third-quarter financial results.

Guérard recalled Transat’s labour negotiations with its flight attendants earlier this year, which the company said it handled without asking for government intervention.

The airline’s 2,100 flight attendants voted 99 per cent in favour of a strike mandate and twice rejected tentative deals before approving a new collective agreement in late February.

As the collective agreement for Air Transat pilots ends in June next year, Guérard anticipates similar pressure to increase overall wages as seen in Air Canada’s negotiations, but reckons it will come out “as a win, win, win deal.”

“The pilots are preparing on their side, we are preparing on our side and we’re confident that we’re going to come up with a reasonable deal,” she told analysts when asked about the upcoming negotiations.

The parent company of Air Transat reported it lost $39.9 million or $1.03 per diluted share in its quarter ended July 31. The result compared with a profit of $57.3 million or $1.49 per diluted share a year earlier.

Revenue totalled $736.2 million, down from $746.3 million in the same quarter last year.

On an adjusted basis, Transat says it lost $1.10 per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of $1.10 per share a year earlier.

It attributed reduced revenues to lower airline unit revenues, competition, industry-wide overcapacity and economic uncertainty.

Air Transat is also among the airlines facing challenges related to the recall of Pratt & Whitney turbofan jet engines for inspection and repair.

The recall has so far grounded six aircraft, Guérard said on the call.

“We have agreed to financial compensation for grounded aircraft during the 2023-2024 period,” she said. “Alongside this financial compensation, Pratt & Whitney will provide us with two additional spare engines, which we intend to monetize through a sell and lease back transaction.”

Looking ahead, the CEO said she expects consumer demand to remain somewhat uncertain amid high interest rates.

“We are currently seeing ongoing pricing pressure extending into the winter season,” she added. Air Transat is not planning on adding additional aircraft next year but anticipates stability.

“(2025) for us will be much more stable than 2024 in terms of fleet movements and operation, and this will definitely have a positive effect on cost and customer satisfaction as well,” the CEO told analysts.

“We are more and more moving away from all the disruption that we had to go through early in 2024,” she added.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:TRZ)

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