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Seafood City opens 3rd Canadian supermarket — in Calgary — drawing excited customers from hours away – CBC.ca

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Thousands of Filipinos from Calgary and beyond are celebrating the arrival of a new grocery chain in the city that’s making tastes, treats and grocery staples from back home way more accessible.

Seafood City is the latest international grocery store to open on Sunridge Way, joining the Lucky Supermarket across the road and other nearby stores providing Asian-sourced groceries for the city’s Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Filipino, Thai and Korean populations.

This is only the third Seafood City to open in Canada, after stores opened in Toronto and Winnipeg (and many others in the U.S.)

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Hundreds of excited customers waited outside in the dark for the doors to open for the first time last Thursday.

Some had travelled from as far away as Saskatchewan to shop, while others rented a bus to make the trip from Edmonton.

Customers packed the aisles, many lining up by the hundred outside and even travelling from another province to attend Seafood City’s opening day last Thursday. (Dan McGarvey/CBC)

“They drove six to eight hours and they were here outside at 6 a.m.,” said Mildred Smith, VP of marketing with Seafood City of the customers from Saskatchewan.

“We did a livestream inside the store before it opened and it reached 78,000 people. I’m amazed because there are only about 75,000 Filipinos in Calgary,” Smith said.

Smith says the buzz around the store opening has been huge and excitement has been building for days and even weeks.

“We have strong connections, sources and ingredients and cooked food that migrants miss from home.”

Mildred Smith, VP of marketing for Seafood City, said the company did a livestream inside the store before it opened and it reached 78,000 people. ‘I’m amazed because there are only about 75,000 Filipinos in Calgary,’ she said. (Dan McGarvey/CBC)

That list includes fresh seafood like milkfish, big eye scad, octopus, Manila clams and and dry goods like snacks and soups, alongside popular Canadian brands. In the vegetable section there are fresh chayote, upo, patola and milk fruit.

‘Nothing compares to home but this is the next best thing’

The store has also teamed up with local Filipino businesses, like the popular Pacific Hut restaurant and bakery in Forest Lawn, offering some of their Calgary-made products on its shelves; in their case Filipino breads and other baked goods.

“It’s crazy. It feels like home,” said Maria Collao, one of hundreds of excited shoppers browsing the packed aisles on opening day, which felt more like a party than a shopping trip.

“I went around looking for hard to find stuff here in Calgary that tastes like the Philippines. It’s really good,” she said.

“It’s so hard to go back to the Philippines, it’s so busy and you have to fly for a long time so having this kind of connection within the city is really good. Nothing compares to home but this is the next best thing.”

Filipino-style shopping, in-house restaurants

Another big draw for customers are three in-house restaurants: Grill City, Crispy Town and Noodle Street, all selling authentic Filipino food, with hundreds patiently waiting in long lines to get a taste of some Filipino BBQ chicken and pork.

Shopper Xandy Collao Collao said he expects Seafood City’s unique offerings will bring in Calgarians who may have never experienced Filipino-style shopping, with open fish markets and different cuts of meat on display, including whole pig heads and pork belly. (Dan McGarvey/CBC)

“This place reminds me of my home. Coming from the Philippines and emigrating to Canada it’s like a second home,” said Xandy Collao.

“It reminds of being a kid and going grocery shopping with my mom. You have all these treats right here like the chips and candies, all that stuff.”

Collao said he expects the unique offerings will bring in curious Calgarians who may have never experienced Filipino-style shopping, with open fish markets and different cuts of meat on display, including whole pig heads and pork belly.

“It’s not just the Filipino people, this is one of a kind and every time one of these stores comes, a lot of people go with it. I bought BBQ pork, pork chop, entrails and shrimp. All the crispy stuff, all the good stuff” said Collao.

Xandy Collao said he expected Seafood City’s unique offerings would bring in Calgarians who may have never experienced Filipino-style shopping, with open fish markets and different cuts of meat on display, including whole pig heads and pork belly. (Dan McGarvey/CBC)

The way the store is laid out is different than other Canadian grocery stores too. It features a open wet market with dozens of types of uncut fish and seafood laid out on beds of chipped ice for shoppers to see and touch up close, instead of being hidden behind glass.

“We like looking, we like seeing the fish whole and being able to touch. That’s how we like shopping,” said Smith.

“Customers, they walk in and say it’s like home, like they travelled back home. I still get goosebumps by how warm the welcome is and by how happy they are. The culture is represented,” said Smith.

Seafood City has opened its first Calgary location in Sunridge. (Dan McGarvey/CBC)

As well as all the new groceries the store has brought around 200 jobs to the northeast of the city.

Smith said Seafood City plans to open more locations next in Edmonton and Scarborough, Ont.

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1 dead, 2 critically injured after car crash in Montreal

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Montreal

Three people are in hospital with critical injuries after their vehicle crashed into a tree. Police believe they might be connected to two drive-by shootings that took place early Thursday morning.

2 drive-by shootings also took place overnight

an SPVM car near a taped-off crime scene
Montreal police are investigating a car crash possibly linked to two drive-by shootings. (Mathieu Wagner/Radio-Canada)

Urgences-santé say one person died and two others were critically injured after their vehicle hit a tree in the Rosemont neighbourhood.

Montreal police believe the crash may be linked to two drive-by shootings early Thursday morning.

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The first happened around 5 a.m. on Pie-IX Boulevard. Police say a car was shot at repeatedly and the driver, a 41-year-old man, was injured in the upper body. He was transported to hospital, but his life is not in danger, say police.

Shortly afterward, shots were reported in the Plateau Mont-Royal borough, near the intersection of Saint-Joseph Boulevard and Henri-Julien Avenue. No one was injured.

Police say they are investigating to determine if there is a connection between the collision and the shootings. Montreal police spokesperson Jean-Pierre Brabant says it’s possible those in the vehicle were involved in the shootings.

The province’s independent police watchdog is now involved.

with files from Chloë Ranaldi

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Pakistan airline crew sought asylum in Canada: spokesperson – CTV News

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Typically, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight attendants who arrive in Toronto stay at a hotel overnight, meet back up with their crew the next day and then fly to their next destination.

But increasingly often, PIA attendants aren’t showing up, the airline says. According to PIA, at least eight flight attendants disappeared over the last year and a half.

They have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.

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Increased occurrences

Abdullah Hafeez Khan said at least eight flight attendants “have gone missing” after flying to Pearson International Airport in Toronto. He said these incidents have been happening over the last 10 years, but are now occurring more frequently.

“Since probably October of 2022, the number of the people that have opted asylum has increased tremendously,” Khan said in a video interview with CTVNews.ca from Karachi, Pakistan, where the airline is based.

“None of those crew members that disappeared in the last one-and-a-half years have come back. So they were granted asylum for one way or the other, and that probably has encouraged others to do so.”

The missing employees were fired immediately and lost their company benefits, Khan said.

Why did they flee?

Khan said he could only speculate as to why the flight attendants would flee.

The Canadian government underscored the volatile situation in Pakistan, warning in a travel advisory of a “high threat of terrorism,” along with threats of civil unrest, sectarian violence and kidnapping.

“The security situation is fragile and unpredictable,” the Canadian travel advisory reads. “Incidents are typically attributed to extremism, ethnic divisions, sectarian strife, regional political disputes and the situation in neighbouring Afghanistan.”

It added that many deaths and injuries have occurred from bombings, shootings and other terrorist attacks at a wide range of targets.

Since Khan isn’t in contact with any of the missing employees, he says, he assumes they decided to seek asylum in Canada for economic and social reasons.

“So I naturally assumed that all of them have been given asylum because I don’t think they would be living there illegally,” he said, adding they may already have family connections in Canada who can support them.

In this June 8, 2013, photo, a Pakistan International Airlines plane moments before take off from the Benazir Bhutto airport in Islamabad, Pakistan. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

‘PR crisis’

Khan called the flight attendants’ disappearances a “PR crisis” for PIA that is “bad” for business amid a crew shortage.

The airline is in talks with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and Pakistani law enforcement agencies to potentially create a “legal safeguard” to curtail flight crew from seeking asylum, he said.

When asked about the PIA flight attendants’ disappearances, Erin Kerbel, spokesperson for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, said the department couldn’t comment on specific cases due to privacy legislation.

In response to questions about PIA’s claim that discussions are underway about the issue, a spokesperson for the CBSA said it could not confirm any information.

“The Canada Border Services Agency does not provide comment or details on specific individuals, including any discussions that would take place with airline companies, as an individual’s border and immigration information is considered private and protected by the Privacy Act,” Maria Ladouceur said in an email to CTVNews.ca.

Since the crew members’ disappearances, Khan said, the airline has “done numerous things to curtail that.”

For instance, the airline is only staffing Toronto-bound flights with crew members who have “established linkages” in Pakistan, such as children, spouses or parents, as well as those who have worked in the organization for more than 15 years.

The airline avoids sending to Toronto those who are single or don’t have established family ties in Pakistan, he said.

Khan said he and the airline are no longer in contact with the flight attendants because, they discovered, they usually change their phone numbers soon after disappearing in Toronto.

Who disappeared?

The PIA flight attendants who vanished in Canada are seasoned pros in their late 30s or 40s, some of whom have worked for the airline for as long as two decades, Khan said.

“There was never any sign from them that they would seek something like that,” he said. “So that is something that is bothering us in the matter because working with people who have been working with you for a long time and then something happens like this is pretty unexpected.”

In one of the latest cases in February, the crew members were waiting to take the bus back to the airport from the hotel in Toronto and one of the flight attendants didn’t show up, Khan said.

The airline was unable to reach the flight attendant on her cellphone or hotel landline so, Khan says, they asked hotel management to check if she was OK.

“When the crew went there, she left her uniform there with a note saying, ‘Thank you PIA,'” Khan said, which he interpreted as a genuine sentiment of gratitude for her more than 15 years of service with PIA rather than a taunt.

Khan said the crew members who disappeared were “family values people” who had good careers in Pakistan.

Asylum policies

Individuals can make a refugee claim in Canada at a port of entry upon arrival or online if they are already in Canada, according to the Canadian government’s website.

Canadian immigration or border officials will determine if the person is eligible for a hearing before the Immigration and Refugee Board. All claimants must undergo health and security screenings, the government says.

If eligible to make a claim in Canada, refugee claimants can access social assistance, education, health services, emergency housing and legal aid pending a decision on their claim. Most can apply for a work permit after a medical examination.

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Alberta's population surges by record-setting 202,000 people: Here's where they all came from – CBC.ca

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Alberta smashed population-growth records in the past year, mainly due to people moving to the province from across Canada and around the world.

The province’s population surged to just over 4.8 million as of Jan. 1, according to new estimates released Wednesday by Statistics Canada.

That’s an increase of 202,324 residents compared with a year earlier, which marks — by far — the largest annual increase on record.

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Alberta also broke a national record in 2023 for interprovincial migration, with a net gain of 55,107 people.

“This was the largest gain in interprovincial migration nationally since comparable data became available in 1972,” Statistics Canada said in a release.


Most of the interprovincial migrants came from Ontario and British Columbia.

Statistics Canada estimates that 38,236 Ontarians moved to Alberta last year, versus 14,860 Albertans who moved to Ontario, for a net gain of 23,376 people.

Similarly, an estimated 37,650 British Columbians moved to Alberta, compared to 22,400 Albertans who moved to B.C., for a net gain of 15,250.


All told, interprovincial migration accounted for 27 per cent of Alberta’s population growth over the past year.

That put it just ahead of permanent immigration, which accounted for 26 per cent, and well ahead of natural population increase (more births than deaths), which accounted for eight per cent.

The largest component, however, was temporary international migration.

Non-permanent residents from other countries accounted for 39 per cent of the province’s population growth in the past year, reflecting a national trend.


Canada’s population reached 40,769,890 on Jan. 1, according to Statistics Canada estimates, which is up 3.2 per cent from a year ago.

“Most of Canada’s 3.2-per-cent population growth rate stemmed from temporary immigration in 2023,” Statistics Canada noted.

“Without temporary immigration, that is, relying solely on permanent immigration and natural increase (births minus deaths), Canada’s population growth would have been almost three times less (1.2 per cent).”

Alberta’s population, meanwhile, grew by 4.4 per cent year-over-year.

Alberta now represents 11.8 per cent of the country’s population, its largest proportion on record. 

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