TORONTO —
Ontario Premier Doug Ford enlisted a giant chart comparing the province’s low COVID-19 caseload per capita with staggering U.S. case counts as he continued to urge the feds to keep the border closed and chided U.S. President Donald Trump for his trade protectionism.
“You can see we are at 284 cases per 100,000 people,” Ford said proudly, pulling the chart onto a stand in the middle of his afternoon press conference.
Next to Ontario on the chart was Quebec, at 726 cases per 100,000, and then Michigan at 989, Pennsylvania at 994, all the way to Florida with 2,827 cases per 100,000.
“I love our American friends but this is the reason prime minister, we can’t open the borders, it’s very simple,” Ford said.
The federal government and American authorities have agreed to keep land borders closed to non-essential travel until Sept. 21.
Air travellers from the U.S. can arrive but must self-isolate for 14 days upon arrival.
The chart, which counts lab-confirmed tests per 100,000 people, does not include any other Canadian province except Quebec.
That means it leaves out provinces who per capita have demonstrated far lower rates of infection.
British Columbia, albeit slightly more than one third Ontario’s size, has seen only 105 lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people since the pandemic reached Canada in January, less than half of Ontario’s rate.
Also, blood antigen surveillance data collected by Public Health Ontario in the spring suggested Ontario’s initially low testing rates mean more than three of every four COVID-19 infections was missed by the end of June.
Ford said he wanted to compare Ontario to U.S. jurisdictions due to similarities in their size.
“Next to California, Texas, New York and Florida we’d be the fifth largest population (if Ontario were a U.S. state). I just wanted to show the people they’re doing a good job. We’re not out of the woods by any means but I just want to encourage people,” he said.
He conceded that America, with the largest burden of novel coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, is a different country with a different experience in the pandemic than Canada.
“We’re different than the U.S. – Canadians listen a lot more than Americans do and I appreciate it.”
When asked about whether he would indicate a preference in the U.S. presidential race, he first said he is “so focused” on dealing with provincial matters, but then let his frustration about Trump’s latest tariffs on Canadian exports get the better of him.
“Trump’s up there saying ‘I am going to tariff this, tariff that,’ and you know he should do a little homework. Find out that we’re their number one customer. We buy more off the Americans than China, UK, Japan combined. We are their number one customer and he wants to come after us over politics? Let him.”
He said Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland recently asked him to call U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer regarding the new tariffs on Canadian aluminum exports.
“Don’t even get me going on this; I get too worked up when someone comes after our country or our province.”
PORT ALBERNI, B.C. – RCMP say the body of a second person has been found inside their vehicle after a road washed away amid pouring rain on the west coast of Vancouver Island.
Police say two vehicles went into the Sarita River when Bamfield Road washed out on Saturday as an atmospheric river hammered southern B.C.
The body of the other driver was found Sunday.
More coming.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
The B.C. Greens say Sonia Furstenau will be staying on as party leader, despite losing her seat in the legislature in Saturday’s provincial election.
The party says in a statement that its two newly elected MLAs, Jeremy Valeriote and Rob Botterell, support Furstenau’s leadership as they “navigate the prospect of having the balance of power in the legislature.”
Neither the NDP led by Premier David Eby nor the B.C. Conservatives led by John Rustad secured a majority in the election, with two recounts set to take place from Oct. 26 to 28.
Eby says in a news conference that while the election outcome is uncertain, it’s “very likely” that the NDP would need the support of others to pass legislation.
He says he reached out to Furstenau on election night to congratulate her on the Greens’ showing.
But he says the Green party has told the NDP they are “not ready yet” for a conversation about a minority government deal.
The Conservatives went from taking less than two per cent of the vote in 2020 to being elected or leading in 45 ridings, two short of a majority and only one behind the NDP.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Toronto FC captain Jonathan Osorio is making a difference, 4,175 kilometres away from home.
The 32-year-old Canadian international midfielder, whose parents hail from Colombia, has been working with the Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization, a charity whose goal is to help disadvantaged youth in the South American country.
Osorio has worked behind the scenes, with no fanfare.
Until now, with his benevolence resulting in becoming Toronto FC’s nominee for the Audi Goals Drive Progress Impact Award, which honours an MLS player “who showed outstanding dedication to charitable efforts and serving the community” during the 2024 season.”
Other nominees include Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Sebastian Berhalter and CF Montreal goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois.
The winner will be announced in late November.
The Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization (CCCO) is run entirely by volunteers like Monica Figueredo and Claudia Soler. Founded in 1991, it received charitable status in 2005.
The charity currently has four projects on the go: two in Medellin and one each in Armenia and Barranquilla.
They include a school, a home for young girls whose parents are addicted to drugs, after-school and weekend programs for children in a disadvantaged neighbourhood, and nutrition and education help for underprivileged youth.
The organization heard about Osorio and was put in contact with him via an intermediary, which led to a lunch meeting. Osorio did his due diligence and soon got back to the charity with his decision.
“It was something that I wanted to be a part of right away,” said Osorio, whose lone regret is that he didn’t get involved sooner.
“I’m fortunate now that to help more now that I could have back then,” he added. “The timing actually worked out for everybody. For the last three years I have donated to their cause and we’ve built a couple of (football) fields in different cities over there in the schools.”
His father visited one of the sites in Armenia close to his hometown.
“He said it was amazing, the kids, how grateful they are to be able to play on any pitch, really,” said Osorio. “But to be playing on a new pitch, they’re just so grateful and so humble.
“It really makes it worth it being part of this organization.”
The collaboration has also made Osorio take stock.
“We’re very fortunate here in Canada, I think, for the most part. Kids get to go to school and have a roof over their head and things like that. In Colombia, it’s not really the same case. My father and his family grew up in tough conditions, so giving back is like giving back to my father.”
Osorio’s help has been a godsend to the charity.
“We were so surprised with how willing he was,” said Soler.
The TFC skipper has helped pay for a football field in Armenia as well as an ambitious sports complex under construction in Barranquilla.
“It’s been great for them,” Figueredo said of the pitch in Armenia. “Because when they go to school, now they have a proper place to train.”
Osorio has also sent videos encouraging the kids to stay active — as well as shipping soccer balls and signed jerseys their way.
“They know more about Jonathan than the other players in Colombia,” Figueredo said. “That’s the funny part. Even though he’s far away, they’ve connected with him.”
“They feel that they have a future, that they can do more,” she added. “Seeing that was really, really great.”
The kids also followed Osorio through the 2022 World Cup and this summer’s Copa America.
Back home, Osorio has also attended the charity’s annual golf tournament, helping raise funds.
A Toronto native, he has long donated four tickets for every TFC home game to the Hospital for Sick Children.
Vancouver’s Berhalter was nominated for his involvement in the Whitecaps’ partnership with B.C. Children’s Hospital while Montreal’s Sirois was chosen for his work with the Montreal Impact Foundation.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
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