Tag Archives: Ontario

World

A Toronto billionaire couple was found dead by their pool in 2017. Their son has offered a $35 million reward

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CNN
 — 

The deaths of Canadian billionaires Barry and Honey Sherman have been shrouded in mystery from the beginning.

On December 15, 2017, a realtor giving a tour of the couple’s Toronto mansion around midday discovered their bodies, fully dressed, beside their indoor basement swimming pool. They were semi-seated side by side, with belts tied around their necks and attached to the railing of the indoor pool, police said.

Barry Sherman was 75; his wife Honey was 70. None of their friends or business associates had heard from them in about two days, and there were no signs of forced entry to the home, police said.

The story made headlines far beyond their affluent community in Toronto. Police called the deaths suspicious, and theories swirled about who might have wanted to kill the founder of Canadian generic drug giant Apotex and his philanthropic wife – one of Canada’s richest couples.

Investigators have worked to connect the dots. But five years later, no arrests have been made. On this week’s anniversary of the killings, the Shermans’ son offered an additional $25 million for information leading to an arrest. The reward is now $35 million.

“This week marks the five-year anniversary since my parents were murdered in their home. Every day since then has been a nightmare. I have been overwhelmed with pain, loss, and sorrow and these feelings only continuously compound,” Jonathon Sherman said in a statement to Canada’s CBC News announcing the reward money.

“Closure will not be possible until those responsible for this evil act are brought to justice,” he added. “I hope for the day when I make this payment, as it will finally allow for healing.”

From the beginning, the case confounded investigators and amateur sleuths alike.

Days after the grim discovery, an autopsy revealed the couple died from “ligature neck compression,” or strangulation. The investigation was still in its early stages and the deaths were not being treated as homicides, police said at the time.

“The manner was undetermined with the only presented options being double suicide, murder/suicide or double homicide,” Detective Sergeant Susan Gomes said.

The victims’ prominence meant the case was high profile from the start.

Barry Sherman founded Apotex in 1974 and expanded it into a global pharmaceutical company that has donated over $50 million to charity, according to its website. At the time of his death, Forbes estimated he was worth $3 billion.

The Shermans’ wealth, vast investments and philanthropy work saw them cross paths with Canada’s business and political elites.

Their funeral was attended by thousands of people, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Kathleen Wynne, premier of the province of Ontario.

At the service an emotional Jonathon Sherman took the stage, flanked by his three sisters, and slammed speculation that their parents died by suicide.

“Our parents never left anyone behind. They were taken from us,” he said through tears, adding that the family takes comfort in knowing the Shermans are together in the afterlife. “You were like a lock and a key, each pretty useless on your own. But together, you unlocked the world for yourselves, and for us, and for so many others,” he said.

The couple’s children hired their own team of forensic pathologists and private investigators, leading to speculation that they were sparring with the police.

Toronto police later said investigators never prematurely indicated the case was a murder-suicide, saying it was a misunderstanding. Authorities said they had sought to reassure the public that there was no sign that it was a break-and-enter or robbery with violence.

Six weeks after the bodies were found, Toronto police announced a review of evidence showed they were victims of a homicide, saying they believed the couple was targeted. Investigators cited the extra time needed to search the Shermans’ sprawling home and related issues for the delayed conclusion.

“Legal complexities in some executions have been challenging, given the litigious nature of Barry Sherman’s businesses, in particular the search and seizure of electronics and Barry Sherman’s workspace at Apotex,” Gomes said in January 2018.

“Two residential properties belonging to the Shermans have been searched. The primary Sherman residence is a large three-story family dwelling. Six weeks of search, forensic review and seizing of evidence is warranted.”

Police have indicated there are possible financial motives in the double homicide, according to the CBC, a CNN affilate. A Toronto police spokesperson declined to comment to CNN on that report.

Over the years Barry Sherman had sued dozens of people, including a lawsuit filed the last day he was seen alive against someone he claimed had scammed him out of a $150,000 investment, the CBC reported. He was known to loan money to friends and relatives, and invest in other businesses.

Gomes declined to provide details on what evidence was found in the search of the home or whether anything was stolen. She said there were no suspects, but added that police are speaking to a number of people who had access to the home.

The CBC reported that the Sherman mansion had no security cameras. With no forced signs of entry, it’s possible someone had a key, had access to the lockbox that held the keys or was known to the couple, Gomes said.

She urged any witnesses to come forward. “We have a significant number of images of people in the neighborhood,” she said.

Weeks turned into months without any new leads. Even investigators admitted the family was getting impatient with the lack of information.

“For them, it has been difficult to balance their patience with their frustration with us and our investigation, not unlike any other family who has suffered such a sudden and profound loss,” Gomes said in 2018.

After years of silence, police made a stunning announcement on the fourth anniversary of the couple’s deaths last year.

They shared a video of a shadowy person caught on security video walking on the snow-covered sidewalks in the couple’s North York neighborhood. Police described the person as a suspect and asked for the public’s help in identifying them.

Police said the suspect wore a head covering in the video and appeared to be between 5-foot-6 and 5-foot-9. Police said they did not know whether the suspect was male or female, and could not determine their age, weight or skin color.

They called attention to the unusual gait of the suspect, who seemed to kick up their right heel while walking.

“Through our investigation, we have been unable to determine what this individual’s purpose was in the neighborhood. The timing of this individual’s appearance is in line with when we believe the murders took place. Based on this evidence we’re classifying this individual as a suspect,” Detective Sgt. Brandon Price said at a news briefing.

An “exhaustive video canvass” of the neighborhood revealed other video surveillance of the suspect, and based on when police believe the murders took place, the person was around the Sherman household and remained in that area for a period of time, Price said.

They urged the person to come forward. Nobody did.

Five years after the killings, there have been no new major developments. True crime podcasts have tried to unravel intrigue surrounding the deaths.

The Shermans’ children say the years since the killings have been a nightmare.

The grief is compounded by the lack of answers, said Alex Krawczyk, their daughter.

“So far there has been no justice for them and no closure for me and my family,” she said in a statement this week. “My heart is broken. My loss is immeasurable. My children have lost their grandparents. We miss their guidance, love, and wisdom.”

A folk singer, Krawczyk released an album of music this year that she described as an attempt to process her grief and heal in the wake of her parents’ deaths.

In a statement to the CBC, her brother, Jonathon Sherman, echoed the same sentiment, saying the family will never get closure until the killer is brought to justice. The loss of his parents goes beyond the family and extends to the many people whose lives they touched, he said. The Shermans were a big part of the local Jewish community and involved in numerous advocacy and philanthropy works.

“Nothing will replace their incredible generosity and positive social impact,” he told the CBC. “My parents deserved to enjoy the fruits of their labor, and spend their twilight years as any grandparent should, with their family. … I am forever haunted by what happened to them.”

The siblings reminded the public of the $35 million in reward money and pleaded anyone with information to contact the Toronto Police Service. CNN has reached out to the family for comment.

Caroline de Kloet, a Toronto Police Service spokesperson, declined to comment on a possible motive or developments in the case.

“This remains an ongoing and active investigation,” she said. “Toronto Police Service is committed to resolving this case and bringing closure to the family and friends of Barry and Honey Sherman.”

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Science

Eerie green fireball detected hours before smashing into Lake Ontario in the dead of night

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At half past 3:00 a.m. (EST) on Nov. 19, a bright green fireball streaked through the sky over the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. Witnesses reported seeing a helicopter-like object cruising silently through the air before lighting up huge swathes of the night like an enormous lightning bolt. After about 10 seconds, it was gone.

This fireball was a small meteor, detected by astronomers just three hours before it tumbled through Earth‘s atmosphere, caught fire and broke up into hundreds of pieces. Most of those pieces likely smacked straight into Lake Ontario, though some small chunks may have impacted land on the lake’s southern shore, according to NASA.

Seven observatories around the world watched the meteor make its early morning death dive, and at least 59 people in New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania and the nearby province of Ontario, Canada reported seeing the fireball on the International Meteor Organization‘s meteor-watching database.

One witness — Dereck Bowen of Brantford, Ontario (a town located about 60 miles, or 97 kilometers, west of the New York border) — managed to capture the fireball’s descent with a GoPro camera set to automatically record the sky at night. A spectacular 30-second exposure of the sky shows the moment the meteor soared overhead, with the rock’s bright green trail plunging down toward the Earth and lighting up the clouds around it. 

Another camera set up outside the nearby CN Tower — a 1,815-foot-tall (553 meters) communications tower in Toronto — also captured the meteor’s bright passage across the sky.

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Fireballs are exceptionally bright meteors that typically originate from asteroids or pieces of comets that orbit the sun, according to NASA. 

The Nov. 19 fireball — now officially named 2022 WJ1 — was likely a small asteroid measuring no more than 3.2 feet (1 m) in diameter. When space rocks like these enter Earth’s atmosphere, they heat up and slow down from the intense friction, producing a visible wake of fiery light behind them. Depending on a meteor’s composition, it may also glow green as it tumbles to its doom.

Fireballs are generally considered to be harmless, as most of their pieces burn up in the atmosphere before impacting Earth. However, there may be some rare exceptions. On Nov. 5, a man in California claimed that a fireball set his house on fire after it appeared in the sky moments earlier. Experts from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection are still investigating the cause of the blaze. 



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World

Toronto island airport: Suspicious device found has been disarmed, authorities say. 2 people are in custody

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CNN
 — 

Two people were taken into custody after authorities located and later disarmed a possible explosive device at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, police said.

At around 4 p.m. Saturday, a device was found on a bicycle parked near the airport’s island-side ferry terminal, according to the airport’s social media account. Located on an island along Lake Ontario near downtown Toronto, the airport is largely accessed by ferry or pedestrian tunnel.

The ferry terminal and tunnel were closed “out of an abundance of caution,” the airport said, as the bike was removed by police. Passengers at the terminal were later evacuated and two Air Canada flights were diverted to nearby Hamilton, according to the airport.

As police dealt with “a potential explosive device,” according to the Toronto Police Operations Centre, at least two buildings near the airport were evacuated and several side streets were closed.

A controlled detonation was then conducted later that evening, Toronto police said.

“The device has been disarmed and Toronto Police Services has concluded their investigation and released the site,” the airport stated.

Two “persons of interest” are in custody, Toronto police said. Authorities have not released any additional details on the type of device found.

Airport operations and flights are set to resume Sunday morning, according to the airport. Billy Bishop Airport is roughly 10 miles southeast of the city’s busiest airport, Toronto Pearson International (YYZ).



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World

Ontario, Canada shooting: 2 dead and 3 others wounded in Mississauga and Milton

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CNN
 — 

A Toronto police officer who was taking a lunch break during training was shot and killed in Mississauga by a suspect who later was taken into custody in Hamilton after a second deadly shooting, authorities said at a media briefing Monday night.

Authorities said another person was wounded in Mississauga. The suspect fled to Milton and is thought to have shot three more people, killing one, police said.

Constable Andrew Hong, 48, of the Toronto police’s traffic unit was shot at close range and died at the scene, Chief James Ramer told reporters.

“This is devastating news for his family and for all members of the Toronto Police Service and our entire policing community,” the chief said. “We will lean on each other while we work to support Constable Hong’s family, and each other, in our grief.”

Hong is survived by his wife and two children. He had been with the department for 22 years.

Peel Regional Police in Mississauga earlier said they were called to the scene of a shooting that took place at the intersection of Argentia Road and Winston Churchill Boulevard where two people were shot just after 2 p.m. ET.

The victim who was taken to a hospital has “life-altering wounds” and is at a trauma center, Peel Regional Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah said at the briefing. He called the shooting of the constable an ambush.

After the suspect fled, three people were shot on Bronte Street South in neighboring Milton, Halton Regional Police said. One person was pronounced dead at the scene and two others were transported to a hospital, according to police. Their conditions were not immediately available.

“We believe that this was the same suspect who was involved in the shooting here in Mississauga,” Duraiappah said.

The suspect – who Peel police said was wearing all black with a yellow construction vest – was taken into custody, according to Halton Regional Police.

Both police agencies said they are investigating the connection between the two incidents and believe they are linked to the same person.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted about the shootings in Ontario late Monday.

“My thoughts, and the thoughts of many others, are with all those who knew the police officer killed in the line of duty in Mississauga today,” Trudeau tweeted. “We’re also thinking of those who were injured in today’s shootings – we’re wishing you a full recovery.”

Milton, Mississauga and Hamilton are not far west of Toronto.



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World

King Charles proclaimed Canada’s new head of state

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TORONTO — King Charles III was officially proclaimed Canada’s monarch Saturday in a ceremony in Ottawa.

Charles automatically became king when Queen Elizabeth II died Thursday. But like the ceremony in the United Kingdom hours earlier, the accession ceremony in Canada is a key constitutional and ceremonial step in introducing the new monarch to the country.

Charles is now is the head of state in Canada, which is a member of the British Commonwealth of former colonies.

“Canada has enjoyed a long history and a close friendship with His Majesty King Charles III, who has visited our country many times over the years,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement.

“On behalf of the Government of Canada, we affirm our loyalty to Canada’s new King, His Majesty King Charles III, and offer him our full support.”

Visits by Charles over the years have attracted sparse crowds.

Though Canadians are somewhat indifferent to the monarchy, many had great affection for Elizabeth, whose silhouette marks their coins. She was the head of state for 45% of Canada’s existence and visited the country 22 times as monarch.

Overall, the antiroyal movement in Canada is minuscule, meaning that Charles will almost certainly remain king of Canada.

One reason is that abolishing the monarchy would mean changing the constitution. That’s an inherently risky undertaking, given how delicately it is engineered to unite a nation of 37 million people that embraces English-speakers, French-speakers, Indigenous tribes and a constant flow of new immigrants.

“Politically, I think there is no appetite for any kind of constitutional upheaval,” said Robert Bothwell, a professor of Canadian history and international relations at the University of Toronto.

Trudeau attended the ceremony where the Chief Herald of Canada read the proclamation on the accession of the new sovereign.

Also taking part was Governor General Mary Simon, who is the representative of the British monarch as head of state, a mostly ceremonial and symbolic position. She is an Inuk and is the first Indigenous person to hold the position.

A 28-member band of the Canadian Armed Forces played “God Save the King” during a 21-run gun salute. Canada’s national anthem marked the end of the ceremony.

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US

At least 2 shot dead in 6 incidents across SoCal

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Six SoCal 7-Eleven stores targeted in series of robberies; At least 2 dead

At least six armed robberies, including two that turned deadly, have been reported at at different 7-Eleven locations across Southern California. The crimes happened in the cities of Brea, Ontario, La Habra, Santa Ana, Upland and Riverside, and authorities said at least three of the crimes are related.

BREA, Calif. – A string of armed robberies at several 7-Eleven locations throughout Southern California early Monday morning left at least two people dead – and police said preliminary evidence indicates at least three of the crimes are linked to each other.

A surveillance photo of the suspect wanted in connection with the incidents at the Brea, La Habra, and Santa Ana 7-Eleven locations has since been released as detectives continue to investigate.

Authorities said they will be alerting other 7-Eleven stores to take additional safety precautions. 

Suspect wanted in the fatal shooting of an employee at the 7-Eleven on Lambert Rd and N. Brea Blvd in Brea. Police believe this suspect is also responsible for the shootings in La Habra and Santa Ana. (Credit: Brea Police Dept.) (FOX 11)

The shootings coincide with National 7/11 Day, where customers can receive a free Slurpee.

“Our hearts are with the victims and their loved ones. We are gathering information on this terrible tragedy and working with local law enforcement,” 7-Eleven said in a statement.

Here’s what we know so far about the six separate incidents.

7-Eleven robbery Ontario

The Ontario Police Department confirmed to FOX 11 that another robbery was reported at a 7-Eleven location at 636 N. Vine Ave. in Ontario. FOX 11 is working to confirm more details about what happened and whether this incident is related to the others.

7-Eleven robbery Upland

Police have also confirmed a robbery at a 7-Eleven in Upland at 2410 W. Arrow Route early Monday morning. According to Upland Police Sergeant Jacob Kirk, the suspect entered the store around 12:40 a.m. Monday, pulling out a weapon. The suspect made off with about $500 and some drinks. No one was injured in this robbery, and Upland PD is working with other law enforcement agencies to determine if this suspect is the one responsible for other shootings throughout the night.  

7-Eleven shooting Brea

7-Eleven clerk killed in robbery in Brea

Police believe this fatal armed robbery is linked to a similar incident that happened about an hour later in La Habra.

In Brea, a store clerk was fatally shot during an armed robbery at the 7-Eleven on Lambert Road and N. Brea Boulevard around 4:18 a.m., police said. The male victim died at the scene.

According to authorities, they believe based on preliminary evidence that the suspect involved in this fatal shooting is linked to the incidents at the La Habra and Santa Ana 7-Eleven stores.

7-Eleven shooting Santa Ana

Shooting at 7-Eleven in Santa Ana

A man was found dead in the parking lot, suffering from a fatal gunshot wound to his upper torso, police said.

A similar crime was reported around 3:23 a.m. at the 7-Eleven in the 300 block of 17th Street in Santa Ana, police said. A man was found dead in the parking lot, suffering from a fatal gunshot wound to his upper torso.

Officials confirm this suspect is also wanted in connection with the incidents at the La Habra and Brea 7-Eleven locations.

Clerks told FOX 11 the suspect connected to the three incidents had visited the Santa Ana location the previous day and was not allowed inside.

7-Eleven shooting La Habra

Shooting at 7-Eleven in La Habra

At least two people were taken to the hospital. FOX 11’s Gigi Graciette reports live in La Habra.

Meanwhile in La Habra, police were investigating a similar armed robbery after two people were shot outside the 7-Eleven near Cypress Street and Whittier Boulevard around 4:55 a.m.

In this incident, an employee and a man sitting in his car outside the store were shot; both were taken to the hospital and are expected to survive, officials said. Police told FOX 11 a cash register was found apparently on the floor of the convenience store. 

The two victims were identified as a longtime, well-liked clerk at the 7-Eleven as well as a customer. Both are expected to survive, police said.

Authorities provide update on string of 7-Eleven shootings

A string of armed robberies at several 7-Eleven locations throughout Southern California early Monday morning left at least two people dead – and police are investigating if at least two of the crimes are possibly linked to each other.

Authorities said preliminary investigation indicates this suspect is the same one wanted in connection with the incidents at the 7-Eleven stores in Brea and Santa Ana.

As this is an ongoing investigation, police are asking witnesses to contact La Habra Police Department’s Watch Commander at 562-383-4300.

7-Eleven shooting Riverside

1 shot after robbery at 7-Eleven in Riverside

The suspect fled the scene before officers arrived on scene.

Just before 2 a.m., an armed robbery was reported at a 7-Eleven on La Sierra Avenue in Riverside. 

According to police, a customer was shot in the head inside the convenience store and remains in grave condition. There is no indication the customer did anything to intervene in the robbery but was still shot by the suspect, police said.

The victim remains in critical/grave condition

Officials did not immediately release information on a possible suspect or suspects. 

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World

Opinion | Doug Ford’s win in Ontario must be a wake-up call against complacency

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After four years of provincial mismanagement and more than two years of inadequate pandemic measures, roughly 17 percent of eligible voters in Ontario reelected incumbent Progressive Conservative Premier Doug Ford with a majority government.

Final results are pending, but, according to early data, about 43 percent of Ontarians cast a ballot in the province’s 43rd general election — the lowest turnout in Ontario’s history. The governing PCs won 40.8 percent of the meager lot and 83 seats. The New Democrats and Liberals nearly tied in popular vote for second place at 23.7 percent and 23.8 percent respectively. With that, the New Democratic Party took 31 seats and the Liberals took 8 — a reminder of how fickle the province’s electoral system is. Both opposition leaders immediately resigned. If only they’d done so before the election started.

So what went wrong? It’s easier to ask what went right, because the answer is nothing, unless you’re Ford. In that case, the answer is two terrible opposition parties that spent the election fighting one another for second place; an antidemocratic and unconstitutional law passed by the premier to silence his critics by limiting third-party advertising and advocacy (and kept in place by a constitutional override); and a PC campaign that got away with shoving protesters and hiding from the public and media.

Ford met the material and class interests of many voters, with low taxes and an emphasis on small government and being “open for business.” For others, Ford satisfied their misguided symbolic and cultural needs. As Clifton van der Linden, assistant professor of political science at McMaster University and creator of the Vote Compass tool noted, Ford capitalized on opposing issues including statue removal, diversity and inclusion policies, anti-racism and colonialism education policy, medical treatment related to gender transition and supervised injection sites. The culture war in Ontario played a notable role in returning Ford, a fact that went unnoticed by many. In truth, this election was a battle over a dangerous and growing politics of race, class and gender grievance.

The polls barely moved throughout the campaign, save for a PC surge at the end and a Liberal dip. More than two years into the pandemic — with the country sliding deeper into an affordability crisis, weathering the increasingly heavy effects of climate change and witnessing an uncertain geopolitical realignment — people are scared, anxious and angry. The opposition parties failed to speak to and mobilize them — hence the low turnout that was central to the Ford win. The failure to capitalize on Ford’s missteps and get voters to the polls is especially damning for the NDP, who dropped 800,000 votes from its 2018 tally and lost 9 seats. The ostensible party of the workers didn’t show up for the class they’re meant to represent above all.

A majority of voters preferred a government not run by Ford. While the PCs won 40.8 percent of the popular vote, that was good enough for 83 of the legislature’s 124 seats — a rare second majority that was actually bigger than the first. The New Democrats and Liberals managed just 39 seats combined with their shared total of 47.5 percent of the votes. The PCs understood the assignment: to win more with less. Call it vote efficiency if you like. It’s cynical but, in a world where strategy and results trump what’s best for democracy, you get what you get.” type=”text” originalidx=”6″ itid=”lk_inline_manual_10″ index=”8″ paragraphidx=”5″>

Henry Olsen

counterpointDoug Ford’s sweeping win in Ontario is a model for populist Republicans

The electoral system in the province didn’t help matters. A majority of voters preferred a government not run by Ford. While the PCs won 40.8 percent of the popular vote, that was good enough for 83 of the legislature’s 124 seats — a rare second majority that was actually bigger than the first. The New Democrats and Liberals managed just 39 seats combined with their shared total of 47.5 percent of the votes. The PCs understood the assignment: to win more with less. Call it vote efficiency if you like. It’s cynical but, in a world where strategy and results trump what’s best for democracy, you get what you get.

Where does the opposition movement go from here? The future leaders of the NDP and Liberals should be furious. They ought to be angry about workers getting a raw deal, people not being able to afford to live, disabled folks living in legislated poverty. Angry about a crumbling health-care system. Angry about overstuffed schools. Angry about climate inaction. They must be capable of connecting with Ontarians and providing leadership that recognizes public suffering — and must commit to structural change.

The NDP in particular should be attentive to this anger and should make it their core mission to empower the party’s grass roots to build a pan-province movement of unabashedly leftist politics. They ought to move like lives depend upon it — because lives do depend upon it. There’s no time left for waiting.

This election must be a wake-up call for a complacent province and the uninspired opposition parties who have done nothing to break that complacency. The status quo cannot be allowed to hold. But that change is a way off, if it is to arrive at all.

For now, Ford and his government will have the run of the legislature with a huge majority and effectively no opposition to keep them in check. Maybe that will lead Ford toward defeating himself with hubris. But it’s best not to count on that. Instead, Ontarians should get organized, choose better leaders and commit to grass roots, barnstorming politics aimed at transforming the province. And that work must start today.



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World

Opinion | Doug Ford’s sweeping win in Ontario is a model for populist Republicans

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Many Republicans dream of making the GOP a multiracial, working-class party. Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s smashing reelection victory Thursday gives them a great model to examine.

Ford is leader of the province’s main center-right party, the Progressive Conservatives. He has often been derided by his left-leaning foes as a bumbling populist or a “tin-pot Northern Trump.” He has also sparked criticism on the right for embracing lockdowns and vaccine passports as part of the province’s efforts to control covid-19. If these charges had merit, Ontario’s suburbanites and the hard right would have abandoned him in droves.

Instead, Ford swamped his foes left and right. The PCs won 83 of the province’s 124 seats, a seven-seat gain from his 2018 landslide. His party carried virtually every seat in its rural southern Ontario heartland, losing only one riding to an independent running with the outgoing PC member’s endorsement. The PCs also dominated suburban Toronto and won two seats in suburban Ottawa. Republicans would love to emulate this level of success in uniting rural and suburban voters in this year’s midterm elections.

Ford’s success with ethnic minorities and working-class voters is even more important to understand. A pre-election poll found the PCs winning among the province’s “visible minorities,” a Canadian term that covers “persons, other than Aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour.” The PCs carried every seat in minority-dominated Brampton and Mississauga, gaining three seats from the center-left New Democratic Party, and won four seats in Scarborough, a district of Toronto where minorities make up nearly 75 percent of the population. The PCs also carried union-heavy areas, such as Windsor-Tecumseh and Timmins, which the New Democratic Party had long dominated. The PCs won the endorsement of eight traditionally anti-PC trade unions in the process.

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“Ford Nation,” it seems, is a very inclusive movement.

Ford’s success isn’t hard to break down. He governs from the center-right, not the hard right. He expelled three members from the PC caucus who refused to support covid lockdowns or be vaccinated, as per party policy. Two formed new parties — the New Blue and Ontario parties — but those protests fizzled, winning only 4.5 percent of the vote and no seats. Ford eschewed supply-side ideology and adopted targeted tax cuts for the working class instead. He pushed back against a carbon tax and a Liberal Party-backed plan to implement a school curriculum that discussed topics such as gender identity in early grades.

Ford has also not been afraid to spend money. His latest budget envisions large capital expenditures for infrastructure projects, such as widening and building roads and expanding the region’s extensive rail and subway network. That has produced large deficits, although those will likely be smaller than projected as the provincial economy roars back from the pandemic. The upshot, as conservative commentator Sean Speer told me, is that Ford’s success shows “there is a political market for his mix of economic populism and cultural conservatism.”

Ford’s personal touch also cannot be overlooked. “He’s the sort of guy you might want to have a beer with,” Speer says. “God, you might have actually had a beer with him!”

That’s not surprising for a man whose 2018 campaign featured a pledge to reduce minimum prices at the provincial-owned liquor stores and bring back “a buck a beer.” When Toronto was hit by a large snowstorm in January, Ford drove around his neighborhood personally helping stranded motorists dig out their cars and ferry them to appointments.

An American version of “Ford Nation” would likely govern considerably to the right. Ontario does not have a long southern border that hundreds of thousands of people try to cross illegally each month. The United States also has cultural conflicts over Big Tech and abortion that are not as pressing in Canada, and the stronger anti-government tradition among American conservatives would also have an effect. Those factors would make a U.S. version of Ford’s campaign more confrontational in tone. And it would offer more red meat to the right, much as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has done.

But American conservatives can learn from Ford’s willingness to shed conservative dogma to bring in new converts. Suburbanites tend to shy away from harsh religious rhetoric. And minorities and working-class voters tend to favor larger levels of government spending than traditional conservatives do. The GOP is sorely mistaken if it thinks it can take these people’s votes and discard their sentiments after the midterms.

Ford’s two landslide victories show it is possible to build a new, broad-based conservative majority. Anyone who wants to be the next Republican presidential nominee should take notes.



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Health

New Coronavirus Lineage Discovered in Ontario Deer

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Scientists have identified a new, highly mutated version of the coronavirus in white-tailed deer in southwestern Ontario, one that may have been evolving in animals since late 2020.

They also found a very similar viral sequence in one person in the area who had close contact with deer, the first evidence of possible deer-to-human transmission of the virus.

“The virus is evolving in deer and diverging in deer away from what we are clearly seeing evolving in humans,” said Samira Mubareka, a virologist at Sunnybrook Research Institute and the University of Toronto and an author of the new paper.

The report has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal, and there is no evidence that the deer lineage is spreading among, or poses any elevated risk to, people. Preliminary laboratory experiments suggest that the lineage is unlikely to evade human antibodies.

But the paper was posted online just days after another team reported that the Alpha variant may have continued to spread and evolve in Pennsylvania deer even after it disappeared from human populations.

Together, the two studies suggest that the virus may be circulating among deer for extended periods of time, raising the risk that the animals could become a long-term reservoir of the virus and a source of future variants.

“There’s certainly no need to panic,” said Arinjay Banerjee, a virologist at the University of Saskatchewan who was not involved in either study.

But, he added, “The more hosts you have, the more opportunities the virus has to evolve.”

Previous studies have found that the virus is widespread in white-tailed deer. Research suggests that humans have repeatedly introduced the virus to deer, which then transmit it to one another. How humans are spreading the virus to deer remains a mystery, and until now, there has been no evidence that the animals are passing it back to humans.

The Canada study was a collaboration involving more than two dozen researchers at institutions across Ontario. The scientists collected nasal swabs and samples of lymph node tissue from 300 white-tailed deer killed by hunters in Ontario between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31, 2021. Six percent of the animals, all from southwestern Ontario, tested positive for the virus, suggesting that they were actively infected when they died.

The researchers sequenced the full viral genomes from five infected deer and found a unique constellation of mutations that had not been previously documented. Overall, 76 mutations — some of which had previously been found in deer, mink and other infected animals — set the lineage apart from the original version of the virus.

The deer samples were most closely related to viral samples taken from human patients in Michigan, not far from southwestern Ontario, in November and December 2020. They were also similar to samples taken from humans and mink in Michigan earlier that fall.

Those findings, as well as the rate at which the virus accumulates mutations, suggest that the new lineage may have diverged from known versions of the virus, and been evolving undetected, since late 2020.

But its precise path is unclear. One possibility is that humans might have passed the virus directly to deer, and the virus then accumulated mutations as it spread among the cervids. Alternately, the lineage may have evolved at least partly in another, intermediate species — perhaps farmed or wild mink — which then somehow transmitted it to deer.

“We don’t have all the pieces in the puzzle,” Dr. Suresh Kuchipudi, a veterinary microbiologist at Penn State, who was not involved in the research, said in an email. “We cannot rule out the involvement of an intermediate host.”

A viral sample collected from one human patient in southwestern Ontario in the fall of 2021 closely matched the deer samples. That person is known to have had “close contact” with deer, the researchers said.

(They could not disclose more details about the nature of this contact for privacy reasons, although Dr. Mubareka noted that people should not worry about incidental, indirect encounters, like simply having a deer wander through their backyard.)

The sample size is tiny, scientists cautioned, and there is no conclusive proof that the person caught the virus from deer. “We don’t have enough information yet to confirm that transmission back to humans,” said Roderick Gagne, a wildlife disease ecologist at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine.

But at the time the human sample was collected, Ontario was sequencing samples of the virus from everyone in the region who tested positive on a P.C.R. test. The researchers did not find any other people who had been infected by similar versions of the virus, making it less likely that it evolved independently in humans.

“Had it been circulating widely in humans, even narrowly in humans, I think we would have picked it up,” Dr. Mubareka said.

There is also no evidence that the person infected with the lineage passed the virus on to anyone else.

And early data suggest that existing vaccines should still be able to protect against the lineage. Antibodies from vaccinated people were able to neutralize pseudoviruses — harmless, nonreplicating viruses — that had been engineered to resemble the deer lineage, the scientists found.

In the second study, scientists from the University of Pennsylvania’s veterinary and medical schools analyzed nasal swabs from 93 deer that died in Pennsylvania in the fall and winter of 2021. Nineteen percent were actively infected with the virus. When the researchers sequenced seven of the samples, they found that five of the deer were infected with the Delta variant, while two were infected with Alpha.

At the time the samples were collected, Delta was widespread among the human residents of the United States, but the Alpha wave that hit Americans in the spring of 2021 had long since faded.

“Alpha seems to be persisting in the white-tailed deer even during the time when it’s not circulating in humans,” said Eman Anis, a microbiologist at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine and an author of the study.

Indeed, the Delta samples in deer were genetically similar to those from humans, suggesting that it had crossed species lines relatively recently. But the two Alpha sequences had diverged more significantly from human lineages. (They were also substantially different from each other, suggesting that the variant had been introduced to the deer population at least twice.)

“The main implication would be that the deer sustain transmission and infections within their populations,” Dr. Gagne, an author of the Pennsylvania study, said. “So that is not just, you know, a spillover event from humans, deer get infected and then it fizzles out.”

Whether these lineages will continue to circulate and evolve in deer is unknown, as is the risk they may pose to humans and other animals.

“Based on current information, I’d say that the risk of wildlife, including deer, spreading the virus to people is low,” said Jeff Bowman, a research scientist at the Ontario Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry and an author of the Canada paper.

But ongoing surveillance is critical, scientists said. Dr. Mubareka suggested that officials should enhance wastewater screening in Ontario and other nearby regions to look specifically for the deer lineage — and to ensure that it is not becoming more prevalent.

Experts also urged people to continue to follow guidelines put out by public health agencies, including not feeding deer or other wildlife and wearing gloves while butchering game.

“We should also be reducing the biggest reservoir for this virus, which is us,” Dr. Mubareka said, “to make sure we’re not continuously spilling into deer and creating these new lineages.”

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Canadian police start arresting protesters in Ottawa

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OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Police began arresting protesters and towing away trucks Friday in a bid to break the three-week, traffic-snarling siege of Canada’s capital by hundreds of truckers angry over the country’s COVID-19 restrictions.

In an operation that unfolded slowly and methodically in the morning, officers were seen going door to door along a line of trucks, campers and other vehicles parked on Ottawa’s snow-covered streets.

Some protesters surrendered and were taken into custody, police said. Some were led away in handcuffs. One person being taken away carried a sign that read “Mandate Freedom.”

Many of the truckers remained defiant.

“Freedom was never free,” said trucker Kevin Homaund, of Montreal. “So what if they put the handcuffs on us and they put us in jail?”

Police made their first move to end the occupation late Thursday with the arrest of two key protest leaders. They also sealed off much of the downtown area to outsiders to prevent them from coming to the aid of the self-styled Freedom Convoy protesters.

The capital represented the movement’s last stronghold after three weeks of demonstrations and blockades that shut down border crossings into the U.S., caused economic damage to both countries and created a political crisis for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. They also shook Canada’s reputation for civility, with some foes of the unrest blaming the influence of the United States.

Over the past weeks, authorities had hesitated to move against many of the protesters around the country, in part for fear of violence. The demonstrations have drawn right-wing extremists and veterans, some of them armed.

Pat King, one of the protest leaders in Ottawa, told truckers, “Please say peaceful,” while also threatening the livelihoods of the tow truck drivers assisting the police.

“To the tow truck drivers, you are committing career suicide,” King said on Facebook. “We know where the trucks came from.”

With police and the government facing accusations that they let the protests gain strength and spread, Trudeau on Monday invoked Canada’s Emergencies Act, giving law enforcement extraordinary authority to declare the blockades illegal, tow away trucks, arrest the drivers, suspend their licenses and freeze their bank accounts.

Ottawa police made it clear on Thursday they were preparing to end the protest and remove the more than 300 trucks, with the city’s interim police chief warning: “Action is imminent.”

The operation Friday in Ottawa began in the morning with police methodically arresting protesters a few blocks from Parliament Hill, the heart of protest zone, where trucks were parked shoulder to shoulder. Some officers carried automatic weapons and wore tactical unit uniforms.

Heavy tow trucks began to pull away a few of the big rigs.

Not long after the arrests began, at least one big rig pulled away near the front of Parliament.

But despite warnings to leave posted by police on social media, a few protesters danced in the streets to the Beastie Boys anthem ”(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)” and Bob Marley’s “Get Up, Stand Up,” while shouting, “Freedom!”

The two protest leaders under arrest were due in court Friday. Among the charges: mischief and obstructing police.

The bumper-to-bumper occupation infuriated many Ottawa residents, who complained of being harassed and intimidated on the streets and obtained a court injunction to stop the truckers’ incessant honking of their horns.

The demonstrations around the country by protesters in trucks, tractors and motor homes initially focused on Canada’s vaccine requirement for truckers entering the country but soon morphed into a broad attack on COVID-19 precautions and Trudeau’s government.

The biggest border blockade, at the Ambassador Bridge between Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, disrupted the flow of auto parts between the two countries and forced the industry to curtail production. Authorities lifted the siege last weekend after arresting dozens of protesters.

The final border blockade, in Manitoba, across from North Dakota, ended peacefully on Wednesday.

The protests have been cheered on and received donations from conservatives in the U.S.

___

Gillies reported from Toronto.

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