Defining Contemporary Canada 1982-Present

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Map-based history of Canada a marvel

Reviewed by Douglas J. Johnston 3 minute read Preview

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Map-based history of Canada a marvel

Reviewed by Douglas J. Johnston 3 minute read Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017

If you like maps, you’ll like this book; if you like both maps and crisply recounted Canadian history, you’ll love it.

Adam Shoalts is the author of a previous Canadian bestseller, 2015’s Alone Against the North, which recounted his exploration of the muskeg and river wilderness that is the Hudson Bay Lowlands.

The maps of his second book are springboards for his accounts of how this country’s vast expanses were charted.

Shoalts believes maps have been fundamental in shaping our view of Canada. He supports this belief by offering up pivotal moments in our country’s history via stories built around 10 specific maps, most of which, in turn, are the product of specific explorations.

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Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017

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Oka at 25, lessons in reconciliation

By Will Braun 5 minute read Preview

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Oka at 25, lessons in reconciliation

By Will Braun 5 minute read Saturday, Jul. 11, 2015

It's been a generation since July 11, 1990, when a SWAT team piled out of a truck and advanced against a small Mohawk protest on a dirt road in the pine forest outside the Quebec village of Oka. What followed was a 78-day armed siege -- the most violent and consequential clash between indigenous people and the Canadian state in modern times.

What has changed during the past 25 years? What hasn't? And why has there not been another Oka despite repeated warnings about indigenous unrest across the country?

The crisis was sparked by a proposed golf course expansion and condo development that would have turned a Mohawk cemetery at Kanesatake into a parking lot. It represented something much bigger -- a history of inequality and a society divided by race and seething with anger.

The images were jarring. Tanks rolled through quiet communities, white rioters burned effigies of Mohawk warriors, cars carrying Mohawk women and children were pelted with rocks as police stood by, and most iconic of all, a soldier and Mohawk Warrior stared each other down at point-blank range. Generations of tension compressed into the few inches between their steely faces. The nation was on edge.

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Saturday, Jul. 11, 2015

Shaney Komulainen / THE CANADIAN PRESS files
A Canadian solider and First Nations protester face off at the Kahnesatake reserve in Oka, Que., in September 1990.

Province still working on Crown corporation legislation to get Port of Churchill expansion going, Kinew says

Carol Sanders 4 minute read Preview

Province still working on Crown corporation legislation to get Port of Churchill expansion going, Kinew says

Carol Sanders 4 minute read Friday, Mar. 20, 2026

Legislation needed to begin the work of turning the Port of Churchill into a national export hub with the potential to transform Manitoba’s economy is still being hammered out, says Premier Wab Kinew.

The act, to create the Manitoba Crown-Indigenous Corp., is still being written, which meant it was not among the more than 40 bills introduced by the NDP before Wednesday’s deadline for passage before the legislative session’s summer recess.

The government promised the legislation in November’s throne speech.

“The corporation has been set up,” the premier said Thursday at an unrelated event.

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Friday, Mar. 20, 2026

Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press Files
Premier Wab Kinew on the legislation to create the Manitoba Crown-Indigenous Corp.: “I think it’s most important that we get it right rather than trying to rush it.”

‘Give ourselves the means to achieve our ambitions’: province gets feedback on French plan

Nicole Buffie 4 minute read Preview

‘Give ourselves the means to achieve our ambitions’: province gets feedback on French plan

Nicole Buffie 4 minute read Friday, Mar. 20, 2026

Hiring more bilingual employees for the province’s public service, providing more services in French and making the history of the Francophonie a part of school curriculum could help make Manitoba a “truly” bilingual province.

That was the consensus from a survey taken by Manitobans aimed at shaping the NDP government’s francophone strategy. The results of the survey, which polled 1,600 Manitobans, was released Friday with a timeline for the government’s planned strategy.

Asked what a “truly bilingual province” means to them, 50 per cent of respondents answered “services.”

Bilingualism in the classroom was the top priority among respondents, followed by bilingualism in the health-care and social services systems and government bilingualism.

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Friday, Mar. 20, 2026

Glen Simard, the minister responsible for francophone affairs (Abiola Odutola / The Brandon Sun files)

More than 20 per cent of Manitobans think the U.S. could invade Canada in the next two years, poll conducted for the Free Press reveals

Tyler Searle 6 minute read Preview

More than 20 per cent of Manitobans think the U.S. could invade Canada in the next two years, poll conducted for the Free Press reveals

Tyler Searle 6 minute read Friday, Mar. 20, 2026

It has been more than two centuries since American troops crossed the international border in 1812 and invaded what was then the British colony of Canada — but that feeling of everlasting peace is fading.

Against the backdrop of the U.S. war with Iran, its forced removal of Venezuela’s president and President Donald Trump’s musing about annexing Greenland and making Canada the 51st state, some Manitobans are beginning to fear the spectre of armed conflict between this country and its neighbour to the south.

More than one out of five Manitobans believe an American invasion of Canada is possible in the next two years, according to a new Probe Research poll commissioned by the Free Press. Of those, 18 per cent of respondents said the prospect was somewhat likely, and four per cent felt it was very likely.

“The idea of the U.S. invading, for a long time, seemed preposterous. This certainly isn’t a question that we would’ve expected to ask people even a couple of years ago, but we wanted to understand with all of the things that have been happening in the last few months… if this is something that people think is a possibility,” said Curtis Brown, principal of Probe Research.

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Friday, Mar. 20, 2026

joe raedle / getty images FILE
A Canadian flag flies next to the American one at the Lewiston-Queenston border crossing bridge connecting Ontario and New York.
A Canadian flag flies next to the American one at the Lewiston-Queenston border crossing bridge on Feb. 4, 2025, in Niagara Falls, Canada. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images/TNS)

Local TV stations ask regulator to force Meta to pay for posting some news content

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

Local TV stations ask regulator to force Meta to pay for posting some news content

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Friday, Mar. 20, 2026

OTTAWA - Some local and independent TV stations are asking the federal broadcast regulator to start a process to force Meta to pay for allowing some news content on Facebook and Instagram.

They say that despite Meta’s move in 2023 to pull news from its platforms in response to the Online News Act, some content remains available.

The Online News Act requires Meta and Google to compensate media outlets for displaying their content. While Meta pulled news from its platforms in response and has not been required to pay news outlets, Google has been making payments under the act.

In a submission to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, the stations cite examples of online posts that included news content, such as text and screenshots of stories and video clips.

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Friday, Mar. 20, 2026

Poilievre pitches Canadian kindness on ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’ podcast

David Baxter and Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Preview

Poilievre pitches Canadian kindness on ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’ podcast

David Baxter and Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Friday, Mar. 20, 2026

OTTAWA - Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre laughed off a conspiracy theory about Justin Trudeau in the opening minutes of his 2.5-hour sit-down with podcaster Joe Rogan, where he made a case for Canadians being America's nice-guy neighbours.

While talking about his early interest in politics, Poilievre mentioned that he read a biography of Fidel Castro.

"Justin's dad!" Rogan interjected.

The Conservative leader shook his head and laughed, "No, no, not Justin's dad," adding later that it's "a hell of a (conspiracy theory). I don't think it's a true one though."

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Friday, Mar. 20, 2026

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is joined by local members of Parliament Harb Gill, obscured, and Chris Lewis during a press conference outside the Windsor Club in Windsor, Ont., on Friday, March 13, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Dax Melmer

Canada drops down to 25th place in world happiness rankings: report

Nicole Thompson, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

Canada drops down to 25th place in world happiness rankings: report

Nicole Thompson, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Friday, Mar. 20, 2026

TORONTO - Canada's happiness ranking slipped again last year, continuing a decade-long trend that's seen the country plummet from the 5th happiest in the world in 2014 to 25th in 2026.

The annual World Happiness Report from the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford looked at how social media use might be affecting happiness on a population level, and found in some cases it was having an impact.

"There's probably no simple explanation as to why Canadians' view of happiness has been dropping. What this report suggests is that social media could be one part of this puzzle, but it doesn't seem like it's the full picture," said Felix Cheung, a happiness researcher at the University of Toronto, who reviewed two chapters in the report but did not write it.

Between 2023 and 2025, the timeframe the researchers used for this report, Canadians' life evaluations averaged at 6.741 out of 10. In Finland, the happiest country in the world for nine years running, the average was 7.764.

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Friday, Mar. 20, 2026

Local youth skate with a large Canadian flag on the Rideau Canal to launch celebrations for the 60th Anniversary of the National Flag of Canada Day, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Alberta government moves to drastically reduce access to medically assisted dying

Jack Farrell, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Preview

Alberta government moves to drastically reduce access to medically assisted dying

Jack Farrell, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Thursday, Mar. 19, 2026

EDMONTON - Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's government took steps Wednesday to drastically restrict who's eligible for medical assistance in dying.

Smith’s United Conservative Party government introduced a bill that, if passed, would limit medical assistance in dying, better known as MAID, to those likely to die of natural causes within a year.

Those under 18 would still be prohibited regardless of condition, in line with current federal rules.

But Smith said Ottawa's framework is largely missing the mark.

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Thursday, Mar. 19, 2026

Alberta Minister of Justice Mickey Amery announces proposed changes to several pieces of democratic process legislation, in Edmonton on Tuesday, April 29, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

Canada’s population has dropped for the first time since Confederation: StatCan

David Baxter, The Canadian Press 2 minute read Preview

Canada’s population has dropped for the first time since Confederation: StatCan

David Baxter, The Canadian Press 2 minute read Thursday, Mar. 19, 2026

OTTAWA - Statistics Canada's latest estimates suggest Canada's population declined last year for the first time since Confederation, due primarily to a drop in the number of non-permanent immigrants.

The estimates suggest Canada's population lost about 102,000 people in 2025.

That loss came after the non-permanent resident population fell by more than 171,000 individuals between Oct. 1, 2025, and Jan. 1, 2026.

Cristobal D'Alessio, a spokesperson for Statistics Canada, said 2025 was the first calendar year to see an estimated decrease in the population since Confederation.

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Thursday, Mar. 19, 2026

Some of the nearly 400 new Canadians from 65 countries take an oath of citizenship at a ceremony in Toronto on Friday, July 19, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

Protecting Charter rights

Chris Barsanti 4 minute read Tuesday, Mar. 17, 2026

The old saying goes that you don’t appreciate what you’ve got until it’s gone. That’s particularly true for things like your health. We take it for granted until we can’t do the things we’re used to doing and lose our freedom and independence.

The same can also be said about our Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

We act as if they always were, are, and always will be there for us. Until they aren’t.

That is the state of our Charter rights across the country, as more and more provinces use the notwithstanding clause to suspend Charter rights. Section 33 of our Charter can be used to suspend sections 2 and 7-15 of our Charter rights, which includes pretty much everything that you’d consider to be our basic human rights.

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Muslim community reflects on decades worth of growth

John Longhurst 5 minute read Preview

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Muslim community reflects on decades worth of growth

John Longhurst 5 minute read Monday, Mar. 16, 2026

As Manitoba Muslims enter the last days of the holy month of Ramadan, they are counting their blessings, including the growth of their community since the establishment of the first mosque in the province 50 years ago.

“That was a great accomplishment,” said Abdo el-Tassi, who was among the 10 or so families who started the Pioneer Mosque in St. Vital in 1976.

El-Tassi — a prominent Winnipeg business leader and philanthropist — said he feels “very proud” of what the Muslim community has accomplished since that time.

Today there are as many as 20 mosques or prayer centres in the province, including in Thompson, Brandon, Niverville, Steinbach and Winkler. The most recent one to open was the Al-Haqq Masjid in Winnipeg, which serves the Nigerian Muslim community.

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Monday, Mar. 16, 2026

JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS FILES
Abdo (Albert) El Tassi, president and CEO of Peerless Garments, is photographed in his Winnipeg business Monday, August 8, 2022. El Tassi was invited to be Manitobaճ next lieutenant governor but turned it down because he would have to give up too much including his business. Reporter: sanders

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Former volleyball star recalls struggles for gay rights during 1980s

Reviewed by Greg Klassen 4 minute read Preview

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Former volleyball star recalls struggles for gay rights during 1980s

Reviewed by Greg Klassen 4 minute read Saturday, Mar. 14, 2026

In 1981, tennis star Martina Navratilova made international headlines off the court for coming out as a lesbian. Around the same time, a less prominent Canadian athlete named Betty Baxter was beginning a public battle for equality.

Baxter was well-known in the queer community, having played on the national Canadian women’s volleyball team at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. She caused a media frenzy a few years later when she became the first female and youngest ever coach of the same team.

Less well-known was that after only 18 months as coach she was fired, behind closed doors, as rumours swirled that she was a lesbian. Baxter had not come out publicly; she lost her job for not denying she was a lesbian.

She was told by a human rights lawyer that she had no recourse. This was common practice before sexual orientation was enshrined in the Human Rights Act in 1996; contemporary readers may have a difficult time imagining how brave it was to come out publicly in the ‘80s.

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Saturday, Mar. 14, 2026

Some B.C. appraisers adding land-claims clause after Aboriginal title court case

Ashley Joannou, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

Some B.C. appraisers adding land-claims clause after Aboriginal title court case

Ashley Joannou, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Friday, Mar. 13, 2026

VICTORIA - An organization representing about 1,200 appraisers in British Columbia says some of its members are adding clauses to their reports noting that current, past, and potential future land claims have not been considered in their valuations.

Allan Beatty, president of the B.C. branch of the Appraisal Institute of Canada, says in a statement that the recent Cowichan Aboriginal title court ruling in B.C. is contributing to speculation that private property rights could be affected.

Beatty says the organization is preparing advice for its members on the appropriate limitation clauses, but discourages the use of "unsubstantiated adjustments that do not reflect the most relevant market data."

In an August 2025 ruling, a B.C. Supreme Court judge confirmed the Cowichan Tribes hold Aboriginal title over about 300 hectares of land on the Fraser River in Richmond, B.C.

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Friday, Mar. 13, 2026

Industrial lands that include Canadian Tire and Coca-Cola Canada distribution centres, which fall within the boundaries of a Cowichan Nation Aboriginal title claim, are seen in an aerial view in Richmond, B.C., on Friday, Aug. 22, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

B.C. chiefs tell MP Aaron Gunn to ‘chillax’ about land acknowledgments

The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

B.C. chiefs tell MP Aaron Gunn to ‘chillax’ about land acknowledgments

The Canadian Press 3 minute read Friday, Mar. 13, 2026

VANCOUVER - The chiefs of four British Columbia First Nations have told Conservative member of Parliament Aaron Gunn to "chillax" after he criticized land acknowledgments referring to "unceded territory" at the start of public events.

In a joint statement, the chiefs from the Tla'amin, Homalco, K'omoks and Klahoose nations said that "harmless" land acknowledgments only recognized "the history of the place" where people held events.

The nations said that land acknowledgments "have never seized private property, cancelled a mortgage, repossessed a pickup truck or altered a single title deed anywhere in Canada."

"Chiefs from four First Nations communities are urging the public to please approach Aaron Gunn with no caution whatsoever," their statement issued on Wednesday said.

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Friday, Mar. 13, 2026

Conservative MP Aaron Gunn asks a question during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Friday, Nov. 7, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

King Charles ‘expressed his concern’ over Alberta separatism in meeting: grand chief

Jack Farrell and Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Preview

King Charles ‘expressed his concern’ over Alberta separatism in meeting: grand chief

Jack Farrell and Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Thursday, Mar. 12, 2026

EDMONTON - The grand chief of the Confederacy of Treaty Six First Nations says King Charles "expressed his concern" after hearing about Alberta's separatist push in a face-to-face meeting with Indigenous leaders on Wednesday.

Grand Chief Joey Pete, who was part of a delegation of Treaty 6 chiefs who went to Buckingham Palace, said in a news release that the King was "very interested" in what the Indigenous leaders had to say.

"We made him aware of the separatism issue in Alberta and the threat to treaty it represents," the chief said.

"He expressed his concern and committed to learning more."

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Thursday, Mar. 12, 2026

(left to right) Grand Chief Joey Pete Grand Chief of the Confederacy of Treaty No. 6, Chief Edwin Ananas Beardy's and Okemasis' Cree Nation, Chief Daryl Watson Mistawasis NÃªhiyawak, King Charles III, Chief Larry Ahenkew Ahtahkakoop Cree Nation, Councillor Gary LaPlante Stoney Knoll First Nation, Chief Christine Longjohn Sturgeon Lake First Nation and Chief Desmond Bull Louis Bull Tribe, who are seven elected representatives of First Nations signatories to Treaty Number Six, the 1876 treaty between the Crown and First Nations in modern-day Saskatchewan and Alberta, Canada, during an audience at Buckingham Palace, London. Picture date: Wednesday March 11. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Aaron Chown/PA Wire

‘Unique opportunity’: MPDA builds majority Indigenous board

Aaron Epp 4 minute read Tuesday, Mar. 10, 2026

For the first time in its 30-year history, the Manitoba Prospectors and Developers Association has a majority Indigenous board of directors.

Indigenous chiefs go to Alberta legislature, pressure province to nip separatism push

Jack Farrell and Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Preview

Indigenous chiefs go to Alberta legislature, pressure province to nip separatism push

Jack Farrell and Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Tuesday, Mar. 10, 2026

EDMONTON - More than a dozen First Nations chiefs and even more band councillors and elders were at Alberta's legislature Monday, calling on Premier Danielle Smith's government to stomp out the push for the province to quit Canada.

"Our rights are being minimized," Confederacy of Treaty 8 First Nations Grand Chief Trevor Mercredi told reporters.

"Our people are being minimized at every level."

The comments came after First Nations chiefs across the province unanimously called on members of the legislature to hold a non-confidence vote against the government in part for how it has handled the budding separatist movement.

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Tuesday, Mar. 10, 2026

Grand Chief Trevor Mercredi speaks as First Nations chiefs, band councillors and elders gather to call on Premier Danielle Smith's government to stomp out the push for the province to leave Canada, at the Alberta legislature in Edmonton on Monday, March 9, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

Marc Miller says Musqueam deal has ‘nothing to do with’ private property

The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

Marc Miller says Musqueam deal has ‘nothing to do with’ private property

The Canadian Press 3 minute read Tuesday, Mar. 10, 2026

OTTAWA - Culture Minister Marc Miller says a rights acknowledgment agreement between the federal government and the Musqueam First Nation has "nothing to do with" private property.

He says instead that the agreement signed last month is a small step forward for a First Nation that has been fighting for its rights ever since British Columbia was settled.

The government says the agreement recognizes Musqueam Aboriginal rights "including title within their traditional territory," which the nation asserts is an area encompassing much of Metro Vancouver.

Critics have suggested the agreement could affect private property ownership, but Miller says right-wing parties have been using the issue in a "cynical attempt to try to whip up votes."

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Tuesday, Mar. 10, 2026

Minister Marc Miller speaks at the Prime Time screen and media industry conference in Ottawa, on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Patrick Doyle

Volunteering at aviation museum sparks love of learning, sharing knowledge for former Air Force pilot

AV Kitching 9 minute read Preview

Volunteering at aviation museum sparks love of learning, sharing knowledge for former Air Force pilot

AV Kitching 9 minute read Monday, Mar. 9, 2026

Gary Hook was a fighter pilot, commanding officer and senior flight instructor during his 43-year career in the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Hook, 72, piloted more than 15 types of aircraft across Canada and Europe.

These days, the aviation buff volunteers as a tour guide and gallery interpreter at the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada, at 2088 Wellington Ave.

“There’s no shortage of good stories to tell about the aircraft, the people and the eras of aviation they flew in,” Hook says.

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Monday, Mar. 9, 2026

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
Royal Aviation Museum of Manitoba volunteer Gary Hook with a Tutor training aircraft, one of three planes in the museum that he has flown, on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. For AV story. Free Press 2026

Newcomer school to close amid immigration clampdown

Maggie Macintosh 7 minute read Preview

Newcomer school to close amid immigration clampdown

Maggie Macintosh 7 minute read Monday, Mar. 9, 2026

English-language teachers are warning the consequences will be far-reaching when a school for newcomers — called “a beacon of hope”— closes its doors.

Winnipeg’s Enhanced English Skills for Employment is shutting down March 31.

“It’s sad for the students. It’s sad for the teachers, but it’s also sad for the community, Manitoba at large,” said Allyn Franc, a longtime teacher at the school that rents space on the Canadian Mennonite University campus at 500 Shaftesbury Blvd.

For more than 20 years, the school has been running free intermediate-level language classes on literacy and workplace etiquette.

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Monday, Mar. 9, 2026

MAGGIE MACINTOSH / FREE PRESS
Winnipeg’s Enhanced English Skills for Employment is closing its doors at the end of the month after losing the bulk of its funding.

Supreme Court says asylum seekers entitled to subsidized Quebec daycare

Pierre Saint-Arnaud, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

Supreme Court says asylum seekers entitled to subsidized Quebec daycare

Pierre Saint-Arnaud, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Saturday, Mar. 7, 2026

OTTAWA - Quebec discriminated against female refugee claimants by introducing regulations that denied them access to subsidized daycare spaces, Canada's highest court said on Friday, leading to strong rebukes from members of the provincial government.

In an 8-1 ruling, the court said that blocking female refugee claimants from subsidized daycare threatens to marginalize them from society, violating equality rights guaranteed in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

"While all refugee claimants are denied access to subsidized daycare under the scheme, the discriminatory impact on women is unique because they carry a greater share of childcare responsibilities and the availability of affordable daycare is directly linked to their ability to work," Justice Andromache Karakatsanis wrote on behalf of the majority.

The ruling was hailed by the UN Refugee Agency, saying the court has recognized "that access to childcare is not just a family issue, but a vital part of a woman's right to economic independence and dignity."

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Saturday, Mar. 7, 2026

People take a break in front of the Supreme Court of Canada building in Ottawa on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick.

Three more citizen-led recall petitions against Alberta politicians fall short

Jack Farrell, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

Three more citizen-led recall petitions against Alberta politicians fall short

Jack Farrell, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Friday, Mar. 6, 2026

EDMONTON - Three more recall petitions against members of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's United Conservative caucus have failed.

The Red Deer resident targeting Primary Care Minister Adriana LaGrange says on social media that the campaign gathered about 2,400 signatures, or just over 20 per cent of the more than 11,000 signatures it needed.

Despite falling short, Danny Carlisle wrote on Facebook earlier this week that the signatures still send a message and raise awareness on important issues.

"We've done something Adriana LaGrange has failed to do: listen," Carlisle wrote.

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Friday, Mar. 6, 2026

OpenAI agrees to strengthen safeguards following B.C. mass shooting: minister

Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

OpenAI agrees to strengthen safeguards following B.C. mass shooting: minister

Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Tuesday, Mar. 10, 2026

Federal Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon says the CEO of OpenAI has agreed to take several actions to bolster safety, including providing a report outlining the new systems the firm is developing to identify high-risk offenders and policy violators.

A statement from Solomon following his meeting Wednesday with Sam Altman says the minister will also ask the Canadian AI Safety Institute to examine the company's model and provide expert technical advice to his office.

The meeting follows the revelation that OpenAI banned the mass shooter in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., from using its ChatGPT chatbot last June due to worrisome interactions but did not alert law enforcement before the killings last month.

OpenAI has said new protocols would have resulted in Jesse Van Rootselaar's interactions being flagged to police, but Solomon says the tragedy "demands answers and stronger safeguards when powerful AI technologies are involved."

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Tuesday, Mar. 10, 2026

March 23, 2026