A recent report from the Canadian Institute for Health Information revealed that hundreds of thousands of sick and injured Canadians are spending 48 hours or longer in swamped emergency departments. Photo by VILevi /Getty Images/iStockphoto

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It’s Friday, August 21. Here are the top stories we’re following today.

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A new national survey has found that 63 per cent of Canadians describe health care in their province as being in a state of crisis, while 55 per cent believe the system has gotten worse over the past five years. The research, which was conducted by Abacus Data and commissioned by the Canadian Health Coalition, also noted that these concerns cross political lines, with a majority of Conservative (58 per cent) and NDP (54 per cent) supporters believing the system has become worse. Nearly half of Liberal supporters (49 per cent) share the same opinion.

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Maple syrup cans at a sugar shack on February 10, 2017 in Oka, Quebec. Photo by Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press

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Metro, Sobeys and Loblaw are now defendants in a proposed class action over maple syrup tests found to be half cane sugar. The four are accused of demonstrating “negligence, recklessness, carelessness, or serious indifference” by putting the syrup on their shelves. The suit says the price alone should have prompted them to check it. The proposed class covers anyone in Canada who bought a can produced by 9227-8712 Quebec Inc. since Oct. 5, 2010, which the suit gives as the date Erabliere Steve Bourdeau began selling maple syrup. Hundreds of thousands of people, and possibly millions, could be eligible.

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Clockwise from left, Ilya Sutskever, University of Toronto (OpenAI); Garrett Camp, University of Calgary (Uber); Chris Olah, University of Toronto (Anthropic); Jeff Skoll, University of Toronto (eBay); and Elon Musk, Queen’s University (SpaceX).

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Canada’s tech industry is warning that the country continues to lose its best and brightest entrepreneurs to the U.S., an issue that has taken on new urgency as tariff threats have prompted Ottawa to try to diversify away from the U.S. economy. This week, various tech entrepreneurs, politicians and economists began to weigh in on data that show just how big the problem has become. According to recent figures, there are at least 517 U.S.-based tech firms with Canadian founders — or, entrepreneurs who were educated in Canada but later left for the U.S. — that have together raised more than US$400 billion.

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Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada joined by Projet Montréal city councillor Ericka Alneus, left, while making statement about racism in the police force in Montreal North. On Monday, Projet Montréal is bringing a motion asking the city to cut institutional ties with Israel. Photo by John Mahoney /Montreal Gazette

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Leaders among Montreal’s legal and medical communities are condemning an anti-Israel motion to be voted upon by city council next week. Brought by the opposition Projet Montréal party, the motion’s aim is to “recognize and denounce the apartheid regime in Palestine and the genocide being perpetrated there.” Local lawyers are questioning whether the proposed measure falls within the powers conferred on the city by the provincial legislature, noting that city councils do not determine international law.

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Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew speaks with reporters as he and fellow premiers gather for their meeting this morning at Canada’s Premiers 2026 in Charlottetown, PEI Wednesday July 22, 2026. Photo by Tim Krochak

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Wab Kinew just wants to watch the world burn. After Prime Minister Mark Carney briefed the provinces on the details of the coming trade deal with the Americans, the Manitoba premier thought it wise to attack Carney and insult Donald Trump, while also taking credit for any deal in the first place. If Kinew really has designs on the federal Liberal leadership at some point, I suppose this is one way to kick off a campaign …

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Jason Arday, a Cambridge University professor until he resigned recently amid plagiarism accusations. Photo by Anselm Ebulue via Simon & Shuster

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Canada has its own Jason Ardays — our versions of the Black British academic who recently committed suicide after it was revealed that he plagiarized much of his academic work and invented a fabulist version of his personal history. The Canadian versions might not be as outlandish — but they almost certainly exist. The system incentivizes their creation.

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