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Independent

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Independent

My Seventeen-Hour Wait in an Edmonton Emergency Room

I took my daughter to the Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton after work. Because she’s a teenager and deserves her privacy, I don’t want to share too much about why, but I will say, with her permission, that it was a mental health concern. I was worried about her safety. The question I couldn’t shake was: The next time she was on her own, could I trust that she would be OK?

The Tyee·
Independent

STAY OR GO?: Alberta independence takes centre stage at CSFN Calgary

Former Alberta premier Jason Kenney (left), Elan Harper, the CPC candidate for Calgary Confederation, Derek Fildebrandt, Western Standard publisher, and Bruce Pardy, Law professor at Queen's University. WS screenshotPublished on:16 Oct 2026, 10:45 pmLoading content, please wait... AbpoliCdnpoliJason KenneyDerek FildebrandtCanada Strong And Free NetworkBruce PardyAbpolAlberta IndependenceCdnpolCanada Strong And Free ConferenceAlberta referendum 2026Elan Harper

Western Standard·
Independent

You Can See Everything is an insane portrait of our bare everything/reveal nothing society

Stripped down, Elizabeth Holmes almost looks like Molly Baz, the popular food YouTuber. Her skin is windswept; slightly burned and dry around her cheeks. Her blonde hair is perfectly unkempt, pulled away from her face as she tends to her child. She smiles broadly, constantly. The difference lies in her eyes: slightly bulging, a deep blue. When light illuminates her from the side, it’s as if we can see right through her. The anatomy of her eye becomes just barely visible — a lens, her iris and the fine line between interior and exterior. Casting off the image of the turtlenecked founder, she falls into the role of a mother. On a bed with her boyfriend Billy Evans — who has an unblinking stimulant gaze — she complains about a New York Times quote. Who is the real Elizabeth Holmes? Is she a painfully transparent person or someone who slips from one costume to the next?

Cult MTL·
Independent

How did the BC Conservative leader address the extreme views in his party during this week’s debate?

Pressure on BC Conservative Leader Lorne Doerkson to address the extreme views of some of his candidates and campaign manager came to a head in this week’s leaders debate. Earlier this week, Islamophobic comments and reposts from his campaign manager, Katy Merrifield, reemerged, in which Islam is characterized as a “problem,” and painted as lesser than other religions.

PressProgress·
Independent

WATCH LIVE: Western leadership and Canada’s future with Danielle Smith and Preston Manning | CSFN Calgary 2026

WatchKeynote SpeechWestern Standard CanvaPublished on:16 Oct 2026, 9:30 pmPremier Danielle Smith and Preston Manning take the stage at the Canada Strong and Free Network conference for conversations on Canadian renewal, energy, enterprise and Western leadership. Smith discusses the role of the West in Canada’s economic future, followed by a fireside chat with Manning on the ideas and challenges shaping the country’s conservative movement. Related StoriesWATCH LIVE: Fildebrandt and Kenney debate independence at CSFN CalgaryWestern Standard News Services2 hours agoEXCLUSIVE: Calgary-Mountain View UCP board rejects leadership review, passes support letter with grievances Will Vasseur13 Oct 2026REMOVED: Daniel RobsonWestern Standard News Services25 Sep 2026PINDER: Thank you, Preston Manning — the Laurentian Elites do hold all the cardsHerb Pinder22 Sep 2026

Western Standard·
Independent

Why non-profit Toronto landlords don’t have to lower your old rent

The City of Toronto explains the reasoning behind the details of a housing affordability program after questions from at-risk tenant. The City of Toronto confirmed that a non-profit affordable housing provider is in the right to keep old tenants’ rent above the market average, citing the program’s intention to help maintain “long-term financial sustainability of both the building and the non-profit housing provider.”

The Green Line·
Independent

Smith shoots back to Carney: 'Vote yes to the nine'

Premier Danielle Smith speaking at a federalist gathering and lobying Prime Minister Mark Carney about her nine referendum questions. CPACPublished on:16 Oct 2026, 8:40 pmLoading content, please wait... AbpoliAlberta Premier Danielle SmithCanadian Prime Minister Mark CarneyAlberta referendum 2026

Western Standard·
Independent

Sneaking in with the sommeliers

It’s wine event season. My calendar is filling up with tastings and seminars and lunches and dinners with winemakers and export managers. Autumn is the run-up to the holiday season, when more wine is sold than at any other time, and everybody wants to get their wine under the radar of the people who will help them sell it. While the wine column at The Hub certainly qualifies as a place that might help somebody sell some wine, the main target for most of this activity is the real pros in the wine world. These are the women and men who will actually make a sale and recommend a bottle of wine that might cost multiples of hundreds of dollars to dozens of people everyday: the sommeliers.

The Hub·
Independent

10 people who could shape a B.C. Conservative government

Although British Columbia’s election is far from over, the possibility of the province’s first Conservative-led government in almost a century is becoming sufficiently real—prediction market traders currently give it a roughly 80-percent probability—that it warrants more attention to the people who might serve in it. The party has taken an unconventional route to this point. Kerry-Lynne Findlay’s abrupt resignation just before the election call left an interim leader, Lorne Doerkson, introducing himself to British Columbians while trying to assemble a winning campaign. Yet amid the leadership upheaval, the Conservatives have recruited a number of substantive candidates whose backgrounds and experiences deserve a closer look.

The Hub·
Independent

WATCH LIVE: Fildebrandt and Kenney debate independence at CSFN Calgary

Independence debateWestern Standard CanvaPublished on:16 Oct 2026, 7:30 pmWith Alberta’s sovereignty vote approaching, Jason Kenney, Elan Harper, Bruce Pardy and Derek Fildebrandt debate what the result could mean for Alberta’s political and constitutional future. Moderated by Tristin Hopper, the panel looks at the long-term outlook for the province, the realities of the sovereignty question and how Alberta can keep pushing its broader reform agenda if the vote falls short. AbpoliJason KenneyReferendumAblegDerek Fildebrandt

Western Standard·