In the news today: Pope Francis dies at age 88

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed…

Pope Francis dies at age 88

Pope Francis, history’s first Latin American pontiff who charmed the world with his humble style and concern for the poor but alienated conservatives with critiques of capitalism and climate change, died Monday.

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He was 88.

He will be remembered by Canadian Catholics as a progressive leader whose approach to the papacy helped usher in a new era of Indigenous relations and make the church more responsive to its rank and file.

Francis was the global leader of Canada’s most popular organized religion. Nearly 11 million Canadians identified as Catholic in the 2021 census, second only to those without a religious affiliation.

His most lasting impact in Canada is likely to be his response to one of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to action: that he apologize for the legacy of residential schools on Canadian soil.

He did so on a tour of Canada in 2022, months after meeting with a delegation of Indigenous Canadians who went to Rome.

Here’s what else we’re watching…

Advance polls open for final day before election

Canadians hoping to vote early in the upcoming federal election have until the end of the day to visit an advance polling station as the campaign enters its final week.

Today is the fourth and final day that advance polls will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. before the general election date of April 28..

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre will return to the Greater Toronto Area today to make an announcement following a weekend trip to British Columbia.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is still in B.C., making campaign stops in Nanaimo, Comox and Port Moody.

Liberal Leader Mark Carney will start the final week of the campaign in Prince Edward Island.

Costs rising on metal tariffs with no end in sight

The costs and chaos being caused by metal tariffs are starting to build up after a month in effect, and there’s little hope they’ll be removed in the foreseeable future.

U.S. President Donald Trump imposed 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum on March 12, while also raising metal tariffs for other countries.

Catherine Cobden, head of the Canadian Steel Producers Association, says steel producers in Canada haven’t been able to pass on the higher costs to its U.S. customers, causing companies to start to cut back on production and lay off workers.

She says the tariffs are causing widespread disruption and uncertainty that not only affects current operations but orders and investments.

“There is a significant amount of chaotic activity as people are pivoting around supply chains,” said Cobden.

Ontario First Nation asks for help after flood

A First Nation in northern Ontario that has been under a boil-water advisory for over 30 years is calling on all levels of government to respond to a state of emergency in the area, days after announcing it would evacuate community members hundreds of kilometres south to Thunder Bay.

Chief Gary Quisess of Neskantaga First Nation called a local state of emergency on April 13 after water that had a strong fuel odour flooded into a local nursing station.

A Wednesday news release said that the First Nation began evacuating about 130 people who require “full and immediate access” to health services to Thunder Bay.

Quisess says in a Sunday news release he’s asking government officials to bring emergency health services to the remote community, saying the First Nation has “been forced to survive without the basic rights other communities take for granted.”

Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu announced the federal government had agreed the community needed a new water treatment plant in February 2024, and Ottawa committed to help design the new plant and improve the current one.

Travel to U.S. for playoffs? Hockey fans divided

Jack Gurevitch is a Montreal Canadiens superfan and a proud Canadian who’s upset by United States President Donald Trump’s tariffs and threats to annex Canada, but he says he won’t let the political situation influence whether he travels to U.S. cities to support his team in the playoffs.

Not everyone in his family agrees.

“In anticipation of this call, I shared with my sister my opinion, and she went, ‘Absolutely not. Do not go. Do not go into the United States during this time. It’s not being patriotic. It’s not being a good Canadian,'” Gurevitch said in a phone interview.

Gurevitch often travels to the U.S. to watch hockey or baseball, and while it’s still just the start of the playoffs, he says he may travel south to cheer in person if he’s able.

But Sunil Peetush, another Canadiens devotee who has a “Habs cave” in his home and has already been to the U.S. this year to see regular season games, has been having second thoughts about American travel after his family’s recent cruise that departed New Jersey last month.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 21, 2025.

The Canadian Press