In the news today: Evacuations continue as N.S. wildfire intensifies

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

Evacuations continue as N.S. wildfire intensifies

Some who call Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley home are keeping a close eye on an out-of-control wildfire to see if an evacuation order will be expanded in the area.

The province’s Department of Emergency Management asked people on Sunday night living along a portion of Highway 10 in the West Dalhousie area to leave their homes as the Long Lake wildfire roared nearby.

It wasn’t the first time area fire officials had asked people to evacuate on Sunday, as an alert was issued earlier in the day calling on people living on parts of Morse Road and Thorne Road to flee.

The wildfire was estimated to be around 32 square kilometres earlier on Sunday, though officials said later in the day that the blaze had grown.

There are currently three wildfires burning in Nova Scotia, with the Long Lake wildfire being the only blaze that’s classified as out-of-control.

Here’s what else we’re watching…

Canada Post’s union negotiations set to continue

Negotiations between Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers are set to resume.

A Canada Post spokeswoman says in a statement that the Crown corporation is committed to the collective bargaining process with CUPW and to reaching an agreement.

She says Canada Post is reviewing CUPW’s offers and has requested further details to support the process, adding it is in regular contact with CUPW through federal mediators.

Canada Post’s comments come after negotiations that had been scheduled for Friday were delayed.

CUPW said in a press release a day earlier that it was informed by Canada Post that it needed more time to review offers put forward by the union.

Air travel complaints backlog continues to grow

Air Canada customers looking to lodge a complaint with the regulator over their experience during the flight attendants’ strike should prepare for a wait.

The Canadian Transportation Agency says its backlog of air travel complaints stood at about 85,000 as of Aug. 14, two days before the strike started.

The backlog has been growing since the federal government passed rules that came into force in 2019 that set compensation amounts for flight delays, cancellations and the like.

The CTA says it put in a new system in 2023 to ramp up its capacity to deal with complaints, but the number of gripes being submitted has also swelled.

The agency received more than 42,000 complaints a year in the past three years, up from around 12,000 in the fiscal 2021-22 year.

Makeshift memorial in Kyiv includes Canadians

Amidst a sea of blue-and-yellow flags in Kyiv’s Independence Square that pay tribute to Ukraine’s fallen soldiers, there’s a bright splash of red and white.

Nestled within the colours of Ukraine, a bright Canadian flag is also waving in the wind as a reminder of Canadian soldiers who died defending the country.

The space was once a lawn in the capital city but when Russia invaded in 2022 it became a makeshift memorial. Each flag honours a soldier who died and they are hand-marked with names and the dates they died. Many flags include smiling photos of the fallen soldiers.

There are thousands and thousands of flags and photos. Well worn paths have been carved into the ground as the hundreds of visitors, bringing fresh flowers, navigate the maze.

“We had a guy from Canada in our unit. A couple of other guys are still in the legion. Our fallen is not something we would like to talk about,” said Lt.-Col. Yan Fidrya, known by his callsign “Kenobi,” who is the commander of the 1st Infantry Battalion of the Ukrainian International Legion.

Pictures of Winton “Bud” Hardy from Outlook, Saskatchewan, and Joseph Hildebrand from Herbert, Saskatchewan, are included among those being honoured.

New Alberta municipal donor rules boost parties

This year, municipal candidates in Calgary and Edmonton face a decision they’ve never had to make: whether to join a political party.

But the choice represents more than the embrace or rejection of a new political system. It’s a decision that will affect the flow of money into their campaigns.

In addition to the introduction of municipal parties this year in Edmonton and Calgary, new campaign finance rules in Alberta will advantage candidates running as a party — but many mayoral candidates are choosing to reject the party system and run independently, even though it puts them at a financial disadvantage.

“For me, it’s a matter of right or wrong. Just because something is legal doesn’t mean you should do it,” said Jeromy Farkas, a former Calgary city councillor running for mayor as an independent.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 25, 2025.

The Canadian Press