Top stories in your community and around the world as noted by Algonquin Times journalists
Tianna Lawless-Musgrave
Photos:
March 24, 2026 Revised: March 24, 2026 8:44pm
Local
Ottawa Citizen: Ottawa police have arrested a 19-year-old man following a fatal hit-and-run collision involving a school crossing guard near a Barrhaven elementary school.
The arrest was made on Tuesday. The crossing guard has been identified as Peter Clark. He was struck by a pickup truck around 8:20 a.m on Monday while on duty at Cedarview Road and Kennevale Drive, police said.
Investigators asked anyone who witnessed the collision or who may have dashcam footage to contact them.
National
CBC: An RCMP-led corruption investigation is underway at Calgary city hall, with at least one current and one former Calgary city councillor being subjected to search warrants executed last week.
During the warrants, Ward 10 Coun. Andre Chabot’s cellphone was seized, as well as a warrant being executed for property belonging to former Ward 4 Coun. Sean Chu. Both are noted as being cooperative in the investigation.
“No charges have been laid, and I look forward to a swift conclusion of this investigation,” said Chu’s lawyer, Shamsher Kothari, in a written statement.
International
CBC: A record-breaking heat dome is expanding to cover nearly the entire U.S. Weather historians say the dome has surpassed statewide records in 14 states.
The heat dome will leave Flagstaff, Ariz., with 11 to 12 days of temperatures higher than the city’s previous March record. On Friday, a group of international climate scientists determined that the national record heat was “virtually impossible” and approximately 800 times more likely due to climate change.
The heat dome will move on by late next week, meteorologist Jeff Masters of Yale Climate Connections said. “We just have to give it time.”
Urban Camel is taking its first steps with the help of current and former AC students
Mickey Banks
Photos: Mickey Banks
March 23, 2026 Revised: March 23, 2026 8:56am
Photo: Mickey Banks
Sienna Hermary is the founder of Urban Camel. She came up with the idea for the company after moving to Ottawa.
Urban Camel, started in late 2024, is mapping the road ahead with help from former and current Algonquin College students.
Its founder, Sienna Hermary, describes it as “Uber or SkipTheDishes for small moves and furniture delivery.”
Hermary said the idea for the company came after she moved to Ottawa. Born in Alberta before moving to England and British Columbia, Hermary was no stranger to new locations. However, this was the first time she hadn’t been able to furnish her apartment.
“I had no friends, no family, nothing,” Hermary said. “I didn’t have a car at the time either. I didn’t have anybody to help me move anything. I think that’s when I first started really experiencing issues that a lot of people experience when they’re moving.”
She began discussing the idea with friends and family and then went through Invest Ottawa’s ignition accelerator program.
“That helped me a lot with defining the business direction and really validating the business concept that I felt there was a market,” Hermary said.
One major obstacle was handling the technological aspects of the business. Hermary said students from the Algonquin College of applied arts and technology built the first iteration of the minimum viable product.
Luis Cortorreal is a graduate of Algonquin College’s mobile app design and development program.
Cortorreal joined Urban Camel as a co-founder to help with the design of the app. He says there are two sides of the app, one for the customers and the other for the movers (the company currently has five movers, all of whom work as independent contractors).
On the customer side of the app, once you’ve entered some basic information, you can then book the move. You’ll be asked about the logistics and timing of the move. The price of the move is dependent on what you’re moving, how far and whether you’re able to assist with the move.
“And when that’s obvious we give you an upfront price, so we are super transparent with that,” Cortorreal said. “Then when the date arrives, you will start getting notifications from the mover that it’s heading to your direction. So, we have real time tracking so you will see the mover going in.”
Hermary said they’re catering to two main groups, one is people renting apartments as they may not have a car or truck to assist them. The other is university and college students.
“Because university students, we find are often moving twice a year,” Hermary said. “Depending if you’re living on campus or not.”
While Urban Camel is still finding its footing, its next step forward is marketing.
“A lot of our focus is on getting content out more consistently on social media,” Hermary said. “We’re looking to do some bold marketing campaigns with the universities and apartments and some of our target markets across Ottawa.
Hermary said she’s hoping to get more students from the college to help with the marketing as well as furthering the tech and AI integration.
Their ultimate goal is to go international, starting in Canada and focusing on major cities.
“There’s so many people in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, that they don’t have cars,” Hermary said. “They just use the trains because it’s terrible to drive there. So, thinking about where the pain points are the most evident and then targeting those regions.”
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After dropping a tough game to Oshawa on March 20, the 67’s faced their first-round opponents, the Kingston Frontenacs, in a regular season finale game that was heated
Scott Crowell
Photos: Scott Crowell
March 23, 2026 Revised: March 23, 2026 7:54am
Photo: Scott Crowell
Ottawa 67's players thank Billet families in pre-game ceremony at TD Place on March 21, 2026
There were some very important things on the line for both the Ottawa 67’s and Kingston Frontenacs on March 21 as they wanted to gain momentum and an edge over each other as game one of the first round draws nearer.
Both hockey teams came out of the gate with heavy physicality and made the game have that playoff feel that was expected.
The first period was very quiet on the score sheet and both goalies Jaeden Nelson (Ottawa) and Matthew Minchak (Kingston) had to be on the ball for some grade A chances. The shots were 9-8 Kingston after 20 minutes.
Jack Dever (Kingston) takes opening face-off against Zach Houben (Ottawa) at TD Place on March 21, 2026 Photo credit: Scott Crowell
Ottawa got into some penalty trouble once again as they had three penalties to start the first half of the second period including one at the end of the first period.
Kingston’s Matthew Henderson finally broke through on power play number four walked into the slot off a nice pass and blew it by Jaeden Nelson for his second of the season to break the tie and make it 1-0 Kingston at 9:53 of the second. The assists came from Robin Kuzma and Landon Wright.
67’s forward Thomas Vandenberg evened up the hockey game with his 25th of the season, off a pass that was centered from a flying Frankie Marrelli and Vandenberg put home the pass. It was a 1-1 game at 12:57. Cooper Foster had the other assist.
Thomas Vandenberg scores tying goal against Kingston Frontenacs on March 21, 2026 at TD Place. Photo credit: Scott Crowell
It took the 67’s only 37 seconds after the Vandenberg goal to capture the lead as defenceman David Bedkowski stepped right below the hashmarks and ripped it blocker side to give Ottawa the 2-1 lead. He received the pass from Nic Sima and Jasper Kuhta at 13:34.
Ottawa began to take over the game as the shots were 23-17 after 40 minutes of play.
At the end of the second period, there was a big scrum that resulted in the officials calling Kingston’s Andre Mondoux for slashing which sent Ottawa to their first power-play to start the third period.
67’s captain Cooper Foster capitalized on that 67’s power-play for his 29th of the season to extend Ottawa’s led to 3-1 with a tip in from Kohyn Eshkawkogan’s point shot, 34 seconds into the third period.
67's captain Cooper Foster celebrates insurance goal against Kingston Frontenacs on March 21, 2026 at TD Place Photo credit: Scott Crowell
67’s forward Teddy Spitznagel knocked home the rebound on another power-play to extend the 67’s lead to three as he scores his second OHL goal in back-to-back games. Assists came from Sam McCue and Connor Bewick at 11:27 to make it 4-1 Ottawa.
Jasper Kuhta extended the 67’s goal with a beautiful shot that was set up by Nic Whitehead and Nic Sima at 15:10 of the third to make it 5-1 67’s.
Sam McCue puts extra insurance on a dominant third period with a give and go play with defenceman Frankie Marrelli to make it 6-1 Ottawa at 17:53. Zach Houben got the secondary assist.
67’s goalie Jaeden Nelson stopped 24 of 25 shots faced on goal and made some marquee saves when needed in the 6-1 win.
There were no post-game interviews due to a team banquet.
The 67’s will kick off game one of the OHL Playoffs on March 27 at TD Place against the same Kingston Frontenacs they just played.
Athletes cheered each other on in a friendly contest to showcase their development and celebrate their progress in weightlifting
Rory Haley
Photos: Rory Haley
March 20, 2026 Revised: March 20, 2026 9:28am
Photo: Rory Haley
Winners of the women's bench press category at the Algonquin Wolves Powerlifting Competition stand at the podium on March 14. Left is Ashley Driscoll, who came in third, middle is Jasmine Hunt, who came in first, right is Chloe Pearson, who came in second.
Algonquin College students lined up to squat, bench press and deadlift at a powerlifting competition in the Jack Doyle Athletics and Recreation Centre on March 14.
Divided into women’s and men’s sections, 20 competitors had three attempts at one rep in each category. The winner would be calculated by the competitor’s body-to-weight lifted ratio.
Adam Voutier, event facilitator and a past competitor, was excited for the athletes ahead of the event.
“Just look out for some guys lifting some heavy weight, and some girls putting up serious numbers,” said Voutier, who trained many of the competitors. “It’s gonna be a really fun time, and a lot of good experience, and hopefully it opens the door for some students to go and do this competitively outside with the IPF.”
The IPF, or International Powerlifting Federation, is the largest governing body for the sport.
Chloe Pearson, one of the competitors, said she was looking forward to competing with her friends in the event.
“I’m honestly just excited. All my friends are here,” she said. “It’s just nice to kind of do a competition for fun. I’ve done one official meet, but it’s kind of nice to have no pressure really, and just have fun.”
The competition began with women’s squat attempts. Jasmine Hunt took first place after squatting 285 pounds. Second place went to Mary Rose Gallagher, who squatted 270 pounds, followed by Ashley Driscoll, who squatted 240 pounds, earning third.
Ashley Driscoll squats 240 pounds at Algonquin Wolves' Powerlifting Competition on March 14 in the Jack Doyle Recreation Centre. Photo credit: Rory Haley
After her first win of the day, Hunt praised the competition and the organizers.
“I mean, I love this competition,” she said. “I think it’s a great space for people to learn and experience powerlifting. I would say it’s a lovely experience with all the coaches, all the people who set it up.”
On the men’s side in the squat competition, Sebastien Ellis won after squatting 460 pounds. Lennon Leyland-Pang came second after squatting 405 pounds, and Avery Hagley took third with 515 pounds.
Following his first win, Ellis said he was excited for himself and the accomplishments of other competitors.
“I’m really excited to go into the rest (of the competition),” he said. “I’m proud of my squat. You know, I’m proud of all the guys here. All put in their work.”
The next event of the day was bench press.
The women went first, with Hunt securing her second first-place finish after pressing 165 pounds, and Driscoll pressing 135 pounds to achieve another third-place finish. Pearson joined them on the podium, taking second place after pressing 160 pounds.
The men’s bench press champion was Ellis, pressing 350 pounds. Leyland-Pang came in second place with 260 pounds and Keenan Brewley took third by pressing 180 pounds.
Winners of the men's bench press category at the Algonquin Wolves Powerlifting Competition stand at the podium on March 14. Left is Keenan Brewley, who came in third, middle is Sebastein Ellis, who came in first, right is Lennon Leyland-Pang, who came in second. Photo credit: Rory Haley
To finish up the day, athletes competed in deadlifts.
Hunt three-peated the women’s competition, earning first place after lifting 325 pounds. Driscoll finished on the podium for the third time of the day, achieving second after lifting 285 pounds. Joining them on the podium for the second time was Mary Rose Gallagher, who lifted 295 pounds.
The men’s deadlifting competition had the largest number of competitors in the event with 13 entries. Darian Para finished in first place after he lifted an astounding 525 pounds. Achieving second place for the third time was Leyland-Pang, who lifted 555 pounds, the heaviest weight of the day, and following him in third place was Al-Ameen Kareem, who lifted 445 pounds.
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Students take a break from busy schedules to meet new people and connect, one question at a time
Delaney St. Pierre
Photos: Delaney St. Pierre
March 20, 2026 Revised: March 24, 2026 2:56pm
Photo: Delaney St. Pierre
Students chat in groups with board games and pizza.
As midterm season ends and the end of winter term gets closer, Algonquin College becomes a busy place. Students are stacked with assignments, glued to their laptops and can’t make time to socialize.
But it is always important to socialize and connect with others.
On March 12, the Student Health & Wellness Zone in the E-building hosted Speed Friending. The event was similar to speed dating but for friends rather than romantic partners. It ran from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the AC Hub and was the perfect opportunity for students to have fun conversations, mingle and make new friends.
“I’ve been attending a lot of social activities and events like this this semester. Like a week ago, I saw that there was a new friendly activity coming so I just decided to show up,” said Sameer Garg, a Level 4 bachelors of engineering, automation and robotics student. “I love to connect with people, make new friends and get to know new people.”
The event was set up just like any traditional speed dating event, where participants sat across from each other with a provided stack of question cards. They had five minutes to chat with each person before the timer went off and everyone switched. Many great conversations were shared in that hour.
A deck of icebreaker questions. Photo credit: Delaney St. Pierre
After the speed round, everyone helped themselves to some free pizza, followed by free time to chat in groups with everyone they had just met.
“I think they should do these events more often, maybe like once a month,” said Yug Patel, a TV broadcasting student.
Luckily, there will be more opportunities for students to join the fun. Another speed friending event is scheduled on April 9 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
These events hold significant importance to students, especially when there are so many things making it harder to connect with others in person these days.
“Now with social media, a lot of people spend time on their phones. They’re not in tune with nature or the outdoors and they’re not participating in actual events,” said Keon Eberhardt, a Level 2 horticulture student.
Correction, March 24: A previous version of the story said the event was hosted by the Algonquin Students’ Association. The event was hosted by the college’s Student Health & Wellness Zone.
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Top stories in your community and around the world as noted by Algonquin Times journalists.
Nylah Henry
Photos:
March 19, 2026 Revised: March 19, 2026 10:28pm
Local
CTV News: Police in Gatineau, Que. seized 13 kilograms of cocaine and arrested two men during a major drug-trafficking investigation in the city.
The raid also resulted in the seizure of 5,000 methamphetamine tablets and more than $88,000 in Canadian currency, police said.
The two men were released on a summons.
National
CBC: Police say two teens, a 15-year-old boy from Nova Scotia and a 14-year-old girl from Manitoba, have been charged with allegedly planning simultaneous attacks at their local schools.
Police found a handwritten map, imitation weapons, including an imitation pipe bomb and assault rifle, handwritten notes of how the attack was going to be executed and clothing with hate symbols and “concerning comments.”
Police are investigating the incident as a potential hate crime, and other charges could be laid.
International
Globe and Mail: Venezuela won the World Baseball Classic for the first time, after an incredible comeback from a blown eighth-inning lead, beating the United States 3-2.
Ahead of a matchup with political overtones, players and coaches avoided discussing the government turmoil between the nations.
Venezuela became the second Latin American nation to win the WBC, after the Dominican Republic in 2013.
The outfits are doing more than just filling halls with oversized hoodies and sweats. For many, clothing has become a quiet form of protection, a way to control how the world interacts with them.
Sienna Gauthier
Photos: Sienna Gauthier
March 18, 2026 Revised: March 18, 2026 2:51pm
Photo: Sienna Gauthier
Jahvon Flowers, a student at Algonquin College, looks across the campus commons on Tuesday, March 10, 2026. Flowers was spending time between classes at the college’s main campus.
In the early mornings at Algonquin College, the campus dress code is easy to spot: oversized hoodies, matching sweatsuits, headphones pressed firmly over ears and heavy boots crunching across icy sidewalks.
At first glance, it looks like casual fashion but it’s something deeper.
Across campus, these choices reflect a noticeable change in student fashion, where comfort and emotional security are taking priority over trends.
Ticcara Davis, an 18-year-old social work student, says the way she dresses can change how people interact with her during the day.
“When I don’t want to be approached, I wear baggy sweatpants and a baggy hoodie,” Davis said. “I always put the hood over my head just to hide my appearance because no one wants to come up to you when you look like you don’t want to be talked to.”
On days when safety feels more important than style, Davis chooses clothing that feels more protective. Still, confidence can come from different pieces in her closet. “Crop tops make me feel a lot more confident,” Davis said.
Other students say even simple outfits can be intentional.
Gabriela Malecki, an 18-year-old student in the streaming and broadcasting program, follows what she calls the “sandwich method” when putting outfits together.
“You start by planning your top and bottom, and depending on what colour your top is, you match that colour with your shoes,” Malecki said. “That way your outfit is balanced and ends up looking flawless.”
Gabriela Malecki poses at Algonquin College wearing an oversized H&M hoodie, part of her “sandwich method” for building a comfortable lazy-day outfit. Photo credit: Sienna Gauthier
The approach, she says, is a helpful trick for students who still want to look put together on low-energy days.
“I’d rather be stylish,” she said. “When I wear comfortable outfits all the time, it makes me feel lazy. When I wear a stylish outfit, I feel more confident and it motivates me to get through the day.”
But like many students balancing school and life pressures, her wardrobe changes on difficult days.
“On my worst mental health days, I wear really baggy and loose clothing,” she said. “I don’t have the motivation to put together a nice outfit.”
For 18-year-old sports and entertainment management student Jahvon Flowers, confidence comes more naturally.
“Most of my outfits make me feel confident because I believe I can pull off anything I wear,” Flowers said. His go-to outfit is simple, sweats and a heavy black sweater, “especially for the cold,” he added. “I hate conversing when I’m cold.”
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Top stories in your community and around the world as noted by Algonquin Times journalists.
Delaney St. Pierre
Photos:
March 16, 2026 Revised: March 16, 2026 7:47am
Local
CityNews: A 22-year-old man is facing several charges after Ottawa police searched his home in Alfred, Ont. The search found evidence that led the man to be charged in connection with several child luring incidents between March and December 2024.
Police charged the man with seven offences, including luring a child and making, distributing and possessing child sexual abuse and exploitation materials.
Police allege the man lured children through social media, and operated under many different usernames. The investigation is ongoing.
National
Global News: Canada lost 84,000 jobs in February, raising the national unemployment rate from 6.5 per cent to 6.7 per cent.
The trade war and U.S. tariffs have taken a toll on Canada’s economy and job market. Businesses are holding off on hiring and expanding. A total of 109,000 Canadian jobs have been lost since the start of 2026.
Youth aged 15 to 24 made up the majority of jobs lost in February, with 47,000 jobs lost, causing the youth unemployment rate to rise from 13.8 per cent to 14.1 per cent.
International
Global News: Travellers should reconsider their vacation plans due to the war in Iran, organizations say. Travel is risky as the war has impacted air travel, costs and the safety of travellers.
Flights have been getting cancelled more often since the beginning of the war, even for those not travelling to the Middle East.
Refunds will most likely only be given if the airline cancels a flight or if a passenger makes a cancellation with an airline that has a free cancellation option. Travellers may also consider changing their travel dates.
Students think "Sinners" will win Best Picture, Emma Stone will win Best Actress
Evan Mullen
Photos: Evan Mullen
March 15, 2026 Revised: March 15, 2026 5:11pm
Photo: Evan Mullen
Tristan Yelle and Cameron Fazli are film and media production students eager for this year's Oscars.
The 98th Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars, on March 15 will be a night for Hollywood to celebrate its yearly achievements on the big screen, highlighted by the Best Picture award.
A class of film and media production students at Algonquin College participated in an Algonquin Times survey asking who they thought would take home the Oscars for Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Actress at this year’s awards ceremony.
The class’s Best Picture prediction was not very close with Ryan Coogler’s Sinners receiving the majority of the votes and Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein coming in second place.
Sinners is a gothic religious film powered by a great score and a talented performance by Michael B. Jordan, who plays a set of twins. The director, Coogler, also made 2018’s Black Panther.
“I have to say Sinners. There’s so many layers to that film. They didn’t hold back on the CGI. A lot of the practical stuff looks great. I think it’ll be the one to hold up,” said student Cameron Fazli on what movie will age best.
For the students, the Best Actor award was a toss up between Timothée Chalamet from Marty Supreme, which is about an anti-hero ping pong global superstar, and Jordan from Sinners.
Ultimately, Chalamet came out on top by only one vote in the class. Chalamet is the second-youngest actor to receive three Academy Award nominations for Best Actor behind Marlon Brando. He is still the favourite even after his recent controversial comments on ballet and opera.
Shockingly, Emma Stone from Bugonia ran away with the most votes for Best Actress, despite Jessie Buckley from Hamnet being the favourite after sweeping all major awards for Best Actress in other film awards.
“The SAG Awards, you look at the Golden Globes, those are the ones that technically give you a small prediction of what’s going on. Emma Stone did a great job, but I feel like Buckley had it with Hamnet. It was emotional,” said student Tristan Yelle.
Stone plays the role of a harsh corporate boss who is captured by conspiracy theorists accusing her of being an alien. She previously won Best Actress in 2024 for her role in Poor Things and in 2017 for La La Land.
Sinners and F1 were both available to watch at Algonquin College for free this year with last Wednesday’s F1 screening taking place at Algonquin Commons Theatre.
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Top stories in your community and around the world as noted by Algonquin Times journalists
Daniel Sundaresan
Photos:
March 13, 2026 Revised: March 13, 2026 9:08am
Local
Ottawa Citizen: An Ottawa company is looking to build drones to fly with F-35s. Ottawa company Dominion Dynamics started investing $50 million to develop advanced drones that can fly alongside fighter jets like the F-35 Lightning II.
These drones, called Autonomous Collaborative Platforms, are meant to help with dangerous missions, surveillance and electronic warfare which reduces risks for pilots.
The company’s founder Eliot Pence says Canada needs to start pushing more towards sixth generation air technology instead of debating which fighter jets to buy.
The drones are being designed to handle a lot of Canada’s unique challenges, especially operating in the freezing cold Arctic and covering long distances.
National
CBC: Nunavut MP Lori Idlout left the New Democratic Party and joined the Liberal Party of Canada, which has brought Prime Minister Mark Carney closer to having a majority government.
Carney welcomed her to the Liberal Party and said they plan to work together on issues affecting Nunavut and overall northern Canada.
Idlout said her decision came after thinking about several factors, including some concerns about Canada’s sovereignty and the well-being of people in the north.
With her defection, the Liberals have now reached 170 seats, just two seats short of a majority government. Upcoming byelections could potentially give them enough seats to reach a majority.
International
CBC: Air Transat charging more for flights to Europe as jet fuel prices weigh on airlines
Flights and airline ticket prices have increased because the cost of jet fuel has gone up during the war in the Middle East.
The conflict began when the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran on Feb. 26.
This has affected global oil supplies and caused fuel prices to rise rapidly. Airlines like Air Transat said they have added fuel surcharges and are raising prices on some flights, especially during busy travel periods.
Other airlines around the world, including Qantas Airways and Air New Zealand, have increased air fare ticket prices due to the inflation caused by the war.
