In the news today: Quebec data centre hearing, food inflation, jobs data due

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

Google and environmental group to question Hydro-Québec consultants on data centres

Lawyers representing Google and an environmental coalition are set to question Hydro-Québec consultants today as the first part of a hearing on data centres wraps.

Quebec’s energy regulator, the Régie de l’énergie, will also question the experts as part of the public hearing on proposed rate hikes for data centres.

Hydro-Québec is asking the regulator to consider a new electricity rate for data centres that require a capacity of over five megawatts.

The new rate would raise energy prices to an average of 13 cents per kilowatt hour, which the utility says is around twice as much as what data centres pay as large-power customers.

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Diesel-fuelled price hikes could stoke food inflation this fall, experts warn

Economists warn the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend could mark a turning point for food inflation in Canada as high fuel prices mean a pain in the pocketbook.

University of Guelph food economist Mike von Massow says Canada is somewhat insulated from rising fuel costs in the summer when more of the food on store shelves is grown at home.

But as the cold weather approaches, rising diesel prices will hit the price tags of food like fresh vegetables that come from far away and need to be refrigerated on the trip.

Amar Singh from market research firm Kantar says consumers are likely to trade down or avoid fruit and veggies as costs creep higher this winter, and even forgo hosting parties heading into the holidays.

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Statistics Canada set to report September jobs data this morning

Statistics Canada is set to report its latest jobs numbers this morning.

A Reuters poll of economists predicts employers added 9,200 positions in September, a slight bounce back after roughly 42,000 jobs were lost in August.

The consensus among economists is the unemployment rate ticked up to 6.5 per cent from 6.4 per cent.

The August job losses snapped a hot streak for the labour market, but economists weren’t overly concerned and instead pointed to the relatively stable unemployment rate as a sign the labour market wasn’t taking a major step back.

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Ousted B.C. Conservative candidate Joachim Agou apologizes for posts deemed racist

A candidate for British Columbia’s provincial election, kicked from the Conservatives over online posts the NDP called racist, says he is truly sorry.

Victoria-Beacon Hill candidate Joachim Agou says on social media that he takes responsibility for his words but rejects any accusation of racism.

In one post, Agou said a car that drove through a pro-Palestine protest “should have reversed” over demonstrators, while another showed him sharing a meme that used an expletive to describe Pakistan.

Agou says he understands why the Tories withdrew their support and will run as an independent in the riding considered to be an NDP stronghold.

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Outgoing Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette pushed off ‘glass cliff’ in election

Former Ontario premier Kathleen Wynne says she saw parallels between herself and Christine Fréchette as Quebec’s election results came in Monday night.

Fréchette announced she was stepping down as leader of the Coalition Avenir Québec on Tuesday after her party — already deeply unpopular after eight years in power — failed to win any seats in the election.

Wynne, who took over the Ontario Liberals in 2013 amid scandal, says women in politics often face a glass cliff where they are given power with a high likelihood of failure.

Wynne compares Fréchette to Kim Campbell, who served 132 days as prime minister before the Progressive Conservatives suffered their worst federal defeat in 1993.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 9, 2026.

The Canadian Press