Here are the five things you need to know as you start your day: it’s a day for byelections as voters in Calgary and Ontario; a B.C. NDP candidate says a Syrian family that drowned off the coast of Turkey wanted to come to Canada; NDP Leader Tom Mulcair is expected to announce his plans to expand pension plans, if elected; thousands of birthday letters from around the world have made their way to 11-year-old Kristian Hayes, who has autism, after his sister launched a Facebook campaign; and Canadian rock couple Avril Lavigne and Chad Kroeger have officially split up.

1. A tale of two byelections: Voters in northwest Calgary will go to the polls today in a provincial byelection that appears to have become bigger than the sum of its votes. Polls suggest the race for Calgary-Foothills – the seat vacated by former premier Jim Prentice – is a three-way contest among the governing NDP, the Opposition Wildrose and the Progressive Conservatives, who’ve held it since 1971. Meanwhile, in Ontario, Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown is banking on a byelection win to allow him to slip into the Ontario legislature just days before it resumes from its summer break.

2. Family claims: A B.C. woman had been trying to sponsor three Syrian relatives to come to Canada when they drowned off the Turkish coast. Fin Donnelly, an NDP candidate running for re-election in Port Moody-Coquitlam, said he had delivered a letter on behalf of the woman to Citizenship and Immigration Minister.

3. Pension announcement: NDP Leader Tom Mulcair is expected to announce today that if elected, he would come up with a timetable for expanding both the Canada and Quebec pension plans. He’s also expected to reiterate his stance on not touching income splitting for pensioners.

4. You’ve got mail: Thousands of letters have poured in from around the world addressed to a young Nova Scotia boy with autism, after his older sister launched a Facebook campaign asking strangers to send him mail for his birthday. Kristian Hayes celebrated his 11th birthday on Wednesday at the post office in Stellarton, N.S.

5. Chavril no more: Canadian rockers Avril Lavigne and Chad Kroeger – the celebrity couple many of us loved to hate – have called it quits. The pair announced their separation on Instagram Wednesday, saying: "We are still, and forever will be, the best of friends, and will always care deeply for each other." The pair's romance began in March 2012, when the Nickelback frontman was enlisted to help with the songwriting on Lavigne's fifth record. They were engaged by August and wed the following July in France.