Live election results: Trump retakes the White House, defeats Harris by winning key swing states
Donald Trump was elected the 47th president of the United States on Wednesday, clearing the 270 electoral votes needed to clinch the presidency.
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says the number of fatal collisions caused by distracted driving on the roads it patrols has increased more 40 per cent compared to this time last year.
The OPP primarily patrols the province's highways and says it has recorded a total of 296 fatal crashes so far this year – of those, 63 people were killed in collisions where inattentiveness was the main cause.
This is compared to mid-October's number in 2023 that saw a total of 287 people killed in collisions, where 43 of those were due to distracted driving.
"It's surprising because I've seen the number grow over the years," said OPP Highway Safety Division Sgt. Sami Nasr, who adds that there could be a multitude of reasons why a driver would be distracted, but that most of the cases involve cellphones.
"You can use the touch-free features on the motor vehicle, but you just can't touch your phone while driving," Nasr added in an interview with CTV News on Saturday.
Distracted driving fines can be as high as $1,000 and include a three-day suspension for a first offence.
Psychologists say that, for many, driving becomes a simple background activity and our frequent cellphone use makes our brain crave constant hits of dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and reward.
"You might think the need to stay alive would override everything, but once people learn how to drive, it becomes a background task they can do and so they're not paying attention to what's going on around them," Tony Volk, a professor of psychology at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ont., said over a Zoom interview Saturday. "And so the allure of that dopamine hit from responding to an immediate message or sending a message is almost a routine they're engaged in."
Meanwhile, Jay Olsen, a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto Mississauga, says it takes your mind some time to focus from your phone back onto the road, creating a slower reaction time.
"When people change their attention to something else, there's something called a 'switch cost,'" Olsen said. "So changing your attention to do another task and change it back, it slows this kind of switch. So if something unexpected happens on the road, your reaction time is slower to reengage your attention."
Donald Trump was elected the 47th president of the United States on Wednesday, clearing the 270 electoral votes needed to clinch the presidency.
Donald Trump was elected the 47th president of the United States on Wednesday, an extraordinary comeback for a former president who refused to accept defeat four years ago, sparked a violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, was convicted of felony charges and survived two assassination attempts.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and members of his cabinet congratulated Donald Trump Wednesday morning on his second United States presidential election win, amid questions about how the federal government intends to navigate a second term.
In his column for CTVNews.ca, former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says Donald Trump's icy relationship with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau could aggravate what already promises to be a very difficult situation for Canada, socially, economically and environmentally.
It was a moment that encapsulated one of the biggest challenges facing U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign – which, in the end, proved insurmountable. A country crying out for change got a candidate who, at a crucial moment as more voters were tuning in, decided to soft-pedal the change she knew she represented.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris will deliver a speech conceding defeat in the presidential election to Donald Trump at 6 p.m. (2300 GMT) on Wednesday, two sources told Reuters.
Two suspects accused of selling stolen cars while employed at a legitimate car dealership in Toronto are now facing a combined 176 charges, police say.
Dozens of popular brands of bread have been recalled in Canada after pieces of metal were discovered in some of the products.
A British doctor who was disgruntled about his inheritance and injected his mother's boyfriend with poison presented as a COVID-19 vaccine was sentenced Wednesday to 31 years in prison.
A Vancouver artist whose streetside singing led to a chance encounter with one of the world's biggest musicians is encouraging aspiring performers to try their hand at busking.
Ten-thousand hand-knit poppies were taken from the Sanctuary Arts Centre and displayed on the fence surrounding the Dartmouth Cenotaph on Monday.
A Vancouver man is saying goodbye to his nine-to-five and embarking on a road trip from the Canadian Arctic to Antarctica.
A Windsor teen’s social media post showing off a distinctive Windsor pizza topping has gone viral, drawing millions of views worldwide and sparking new curiosity about Windsor-style pizza.
Auston Matthews has come face to face with his look-alike. On Thursday, the Maple Leafs star met seven-year-old Grayson Joseph, who went viral for dressing up as an Auston Matthews hockey card.
A Halifax junk remover shares some of his company’s strangest discoveries.
When Leah arrived at work directing traffic around a construction site, she never expected to see a van painted in all sorts of bright colours, and covered in eclectic decorations, including a stuffed moose attached to its roof.
After 14 years of repairing and selling bicycles out of the garage of her home, a Guelph, Ont. woman’s efforts have ended – for now, at least.
Epcor says it has removed more than 20,000 goldfish from an Edmonton stormwater pond.