An El Nino-less summer is coming. Here's what that could mean for Canada
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
The prospect of Fernando Alonso ending a decade-long wait for his 33rd Formula One win in front of tens of thousands of fans at his home race proved too good to be true on Sunday.
Alonso turned in his worst performance of the season when the two-time former world champion finished the Spanish Grand Prix in seventh place, one spot behind Aston Martin teammate Lance Stroll.
Spanish fans had packed the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya hoping to witness their idol finally return to the top of the podium. The last time Alonso won, he did so right here on the same track back in 2013 with Ferrari when he claimed victory No. 32. He also won the Spanish GP in 2006 with Renault.
But the Spanish driver was unable to recover from a mistake in Saturday's qualifying when he drove his car into the gravel and damaged its floor. He could do no better than an eighth-place start and only managed to move up one spot through 66 laps.
Alonso was passed by George Russell in his Mercedes and Sergio Perez in his Red Bull, even if he did manage to keep well ahead of a struggling Charles Leclerc of Ferrari.
"We didn't have the pace of other race days," Alonso said. "In reality, it all started with qualifying on Saturday, which was our weak point. Mercedes has taken a step forward and was too much for us. But I am not worried, we will (try to) beat them in Canada."
Fellow Spaniard Carlos Sainz also had a bad day. He had started a season-best second after putting his Ferrari in good position in qualifying. But even though he had faster tires from the start than polesitter Max Verstappen, the defending champion fended off his challenge to the first turn. Once clear of Sainz, Verstappen never looked back and cruised to victory. Sainz finished fifth.
Alonso is third in the points standings at 71 points behind Verstappen and 18 points behind the other Red Bull driver, Sergio Perez, in second.
Even though they rooted for Sainz, this was really about Alonso for the Spanish faithful. He was the driver who thrilled Spain by winning titles in 2005 and 2006 with Renault. That earned him a place in Spain's sporting pantheon alongside Rafael Nadal, cycling great Miguel Indurain, and its top soccer players.
The track's stands and grassy areas were speckled with the emerald green shirts and caps of Alonso's new Aston Martin team. Before the race a huge flag of Alonso was draped over a large part of one of the stands.
After a stint away from F1 and some middling cars with other teams, Alonso has finally found a car to match his talents at a revamped Aston Martin in what has been an impressive season so far.
The 41-year-old Alonso had tried before the race to be realistic about his chances, given the dominance of Red Bull and the field of competitive cars fighting to be second best. Even so, he admitted that he could only embrace the enthusiasm he has unleashed among followers who likely never thought they could see him win again. Expectations were even higher after Alonso took second last weekend at Monaco.
The only moment, however, for his fans to really relish was when Alonso swept past former Alpine teammate Esteban Ocon late in the race.
Alonso then waved to the fans as he drove down the final straight to the checkered flag.
His next attempt at win No. 33 will come in two weeks at the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal.
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Canada Post is increasing stamp prices for the third time since 2019, a move the Crown corporation says is a "reality" of its sales-based revenue structure.
The federal New Democrats are calling out Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and his party for trying to block the bill that could pave the way for millions of Canadians to access birth control and diabetes coverage.
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
A daily spoonful of olive oil could lower your risk of dying from dementia, according to a new study by Harvard scientists.
An Ontario MPP was asked again to leave the Ontario legislature on Monday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that was banned by the Speaker last month due to its political symbolism.
H5N1 or avian flu is decimating wildlife around the world and is now spreading among cattle in the United States, sparking concerns about 'pandemic potential' for humans. Now a health expert is urging Canada to scale up surveillance north of the border.
Democratic Institutions Minister Dominic LeBlanc will be tabling legislation on Monday aimed at countering foreign interference in Canada. Federal officials have scheduled a technical briefing on the incoming bill for Monday afternoon.
Polish prosecutors have discontinued an investigation into human skeletons found at a site where German dictator Adolf Hitler and other Nazi leaders spent time during the Second World War because the advanced state of decay made it impossible to determine the cause of death, a spokesman said Monday.
Eighty-two-year-old Susan Neufeldt and 90-year-old Ulrich Richter are no spring chickens, but their love blossomed over the weekend with their wedding at Pine View Manor just outside of Rosthern.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A mother goose and her goslings caused a bit of a traffic jam on a busy stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway near Vancouver Saturday.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.