Summer McIntosh brings home fourth gold medal and sheds light on a growing issue in Canada
As Canada's Summer McIntosh makes history this weekend, Canada faces an infrastructure crisis that could impact future athletes. CTV's Kamil Karamali reports.
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The Province
an hour ago
- The Province
Juno-winning Oji-Cree singer Aysanabee plays Burnaby Blues and Roots Festival
The first thing you notice listening to Aysanabee is that huge, powerful voice Aysanabee hails from the Sandy Lake First Nation in northern Ontario. Lindsay Duncan Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. The first thing you notice listening to Aysanabee is that huge, powerful voice. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Deep, thundering and dripping with emotion, the Oji-Cree singer's pipes explode on songs such as We Were Here from his debut Watin. Long after the last notes of the hit single celebrating Indigenous people's strength and resilience fade, his inspiring delivery and solemn lyrics keep echoing. 'I credit it all to listening to the copy of Bob Marley's Greatest Hits that my brother left for me when he moved to the city,' said Aysanabee, who hails from the Sandy Lake First Nation in northern Ontario. 'At night, we would fire up the generator and I'd listen to it repeatedly. I started out writing reggae songs.' The two-time Juno Award winner just returned from playing a music festival in Tromsø, Norway, before heading back out on the road for festival gigs across the country, including this weekend's Burnaby Blues + Roots Festival. Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'It's been kind of wild that I'm able to be on stage singing under the midnight sun in Northern Norway surrounded by mountains,' he said. 'I see it as a wild privilege to be brought to such places by song. I make sure to take the time to remind myself of how lucky I am.' In the fall, Aysanabee embarks on The Way We're Born Tour headlining in support of his recently released second album, Edge of the Earth. His second album on the Indigenous and women-owned indie label Ishkōdé Records, the nine-song set is another songwriting tour de force from the artist. As his tour winds its way across the country, the new single Gone Baby Gone is serving fans a different sound. His signature atmospheric production is still there, but the track is a straight-up, guitar-driven mid-tempo rocker. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'I write mostly slower songs and love going into the studio to make them sound gigantic, maybe sometimes going a little bit overboard sampling the sound of a late-night snack of a bag of chips,' he said. 'Live used to be where I felt the most natural, but I can enjoy both sides now. Gone Baby Gone is definitely more driving, probably because I was listening to a lot of Sam Fender when I wrote it and loving the steady rock beat.' In concert, the role of recreating those varied sonic swaths falls to guitarist Nick Tateishi, percussionist Miles Gibbons, pianist Dean Aivaliotis and backup singer Lala Noel. Aysanabee says that it's a big change from all the solo shows he was performing during the pandemic. His initial fan base came to his debut album Watin via those solo concerts, but he felt like he wanted to do something bigger moving forward. Just as he was considering how to expand his show, the band came to him. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'I was playing an acoustic set at the El Mocambo, and Nick and Miles had seen me and came over and said 'If you ever want some backing musicians, we'd be into it.' So I called them,' he said. 'Lala's voice is all over my other recordings right back to the beginning, and we've been working and writing together since. Dean came later, and I'm humbled to have them making it super fun and sound super massive.' Noting it's always more fun to do things together, he also thinks having a band can be a better way to reach first-time listeners. 'If I'm playing solo for the first time to people who haven't maybe heard me before and I'm doing everything I can and it isn't happening. It's pretty lonely up there,' he said. 'Luckily, that doesn't happen too often. But having the other people up there means you can play off each other and use that group energy to get to the audience, or at least have fun together.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. As to finding himself frequenting blues festivals around the world, Aysanabee says he is very comfortable being cast in that genre. His music is a kind of contemporary Indigenous blues, particularly on Watin. Edge of the World opens up new directions. 'Watin had a lot of deliberate bluesy vocal vibes and elements of gospel, which made sense for the record,' he said. 'Branching out with the new album being classified as alternative music wasn't something I was sure I liked at first. But now I think it's a pretty perfect fit for me.' It's still always interesting to Aysanabee to hear from concert-goers where they heard his music. Noting that the old-school connection via radio has played a really big part in spreading his sound around, he says he is happy when people mention hearing him at Home Depot too. He thinks now is a very fertile time for Indigenous artists to achieve widespread fame. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'I had given up on a career as a musician at the start of the pandemic, figuring that making music was just going to be a lifetime hobby,' he said. 'So I started making music that just mattered to me, and along came Ishkōdé and we made the first record. It came out at the same time the news was reporting on mass graves at residential schools and people were stuck at home and learning, and there was a kind of snowball effect.' Noting that there are so many amazing Indigenous artists making powerful, relevant music right now, keeping the conversation going is more challenging with everything wide-open again. He says albums like Edge of the Earth are there to keep spreading the message of his lived experience. Material for a third album is slowly coming together. The only thing that is certain is that his self-dubbed 'Eurovision tune' recorded with a producer in Sweden last year will not make the record. sderdeyn@ Love concerts, but can't make it to the venue? Stream live shows and events from your couch with VEEPS, a music-first streaming service now operating in Canada. Click here for an introductory offer of 30% off. Explore upcoming concerts and the extensive archive of past performances. 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Globe and Mail
3 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
Defending champion Popyrin falls in NBO quarterfinals
Alexander Zverev has a semifinal spot at the National Bank Open, and he bested last year's winner in the process. The top seed at the Canadian men's tennis championship rallied to defeat No. 18 Alexei Popyrin of Australia 6-7 (8), 6-4, 6-3 on Monday evening at Sobeys Stadium. Currently third in the ATP Tour's rankings, the German will take on either No. 11 seed Karen Khachanov of Russia or No. 26 Alex Michelsen of the United States on Wednesday. Khachanov and Michelsen played the late quarterfinal on the campus of York University in hazy northwest Toronto. Tuesday's schedule at the NBO features a pair of American favourites. Second-seed Taylor Fritz will take on No. 6 Andrey Rublev of Russia in the quarters, while No. 4 Ben Shelton is slated to meet No. 9 Alex de Minaur of Australia. Both semifinals go Wednesday ahead of Thursday's title match. Popyrin took a knife-edged first set in a tiebreak when his gentle backhand shot after a long rally grazed the top of the net and dropped for the winning point — much to the delight of his fans, including one with an inflatable yellow kangaroo. Zverev, meanwhile, responded by immediately firing a ball completely out of Sobeys Stadium in frustration. Looking for his 25th tournament victory and eighth ATP 1000 Masters triumph, he responded by going up 2-0 in the second set. Popyrin grabbed a break of his own before holding serve at 4-4. Zverev, who won the Canadian title in Montreal eight years ago when he defeated childhood idol Roger Federer, took a 5-4 lead and then again broke his opponent to even the match. Ousted at the quarterfinal stage of last year's tournament, Zverev got another break to go up 2-0 in the third set before serving out the match. The 28-year-old, who lost to world No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the final at this year's Australian Open and made the French Open quarters, improved to 4-0 all-time against Popyrin, including a third-round victory at the Paris Olympics. Zverev has two tournament wins on clay this year, and is the highest-ranked player competing in a Toronto field lacking some significant star power after Sinner, No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz, No. 5 Jack Draper and No. 6 Novak Djokovic all skipped the US$9.19-million hardcourt event. The 25-year-old Popyrin — ranked No. 26 in the world — beat Rublev some 12 months ago in Montreal to claim his third tournament win, but saw a nine-match winning run in Canada come to an end Monday.
Globe and Mail
3 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
Victoria Mboko's dream run in Montreal continues
Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko commanded the stage once again on Monday night, storming into the semi-finals at the National Bank Open with another remarkable win. The 18-year-old wild card played beyond her years again, swiftly beating World No. 51 Jessica Bouzas Maneiro of Spain 6-4, 6-2 in the quarter-finals to extend her storybook run in Montreal. The Mboko show continues for at least another two days. The Torontonian plays in her first-ever WTA semi-final on Wednesday, versus No. 9-seeded Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan. Mboko earns another shot at the World No. 12, who recently eliminated her from the DC Open in Washington, an opponent with a Wimbledon title to her name. After her upset win over Gauff, Mboko is the headliner in Montreal NBO It's hard to remember that the kid who looks at home under the lights is in fact making her main draw debut at this tournament. As she makes just her third career WTA 1000 event, Mboko is quickly becoming one of the tour's most successful rising stars of 2025. Two days earlier, Mboko earned the biggest win of her career – a straight-sets triumph over World No. 2 and two-time Grand Slam champion Coco Gauff. It had been the Canadian's first-ever victory over a Top 10 player in just her third attempt. Mboko also beat 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin, and world No. 39 Marie Bouzkova during this Montreal run. Her profile is swelling as the tournament goes along. More feature night matches, bigger crowds, more autographs and press conferences. While the stands were sparse for Monday's 6 p.m. ET quarter-final between Elena Rybakina and Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk, plenty of fans were stopping by Mboko's short pre-match practice on a quiet backcourt, guided by coach Nathalie Tauziat, the French former pro, world No. 3 and Wimbledon finalist. By the time Mboko took the court at 7:45 p.m., IGA Stadium was jam packed and rocking for the fresh face who has become the headliner. As she keeps advancing, more media have turned up in Montreal. Homegrown celebrity athletes from Georges St-Pierre to Bruny Surin have come to watch her. The upstart's big year has been getting better and better. It has also included four straight singles trophies on the ITF Tour, earning her first WTA-level win, taking a set off world No. 11 Paula Badosa in Miami, a set off Gauff in Rome and a run to the third round at Roland Garros. While she came to Montreal ranked No.85, Monday's win will catapult the runaway teen into the top 50. It was Mboko's first-ever meeting with Bouzas Maneiro, 22, who was also seeking her first WTA semi-final. She was aiming to become the first Spanish woman to reach the semi-finals at this tournament since two stars, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and Conchita Martinez, each made the 2000 semis. Both players faced pressure in their first service games and each fended off break points. It remained close until Mboko went up a break for a 5-3 lead, capitalizing on the Spaniard's misses. When Mboko tried to serve for the set, she stumbled with a double fault and Bouzas Maneiro broke right back. The 18-year-old countered with another break and won the opening set. Mboko had a letdown to start the second set, broken right off the hop. But she hung in and soon broke back, the Montreal crowd roaring for her while she used the noise as fuel. She rallied back from down 0-2 to steal the set. Mboko is the first Canadian woman to make the semis at this tournament since Bianca Andreescu won it in 2019. She becomes the youngest woman to reach this event's semi-finals since Belinda Bencic won the title in 2015.
