Twenty-year-old Quinn Strang, who battled the disease, is hitchhiking across the country raising funds.

He was first diagnosed with cancer when he was 15 years old.

“I was diagnosed with stage four cancer. I had Ewing Sarcoma in my left femur, and it spread to my lungs and lymph nodes. I didn’t catch it till pretty late, so I probably shouldn’t be here today. After a gruelling nine-month battle involving chemotherapy and radiation, I was declared cancer-free. But I relapsed in grade 12, and then I had to get a femur transplant,” Strang explained.

Following that, he was valedictorian at his graduation at Bernice MacNaughton High School in Moncton, where he told his story.

Three years later, on May 17, Strang started his cross-Canada journey in Newfoundland. He plans to follow the same route as Terry Fox did on his Marathon of Hope, hitching for a ride along the way.

Strang’s goal is to dip his foot into the Pacific Ocean

“I have a propeller hat on and a sign, so I hope that makes me look more friendly, and people are more keen to pick me up, I find. Also, I’ve noticed that if you smile, you’re more likely to get picked up,” Strang explained.

He hopes to complete his cross-country journey within a month, but without a set schedule and not knowing when he’ll get picked up and how far they’ll take him, he is just taking it day by day at this point.

“You just take it as it comes. I kind of live my life with a go with the flow philosophy. I just kind of see where the day takes me. I do try to set minor goals for the day. I’m on the road for 10 to 12 hours. So I just kind of see how far I can get. It really is a gamble. You could be waiting two hours for a five-minute drive, or you could be waiting five minutes for a two-hour drive, right? So I do kind of set little goals though,” Strang said.

His $100,000 goal is based on the number of people in Moncton. He wants to raise $1 for every person in Moncton, similar to Terry Fox’s goal of $1 for every person in Canada.

Quinn has been in remission for almost 3 years, and his family says he wants to give back to the IWK hospital that did so much for him, along with the Terry Fox Foundation for research in the hopes of finding a cure.

A GoFundMe page has been set up, and as of 2 pm Tuesday, over $11,000 had already been raised.

You can follow Strang’s journey on Instagram and TikTok.

Canada’s iconic Snowbird jets are going to retire after the 2026 season. Defence Minister David McGuinty made the announcement in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Tuesday.

As part of the air force, the CT-114 Tutor aircraft have awed Canadians with their air shows for nearly 60 years.

To replace them are the Swiss-made CT-157 Siskin II. They will continue to serve as training and air demonstration aircraft. However, it could take until 2030 before they are ready to fly.

McGuinty says the new fleet with stay in Moose Jaw and keep their name.

“This is where the Snowbirds are, this is where the Snowbirds belong and this is where the Snowbirds will stay,” says McGuinty.

In a statement, McGuinty says members of the 431 Squadron will carry forward their “expertise, teamwork and passion.”

In a post on social media, the Royal Canadian Airforce says they are proud of the men and women who have represented Canada’s Armed Forces for decades.

“[We] look forward to joining with Canadians to celebrate the team’s rich history, heritage and excellence in the Tutor fleet’s farewell season,” says the post.

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The Irving family announced that the co-CEO of J.D. Irving, Limited, passed away Tuesday morning in Moncton.

He was 71.

Irving had been battling cancer.

The second-oldest son of James K. Irving and Jean Irving, he ran JDI along with his older brother James D. Irving.

After graduating from Acadia University with a business degree, he established JDI’s Moncton operations in 1977 and called the city home.

A statement from JDI described Robert Irving as an innovative and tireless entrepreneur.

He established and grew successful businesses in several sectors, including paper products, food processing, agriculture and transportation.

He remained humble despite his accomplishments, always crediting the team for a job well done.

In recent years, he embraced a new chapter, working alongside three of his children in the business.

Another of his passions was hockey.

He founded the Moncton Wildcats Hockey Club in 1996, combining his love for sport and competition with his commitment to youth development and community.

He took great pride in the team’s three QMJHL championships (2006, 2010 and 2025) and in hosting the Memorial Cup in 2006.

He rarely missed a game, cheered enthusiastically and built lasting relationships with the players.

It includes Lunenburg County, Queens County, and the Annapolis Valley.

That’s according to the Annapolis Valley Fire Chief says who says it’s something he hasn’t seen in his 32 years with the service.

“We received the call of an MVC at the Annapolis Wharf and when we got on scene, we found an ambulance had actually backed over the edge of the wharf by accident and was in the vertical position,” says Andrew Cranton.

He says it was shocking.

“It’s the first time I’ve ever experienced anything like that off the Annapolis Wharf, let alone an ambulance,” says Cranton.

He says the two medics inside had to be removed but are ok.

Cranton added that the vehicle was removed by two heavy tow units and has “significant damage”.

Town police are doing an investigation to find out what happened.

According to the Unified Fisheries Conservation Alliance (UFCA), the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal made the decision last week for Spikene’katik to still pay them $15,000.00 with an additional $6,000.00 tacked on for more legal fees.

In a statement, President Colin Sproul said they are pleased.

“The UFCA has spent a significant amount of money to fight for the legal rights of commercial license holders and their families and today is another victory,” said Sproul.

It was in October 2025 when Sipekne’katik First Nation was first ordered to pay UFCA, stemming from a lawsuit the band launched in 2021 against DFO and the attorney general when its traps were seized in St. Mary’s Bay.

In the lawsuit, they argued that the fisheries act did not apply to their right to a moderate livelihood and that they were operating a self-regulated treaty lobster fishery in the bay for years.

But they dropped the case in 2025.

The Unified Fisheries Conservation Alliance (UFCA) was an intervener in the case, and they applied to get legal fees covered afterwards.

At the time, Sproul called the ruling a major victory.

“Justice Keith recognized our organization as an active and known entity representing the commercial lobster industry,” said Sproul. “He also affirmed that UFCA has a direct and meaningful interest in questions around First Nation rights and equitable sharing of the fishery resource.”

He added, considering they were an intervenor, being awarded court costs is “exceptional circumstances” and directly related to the “poor conduct” by Sipekne’katik cancelling the night before two separate discoveries.

The court ruled in the alliance’s favour, agreeing that the First Nation had acted with poor conduct.

Sproul said the decision by the Court of Appeal, reinforces the legal interest of the UFCA when it comes to questions regarding treaty rights or any other challenge to the Fisheries Act.

–with files from Caitlin Snow

The East Coast Music Association announced in a news release on Friday.

According to the release, the event will bring artists, industry professionals, and fans from across Atlantic Canada to celebrate the “depth, diversity and global impact” of East Coast Music.

Executive director Bob Hallet said in the announcement that the association is “thrilled” to bring the ECMAs to Moncton, which he characterized as a city where cultures and languages meet in a way that feels unique to the East Coast.

“That spirit of connection between artists, communities, and audience is exactly what the ECMAs are built on,” he added. “We are excited to work alongside local partners to create and experience that reflects both the richness of this region and the global reach of its music.”

The event is held annually and will take place in Sydney this year from May 20 to May 24.

The 2027 event will feature the ECMAs Awards Gala, a multi-day music festival, industry conference, and the Export Buyers program, which connects Atlantic Canadian artists with opportunities on the global stage.

This will be the third time Moncton has hosted the ECMAs, after previously doing so in 2012 and 1997

Moncton Deputy Mayor Paulette Theriault said in the release that the city is proud to host the event next year.

“This event is a celebration of our region’s culture and creativity, while also bringing important economic and tourism benefits to our community,” she said. “We look forward to welcoming artists, industry professionals, and visitors to experience everything Moncton and our region have to offer.”

The event will take place from May 26 to May 30.

Phillipe Gaudet of Clare, along with his team of five others, won the world championship title for barbequed chicken with a perfect score, while competing against more than 120 teams.

“We were jumping around pretty high and yeah, we were quite shocked and, you know, in disbelief,” says Gaudet.

They also took home a few other accolades, placing fourth in the best hot chicken wing competition. Initially, he says they tied for first but slid down a few notches during the tie-breaker round. They came sixth place in the seafood competition.

They nearly made the finals in the main event, which is cooking a whole hog, but they were off by just 0.06 points out of 1026, he says, which landed them at sixth place.

The competition was held in Memphis, Tennessee, as part of the Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest.

The main event title went to Health Riles BBQ, making him and his team back-to-back winners.

Gaudet says half of his team has never been to the world championship before. One team member, Gaudet’s mentor, is from Toronto, and they had people from Texas, Arkansas, as well as Mexico.

They have placed high up in the tournament in the last few years, landing at least in the top ten.

Sweet and savory for the win

They made chicken thighs, squared to look like delicious, tender pillows with Kansas City barbecue sauce, sweet and savory with tomato flavour, and they paired that with some sweet and savory barbecue rubs as well.

That gave them their edge, says Gaudet.

“I think the flavors we used, I mean, were really good. I’ve used it in the past and I’ve got pretty good results out of another major competition with that same sauce. So, you know, we ran it again,” says Gaudet.

He does not advertise it much, but he has a small barbecue catering company back home. He has done some major orders, including for the Michelin tire factory in Bridgewater, he says.

He hopes the win might net the team some more sponsors and to help launch some more products, as well. Landing more catering opportunities with the new title would also help cover some of their travel costs.

“When you can advertise that you’re a world champion, it doesn’t hurt.”

Any Nova Scotians out there who are not familiar with the barbecue world, he says they should know that the province has some great shops popping up, with premium barbecue rubs and sauces. He says most people would be surprised at how good they are.

More tournaments on the way

Being the world champion in chicken does not stop him, though. They have a competition coming up in the next few weeks in Montreal and another a week later in Truro.

“I’m going to stick to the same recipe for the chicken. I just have to execute the cook and hopefully we can do pretty good. We had good results in Truro last year, so hopefully we can do one better than last year there.”

And the team is already getting prepared to defend their title in Memphis at next year’s championship. Winning that title had a huge impact on their plans, says Gaudet.

“We went from, ‘Well, maybe this’ll be the last year,’ to, ‘All right, who’s coming next year?'”