Edmonton – Wetaskiwin is mourning the loss of two high school students who were killed in a highway crash on Friday night. 

Three other teens also remain in hospital after the single-vehicle incident that happened near Highway 814 and Township Road 475 east of Millet. 

CTV News has learned the two victims were Grade 12 students at Wetaskiwin Composite High School. 

“This has been absolutely devastating news to our community,” said Peter Barron with Wetaskiwin Regional Public Schools.

“To have an event of this magnitude happen on Thanksgiving weekend is even more poignant.”

The names of the victims have not been publicly released.

On Sunday, their memory was honoured by some of their classmates who were still coming to terms with the sudden loss.

“He was one of the nicest kids in school,” a student told CTV News. “He meant a lot to just about everyone … it’s going to be hard for a lot of people.”

Students are scheduled to return to school on Tuesday. 

“This is incredibly tragic and it’s going to be very hard on a lot of people,” said Barron.

“The ripple effect of this is going to be significant and we just want to embrace these families and hug them close during this difficult time.”

The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

In Montreal’s tight rematch for mayor, personality may count for more than policy

The race to lead Canada’s second-biggest city pits Denis Coderre, a former federal Liberal cabinet minister and one-time mayor, against the woman who defeated him in 2017, incumbent Mayor Valerie Plante. And with the two well-known candidates running neck and neck in recent polls, observers say personality may matter more than policy.

Edmonton – Transportation Safety Board investigators are looking into a pair of unrelated aircraft crashes in central Alberta over the Thanksgiving weekend. 

A male pilot is dead and his male passenger is in hospital with serious injuries after an aircraft went down Saturday afternoon in a rural area northeast of Lacombe, Alta. 

Blackfalds RCMP say officers responded to a distress beacon from an aircraft near Range Road 241 and Township Road 412.

Mounties say the male pilot was found dead at the scene. His passenger was taken to an Edmonton-area hospital. 

The TSB couldn’t yet specify what type of aircraft was involved, describing it only as “small.”

In a seperate crash, Westlock RCMP responded to a plane crash at the Westlock airport in Clyde, about 90 kilometres north of Edmonton just after 11 a.m. Sunday morning.

Mounties say the plane had flipped and sustained serious damage. Police did not have details on how badly the four people on board were injured.

Three of those on the plane were taken to hospital, and Mounties say the status of the fourth person is unknown.

TSB investigators are on their way to investigate both crashes.

VANCOUVER – The Edmonton Oilers scored on the power play and shorthanded to defeat the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 Saturday night in the final NHL exhibition game for both teams.

Evan Bouchard, on the power play, and Brendan Perlini scored 49 seconds apart for Edmonton in the first period. Kailer Yamamoto added the shorthanded goal in the second period for the Oilers (6-1-1).

Goaltender Mikko Koskinen played the first period for Edmonton, stopping all 11 shots he faced. Stuart Skinner stopped 15-of-17 shots over the final 40 minutes.

Phillip Di Giuseppe and J.T. Miller scored in the third period for the Canucks.

Di Giuseppe tipped in a Matthew Highmore shot at 13:44. With Canuck goaltender Thatcher Demko on the bench for an extra attacker, Miller scored at 17:42 off a pass from defenceman Quinn Hughes.

Demko faced 18 shots for the Canucks, who finished the pre-season with a 2-5-0 record.

The Canucks iced mostly the team that will play this season. The Oilers took a final look at several players fighting for roster spots. Stars like Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Darnell Nurse and Tyson Barrie didn’t dress.

The Oilers took a 3-0 lead on Yamamoto’s shorthanded goal at 6:26 of the second period. With defenceman Kris Russell off for interference, Derek Ryan and Yamamoto forced Hughes to cough up the puck. Ryan took the loose puck, skated into the Canucks zone, then passed to Yamamoto who scored his first of the pre-season.

Bouchard had a busy first period after the defenceman was assessed two penalties and scored the game’s opening goal. With Vancouver’s Miller off for interference, Bouchard fired a blistering shot from just inside the blue line that beat Demko at 16:20. Left winger Warren Foegele was screening Demko.

Edmonton made it 2-0 at 17:09 when Russell fed Colton Sceviour a long pass behind the Vancouver defence. Sceviour skated to the side of the Canucks net then passed back to Perlini who beat Demko for his sixth goal of the pre-season.

The Canucks lost 3-2 in Edmonton on Thursday night. The teams will play each other again Wednesday in their NHL regular season-opening game.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 9, 2021

EDMONTON – Highlands is playing host to a scary art show with pieces themed on fear and anxiety, just in time for Halloween.

The exhibition, “A Cold Sweat 2: The Sweatening,” is being put on by Lowlands Project Space, an art gallery in the Highlands neighbourhood.

“We decided to do a Halloween show because everybody loves Halloween, there’s so much great imagery and history to pull on,” said Steven Teeuwsen, with the Lowlands Project Space.

The event features 11 art installations by 11 different artists, most are from Edmonton but there are also artists from Montreal, Athabasca and Calgary.

“There’s all kinds of artworks that either deal with environmental anxiety or personal struggles with different personality disorders,” said Teeuwsen. “All kinds of spooky, scary and anxious, a lot of fun for Halloween.

“The show really changes as we pass from day into night… the lighting is very dramatic and it definitely gets a lot spookier at night.”

Plans are in the works for a winter show, the group wants to make use of the space throughout the year if they can, according to Teeuwsen.

“We’ve been very lucky, we’ve had a lot of great support from the neighbourhood and it does have a neighbourhood kind of feel, compared to a traditional art space,” said Teeuwsen. “People feel very comfortable walking through the yards and interacting with the artwork and talking about the artwork in this very unpretentious, very unassuming space.”

Admission to the event is pay what you can, with the suggested price of $10. The event is running from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursdays to Saturdays and 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays until Halloween.