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The Windows 10-pocalypse is a short two years away. On Oct. 14, 2025, Microsoft will stop issuing security updates for Windows 10 PCs, at which point most of the world’s PCs—about one billion computers—will be running a dead operating system, like Windows XP. And most of those computers can’t upgrade to Windows 11.

Microsoft Is Abandoning Most PCs on the Planet

Half of the readers of my Windows Intelligence newsletter are still using Windows 10 on their primary PC. The one billion estimate comes from two sources: Microsoft, which has said there are more than 1.4 billion Windows PCs, and Statcounter, which shows that the vast majority of PCs on the planet—more than 70%—run Windows 10.

Worse yet, this isn’t like when Microsoft stopped supporting Windows 7. Those PCs could upgrade to Windows 10, but this time around, many Windows 10 PCs don’t suport Windows 11, at least not officially. If you can’t afford to buy a new PC, you’ll be left out in the cold after Oct. 14, 2025. From a security perspective, it’ll be as if you were using Windows XP or Windows 7.

Will Microsoft Extend the Deadline?

“That’s the debate of our age,” Paul Thurrott, a journalist who’s spent decades covering Microsoft and owner of Thurrott.com, told me.

Thurrott pointed out that Microsoft extended support for both Windows XP and Windows 7, although support for Windows 7 only covered businesses that paid extra every year. “Honestly, Windows 11 adoption is less than I’d have thought, especially in businesses. That could cause [Microsoft] to continue support for Windows 10,” he said.

I asked Microsoft for a comment on its plans, and a spokesperson said the company had “nothing further to share at this time” other than what’s on the lifecycle page.

Chinese military jet intercepted a Canadian Armed Forces Aurora aircraft in an “aggressive manner” on Monday in international waters off the coast of China.

“They became very aggressive and to a degree we would deem it unsafe and unprofessional,” Maj.-Gen. Iain Huddleston told Global News.

Global News was on board the Canadian military aircraft reporting on the mission, which is part of Operation NEON, Canada’s contribution to helping enforce sanctions against North Korea, when the aggressive intercepts took place.

“It’s a ramp-up of the aggressiveness that’s really unexpected and unnecessary in the context of the mission that we’re flying,” Huddleston said.

At least two different Chinese jets intercepted the Canadian plane consistently for multiple hours during the more than eight-hour-long mission. The Chinese jets came within about five metres of the Canadian plane.

A group of grassroots NDP activists is planning to push for pharmacare to be a make-or-break element of the federal party’s supply-and-confidence deal with the Liberals at a policy convention next week.

The agreement has the NDP supporting the minority Liberals on key votes in exchange for progress on shared priorities, including pharmacare.

The activists are submitting an emergency resolution to declare that the future of the deal is contingent on legislation that commits to a universal and entirely public pharmacare program, which they hope will be debated on the convention floor in Hamilton.

The group, called Stand Strong For Pharmacare, launched a website for delegates to encourage them to take a strong stance on the policy and hold the Liberals to their agreement.

“Our NDP convention resolution would make it clear that if (Prime Minister) Justin Trudeau breaks his promise for universal, comprehensive, and public pharmacare, it will have consequences,” the website states.

On Tuesday morning, PressProgress confirmed the presence of over 30 vehicles affiliated with the “Save the Children Convoy” camping out at a location along County Road 8 outside Casselman, Ontario.

Vehicles at the location range in size from RVs to pick-up trucks and sedans, but notably do not include transport trucks or other heavy vehicles. A mobile office trailer and portapotties were also visible on site.

A pick-up truck guarding the entrance to the base camp features signs opposing “Agenda 21,” a far-right conspiracy that alleges sustainable development policies are part of the United Nations’ secret agenda to establish a One World Government.

Other vehicles could be observed flying the flag of Russia and a flag associated with the “World Unity Convoy 2023” to Winnipeg earlier this year.

“Had the insurance company done what they should have done, it never would have been an issue for us,” she said.

“When you see the insurance companies raking in millions and billions of dollars and not paying out, it just doesn’t seem fair that the government has to bail us out.”

CALGARY, AB – In response to the Canadian government’s proposed electricity regulations, Alberta has launched a national advertising campaign to inform Canadians that they will impact them negatively.

The province said the proposed regulations would increase power bills for Albertans and Canadians overall, drive investment out of the province and put grid reliability at risk.

If the current guidelines are to be followed, Alberta will need to achieve net-zero in 12 years without the help of baseload power such as natural gas. Officials note the lack of stable sources would likely increase the possibility of brownouts and blackouts.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said, “Canadians need to know the risks they face if Ottawa’s proposed electricity regulations move forward without any amendments. The federal government is choosing to ignore the facts about their transition, but we are not. All Canadians need to be able to rely on reliable and affordable electricity and we will continue to fight for that.”

Manitoba is not exactly known for its ambitious climate commitments. For reporter Julia-Simone Rutgers, that rings especially true as she covers this year’s provincial election.

“The environment has felt more like an asterisk in many policy promises,” she told me. “Some leaders haven’t even uttered the words ‘climate change.’ ”

Progressive Conservative Leader Heather Stefanson has hopped on the trend of rejecting meaningful climate policies, much like many of her counterparts across the country — particularly policies coming from the federal government.

The federal carbon price? That’s an “unfair cash grab” and Manitoba will “stop at nothing” to see it eliminated. The international goal to conserve 30 per cent of lands and waters by 2030? That “could harm economic development” — and the province is considering expanding mining activity in provincial parks. It goes on.

None of this negates the impacts of climate change felt across the Prairies.

Manitoba is a place where floods affect 90 per cent of Indigenous communities and have left residents evacuated for months, if not years. A place where residents are finding their homes — long built to withstand frigid winters — are now way too hot as summer heat intensifies. Add in extreme drought, wildfires and the numerous threats to one of Canada’s “most endangered lakes,” not to mention the uncertainty around extracting minerals deemed critical to a low-carbon future, and you’d think you might have some fodder for intense campaign debate.

But the environment and Manitoba’s climate footprint have again taken a backseat in this election campaign. Voters are set to head to the polls next week, on Oct. 3, and the debate has so far been dominated by concerns about health care, cost of living and public safety. 

Climate change is still a priority for Manitobans; very few have been happy with the province’s efforts to curb its carbon emissions.

I spoke with Julia-Simone, who has been scouring the scant environment-related promises for a hint of what’s to come in the province following the election. Read on for her takes from the campaign trail — and why this election matters even if you don’t live in Manitoba.

Take care and don’t forget to vote,

Sharon Riley
Prairies bureau chief

The B.C. government is bringing back masks in all health-care settings.

Global News has obtained a memo sent from the Ministry of Health to health-care providers on the plan that is expected to be announced Thursday at a press conference.

When asked about the announcement on Wednesday, Health Minister Adrian Dix said, “It’s not a secret. We’ve been talking about this for about a month that for the respiratory illness season in the fall, we would expect health-care settings to have masking, so we’ll have details of that tomorrow.”

Health officials across the country are urging Canadians to get a COVID and flu shot at the same time as provinces have seen a rise in cases.

Getting both the flu and COVID-19 shots at the same time can provide an added layer of defence against respiratory illnesses, health experts said on Sunday.
Although the influenza vaccine and the updated COVID-19 shot are not currently available, experts anticipate their rollout in mid-October.

“In preparation for the viral respiratory illness this fall and winter, B.C. will be reinstating enhanced infection prevention and control (IPC) measures in health-care settings, services, and programs, including community physician offices and outpatient clinics,” the memo to health-care staff reads.

What a pathetic coda to the respectable if not quite illustrious political career of Jim Dinning!

Once the whiz kid and heir apparent of Alberta’s Conservative establishment, Mr. Dinning has resurfaced years later as chief snake-oil salesman for the scam artists and would-be separatists dreaming of hijacking half the Canada Pension Plan’s investment fund.

Mr. Dinning may not have gotten to be the premier of Alberta in 2006, when he was widely seen as front-runner in what was supposed to be not much more than a two-horse race with another former Progressive Conservative finance minister, Ted Morton.

Still, he need not be embarrassed by what must have been a big disappointment after he raised $2 million for the contest to replace Ralph Klein and at one point held a 20-point lead over Dr. Morton and a 40-point lead over the eventual winner, Ed Stelmach.

We’ll never know how Mr. Dinning would have performed as premier – perhaps not that badly with his experience as a three-term Calgary MLA, finance minister from 1992 to 1997, and habitué of corporate executive suites after he left politics in 1997.

In the event, Mr. Stelmach turned out to be as good a Conservative premier as Alberta could have hoped for in 2006. Dr. Morton, of course, was almost certainly the worst premier the province never had.

Over seven hundred climate protests and marches were held in over 60 countries over the weekend, with an estimated six hundred thousand people demanding urgent action on climate and the ending of fossil fuels.

Demonstrations were held from Antarctica to the North Pole. On seven continents, mothers, daughters, dads, kids, their grandparents, concerned citizens, politicians and scientists all came together united in solidarity demanding the end of the fossil fuel age.

The message to world leaders was united and emphatic: a commitment to phase out fossil fuels at the UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ upcoming Global Climate Ambition Summit, which starts in New York City on September 20.

Under the hashtags,  #EndFossilFuels #FastFairForever, march after march, protest after protest, argued that this meeting in New York presents a critical opportunity for tangible action to keep fossil fuels in the ground. Literally, from all corners of the world people screamed: It is time to keep it in the ground.

“I don’t support people that don’t have room in their hearts for my son,” said Marc Savoie.

Savoie, who has been vice-president of the association for five years and interim president since June, informed the riding association on Sunday of his decision.

“I can’t support my son and support (Higgs) at the same time. It doesn’t align with one another,” said Savoie, who added he plans to remain a member of the party in general.

“So I’m at peace with my decision. My family comes first, and that’s what it is. That’s where I am.”

stevemaclellan:

Brian Thate never planned on starting his life over. That is, until the floodwaters hit.

His small Grand Forks, B.C., family business — the Riviera RV Park — was devastated by historic flooding in 2018, leading him and his wife to sell the property earlier last year.

Between cleanup costs and the devaluation of his property, Thate estimates his family lost more than half a million dollars. They ran the business for more than two decades.

“Our retirement plans have changed — I know I’ll be working for as long as I can work to feed our family,” he told CBC News. “And we’re supporting others that are still trying to recover.”

A large storm system is on its way to coastal British Columbia on Sunday, prompting high streamflow advisories, wind warnings and concerns for potential power outages and flooding over the next few days.

A bomb cyclone — a low pressure system that brings rain and powerful winds — is expected to hit off shore, close to Vancouver Island and pick up through Sunday afternoon, according to Environment Canada.

Environment Canada forecasts more than 50 millimetres of rain will hit western parts of Vancouver Island by Tuesday, while Metro Vancouver and other parts of the southern coast will get closer to 30 millimetres.

The forecast has prompted the provincial River Forecast Centre to issue a high streamflow advisory for Vancouver Island, the Sunshine Coast, Howe Sound and the Lower Mainland.

The Liberal government is looking to spur the construction of new rental stock and increase competition in industries like Canada’s heavily concentrated grocery sector as part of a new bill aimed at improving affordability for Canadians facing a cost of living crisis.

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland tabled Bill C-56, the Affordable Housing and Groceries Act, in the House of Commons on Thursday.

It includes two announcements previously signalled by Justin Trudeau’s government: giving a rebate for GST paid on the construction of new purpose-built rentals and reforms to the country’s competition laws aimed at giving more teeth to the federal watchdog.

Government officials briefed the media on the details of the bill on Thursday.

A growing number of forecasts are calling for the return of $100 US oil before the end of the year — a prospect that could put even more pressure on consumers and make it harder for central bankers to rein in inflation.

North American benchmark crude West Texas Intermediate (WTI) has surged 30 per cent since June 1 and is hovering this week around $90 US per barrel, its highest point since November of last year. Global benchmark Brent crude was trading higher than $93 US on Wednesday.

In recent days, a number of analysts have revised their forecasts with the view that triple-digit oil prices may now be in the cards for this fall. Bank of America, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs are now all predicting $100 US Brent crude prices before 2024, as is Chevron CEO Mike Wirth, according to a Bloomberg report.

“We’re chewing on this right now,” said Andrew Botterill of Deloitte Canada in an interview Wednesday in Calgary, where hundreds of oil and gas executives from around the globe are gathered this week for the 24th World Petroleum Congress.

Botterill said he’s currently working on Deloitte’s upcoming oil price forecast report and considering whether to revise his own earlier projections higher.

“I can absolutely see it ($100 oil) … I absolutely think we will have moments,” Botterill said.

“I can list a lot more reasons why oil will move up right now than down.”

City council in Thorold, Ontario voted unanimously Tuesday night to reject a proposed 198-megawatt gas power plant to supply peak power to the provincial grid, Thorold Today reports.

“A recorded vote took place that saw councillors unanimously vote against signing a letter of endorsement for the project,” the local paper writes. “When it was over, people in the audience erupted in loud applause.”

Toronto-based Northland Power had proposed the plant as part of the province’s deeply controversial effort to add 1,500 MW of gas-fired generation to the grid. A directive from Energy Minister Todd Smith to the province’s Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) had required municipal letters of endorsement for any new local projects, but not for expansions of existing gas plants. But the Thorold project, as a new installation, had to demonstrate local support.

That effort failed spectacularly last night. On Monday, local organizer Mark Freeman told The Energy Mix he could count four or five elected officials who were leaning against the project. Less than 48 hours later, all eight locally elected officials voted against it.

OTTAWA—Prime Minister Justin Trudeau rebuffed questions about his Liberal leadership Wednesday, as a new poll suggests his governing party is losing favour with the Canadian public.

During a press conference in London, Ont. to highlight the first funding decision of a housing program created last year, Trudeau was repeatedly asked about Liberal MPs who have aired concerns in the media about the direction of his government.

Several Liberal MPs have criticized their own government in conversations with the Star in recent weeks, with some raising doubts about Trudeau’s midsummer cabinet overhaul, and others expressing frustration about the government’s performance amid flagging polls.

Asked Wednesday whether he would consider stepping down in the face of such criticism, Trudeau said in French that he would have “very frank” discussions with Liberal MPs during this week’s caucus retreat in the southwestern Ontario city, but that he is focused on working on behalf of Canadians dealing with rising costs and expensive housing.

“We’re going to talk about all the challenges we’re facing. We’re going to talk about how to solve them,” Trudeau said, before adding in French that he is here to “continue the work” his government has done for several years.

The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations has announced plans to sue the federal and provincial governments over legislation chiefs say infringes on treaty rights.

Chief Bobby Cameron says the statement of claim will be a constitutional challenge against the Saskatchewan First Act, passed by the provincial government last year, and the Natural Resources Transfer Agreement between the Prairie province and Ottawa.

The Act, introduced last fall, confirms the province’s autonomy and jurisdiction over its natural resources, and puts it on a legal collision course with First Nations, who have inherent rights through treaties to govern themselves and a special relationship to their land and resources.

The report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) looked at both explicit and implicit subsidies for fossil fuels across 170 countries. It found explicit subsidies alone have more than doubled since the previous IMF assessment, rising from $500 billion in 2020 to $1.3 trillion in 2022 as governments rushed to mitigate the inflationary impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the spike in demand caused by the economic recovery from Covid-19. Those subsidies are direct monetary support for fossil fuels through activities like regulated prices set below international levels and energy bill rebates.

IMF also calculates implicit fossil fuel subsidies, which include the cost of things such as undercharging for environmental costs and failing to levy taxes on consumption. Adding those in and the total subsidies ballooned to $7 trillion in 2022. That’s an increase of $2 trillion compared to 2020.