A selection of the latest Canadian news stories about the Olympic Torch Relay:

December 2

Olympic torch brings hope to Quebec native community (canada.com)

Mike Vollant will never forget the day the Olympic flame made a foray into his Innu community.  “It’s extraordinary, it was a big burst of joy. I even got to touch the torch!” said the teenager. The smile on his face and that of his friends standing in the biting cold spoke louder than words

Olympic torch role excites Mississauga hockey players (The Toronto Star)

November 20

Bearers honoured to carry flame (Halifax Chronicle Herald)

One of Nova Scotia’s youngest Olympic torchbearers was all smiles Thursday as he carried the flame high overhead onto the lawn of Yarmouth Consolidated Memorial High School.

MacNaughton students to carry torch (St. John Times and Transcript)

The Olympic Torch has really caught fire at Bernice MacNaughton High School. Four students from the high school in Moncton’s west end will be carrying the torch when it travels though the province next week. The torch arrives in New Brunswick from Prince Edward Island on Monday.

Olympic torch relay comes to Metro (thisweek online)

In Moncton, on November 23, at exactly 6 p.m., the past is about to collide with the future.  And no, this is not some bizarre apocalyptic warning; it’s a statement of fact.

Coke uses plant based material in new bottle (canoe.ca)

Coca-Cola Canada says it will have new plastic packaging for its bottles at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, with 30 per cent of the material derived from plants.

November 18

Youthful torchbearer (thestittsville.com)

Monday, Dec. 14 at 8:21 a.m. is when 13 year old Anna Cutland of Stittsville will be carrying the Olympic flame. She will be a torch bearer in the Olympic Torch Relay, one of 4,500 torch bearers selected by Coca-Cola, one of the sponsors of the Torch Relay.

Special Olympian helps flame shine bright in Cape Breton (The Vancouver Sun)

The Olympic Torch Relay is a huge, high-octane, well-oiled machine. It landed in Cape Breton on Monday like a foreign invasion: dozens of four-wheel vehicles and troop transports carrying an army of young, track-suit wearing organizers, convoy captains, crowd controllers, flame-handlers, cheerleaders and other assorted staff from home base in Vancouver. 

Torchbearer “It’s a dream come true” (The St. John Telegraph-Journal)

Denise Hamel has run marathons, rock climbed and won endurance adventure races. She paddles, skis and bikes. But during her next endeavour, she’s going to take her time. She’s not going to focus on speed. She wants to go really slow – a snail’s pace, even.

Crosby to join Olympic torch run in Halifax (CBC News – Nova Scotia)

Hockey star Sidney Crosby will carry the Olympic torch in Halifax on Wednesday. The captain of the Stanley Cup winning Pittsburgh Penguins is making a brief stop in his home province to join the Olympic torch relay festivities.

 

November 16

Local teens to carry flame in Olympic torch relay (Bracebridge Examiner)

Two Gravenhurst teens will make their mark on the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games when they each carry the Olympic flame through separate communities in the Olympic torch relay.

Goosebumps and an old flame (Halifax Chornical Herald)

IT’S A MODERN-DAY replay of an ancient Olympic odyssey. But this time, everyone from a hockey star to a chef to a retiree will be forwarding the flame. And for 74-year-old Barbara Burns, “the lightning” as she puts it, is actually striking twice.

Olympic flame burns brightly in Cape Spear N.L. (The Vancouver Sun)

The Olympic torch and the rising sun both spread on Friday their orange glow at daybreak over Cape Spear, N.L. – the easternmost point in North America.

Torch relay begins final day in Newfoundland and Labrador (canada.com)

Residents of the riverside town of Badger waited by the Trans-Canada Highway to be among the first to welcome the Olympic flame early Sunday morning as the torch relay began its final day in Newfoundland and Labrador.

November 10

Churchill a global touchstone for climate-change activists (Vancouver Sun)

Churchill, you see, is the hippest place on the map these days, because it’s the land of the snow bear, the self-proclaimed polar bear capital of the world, the place where Polar Bear International, the World Wildlife Fund, and rock stars looking for a cause on which to focus their political and environmental laser beams when trying to educate us about global warming and the ills of mankind.

Olympic torch crosses Arctic in historic first (AFP)

The Olympic flame began its first trek through the Canadian Arctic by crossing paths with a polar bear on the shores of Hudson Bay, local media said Monday.

Olympic torch farther north than ever (Vancouver Sun)

When the Olympic flame touched down Monday in the tiny Arctic community of Alert in Nunavut, the visit made Olympic history, bringing the fire from Greece further north than it had ever travelled before.

Polar bear greets Olympic torch in Churchill (Winnipeg Sun)

Day 10 of the cross-Canada Olympic torch relay got off to a fitting start in Churchill, Man., the polar bear capital of the world Sunday. Driving in from the airport with the Olympic flame, the convoy had to stop to allow a polar bear to cross the road.

November 4

Games to be greener than first expected

With just over 100 days to go until the Games begin, organizers said Tuesday they now have a better idea of the environmental scale of their operations and are confident they’ll be able to be carbon-neutral

Dashwood gal part of Olympic history

Darlene O’Rourke believes. And that tenacious belief has given this Dashwood girl the opportunity to be part of Olympic history.

Kosciusko physician selected as torchbearer for the Olympics

Dr. Tim Alford, a family physician with Kosciusko Medical Clinic, has been selected by Coca-Cola as an Olympic torchbearer for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games to be held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Feb. 12-28.

Vancouver 2010 torchbearers everyday Canadians committed to a better Canada

Thousands of everyday Canadians are lacing up their running shoes and practising for their moment in the spotlight as official torchbearers in the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay. The relay is presented by Coca-Cola and RBC and supported by the Government of Canada.

October 31

Riverview couple to carry the Olympic Torch (Times and Transcript)

Jason and Candice Rempel were each selected separately to be among the 12,000 Canadians who get the chance to carry the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games torch when it comes through Atlantic Canada next month.

Trio of torchbearers named (Alberta Daily Herald Tribune)

Three more Grande Prairie residents will become a part of Olympic history next week when they will carry the flaming symbol of the Games through the city.

Carrying the Torch (Welland Tribune)

Katya Hvostova will be carrying the torch in more ways than one come December. The 13-year-old Holy Name Catholic School student will run 300 metres that will change her life on Dec. 20.

Olympic Torch to lightp Nunavut next month (Nanataiaq News)

Sporting red and white top hats, toques and sweatshirts while carrying homemade medals around their necks, Kugluktuk students broke out into cheers Oct. 22 when they learned more about the upcoming arrival of the Olympic torch in their community, the first in Nunavut to participate.

 

October 27

Games will test Calgary legacy (Calgary Herald)
The opening ceremony is still 108 days away, but the torch relay’s start this week in Victoria represents an official Games homecoming in which the legacy of Calgary will finally be put to the test.

Akwesasne teacher to keep Olympic torch safe; (Cornwall Standard-Freeholder)
A 23-year-old teacher from Akwesasne has been selected to keep the Olympic flame safe and lit during a stretch of the 2010 Olympic Torch Relay from Nova Scotia to Thunder Bay.

No place like Prince Edward County (Kingston Whig-Standard)
You don’t get the chance to be in a commercial too often, especially one that will be shown during the Olympics. The Olympic Torch is scheduled to pass through Picton on Dec.

News Briefs (Peterborough Examiner)
TORCH BEARER CHOSEN The first torch bearer for the Peterborough portion of the Olympic Torch Relay will be announced on Friday. The woman, described in a release as a graphic designer and green activist, will be named at a ceremony at 1 p. m. at…