Morning Brief: Affordable Cities With Great Jobs, A Witch Navy & More

Good morning — Andrew from Narcity here. ☕

Off The Top: Abraca-paddle! Vancouverites were recently shocked to see a literal armada of witches paddling past the city's waterfront. If only the local coven had lent their magical touch to the ongoing demolition of the barge that's been beached in English Bay since last November.

In Case You Missed It

1. Want A Job That Pays Really Well In An Affordable City? Well, Obviously

Imagine a Venn diagram. One circle contains cities boasting jobs with a high average income; the other boasts cities with a low cost of living. The sweet spot where the circles overlap is this list of 10 cities, compiled by our own Tristan Wheeler based on data from Statistics Canada and Numbeo. For example, Ottawa features one of the cheaper costs of living in Canada but a median salary of $50K — pretty good, all things considered! Here's how the other cities stack up.

• Breakdown: Tristan's informal study returned cities located in four provinces: Ontario (four), Alberta (three), Saskatchewan (two), and Quebec (one). Which provinces or cities were snubbed? Let me know at andrew.potter@narcity.com.

2. A Tim Hortons Staffer Says We've Been Screwing Up The Drive-Thru For Years

According to a Tim Hortons employee, there are a few major rules for keeping the drive-thru line moving expeditiously and ensuring your food comes out as fresh as possible. For example, you know how we typically order your drinks first when eating at a restaurant? Start doing the opposite at the drive-thru, beginning your order with the most complicated part of the meal — like a sandwich — before finishing with your java. For a few more great tips, check out Lisa Belmonte's piece.

• What Else? Next time you're at a McDonald's drive-thru, try to create one of these three awesome off-menu dessert hacks: the baked apple pie sundae, the chocolate chunk cookie McFlurry or the vanilla cone iced coffee.

3. Canada's Most Wanted Fugitive List Was Updated & There's A $250K Reward

You can't always get what you want — especially if you're the Canadian law enforcement agencies tasked with bringing our most dangerous criminals to justice. The Bolo Program has updated its list on the 25 most wanted at-large fugitives, a who's-who of murderers, drug traffickers and pimps who have so far evaded capture (and in some cases, recapture). As Helena Hanson notes, there are some serious cash rewards for pertinent information leading to the arrest of these baddies. Be on the lookout for these sordid slimeballs.

• Worst Of The Perps: Topping the list is Rabih Alkhalil, a 35-year-old who escaped a pretrial facility in Port Coquitlam, B.C., earlier this year. Do NOT approach him yourself — though Charlie Hart reports that there's a $250K reward for information leading to his arrest.

HEY YOU! You should sign up for the email version of the Canada Morning Brief right here. It's better than this version. Trust me.

What Else You Need To Know Today

🍂 FALL INTO AUTUMN
Almost a month in, autumn in Ontario is in full swing. But as we all know, the gorgeous shock of colours will soon give way to barren branches, chilly winds and, gulp, slushy sidewalks. Better take advantage of the upcoming warm weather this weekend to visit Madeline Forsyth's seven stunning Ontario locales that are like a waltz through Vermont.

😬 OCCUPATION TROUBLE
There are really two Canadas — one where people are intimately aware of the happenings of the Quebecois reality show Occupation Double and another where that combination of words just caused your brain to short-circuit. As Mike Chaar reports, sponsors are fleeing in droves due to alleged ongoing bullying by the contestants. Here's how bad behaviour is derailing Quebec's cult TV hit.

📌 JOB BOARD
If you aspire to one day have the sort of career where you can pull in six figures without ever having to change out of your sweatpants, you're in luck. Ashley Harris has scoured the listings to find seven remote jobs based in beautiful British Columbia that each pay at least $100,000 — including a few jobs in the video game industry.

🧴 TOTAL RECALL
Health Canada has issued urgent product recalls on a wide selection of dry shampoos from three major brands. Sarah Rohoman writes that you should check your bathroom for products under the Dove, Tresemmé and Bed Head TIGI labels due to the presence of benzene, a carcinogenic hazard.

🎂 BIRTHDAYS
The Office's John Krasinski turns 43 years old today [camera pans to an unimpressed Jim Halpert]. Snoop D-o-double-g turns 51. Karate Kid antagonist turned Cobra Kai antihero William Zabka is 57. Canadian outdoorsman Les Stroud is 61. Frequent Cronenberg collaborator and Lord of the Rings star Viggo Mortensen is 64. "You know Keith Hernandez?!" Well, he's 69 today. The late Tom Petty would've turned 72.

Thanks for reading Narcity's Canada Morning Brief — the newsletter you can stand up at the gates of hell but won't back down.

Have a question or comment about today's edition? Let me know at andrew.potter@narcity.com or hit me up on Twitter if you'd prefer at @andrewjoepotter.

Have a great day and I will see you back here tomorrow!