The number of video game companies operating in Canada dropped nine per cent in the wake of a pandemic-fuelled gaming boom, most of them smaller independent shops with fewer than 25 employees, according to an economic report on the industry.

Mayor Olivia Chow has a model starship in her office: the USS Toronto with an accompanying plaque features a quote from her husband, Jack Layton, who died in 2011. "Always have a dream that will outlast your lifetime," it reads. Today, Chow leads a city that has become a second home to the Star Trek franchise.

Video game industry workers in Edmonton have voted unanimously in favour of strike action