Canadian News Deep-Dives — October 28, 2026: $40M Lotto Max Ticket Expires, RBC Blocks AI Agents, Canada's First Eurovision Vote

TL;DR: Today's three most-searched Canadian news stories on Google Trends Canada, explained in depth with 2021 Census context. A $40-million Lotto Max jackpot sold in Grey County, Ont., expires at the end of today unless someone claims it. Royal Bank of Canada is cutting off third-party personal AI agents from online banking. And CBC/Radio-Canada has named five finalists to become Canada's first Eurovision entrant, with a public vote open until Nov. 5.

1. The unclaimed $40-million Lotto Max ticket from Grey County expires today

A $40-million Lotto Max jackpot from the Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025 draw still has not been claimed, and it expires at the end of the day on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, one year after the draw, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) says. The ticket was bought at an authorized lottery retailer somewhere in Grey County, Ont.

The winning numbers: 06, 14, 17, 19, 26, 43, 45, with bonus number 27.

Who might have it: OLG says it has "very detailed information" about the ticket but does not know who bought it, because it was sold at a store. "Because Grey County is a popular destination for tourists, cottagers and day-trippers, there is possibility that the winning ticket may not belong to a local resident," OLG said (Global News). OLG lists Grey County communities including Owen Sound, Meaford, The Blue Mountains, Flesherton, Markdale, Durham and Hanover.

About 50 claims: OLG issued a final urgent appeal on Tuesday, after earlier reminders on Oct. 5 and Oct. 22. An OLG spokesperson said it is doing due diligence on approximately 50 claims, plus any more that arrive before the deadline, so it may take time before OLG can say whether the prize is officially unclaimed (Owen Sound Sun Times). When a $70-million prize went unclaimed a few years ago, reviewing more than 1,100 claims took about two months, OLG told INSAUGA. After today, people can no longer validate the ticket or file a claim, even if they believe they lost it.

Where the money goes: if the ticket expires, the $40 million is returned to players through future bonus games or promotions. It would become Canada's second-largest unclaimed Lotto Max prize, behind a $70-million ticket from the June 28, 2022 draw that was sold in Scarborough (CKNX).

How to check: scan old tickets with the OLG app, an in-store self-checker or a retailer's terminal; start a claim on OLG.ca's Unclaimed Tickets page; or call OLG at 1-800-387-0098.

By the numbers (2021 Census): Grey County's nine municipalities had a combined 100,905 residents. The largest is Owen Sound (21,612, median age 48.0), followed by West Grey (13,131), Meaford (11,485), Georgian Bluffs (11,100), Grey Highlands (10,424), The Blue Mountains (9,390), Southgate (8,716), Hanover (7,967) and Chatsworth (7,080).

Cottage country in the data: across those nine municipalities, 7,874 of 50,183 private dwellings (about 15.7%) were not occupied by usual residents on Census day, a group that includes cottages and other seasonal homes. In The Blue Mountains it was about 41% (3,048 of 7,396). The town's population grew 33.7% from 2016 to 2021, and its median age was 58.8. That fits OLG's point that the buyer may have been a visitor.

Why it matters to you: if you bought a Lotto Max ticket in Grey County around Oct. 28, 2025, or visited the area then, check pockets, glove boxes, bags and drawers today.

Sources: OLG (Oct. 22 release) · Global News · CTV News Kitchener · Owen Sound Sun Times · CKNX · INSAUGA

2. RBC blocks personal AI agents from online banking

Royal Bank of Canada is blocking third-party personal artificial intelligence agents from directly accessing its digital properties, including online banking. RBC is the first Canadian bank to block external AI agents on its sites, The Globe and Mail reports. In the U.S., JPMorgan Chase and Charles Schwab recently said they are blocking or limiting outside AI agents' access to customer data.

What's an AI agent here? Customers can authorize agents such as Meta Platforms' Muse to access bank accounts, transaction history and credit card data to analyze spending and make recommendations (Globe and Mail).

RBC's reasoning: an internal memo on Tuesday evening, signed by head of technology and operations Naim Kazmi and head of personal banking Erica Nielsen, said the decision followed a security review. "While we recognize the potential of agentic AI to assist customers, we know that third-party personal AI agents accessing banking systems can create unacceptable customer risk, including acting beyond customer expectations or creating liability exposure," the memo said. RBC said it will start blocking the platforms immediately; the memo did not list which tools are covered.

What clients are told: RBC says existing AI-agent connections to RBC accounts will stop working. Clients can keep using RBC's website and mobile app, its own digital tools and customer service. "We understand that this may be disappointing for the small portion of our clients who use these tools," spokesperson Jeff Lanthier said. CEO Dave McKay wrote on LinkedIn that as agents become more autonomous, the stakes are high if something goes wrong, from fraud and consumer harm to risks to the wider financial system (Financial Post).

The regulator's view: Peter Routledge, head of the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI), said Tuesday at Tech Festival Canada that OSFI will leave the decision to individual banks as long as they follow its guidelines: "Where I stand right now on third-party risk and AI is we're more principles-based." He said customers could switch providers depending on whether they want to use AI agents, and that a board deciding agents are too risky, "provided it's done in a responsible way," is "indicative of sound risk management." BMO CEO Darryl White said last week customers should not share sensitive banking data with AI agents (Globe and Mail).

Why it matters to you: if an AI assistant reads or manages your RBC accounts, expect it to lose access. Never give any AI tool your banking password or PIN; use your bank's own app instead.

Sources: The Globe and Mail · Financial Post · RBC

3. Canada picks its first-ever Eurovision act: five finalists, public vote until Nov. 5

CBC/Radio-Canada on Tuesday named the five finalists competing to become Canada's first Eurovision Song Contest entrant: William Cloutier, Josiane, Rêve, Talk and Tyler Shaw. The 2027 contest will be held in Bulgaria next May. Canada is the first new country to join Eurovision since Australia in 2015, and more than 130 million viewers across 35 countries watched the most recent edition (CBC News).

How they were chosen: 325 artists applied between Aug. 31 and Sept. 9. CBC/Radio-Canada's music teams cut the field to 15, and a jury of music industry professionals and the executive vice-presidents of CBC and Radio-Canada picked the final five in Toronto on Oct. 8.

How to vote: watch the performances and vote at CBC.ca/eurovision, up to 10 times, until Thursday, Nov. 5, at 11:59 p.m. PT. The winner will be announced by December, and PricewaterhouseCoopers is overseeing the voting and tabulation. Prime Minister Mark Carney posted on X: "Canada is going to Eurovision 2027. It's up to you to decide who takes the stage."

• William Cloutier (Victoriaville, Que.): won Star Académie in 2021 and has played Johnny Rockfort in Starmania more than 360 times across Europe and Quebec.
• Josiane (Dieppe, N.B.): Acadian singer-songwriter who moves between French and English; won La Voix in 2020. Her song Lose It All has more than six million streams.
• Rêve (born in Montreal, based in Toronto): Juno-winning dance-pop artist behind Ctrl + Alt + Del, Big Boom and Whitney.
• Talk (Ottawa): known for Run Away to Mars; won the 2024 Juno for breakthrough artist.
• Tyler Shaw (born in Richmond, B.C., raised in Coquitlam): broke through with Kiss Goodnight in 2012 and toured Europe for the first time in 2026.

By the numbers (2021 Census): the finalists' hometowns span the country. Victoriaville had 47,760 residents, and about 95.6% had French as their mother tongue. Dieppe grew 10.8% from 2016 to 28,114 residents; about 63.9% had French as their mother tongue and about 70.5% could speak both English and French. Ottawa passed a million people (1,017,449, +8.9%), while Richmond (209,937) and Coquitlam (148,625) are in Metro Vancouver.

Why it matters to you: for the first time, Canadians choose who represents the country on one of the world's biggest music stages, and the vote is open now.

Sources: CBC News · CBC/Radio-Canada Media Centre · CBC Music · CTV News (The Canadian Press)

Data sources

Population, age, language and dwelling figures are from the 2021 Census of Population as presented on Canadian Data Insights location pages; Grey County totals are the sum of its nine municipalities. "Not occupied by usual residents" includes seasonal and vacant dwellings. See Data sources. News facts are from the linked reports. Topics were chosen using Google Trends Canada. This post is by Andrew and is for education only; verify primary sources before making decisions.