Here are CHCH News’ most-viewed local stories of 2024

As this year comes to an end, some stories rose above the rest as the most watched, read and clicked on by our viewers.

Here are CHCH News’ most popular local stories of 2024.

Chaotic Canada Day weekend at Sherkston Shores

It was a story that many in the Niagara Region talked about for days. Fights, weapons and drug poisonings were reported at the Sherkston Shores resort over the Canada Day long weekend.

It prompted a massive police response as they were called more than 30 times from people who needed help.

Click here to watch the full story and read more.

Sarah Jama defies order to remove keffiyeh at Queen’s Park

Hamilton’s Independent MPP Sarah Jama was banned from returning to the chamber for the rest of the day on April 25 after she refused to remove the keffiyeh around her shoulders.

Speaker Ted Arnott ordered Jama to leave the chamber, but she refused to do that too.

Arnott said he was not prepared to remove Jama by force with the help of security so she ended up remaining at Queen’s Park.

The Speaker banned the keffiyeh after deciding they were being worn to make a political statement but Jama said the ban is racist and pledged to continue wearing it.

Click here to watch the full story and read more.

Mandatory breath samples during OPP traffic stops in GTHA

Ontario Provincial Police adopted a new approach to reduce impaired driving. The enforcement policy allows highway safety officers to ask drivers in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area to provide a breath sample — no matter what they’re stopped for.

The “mandatory alcohol screening” is conducted at every routine traffic stop, even if there is no suspicion that a driver is impaired.

Click here to watch the full story and read more.

Oliver Karafa, Lucy Li found guilty

Guilty on all charges. That was the verdict given to married couple Lucy Li and Oliver Karafa on May 24 by a Hamilton jury.

Both were convicted of first-degree murder and attempted murder in the killing of 39-year-old Tyler Pratt and shooting of his pregnant girlfriend, Jordyn Romano, in Stoney Creek in February 2021.

Click here to watch the full story and read more.

CHCH News interviews Pierre Poilievre

CHCH News’ Matt Ingram interviewed Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre on Dec. 19 following a historic week in Canadian politics.

Poilievre responded to questions about Chrystia Freeland’s bombshell resignation, calls for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to step down and a series of social media posts from U.S. president-elect Donald Trump as he continued to threaten Canada with 25 per cent tariffs.

Click here to watch the full interview.

Alleged Ontario serial killer arrested

A Toronto woman was accused on Oct. 4 of killing three people in the same week – allegedly targeting two of them at random – in three different southern Ontario cities.

Niagara Regional Police Chief Bill Fordy said the three deaths happened over three consecutive days in Toronto, Niagara Falls and Hamilton.

Sabrina Kauldhar, 30, was arrested on Oct. 3 and charged with first-degree murder in the Hamilton homicide and second-degree murder in the Toronto and Niagara investigations.

Click here to watch the full story and read more.

Teen dies in crash on Hamilton’s Linc

One teen died and two other people were hospitalized in serious condition following a multi-vehicle crash on Hamilton’s Lincoln Alexander Parkway on Oct. 11.

It happened in the eastbound lanes of the Linc near the Upper Gage Avenue overpass.

The collision claimed the life of 15-year-old Jayden Ezra Durant Russell, who was a student at St. Jean de Brébeuf Catholic Secondary School.

Hamilton police believe the fatal crash is connected to a series of “escalating incidents between St. Jean de Brébeuf and Nora Frances Henderson students.”

Click here to watch the full story and read more.

July flash floods in Toronto

Toronto was hit with nearly 100 millimeters of rain and widespread flooding on July 16, impacting highways, street and transit traffic.

Toronto police said part of the Don Valley Parkway that connects the city’s north end and downtown was closed because of flooding, while main transit hub Union Station and part of Lakeshore Boulevard that runs along Lake Ontario were also closed.

Toronto Fire Services said they rescued two people from flooding on the highway – one from inside their vehicle and another from the roof of their car – and later rescued another 12 people from flooding further down the highway.

Click here to watch the full story and read more.

Niagara Falls power station redevelopment

A building in Niagara Falls that has never been open to the public is undergoing a $200-million renovation.

The Toronto Power Generating Station, which has been vacant for over 50 years, will soon be transformed into a hotel and tourist destination.

The province gave the project the final go-ahead on Nov. 22.

The new hotel will be built on the backside, overlooking the powerful Niagara River, while the original building will be restored, preserved and opened to the public.

Click here to watch the full story and read more.

Trudeau-Freeland fallout

It was a turbulent day in Ottawa on Dec. 16 when Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland suddenly resigned just hours before her scheduled fall economic update.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has since faced calls from Canadian politicians and members of his own Liberal Party to call an election — or quit.

Click here to watch the full story or read more.

– With files from The Canadian Press.