If there’s one thing we can all learn from today’s newspapers, from coast to coast, it’s that we should bow down to the stoic confidence of Denzel Washington—or at least go see his movie, Flight. Seriously, the man’s wearing his pilot suit above the fold all over the place, because why wouldn’t newspapers capitalize on that king of opportunity? Aside from that, there’s no glaringly common narrative this morning, which means you can’t cheat by just reading one newspaper and pretending you’ve read them all. The most fascinating story this morning, covered by most national papers, has nothing to do with federal politics. It’s about hot springs on Haida Gwaii that, following the recent massive earthquake in the area, have dried up. The springs were “renowned for their purported healing properties,” and no one knows if they’ll come back. Spooky. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go book a ticket for Flight.

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What’s above the fold this morning?

Front pages: Nov. 2

Storified by Nick Taylor-Vaisey · Fri, Nov 02 2012 05:58:23

The Globe and Mail leads with U.S. presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s ascent to serious contender. The National Post fronts hot springs on Haida Gwaii in B.C. that, after the recent earthquake off the coast, “just dried up.” The Toronto Star features two stories prominently above the fold: Quebec police dismissing allegations of wrongdoing in the treatment of Ashley Smith; and the bizarre mistaken identity of Derek Clarke, a leading figure in the move to unionize junior hockey players, as Randy Gumbley (not online). The Ottawa Citizen leads with an Ottawa school trip to help get out the vote during the U.S. election cancelled thanks to controversy stirred up by an anti-abortion website. iPolitics fronts a story about state-owned investors in Canada being “a new reality.” National Newswatch showcases a Postmedia story about donations made to Liberal MP Denis Coderre‘s past campaigns by some characters implicated in the ongoing Charbonneau Commission into corruption in Quebec.

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Stories that will be (mostly) missed

1. Refugee acceptance. The proportion of refugees who are accepted into Canada has declined in recent years, from 47 percent in 2006 to 31 percent last year—and 28 percent, so far, in 2012.	2. Afghan withdrawal. The Star and Citizen both run news briefs about the roughly $651-million cost of Canada’s withdrawal from Afghanistan—a number that doesn’t include routine expenses.
3. Former spy. When authorities found out that a potential immigrant to Canada worked in Soviet espionage, his formerly strong case for acceptance was denied—despite his objections.	4. Gun registry data. The Star and Citizen also commit briefs to the news that, with the exception of Quebec records, Canada’s long gun registry data has been destroyed. The Globe has the story online.

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