- A total of 6 candidates have been approved to run for the Liberal Party leadership. A seventh, Nepean MP Chandra Arya, will not be permitted to run, for reasons that are not being made public; some on this Reddit thread are alleging that far-right influencers have been telling their followers to join the party ad vote for Arya, though, which just might have something to do with it. For her part, Chrystia Freeland says she's running against the "Ottawa establishment", which does sound a bit rich coming from someone who served as one of Trudeau's top cabinet ministers from the beginning of his prime ministership. Not to say that the only other candidate anyone's heard of, Mark Carney, isn't establishment; he's more "international establishment" than "Ottawa establishment", though. Not sure which is worse in the eyes of the kind of voter Poilievre is going after.
- The public inquiry into foreign interference in Canadian elections has found no evidence of "traitors" in Parliament; while there was some evidence of attempts by foreign interests to "curry favour" with MPs, no evidence was found of MPs helping. For his part, Charlie Angus is calling for Elections Canada to investigate possible interference by Elon Musk and X. Given that Musk seems to have no compunction about such interference, this is an eminently reasonable request.
- One of the few things Doug Ford has in common with David Eby, policy-wise, is a willingness to ban American alcohol from his province if Trump goes ahead with his threatened tariffs. And as in BC, some bars and restaurants are uneasy about this, complaining that some of their top-selling cocktails can't be made without bourbon. Nonetheless, I have to give credit where credit is due; Ford has done the right thing here, showing that he is at least no lower than the third worst premier in the country after Danielle Smith and Scott Moe. The impact may be noticeable - the LCBO is one of the biggest buyers of alcohol in the world (though not the undisputed #1 that it once was).
- School districts in the US are trying to figure out how to respond when immigration officers show up at their schools (possibly for kids born in the US but whose citizenship is no longer recognized by the current administration).
- Google has reclassified the US as a "sensitive country", meaning one that gets really worked up when you don't call things by the name they prefer (like how China gets when an airline lists "Taipei, Taiwan" instead of "Taipei, China" as a destination). Presumably this is why they've given in to pressure from the administration and accepted the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico.
- Gwynne Dyer would like to remind us that for the most part countries still take international law seriously, even if there are a few exceptions (Rwanda, Russia, US, etc.)
- Calgary is planning a new LRT line. Since that sort of thing does not sit well with the provincial government, due to running contrary to the interests of the only people the UCP cares about, the province imposed limits on the project that amount to a poison pill. City council, though, recognizing that the line is needed regardless, has voted to move ahead with the project anyway.
- When office space becomes vacant, it's not always feasible to convert it into apartments due to design constraints for residences. An alternative, though, is to use it for food production instead.
- The prospect of a casino opening in Tysons Corner, Virginia (a short drive from Washington) is causing unease in some former intelligence officers. They figure that, James Bond movies notwithstanding, having your spies, military, and defense contractors get the gambling bug is not a good thing from a security standpoint. It would be interesting to know who is bankrolling this casino and/or lobbying in its favour.
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