For my Canadian friends

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Brilliant little read from Brad Stuart that totally gets it. Sit down and learn a few things.

"If anyone’s wondering — I’ve voted Conservative, Liberal, and even NDP when the local representative was the best person running. I’ve always tried to vote for the person and the plan, not just the party.

Some of my old friends might be surprised by the tone of this post. Maybe even uncomfortable. That’s okay. I’m not here to convert anyone — I’m just offering some perspective from someone who’s seen governments come and go.

I’m not frustrated by disagreement — that’s healthy. I’m frustrated by the mindless reposting of memes, by empty slogans instead of actual solutions, and by the constant blame game that replaces responsibility with outrage.

Polls show that older Canadians are more likely to support the Liberals and there’s a reason for that: we’ve seen governments come and go. We remember the Petro-Canada era, the National Energy Programam backlash, the Mulroney cuts, the Chrétien surpluses, the Harper austerity, and the COVID-era interventions. We’ve lived through it — not just read about it online. What that history teaches you is that ....

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Why Carney not Polievre, is winning over some Conservative MPs.

Conservative caucus members who privately (or quietly) wish for Mark Carney instead of Pierre Poilievre at the helm may seem to be aiming for an unlikely paradox — favoring a Liberal Prime Minister as their own leader. But when you peel back the layers, their unease with Poilievre’s style and a yearning for a more centrist, competent alternative helps explain it.

First, Poilievre’s combative, aggressive leadership style troubles more moderate MPs. Some see his relentless focus on populist messaging and culture-war rhetoric as a liability — polarizing, rather than building broad electoral support. According to reporting, Poilievre has resisted any softening of his “fight-for-affordability” persona, even in the face of caucus discontent. This rigidity, for some, risks isolating the party from voters who are less energized by confrontation.

Second, Carney represents the kind of experienced, steady economic stewardship that appeals to traditional conservatives. He has a background managing global financial crises, and many see him as someone who brings gravitas, credibility, and technocratic competence. In contrast, Poilievre, while a skilled campaigner, is perceived by some as weaker on policy nuance.

Third, public polling strengthens the case for Carney. According to Angus Reid, Carney outpaces Poilievre on key leadership metrics, especially on issues like handling the U.S. and the economy. The Ipsos data also suggest Carney is seen as less likely to capitulate to external pressures than Poilievre. For caucus members worried about electoral prospects, these numbers are hard to ignore.

Finally, for those tired of internal turmoil, Carney offers a vision of governance over grievance. Some Conservative MPs may feel that Carney’s more disciplined, collaborative approach could restore party credibility and broaden appeal — even if it means rethinking their loyalty to Poilievre.
 
Its High Noon for Budget 2025
By Steve Ward
🇨🇦


A vote in the House of Commons on any major piece of legislation, like a throne speech or budget, is viewed as being a confidence measure in the government. As a result, early this coming week, we will face another crossroads of sorts in the Canadian journey. The Liberal budget must secure a majority of the votes cast in order for the minority government to remain in power. If the budget fails to pass the vote, then the government will be defeated because it would no longer have the confidence of the House of Commons to pass legislation.

Parties have been talking and negotiating over the past couple of weeks and, while there is hope that the Liberal budget will pass... somehow...there is always a chance that one or more MPs will make an error during voting, leading to the government’s fall. While no one in Ottawa seems to want another election, none of the opposition parties have indicated at this point whether they will ensure ....

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I've been hearing some rumbling from Conservatives about the treatment of vets by the liberals so I wrote this.

It’s suddenly fashionable again to hear Conservatives wringing their hands over the supposed “mistreatment” of veterans under the Liberals. They’ve discovered compassion, apparently. But before we rewrite history, let’s take a quick stroll down memory lane — back to when Stephen Harper and his loyal apprentice Pierre Poilievre were running the show.

Remember the days when the Harper government “honoured” veterans by killing their lifetime pensions? The New Veterans Charter — proudly championed by Harper — replaced lifelong monthly support with a single lump-sum payout. You could lose both legs in Afghanistan and still get less than a deputy minister earns in a year. How’s that for gratitude? When veterans took the government to court to fight for fair treatment, Harper’s crew spent $700,000 of public money arguing Ottawa had no obligation to care for them.

Then came the “efficiency” drive — otherwise known as closing nine Veterans Affairs offices and firing nearly 900 employees who helped process veterans’ claims. The same year, the Conservatives somehow found millions for self-congratulatory ads during hockey playoffs. Because nothing says “support our troops” like a .....

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Poilievre's Reflection-Free Leadership
By Steve Ward
🇨🇦


Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre has never struck me as being a particularly deep or critical thinker. Maybe it's the repetitive, nagging and whiny nature of his questions in the House of Commons. Or perhaps it's the fact that his comments about the issues of the day are seldom constructive and he just complains without offering viable alternatives. He is also quick to anger, can be very negative ,and most definitely sees the glass as being half empty, rather than half full. Based on his performance this fall since being back in the House of Commons it seems that Mr. Poilievre is continuing to employ the same tired approaches that Canadians rejected in the previous election. His "gotcha" style of doing politics and his abrasive personality.

It is evident that Poilievre has an inability to look back on a challenge, such as losing his seat in Carleton, and considering what he might have done differently. For example, it was surely a mistake to ....

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While this article was written by Canadians and talks about an outbreak in Alberta it could just as easily be written to describe outbreaks in various US states.

How Alberta Became the Epicentre of Canada’s Measles Outbreak​

A virus eradicated from Canada a generation ago just took the life of a newborn​


The sign on the door knocked the wind out of me: “There are concerns with the rising numbers in the province regarding the measles outbreak. THERE WILL BE A 2 PERSON PER PATIENT VISITING POLICY.”

I work in a labour and delivery unit in Calgary, and our floor had always prided itself on an open visitation policy. Having a baby is a huge moment in a person’s life, and patients do better with support from family and friends. The only other time we’d had to restrict visitors was during the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020. Before long, things got so bad that our entire unit relocated to another hospital for a few months while our space was held for an anticipated surge of seriously ill people.

At the time, patients and families were scared and confused; we physicians, nurses, clerks, lab staff, and cleaners were worried and burnt out, constantly bracing for what might come next, and we were sometimes sick ourselves. Though COVID-19 administered a collective whipping, vaccination and other public health measures eventually shaped the pandemic into something manageable.

Years later, those memories remain raw, and it can still feel like we’re only just blinking into a post-pandemic dawn. Now it was measles—a disease my colleagues and I once spoke of in the past tense, declared eradicated in Canada a generation ago. And one that, just last week ....

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