The Provinces
B.C.’s election sits on a knife edge with several races too close to call
As of 10:45 p.m. (Pacific) , the BC NDP were leading or elected in 46 seats, the BC Conservatives were leading or elected in 45 seats, and the Greens were leading or elected in two seats. The NDP had 44.55 per cent of the popular vote, compared to 43.53 for the BC Conservatives and 8.28 for the BC Green Party. Apologies for the late newsletter today -- but I stayed up very late back in the East to watch this deadlock unfold.
BC Conservatives post massive gains across Lower Mainland
As of late Saturday night it remains unclear who would prevail in B.C.'s provincial election, but one thing was clear: the NDP lost major ground in the Lower Mainland.
B.C. election: Furstenau loses riding but Greens leading in 2 seats
Furstenau's loss puts the Greens in a tough position: potentially holding the balance of power in the legislature but having to choose a new leader between a pair of newcomers.
BC Election Results: A lot of what-ifs on road to inconclusive result
Vaughn Palmer: Missteps by all three major party leaders played a hand in a result that leaves people to wonder who will govern B.C.
Where was Higgs?
New Brunswickers vote Monday. For the final Saturday of the campaign, the incumbent PCs issued a media advisory that said PC leader and Premier Blaine Higgs "will visit ridings from Bathurst to Carleton County" but did not say where or when those visits would take place making it impossible for media to report on what he says/does/crowd size because as the media advisory said: "No media events scheduled."
Attached above is the media advisory for the final day of the campaign, on Sunday. The vote is Monday.
Strange way to campaign -- but this is what conservatives in Alberta did, holding campaign events for their own benefit and their own social feeds and keeping the media away. Wait a minute! The NB PC campaign has the same campaign manager as that successful UCP campaign that elected Danielle Smith: Steve Outhouse.
The NB Liberal leader, Susan Holt, is going from south to north on NB Route 11 for the last day of her campaign. From the NBLA media advisory:
- 8:30 a.m.: Breakfast with Scott Grant at Homestead Restaurant - Riverview
- 9:45 a.m.: Café Codiac with Claire Johnson - Moncton
- 11:45 a.m. : Saint-Antoine Fall Colours Festival with Lyne Chantal Boudreau
- 1:00 p.m. : Lafiouk Diner with Pat Finnigan - Kouchibouguac
- 3:00 p.m.: Creative Grounds Café with Veronique Arsenault - Miramichi
- 7:00 p.m.: Rally with the candidates - Royal Canadian Legion - Neguac
-DA
Provincial election speculation ramps up as Houston, Churchill accuse each other of lying
With speculation of an early provincial election call mounting, Liberal Leader Zach Churchill and Premier Tim Houston both suggested on Thursday that the other was a liar looking to mislead the public in pursuit of votes. The source of the dispute is the latest fundraising flyer from the Progressive Conservative Party, a "Tim or Trudeau" carbon tax survey. It's everywhere: If you're a conservative party in this country -- federal or provincial -- you can't get enough of tying your opponent to Trudeau. Very well documented in BC, AB, SK, MB, ON, NB, and NL -- this is the first instance I'm aware of in NS.
Le PLQ exhorte à nouveau la CAQ à nommer un directeur parlementaire du budget
À l’aube d’une nouvelle mise à jour économique, l’opposition libérale réclame à nouveau au gouvernement du Québec l’institution d’un directeur parlementaire du budget (DPB). Le porte-parole de l’opposition en matière d’institutions démocratiques, Monsef Derraji, dit qu’il « s’inquiète beaucoup » du fait que de mars 2023 au 2 octobre dernier, le déficit annoncé est passé de 4 milliards à 8 milliards. Good idea from the PLQ
Elsewhere
Ukraine’s ‘victory plan’ receives mixed reactions from Western allies
The “victory plan” that Zelenskyy outlined at home and abroad includes a formal invitation for Ukraine to join NATO and permission to use Western long-range missiles to strike military targets in Russia — two steps Kyiv’s allies have been reluctant to support before.
Judges punishing Jan. 6 rioters fear more political violence as election nears
Some judges frequently express concerns during sentencing hearings for the hundreds of Capitol riot cases. “That sore loser is saying the same things he said before,” [one judge] said earlier this month without mentioning the Republican presidential nominee by name. “He’s riling up the troops again, so if he doesn’t get what he wants, it’s not inconceivable that we will experience that same situation again. And who knows? It could be worse."
Noncitizen voting is central to Republicans' election claims
Donald Trump and his allies have zeroed in on the baseless claim that Democrats are encouraging newly arrived migrants to vote for them in the 2024 election. There is no evidence of a plot like this.
Putin declines to attend Brazil summit due to arrest warrant
"We understand what is happening around Russia. I have wonderful friendly relations with President Lula. Why should I go there to disrupt the normal functioning of this forum? Even without the ICC, the discussions would only focus on this issue. We would essentially disrupt the work of G20, why do that?" President said.
Media
CIA and Time Magazine: Journalistic Ethics and Newsroom Dissent
Diplomatic History This article provides evidence for the first time of a systematic policy of direct collusion between the Time Inc. media empire and the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). For the first two decades of the Cold War, both Time and Life magazines established policies that provided the CIA with access to their foreign correspondents, their dispatches and research files, and their vast photographic archive that the magazines had accumulated to accompany their stories. Kind of a bombshell journal article here ...
Report: Republicans Are Ditching Meta and Alphabet for Programmatic Ads in 2024 Campaigns
The Wesleyan Media Project concludes, “some Republican-aligned spending may have migrated to other platforms.” It’s noteworthy that Republicans are opting for programmatic placements because vendors see these buys as a way for campaigns and groups to fill in the targeting from their TV spends.
Billboards and Other OOH Inventory Await Last-Minute Ad Spend
“So out of home (OOH) remains a no-brainer for us: the CPMs are reasonable and people actually ‘notice’ billboards,” she said. “Can’t really say that about digital ads or broadcast TV.”
Science and tech
Solar-powered desalination system requires no extra batteries
Because it doesn’t need expensive energy storage for times without sunshine, the technology could provide communities with drinking water at low costs.
DJI Air 3S review: LiDAR and improved image quality make for a nearly faultless drone
In his Installer newsletter, David Pierce of The Verge writes: "The new midrange drone in DJI’s lineup has a bunch of nice upgrades but really only one purpose: to work well in the dark. The 3S is built to fly safer, capture better images, and return home more easily, all without being able to see very well. It sounds very fun and also like a very good way to prank your friends. I’m just saying." The product video is stunning. Watch it here. And I realize the irony of sending you to Endgadget with this link and not The Verge but there you go. -DA
Issued this day ...
… in 1978: Sc #774: Christmas - Paintings - The Virgin and Child. Design: Jean Morin.
This is one of the trio of Christmas stamps Canada Post issued in 1978. They are all like this: A painting, several hundred years old, of the Madonna and child motif. The post office had 76 million of this one printed up — and they were definitely not commercial hits. The big sellers, Canada Post would find, are secular themed stamps — stamps with toys, Santa Claus, Xmas trees, etc.. Who wants stamps with a tiny little version of a super-serious 500-year-old Dutch masterpiece on your Christmas cards? Well, an official with Canada Post once told me, some do — nuns and such. And this one -- Virgin and Child (1472) by Hans Memling (1430-1494) -- appeals to that crowd.
Eventually Canada Post would hit upon the secret for Christmas success in this less-than-Christian era: It would issue four stamps a season with a mix of secular and religious themes. It did that first in 2005 by printing up 40 million “Snowman” stamps and a total of 35 million stamps with three different religious themes. The next year, it hit on the formula we still see today: Three secular Christmas stamps and one religious offering. And sure enough, the secular stamps are the commercial winners while the religious stamp keeps the nuns from jamming up Canada Post’s phone lines with complaints.