Canada
How Trump's “America First” policy could affect Canada
Canada's economy could be in for a bumpy ride, as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump threatens to slap aggressive tariffs on Canadian imports. Trump is also vowing to renegotiate the United State-Canada-Mexico Agreement (USMCA), which is up for review in 2026. On Global National Mackenzie Gray explains how a possible trade war could spell trouble on both sides of the Canadian-American border and how critics say Canada should respond.
Internal report describes a 'cesspool of racism' in the federal public service
"Crucially, Black women detailed workplace conflicts so severe that they led to chronic depression, the use of antidepressant medications, and suicide attempts," the report says. The report also documents instances of Black public servants being called the N-word at work, sexual assaults and even threats of physical violence. It also raises concerns about internal complaint processes being weaponized against Black executives.
Unions warn of job and service cuts as federal departments given Nov. 20 deadline to find savings
Federal departments recently received individualized letters from Ms. Anand with specific targets for spending reductions. The Globe and Mail has obtained a copy of the letter’s general wording but not the specific targets for each department. 🎁 link.
The Provinces
Learning French in Quebec Just Got Harder
Last-minute changes, outdated textbooks, and financial aid cuts are some of the many challenges immigrants face in learning French.
Affordability or bust: Nova Scotia election campaign all about cost of living
And while the health system is still struggling — more than 145,114 people are waiting for a family doctor — the affordability crisis has moved up the list of priorities for voters to compete with health care for the top issue ahead of the Nov. 26 election.
Elsewhere
Zelenskyy says 10,000 North Koreans could join Russian forces in Ukraine as he pushes 'victory plan'
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his government has intelligence information that 10,000 troops from North Korea are being prepared to join Russian forces fighting against his country, warning that a third nation wading into the hostilities would turn the conflict into a “world war.”
Elon Musk joined Trump's call with Zelensky
Three sources briefed on the call all told Axios that Zelensky felt the call went well and that it did not increase his anxiety about Trump's victory. One source said it "didn't leave Zelensky with a feeling of despair." So here we go: Bizarre ways of conducting diplomacy ....
Leader of the free world has never been a role Trump has embraced. The world has gotten the message
Not so under President-elect Donald Trump, a critic of many existing U.S. alliances, whose win of a second term this week had close European partners calling for a new era of self-reliance not dependent on American goodwill. “We must not delegate forever our security to America,” French President Emmanuel Macron said at a European summit Thursday.
They split the ticket. Meet the abortion rights voters who also went for Trump
Data from a large survey of U.S. voters found that a significant subset of voters who supported abortion rights ballot measures also voted for Trump.
Peru and China to sign strengthened free-trade agreement in Xi's APEC visit
[Peru Foreign] Minister Elmer Schialer said the Chinese president would travel to Peru with a delegation of 400 business people interested in investing in infrastructure and technology projects in the country.
The End of the End
James Brooke-Smith Even as the neo-liberal consensus frays, mainstream politics keeps on serving up the unappetizing choice between bland technocrats and populist frauds. In place of a potential new politics of inequality, we get posturing blowhards and endless culture wars. Interesting essay here
Media
Slain journalist Michelle Lang remembered in new book
On Dec. 30, 2009, Lang and four Canadian soldiers were killed after roadside bomb detonated in Afghanistan. The then-35-year-old had been in the midst of a six-week assignment for the Calgary Herald and Canwest News Service. Lang, one of a steady rotation of media personnel to be embedded with the Canadian military, became the first and only Canadian journalist to die in the two-decade-long war.
The F-Word
David Marks Shribman reviews At A Loss for Words: Conversation in an Age of Rage by Carol Off: "This kind of tug-of-war over the word [freedom] is not exclusively an American phenomenon. Pierre Poilievre, the leader of the Conservative Party in a country whose governing class struggled to understand the meaning of the so‑called Freedom Convoy, is on record saying, “Together, we will make Canadians the freest people on earth ..."
Science and tech
The Coming Collision Between Whales and Tankers on British Columbia’s Coast
Decades after they were hunted to local extinction, fin whales are recovering in the Kitimat fjord system—only to be threatened by a booming LNG industry. Sit down and enjoy this 5,000-word long read.
First satellite made of wood makes it to space
LignoSat's wooden satellite is offering a greener alternative for the industry
The Calendar
- Edmonton, - Deputy PM and Fin Min Chrystia Freeland speaks at a Ukrainian Canadian Congress event.
- 1200 ET: Burnaby, BC - NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh joins a picket line.
- Edmonton, - Deputy PM and Fin Min Chrystia Freeland meets with energy sector leaders about the U.S. presidential election.
Yesterday
- Vancouver, - PM Trudeau met with Premier David Eby
