Canada
Joly believes diplomacy could stop U.S. tariffs, but Trump ‘unpredictable’
Canada's foreign minister said Ottawa as well as the provinces and territories are working on both preventing tariffs and a potential response if those tariffs happen on Feb. 1.
Trudeau to fill Senate vacancies before retiring: source
The move would allow him to leave a mark on Parliament for years to come, as these unelected legislators will be able to sit until the age of 75.
Leadership race renews interest in Liberals - particularly under Carney - but CPC still leads comfortably
The Liberals with Carney at the helm perform better than the party under Freeland in these theoretical situations. Carney appears to be siphoning off more NDP support (which drops to 13%), while Freeland does elevate the party higher than it was under Trudeau (16%) prior to his resignation. However, neither have done much to blunt the proportion of likely CPC voters, which was 45 per cent at the end of 2024.
Élections fédérales 2025 | Kristina Michaud ne sera pas candidate
Kristina Michaud terminera son mandat, mais cette annonce force le Bloc québécois à trouver rapidement un nouveau candidat dans cette circonscription où il espérait déloger la ministre Lebouthillier, alors que des élections pourraient être déclenchées dans un peu plus d’un mois. Les libéraux doivent choisir un nouveau chef le 9 mars pour remplacer le premier ministre Justin Trudeau, qui a annoncé sa démission. La personne élue pourrait décider de déclencher des élections fédérales au lieu de faire face à un vote de confiance après la fin de la prorogation le 24 mars. Wow. The day after I posted a notice in this newsletter that Michaud would take on the Liberal fisheries minister in the Gaspé, Michaud announces that, at the age of 31 and about to be a mom for the first time, she's out.
Canada’s foreign interference inquiry report lands Tuesday. What to know
After nearly 16 months of work, the foreign interference commission's final report will be made public. Here's what the report could contain.
Pedneault intends to become co-leader of the Greens again after six-month pause
Pedneault, who has worked for both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, says he chose to quit as co-leader after getting ''life altering news'' about his health.
The Provinces
Alberta doctors criticize provincial COVID-19 report as harmful 'anti-science'
Dr. Shelley Duggan, head of the Alberta Medical Association, says the report sows distrust by going against proven preventive health measures while promoting fringe methods. She says the report is "anti-science and anti-evidence," and its recommendations have the potential to cause harm.
Manitoba conservation officers tasked with helping border patrol amid Trump threat
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew's plan includes having conservation officers help with border surveillance along with their existing duties, such as fighting poaching. Kinew said conservation officers are being asked to focus on secondary roads and backcountry areas within their existing regions.
Ontario election: NDP says it would initiate purchase of Hwy. 407, remove tolls
Ontario’s NDP is promising to remove tolls from the privately owned Highway 407 and initiate a potential purchase of the highway in a pre-election pitch to voters.
Ontario NDP rejects MPP Sarah Jama's bid to rejoin caucus
Hamilton MPP Sarah Jama says she will run as an Independent in the next election after the Ontario NDP rejected her bid to rejoin the party.
Three seeking Wellington-Halton Hills PC nomination
There are three nominees looking to potentially fill the big shoes being left by Ted Arnott in provincial politics. The riding association will hold a vote on Feb. 15 in Rockwood.
Elsewhere
Trump To Tariff Chips Made In Taiwan, Targeting TSMC
The tariffs would ensnare cutting-edge smartphone and PC-related chips for Apple, AMD and Nvidia if enacted. But Trump is betting his plan will bring more chip production to the US. As Minister Champagne keeps telling us, 80% of the chips made in the US are packaged and verified in Canada. So think of this crazy tax on American business: Pay a huge tax on chips made in Taiwan coming to the US, then the might go north, get packaged and verified and, after another 25% tax -- all these taxes are paid by Americans -- it gets back into the United States.
Behind the Colombia Blowup: Mapping Trump’s Rapid-Escalation Tactics
There were no Situation Room meetings and no quiet calls to de-escalate a dispute with an ally. Just threats, counterthreats, surrender and an indication of the president’s approach to Greenland and Panama. Great analysis from David Sanger here (🎁 link)
As Trump ratchets up Greenland bid, Danish PM says Nordic leaders are united
Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has repeatedly made it clear that Greenland is not for sale, despite Trump's insistence that he plans to 'get' the territory.
Media
Inside a network of AI-generated newsletters targeting “small town America”
It turns out Good Day Fort Collins is just one in a network of AI-generated newsletters operating in 355 cities and towns across the U.S. Not only do these hundreds of newsletters share the same exact seven testimonials, they also share the same branding, the same copy on their about pages, and the same stated mission: “to make local news more accessible and highlight extraordinary people in our community.”
“Aren’t we all journalists?” Citizen journalism, disinformation and the weaponization of social media in conflict torn Mali
Under conditions of the growing conflict in Mali, citizen journalists are opening Twitter (rebranded as X) accounts to stay updated and tweet about the ongoing socio-political tensions, chronicling life in a conflict-ravaged context. This article conceptualizes the rapid reliance on Twitter among citizen journalists consisting of bloggers, activists, government officials and NGO’s as a form of networked conflict and networked journalism. Networked journalism emerges as professional journalists adopt tools and techniques used by nonprofessionals (and vice versa) to gather and disseminate information while networked conflict involves the consequential and intricate relationship between social media and conflict in the Sahel region of Africa. Our findings show that Twitter is a source of action that promotes and mediates conflict, which exposes users to conflict-related content. The findings also show that what accounts for citizen journalism in a conflict setting is vague as those with access to Twitter and as such, the presumed ability to influence the narrative, unequivocally consider themselves citizen journalists.
Reader Notes
Important note for those Patreon supporters
A subscriber who helps support this newsletter with a monthly contribution via Patreon wrote me the following Monday:
"Over the weekend I got a $XX charge to my credit card from “Adyen Canada”. No idea who or what that is ...
Turns out that Adyen is a financial services/transaction/point of sale company that lots of merchants use. With a little digging, I was able to find out that the transaction was on behalf of Patreon Ireland Ltd for my [contribution to The Roundup]
In previous months, that $XX always showed up on my card as Patreon…Now it’s appearing as Adyen Canada. I guess Patreon must now be using them to process transactions?"
I have since sent Patreon an inquiry asking to confirm that this is what will show on the credit cards of my Canadian subscribers.
A reminder that we've now got 1,900+ subscribers to this thing and there are some costs associated with sending out 50,000+ e-mails a month. The costs of doing so are offset with contributions from sponsors like our friends at Aurora Strategy Global and from many generous readers who are also chipping in.
But we could use a few more contributors (or sponsors like Aurora for that matter. Interested? Send me an e-mail ). You can help keep this newsletter going with a monthly pledge -- Just $5 would do it -- via Patreon or, if you want to make a one-time donation, send an e-transfer to jda@davidakin.com. Thanks for all your help!
Science and tech
Nvidia Responds to Getting Hit in Face With Shovel
Nvidia, which develops and sells the chips AI companies use to train their increasingly compute-intensive models, has chosen the high road — even after the startup eviscerated its stock. "DeepSeek is an excellent AI advancement and a perfect example of Test Time Scaling," an Nvidia spokesperson told CNBC today.
The multifaceted challenge of powering AI
U.S. data centers consumed more than 4 percent of the country’s total electricity in 2023, and by 2030 that fraction could rise to 9 percent, according to the Electric Power Research Institute. A single large data center can consume as much electricity as 50,000 homes. The sudden need for so many data centers presents a massive challenge to the technology and energy industries, government policymakers, and everyday consumers.
The Calendar
- 0300: Kraków, Poland - PM Trudeau departs for Warsaw, Poland.
- 060 ET: Warsaw, Poland - PM Trudeau meets with Poland Prime Minister Donald Tusk and speaks to reporters.
- 0800 ET: Guelph, ON - Innovation Min François-Philippe Champagne makes a funding announcement
- 1000 ET: NPT - Veterans Affairs Min Darren Fisher launches the Women Veterans Council.
- 1100 ET: Ottawa - LPC MP Mona Fortier speaks about Winterlude.
- 1100 ET: Regina, SK - Energy and Natural Resources Min Jonathan Wilkinson makes a funding announcement
- 1100 ET: Sudbury, ON - LPC MP Viviane Lapointe makes a funding announcement.
- 1130 ET: New Liskeard, ON - LPC MP Anthony Rota makes a funding announcement
- 1200 ET: Warsaw, Poland: PM Trudeau departs for Ottawa.
- 1345 ET: Burnaby, BC - NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh speaks about the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference.
- 1730 ET: Vancouver: NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh meets with Premier David Eby.
