Canada's National Observer
@nationalobserver.com
Canada's National Observer (CNO) delivers vital reporting on the defining crisis of our time: climate change. Through rigorous investigation and compelling storytelling, we expose the forces shaping Canada's climate future.
The president has openly coveted Venezuelan oil. In 2023, Trump said: “When I left [office], Venezuela was ready to collapse. We would have taken it over. We would have gotten all that oil.”
Canada should learn the lessons from intervention in Libya, Owen Schalk argues.
Canada should learn the lessons from intervention in Libya, Owen Schalk argues.
As Trump threatens Venezuela and Nigeria, Libya offers lessons in resource wars
As Trump continues to threaten the principles of sovereignty and independence across the world, with Canada firmly in his sights, our country can’t afford to ignore what was learned from intervention ...
www.nationalobserver.com
December 15, 2025 at 5:19 PM
The president has openly coveted Venezuelan oil. In 2023, Trump said: “When I left [office], Venezuela was ready to collapse. We would have taken it over. We would have gotten all that oil.”
Canada should learn the lessons from intervention in Libya, Owen Schalk argues.
Canada should learn the lessons from intervention in Libya, Owen Schalk argues.
Last March, I spent a month chasing Poilievre's campaign across 6 provinces. Despite being within 10 meters, his handlers never let me ask a question.
That silence was the story. Help us keep reporting what matters—$250k by Dec 25.
www.nationalobserver.com/2025/12/06/o...
That silence was the story. Help us keep reporting what matters—$250k by Dec 25.
www.nationalobserver.com/2025/12/06/o...
What I learned spending a month chasing Poilievre
www.nationalobserver.com
December 13, 2025 at 1:25 AM
Last March, I spent a month chasing Poilievre's campaign across 6 provinces. Despite being within 10 meters, his handlers never let me ask a question.
That silence was the story. Help us keep reporting what matters—$250k by Dec 25.
www.nationalobserver.com/2025/12/06/o...
That silence was the story. Help us keep reporting what matters—$250k by Dec 25.
www.nationalobserver.com/2025/12/06/o...
Reposted by Canada's National Observer
Ford's $80B mega-highway won't fix GTA gridlock: report @nationalobserver.com www.nationalobserver.com/2025/12/12/a...
Ford's $80B mega-highway won't fix GTA gridlock: report
Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s three planned mega-highway projects could cost $80 billion and would make congestion worse — not better — while increasing air pollution, a new report suggests.
www.nationalobserver.com
December 12, 2025 at 6:29 PM
Ford's $80B mega-highway won't fix GTA gridlock: report @nationalobserver.com www.nationalobserver.com/2025/12/12/a...
Reposted by Canada's National Observer
Anyway, the only way to get trustworthy news is to pick a source you trust and pay.
I like @nationalobserver.com for Canadian news, @aftermath.site for games culture stuff & @404media.co for tech.
If an outlet uses AI for anything public-facing, run. Sorry @washingtonpost.com, you're dead.
I like @nationalobserver.com for Canadian news, @aftermath.site for games culture stuff & @404media.co for tech.
If an outlet uses AI for anything public-facing, run. Sorry @washingtonpost.com, you're dead.
December 12, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Anyway, the only way to get trustworthy news is to pick a source you trust and pay.
I like @nationalobserver.com for Canadian news, @aftermath.site for games culture stuff & @404media.co for tech.
If an outlet uses AI for anything public-facing, run. Sorry @washingtonpost.com, you're dead.
I like @nationalobserver.com for Canadian news, @aftermath.site for games culture stuff & @404media.co for tech.
If an outlet uses AI for anything public-facing, run. Sorry @washingtonpost.com, you're dead.
BREAKING: Another Conservative has left the party.
Michael Ma, MP for the Ontario riding of Markham–Unionville, said he had joined the Liberals in a late Thursday announcement. www.nationalobserver.com/2025/12/11/n...
Michael Ma, MP for the Ontario riding of Markham–Unionville, said he had joined the Liberals in a late Thursday announcement. www.nationalobserver.com/2025/12/11/n...
Conservative MP Michael Ma crosses floor to Liberals
Ma is the second MP switch parties to join Mark Carney's government this fall.
www.nationalobserver.com
December 11, 2025 at 11:42 PM
BREAKING: Another Conservative has left the party.
Michael Ma, MP for the Ontario riding of Markham–Unionville, said he had joined the Liberals in a late Thursday announcement. www.nationalobserver.com/2025/12/11/n...
Michael Ma, MP for the Ontario riding of Markham–Unionville, said he had joined the Liberals in a late Thursday announcement. www.nationalobserver.com/2025/12/11/n...
Municipal meetings are where climate policy gets decided—but who can watch them all?
Civic Searchlight transcribes & indexes local government meetings across Canada. Already uncovering major stories on data centres, disinfo, pipeline taxes.
Help us expand: www.nationalobserver.com/2025/12/11/o...
Civic Searchlight transcribes & indexes local government meetings across Canada. Already uncovering major stories on data centres, disinfo, pipeline taxes.
Help us expand: www.nationalobserver.com/2025/12/11/o...
Something amazing
Name a major media outlet in this country and I guarantee you someone there is using Civic Searchlight. Major national institutions, including federal government departments, have signed on. Universit...
www.nationalobserver.com
December 11, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Municipal meetings are where climate policy gets decided—but who can watch them all?
Civic Searchlight transcribes & indexes local government meetings across Canada. Already uncovering major stories on data centres, disinfo, pipeline taxes.
Help us expand: www.nationalobserver.com/2025/12/11/o...
Civic Searchlight transcribes & indexes local government meetings across Canada. Already uncovering major stories on data centres, disinfo, pipeline taxes.
Help us expand: www.nationalobserver.com/2025/12/11/o...
“It is wildly expensive to maintain this kind of infrastructure. And if you build this road, a couple of hundred kilometers long, and a port, and no one is using it, then how are the territories going to pay to maintain it? This can easily become a burden on their finances instead of a boon."
Who really benefits from the Arctic Corridor?
Ottawa’s vision for a billion-dollar “Arctic Security Corridor” is stirring both hope and hesitation in northern Canada.
www.nationalobserver.com
December 11, 2025 at 5:29 PM
“It is wildly expensive to maintain this kind of infrastructure. And if you build this road, a couple of hundred kilometers long, and a port, and no one is using it, then how are the territories going to pay to maintain it? This can easily become a burden on their finances instead of a boon."
Reposted by Canada's National Observer
What @jameswsthomson.com says! Join our outstanding team for anine month opportunity. Improve your skills with talented colleagues who will support, encourage and inspire you (and sometimes make you laugh!). Ideally, you're based in Vancouver or Ottawa for this position.
We're hiring for a nine-month contract covering federal politics! Posting coming soon, but don't hesitate to reach out if you're interested — jimmy at nationalobserver dotcom
December 11, 2025 at 4:47 PM
What @jameswsthomson.com says! Join our outstanding team for anine month opportunity. Improve your skills with talented colleagues who will support, encourage and inspire you (and sometimes make you laugh!). Ideally, you're based in Vancouver or Ottawa for this position.
For a guy who calls himself a "utilities guy," a data centre in space seems like a big step.
Solar player PowerBank's boss looks to the final frontier
After 15 years, the Toronto-based renewables developer set up by former Enbridge executive Richard Lu to build community-scale solar projects is branching out — and launching a first space data centre...
www.nationalobserver.com
December 11, 2025 at 5:18 PM
For a guy who calls himself a "utilities guy," a data centre in space seems like a big step.
Reposted by Canada's National Observer
This summer in Toronto could be the last without a bylaw requiring landlords to keep rental units at a safe temperature during increasingly hot summers. Mayor Olivia Chow called for the drafting of a max temperature policy by this upcoming summer + implementation in 2027. For @nationalobserver.com
Toronto Mayor Chow calls for protections to keep tenants safe in extreme heat
Mayor Olivia Chow has requested the drafting of a new bylaw that would require landlords to keep rental units cool in the city's increasingly hot summers, just as heat is required in the winter.
www.nationalobserver.com
December 10, 2025 at 7:15 PM
This summer in Toronto could be the last without a bylaw requiring landlords to keep rental units at a safe temperature during increasingly hot summers. Mayor Olivia Chow called for the drafting of a max temperature policy by this upcoming summer + implementation in 2027. For @nationalobserver.com
Reposted by Canada's National Observer
Remember Ostrich Osheaga?
When a bunch of far-right convoy influencers, health nuts, antivaxxers and even RFK Jr himself waged war on the Canada Food Inspection Agency over an ostrich cull?
Well, my friends at @nationalobserver.com got some wild insider info on the impact of this harassment:
When a bunch of far-right convoy influencers, health nuts, antivaxxers and even RFK Jr himself waged war on the Canada Food Inspection Agency over an ostrich cull?
Well, my friends at @nationalobserver.com got some wild insider info on the impact of this harassment:
December 10, 2025 at 7:28 PM
Remember Ostrich Osheaga?
When a bunch of far-right convoy influencers, health nuts, antivaxxers and even RFK Jr himself waged war on the Canada Food Inspection Agency over an ostrich cull?
Well, my friends at @nationalobserver.com got some wild insider info on the impact of this harassment:
When a bunch of far-right convoy influencers, health nuts, antivaxxers and even RFK Jr himself waged war on the Canada Food Inspection Agency over an ostrich cull?
Well, my friends at @nationalobserver.com got some wild insider info on the impact of this harassment:
Following one of the hottest summers on record in Toronto, Mayor Olivia Chow is calling for the policy and aiming to implement it by 2027, @cloelogan.bsky.social reports.
Toronto Mayor Chow calls for protections to keep tenants safe in extreme heat
Mayor Olivia Chow has requested the drafting of a new bylaw that would require landlords to keep rental units cool in the city's increasingly hot summers, just as heat is required in the winter.
www.nationalobserver.com
December 10, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Following one of the hottest summers on record in Toronto, Mayor Olivia Chow is calling for the policy and aiming to implement it by 2027, @cloelogan.bsky.social reports.
Reposted by Canada's National Observer
There are still people cutting Carney all kinds of slack on the climate front. But I now think I was naïve to believe Carney would support Trudeau-style, regulatory climate policy. www.nationalobserver.com/2025/12/10/o...
Mark Carney is making a cynic out of me
What to do in a political ecosystem where, for anyone concerned about climate change or whose politics run even slightly left of centre, there is precious little choice?
www.nationalobserver.com
December 10, 2025 at 2:26 PM
There are still people cutting Carney all kinds of slack on the climate front. But I now think I was naïve to believe Carney would support Trudeau-style, regulatory climate policy. www.nationalobserver.com/2025/12/10/o...
Canada's climate policy is backsliding—carbon price gone, emissions cap at risk, 2030 targets in jeopardy. This is why independent climate journalism matters. Help fund this work: $250K goal by Dec 25. www.nationalobserver.com/2025/12/09/o...
When Ottawa won't talk climate, we dig deeper
Getting our hands on the right documents takes time, teamwork and resources — and your support makes this work possible.
www.nationalobserver.com
December 10, 2025 at 1:30 AM
Canada's climate policy is backsliding—carbon price gone, emissions cap at risk, 2030 targets in jeopardy. This is why independent climate journalism matters. Help fund this work: $250K goal by Dec 25. www.nationalobserver.com/2025/12/09/o...
Reposted by Canada's National Observer
Here's my latest for @nationalobserver.com on how dumb the entire debate on Bill C-9 (hate speech legislation) has been www.nationalobserver.com/2025/12/09/o...
Conservatives choose rage-bait over real debate on hate speech
The party's criticisms of an agreement between the Liberals and Bloc Québécois on Bill C-9 could have been legitimate and substantive. Instead, they chose to rile up their supporters by lying to them.
www.nationalobserver.com
December 9, 2025 at 6:31 PM
Here's my latest for @nationalobserver.com on how dumb the entire debate on Bill C-9 (hate speech legislation) has been www.nationalobserver.com/2025/12/09/o...
Three Liberal ministers are maintaining the Liberal caucus is united — despite the recent resignation of former cabinet minister Steven Guilbeault and discontent among BC Liberal MPs whose constituents balk at the idea of a pipeline to BC’s coast.
Federal ministers claim Liberal caucus is united on pipeline agreement despite public disagreements
At a chaotic press conference this morning, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Tim Hodgson and Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Nature Julie Dabrusin were pressed repeatedly on the ca...
www.nationalobserver.com
December 9, 2025 at 8:06 PM
Three Liberal ministers are maintaining the Liberal caucus is united — despite the recent resignation of former cabinet minister Steven Guilbeault and discontent among BC Liberal MPs whose constituents balk at the idea of a pipeline to BC’s coast.
You’re one of the stubborn ones who refuse to let climate change fall off the radar — even when governments backslide, the news media obfuscate and the Big Fossils throw their weight around. www.nationalobserver.com/2025/12/07/o...
Can I call you obstinate?
In a year when so many people feel overwhelmed or checked out, you’re here. And you’re still insisting that journalism tell the truth about what’s happening to our world. That kind of stubbornness kee...
www.nationalobserver.com
December 9, 2025 at 12:59 AM
You’re one of the stubborn ones who refuse to let climate change fall off the radar — even when governments backslide, the news media obfuscate and the Big Fossils throw their weight around. www.nationalobserver.com/2025/12/07/o...
Reposted by Canada's National Observer
There’s an AI-powered conspiracy machine selling ‘Truthwear’ merch to Canadians, and my friends at the National Observer unmasked the person profiting from this account.
The story shows what happens when people are given incentives to publish fake information, at scale, all with the help of AI:
The story shows what happens when people are given incentives to publish fake information, at scale, all with the help of AI:
December 8, 2025 at 7:36 PM
There’s an AI-powered conspiracy machine selling ‘Truthwear’ merch to Canadians, and my friends at the National Observer unmasked the person profiting from this account.
The story shows what happens when people are given incentives to publish fake information, at scale, all with the help of AI:
The story shows what happens when people are given incentives to publish fake information, at scale, all with the help of AI:
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency locked down its social media accounts for weeks this spring because of a "spike in online abuse and threats," including "unauthorized sharing of employee images and deepfake content" prompted by the agency's ostrich cull.
Ostrich deepfakes and online threats forced agency to lock social media
The onslaught came immediately after a federal court judge ruled in May the agency could cull a herd of ostriches in Edgewood, BC, to control an avian flu outbreak. That court ruling fueled a months-l...
www.nationalobserver.com
December 8, 2025 at 7:03 PM
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency locked down its social media accounts for weeks this spring because of a "spike in online abuse and threats," including "unauthorized sharing of employee images and deepfake content" prompted by the agency's ostrich cull.
Reposted by Canada's National Observer
Ostrich deepfakes and online threats forced agency to lock social media www.nationalobserver.com/2025/12/08/n... via @nationalobserver.com
Me: "...without a social media presence that presents facts and justification, spin and misinformation can shape public discourse."
Me: "...without a social media presence that presents facts and justification, spin and misinformation can shape public discourse."
Ostrich deepfakes and online threats forced agency to lock social media
The onslaught came immediately after a federal court judge ruled in May the agency could cull a herd of ostriches in Edgewood, BC, to control an avian flu outbreak. That court ruling fueled a months-l...
www.nationalobserver.com
December 8, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Ostrich deepfakes and online threats forced agency to lock social media www.nationalobserver.com/2025/12/08/n... via @nationalobserver.com
Me: "...without a social media presence that presents facts and justification, spin and misinformation can shape public discourse."
Me: "...without a social media presence that presents facts and justification, spin and misinformation can shape public discourse."
Reposted by Canada's National Observer
Employment in oil and gas is in terminal decline and won’t be saved no matter what Carney and Smith cook up, according to new research from the Centre for Future Work provided exclusively to @nationalobserver.com.
The only responsible choice for governments is to plan for the transition.
The only responsible choice for governments is to plan for the transition.
Exclusive: Fossil fuel workers won’t be saved by Carney’s oil and gas boosterism
A new pipeline won’t lead to new jobs in the oil and gas sector, and the only question for government officials is whether or not to plan for the inevitable energy transition, according to new researc...
www.nationalobserver.com
December 8, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Employment in oil and gas is in terminal decline and won’t be saved no matter what Carney and Smith cook up, according to new research from the Centre for Future Work provided exclusively to @nationalobserver.com.
The only responsible choice for governments is to plan for the transition.
The only responsible choice for governments is to plan for the transition.
Mutinni began directing users to a Shopify website, selling $50 T-shirts branded as “Truthwear.” “You’re not just buying clothes — you’re claiming a piece of the rebellion,” it told followers.
The company has built followings in the hundreds of thousands using AI to pump conspiracy theories.
The company has built followings in the hundreds of thousands using AI to pump conspiracy theories.
Inside the AI-powered conspiracy machine selling ‘Truthwear’ to Canadians
Multiple researchers told Canada’s National Observer that conspiracy companies like Mutinni are the inevitable result of artificial intelligence colliding with the attention economy. Social media algo...
www.nationalobserver.com
December 8, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Mutinni began directing users to a Shopify website, selling $50 T-shirts branded as “Truthwear.” “You’re not just buying clothes — you’re claiming a piece of the rebellion,” it told followers.
The company has built followings in the hundreds of thousands using AI to pump conspiracy theories.
The company has built followings in the hundreds of thousands using AI to pump conspiracy theories.
Reposted by Canada's National Observer
Thanks to Front Burner and @jaymepoisson.bsky.social for having @maxfawcett.bsky.social and myself on to sort through what to make of Carney’s climate retreats. Crucial topic right now.
Mark Carney: climate friend or foe? | Front Burner | CBC Podcasts | CBC Listen
In 2015, as governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney’s ‘Tragedy of the Horizons’ speech made waves in the global climate community. It was seen as a landmark call for the financial sector to recog...
www.cbc.ca
December 5, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Thanks to Front Burner and @jaymepoisson.bsky.social for having @maxfawcett.bsky.social and myself on to sort through what to make of Carney’s climate retreats. Crucial topic right now.
Reposted by Canada's National Observer
Had fun on CBC Front Burner chatting with my colleague @woodsideful.bsky.social and Jayme Poisson about the MOU heard 'round the country -- and whether Mark Carney is a climate friend or foe.
Listen here:
www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-p...
Listen here:
www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-p...
Mark Carney: climate friend or foe? | Front Burner | CBC Podcasts | CBC Listen
In 2015, as governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney’s ‘Tragedy of the Horizons’ speech made waves in the global climate community. It was seen as a landmark call for the financial sector to recog...
www.cbc.ca
December 5, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Had fun on CBC Front Burner chatting with my colleague @woodsideful.bsky.social and Jayme Poisson about the MOU heard 'round the country -- and whether Mark Carney is a climate friend or foe.
Listen here:
www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-p...
Listen here:
www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-p...
NEW: Hundreds of public servants are being let go at federal agencies that monitor climate risks, @natashabulowski.bsky.social reports
Cuts at Natural Resources Canada ‘decimate’ wildfire and flood tracking capacity, unions warn
Carney's cuts have hit Natural Resources Canada, causing uproar from public sector unions warning the layoffs will hurt Canada's ability to respond to cliamte change and protect Canadians from wildfir...
www.nationalobserver.com
December 5, 2025 at 8:00 PM
NEW: Hundreds of public servants are being let go at federal agencies that monitor climate risks, @natashabulowski.bsky.social reports