Robson Fletcher
@robsonfletcher.com
15K followers 3.5K following 1.1K posts
Data journalist with CBC Calgary. Views my own and subject to change, especially in light of new evidence. 📧 [email protected]
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robsonfletcher.com
Glad you read the methodology! It's important. But this type of panel-based survey is not uncommon these days. (See this FAQ from the Pew Research Centre.)

Also, CBC News independently assesses any poll results before reporting on them. (Not me, personally. We have a department that handles that.)
The American Trends Panel
What is the American Trends Panel (ATP)? The American Trends Panel is Pew Research Center’s primary source of survey data for U.S. public opinion
www.pewresearch.org
robsonfletcher.com
Hi. A genuine random sample is increasingly difficult, some might say impossible, to obtain and yet public-opinion research continues. Firms use a variety of methods these days to account for the sampling realities they face. CBC News independently assesses any poll results before reporting on them.
robsonfletcher.com
New Angus Reid poll:

A majority of Canadians support the idea of an oil pipeline from Alberta through northern B.C.

The strongest opposition, however, is in B.C.

And a plurality of Canadians say B.C. should have veto rights if its conditions aren't met.

🔗: angusreid.org/pipeline-pus...
Stacked column chart showing majority support for "the idea of an oil pipeline from Alberta to the B.C. coast travelling through northern B.C."

A majority in each province/region either support or strongly support the idea. Support is strongest in Alberta. Opposition is strongest in B.C.
robsonfletcher.com
“It might cause a bit of angst to put some of the stuff out in the public domain but, hey, we do live in a democracy,” said University of Alberta professor Darryl Hunter.

“Student-teacher ratio is a key performance indicator for any system … and people want to know what these numbers are.”
ANALYSIS | Alberta stopped tracking class sizes. Then it changed its funding formula. Now, it's a teachers' strike issue | CBC News
Get a rough idea of how much Alberta’s teaching staff has grown compared to how much student enrolment has grown since the funding formula for school boards was changed.
www.cbc.ca
robsonfletcher.com
It came with studded tires and everything!
robsonfletcher.com
One of my final interactions on Twitter was to post asking if anyone had an old bike that I could buy to use as a winter commuter.

Someone instead offered me a free bike. We learned we lived nearby. I brought him a case of beer in exchange.

I still ride that bike and we still correspond.
robsonfletcher.com
“U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for jailing Chicago's mayor and the governor of Illinois, both Democrats, as his administration prepared to deploy military troops to the streets of the third-largest U.S. city.”

Via Reuters:
www.reuters.com
robsonfletcher.com
"Grief is the loneliest journey," said Bev Brogden, whose son, Ryden, 27, was killed outside a Banff nightclub.

"Before this incident, my world was humble and happy. It made sense … suddenly I [am] in an unrecognizable world."

She was one of 75 people who provided victim impact statements:
'I became a broken man': Banff stabbing victim's father speaks at killer's sentencing hearing | CBC News
Love and grief filled a Calgary courtroom on Tuesday as the friends and family of Ryden Brogden read aloud their victim impact statements three years after he was fatally stabbed outside a Banff night...
www.cbc.ca
robsonfletcher.com
That's how police described his reaction:
Oct. 7, 2025

 

Airdrie RCMP seek public assistance in identifying suspect in hit and run of a pedestrian

 

Airdrie, Alta. – On Oct. 2, 2025, at approximately 8:38 a.m., Airdrie RCMP was dispatched to assist EMS with an injured teenager who was hit by a vehicle. Upon arrival, it was determined that the 17-year-old female was walking across a marked crosswalk at the intersection of Windhaven Gate and Windstone Road, when she was hit by a white Dodge Caravan. The male driver got out of the van and appeared to be upset with the pedestrian. He then walked back to his van and fled the scene, driving eastbound towards 8 Street.

 

The pedestrian received minor injuries as a result of the collision.

 

Anyone with information about this incident, or can identify the suspect, is asked to please contact the Airdrie RCMP at 403-945-7267. If you wish to remain anonymous, you can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), online at www.P3Tips.com or by using the "P3 Tips" app available through the Apple App or Google Play store. To report crime online, or for access to RCMP news and information, download the Alberta RCMP app through Apple or Google Play. To contact RCMP non-emergency line within any Alberta RCMP jurisdiction call 310-RCMP(7267).

 

-30-
robsonfletcher.com
"minor injuries" according to police
robsonfletcher.com
Police in Airdrie, Alberta (just north of Calgary) say this driver hit a 17-year-old girl in a marked crosswalk, got out of the vehicle, and appeared to get upset at the teenager before driving away.

They released this video and are now trying to identify the driver.
Reposted by Robson Fletcher
monicakidd.bsky.social
My cover story in the next issue of The Walrus.
thewalrus.ca
A generation ago, measles was declared eradicated from Canada. Today, Alberta reports more confirmed cases than the entire United States. How did it become the epicentre of Canada’s outbreak? Physician and journalist @monicakidd.bsky.social explores: thewalrus.ca/how-alberta-beca...
robsonfletcher.com
Stumbled across the Fox News TikTok account and I don’t know what I was expecting but it’s still somehow more than I was expecting
robsonfletcher.com
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith posted a photo of a child in a crowd holding up a sign saying "My Sober Parents" on social media platforms this week.

The caption said his parents were "lost to addiction."

The kid's mom says the post was "completely false" and the premier "used my son for clicks":
© CBC/Radio-Canada 2025. All rights reserved.
www.cbc.ca
Reposted by Robson Fletcher
dinfontay.com
“'The fact that we don't have money to pay journalists, but we have money to pay Bari Weiss between $100 and 200 million is indicative of what the Ellisons' true goal here is,' a network correspondent said. 'And it's not journalism.'"
CBS News staffers are ‘literally freaking out’ about Bari Weiss taking over newsroom
EXCLUSIVE: ‘People are using words like depressing and doomsday – feels like some sort of doomsday,’ one source told The Independent about the mood inside CBS News right now.
www.independent.co.uk
robsonfletcher.com
Good lord, these allegations:

57 people forced to work as personal servants "around the clock."

Some had to transport women to/from church leader & give them Plan B pills.

Other followers worked "long hours with no pay" in call centres, soliciting $50M over a decade.

$500K in gold bars seized.
Raid of church leader’s Florida mansion reveals 57 forced laborers, feds say
The victims, called “armor bearers” by the church, are threatened with damnation if they fail to meet their quotas, federal officials say.
www.miamiherald.com
robsonfletcher.com
"Big Tech’s MAGA pivot is cynical, cowardly, and self-serving. It is also a perfect match."

@cwarzel.bsky.social on how capitulating to Trump's lawsuits may be "embarrassing" for YouTube, Meta, Twitter, etc., but also allows them to "pivot toward dispensing with the work of moderation altogether."
YouTube Bends the Knee
Welcome to the era of Big-Tech capitulation.
www.theatlantic.com
robsonfletcher.com
Babies and young children are now paying the price for creeping anti-vaccine rhetoric that began long before they were born.

These childhood diseases are preventable and, until recently, had been heavily suppressed, if not virtually eradicated, by widespread vaccination.
Premature baby dies of measles in Alberta outbreak's 1st death
Baby born early, with congenital measles after mother contracted virus, province says
Jennifer Lee · CBC News · Posted: Oct 02, 2025 2:23 PM MDT | Last Updated: October 2  Mississippi Baby Dies of Whooping Cough, the State’s First Pertussis Death in 13 Years
Heather Harrison by Heather Harrison September 30, 2025 Second child dies of measles as Texas outbreak worsens
6 April 2025
Madeline Halpert BBC News, Texas British baby dies from whooping cough as vaccination rates fall
This article is more than 1 month old

Infant’s mother had not been vaccinated against the highly infectious disease, which affects the lungs and airways
robsonfletcher.com
Those are the number of hospitalizations and ICU admissions since the first outbreak in March.

There are not nearly that many people *currently* in hospital.
robsonfletcher.com
An Albertan has died from measles: a baby born prematurely after the child's mother contracted the disease while pregnant.

Statement from Adriana LaGrange, Alberta's Minister of Primary and Preventative Health Services:
Please see the statement below, attributable to Minister LaGrange.

“Since measles cases were first reported in Alberta this spring, I had hoped this moment would not come.

I am saddened to share that we have had our first death from measles in the province. A child, born prematurely after the mother contracted measles during pregnancy, died shortly after birth.

This is a heartbreaking loss, and no words can capture the pain of losing a child. My sincere condolences go to the family during this profoundly difficult time.

Children under five, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems face the greatest risks from measles. Measles during pregnancy can lead to serious complications, including miscarriage, preterm labour, stillbirth, and congenital infection. Anyone planning a pregnancy should ensure they have received two doses of measles-containing vaccine prior to conception, as vaccination during pregnancy is not recommended.

If you are unsure of your immunization status, call 811 or visit alberta.ca/measles for information. Please take steps to protect yourself and those most vulnerable in our communities.”
robsonfletcher.com
"One day after a central Alberta hospital alerted the provincial government and senior health care leaders that it had implemented a strict masking policy to prevent the spread of measles, the facility-wide safety measure was discontinued, documents obtained by The Globe and Mail show."
Alberta hospital’s mask mandate for measles ended a day after it alerted province, health officials
Internal e-mails show AHS staff fielded questions about mandate from province
www.theglobeandmail.com
Reposted by Robson Fletcher
sciencevs.bsky.social
This moment from our latest episode with science writer @edyong209.bsky.social is 🔥

We asked Ed — how do we talk up the benefits of science in the face of government cuts? He told us that's the wrong approach. 🧪

Listen wherever, or watch on Spotify 👇

open.spotify.com/episode/7Evh...