davidmckie.bsky.social
David McKie
@davidmckie.bsky.social
440 followers 470 following 120 posts
David McKie is Canada National Observer's deputy managing editor, data-journalism trainer, and teaches at Carleton U., the University of King's College and TMU
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davidmckie.bsky.social
David McKie @davidmckie.bsky.social · 10h
Thanks. @sonalg.bsky.social
sonalg.bsky.social
Sonal Gupta @sonalg.bsky.social · 13h
@nationalobserver.com launched a great resource to help journalists and citizens hold councils accountable! Kudos to @jameswsthomson.com @davidmckie.bsky.social @rorywh.bsky.social!!
Canada’s National Observer unveils a powerful tool for fighting disinformation
Civic Searchlight brings together municipal meeting transcripts from across Canada into a searchable database for the first time. It has already been used to fight disinformation, report on impact, di...
www.nationalobserver.com
davidmckie.bsky.social
David McKie @davidmckie.bsky.social · 1d
As climate disinformation groups move into the shadows, Canada’s National Observer has developed an unprecedented new tool: Civic Searchlight. To build it, we assembled a database of council meetings in more than 550 municipalities. www.nationalobserver.com/2025/10/08/i...
How Canada's National Observer tracked a climate misinfo group going 'under the radar'
As KICLEI's campaign moves into the shadows, Canada’s National Observer has developed an unprecedented new tool: Civic Searchlight. To build it, we assembled a database of council meetings in more tha...
www.nationalobserver.com
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davidmckie.bsky.social
David McKie @davidmckie.bsky.social · 1d
Canada’s National Observer unveils a powerful tool for fighting disinformation www.nationalobserver.com/2025/10/08/n...
Canada’s National Observer unveils a powerful tool for fighting disinformation
Civic Searchlight brings together municipal meeting transcripts from across Canada into a searchable database for the first time. It has already been used to fight disinformation, report on impact, di...
www.nationalobserver.com
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davidmckie.bsky.social
David McKie @davidmckie.bsky.social · 1d
A strange start for “climate competitiveness” www.nationalobserver.com/2025/10/07/o...
A strange start for “climate competitiveness”
The federal government’s full-throated endorsement of LNG Canada Phase 2 is bad news for anyone who cares about Canada’s carbon emissions — or Canadians’ tax dollars.
www.nationalobserver.com
davidmckie.bsky.social
David McKie @davidmckie.bsky.social · 2d
Partnering in the fight against wildfires: Canada and the EU www.nationalobserver.com/2025/10/06/n...
Partnering in the fight against wildfires: Canada and the EU
The Delegation of the EU to Canada, in partnership with Canada’s National Observer, invites you to join a panel discussion event on the fight against wildfires hosted by CNO’s David McKie on Thursday,...
www.nationalobserver.com
davidmckie.bsky.social
David McKie @davidmckie.bsky.social · 6d
Rooftop solar is inefficient and expensive compared to to utility-scale renewable energy. Here's why progressive politicians should aggressively subsidize it — and other consumer-facing clean technologies — anyways. www.nationalobserver.com/2025/10/02/o...
The political case for rooftop solar
If there’s one lesson progressive politicians should take to heart from the last decade, it’s that the durability of their climate policies is more important — way, way more important — than their eco...
www.nationalobserver.com
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David McKie @davidmckie.bsky.social · 6d
Given 15 minutes to address the United Nations General Assembly, Trump found a fresh way to shock the world, rambling on for about an hour — almost a quarter of which was spent trashing climate science, clean energy and the assembled audience. www.nationalobserver.com/2025/09/29/o...
Trump’s climate con job
Given 15 minutes to address the United Nations General Assembly, Donald Trump found a fresh way to shock the world by rambling on for about an hour — almost a quarter of which was spent trashing clima...
www.nationalobserver.com
davidmckie.bsky.social
David McKie @davidmckie.bsky.social · 6d
Currently, the province has no emission reduction targets beyond 2030, has not finalized its climate change plan and has not issued a public progress report since 2021, despite legislated requirements, the report says.  www.nationalobserver.com/2025/10/02/n...
Ontario's fossil fuel growth puts climate goals out of reach, auditor general finds
The Ford government's embrace of fossil fuels and car-friendly policies is driving Ontario away from its 2030 climate target, the province's auditor general warns.
www.nationalobserver.com
davidmckie.bsky.social
David McKie @davidmckie.bsky.social · 7d
Danielle Smith announces Alberta will be the proponent in a new pipeline application www.nationalobserver.com/2025/10/01/n...
Danielle Smith announces Alberta will be the proponent in a new pipeline application
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced a new proposed pipeline on Wednesday to carry oil from Alberta to the West Coast. The province itself will be the proponent applying to the federal Major Proje...
www.nationalobserver.com
davidmckie.bsky.social
David McKie @davidmckie.bsky.social · 10d
Mark Carney's 'Tragedy of the Horizons' speech was a landmark moment for the financial sector to recognize climate breakdown was a severe threat, but a decade later he's flouting his own prophetic warning. www.nationalobserver.com/2025/09/29/a...
A decade later, Carney's climate wake-up call to financiers still falls on deaf ears
Mark Carney's 'Tragedy of the Horizons' speech was a landmark moment for the financial sector to recognize climate breakdown was a severe threat, but a decade later he's flouting his own prophetic war...
www.nationalobserver.com
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David McKie @davidmckie.bsky.social · 12d
It's the first landfill proposal in the province selected for fast-tracking under Premier Doug Ford's newly enacted Bill 5 — which makes the project immune to many of the checks and balances it would otherwise face.  www.nationalobserver.com/2025/09/26/n...
'Town killer': Ontario residents fight Ford’s fast-track landfill project
When Ashley Khouathip left Toronto five years ago, she was looking for clean air for her five children, affordable housing and a slower pace of life. She wanted a place where kids could bike and fish ...
www.nationalobserver.com
davidmckie.bsky.social
David McKie @davidmckie.bsky.social · 13d
In a wide-ranging interview ahead of the launch of her memoir, former climate minister Catherine McKenna warns consequences are coming for the fossil fuel industry, even as the federal government pursues a grand bargain with it. www.nationalobserver.com/2025/09/24/n...
Catherine McKenna isn’t buying Carney’s carbon capture grand bargain
In a wide-ranging interview ahead of the launch of her memoir, former climate minister Catherine McKenna warns consequences are coming for the fossil fuel industry, even as the federal government purs...
www.nationalobserver.com
davidmckie.bsky.social
David McKie @davidmckie.bsky.social · 13d
A briefing note shows the federal government never believed it could meet its off diesel by 2030 target for remote Indigenous communities — considering it, rather, as “directional." www.nationalobserver.com/2025/09/25/n...
Ottawa knew getting the North off diesel by 2030 was impossible, despite promises
Experts say the federal goal was unrealistic from the start, but progress made so far shows a pathway forward if governments keep funding clean projects in remote Indigenous communities.
www.nationalobserver.com
davidmckie.bsky.social
David McKie @davidmckie.bsky.social · 15d
Inside the ‘fresh air factory’ at Canada’s Oxygen8 www.nationalobserver.com/2025/09/23/a...
Inside the ‘fresh air factory’ at Canada’s Oxygen8
BC entrepreneur James Dean founded Oxygen8, a fast-growing provider of high-efficiency, zero-carbon building ventilation systems, just before the Covid pandemic hit. His next challenge? Navigating the...
www.nationalobserver.com
davidmckie.bsky.social
David McKie @davidmckie.bsky.social · 16d
National Defence, Fisheries and Oceans and Public Services and Procurement are the target of a federal audit on protecting assets (like buildings, vehicles, ports and other infrastructure) from the impacts of climate change, an #ATIP revealed. www.nationalobserver.com/2025/09/22/n...
Billions in federal buildings, roads and other assets at risk from extreme weather
The Office of the Auditor General is determining whether three major departments are taking steps to protect their billions in federal buildings, vehicles and infrastructure from the ever-worsening im...
www.nationalobserver.com
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David McKie @davidmckie.bsky.social · 17d
The perception that a bureaucratic maze is preventing Canada from building major projects, as PM Mark Carney has argued to support his deregulatory nation-building agenda, doesn’t hold up according to a data analysis of projects already underway. www.nationalobserver.com/2025/09/15/a...
Carney's red tape narrative doesn't hold up
The perception that a bureaucratic maze is preventing Canada from building major projects, as Prime Minister Mark Carney has argued to support his deregulatory nation-building agenda, doesn’t hold up ...
www.nationalobserver.com
davidmckie.bsky.social
David McKie @davidmckie.bsky.social · 19d
Federal planning documents obtained through access to information legislation say its "critical" to incorporate climate risks like wildfires when planning for major events like the G7 Summit held in Kananaskis, Alta. www.nationalobserver.com/2025/09/19/n...
As Canada prepared for G7, it planned for climate disasters
Wildfires fueled by climate change had the potential to disrupt the G7 Summit held in Kananaskis, according to federal planning documents.
www.nationalobserver.com
davidmckie.bsky.social
David McKie @davidmckie.bsky.social · 20d
Justin Trudeau was the prime minister of a Liberal government for almost a decade. But Chrystia Freeland was its heart, soul, and brain — and, in another universe, his natural and deserving successor. www.nationalobserver.com/2025/09/18/o...
Chrystia Freeland is the best prime minister we never had
She gave Justin Trudeau's Liberal party its first star candidate and most important cabinet minister. Then, more than a decade later, she saved it from political annihilation by sacrificing herself.
www.nationalobserver.com
davidmckie.bsky.social
David McKie @davidmckie.bsky.social · 20d
Canada’s legally-binding climate targets require emissions reductions of 40 to 45 per cent compared to 2005 levels by the end of the decade. However, the CCI said Canada’s emissions are only on track for a 20 to 25 per cent reduction by 2030. www.nationalobserver.com/2025/09/18/n...
Pumped-up Alberta oil and gas sector sinks Canada's climate targets
The country’s 2030 commitments are now certain to be missed due to record GHG releases from oilsands operations, climate policy backslides and plans for future LNG production, the Canadian Climate Ins...
www.nationalobserver.com
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David McKie @davidmckie.bsky.social · 22d
How should Canada respond to Charlie Kirk's murder? Doing better here in Canada means refusing to import the worst elements of America’s ongoing culture war into our own politics. @maxfawcett.bsky.social writes www.nationalobserver.com/2025/09/16/o...
How Canada should respond to Charlie Kirk’s murder
Doing better here in Canada means refusing to import the worst elements of America’s ongoing culture war into our own politics.
www.nationalobserver.com
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davidmckie.bsky.social
David McKie @davidmckie.bsky.social · 22d
The wildfire danger where homes meet forests is rising worldwide. Using new data, we built a detailed map of Halifax’s fire-prone forest edge — and explain what it says about the state of the wildland urban interface in Canada. www.nationalobserver.com/2025/09/16/n...
Building to the forest's edge fuels fire danger
As cities expand into forests already primed to burn, experts say Canada needs stronger maps, building codes and planning rules to keep people safe.
www.nationalobserver.com
davidmckie.bsky.social
David McKie @davidmckie.bsky.social · 26d
A major carbon bomb sits atop PM Mark Carney’s first tranche of major projects, sparking backlash from environmental and Indigenous communities who say that doubling down on LNG is placing a dangerous bet on Canada’s future. www.nationalobserver.com/2025/09/11/n...
LNG carbon bomb tops Carney’s list of major projects
Triggering immense backlash from climate groups and Indigenous leaders, Prime Minister Mark Carney revealed his long awaited first batch of nation-building projects that includes doubling capacity at ...
www.nationalobserver.com
davidmckie.bsky.social
David McKie @davidmckie.bsky.social · 27d
“I don’t like the precedent this sets,” said the town’s mayor, Jeff Genung, at a council meeting Monday night. Genung was concerned that if Cochrane exited the program, it could be used as an example to reverse environmental policies elsewhere. www.nationalobserver.com/2025/09/11/n...
Alberta town bucks misinformation and stands by climate program
The town of Cochrane, Alberta voted to stay in the Partners for Climate Protection program despite intense pressure from KICLEI — an anti net-zero group using AI to convince thousands of local politic...
www.nationalobserver.com
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David McKie @davidmckie.bsky.social · 29d
Carney hinted he’ll soon release a ‘climate competitiveness strategy’ that insiders expect will boost industrial carbon pricing while cutting other emission reduction policies, echoing previously failed attempts at striking a grand bargain. www.nationalobserver.com/2025/09/09/a...
Carney insiders hint at climate strategy with industrial carbon price hikes
Prime Minister Carney hinted he’ll soon release a ‘climate competitiveness strategy’ that insiders expect will boost industrial carbon pricing while cutting other emission reduction policies, echoing ...
www.nationalobserver.com
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davidmckie.bsky.social
David McKie @davidmckie.bsky.social · Sep 6
Automakers asked, and the federal govenrment listened: the 2026 EV sales targets were removed today by Mark Carney, with a promise to immediately review the regulations. Climate experts fear this will be another key emissions reduction policy to fall www.nationalobserver.com/2025/09/05/n...
Climate takes another hit as Carney delays EV sales mandate
Canada's automakers are getting what they want: an out from the federal government's electric vehicle sales mandate. Prime Minister Mark Carney is removing the 2026 sales target and reviewing the poli...
www.nationalobserver.com