New Ep! We unpack PM Mark Carney's first budget and unravel budget week's political fallout — a high-profile floor crossing, Conservative disarray, the NDP's difficult choice, and whether we could be facing a chilly winter election. On Podbean, or any podcast app: www.podbean.com/ew/pb-gv7wp-...

Canada Post owns 91% of Purolator.

Ask your Alberta friends and family to call their MLA. Invoking the notwithstanding clause for actions that don’t require it, simply to skirt around accountability and oversight, sets a dangerous precedent for the whole country. substack.com/@drjaredwesl...

The economic case for dignity.

The kind of culture war I can get behind 🎨 💃 🎭 www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/d72afc6...

It was a blast talking to Avi Lewis! We *can* have fun while critiquing capitalism 😄

The great Libby Davies! Activist. Member of the Order of Canada. Former NDP MP for Vancouver East (1997-2015). What an honour to host her as a guest on Building Left! Thanks, Libby! On Podbean or wherever you get your podcasts. #cdnpoli building-left.podbean.com/.../why-the-...

Great read. The Wary, Warming, Wildly Consequential Alliance of Ocasio-Cortez and Mamdani www.nytimes.com/2025/09/22/n...

Comms pros cost money. Why shouldn’t artists be getting these contracts? Any of us in the arts should be pushing back on a narrative that work is meaningless if it’s based in creativity and joy. Is there a conservative comedian out there who can help John Rustad? www.todayinbc.com/news/bc-prem...

I had a lot of fun writing this post a few weeks ago, asking where artistic experiences sit along the spectrum of what we consider “spiritual practices” these days. 🎨 🙏 open.substack.com/pub/cultural...

How emptying your drawer full of old cellphones could help Canada get cleaner (and richer) https://macleans.ca/technology-3/mine-canadas-e-waste-for-metals/

Tales of seeing the world and obvious disposability. www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/d72afc6...

Shame. Yet again, a national employer has held out on good faith bargaining until the government intervenes. Any work performed should be compensated. That’s what flight attendants have been demanding for years. www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...

Jaime Frederick and I dissected the full 23-page document of #ndp leadership race rules so you don’t have to! Take a listen to the latest Building Left episode #cdnpoli 📻 podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/b...

There’s a weekend full of free art encounters coming up in the Kootenays 🖼️

Google plays by the rules. LinkedIn and other social platforms play by the rules. To reduce revenue at a time of intense cuts (including to the CBC makes my blood boil). Save the Online News Act! apple.news/A1JDCdNAGQYa...

New on Building Left: @jaredwesley.ca dives into how individual Albertans make sense of their political identity, complicating the stereotypical conservative image of the province. Give it a listen 🎙️ podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/b...

Canada must also close the re-export loophole that allows weapons to flow to Israel through the U.S. This is a matter of moral urgency and international law. 4/ #ArmsEmbargo #GazaUnderAttack @mark-carney.bsky.social

The former Japanese internment sites here in the Kootenays remind us of the dangers of nationalism without liberty for *all.*

Jaime and I drop a massive recap of events in the NDP’s realm last week, including our very first guest interview with Ji Won Jung of @reclaimndp.bsky.social! www.podbean.com/wlei/pb-igmp...

The pop up right now on NPR’s site… sitting over an analysis of their own funding cancellation. Rural communities, through partner networks, will feel this loss most acutely.

⛰️ What do we mean when we talk about rural arts? Too often, “rural” is defined by what it’s not—not urban, not well-resourced. But that framing misses the richness of rural creative communities. Here are some artists highlighting the best of rural creativity... 🔗 open.substack.com/pub/cultural...

About 500 drivers are the first ride-hailing app workers in Canada to form a union, by @isaacphannay.bsky.social thetyee.ca/News/2025/07...

We know this government can pass legislation *fast* when it wants to. Let’s get this done.

Congratulations, @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social! What you’ve built goes far beyond New York City. You've captured the imagination of progressives everywhere with a blueprint for how we can win: with hope, with values, and with the belief that politics can be a force for good.

Eps 2 of Building Left is live! Jaime Frederick and I dive into some truly concerning pieces of legislation that are in front of the House right now and how the NDP caucus is pushing back on real, substantive concerns and finding a renewed voice in the process 🎙️

When the left and the right both have valid concerns with legislation, best to pay attention.

It’s disappointing to see Liberals interfere once again in the bargaining process by ordering a vote of CUPW membership. This undermines the union and sends a message to management that delay is rewarded. Free collective bargaining is a core right in a democracy. Respect it.

41 brave Israeli officers refuse to carry out the genocide of Palestinians demanded by the Israeli govt. #Gaza #Israel www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

🚨 New Report - A Portrait of Canada’s Nonprofit Workforce. Canada’s nonprofit sector employs 2.5 million people - more than any other industry. Full report → buff.ly/sT5HKmC #DecentWork #nonprofit #wagegap

NEW POD ALERT: If you’re invested in a thriving left-of-centre political movement in Canada, hang out with Jaime Frederick and I every second Thursday, wherever you get your podcasts.🎙️ open.spotify.com/show/1fRaSYK...

Canada Post workers are looking for a fair deal. Why is the government allowing management to tear apart our postal system and delay negotiations with CUPW members? @cupwsttp.bsky.social @cupw730.bsky.social

New on the Substack: Could legislation affirming the essential nature of the arts kick-start creative responses to what “Canadian identity” means today?  lnkd.in/g2Cn8KRE

This is truly a historic day. As of May 29, all eligible Canadians can now sign up for the Canadian Dental Care Plan. This will give 9 million people access to dental care they need.🦷 Read my full statement here: www.ndp.ca/news/new-dem...

Tackling housing affordability for Canadian artists is tricky business, but new initiatives across the country are working on new approaches to doing just that.

Still proud of the NDPs proposal to ban corporations from buying up rental properties. New data highlights the link between corporate ownership and renovictions and higher rents. www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...

66,000 tons of food are rotting away in USAID warehouses thanks to Trump and DOGE. That's enough food to feed more than a million people in the world's poorest countries for three months — including over 480,000 kids. In what world is starving children "efficient"?

In my own work - miles away from massive resource projects - I favour approaches grounded in design thinking for their ability to be lean and iterative. It increasingly feels like the only way to produce results in the rapidly shifting landscapes of any industry. open.substack.com/pub/energymi...

There are so many inspiring conversations happening across the country about creative approaches to our deepest, most complex challenges. I’ve started a Substack to highlight some of this critical work. Stay tuned for weekly updates!

While I’m no fan of Doug Ford, I do love to see that the first major announcement of inter-provincial agreements has been brokered between an NDP and a Con led government, respectively. Is this a new era of collaboration in Canada? www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...

Glad to see such a collaborative approach proceeding; our rural communities can't tackle overlapping complex issues alone. www.castlegarnews.com/home/west-ko...

In Alberta, it's beginning to look a lot like 1991 Saskatchewan. Like today's UCP, the Devine PCs were embroiled in scandal. And they, too, turned to referendums as both a distraction and attempt to rebrand themselves as a 'party of the people'. It didn't work. Here's some background.🧵

We need a party rooted in: 🟠 Moral clarity - on climate, oligarchy and genocide 🟠 Solutions as deep as the crises we face 🟠 Public ownership, massive reinvestment in universal services, transfer of wealth from the top to everyone below.

Work-life gratitude: on top of colleagues being flexible and taking on an out-sized amount of responsibility, and funders happily working with new team members on short notice, I come to the office to find a lovely orchid and a gift card for a few treats to say “Welcome back!” from my board 😊 🧡

Refurbishment of coal mine shafts for renewable energy generation… very cool! I wonder if there are any projects underway in Canada. reasonstobecheerful.world/abandoned-co...

Thanks to CBC Daybreak South for the pre-election chat! www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...

It isn't that America lacks courage. It's that we’ve become so cut off from one another that many of us feel alone, which makes us feel afraid. But when we are surrounded by courageous people, all of us become more courageous.  Courage is contagious.

Columbia-Kootenay-Southern Rockies is one of these riding where the NDP is your strategic vote 🗳️

Grateful for our local journalists right here in the Kootenays. Here’s another profile based on my conversation with Storm Lennie 📝 www.mykootenaynow.com/62159/news/k...

Grateful to @trevorcrawley.bsky.social for taking time to chat with me about top issues this election cycle. We covered a lot of ground; give it a read 🗞️ www.cranbrooktownsman.com/local-news/f...