The Harper government did a lot of damage by making the long-form census voluntary in 2010. Let us all learn from its mistakes. wallsandbridges.substack.com/p/canada-cen...

Census time. May 12 deadline. If you got the long form, wear it like a badge — it runs our economic research, our equity policy, and the population data Alberta's boundary fight depends on. Harper tried to kill it in 2010. We have a long memory. deadfortaxreasons.wordpress.com/2026/05/05/l...

I will be re-reading this article by David Oks several times as I think about what it all means for Canadian airline markets. wallsandbridges.substack.com/p/why-is-it-...

Jen Gerson: “If she doesn’t, well, then, what we have here is a woman who is willing to put her personal ambitions and her party ahead of the safeguarding of the nation, and the rest of Canada ought to know how to regard her.” www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...

“They Would Never Use the Death Star on Us”: Alderaan Residents Reflect on Their Support for the Empire as a Large Imperial Installation Enters the System www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/the...

My effort to promote more "gems" and in the process reduce the value people place on the "lemons" out there. wallsandbridges.substack.com/p/some-recom...

"...database was not as harmless as a phone book. It listed names and home addresses of nearly every eligible voter. This includes prominent politicians, elections officials, senators, judges, Crown prosecutors, journalists, and other public figures." drjaredwesley.substack.com/p/albertas-v...

Alberta separatists would not be able to spread misinformation and disinformation so easily if it was not for the active assistance by the Premier. wallsandbridges.substack.com/p/danielle-s...

Keith Gerein: “Frankly, after multiple columns about UCP meddling in photo radar, bike lanes, codes of conduct, municipal elections, regional planning, police governance and so on, repeating myself offers no satisfaction.” edmontonjournal.com/opinion/colu...

Bill Kaufmann: “It’s a month meant to entertain, show pride and culturally enrich. “But Asian Heritage Month, which kicked off Friday, also aims to combat a stubborn strain of racism that too many experience in Canada, said the celebration’s lead proponent.” calgaryherald.com/news/local-n...

“After a poll announced...Ford’s Conservative government was trailing behind the Liberals for the first time in almost a decade, a visibly sweating Ford held a press conference to announce that he will be filling...Lake Ontario with Ontarians’ beer of choice.” www.thebeaverton.com/2026/05/swea...

An absolute must-read! wallsandbridges.substack.com/p/tim-harfor...

Deirdre Mitchell-MacLean: “Thankfully, they were also able to identify that the data provided to Mr. Parker was obtained from the Alberta Republican Party’s List of Electors in 2025 specifically.” womenofabpoli.substack.com/p/elections-...

Wrong direction. _____________ “Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says a key approval for a cross-border oil pipeline project to deliver more of the province’s crude to the United States is coming after years of advocacy from her government.” www.ctvnews.ca/edmonton/alb...

Don Braid: “There’s no way to exaggerate the massive unauthorized use of voter information apparently engineered by some Alberta separatism activists." ... “The data could be used far beyond politics — for personal revenge, harassment or even threats to safety.” calgaryherald.com/opinion/colu...

“Calgary’s iconic and mostly vacant downtown Hudson’s Bay Building is on the verge of being acquired by a Calgary real estate firm.... “It joins agreements in place to purchase Hudson’s Bay buildings in Vancouver, Ottawa and Windsor that involve different buyers.” calgaryherald.com/news/downtow...

A Friday Fun-Day "Rockonomics" post — a real field of study pioneered by Princeton University economist Alan Krueger, look it up — while I am on the road for business. wallsandbridges.substack.com/p/some-kind-...

Tim Harford: “That sharp pain we are all feeling is the response to a series of injuries that few of us cared to risk, but which were inflicted on us anyway. ...But now we need to clean the wounds and stop the bleeding, not beg for enough fentanyl to end the pain.” timharford.com/2026/04/less...

Trump’s answer to rising gas prices: make them rise more. He might end up being the most environmentally-friendly POTUS ever! www.theglobeandmail.com/business/int...

Some "Throwback Thursday" posts on a day which is notable for at least two reasons: higher gasoline prices and the deadline for Canadians to file their income tax returns. wallsandbridges.substack.com/p/canadian-i...

“...want to reassure Americans that, while the war we’ve already won shows no signs of ending and oil prices remain over $100 a barrel, we are taking decisive action to ensure that, under no circumstances, Americans will ever need to drive a fuel-efficient vehicle” www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/oil...

“Once upon a time, it was considered unacceptable for leaders to swear…” www.smbc-comics.com/comic/spoon

I can release my stress by listening either to (1) very light, dreamy, or melodic music like Pink Floyd’s "A Momentary Lapse of Reason", especially “Terminal Frost”; or (2) very heavy and angry music like today's choice: SYL's "Heavy As A Really Heavy Thing"! www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wwyu...

Dude takes his job seriously! Taco Bell Worker Shoots at 3 Customers After One Tried to Fill Water Cup with Soda, Police Say people.com/taco-bell-wo...

While I work my way through this 178-page document, I encourage you to read the following summaries, opinions, and analyses written by experts from the financial sector, think tanks, and academia. wallsandbridges.substack.com/p/recommende...

Jeffrey Rath: “Everybody knows that we don’t have a choice, because if (NDP Leader Naheed) Nenshi ever got elected, that would be the end of independence for the life of whatever government he was involved with, right? “We all support Danielle...” calgaryherald.com/opinion/colu...

“One prominent separatist told...Rick Bell: ‘She has no business coming out and telling the people who elected her leader that she disagrees with them. She is taking an adversarial position against her own membership by supporting the remain-in-Canada side.’” calgaryherald.com/opinion/colu...

"Albertans aren't dumb. But this government thinks we are." albertareferendumb2026.ca

Of course it did. If the FCC was a business, the FTC and/or DOJ would be investigating it for abuse of dominance. ew.com/trump-fcc-or...

Today in “Holy Crap!!!” news. “The United Arab Emirates will withdraw from...(OPEC) this week, as the Iran war roils global energy markets. The UAE took the decision now because the closure of the Strait of Hormuz will limit the impact on the oil market...“ www.cnn.com/2026/04/28/w...

Inspired by reports of a potential merger attempt between United Airlines and American Airlines, I want to explain how I would define antitrust markets in the Canadian airline industry specifically. wallsandbridges.substack.com/p/market-def...

"Ratib Ali analyzes whether a merger between United and American Airlines would pass merger review according to the 2023 Merger Guidelines and finds that under multiple market definitions, it would substantially lessen competition." www.promarket.org/2026/04/28/a...

“Depending on how often you want to leave the city, Lotocky said giving up the car is still worth it. He would use a car share company to visit a friend who lived one hour outside of Victoria, but only a few times a year.” www.ctvnews.ca/lifestyle/ar...

Marc Fawcett-Atkinson: “Canada could build a pipeline from Alberta to the West Coast and still reduce the country's carbon emissions, a new analysis by the Canadian Climate Institute has determined.” www.nationalobserver.com/2026/04/28/n...

An article in which my overall conclusion changed while writing it. wallsandbridges.substack.com/p/thank-you-...

I *do not* want to allow more competition from U.S. airlines, but the fact remains Air Canada and WestJet's market power is largely a government creation. wallsandbridges.substack.com/p/entry-barr...

I worked on this case for the Competition Bureau at the beginning of my career, and I still have fond memories of it for how it made me the economist I am today. wallsandbridges.substack.com/p/the-2001-a...

“But if you really want the ’90s experience, take your iPhone, throw it into a storm drain, then go sit in a dark room listening to the Goo Goo Dolls until you feel an unidentifiable sense of dread. It should take about four minutes and fifty seconds. Then call me” www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/fin...

Fractures Emerge Between GOP’s Pro-Pedophilia, Extremely Pro-Pedophilia Wings www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaZP...

“...‘Donald Trump’s Rose Garden tariffs were historic in the most disruptive sense of the word. ...broke most of the trade promises America had ever made.’ That epic level of promise-breaking will echo into the future of US diplomacy on all subjects.” conversableeconomist.com/2026/04/24/w...

“...talking point that Canada is less than 2% of global emissions, so it doesn’t matter what any Canadian does. That’s always bothered me. ...accounted for less than 2% of the activity in World War II, but...are something we’re all proud of...” www.missingmiddleinitiative.ca/p/canadas-cl...

Also, Prime Minister Mark Carney's recent responses to MAGA attacks are refreshing. wallsandbridges.substack.com/p/donald-tru...

Don Braid: “Coincidentally, I asked separatist leader Jeffrey Rath yesterday if he considers forming a separatist party like the Parti Quebecois in Quebec. “‘We’ve already got one — the United Conservative Party,’ he said.” calgaryherald.com/opinion/colu...

This supports argument from yesterday’s Walls and Bridges article that it takes more than a political term for policies to be fully reflected in economy. Trump is so extreme we are already feeling them, but only tip of the iceberg. The effects will grow more significant after he is out of office.

“He was elected, twice – the second time after attempting a coup. That alone should tell us that something fundamental has changed... it is so broken that one half of it could knowingly put a degenerate lunatic in the White House just to spite the other half.” www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...

Funny, but I did not see the option on my ballot last year which said “minority Liberal government with strong Conservative opposition.” I will have to look more closely at the options next time.

The quite conservative minded CEO of the company I work for "We survived before NAFTA, we can survive its end."

For those whose anger has been reignited by the referendum questions on immigration, check out the analysis i wrote for @thetyee.ca earlier this month. thetyee.ca/Analysis/202...

John Ivison: "Who thought it was a good idea to say Mark Carney is 'badly educated'? ...attacks don’t work if the source is less credible than the target. Poilievre has a [BA]...completed by distance learning in 2008. Carney has a PhD in economics from Oxford" johnivison.substack.com/p/youre-bein...

John Ivison: "What is more revealing from Scheer’s outburst is the level of paranoia necessary to make the claim that the National Post is in the tank for the Liberals." johnivison.substack.com/p/youre-bein...