My dispatch from the Liberal convention (it was quite a scene)

Liberal delegates are flocking to Montreal this week for their convention as the party is flying high in the polls and on the cusp of a majority government thanks to a surprising floor-crosser, @natashabulowski.bsky.social reports. www.nationalobserver.com/2026/04/09/n...

This is the opening song from the @grievousangels104.bsky.social new album Revolution. In the Time of Monsters is the time we are in. www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDar...

AI Minister Evan Solomon has met with energy and mining companies (Teck & Enbridge) about the environmental impacts of AI infrastructure, but no environmental organizations, according to documents tabled in the House of Commons on March 11. www.nationalobserver.com/2026/04/06/n...

www.nationalobserver.com/2026/04/06/n... “There's still hope that in a year from now, we could regulate AI applications in education, healthcare…But once we've just built thousands of megawatts worth of data centres & hooked them up to new gas-fired generators, we've locked in that infrastructure”

Celebrity investor Kevin O'Leary's proposed Wonder Valley data centre won't require an Alberta enviro impact assessment (despite its massive power and water consumption), according to a letter obtained by @nationalobserver.com's Marc Fawcett-Atkinson. www.nationalobserver.com/2026/04/03/n...

There’s a political push for more water-guzzling AI data centres in Canada. And uh, it looks like - at least in Alberta - they’re planning to plop most of them in high water stress areas. For @nationalobserver.com, let’s cover @rorywh.bsky.social and @natashabulowski.bsky.social’s scary findings:

We analyzed the locations of 38 data centre campuses proposed in Alberta. Three quarters of them are in regions under high or extremely high water stress. Only three have been planned in low water stress regions, which comprise the majority of Alberta’s land mass.

@natashabulowski.bsky.social and I analyzed the locations of 38 proposed data centre sites in Alberta for this investigation. The results aren’t pretty. www.nationalobserver.com/2026/03/23/i...

And congratulations to @arnokopecky.bsky.social for the recognition of his globetrotting guerilla coverage of the Poilievre campaign. He was away from home for basically the entire campaign, writing brilliant and unique dispatches from the back of the room.

Congratulations to @rorywh.bsky.social for being what must be one of the earliest-career nominees in National Newspaper Award history — and in the innovation category, no less. Huge.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre used a wide-ranging speech in Toronto on Thursday to argue that slow permits, high taxes, changing rules and development “bans” weakened Canada’s trade position. by @matinsarfraz.bsky.social www.nationalobserver.com/2026/02/26/n...

This would be ironic if it weren't just so common as to be inevitable, given the lack of interest in safety for non-car road users.

Israeli company LogiVote is pitching strategists and politicians an AI-powered campaign tool that turns voters into "digital fighters" as six provinces gear up for municipal elections in 2026. Investigation by @rorywh.bsky.social www.nationalobserver.com/2026/02/24/i...

How Doug Ford is spreading surveillance tech throughout #Ontario After scrapping speed cameras, Ford has overseen the expansion of a province-wide, cloud-based surveillance network — handing private firms control over public space. New from @terraloire.bsky.social: ricochet.media/labour/class...

Toronto is covered with road salt right now, which will eventually end up in the city's waterways, where it disrupts ecosystems. To get an idea of how much we're talking, I got salt figures from the city going back to the 80s: nearly 5 million tonnes. For @nationalobserver.com

The Supreme Court of Canada has overturned a one-vote win for the Liberals in Quebec's Terrebonne riding via @michelsaba.bsky.social www.nationalobserver.com/2026/02/13/n...

Some great debunking work here by @natashabulowski.bsky.social and Marc Fawcett Atkinson. Just because something agrees with how you see the world, doesn't mean it's correct.

PM Carney's new auto strategy dropped Feb. 5. Out: the EV availability standard (which would have required 100% EV sales by 2035). In: a $2.3B EV rebate program and more stringent tailpipe emissions regs (aiming for 75 per cent adoption rate by 2035) www.nationalobserver.com/2026/02/05/n...

"’Backwards’ was my first thought," said Cathy Holtslander, director of research and policy at the National Farmers Union. "Obviously, they made these cuts without knowing what they were doing."

I was reminded of this investigation I did with @ethancox.bsky.social and @brishti.bsky.social the other day, watching police indiscriminately attack protesters and then make up excuses after the fact. It happens here, too.

Here's what went down in court yesterday, as the province + cycling advocates both had their say before three judges at the Court of Appeal. The province was appealing a previous ruling, which found that the removal of three major bike routes in Toronto is unconstitutional. For @nationalobserver.com

Nearly 86,000 marine animals were caught up in “ghost gear” between 2020 and 2023, according to Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) data obtained by Canada’s National Observer through an access to information request, via @rochellebaker1.bsky.social   www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/16/n...

Amber Bracken & The Narwhal are suing the RCMP for wrongfully arresting and detaining her while on assignment and violating both her and the publication’s Charter rights in a high-stakes press freedom case set to unfold over the course of five weeks via @natashabulowski.bsky.social

The people demand shoe scene details!

Tim Hodgson's briefing materials reveal points of leverage and opportunities for collaboration, offering an unprecedented view into the complex terrain of major project negotiations.  @woodsideful.bsky.social reports on what the provinces and territories want most.

Catherine Hickson was trying to save her geothermal company from certain death just as Kevin O'Leary was coming to town. Then, with the announcement of the Wonder Valley data megaproject — to be powered in part by geothermal — she thought her prayers were answered. They weren't.

This morning in Vancouver, Amber Bracken will take on the RCMP in a historic lawsuit brought by @thenarwhal.ca over her arrest while working in the field. @arnokopecky.bsky.social on why this lawsuit matters.

Job alert!! @nationalobserver.com is hiring for a backfill reporter position from Feb to October. Ottawa-based. Application link here.

The time honoured Canadian tradition of sitting in one's bathrobe, numbly watching the United States sleepwalk into something evil and stupid

Last day of the @nationalobserver.com fundraiser! We're $27,000 short of our goal for the Climate Solutions Reporting Project. If you've been thinking about donating, today's the day. Help us get this across the finish line: www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/124263

We had an awesome year @nationalobserver.com! So excited for the work we have planned for the New Year!!

NEW FROM ME:“We have a federal [industrial pricing] backstop that we should be willing to enforce if provinces aren't willing to do what they're supposed to,” said @stevenguilbeault.bsky.social “It's in federal law. I don't understand why we're not doing it." www.nationalobserver.com/2025/12/18/n...

This story is such a great example of one of the use cases for Civic Searchlight. By searching across municipalities, @natashabulowski.bsky.social was able to build a far more comprehensive picture of data centre debates than we could have done even a year ago.

Across Alberta, municipalities are weighing the pros and cons of hosting AI data centres. I used @nationalobserver.com's Civic Searchlight tool to figure out which towns are looking at data centres and dig into how they are thinking about the costs & benefits www.nationalobserver.com/2025/12/16/n...

It's not just Kevin O'Leary's big (stalled) project: using Civic Searchlight, @natashabulowski.bsky.social got inside the data centre debates happening across Alberta, from the prairies to mountain towns.

📣 We're calling on Vancouver city councillors to reject a plan that would introduce a $10 fee on freedom of information requests at its upcoming council meeting today. #cdnfoi caj.ca/vancouver-ci...

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.

Amazing work here by @rorywh.bsky.social: an AI slop factory churning out thousands of videos and posts on everything from climate denial to lizard people is, essentially, just going where the money is now. Rory tracked down the Canadian rapper running the page.

NEW: Hundreds of public servants are being let go at federal agencies that monitor climate risks, @natashabulowski.bsky.social reports

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.

The Net-Zero Advisory Body is *legally* mandated to consult on Canada’s climate plans but has been completely ignored by Carney and Dabrusin. It appears that it is being bled dry — and now two of its most prominent members have quit in frustration.

For the feds, what the MOU means depends on who you are talking to on any given day, which is as much a comms problem as it is a substantive policy problem if it leaves industry, potential investors & even government MPs confused, writes @supriya.bsky.social www.nationalobserver.com/2025/12/03/o...

Steven Guilbeault tells @woodsideful.bsky.social about his decision to leave cabinet over the pipeline deal: “When the agreement came out someone texted me saying, ‘The only thing missing from the agreement is Pierre Poilievre's signature,’ and I went yeah, I think that sums it up."

In @stevenguilbeault.bsky.social’s first English-media interview since resigning over the pipeline MOU with Alberta, the former cabinet minister said the government isn’t being honest with the public and is betraying its commitments.

For some First Nations leaders, the prospect of conflict with provincial and federal governments over plans to send another pipeline to the B.C. coast brings back vivid memories of years past. For many youth, it’s a whole new call to action. #cdnpoli www.thestar.com/politics/fed...

In another rebuke of the Alberta-Ottawa MOU, UCP delegates passed a motion calling on the provincial government to abandon all “net-zero laws, regulations, policies and agreements.” @readtheorchard.org for @nationalobserver.com www.nationalobserver.com/2025/12/01/n...

Environment minister Julie Dabrusin was grilled on whether she supports a new oil pipeline by both the Bloc Québécois and Conservatives at a committee meeting Monday morning. Dabrusin would not say whether a new oil pipeline would increase GHGs. www.nationalobserver.com/2025/12/01/n...

Doug Ford has scrapped legislation that required large buildings in Toronto to install green roofs. I wanted to see how this bylaw has transformed the tip tops of the city since it was introduced in 2009. Here's one example. For @nationalobserver.com