Now take a referendum, and wrap it in ANOTHER referendum!

I was interviewed for this article. I hate to be a Negative Nelly, but there is nothing good coming out of this council on the housing file. There is no plan, it seems to have fallen off the radar completely.

This video camera study showed that less than 5% of people on bikes broke traffic laws while riding bikes, yet 66% of people did so while driving. And perhaps even more importantly, if you REALLY want even MORE bike-riders to obey laws, build more protected bike infrastructure. Via @carltonreid.com

we should do communism but call it ai

NEW: I wrote about Alberta’s referendum within a referendum for Jacobin. jacobin.com/2026/05/smit...

In 1923 we knew that the best path to safety was not to rebuild cities for fast driving but to make driving less necessary. In 1923 we knew that the best path to economy was not to make gas cheaper but to make gas less necessary.

STUDY: “Motonormativity is a shared bias whereby people judge motorised mobility differently to other comparable topics. This works against societies addressing climate and public health crises effectively.” Via @ianwalker.bsky.social. #UrbanTruth www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

NEW STUDY: Who is the Highway Lobby? “The highway lobby has been shaping transportation policy conversations for decades in its interests.” And they spend MILLIONS buying car dependency to make sure all of us have to spend BILLIONS. #UrbanTruth Via the Union of Concerned Scientists @ucs.org.

I went home recently to write about Alberta’s separatists. What I found was a movement wildly, dangerously disconnected from reality. www.thestar.com/opinion/star...

If you care about Canadian cities providing more badly needed housing choices, AND not cheating Federal funding programs, read this. I supported Federal funding for cities doing good housing moves. But Feds NEED to send the message that cities gaming the system “need not apply” for future funding.

Tuesday at Calgary's Executive Committee: two motions to rescind the 2021 climate emergency declaration. It costs $2.20/Calgarian/year, has helped secure $580M+ in federal & provincial grants, and joins 2,300+ governments worldwide. Sources + context: calgarylens.ca/climate #yyc #yyccc

honey I doxxed the province

A SCANNER DARKLY (Linklater, 2006)

Canada’s housing crisis is eroding life satisfaction among young adults across the country, with one in five reporting shelter insecurity #yyc @jeromyyyc.bsky.social nationalpost.com/news/canada/...

need the city to produce a little infographic that we can send to our older neighbours to help them understand they do not own the street parking spots in front of their house

[sending out a newsletter blast to my list urging everyone to remember how democracy works] this should do the trick

I decided to dig around a little re: Mayor Farkas’ Advisory council. Heather Forsyth, one of the appointees, has some incredibly problematic views. Her socials are filled with anti-trans sentiment. Is this who @jeromyyyc.bsky.social wants advising him? Does he support this? 😬

how long until Danielle Smith does this

When Canadians talk about affordability, the discussion often revolves around the cost of fuel. While we pay for gasoline and diesel with our credit cards, in study after study, scientists have shown we also pay with our health. We should talk about it more. thenarwhal.ca/climate-chan...

we are mere months away from An Act to Remove Politics and Ideology from the Legislature

I want to draw a mustache on justin havre’s silly billboard face

NEW BLOG POST Edmonton's housing momentum didn't stop at the end of 2025. Q1 2026 data is in and Edmonton is on track for another strong year of homebuilding in the places people want to live. The rowhome revolution continues. 🧵 #yeg #yegcc #yimby jacobdawang.com/blog/2026/q1-building-permits/

I think @naheednenshi.bsky.social should give us a detailed video explaining the intricacies of the Modifiable Areal Unit Problem #geography en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modifia...

I am the average American swing voter. I have not made up my mind which candidate will make it cheaper to idle in the drive through.

A simple message on #WorldHealthDay: history shows that vaccines work. In this blog, we examine anti-vaccination propaganda from 1920: thediscoverblog.com/2021/05/31/a... Reading historical anti-vaccine propaganda with a critical eye can help “inoculate” against #Disinformation today.

Calgarians have spoken! (Well, 411 of them.) Here's what we have to say about the public hearing on repealing rezoning.

imagining deploying this on Deerfoot Trail so that I can take a leisurely stroll across eight lanes of traffic

Alberta separatism isn’t motivated by equalization policies, Senate seats, carbon taxes or oil. These tired complaints may ride shotgun on independence, but bigotry drives the truck. thetyee.ca/Analysis/202...

the funniest thing about Farkas doing a whole song and dance about keeping the municipal tax increase low (at 1.6%) is that the UCP decided to just fill the room and throw an extra 6.5% in education property tax on top of that. calgaryherald.com/news/local-n...

The Universal Law Of Cities — The more car-friendly a place is, the shittier it is to be there. Via #NotJustBikes. Watch his new video below.

To see and experience the broad spectrum that transness presents is to see what is possible for ourselves. Witnessing that in practice benefits everyone. Trans people present the possibility of a better life. And that extends beyond literal transness. xtramagazine.com/power/politi...

That's right

Making generational changes to things like planning and development can be politically costly, no matter how much sense it might make, writes Courtney Walcott, in his latest column for LWC. #yyc #calgary #yyccc

Editorial: Here’s why Avi Lewis is the wrong choice to lead the NDP – by a centrist Liberal

part of politics is simply deciding that your opponents are stupid, selfish and wrong and must be defeated for the greater good of society. no need to compromise or hold their hand.

The immediate status quo, centrist attacks on Avi Lewis are precisely why he is effective and needed. In face of growing right wing escalation, an unbashadely left opposition that is anti capitalist & internationalist is both principled *and* realistic.

waiting for the Notleyite meltdown

Alberta's new electoral boundary recommendations would see the two biggest cities have less representation in the legislature, per person, compared to the provincial average: Edmonton: 5.7% more people per MLA Calgary: 2.6% more people per MLA Rest of Alberta: 4.8% fewer people per MLA

Funny to think that some places responded to the 1970s oil crisis by supporting alternatives to driving. While others decided that they’re not going to allow pesky things like “red lights” or “pedestrians” slow drivers down and waste precious gas.

Yikes

on a packed ctrain delayed by 40 minutes in the middle of rush hour but really thankful that @jeromyyyc.bsky.social kept the property tax increase to merely 1.6% #worthit

the Cathy Spoule email and the Shannon Phillips faux-victim video have been the most disgusting parts of the Heather McPherson leadership campaign and the NDP leadership race generally

The new North Hill co-op rocks!!

“Repeal and replace” was a campaign commitment. Making housing more affordable was the goal. It’s time for Mayor Farkas to stand by that commitment, or admit it was never the plan at all.

Once wetlands are gone, they are gone forever. Urban #sprawl has caused these natural spaces to disappear permanently and we have to stop it. Tell City Council to protect our wetlands and say no to sprawl: albertatalks.ca/defend #yyc #yyccc #Density #Housing #Upzoning #ClimateChange

The Media Ecosystem Observatory has found that just 100 accounts in Canada are responsible for 68% of posts promoting conspiracy theories. But they are having an outsized impact on local governments. Read my latest: www.nationalobserver.com/2026/02/25/n...

being a millennial means having multiple degrees in departments that don't exist anymore www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

The political discourse in Alberta may soon be the foulest it's been in years, as the UCP and its allies gear up for a newly-announced referendum campaign against immigrants.

One of the worst episodes of Canada's past was the Chinese Head Tax. Something that the Harper government eventually apologized for and provide compensation. And she wants to bring it back! thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/c...

The UCP has been in power for 51 of the last 55 years but according to Danielle Smith it's the family who arrived six months ago that is wrecking the province.