In Brief

“It all made me think that not everything in Canada is hopeless right now” (even if the British monarchy is no defense against Donald Trump’s Putinesque rhetoric!)

Mar 16th, 2025 | By | Category: In Brief

RANDALL WHITE, CANADA’S CAPITAL FROM 4 ½ HOURS WEST. TOWN OF EAST TORONTO, ON. SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2025. So in Ottawa this past Friday, March 14 Mark Carney was sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Canada, along with the other 23 members of his new leaner federal cabinet, at the head of his […]



Conservative lead in Canada has dropped from 26 to 3 points in six weeks .. what’s behind it? .. Justin Trudeau? .. Donald Trump? .. but also Mark Carney?

Mar 6th, 2025 | By | Category: In Brief

COUNTERWEIGHTS EDITORS. GANATSEKWYAGON, ON. THURSDAY, MARCH 6, 2025. [UPDATED MARCH 9, 11 PM ET — scroll to bottom]. Justin Trudeau’s press conference in Ottawa this morning warmed our Canadian hearts. The CTV News written report is somewhat misleadingly headlined “Trudeau vows to not be ‘caretaker’ PM, gets emotional at one of his last events.” The […]



Biggest question about February 27, 2025 Ontario election probably is whether turnout will be even lower than in 2022?

Feb 22nd, 2025 | By | Category: In Brief

RANDALL WHITE, ONTARIO TONITE, GANATSEKWYAGON, ON. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2025. [UPDATED FEBRUARY 27 ELECTION DAY/NIGHT].Word from Washington, DC is that the Premier of the 11th Province (can’t quite remember her name — Donalda … ?) has no interest in the coming Thursday, February 27 election in what used to be Canada’s most populous province. (And […]



Trump’s view of Canada has a lot in common with Putin’s view of Ukraine (or Putin’s view of Ukraine has a lot in common with Trump’s view of Canada!)

Feb 18th, 2025 | By | Category: In Brief

RANDALL WHITE, IN THE GLOBAL VILLAGE TODAY. TORONTO. FEBRUARY 18, 2025. Justin Trudeau’s Canada has been one of the strongest supporters of an independent Ukraine extant — morally (so to speak), rhetorically, symbolically, and in some degree financially (if not exactly or quite militarily). Part of this flows from Canada’s status as what The Guardian […]



The premier may need a snap election in 4 weeks … the people and parliamentary democracy of Ontario do not!

Jan 28th, 2025 | By | Category: In Brief

RANDALL WHITE, ONTARIO TONITE, GANATSEKWYAGON, ON. TUESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2025. As explained by Queen’s Park reporter Laura Stone this past Friday, “Ontario Premier Doug Ford confirms early election — ‘We will be calling the election next Wednesday … We need a mandate from the people to fight against Donald Trump’s tariffs…we will not back down,’ […]



“History has many cunning passages” — and in one of them Trump may have just boosted Canada’s national identity

Jan 18th, 2025 | By | Category: In Brief

RANDALL WHITE, NORTH AMERICAN NOTEBOOK, TORONTO . SATURDAY, JANUARY 18, 2025. So far the height of the Canadian mainstream media response to Donald Trump’s latest absurd remarks on the Canadian future must be this past Saturday, January 11, 2025 op-ed in the Globe and Mail by Jean Chrétien, 20th prime minister of Canada, 1993–2003. (And […]



Greg Barns on the Australian Federal Election on or before 17 May 2025 — and the Canadian Federal Election possibly (or even probably?) before then in 2025?

Jan 13th, 2025 | By | Category: In Brief

GREG BARNS SC. HOBART, MELBOURNE, BRISBANE, PERTH, AUSTRALIA. MONDAY, JANUARY 13, 2025. Not for the first time the political landscapes in Australia and Canada are worthy of comparison. This year both nations are holding elections and the opposition parties, the Conservatives in Canada and the Liberals in Australia, are led by right wing populists. The […]



More than 9 in 10 Canadians want MP s to swear an oath of office to Canada not to a monarch across the sea … but many MP s still don’t want to listen

Jan 4th, 2025 | By | Category: In Brief

ASHOK CHARLES. THUNDER BAY, TORONTO, SATURDAY, JANUARY 4, 2025. I am the Executive Director of Republic Now — a non-partisan organization launched in 2013, to press for the replacement of the British monarch, as Canada’s head of state, by a democratically selected Canadian. Early this year we were heartened by New Brunswick MP René Arseneault’s […]



Our top 10 counterweights stories for 2024 .. a year of (some) great ups and downs around the global village

Dec 28th, 2024 | By | Category: In Brief

COUNTERWEIGHTS EDITORS. GANATSEKWYAGON, ON. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2024. Susan B. Glasser in The New Yorker nicely summarized one key but strange political event of 2024 in the USA : “The Weird New Normal of Donald Trump in 2024 … Radical revisionism is a strong contender for the theme of this disruptive year, in which some […]



Will Justin Trudeau resign? Will Canada’s Conservatives take over sooner than later? Or will Chrystia Freeland lead Liberals to yet another victory in 2025?

Dec 17th, 2024 | By | Category: In Brief

RANDALL WHITE, ONTARIO TONITE, GANATSEKWYAGON, ON. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2024. Before setting all such things aside for extended New Year’s celebrations, I had just wanted to say a few quick words about recent statistics that suggest “Canadians sense of pride plummets to lowest level in decades.” (And this was happening for some time before the […]