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 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 […]

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 […]

RANDALL WHITE, NORTH AMERICAN NOTEBOOK, TORONTO . THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2024. According to Wkipedia : “The Ugly American is a 1958 political novel by Eugene Burdick and William Lederer that depicts the failures of the US diplomatic corps in Southeast Asia.” It ”has remained continuously in print and is one of the most influential American […]

RANDALL WHITE, CANADA’S CAPITAL FROM 4 ½ HOURS WEST. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2024. [UPDATED NOVEMBER 30, DECEMBER 3 : See below]. Even a close observer cannot see much of the Canadian House of Commons from the capital city of Ontario (which like both the province and the country at large boasts an Indigenous North American […]

RANDALL WHITE, CANADIAN PROVINCES NOTEBOOK, TORONTO. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2024. The final count on the October 19 BC election results is now complete.. In round numbers : David Eby’s BC NDP has 45% of the popular vote and 47 seats in the BC Legislative Assembly (where a bare majority is also 47 seats) ; John […]

COUNTERWEIGHTS EDITORS. GANATSEKWYAGON, ON. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2024. What to say in the midst of assorted disturbing numbers for the great cause of the free and democratic society in the USA today? Even if Michael Moore now (or still?) believes the Harris-Walz Democrats will win in the end on November 5. And more to the […]

RANDALL WHITE, FERNWOOD PARK,TORONTO. SUNDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2024. It still seems hard to know just where Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet is going with the “Bloc’s demand to increase old age security (supported by the CPC and the NDP so far).” According to our local (Liberal) MP here it “is too expensive and poorly targeted.” […]

The public policy proposals discussed below reflect just one ordinary voter’s opinions, many of which may never see any practical light of day in the darker real world of Canadian politics. The proposals try to pay some attention to what has gone before — in the spirit of Wilhelm von Humboldt’s “Only a person who knows the past […]

RANDALL WHITE, NORTH AMERICAN NOTEBOOK, TORONTO . TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2024. [UPDATED SEP 26]. The October 2024 just waiting in the wings could be called provincial election month in Canada. Voters in three provinces will choose new (or re-elect old) provincial governments : BC (5.6 million people) on Saturday, October 19 ; New Brunswick (846,000) […]