Canada's National Observer

Canada’s first large-scale battery plant opens in Windsor Canada's first large-scale battery plant has already produced more than one million cells and created 1,300 jobs in its first months of operation — and is backed by nearly $16 billion in government su...

The facility is a 4.2-million-square-foot factory in WIndson, Ont., built by South Korea’s LG Energy Solution, and represents roughly a $5-billion investment, the company said on Thursday.

Pierre Poilievre’s great reset The leader of the Conservative Party of Canada is rolling out a kinder and gentler version of himself. But can he stick to the script, or will he revert to his political instincts?

In the face of a double-digit Liberal lead, Pierre Poilievre is rolling out a new political approach that includes respect for his opponents and time for the mainstream media.

How long will it last? Grab that head of lettuce and start the clock. #cdnpoli

www.nationalobserver.com/2026/03/05/o...

Phones, laundry machines and more: Canadians keep tossing valuable materials in the trash

Canadians are tossing out electronics faster than ever — many before they break — a trend researchers say will double the country’s e-waste by the end of the decade. for @nationalobserver.com

www.nationalobserver.com/2026/03/05/n...

Vancouver deserves better than Sim’s lies The readiness of Mayor Ken Sim and Coun. Lenny Zhou to slander a colleague is far worse than any harebrained policy they might propose or past controversial decisions they have made.

Politicians like Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim and Coun. Lenny Zhou who spread lies about a colleague for political gain undermine trust in our political system. They don't deserve our respect or votes, @adriennetanner.bsky.social writes.

With speed cameras out, Toronto faces decade-long safety rebuild with a price tag of $52M Speed cameras across Ontario were removed in November with the passing of provincial legislation that banned them after Premier Doug Ford called them a “cash grab” for municipalities.

The City of Toronto says the traffic-calming measures needed to replace speed cameras removed by Ford will cost $52 million and take 13 years to install. The passing of Bill 60 (which limits new bike lanes) combined with speed camera removal, is concerning cyclists. For @nationalobserver.com #OnPoli

Vancouver mayor 'owns up' to false drug rumours, but evades questions Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim admitted on Tuesday to originating and spreading disinformation in the city's Chinese media over the winter that progressive Coun. Sean Orr distributed drugs, and offered Orr a...

COPE Coun. Sean Orr said the debacle highlights how a "toxic" social media environment is impacting politics in Vancouver and beyond.

With speed cameras out, Toronto faces decade-long safety rebuild with a price tag of $52M Speed cameras across Ontario were removed in November with the passing of provincial legislation that banned them after Premier Doug Ford called them a “cash grab” for municipalities.

Toronto says replacing speed cameras banned by the province will cost $52M and take 13 years. Meanwhile, provincial rules limit bike lanes that remove vehicle lanes: another tool municipalities have used to improve road safety. @cloelogan.bsky.social reports.

Toronto reveals transit-first plan to manage FIFA congestion Toronto’s full traffic management plan will be released later this month, but a city report posted on Tuesday shows how the city plans to manage an uptick in traffic and how it will attempt to discour...

Toronto’s full traffic management plan will be released later this month, but a city report posted on Tuesday shows how the city plans to manage an uptick in traffic and how it will attempt to discourage people from driving to the games. @cloelogan.bsky.social reports.

Prime Minister Carney's promise at Davos to "build our strength at home" would do well to draw on the example of former Canadian cabinet minister C.D. Howe, under whose guidance Canada established 28 new Crown corporations to expedite the mass production of military equipment during the Second World War.

NEW from me: my latest column on the need for a new generation of public enterprises - a key missing piece in both our economic resistance to Trump and our climate mobilization 🧵👇
sethdklein.substack.com/p/the-missin...

One data centre or one million homes? Mapping Ontario's proposed hyperscaler boom Canada’s National Observer found and drew from multiple sources to put together a map of planned data centres in Ontario, and found at least 15 projects with a combined capacity of 2,202 MW currently ...

Really glad to have this investigation out. It wasn't easy getting this information, @rorywh.bsky.social and I chipped away at this piece for months. Give it a read and let us know what else you want to know about data centres in Ontario. 🧵

One hundred accounts are behind the majority of conspiracy theory content in Canada Researchers analyzed more than 14 million social media posts from accounts in Canada and found that 87 per cent of conspiratorial claims come from influencers, with just 100 users responsible for near...

“Conspiracy theories about globalist cabals, climate hoaxes and election fraud may seem ubiquitous on social media. But a report has found that they come from a tiny minority of users…
just 100 users were responsible for almost 70% of online conspiracy posts…”

Via @nationalobserver.com #UrbanTruth

One data centre or one million homes? Mapping Ontario's proposed hyperscaler boom Canada’s National Observer found and drew from multiple sources to put together a map of planned data centres in Ontario, and found at least 15 projects with a combined capacity of 2,202 MW currently ...

The government wouldn't give us a list of data centres seeking power in Ontario.

So, we built one ourselves.

What @rorywh.bsky.social and I found: at least 15 projects drawing a combined 2,202 MW: more electricity than 2 million homes.

#OnPoli for @nationalobserver.com 🧵

Actually, having opinions is literally the job of the lead columnist. -Jimmy

Poilievre pitched a critical mineral stockpile. An industry expert says it's not so simple A leading critical minerals expert is throwing cold water on the Conservative leader's proposal, which he said would give Canada leverage in trade talks with the United States.

According to Poilievre’s plan, a stockpile would strengthen Canada’s resilience and negotiating position while remaining sovereign assets. An expert claims the real vulnerability is not a lack of minerals but a lack of domestic processing.

The missing piece in Canada’s economic resistance to Trump and climate mobilization: new Crown corps A key missing piece in our economic resilience plan, not to mention in our moribund efforts to decarbonize our society: modern public enterprises, a new generation of what in Canada we call “Crown” co...

NEW from me: column on the need for a new generation of public enterprises - a key missing piece in both our economic resistance to Trump and our climate mobilization 👇
www.nationalobserver.com/2026/02/27/o...

Pierre Poilievre says Canada is to blame for Trump tariff crisis Speaking at the Economic Club of Canada, Poilievre said domestic policy failures have left Canada vulnerable to tariffs and economic pressure from the US after decades of close economic integration br...

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.

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim started false claim councillor 'handed out illegal drugs' Sim on Tuesday had applauded Coun. Lenny Zhou for "acknowledging his mistake" and retracting elements of the claim that Zhou shared on Chinese-language social media, but Sim did not reveal that it was...

NEW: The Chinese-language messages that accused non-ABC Vancouver councillors didn't start with Lenny Zhou, who has since apologized for them.

They started with the mayor.

Ontario’s right-to-repair fight heads to Queen’s Park Nearly two million Ontarians searched online last year for help repairing phones, appliances, vehicles and equipment instead of replacing them — a sign of growing frustration with products that are ha...

Nearly two million Ontarians searched online last year for help repairing phones, appliances, vehicles and equipment instead of replacing them — a sign of growing frustration with products that are hard or too expensive to fix, advocates say.

Canada's care package to Cuba feels thin Carney’s aid package to Cuba is a nod to close ties between our two countries and another signal that Canada is not prepared to do the bidding of the US. But we could and should do more.

Carney’s aid package to Cuba is a nod to close ties between our two countries and another signal that Canada is not prepared to do the bidding of the US. But we could do more — helping power their grid would be longer lasting. www.nationalobserver.com/2026/02/25/o...

Mid-rise buildings give us an opportunity to vastly expand housing options in Toronto Here’s an idea for the Greater Toronto Area's housing crisis: make more market-oriented homes available at a size, location and price point that many would be interested in buying.

“Mid-rise buildings give us an opportunity to vastly expand housing options in Toronto” by David Crombie and Tim Gray in @nationalobserver.com www.nationalobserver.com/2026/02/24/o...

Vancouver councillor accuses colleagues of being 'drug dealers' in Mandarin-only social media clip Over the weekend Lenny Zhou, a councillor with Vancouver's majority ABC party, posted a video to WeChat accusing the four city councillors who aren't part of the party of using and dealing drugs, a cl...

In the five-minute clip distributed on WeChat, China's largest social media platform, Zhou sits in an office and claims, in Mandarin, "several non-ABC councilors are drug users themselves and have openly distributed drugs on the street, which is a terrible example for the next generation."

Think about this.

Armies of people out there, incentivized by a company hired by politicians to post AI-generated political messaging as if it’s their real, organic thought.

Dystopian sci-fi? Nope. Reality.

I’m partnering with @nationalobserver.com to share @rorywh.bsky.social’s huge story:

Juno News scraps plan to run residential school denial film after investigation by CNO The decision comes after Canada's National Observer determined a producer listed on the film's trailer credits — Simon Hergott — has published several videos and comments on his public YouTube channel...

Candice Malcolm and Keean Bexte's "Juno News" scrapped a feature-length documentary denying the atrocities of Canada's residential school system

The @nationalobserver.com linked the film's producer to a YouTube channel that created "pro-Hitler videos"

Enbridge's CEO gave away the game: public risk, private profit On a recent earnings call, Greg Ebel seemed to be admitting that a new West Coast pipeline would not be economically viable. Those comments contrast sharply with the “Build Canada Now” open letter he ...

Without the convenient and familiar scapegoat of Justin Trudeau to blame for the sector’s troubles, Enbridge seems to be concocting a hypothetical jurisdictional crisis to excuse the private sector from paying for a pipeline, writes Taylor C Noakes.

Canadian politicians are being sold AI-powered civilian patrols A new app gets around bot bans by recruiting real people to post political messages generated by AI.

My latest story is out. Bots get banned on social media.
The workaround? Real humans posting AI-generated messages in a gamified system, coordinated by an AI command centre. And it's being offered to your local town councillor.

www.nationalobserver.com/2026/02/24/i...

Canadian politicians are being sold AI-powered 'digital fighters' A new app gets around bot bans by recruiting real people to post political messages generated by AI.

With municipal elections coming up in six Canadian provinces in 2026, experts warn that “cyborg propaganda” tools could reduce campaigns to battles between humans ventriloquised by chatbots.

Actually she was on an e-scooter.

Safe street advocate hit by car on way home from advocacy meeting Rhiannon Fox, a vocal advocate for safer streets, was left with a broken wrist last week after a driver tried to overtake her on the left while she turned left on an e-scooter in Vancouver.

Rhiannon Fox was on her way home from meeting with city officials about how to reduce danger from cars on Friday when she was hit by a car.

Juno News scraps plan to run residential school denial film after investigation by CNO The decision comes after Canada's National Observer determined a producer listed on the film's trailer credits — Simon Hergott — has published several videos and comments on his public YouTube channel...

Really impressive investigative work here by @mfawcettatkinson.bsky.social 👇

Juno News scraps plan to run residential school denial film after investigation by CNO www.nationalobserver.com/2026/02/23/n...

Wow. And when National Observer declares this filmmaker antisemitic, they link to a video where dude literally blames Jews for societal decay and begins listing wealth Canadian Jewish men.