Mark Mac Lean

From the archives: Parizeau promises to ‘exact revenge’ for sovereigntist loss Twenty years ago, Quebec narrowly rejected sovereignty

From the archives:
30 years ago tonight, I was covering one of the biggest stories in Canadian political history: The Oct 30, 1995 referendum on Quebec sovereignty. It was a nail-biter, 50.5% NO, 49.5% YES. www.theglobeandmail.com/news/nationa... via @theglobeandmail.com

Academics aren't at the core?

The votes are counted and the quiet shattered as treaty arrives in Victoria The first treaty with our First Peoples came after a long debate and even longer wait.

www.theage.com.au/politics/vic...

'Washington Post' editorials omit a key disclosure: Bezos' financial ties Three times in the past two weeks, editorials at the 'Washington Post' failed to disclose that they focused on matters in which owner Jeff Bezos had a material interest.

Three times in the past two weeks, editorials at the 'Washington Post' failed to disclose that they focused on matters in which owner Jeff Bezos had a material interest.

338Canada | Nanos Research federal poll, October 2025

🇨🇦Preferred PM, Nanos Research tracker (October 3-24, 2025):

🔴49% Mark Carney (-1)
🔵27% Pierre Poilievre (-2)

(Comparison with previous 4-week sample)

338canada.com/20251024-nan...

I’ve let Mayor Sim know that we won’t be calling Park Board legislation (Bill 26) for second reading this Fall.

The City of Vancouver has more work to do clarifying their intended direction, including working with Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations.

Alberta uses notwithstanding clause in bill ordering teachers back to work If passed, the bill would override the union’s ability to mount a legal challenge against the legislative order

Charter rights mean nothing to the Alberta UCP government.

www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/65d6ffc...

Another egregious use of the notwithstanding clause. The right wing populist governments in this country are a scourge.

Trump, long erratic on the world stage, reaches a new level While the president’s instinctive, idiosyncratic approach to foreign policy has yielded some results, in the words of one analyst, there are downsides.

www.theage.com.au/world/north-...

📊338 Sunday Update: Troubled Waters Ahead for Mark Carney

⌨️My latest for 338 → www.338canada.ca/p/338-sunday...

when another labour dispute in British Columbia is solved

(illustration by Indiana Joel)

Past practice has had this contract set "mandate" for public sector wages in BC. The details of the 3% p.a. will matter if that practice continues.

"Mate, I can't do anything but tell it to you straight. This Canada thing is literally the dumbest thing I've ever heard. The Canadians ran an advertisement showing Ronald Reagan being against tariffs. Guess what? Ronald Reagan was against tariffs."

It is next weekend, I think.

‘All Australians are welcome here’: Forty years on, PM hails Uluru handback to traditional owners The title deeds for Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park were returned to traditional owners on October 26, 1985.

www.theage.com.au/politics/fed...

"OneBC has used staff & cash to produce the documentary Making a Killing: Reconciliation, Genocide & Plunder in Canada. If you’re wondering how the public ends up funding a doc denying residential school harms, it’s part of the $650K OneBC received after MLAs Brodie & Armstrong formed their party."

'Uncharted territory': Ongoing shutdown threatens food aid for 42 million people SNAP, the country's largest anti-hunger program, dates back to the Great Depression and has never been disrupted this way. Most recipients are seniors, families with kids, and those with disabilities.

SNAP, the country's largest anti-hunger program, dates back to the Great Depression and has never been disrupted this way. Most recipients are seniors, families with kids, and those with disabilities. n.pr/48PNNIt

If you're hit with a diagnosis like cancer, the last thing you should need to worry about is your job. That's why we've introduced legislation that will provide workers facing serious illness or injury with up to 27 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave. http://News.gov.bc.ca/32935

An analysis of the Carney Government's 'Combatting Hate Act' Bill C-9 was recently introduced in Parliament, and it would establish new hate speech, hate crimes, and intimidation offences.

NEW POST: An analysis of the Carney Government's 'Combatting Hate Act' emmettmacfarlane.substack.com/p/an-analysi...

Some news!

Every Thursday me and Stephen will be doing an extended and separate podcast episode about Metro Vancouver politics.

We're hoping to do this each week for the next year until the 2026 local elections.

First episode later today!

Find it here, or wherever you get your podcast fill.

There is a constituency in the Conservative Party for Poilievre’s antics, which is really the problem Voters are entitled to wonder, if he is so unguarded publicly, whether he is any more measured in private – and whether this thinking is the kind they want in a prime minister

www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/65d6ffc...

Khelsilem | Substack A newsletter exploring housing, social democracy, and Indigenous rights from Khelsilem. Click to read Khelsilem, a Substack publication with hundreds of subscribers.

A must-read if you wish to understand what the Cowichan Decision says, and what it doesn't say.

Khelsilem: Setting the Record Straight on the Cowichan Title Decision khelsilem.substack.com

Up next on The Early Edition we'll hear from a UBC researcher about why she thinks real-time data is needed for the province to make more informed policy decisions around mental health care.
This as we approach six months since the Lapu Lapu Day tragedy.
88.1 FM in Vancouver

Bruce Arthur: Pierre Poilievre’s specialty is political arson. Now he’s the one feeling the heat The Conservative leader made a choice when he went after the RCMP commissioner. He may regret it.

Pierre Poilievre specializes in political arson, but with his RCMP-bashing Lock Trudeau Up remarks on a cozy right-wing podcast, he may be the one getting burned. www.thestar.com/politics/pol...

UT Austin Muzzles Grad Student Assembly’s Political Speech Officials at the University of Texas at Austin blocked the Graduate Student Assembly from considering two resolutions against Texas state laws last week, arguing that the student-run body must follow ...

www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-t... What a convoluted explanation from UT Austin as to why the Provost can engage in political speech but the Graduate Student Assembly cannot.

Why uncertainty over end result of Cowichan Tribes case invites plenty of speculation | CBC News The legal system can work in years, the news cycle works in days — and politicians are caught in the middle, with claims and counterclaims filling the void until further decisions are made.

Here’s my story on what people are saying about the Cowichan Tribes ruling this week, what the ruling actually says — and how we might be in this place of uncertainty for a while

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Another metaphor for this presidency.

One of the least fit for office party leaders in Canadian history.