Canada is hitting the reset button in 2026. Immigration is getting tighter, more selective, and way more focused on people already here. Fewer international students and temporary workers, lower intake targets, and new powers for immigration officials are changing the rules.

Ottawa’s also tweaking Express Entry to fast-track doctors, fixing long-standing citizenship gaps for “Lost Canadians,” and pushing provinces to run leaner, more targeted nominee programs. Ontario, Alberta, and Saskatchewan are all tightening the screws in different ways.

On the home front, there’s some relief too: a middle-class tax cut, automatic tax filing for low-income Canadians, capped NSF bank fees, and new labour rules that ditch the “Canadian experience” nonsense. Add in housing, EI, and road safety changes, and 2026 is shaping up to be a more controlled, rules-driven Canada for better or worse.

If this helped make sense of what’s coming, give us a like, share it with a friend, and subscribe. You can also support the work with a paid subscription or buy me a coffee to keep the free content going.

This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Overnight, the U.S. launched a massive military operation in Venezuela and straight-up captured President Nicolas Maduro and his wife. Planes everywhere, special forces on the ground, explosions in Caracas and by morning, Maduro was in handcuffs on his way to New York.

The Trump administration says this was about narco-terrorism and drug trafficking. Critics say it’s an illegal invasion, a power grab, and a dangerous throwback to U.S. empire politics. Trump now claims the U.S. will “run the country” during a transition, and American oil companies are lining up.

The global reaction? Totally split. Some celebrate while others call it a crime under international law. The UN’s alarmed, allies are nervous, and Venezuela’s future is suddenly wide open and deeply unstable.

We’re breaking down what really happened, what comes next, and why this could reshape the entire region.

If you found this helpful, hit like, share it with a friend, and subscribe to the paid subscription or buy me a coffee to help keep the free content going.

This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

2025 was a year for Canada. We went from political whiplash to full-on trade war with the U.S., as Trump’s “America First” tariffs hit hard and pushed Canada into uncharted territory. Justin Trudeau bowed out, Mark Carney stepped in, and against all odds, the Liberals pulled off a minority win by running straight at American pressure with an “Elbows Up” message.

At home, things were messy. Big strikes shut down Canada Post and grounded flights. The MMIWG crisis forced the country to confront painful truths again. A bizarre ostrich farm court battle somehow became an international spectacle. Public health took a hit as measles returned. Also, the CRA quietly lined up more audit power than ever.

Globally, Canada started looking east. New trade deals, critical minerals drama, and an all-out race for AI made it clear the world’s rules are changing. Meanwhile, Indigenous artists dominated Junos and TIFF, K-pop ruled the internet, and “brain-rot summer” somehow became a thing.

If you found this helpful, hit like, share it with a friend, and subscribe. Consider grabbing a paid subscription or buying me a coffee to help keep this content free and independent. Thanks for listening.

This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

“60 Minutes” put together a hard-hitting investigation into Venezuelan migrants deported by the Trump administration to El Salvador’s brutal CECOT mega-prison, a place former detainees straight-up call “hell.”

The report lays out allegations of beatings, torture, sexual abuse, and inhumane conditions. Here’s the kicker: government data shows most of the men sent there weren’t violent criminals at all. Nearly half had no criminal record, and only a handful were convicted of violent offences.

However, just hours before the episode was set to air, CBS pulled it. The order came from the network’s new editor-in-chief, sparking accusations of political censorship and corporate interference, especially with Trump-aligned owners now calling the shots.

CBS tried to bury the story, but it aired in Canada. Once it hit the internet, it spread everywhere, fuelling backlash from journalists, politicians, and viewers who saw this as a line crossed.

This isn’t just about one prison or one segment. It’s about media independence, political pressure, and who really controls the news. If you found this useful, hit like, share it around, and subscribe, including our paid subscription or buy me a coffee to help keep independent, free content alive.

This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Big news out of Queen’s Park. Ontario’s Integrity Commissioner is officially investigating Labour Minister David Piccini over how billions in skills training money were handed out. This comes after a brutal Auditor General report that found the process wasn’t fair, transparent, or accountable and that political staff overruled civil servants to approve lower-scoring projects, often linked to lobbyists.

The opposition says it smells like pay-to-play. The Ford government says the program works and has trained hundreds of thousands of people. Piccini says he’ll cooperate, and the Integrity Commissioner now has broad powers to dig into conflicts of interest, influence, and insider dealings.

We’ll break down what this means, why it matters, and what could happen next.If you found this useful, please like, share, and subscribe. Consider grabbing a paid subscription or buying me a coffee to help keep this content free.

This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Suicide is one of Canada’s quietest crises and one of the deadliest. About 4,500 people die by suicide every year here. That’s roughly 12 people a day.

In this podcast, we break down what’s really going on: who’s most at risk (men, youth, Indigenous communities, 2SLGBTQI+ folks, and veterans), why long wait times and red tape still block care, and why simple, direct conversations can literally save lives.

We also talk about Canada’s 988 Suicide Crisis Helpline, launched in 2023, what it does well, where gaps remain, and why experts say suicide is preventable when communities show up early and without judgment.

No jargon. No lectures. Just the facts, the human cost, and what actually helps.

If this mattered to you, please like, share, and subscribe. Support us with a paid subscription or buy me a coffee to help keep this content free and accessible for everyone.

This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here’s the low-down from CSIS boss Dan Rogers, who just gave his first big public speech, and the security vibes in Canada are getting pretty wild. We’re talking foreign meddling from China, Russia, Iran, and even India; spies snooping around the Arctic; shady recruitment attempts; and even foreign governments threatening people right here at home.

On top of that, violent extremism is still a major problem and the scariest part? More Canadian teens are getting pulled into extremist stuff online. Nearly one in ten CSIS terror cases now involves a minor.

Rogers also flagged how our data’s getting scooped up by foreign companies and states, giving them new ways to mess with us. Also, it’s not just government targets anymore; businesses, universities, and even local governments are getting hit. Basically, if you’ve got valuable tech or info, someone out there wants it.

Big picture: Canada’s threat landscape is getting more complicated, and CSIS says foreign states are way more aggressive than they used to be.

If you’re into breakdowns like this, don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe to support free content or buy me a coffee to keep the lights on.

This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Welcome back! Today, we’re talking about Canada’s 2025 federal budget, called “Canada Strong”. The government, led by Prime Minister Mark Carney, is planning a large deficit to kickstart long-term growth and attract over a trillion dollars in public and private investment.

The plan includes big tax breaks for businesses, new funding for technology and clean energy, and record spending on defence and infrastructure. However, it also means major cuts about 40,000 federal jobs could disappear over the next few years.

Business leaders like the direction, saying it finally supports investment and innovation. Nonetheless, unions are warning that the cuts will hurt workers and public services. Also, the budget might not even pass without help from other parties, which could trigger an election.

We’ll break it all down: the big promises, the risks, and what this could mean for Canada’s economy and workers.

If you like what you hear, please like, share, and subscribe to the paid subscription to support more free articles or buy me a coffee to help keep this content free for everyone.

This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.