The office of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is vehemently denying accusations that she asked the U.S. to interfere in Canadian federal politics, as comments Smith made during an interview with an American news outlet earlier this month made waves this weekend.

Smith, along with other Canadian political leaders, has been lobbying U.S. counterparts against placing the stiff tariffs President Donald Trump wants on Canadian goods. Part of her effort has included speaking with American news media.

During a March 8 interview with Breitbart, a right-wing U.S. media company, Smith said the Conservative Party of Canada was far ahead of the governing Liberal Party in polls before the trade war. But the threat of "unjust and unfair tariffs" had boosted Liberal support.

The leaders of the main federal political parties will be invited to a face off in mid-April — if they meet certain criteria, announced the Leaders' Debates Commission Monday.

The commission, a government agency created in 2018 to organize federal leaders' debates, said the French debate will take place April 16 at 8 p.m. ET and the English debate will be held April 17 at 7 p.m. ET.

Both events will be hosted at the Maison de Radio-Canada in Montreal.

The head of Elections Canada says he has been in touch with social media platforms in an effort to address concerns about misinformation as Canada wades into an election campaign.

Chief Electoral Officer Stephane Perrault told reporters on Monday that he has reached out to social media sites such as X and TikTok to "seek their support to making this election a secure election." He said he has been satisfied with the response so far.

"We'll see what action actually takes place during the election. Hopefully they won't have to intervene, but if there are issues, hopefully they will be true to their word," he said.

"Chaque nouveau membre compte" Campagne de dons

Objectif

Pour les prochaines 72 heures, je (AlolanVulpix) ferai un don de 1$ pour chaque nouvel abonné à notre forum, soutenant la défense de la représentation proportionnelle au Canada.

Détails actuels

1. Statistiques actuelles : 490 abonnés.
2. Cet événement commence dès que cette publication est visible et se termine le ou après le 2025-03-27T20:00:00-04:00.

Modalités du don

3. 1$ sera donné pour chaque nouvel abonné qui se joint pendant la période de 72 heures
4. Plafond maximal de don : 500$ CAD.
5. Bénéficiaire du don : Représentation équitable au Canada.
6. Vérification : J'utiliserai les analyses d'abonnés du forum pour suivre les nouveaux membres.
7. Des mises à jour sur les progrès seront publiées régulièrement, objectif : toutes les 24 heures dans ce fil

Règles

8. Les nouveaux abonnés doivent maintenir leur adhésion pendant au moins 7 jours après la fin du concours pour être comptabilisés
9. Plusieurs comptes créés par la même personne ne compteront que comme un seul abonnement
10. Les abonnés locaux et non locaux comptent tous deux pour le total des dons

Questions et contact

11. Pour toute question concernant cette campagne de dons, veuillez commenter ci-dessous
12. Le reçu de don sera publié (avec les informations personnelles caviardées) après la conclusion de l'événement

Renforçons notre communauté tout en soutenant la réforme démocratique ! Chaque nouveau membre compte, tout comme chaque vote devrait compter dans notre système électoral.

"Every New Member Counts" Donation Drive

Purpose

For the next 72 hours, I (AlolanVulpix) will donate $1 for each new subscriber to our forum, supporting proportional representation advocacy in Canada.

Current Details

1. Current statistics: 490 subscribers.
2. This event begins as soon as this post is visible, and ends on or after 2025-03-27T20:00:00-04:00.

Donation Terms

3. $1 will be donated for each new subscriber who joins within the 72-hour period
4. Maximum donation cap: $500 CAD.
5. Donation recipient: Fair Vote Canada.
6. Verification: I'll use the forum's subscriber analytics to track new members.
7. Progress updates will be posted regularly, attempted: every 24 hours in this thread

Rules

8. New subscribers must maintain their membership for at least 7 days after the contest ends to be counted
9. Multiple accounts created by the same person will count as only one subscription
10. Local and non-local subscribers both count toward the donation total

Questions and Contact

11. For any questions about this donation drive, please comment below
12. Donation receipt will be posted (with personal information redacted) after the event concludes

Let's strengthen our community while supporting democratic reform! Every new member counts—just like every vote should count in our electoral system.

On Friday, we sent out a message asking supporters to sign up to organize proportional representation door hanger campaigns in their ridings.

The response has been overwhelming. 240 organizers have stepped forward in less than 48 hours. With over 1200 volunteers willing to deliver - and the list just keeps growing!

Friends, to send each of these wonderful volunteer organizers just 1000 door hangers each would cost Fair Vote Canada $40,000.

Canada’s main federal party leaders shifted into campaign mode a day ahead of an expected election call, spending Saturday gearing up for the impending race and trying to position themselves as the best option to lead Canada through a trade war with the United States.

Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to ask Gov. Gen. Mary Simon to dissolve Parliament on Sunday and call for an election, with a vote to take place at the end of April or early May.

Doug Ford’s entire campaign was based on a promise he would save us from Trump.

Who will save us from Ford?

With a federal election call widely expected on Sunday, the three main political parties are ramping up their attacks and trying to pitch their leaders as the best people to guide Canada through difficult days ahead.

They were done. Cooked. Spent. There was nowhere to go but down—into a brutal rebuild and an inevitable existential crisis.

Just days before Christmas and hours before delivering a devastating economic update, then finance minister Chrystia Freeland walked away, telling the embattled prime minister to shove it. In the days that followed, Justin Trudeau had never been more politically isolated. His reign was done. The man who had rescued the Liberals from oblivion in 2015 was now poised to leave them in a shambles.

This is not hyperbole. By late last year, the numbers were catastrophic. Léger had the Liberals at 20 percent nationally, trailing the Conservatives by twenty-three points. Ipsos and Abacus Data measured a twenty-five-point canyon between the two parties. Mainstreet Research placed the Liberals in the high teens. In the 338Canada projections, the party had even fallen behind the Bloc Québécois—not just in Quebec but from coast to coast.

Pierre Poilievre and the Conservative Party were about to cruise to power with one of the largest parliamentary majorities in Canadian history.

Then Trudeau resigned.

Then Donald Trump was sworn in, launching daily threats against Canada’s economy and sovereignty.

What is a writ and why do you never drop it? While “dropping the writ” is a phase commonly used in Ontario and Canadian media to refer to an election, according to TVO’s Steve Paikin in this Nerds on Politics explainer, you “draw up” the writs.

In a provincial election, the premier asks the lieutenant governor to dissolve the legislature so a new campaign can begin. The lieutenant governor then takes a writ – essentially a document – from each riding in the province and signs them. So nobody drops a writ.

The same is the case in Canadian federal elections when a prime minister asks the governor general to dissolve the parliament in Ottawa. The governor general will sign – or draw up -- writs for all federal constituencies.

During this crash course in Ontario and Canadian electoral politics, Steve explains why he thinks this distinction matters, tells a dad joke, and listens to a producer use the f-bomb.

This video is a good primer for anyone interested in learning about political history, Ontario elections, Ontario politics and government, and politics and government in other Canadian provinces or at the federal level in Canada.

Cult MTL on Bluesky

Pierre Poilievre has essentially turned the CPC into an alt-right party.

“Conservatives are by far the most likely to have positive impressions of Trump and Elon Musk, and make up almost the entire population who want Canada to become the 51st state. We know who the traitors are.”

https://cultmtl.com/2025/03/pierre-poilievre-has-done-irreparable-damage-to-the-conservative-party-cpc/

It may surprise you (or not) that most countries we consider democracies, like India or the United States, are actually deemed flawed democracies. For full democracies, you'd have to look rather to Canada, Japan, or European countries like Spain and the United Kingdom.

Very little of the world's population lives in a full democracy today, and Latin America is no exception. Citizens of the region's largest country, Brazil, live in a flawed democracy marked by widespread polarization and corruption.

Cult MTL on Bluesky

With an election call imminent, Pierre Poilievre will be launching his campaign as his unfavourability reaches an all-time high.

Mark Carney now leads Pierre Poilievre in net favourability by 37 points.

https://cultmtl.com/2025/03/pierre-poilievre-poor-favourability-will-cost-the-conservatives-come-election-time/