Seeing lots of COVID minimizing / memory-holing in the U.S. lately. A reminder of what it was like at its worst here in Alberta: "The deadliest week came right around Christmas [2020]. From Dec. 21 to 27, the novel coronavirus was claiming 24 lives per day across the province. One death per hour."

What it’s like to die from COVID — and how it feels for those left behind

Marlene Ducommun realized she was going to die and was angry for about 15 minutes. She’s one of nearly 2,000 Albertans who lost their lives to the disease in the past year.

newsinteractives.cbc.ca

Fun exchange on Reddit in which an Alberta driver learns they're paying TEN TIMES what a Quebec driver is paying for insurance on a 20-year-old vehicle.

Calgary no longer wants to administer a provincial program that reimburses low-income seniors for yard & snow services. Seniors can still hire providers directly, then apply for reimbursement. But they say they can't afford to pay up front & wait for the money. Surely there is some solution here?

'Why pick on us?': City cuts home services for low-income seniors

The city has cut a program that offered free services for low-income seniors, leaving some worried about how they will manage.

calgaryherald.com

"As a US counterpart told me during the USMCA negotiations in 2018, we are 10 times bigger than you, so we should get our way 10 times more than you do," writes Chrystia Freeland. "The laughably flimsy, constantly changing justifications for the president’s tariffs are in fact part of the point."

Opinion | ‘You Aren’t Going to Like What Comes After America’ (Gift Article)

Remember when ‘blame Canada’ was a joke?

nytimes.com

"Yet with traffic deaths climbing in both cities, the province didn’t build a portal for people to report dangerous intersections or reckless driving. It built one for bike lanes." Via @cailynn.bsky.social: www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...

Opinion: Alberta’s bike lanes aren’t a problem to be solved – they’re how people get around

I bike most days in Calgary, often with my two children

theglobeandmail.com

Incredible details from @rwarnica.bsky.social about the treatment he received in Calgary after daring to ask Ontario Doug Ford about his past comments on Alberta separatism at a press conference during Stampede. 🔗: www.thestar.com/opinion/star...

Any day our young kids see a garbage truck is a great day, in their books. Today was EXTRA special, though. The driver stopped and gave them these colouring books. They were so thrilled! Small things like this do so much to build community. Thank you to the driver and the City of @calgary.ca! 😊

There's a lot of variation across #cdnecon in exposure to the new 50% U.S. tariffs (on August 19). Here's a preliminary estimate of the share of exports affected (based on HS6, so a slight over-estimate). BC/ON/QC most exposed. Others far less so.

Driving through Saskatchewan today I passed an elderly couple in a minivan with British Columbia plates. Their rear window had a large decal of a kitten wearing a red toque with a Canadian flag, smiling & holding up its paw with an extended middle finger. Above it, in block letters: TARIFF THIS!

This World Cup, defying many expectations prior to the tournament, has seen so many wonderful storylines to date. Cabo Verde's spectacular run. Europeans learning about Buc-ee's. Jonathan David's hat trick. The Scots drinking Boston out of beer. Has it now jumped the shark?

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · last mo.

Trump on Balogun: "That wasn't even an infraction...this referee, who is a little bit suspect if you check his past. He made a call nobody could believe...he's our best player, or one of our best players. And he gave him a red card. I didn't know what that meant...yes, I asked for a review by FIFA."

Corb Lund's petition on coal failed to reach the required number of valid signatures, Elections Alberta announced today. It deemed 24,000 of the 196,088 signatures invalid, after verifying a random sample of the total. That put it 5,644 short of the required threshold of 177,732 valid signatures.

Citizen Initiative Petition Verification Completed, Results Announced - Elections Alberta

EDMONTON – Elections Alberta has completed verification for the “No New Coal Mining in the Eastern Slopes of the Rocky Mountains” citizen initiative petition. Alberta’s Chief Electoral Officer, Gordon...

elections.ab.ca

Manitoba paid for my primary and secondary education. Quebec and B.C. paid for my post-secondary education. And now I live and work and pay taxes in Alberta. Here, @trevortombe.bsky.social tracks the net economic value of the many Canadians with interprovincial education, career & life paths:

The biggest financial transfer in Canada that nobody talks about

Why Alberta and B.C. are Canada’s biggest brain drain beneficiaries

thehub.ca

Gah the rain lets up for a moment in Calgary and ... it's immediately smoky. 😷😞

Canadians' alcohol consumption peaked in 2008 and has fallen by nearly 20% since. Most provinces saw upticks in 2020/21, then precipitous declines after that. In AB & SK, per-capita consumption is down 2.3L of pure alcohol from each province's peak. 🍺That's 130 fewer beers, per person, per year!🍺

I'm currently selling a used car and have already encountered this particular scam. Be careful out there! (And if anyone who is NOT a scammer is interested in a 2008 Lexus RX350 with 244,000 kilometres in the Calgary area -- let me know!)

Selling your vehicle? Watch out for this scam growing in popularity | CBC News

An Ottawa woman is warning people who are selling their vehicle to be wary of scammers who try to lure sellers into purchasing vehicle history reports through fraudulent websites to obtain their credi...

cbc.ca

Today’s max temperature would have been the highest on record for the UK prior to 2003 — now “only” sixth

MetJam@metjam.co.uk · last mo.

37.3°C at Santon Downham in Suffolk is provisionally the hottest UK June day in history, beating 35.6°C set at Southampton in 1976 by 1.7°C. It is the sixth hottest day in UK history, beating 37.1°C at Cheltenham in August 1990, which was once the all-time UK record. An unprecedented heatwave.

Everything about this Wall Street Journal story on Polymarket paying influencers to post fake videos of them winning on Polymarket is nuts, up to and including the disclosure statement at the end about the Wall Street Journal's publisher being in a business partnership with Polymarket.

It’s official - along with my partner in crime @blakeshaffer.bsky.social I am co- leading the new Electricity Centre at the University of Calgary 🔌⚡️⚡️🔋 m.youtube.com/watch?v=91tn...

Google AI, Claude, and ChatGPT each give different answers when trying to figure out the time difference between Calgary and Regina:

The London Ambulance Service responded to the highest number of life-threatening emergencies in its history yesterday. The Chief Executive said this was "driven by the extreme heat across London".

Me on the heatwave www.economist.com/science-and-...

Global warming has made Europe’s heatwave 2-4°C worse

The continent is warming faster than any other

economist.com

A Calgary Chamber of Commerce survey suggests 48% of its members would consider leaving Alberta if the province separates from Canada. Edmonton Chamber VP Heather Thomson says Edmonton businesses feel the same uncertainty, and it’s costing them now. podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/h...

Calgary crowd after that Canada free kick that nearly tied it

"Just under half of survey respondents said they were likely to leave ... if the province votes to begin the separation process. [Economist Trevor] Tombe said businesses left Montreal in the past amid debate over Quebec separation. 'I don't see why there would be any difference with Alberta.'"

Alberta separation could prompt potential $62B economic hit, business exodus: Calgary Chamber report | CBC News

A new report released Wednesday by the Calgary Chamber of Commerce claims Alberta separation from Canada could spur a business exodus and result in a $62-billion economic contraction annually. Meanwhi...

cbc.ca

A few folks have asked me about *home* insurance inflation in Alberta, too. It's also ... just ... wow. 😲

Robson Fletcher@robsonfletcher.com · last mo.

New inflation data out today and wow what can you say about these Alberta car insurance rates other than ... wow. 😳

An interesting press release from the Calgary Chamber of Commerce. #abpoli #ableg #yyc #Calgary

Release: Nearly half of Calgary Chamber members are likely to relocate business if Alberta separation process moves forward - The Calgary Chamber

According to a new survey, nearly half of Calgary Chamber member respondents say they are prepared to leave Alberta and relocate their business to another province if Albertans vote to begin the forma...

calgarychamber.com

New inflation data out today and wow what can you say about these Alberta car insurance rates other than ... wow. 😳

Anyone know if the $225,000 household income threshold for those $100 Alberta energy rebates is in terms of total income or net income? Google of course is absolutely useless for this now, as it confidently asserts contradictory answers and cites sources that don't actually say anything about it.

The recent turnaround in Canadian politics is especially apparent in Manitoba. Look at these shifts in vote intent over the past year and a half. And the latest numbers suggest the NDP may now be making a comeback under Avi Lewis (at the expense of the CPC): 🔗: probe-research.com/polls/federa...

Calgarians elected a new city council in fall 2025 and are giving it high marks so far. A majority of residents say the city is now on the right track. Winnipeggers, who will go to a vote in fall 2026, are deeply unhappy with their current council. Most believe life in the city is getting worse.

A Tale of Two Cities: Looking at the Directions of Winnipeg and Calgary

A grim mood in Winnipeg versus optimism in the Stampede City

curtisbrown.substack.com