Yesterday was the Anniversary of the Statute of Westminster (1931), which is one of the most pivotal moments in our evolution as a sovereign country, but it rarely gets much mention. When I was in junior high, I remember them talking about how this ensured that Canada could control its own foreign policy, but they never said why. And it turns out that no official account or even the Government of Canada’s web page gave the reason either. The reason is that this was the creation of the Canadian Crown as a separate and distinct legal entity from the Crown of the UK, which mean that we could control our own foreign policy, and were seen as an equal to the UK and not a subordinate. But absolutely nobody mentions the Crown of Canada as the reason. Nobody.

The government's page undersells the importance of this date, because today is the anniversary of the creation of the Crown of Canada as a separate and distinct entity from the UK crown. That's why we gained control over our foreign affairs and "our own voice" on the world stage.

— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2025-12-11T14:17:20.569Z

The Governor General did not put out a release about the day or its importance to the Canadian Crown. Mark Carney did not put out a release about the day at all. Pierre Poilievre did, but not only did he not mention the Canadian Crown, but he talked up conservative figures from the era of history to try and distract from the fact that Mackenzie King was prime minister at the time, which was frankly sad and a little bit pathetic. Nobody else put out a release, and absolutely nobody mentioned the anniversary of the Canadian Crown.

Nothing about the Crown of Canada.

— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2025-12-11T21:53:33.606Z

The creation of the Canadian Crown is one of the most pivotal moments in our history, and it goes completely unremarked because the department of Canadian Heritage is full of republicans, and too many members of civil society are quietly embarrassed by our status as a constitutional monarchy, as though it’s still colonial or “not grown up” when it’s not that at all. The separate Canadian Crown means we are grown up, that we control our own Crown and destiny. And if you don’t want to time-share the monarch with the UK and the other Realms, well, we can change that at any point as well (with the unanimous consent of Parliament and the provinces), and I for one would not be averse to making Princess Anne the full-time Queen of Canada, as she is not only the best royal, but her grandchildren are already Canadian, so that helps with the succession issues. Suffice to say, we have to stop effacing the fact that the Canadian Crown is the central reason why we gained full independence then.

Another floor-crossing

After both Houses of Parliament rose for the winter break, and just before the Liberals had their Christmas party, Conservative MP Michael Ma crossed the floor to join the Liberal ranks. He’s from Markham—Unionville, which is John McCallum’s old riding, so it’s flipped back-and-forth between the Liberals and Conservatives, and Ma has been almost anonymous in the House of Commons, pretty much never put up in QP to read a script for the sake of clips, so he has no profile in the party. His statement talked about “unity and decisive action” for Canadians, which could translate to the fact that he (and possibly his constituents) is tired of the petty little games that Poilievre and his caucus spend all of their time doing.

It also puts the Liberals one seat away from a workable majority, and the House Leader, Steve MacKinnon, hinted that there are more conversations ongoing with Conservatives, and according to the journalists and pundits on the political talk shows, Ma’s name has never been bandied about as a possibility, so this was a complete surprise. But it will also serve to shut Don Davies up if they do get that one more MP, because Davies will have no leverage to try and blackmail Carney with. So, I guess we’ll see what happens by the time Parliament returns.

Well. That happened.

— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2025-12-11T23:22:51.428Z

Ukraine Dispatch

Russian commanders claim to have taken Siversk in the east, but Ukraine denies this. Here is an analysis of how the potential fall of Pokrovsk won’t collapse Ukraine’s front lines. In the back-and-forth on “peace” plans, the US wants to turn ceded lands in the Donbas into a “free economic zone,” and no, I don’t get it either.

Good reads:

• Mark Carney is dismissing the threats by certain Americans that they plan to end the New NAFTA in favour of bilateral trade deals.
• Dominic LeBlanc believes the Americans will realise they’re better off under the New NAFTA than killing it, though hope for sectoral tariff relief is diminishing.
• Evan Solomon is using digital asbestos to sort through the public consultations on his digital asbestos strategy. (This should be satire. I just can’t with this guy).
• The federal government is pushing back the launch of the gun buyback programme to the New Year but aren’t saying why.
• CRA says they want to hire 1700 call centre staff ahead of tax season. (But what about the cuts they’re supposed to make?)
• A non-commissioned member of the military intelligence branch has been charged with passing classified information to a “foreign entity.” (Yikes!)
• The Canadian Forces are looking for a domestic supplier to replace their aging inventory of assault rifles in an accelerated process.
• The Major Projects Office is looking for staff to second at the junior and mid-levels from Bay Street, but also want those companies to top up salaries.
• The Trans Mountain Pipeline has to pay a $196,000 fine for environmental lapses after a storm in January.
• The CEO of the Pier 21 Museum has resigned following the workplace investigation into reports of her bullying staff.
• First Nations chiefs in Alberta are making it clear they weren’t consulted on the MOU either, nor did Carney tap his own “Indigenous Advisory Council.”
• The Canadian Press has a longread about the First Nations communities affected by Doug Ford’s plans to develop the “Ring of Fire.”
• There has been a noticeable pattern of those donating heavily to Ford’s Conservatives also getting Charles III Coronation Medals in Ontario.
• Kevin Carmichael talks to outgoing Competition Commissioner Matthew Boswell about his time in office, and what he thinks needs to happen going forward.
• Rob Breakenridge points out the quandary that Danielle Smith has put herself in with her latest piece of legislation undermining the rule of law.
• My year-end Xtra column points out that democratic backsliding is happening in Canada, but we’re so distracted by Trump we’re not seeing it happen.

Odds and ends:

It's a good thing provinces don't have any responsibilities in Canada's system of government.

— Aaron Wherry (@aaronwherry.bsky.social) 2025-12-11T18:28:28.485Z

Hey BSers! Need a copy of my book, for yourself or for a holiday gift? @dundurnpress.bsky.social is having their holiday sale! Use code HOLIDAY25 to save 25% on this, or any Dundurn book. Check out my book #UnbrokenMachine, or the book I contributed a chapter to, #RoyalProgress.

— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2025-11-19T02:01:04.435Z

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