The mask is off. US treasury secretary Scott Bessent was on a far-right TV show to mouth the faux grievances of Alberta, and is providing succour and support for the separatist loons in the province, making it abundantly clear that the US plans to do to Alberta what Putin did with the Donbas region in Ukraine. We’ve watched the Americans also make these promises to independence-minded politicians in Greenland, some of whom naively believe that the US will simply recognise their independence from Denmark and leave them be when that isn’t their plan at all. And you can bet that they’ll start making these same promises to the Parti Québécois if they form power in the province in the next election, because they would absolutely love to break up Canada so that they can absorb the pieces.

So far, the government is downplaying this, with François-Philippe Champagne saying he’ll “remind” Bessent that they are working with Alberta to develop their resources, which is frankly not nearly enough. The US is openly meeting with separatists—those separatist organisers are openly bragging about their “high-level” meetings in Washington—and one of the top members of Trump’s Cabinet is openly supporting them. At the bare minimum, the US ambassador needs to be summoned, and if he doesn’t properly explain and apologise, then he should be expelled in order to send a message that this kind of interference is absolutely unacceptable.

And then there’s the problem of those separatists who are taking it upon themselves to “negotiate” in Washington. You might think that someone like Danielle Smith might denounce them for these actions, but she has bent over backwards to ensure that they have the easiest ride possible to their referendum, because Smith thinks that she can leverage it for her benefit. And Carney has been utterly silent, believing that his bending the knee to Smith is what is going to solve the separatism issue, even though these people have no interest in actual policy resolutions and have made hating Ottawa (and anyone named Trudeau) their whole personality. This is going to need a much stronger hand, and a forceful pushback against this American interference before it can fester even more than it already has.

— Effin' Birds (@effinbirds.com) 2026-01-23T23:56:01.434Z

Ukraine Dispatch

Kyiv and Kharkiv have come under Russian attack in the early hours of the morning. The constant attacks have worsened the power grid situation, as temperatures have been falling as low as -16ºC.

Good reads:

• At the end of the Cabinet retreat, Mark Carney abruptly cancelled his planned press conference (“for scheduling”) after not taking questions for days.
• Various ministers clapped back at Trump’s claim that allied countries were “behind the front lines” in Afghanistan, while veterans remain furious.
• Evan Solomon says that a new online harms bill is on the way (under Marc Miller’s stewardship), while a new privacy bill is also on the way.
• Here is the rolling totals of prospective layoffs in the civil service.
• The Canadian Forces has completed their mission to Pimicikamak Cree Nation in Manitoba to help deal with their frozen water crisis.
• The Assembly of First Nations is warning First Nations people to be wary of travel in the US as Indigenous people are having negative interactions with ICE.
• Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami president Natan Obed is concerned for the Inuit homelands in Canada after the menacing of Greenland by the US.
• Senior Liberals™ are trying to recruit Dr. Danielle Martin to run in University—Rosedale (but I have a feeling Carney will run another banker buddy in a safe seat).
• In the NDP leadership race, Avi Lewis wants a moratorium on new data centres.
• Quebec plans to remove the Crown from the province’s Coat of Arms under the mistaken belief that it’s “British.”
• Michael Spratt calls out Poilievre’s lies about the justice system as he pursues grievance politics online.
• Philippe Lagassé offers a reminder that Carney fans can’t wish away the US, and that geography will force us to deal with them in one way or another.
• Justin Ling points to New York to how well congestion pricing has worked, and calls for mayors in Toronto and other major cities to push for those policies here.

Odds and ends:

For National Magazine, I dive into yesterday’s Supreme Court of Canada decision and what it means for criminal trials moving forward.

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