After a speech that was mostly a rehash of his same talking points—falsehoods about the cost of living, blaming the Liberals for the rise of separatism, promising more trickle-down economics, and talking about hearing his autistic daughter speak for the first time, while also not talking about Trump—Pierre Poilievre won a predictable 87.4 percent approval in his leadership review. It’s not unexpected, and it endorses his current path, because these are the things his base apparently wants to hear in spite of the fact that it’s apparently not what most Canadians are looking for, particularly because his personal numbers remain so negative. If anything, this will just reinforce his behaviour, because that’s what we all need.

Could Poilievre or any of his lackeys actually look up what "post-national" means?

— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2026-01-31T04:28:44.469Z

Catherine O’Hara

The loss of Canadian icon is gutting. As author Kate Heartfield put it, she was like every Canadian’s cool aunt, and her loss will be deeply felt. I believe that the government should declare a national funeral be held for her (which is one step below a state funeral), because she is that important to us as a nation. Here is a collection of tributes.

She deserves a national funeral.

— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2026-01-30T18:55:31.866Z

Message from the Governor General on the passing of Catherine O'Hara.

— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2026-01-30T22:14:10.099Z

From @glasneronfilm.bsky.social:

— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2026-01-31T04:53:49.181Z

Ukraine Dispatch

Putin has allegedly agreed to halt strikes on Kyiv until Sunday, but that hasn’t stopped Russia from claiming to have captured three more villages.

Good reads:

• Mark Carney tweeted his approval of Trump’s pick for new Federal Reserve chair, which should give everyone a sinking feeling given the guy’s connections.
• The federal deficit is sitting at $26.4 billion for the April-to-November fiscal period.
• Anita Anand says the government’s record on human rights and international law shouldn’t be compared to its predecessors because the world has changed.
• Lina Diab says that colleges and universities struggling for lack of international students should hit up their provinces for funding. (She’s not wrong).
• The CFIA has detailed how its employees were subject to a campaign of harassment as a result of the ostrich farm cull, some of them needing to relocate their children.
• A Canadian soldier has died in Latvia, but won’t say how or why.
• Those four men facing terrorism charges near Quebec City were apparently preparing for a “zombie apocalypse” (and they were misogynists and antisemitic).
• The Federal Court of Appeal has upheld the federal government’s ability to declare certain single-use plastics as “toxic” as the first step to regulating them.
• Here is a look at the policy resolutions at the Conservative convention.
• Next week is going to be Stephen Harper week, as the anniversary of his rise to power is met with the unveiling of his portrait, and a number of events in Ottawa.
• Former MP Kerry-Lynne Findlay is joining the BC Conservative leadership race—because it really needs someone who spouts antisemitic conspiracy theories.
• Avi Lewis is apparently in the lead for fundraising in the NDP leadership race, with Heather McPherson in second place.
• Allan Stratton lists some scenarios in the US that we in Canada should be preparing for, because their democratic collapse is going to affect us in myriad ways.
• Justin Ling calls out Carney’s silence on Trump’s move to destroy the International Criminal Court, including the sanctioning of judges including one Canadian.
• Ling also reflects further on Carney’s Davos speech, and the parts he got right, and the parts that are missing from the vision of the planet.
• Paul Wells talks to Northwest Territories premier RJ Simpson about threats to the Arctic, and what the governments are doing in Canada about it.

Odds and ends:

For National Magazine, I take a look into the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision on exclusion clauses in insurance policies. (No, really).

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