Because everything is so stupid all of the time, a new conservative think tank popped up in Calgary that is issuing stupid polls, some of the questions of which fundamentally do not understand how Parliament works. They call themselves the “Aristotle Foundation,” and it’s a collection of the usual right-wing (and in some cases, far-right) suspects, and when they claim to be championing “reason, democracy and civilization,” well, you can start picking up where the dog-whistles are sounding.

In any case, they published this stupid poll (and of course, the National Post picked it up, because a bunch of their columnists are members of this think tank), and the very premise of their questions are absurd. “55 percent of non-Western respondents would be open to negotiating with Alberta or other Western provinces amid the threat of separation.” As well, there was a question on whether they “favoured reform of the House of Commons and Senate in the case of threats from Western separatism and Quebec separatism.” Why anyone would want to negotiate with a group of crybabies who make up a marginal fraction of the population is beyond me, but it’s not my poll. Nevertheless—negotiating about what, you ask? Supposed under-representation in the House of Commons and the Senate. They even have a handy chart about population per senator to make their case. I swear to Zeus, I am going to lose my mind.

If you're complaining about "per capita representation" in the Senate, might I suggest you read a fucking book for once in your life? nationalpost.com/news/canadia…

— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2026-03-19T04:29:03.776Z

The Senate is not and has never been a rep-by-pop chamber. It is, in fact, designed not to be. That’s the whole fucking point of why it was constructed the way it was in 1867. It’s explicitly designed along regional lines in order to counter the rep-by-pop of the House of Commons, because having two rep-by-pop chambers would be stupid and counter-productive. Yes, the Atlantic provinces have outsized representation explicitly to counterbalance their small populations in the Commons. That’s why the breakdown is regional: 24 seats for Quebec, 24 for Ontario, 24 for the Maritimes, and 24 for the west (and then the three for the territories and six for Newfoundland and Labrador were later additions). If you don’t understand this basic bit of Canadian civics, what exactly are you doing? Other than shit-disturbing? This is beyond idiotic, and I cannot believe that they want to be taken seriously.

— Effin' Birds (@effinbirds.com) 2026-03-18T22:01:56.308Z

Ukraine Dispatch

Russian drones struck several apartment buildings in Odesa. Ukraine struck two Russian plants building and maintaining military and cargo planes. Here is a look at the interceptor drones that Ukraine is sharing with several Gulf states.

Good reads:

• David McGuinty announced $306.3 million to help expand a munitions factory in Ingersoll, Ontario, to increase domestic production.
• The Logic takes a deep dive into the history of Janice Charette, former Clerk of the Privy Council and now the chief negotiator with the US over NAFTA.
• StatsCan says that our population shrank last year, for the first time ever.
• Rideau Cottage is not fit for purpose as the PM’s residence, and it sounds like there is finally movement happening on doing something with 24 Sussex Drive.
• CBSA says they have opened 372 immigration investigations in the hopes of disrupting the “extortion network” across the country. (Can they not screw this up?)
• An Indian national is suing CBSA after they completely botched an investigation into a massive immigration fraud that he was alleged to have been perpetrating.
• “Convoy” participants want the Chief Justice to recuse himself if the Supreme Court of Canada hears the Emergencies Actappeal. (Why is everything so stupid?)
• Leaders from the Bloc, NDP and Greens want a classified briefing on the attack on the military base in Kuwait, while Poilievre can’t because he doesn’t have clearance.
• Lori Idlout has reimbursed the House of Commons for items bought from the carvings shop that she owns, saying it was “in error.”
• Poilievre recorded an episode of Joe Rogan’s podcast, because of course he did.
• Academy Award-winner Tamara Deverell is calling out Nova Scotia’s cuts to the arts, saying the art scene in the province was why she moved there in the first place.
• Municipalities in northern Ontario want a stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway to be declared “dual-use infrastructure” so that it can access defence dollars.
• The Alberta government is planning major restrictions to MAiD, and threatening use of the Notwithstanding Clause to ensure they are not challenged in court.
• Kevin Carmichael parses the Bank of Canada’s thinking in their decision to hold interest rates in the current economic climate.
• Timothy Caulfield calls out the cowboy fantasy that conservatives and separatists in Alberta are projecting, which doesn’t reflect the reality of the province.
• Justin Ling points to the blatant, bald-faced lies told by the Trump regime to justify their ill-considered conflict with Iran.
• Anne Applebaum bluntly summarizes Trump’s feckless capricious nature, and why no (former) ally is going to stand up for him after he made a mess in Iran.
• My column wonders where our new “bold, independent” has gone, given how supine they’ve been over some of Carney’s incredibly problematic legislation.

Odds and ends:

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