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Patrick Johnston C.M. 🇨🇦

@patrickjohnston.bsky.social
208 followers 290 following 94 posts

Boomer. Former non-profit CEO & political hack. Teaching and research hospital board director. Member, Order of Canada.

PostsRepliesMedia
Patrick Johnston C.M. 🇨🇦 @patrickjohnston.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Canada helped save the bald eagle from near extinction in the US – does the White House know?
The White House posted a photo of bald eagle attacking a Canada goose – but it was Canada that played a critical role in the recovery of the raptor in the US
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Patrick Johnston C.M. 🇨🇦 @patrickjohnston.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
youtu.be/Gguz5Uuxp9U
youtu.be
Carney to White House: 'Stop throwing shade,' return to trade talks
YouTube video by CBC News
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Patrick Johnston C.M. 🇨🇦 @patrickjohnston.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
… “earning positive feedback from humans becomes an “implicit goal” for AI models. … “Fundamentally,” Bengio told me, “lying and deception are rational behaviours to achieve many goals. This is why humans do it. And this is why the AIs do it now.” www.theguardian.com/news/2026/se...
theguardian.com
‘If you build something vastly smarter than you, it better be on your side’: can we stop AI from deceiving us?
The long read: We are used to the idea that our fellow humans might intentionally mislead or manipulate us, but the idea that machines can now do the same is deeply unsettling. Researchers are racing ...
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Mark Carney @mark-carney.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Canada is going to Eurovision 2027.   If you have what it takes to represent Canada at the most gloriously over-the-top celebration of music on earth, apply now: cbc.radio-canada.ca/en/eurovision
Screenshot of an article from Toronto Life. The headline reads: Want to represent Canada in Eurovision? Now's your chance
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Shannon Proudfoot @sproudfoot.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
New from me: the Trump administration runs infinitely renewable stupidity. www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/opi...
theglobeandmail.com
Opinion: Stupidity is an infinitely renewable resource with this U.S. administration
From trade tensions to renaming Lake Ontario, the latest moves add to a pattern of chaos and needless distraction
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Patrick Johnston C.M. 🇨🇦 @patrickjohnston.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
“I think you need to be in Canada to understand how deep the animosity to the US is.” www.theguardian.com/business/202...
theguardian.com
‘If it’s made in the US, I don’t buy it’: Canadians on boycotting Trump’s America
Avoiding US goods and services – from tech to whisky to air travel – has forced many to find a new way of living
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Richard Warnica @rwarnica.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
The @thestar.com editorial board on Trump’s trade war www.thestar.com/opinion/edit...
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MapQuest @mapquest.com · 27/08/2026
We’re not changing it.
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Patrick Johnston C.M. 🇨🇦 @patrickjohnston.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
The more the U.S. President tries to provoke Canadians, the stronger our resolve to fight his efforts to economically subjugate us. www.cnn.com/2026/08/25/p...
cnn.com
Trump floats renaming Lake Ontario to ‘Lake America’ as feud with Canada escalates | CNN Politics
President Donald Trump on Tuesday escalated his feud with Canadian leaders, suggesting the United States is considering renaming Lake Ontario to “Lake America” as tensions between the two countries co...
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Patrick Johnston C.M. 🇨🇦 @patrickjohnston.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
“They are using ordinary trade irritants as an excuse to exercise mafioso-style dominance in the pursuit of our subjugation and maybe outright annexation. We know very well that this isn’t about trade.” www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Canadians do not seek a trade war – but nor will we be bullied by Donald Trump | Jen Gerson
A fundamental rupture in the values that have united North America is not a problem that can be wished away, says Canadian commentator Jen Gerson
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Tom Hawthorn 🇨🇦 @tomhawthorn.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
This quote will last a century.
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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 23/08/2026
The lesson from Canada’s collapsed trade talks with the US: negotiation may be futile
theguardian.com
The lesson from Canada’s collapsed trade talks with the US: negotiation may be futile
Breakdown shows Washington now prioritises its own interests over any semblance of shared economic ground
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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 23/08/2026
"Against Canada, Trump is fighting a trade war that very few Americans support, under leadership that most Americans reject, to achieve results that virtually all Americans would dismiss as pointless if not crazy" Read David Frum: www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
theatlantic.com
How to Lose a Trade War
Trump’s bullying of Canada is failing.
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Patrick Johnston C.M. 🇨🇦 @patrickjohnston.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
From Down Under, an incredibly insightful, funny and acerbic take on Mark Carney’s decision to walk away from trade “negotiations” with the Americans. Bonus: a helpful glossary to help translate from the original Australian. ifloz.substack.com/p/king-carne...
ifloz.substack.com
KING CARNEY ACTIVATES KONG MODE WITH ZERO FUCKS
Carney Reads the Clock Like a Pro Wrestler
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Mark Carney @mark-carney.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
For over a year, Canada has worked intensively and in good faith with the United States to negotiate a new comprehensive trade deal. We have been pragmatic, patient, and persistent. Our goal has always been to get the best deal for Canadians, never a deal at any price or on any time frame.
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Spudislander45 🇨🇦❤️🌎💪🫡 @spudislander45.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Who else remembers this #NAFTA debate with #Turner and #Mulroney? #Canada #FreeTrade #cdnpoli #onpoli
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Mark Blumberg @canadiancharity.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Article ‘Why some US NPOs dealing with tremendous adversity may want to have an affiliate in Canada’ www.canadiancharitylaw.ca/blog/arti…
canadiancharitylaw.ca
Article 'Why some US NPOs dealing with tremendous adversity may want to have an affiliate in Canada' - CanadianCharityLaw.ca
Here is an article that we recently wrote for an American Bar Association (ABA) webinar Cross-Border Structures: How Canadian Nonprofits Can Assist U.S.
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David Coletto @davidcoletto.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
NEW POLL: 69% want provincial restrictions on U.S. alcohol kept in place. Even with the threat of further retaliation, 54% say the restrictions should remain until U.S. tariffs are removed. Just 19% want provinces to back down. More: abacusdata.ca/seven-in-te...
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Evan Osnos @eosnos.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
1/5 I went back to China to parse what is real tech from what is hype. The clearest fact: the depth of an alternative technological universe: ubiquitous E.V.s, more clinical trials than the U.S.; A.I. systems reaching into workplaces, schools, and even neighborhood trash bins.
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Patrick Johnston C.M. 🇨🇦 @patrickjohnston.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
If you are trying to understand what happened in Ceuta, read this superb, earlier piece by Doug Saunders for context. You can’t help but be impressed by the incredible drive and determination of Khalifa.
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Max Fawcett @maxfawcett.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Alberta hasn't banned US alcohol imports. People here aren't buying it anyways. The debate over whether provincial governments should be banning it misses the actual point, which is that Canadians don't want to buy it in the first place. #cdnpoli
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alex himelfarb @alexhim.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...
thestar.com
Paul Krugman: Trump just used the dumbest trade policy in U.S. history to impose an even dumber one on Canada
The White House has invoked an obscure provision of the U.S. Trade Act of 1930 to impose further tariffs on Canadian goods.
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Max Fawcett @maxfawcett.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
If Mark Carney wants Canada to walk the same energy and climate path as Norway, he has to do a better job of equipping us for the journey. First and foremost: give clean energy the same financial and political support as fossil fuels are getting. #cdnpoli www.nationalobserver.com/2026/07/21/o...
nationalobserver.com
Mark Carney wants to make Canada more like Norway. He has some work to do
The now-annual bouts of wildfire smoke are yet another reminder of the importance of reducing our use of fossil fuels and replacing them wherever possible with electrification. It's time for the prime...
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Patrick Johnston C.M. 🇨🇦 @patrickjohnston.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
“Analysis of over 20 years of economic data show U.S.’s higher productivity has not produced better earnings for most.” www.theglobeandmail.com/business/com...
theglobeandmail.com
Opinion: America is booming. Canada lags. So why aren’t Americans happier?
Analysis of over 20 years of economic data show U.S.’s higher productivity has not produced better earnings for most
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Albert Pinto @70sbachchan.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
"“Why aren’t the fires being put out” is a question only if you’ve never been north of the border. Canada is home to 30% of the world’s forests, over 300 billion trees, most of them in very remote areas that are not managed like US forests"- @katharinehayhoe.com www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
rollingstone.com
The Climate Crisis Was Always Real. Now It's in Your Lungs
The longstanding West Coast air quality crisis reached the East Coast this week. That’s because climate collapse is everywhere — and inescapable
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Patrick Johnston C.M. 🇨🇦 @patrickjohnston.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
Uncontrollable is the key word here. “Canada has experienced more-intense and longer fire seasons with more-frequent uncontrollable wildfires over the past decades.” www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
Canadian forests are more conducive to high-severity fires in recent decades
Canada has experienced more-intense and longer fire seasons with more-frequent uncontrollable wildfires over the past decades. However, the effect of these changes remains unknown. This study identifi...
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Patrick Johnston C.M. 🇨🇦 @patrickjohnston.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
“We don’t have a Canadian fire problem or an American fire problem, but we have a North America fire problem,” www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...
theglobeandmail.com
Wildfire expert offers reality check for U.S. lawmakers who castigated Canada for smoke
Complaints sidestep the fact that wildfire smoke routinely crosses the border in both directions, B.C. ecologist says
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The Beaverton @thebeaverton.com · 17/07/2026
Meet the Canadian civil servant responsible for sending our wildfire smoke to the U.S.
thebeaverton.com
Meet the Canadian civil servant responsible for sending our wildfire smoke to the U.S.
With wildfire smoke drifting down from Canada into Michigan, New York and other states, numerous Americans have once again taken to social media to complain about Canada ruining their summers and “sen...
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Yoshua Bengio @yoshuabengio.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
If current trajectories of AI development continue, it is highly plausible that AI will drastically transform our economies. We must make collective, democratic choices, rather than letting market forces play out and risking leaving most citizens behind. digitaleconomy.stanford.edu/news/wemusta...
wemustactnow.ai
We Must Act Now
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Ida B Wells' Winchester Rifle @dytsras.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
121 years ago today, a group of Black men met in Buffalo New York to establish a new organization. After being denied lodging in America, they went to the Canada side of Niagara Falls where they created The Niagara Movement. The precursor to the NAACP established by WEB DuBois and William Trotter
Members of the Niagara Movement, established in 1905 on the Canada side of Niagara Falls Three books on 3 of the founders of ths Niagara Movement. 

W.E.B. DuBois 
Frederick L. McGhee (ive always wondered if we're related 🤔)
And William Monroe Trotter
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Gander Social @gandersocial.ca · 30/06/2026
Some further reading on what we're all about: gandersocial.ca/gand... gandersocial.ca/huma... gandersocial.ca/peac...
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Gander Social @gandersocial.ca · 30/06/2026
Seeing a bunch of fresh faces. Pleasure to meet you👋 Technically, we "launch" tomorrow. But you're more than welcome to come on by a bit early and check things out ahead of time, sample the snacks, and find a good spot to chill. Find us on the App Store or Google Play.
Graphic with the words “Come on in. There’s a seat for everyone.” above a row of colourful folding camp chairs. A red chair in front has the Gander logo on it. Text below reads, “Socials that’ll make you smile.”
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Gander Social @gandersocial.ca · 29/06/2026
Got some coverage in the Globe today ahead of our very official launch on Canada Day. It’s a solid primer on what we’re up to: a Canadian social platform that can make you smile, where your data stays here, and where the community sets the tone. Heads up: paywall.
theglobeandmail.com
Canadian social-media platform Gander officially launches this week, promising data sovereignty
Born out of the country’s ‘elbows up’ movement, the app aims to evoke the old days of social media
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The Peterson Years @petersonyears.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
On May 19, 1989, Minister of Community and Social Services John Sweeney announced a $415 million overhaul of the province’s social assistance system. Learn more about the Peterson Government’s historic social assistance review on our website: thepetersonyears.ca/modernizing-...
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Gander Social @gandersocial.ca · 08/06/2026
A serious one... because it's Monday. Recent reporting has found foreign accounts pushing Alberta separatism in Canada. People pretending to be local, stealing content, scamming Canadians, and warping political dialogue. That should bother everyone. It for sure bothers us. 👇
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Toronto Star @thestar.com · 31/05/2026
#Opinion: Mary Simon has devoted her career to serving Inuit and all Canadians. She's the first Inuk and first Indigenous governor general — and her legacy will be appreciated more fully as time passes, especially as we begin to understand the unrelenting racism she has faced throughout her life.
thestar.com
Mary Simon is exceptional. She’s still faced a level of criticism no other governor general has endured
Canada's original languages also deserve recognition.
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Patrick Johnston C.M. 🇨🇦 @patrickjohnston.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
The attempt by groups in Quebec to invalidate Mary Simon's tenure as Canada's first Inuk and indigenous Governor General is unconscionable. If successful, it will severely undermine efforts towards reconciliation. www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...
thestar.com
Mary Simon is exceptional. She’s still faced a level of criticism no other governor general has endured
Canada's original languages also deserve recognition.
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Katharine Hayhoe @katharinehayhoe.com · 28/03/2026
To any of my fellow Canadians who are feeling jaded or discouraged, can I just say that spending a few min on Gander is like going back in time 20 years on social media. It is so wholesome and so random. Videos of birds in trees, pictures of ice fishing, and lots of Canuckle results. I love it. 🥰 🇨🇦
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Don Braid @donbraid.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
Ottawa finally wakes up to separatist daydream. They wouldn't make it easy. Column. calgaryherald.com/opinion/colu... #ableg #abpoli #cdnpoli #canpoli #carney #yyc #yeg
calgaryherald.com
Braid: Ottawa finally wakes up to separatist dream of easy exit from Canada
Prime Minister Mark Carney finally throws some cold water on separatist dream. There will be more to come.
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Alex Neve @alexneve.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
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Stephanie Carvin @stephaniecarvin.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
Remind me again why so many in the Canadian business community are convinced we can reach a stable deal with the US?
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Jess Davis @jessmarindavis.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Really good to see Leyland Cecco reporting on Canada's Financial Crimes Agency for the Guardian, and pulling in an important comparison with the US. Have a read: www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...
theguardian.com
Canada to create powerful financial crimes agency as US weakens its approach
Cryptocurrency ATMs also face ban, after public inquiry found Canada lacked anti-money-laundering strategy
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BBC Newsnight @bbcnewsnight.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
“The President doesn’t respect the sycophants…” Ex-White House Comms Director Anthony Scaramucci says Keir Starmer should follow the lead of Canadian PM Mark Carney’s “toughness” towards President Trump, contrasting with the King acting as “a softening agent”. #Newsnight
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Max Fawcett @maxfawcett.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
It was very kind of Paul Wells to give me some space on his Substack to air a few of my frustrations with the coverage (including his!) of Pierre Poilievre's argument about LNG and federal policy. #cdnpoli open.substack.com/pub/paulwell...
open.substack.com
Max Fawcett's beef with Poilievre (and me)
"The energy transition is moving far more quickly than I think most Canadians understand"
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Social Capital Partners🇨🇦 @scpartners.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
OMERS committed $10B more to Canadian investments, which is good news. But our pension funds have been pulling back from Canada for 20 years. With real threats to our economic sovereignty on the table, that has to change fundamentally. Our take on what it will actually take 👇 #CdnPoli #Maple8
socialcapitalpartners.ca
Are Canadian pension funds stepping up for Canada at this moment of threat? All signs point to maybe
Large Canadian pension plan OMERS announced earlier this week that it will attempt to increase its investments in Canada by $10B over the next five years. This is a good sign, says SCP CEO Matthew Men...
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JEAN-FRANCOIS NADEAU @jfnadeau.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
Des Centres de services scolaires, héritage du gouvernement Legault, ont commencé à appliquer les nouvelles dispositions de la Loi sur la laïcité entraînant des renvois ou des départs forcés d’éducatrices portant le voile. www.ledevoir.com/opinion/chro...
ledevoir.com
La honte
On excuse les puissants, mais on punit les vulnérables.
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Patrick Johnston C.M. 🇨🇦 @patrickjohnston.bsky.social · 19/04/2026
An excellent interview with Alexander Stubb, President of Finland, who is very impressive. He and Mark Carney are close and a formidable tag team. www.cbc.ca/news/politic...
cbc.ca
‘It’s more shouting’: Finland’s president says he’s not exactly a ‘Trump whisperer’ | CBC News
Finnish President Alexander Stubb sat down with CBC News chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton to talk about trade, his relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump and NATO’s role in a shift...
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Mark MacKinnon @markmackinnon.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
Q for any historians out there: Has any previous election (anywhere) seen the White House and Kremlin both meddling on behalf of the same side?
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Patrick Johnston C.M. 🇨🇦 @patrickjohnston.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
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Patrick Johnston C.M. 🇨🇦 @patrickjohnston.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
“As fuel and fertilizer costs rise, Trump’s war appears increasingly likely to have the unconscionable side-effect of amplifying world hunger.” www.theguardian.com/business/202...
theguardian.com
Energy shock talk grabs headlines but the Iran war is also driving the world towards a food crisis | Heather Stewart
Growers face soaring fertiliser and fuel costs as shipping choke point of the strait of Hormuz hits supply chains
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