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Stephen Lautens

@stephenlautens.bsky.social
4.3K followers 760 following 2.4K posts

Writer, communications consultant, legal gadfly, velvet jacket enthusiast. Big believer in the rule of law. Desperately trying to remain optimistic against all the odds. Posts are clearly my own.

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Stephen Lautens
Jason Markusoff @markusoff.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Stephen Harper has, as we've long awaited, weighed in against Alberta separatism. But man oh man, do I have to strongly quibble with him claiming sentiment was zero when he was PM. Here's a 2014 poll putting belief in separation at 23%, which is where it sits now. nationalpost.com/opinion/step...
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Stephen Lautens @stephenlautens.bsky.social · 14h
Grandpa can't figure out how to turn on his camera for a Zoom meeting of G7 leaders. "It the button in the corner. It looks like a little camera. Bottom corner. No the other one... Now you're on mute. Click the microphone symbol. Oops. He's disconnected himself."
Trump refuses to turn on his camera for a Zoom meeting to discuss the global energy market destabilized by Trump's Iran War.
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Stephen Lautens @stephenlautens.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Make it a confidence motion. I dares ya. #cdnpoli
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Brant Reeves @bireeves95.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Pathetic…..
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Stephen Lautens @stephenlautens.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Carney and Liberals hit new long term high. Liberals at 50 percent support, Carney at 62 on preferred PM tracking. #cdnpoli niknanos.substack.com/p/carney-and...
niknanos.substack.com
Carney and Liberals hit new long term high. Liberals at 50 percent support, Carney at 62 on preferred PM tracking.
Latest Nanos weekly federal political tracking
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Reposted by Stephen Lautens
Max Fawcett @maxfawcett.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
No matter what happens in the 2026 midterms -- or even the 2028 presidential election -- Canadians will never trust the United States the way it used to. The north remembers. #cdnpoli www.nationalobserver.com/2026/09/29/o...
nationalobserver.com
America still doesn't understand how deep the rift goes
Memo to our friends (and yes, our enemies) to the south: the problem isn’t just Donald Trump. It’s you
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🍁🇨🇦Team Canada Forever🇨🇦🍁 @teamcanadaforever.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
CBC leaves out important context: Stelco is owned by U.S.-based Cleveland-Cliffs. An American parent is restructuring its Canadian operations while citing American tariffs. The Canadian job losses are real. So is that context. 🔗 www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
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Stephen Lautens @stephenlautens.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
"How Do You Do, Fellow Kids?" #cdnpoli
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Cheryl in Nova Scotia 🇨🇦🍁🍁 @minibubbly.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
🤣🤣 Belarus does not have any available volumes of potash fertilizer for supply to Western markets. All of the country’s production has already been sold under contract. todaypress.tv/en/world/luk...
todaypress.tv
Lukashenko turns to the West: “We don’t have even a single ton of goods to sell” — TodayPress.tv
Belarus does not have any available volumes of potash fertilizer for supply to Western markets. All of the country’s production has already been sold under contract. TodayPress TV
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Reposted by Stephen Lautens
Dan Nexon @dhnexon.net · 18/09/2026
Step 1: Slip Trump a copy of the 1951 Defense Agreement, but with the name changed. Step 2: Describe it in the most favorable light possible, since he won't read it anyway. Step 3: Trump goes on "Truth Social" and proclaims himself a genius negotiator.
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Stephen Lautens @stephenlautens.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
We all have that one friend who always makes everything about themselves. #cdnpoli
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Stephen Lautens @stephenlautens.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
One of Canada's advantages is that we know a lot about the US. We follow their news and politics, get their TV channels, travel there. But Americans know nothing about us. They don't understand our politics, history or values. They constantly misjudge us, but we understand them completely. #cdnpoli
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Stephen Lautens @stephenlautens.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Trump and Poilievre take note. #cdnpoli
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Stephen Lautens @stephenlautens.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Let's see. AI is embedded in our power grid, water supply systems, and the US military command and control. Aside from that... #SkyNet
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Stephen Lautens @stephenlautens.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
When are we going to start addressing real problems, like Bigfoot?
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Gerald Butts @gmbutts.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Believe me when I tell you Mark Carney writes his own speeches. Today’s was a rhetorical work of art.
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Stephen Lautens @stephenlautens.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Okay - this made me snort...
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Stephen Lautens @stephenlautens.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
"So, what makes you think you would be a good fit for the FBI?"
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Stephen Lautens @stephenlautens.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
I guess no Canadian aluminum for their F-35s and no Canadian toilet paper for the Pentagon... #cdnpoli
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Stephen Lautens @stephenlautens.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
It seems like the 21st Century may belong to us too. #cdnpoli
Sir Wilfrid Laurier quote: "The twentieth century belongs to Canada."
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X Solitude ∞ 🍁🇨🇦 EH! @solitudex.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
🍁🇨🇦💪👏👏👏👏👏👏😎🇨🇦🍁
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The Breakdown AB @thebreakdownab.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
“Alberta pays no money to Quebec, or to any other province. The Alberta government, like other provinces, receives huge transfers from Ottawa to help pay for health care and other programs.” #abpoli #ableg #cdnpoli thetyee.ca/Opinion/2026...
thetyee.ca
No, Alberta Does Not ‘Subsidize’ the Rest of Canada | The Tyee
The vast majority of workers get more from federal programs than they give.
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Andrius Kubilius @andriuskubilius.ec.europa.eu · 16/09/2026
Visionary and strategic @vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu statement: Canada to become first EU Associate Member and join European Security Council. Will bring big bilateral benefits for 🇨🇦&🇪🇺 and major global geopolitical consequences. Europe is becoming centre of gravity of like-minded global democracies!
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Reposted by Stephen Lautens
Ursula von der Leyen @vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu · 16/09/2026
Dear @mark-carney.bsky.social, we want to bring the relationship with Canada to the highest level possible. I would like to work with you on opening the door for Canada to being the first associate member of the EU. And create a common prosperity and economic security space.
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Dr Argue FT @whatsthepointsk.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Canada EU ‘associate member’ “Europe and Canada believe in democracy. That power does not belong to the strongest, the richest, or the loudest – but to all of us,” she said. “Democracies have the freedom to choose with whom to work.” 'associate member' of the EU www.euronews.com/my-europe/20...
euronews.com
Canada to become first 'associate member' of the EU
The status announced by von der Leyen during the State of the Union is an entirely new one, with details yet to be made clear. The European Commission’s President also proposed a new alliance with Ott...
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Stephen Lautens @stephenlautens.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Local man opposes things that no one is suggesting. #cdnpoli
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Krista D Ball is Canada's Spooky Potato @kristadb1.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
... ... ... I give up. www.bbc.com/news/videos/...
bbc.com
'Maybe they'll shoot you' - Carney recalls Trump's gift of White House key
The Canadian prime minister said the exchange “sums up” the Canada-US relationship.
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Don Cochrane 🇨🇦 @doncochraneyow.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
There is no way that Carney is suggesting that Canada have any more than a strong relationship with the bloc. The latest CPC talking points are that he is going to give up our sovereignty. Some kind of mobility and trade agreement would be fantastic.
theguardian.com
Canada should become an EU state in all but name. Here’s how to make that a reality | Fabian Zuleeg
From the UK to Japan, so many countries need to quickly be brought inside the European tent without the rigours of full membership, says economist Fabian Zuleeg
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Stephen Lautens @stephenlautens.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
That's money out of the pocket of Ambassador Bridge owner and Trump supporter Matthew Moroun. #cdnpoli
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The Scot 💙🇺🇸🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇺🇦 @thescot.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
True, or ‘the perception’? And of course Trump breaks another treaty. “A 1967 treaty banned weapons of mass destruction in orbit.” www.bbc.com/news/article...
bbc.com
US confirms for first time it has deployed space weapons
The US Air Force Secretary says the weapons are necessary to defend the country against enemy action.
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POLITICO Europe @politico.eu · 15/09/2026
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has urged the 10 EU countries that have yet to ratify the bloc’s trade deal with Canada to do so, as he seeks closer ties with Europe after trade talks with Washington collapsed.
politico.eu
Carney presses 10 EU countries to ratify Canada trade deal
The Canadian prime minister is seeking to deepen ties with Europe amid a trade war with the U.S.
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Stephen Lautens @stephenlautens.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
“Associate Status” with the EU sounds better than "friends with benefits", but same diff. #cdnpoli
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Stephen Lautens @stephenlautens.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Wet and going down the drain? #cdnpoli
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Stephen Lautens @stephenlautens.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
"One of these things is not like the other..." #cdnpoli
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Stephen Lautens @stephenlautens.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Speak for yourself. I have prided myself on being personally difficult to deal with since the 3rd grade. #cdnpoli #USpoli
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The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Doctors Without Borders say Israel just bombed one of their clearly marked vehicles 👇🏽 (Will 🇺🇸 media even mention this?)
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Roger Parloff @rparloff.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Don Jr's extravagant 3-day wedding was bankrolled by Russian oligarch and Putin crony Umar Kremlev, per @propublica.org www.propublica.org/article/dona...
propublica.org
Donald Trump Jr.’s Wedding Bankrolled by Putin-Linked Russian Oligarch
The oligarch, Umar Kremlev, spent hundreds of thousands on expenses like renting out a private island. He appears to have met Trump Jr. only recently, but he attended the intimate wedding with a large...
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Reposted by Stephen Lautens
Jeff Roach @jeffroach.ca · 13/09/2026
Clear, insightful post unlike most of the "our leader is better than your leader" take on the #tradewar, that isn't: sologi.co/3ToYc8x "These two strategies cannot coexist. That is the collision. Not tariffs. Not trade balances. Not China." #Cdnpoli #politics
sologi.co
Canada Isn't Turning to China. It's Doing Something Much More Dangerous.
The fight over Canada isn't about trade. It's about whether a sovereign country can diversify its way out of dependence — and what happens to American power if it does.
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Stephen Lautens @stephenlautens.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
It also pushes some grocers to lie and maplewash to deceive shoppers. #cdnpoli
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Stephen Lautens @stephenlautens.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Trump himself didn’t know three minutes before he said it.
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Raw Story @rawstory.com · 11/09/2026
President Donald Trump made the crowd at the GOP convention in Dallas take a pledge to vote in the midterms on Thursday night, which included a stipulation to "cheat like hell.
bit.ly
Trump leads GOP convention in pledge to 'cheat' in midterms: 'So help me God!'
President Donald Trump made the crowd at the GOP convention in Dallas take a pledge to vote in the midterms on Thursday night, which included a stipulation to "cheat like hell.""Please raise your right hand!" Trump commanded. "I pledge, to the greatest president in the history of the United States, ...
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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Burns.
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Stephen Lautens @stephenlautens.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
On the 25th anniversary of 9/11, I recall how I might have been in the World Trade Center that day. My newspaper column from 2003. lautens.com/columns/arch...
lautens.com
Lautens Oldies But Goodies - 2003
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Stephen Lautens @stephenlautens.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
15 times Trump promised voters free money. Number of checks (cheques) delivered? Zero.
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Stephen Lautens @stephenlautens.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
US President ruling by decree, captive & subservient Supreme Court, rampant corruption & self-enrichment, extra-judicial & unaccountable secret police, cronyism, media threatened into compliance, gerrymandering, disenfranchising & vote-rigging. Yes, US democracy is on life-support. #cdnpoli #USpoli
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Stephen Lautens @stephenlautens.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
"Inner circle"? It's called a cabinet meeting. #cdnpoli www.ctvnews.ca/world/trumps...
ctvnews.ca
Carney convenes inner circle with Canada-U.S. trade war at fever pitch. Live updates here.
Prime Minister Mark Carney will convene his cabinet today in Banff, Alta., a day after U.S. President Donald Trump claimed Canada is 'dying' to make a trade deal.
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Mark Gerretsen @markgerretsen.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
How uncomfortable have we become with the complexity of our own history?
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Stephen Lautens @stephenlautens.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
"After being thrown down the reactor core by Darth Vader, two stormtroopers, big strong guys, they grabbed me under the arms - 'got to get out of here!' - and they literally lifted me up, and they started running with me out of the Death Star."
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Scam Egg @redliberation.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Canadians are the best possible allies and the worst possible enemies
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Stephen Lautens @stephenlautens.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Now that the U.S. has given us a list of things that will hurt them, time to impose our own export duties on this list of things they've decided they need. #cdnpoli
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