Canada, Mercosur on track to sign free-trade deal by year-end, Brazilian official says Trade pact could reduce tariffs on key Canadian sectors by up to 35%

www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...

Calling inflation caused by the rise in oil prices a made in Canada problem is so dumb that you can only hope they know they’re lying

Forward Guidance with Prime Minister Mark Carney YouTube video by Mark Carney

youtu.be/uk2TZwkhi4E?...

'Gravy plane": Ontario buys used $28.9-million jet for Premier Doug Ford Liam Casey, The Canadian Press Canadian jet maker Bombardier's Challenger jet manufacturing facility is seen in Dorval, Que., on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi

Doug Ford (owner of a sticker business he inherited from his dad, a home in Etobicoke, a cottage in Muskoka, a condo in Florida, and now a private jet) speaks to the crowd at Ford Fest as they shove free hot dogs in their faces.

Doug: Folks…

Ford Fans: OMG he’s one of us.

#GravyTrain

Local crook proposes to bulldoze the Toronto harbour so he can fly his governmrnt funded private jet to his cottage and Florida.

Doug Ford’s new bill would give him too much control over TTC, confidential report warns A confidential TTC briefing note obtained by the Star says Bill 98 could allow Doug Ford’s government to take over the TTC to regulate fare prices and even share revenue with other transit systems.

They're right.

Bill 98 is a direct attack on the rights of local transit riders, transit workers and the TTC Board itself.

We fought for and won 3 years of a fare freeze. But for what? For Ford to overturn local decisions and raise fares? Not on our watch.

www.thestar.com/news/gta/dou...

Justin Ling: This isn’t just a Carney majority. It’s a national unity government The prime minister's fans and critics alike should be relieved to have a stronger, less partisan Parliament.

This isn’t just a Carney majority. It’s a national unity government | #Opinion from @justinling.ca

Quelle surprise!
When Toronto's Coxwell camera was in place, I noticed it was exceedingly rare to see vehicles break 50 km/h in the 40 km/h zone (I could tell because of a conveniently placed 'Your Speed' sign). When the camera was removed 50+ became quite common and 65+ was suddenly not unusual.

Premier Wab Kinew and I agree that building a strong Canadian economy means building big and building fast.

The new Canada–Manitoba Co-operation Agreement will get big projects like the Port of Churchill Plus built faster.

The unbridled hubris of a car insurance broker dropout.

Orillia pushes for GO Transit expansion to connect city to GTA 'This would really cut down on car dependency,' said Coun. Luke Leatherdale as council backed a resolution urging Ontario to prioritize expanded GO Transit service

This is good, but we need to stop treating GO Transit as a Toronto-centric agency, or as a system operating in a silo from other passenger rail services.

Orillia should be a connection on the way to Washago, a strategic hub between North Bay / Sudbury / Toronto, and between GO / VIA / Northland.

Didn't he proudly tell some crypto bros that he learned economics from late night YouTube videos?

Guy who learned economics from late night podcasts and YouTube videos has some hubris to call a 2x central banker "badly educated in economics". Dude was literally telling everyone to buy bitcoins to "fight inflation" and wanting to fire the BoC governor not so long ago.

Metrolinx overspeed incident demonstrates urgent need for Enhanced Train Control, requires independent investigation Revelations in the Toronto Star on March 13, 2026 alerted the public of a potentially catastrophic near-miss incident on January 5, 2026 involving a GO train traversing a 15 mph crossover at almost…

ontario.transportaction.ca/metrolinx-ov...

ANALYSIS | If a court halts separatists' referendum bid, they'll push Danielle Smith to approve it anyway | CBC News A First Nation's injunction request, to be heard April 7, claims the independence petition drive threatens treaty rights.

One theory has it that the APP has manufactured the 178K number knowing that the courts may prevent Elections Alberta from actually counting the signatures.

APP will then pressure Smith to call the referendum anyhow (without independent verification of the petition).

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

^^ By "make it accessible to researchers", I mean provincial governments should make it available via an API or online portal to accredited researchers under a strict licensing agreement that financially benefits the public if there are any discoveries or AI models that comes from that data.

But that takes prov leadership, ambition + political will to invest in it in-house. Given all levels of gov'ts' decades track record failing to deliver online services, from relying on vendors like IBM to botch the delivery of HR systems, e-health, etc. to failed open-data initiatives, not hopeful.

I agree with you about the need for data to train models. I missed your original point about e-vaccine registries. I think it's incumbent on prov gov'ts to take their existing e-health records & build systems that safely anonymize the data + make it accessible to researchers to train AI models.

Also we are fortunate to live in a country where many of the leaders in the foundational research into machine learning reside. I also remember an interview Carney gave with NES before becoming PM where he mentioned Geoffrey Hinton and research at Vector and MILA and the innovation at MaRS using it.

If the AI tools can help gov't IT departments with their limited resources, bring more software development in-house instead of relying on expensive outside third-party consultants, and help them build and deliver more digital IT systems faster, better and on-budget, I think that can be a win.

I'm an old-school dev with the technical training to build software by hand. I did a CS degree at York as one of your students a decade ago. Even I must admit embracing AI is essential for a career in SWE today. Not a crutch for incompetence but as a powerful tool so I can focus on problem solving.

AI is changing SWE. You know, as I do, that your students are facing that in the job market. We use it for debugging, triaging bugs, planning and implementing new features, creating and automating test plans, etc. It's opening the door for designers and PMs to implement features and commit code.

Shawn Micallef: Artemis II rekindled our interest in space — which makes the loss of this Toronto landmark hit that much harder Artemis II returns to Earth even as crews demolish the McLaughlin Planetarium, the symbol of a bygone era of enthusiasm for space exploration.

In @thestar.com today I wrote about the dreamy rekindling of space travel coinciding w Toronto’s terrestrial tear down of a communal place to share the Dark Side of the Moon.

Frank Scarpetti has been an absolute disaster for Markham, York Region and the GTA as a whole. He is also the Chair of the worst run transit agency in the GTA while demanding billions from the feds for vanity projects and aligned himself with Doug Ford to grift and benefit crony developers.

Markham loses over $7 million in federal funding after blocking fourplexes with ‘strong mayor’ powers Mayor Frank Scarpitti said penalizing Markham will slow housing construction after the city “overshot” its Housing Accelerator Fund commitment.

Markham loses over $7 million in federal funding after blocking fourplexes with ‘strong mayor’ powers

Trump on Truth Social: My Administration stands ready to use the full Economic Might of the United States to strengthen Hungary’s Economy, as we have done for our Great Allies in the past, if Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and the Hungarian People ever need it. We are excited to invest in the future Prosperity that will be generated by Orbán’s continued Leadership! President DONALD J. TRUMP

Trump trying to bribe the people of Hungary into re-electing Viktor Orbán.

Saab dangles sovereign data centre in Montreal to undercut F-35 fighter contract | CBC News Saab is pitching a Montreal-based, sovereign data hub to secure Canada's fighter jet contract, arguing it would keep mission-critical data out of U.S. hands. The move challenges Lockheed Martin's F-35 model and amplifies Ottawa's growing unease over data control, AI and strategic dependence.

Saab dangles sovereign data centre in Montreal to undercut F-35 fighter contract #Canada #Cdnpoli

Swedish firm pitches centre as means to keep mission-critical data out of U.S. hands

www.cbc.ca/news/politic...

Time Is on Canada’s Side in USMCA Talks, Former Trade Chief Says Pressure on the US economy is building and Canada can likely get the best outcome in trade negotiations by waiting, according to the former Canadian negotiator who helped draft a new deal during Presi...

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...