Thinking about: homelessness in Saskatoon; why Notwithstanding is important; Carney gets the "Nobel Patience Prize"; what Canadians think about American fascism

Here's what I'm thinking about today:

Homelessness in Saskatoon 

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, the Saskatoon Star Phoenix has published three excellent articles this week about homelessness in our city. Reporter Brody Langager has really done a great job investigating the issue.

The growth of homelessness: Looking back at Saskatoon survey findings
A significant jump in the number of people facing homelessness was recorded in 2024.
In this article, Langager reports that the city, the Saskatoon Housing Initiatives Partnership and the Community-University Institute for Social Research at the University of Saskatchewan have been doing an annual fall homeless count since 2008. While there were 368 adults and 11 children counted in 2012, the number had risen to 464 adults and 11 children by 2018.

The 2022 point-in-time homeless count found 550 people were facing homelessness, with 26 of those being children (ages 0-12) and 84 of them youth (ages 13-24).
It said 90.1 per cent of respondents identified as Indigenous, and 54.8 per cent had experienced foster care....
A significant jump in the number of people facing homelessness was recorded in 2024, with 1,499 people unhoused. Out of that number, 315 were children and 175 were youth.
The report said 66.5 per cent of respondents used shelter spaces in the past year.
It said 64 per cent of those surveyed were chronically homeless, and 50.3 per cent said their first experience of homelessness was as an adult. It was noted that 67 per cent of respondents said they experienced violence while homeless.
A total of 80.7 per cent of respondents identified as Indigenous, 50.8 per cent said they had been in the foster care system, 60.8 per cent had been in Saskatoon for over five years, and 82.3 per cent faced substance use issues....

Today's News: Happy happy joy joy! The Blue Jays won and they're going to the ALCS

What a great game! 

I was doubting all the pitching changes, but Schneider knew what he was doing. At The Globe and Mail, Cathal Kelly describes the game:

On Wednesday, Toronto played a game it was meant to lose, starring all the guys who don’t get talked about on the Fox Sports pre-game show.
You could tell by the way the Bronx crowd greeted the Yankees’ starter, Cam Schlittler, that they thought they had this one in the bag. They cheered their new talisman like he was walking off the field after winning, not coming on to it to start work.
They booed ‘O Canada’ again – louder this time, less pushback afterward. They must’ve thought it was working.
Then the Jays put their bullpen to work. Eight pitchers, almost none of whom make the big bucks, participated. The game was a toss-up until Nathan Lukes, a platoon outfielder who’s spent a decade in the minors, blew it open with a two-run single.
When it was getting dicey at the end, with men on base and Aaron Judge menacing the on-deck circle – Andres Gimenez sprinted more than 30 yards to catch a swirling pop-up in foul territory.
The name brand players were great too, but it was everyone else who set the tone. Toronto won 5-2....
“It’s an unbelievable cast of characters in there,” manager John Schneider said afterward. “We’ll enjoy tonight, and then we’ll start figuring out the next series when we wake up.”...

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Darn it! What a day for Carney and for the Jays. But it was a win for David Eby

Rats! 

So Tuesday was NOT a magical day after all.

First, Carney won't be coming home from Washington with new trade deals for steel, aluminium, or vehicles:

"You are a transformative president" -- I regret to inform you that Mark Carney is kissing Trump's ass

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) October 7, 2025 at 10:10 AM

Carney is, as we Canadians say, LAYING IT ON WITH A TROWEL sorry to say Aaron, this isn't ass-kissing, it's the opposite sorry you can't see that 🤭

— Giggie (@ottawaensis.bsky.social) October 7, 2025 at 8:51 PM

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Today's News: Carney goes to Washington; and the ICE Gestapo make fantasy movies so Trump can think he's a crime-fighter

 

I can't imagine how Carney stands it. 

But on Tuesday he's doing it again. 

Meeting with Trump about tariffs. 

So on the one hand Carney has to listen to Trump's bluster:

@minibubbly.bsky.social @maej43.bsky.social @anniegirl.bsky.social @ruthmkb.bsky.social @cathiecanada.bsky.social @luciecatnip.bsky.social @merlinofcanada.bsky.social This is viciousness for the sake of being vicious. 😠 #Canada refuses to bend the knee, so Mango Mussolini makes threats. #cdnpoli

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— GhostWarrior ⚔️🏳️‍🌈 🇨🇦🇺🇦 (@ghostwarrior.bsky.social) October 6, 2025 at 4:11 PM

Sunday Funday: Jays win Game One! Plus some good posts celebrating Canada, some funny posts from all over, TrumpWatch, and Animal Crackers

One down, two to go:

Let’s go, Blue Jays!

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— J. Kelly Nestruck (@nestruck.bsky.social) October 4, 2025 at 1:58 PM

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. gets the Blue Jays on the board!

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— Carter Blazek (@carterblazek.bsky.social) October 4, 2025 at 2:23 PM

Comments on the passing scene: The Jays battle the Yankees; Carney goes to Washington; What Poilievre gets wrong; plus America updates on tariffs, ICE Gestapo and Trump revenge

Go Jays go! (or at least don't embarrass us)

New! From me! The 2025 Toronto Blue Jays have been the most pleasant surprise. Now what? www.sportsnet.ca/mlb/article/...

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— Tao of Stieb (@taoofstieb.bsky.social) October 3, 2025 at 9:32 AM

Listen, normally I'm mostly a "I hope both teams have fun" kinda gal, but I need the Blue Jays to crush the Trump-hand-shaking Yankees in a way that will make them fear the call of that goddamn bird outside their windows for the rest of their careers

— Clare Blackwood (@clareblackwood.bsky.social) October 3, 2025 at 12:46 PM

Time for another episode of Comedians V Trump

There are enough funny takes now on Trump's daily idiocies that I think I can make this "Comedians V Trump" a regular feature - not only clips from comedians themselves, but also the funny things that everyone does and says to roast Trump.

First, when I saw this video of a confrontation with an ICE agent in Portland, I just about couldn't believe it. I am amazed that anyone would have the courage to do this. But it worked:

This regime can’t stand to be laughed at. They can’t stand to be the butt of a joke because the moment we’re able to laugh at them, their fragile ego begins to crumble. @nowthisimpact.bsky.social

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— 50501: The People’s Movement ❌👑 (@50501movement.bsky.social) October 2, 2025 at 9:13 AM

Move over, gender reveal parties, America's got a new craze: Was the shooter left-wing or right-wing?

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— The Daily Show (@thedailyshow.com) October 2, 2025 at 11:57 AM

Today's News: Reactions to Trump's newest "51st State" threats

So when Trump was babbling on and on to the generals yesterday, he once again said Canada should become the 51st state. 

Canada didn't laugh:

Hey Canada, Trump brought up his whole “Canada should be the 51st State” again today, for the first time in a while, to a room full of all the top-ranked military leaders in the United States. I’m sure that’s a coincidence. Right?

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— Brent Toderian (@brenttoderian.bsky.social) September 30, 2025 at 7:06 PM

I can tell you that as a Canadian, Trump once again mentioning Canada as the 51st state at this military gathering is a five alarm fire. Over my dead body.

— lindylousabine.bsky.social (@lindylousabine.bsky.social) September 30, 2025 at 1:04 PM

Trump once again says, "Become the 51st state." Canada responds.

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— Doug Aoki (@nantanreikan.bsky.social) September 30, 2025 at 11:12 AM

And who thinks Canadians are polite? Trump's talk makes us furious:

Trump constantly "floating" Canada becoming the 51st State is a quasi declaration of war. Annexation would mean decades of war, millions of dead, & a Pyrrhic victory for the 🇺🇸, which would become legendary. 🇨🇦 CANADIANS WILL NEVER KNEEL FOR THE LIKES OF A BRONZER-ENCRUSTED, WANNA-BE DICTATOR!

— Edge O. Erin (@edgeoerin.com) September 30, 2025 at 1:55 PM

you can’t bribe me w a missile defense system bc i’d rather be blown to smithereens than have canada become the 51st state

— strawbaby jam (@strawbbfields4ever.bsky.social) September 30, 2025 at 2:20 PM

Its always hard to know how seriously to take this. But some are worried:

I’ve known Trump long enough to know he always foreshadows his next moves, they start as a tease to soften the ground so to speak, get folks acclimated with the unthinkable. Bringing up Canada as the 51st state in a room filled with U.S military top brass is no accident.

- Noel Casler

Read on Substack

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And then Canada as 51st state came up in the same speech. It's not going away - it just dies down a bit before resurging. Canadians need to keep Trump in mind as discussion about our upcoming budget revs up. We need to prioritize the must-haves over the nice-to-haves. #Canada #cdnpoli

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— Prairie Socialist 🇨🇦 (@prairiesocial.bsky.social) September 30, 2025 at 3:36 PM

Here's a good commentary:
The Planet Democracy: Unfiltered North

Canada Is Not Your 51st State, Donald. Not Now, Not Ever.
Donald Trump just told a room full of U.S. generals that Canada should become the 51st state. It's a calculated pressure campaign, and Canada's answer must be loud, , clear, and unwavering.
Well, here we go again. Just when you thought the political noise south of the border couldn’t get more absurd, Donald Trump went and topped himself. He stood in a room full of top U.S. military commanders and pitched the idea of annexing Canada. ...
...the venue changes everything.
When you float the idea of another country joining the union in front of military leaders, you’re not just spit-balling. You are deliberately shifting the conversation from “that’s absurd” to “is this a strategic objective?” It moves the idea from the fringes of political fantasy into the rooms where real-world power is discussed.
“When you pair annexation threats with a military backdrop, it stops being just a culture-war zinger and starts sounding like a pressure campaign: economic squeeze here, security leverage there, sovereignty on the table everywhere.”
This is a calculated test of our boundaries. Trump is checking to see how we’ll react. If we laugh it off as “just Trump being Trump,” he learns he can push harder next time. This isn’t rhetoric. It’s a strategy. And we would be fools to ignore it.
While there’s a fringe separatist element in Alberta making noise, the vast majority of Canadians are united on this. We are not interested in becoming a vassal state. We are not for sale, and we are not for annexation. We are seeing “Buy Canadian” movements gain steam as people choose to invest in our own industries. The government is rightly looking for new trade partners to make us less reliant on a neighbour who sees us as a doormat.
.... What This Means for Canada
-This is a deliberate escalation. Trump’s “51st state” talk is no longer a joke. By saying it to military leaders, he’s testing our response to a direct threat against our sovereignty.
-The economic war is real. The new tariffs on lumber and furniture are designed to inflict maximum pain on key Canadian industries to force political concessions.
-Hollywood North is next. Trump has already threatened a 100% tariff on film and TV productions, which would devastate major industries in Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal.
Our response must be unified and strong. This isn’t a moment for partisan squabbling. Canada must speak with one clear voice: our independence is non-negotiable.

And here is a chilling piece about the broader implications of Trump's raving at the generals:
Justin Ling / Toronto Star (gift link)

We need to stop being so naive about what America is becoming. Trump and his secretary of war just showed us why
....We did not take any of this seriously enough at the time, and now it is all manifesting faster than anyone could have anticipated. He has already deployed masked goons to round up immigrants and spread obscene conspiracy theories about transgender people. He’s ordered the creation of a military “quick reaction force” to put down protests and reiterated Tuesday that the military will be asked to “handle” the “enemy from within.”
Canada has utterly lost its ability to respond to things moving at this speed — largely because we have grown reliant on waiting for Washington or Brussels to act for us. We no longer have the luxury of this complacency. We are watching a fascist takeover of our closest neighbour and the world’s largest military: Sitting back and hoping things work out is no longer an option.
Some have been naive and gullible about this trend for too long. Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre clearly copied Hegseth’s rhetoric — similarly promising “a warrior culture, not a woke culture” — and he should finally have to clarify what he means by that.
The serious people in this country, however, are clear-eyed about the extent of the threat. I’ve spoken to senior defence and security officials in recent months, and they knew the kinds of steps that would need to be taken to fully disentangle ourselves from a regime sliding into illiberalism. But they also lack political direction: Prime Minister Mark Carney, still balancing his chummy relationship with the president, has not ordered any kind of change in our posture vis-a-vis our southern neighbour.
And what has that got us? On Tuesday, as he rambled about his “golden dome” project, Trump bragged that “Canada called me a couple of weeks ago, they want to be a part of it. To which I said: ‘Well, why don’t you just join our country? You become the 51st state.’”
He is serious about this, and we need to stop being so damn naive about what he will and won’t do. His administration is plotting regime change in Venezuela and has been implicated in clandestine work in Greenland. There is no reason to think that Canada will be spared from his unhinged willingness to use American power to remake the world in his image.
The thing about despots, though, is that they get awfully lonely. It’s time we start really preparing for what comes next.
Real action, here, does not take the shape of flashy and performative actions, but of serious and structural changes. Some of the most important actions may never be publicly seen at all. It means revising agreements and cancelling memoranda of understanding. It means not sending our Canadian Armed Forces to train with units who no longer feel bound to the Geneva Convention and marking intelligence ‘for Canadian eyes only’ because it could be used to commit war crimes. It will mean creating systems within NATO that operate separately from Hegseth’s new warrior corps. This will invoke Trump’s ire, no doubt, but history teaches us that appeasing despots rarely works out.
But there will come a point where we need to make our objections clear, and where we will need to rally our allies into speaking up as well. Trump’s adventurism in South America will be a direct security challenge to Canada. His new affinity for committing war crimes will implicate the Canadian Armed Forces, who serve shoulder-to-shoulder with the U.S. military on many fronts. His comfort to fellow autocrats and despots will be a direct threat to the countries still pursuing democracy.

Some interesting video clips too:

Meidas Touch: Charlie Angus describes the American "farmageddon", Canadian questions about Ambassador Hoekstra, and Angus' message to Trump "You can do your worst, sir but we will do our best!"


Doug Ford: "This guy's too much... When I talk to Republican governors, they don't agree with him but they're too scared to say anything. Isn't that a shame?"


CTV's Scott Reid: "We become the punching bag for Trump as he is having domestic political problems. Expect to see more..."

 

And this is a really fascinating discussion - Andrew Coyne on The Munk Debates: "he wants to stick the military on dissenters in the United States. What purer definition of fascism is there?"

This great cartoon seems appropriate to insert here:

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Trump never seems to realize his own toxicity - likely, no one dares to tell him:

in Canada, the Liberals were historically unpopular, then Trump started talking about the 51st state stuff, the Liberal leader did a lot of talk about resisting him, and the polls looked like this:

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— blaine (@jblainefoster.bsky.social) October 1, 2025 at 12:31 PM

This might be the fastest way, really:

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Today's News: Orange Shirt Day; embarrassments from Alberta Next, Trump and Hegseth; the return of "51st State"; and icing' out ICE

Luke Parnell, A Brief History of Northwest Coast Design, 2007 

Sept 30 is our Orange Shirt Day, officially the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. 

Here is PM Carney's speech in Ottawa: "Truth is the foundation of justice..."  

Carney told the crowd about the Parnell artwork that he had posted at the Cabinet room entrance, so it is what the members see every cabinet meeting. He promised "We will not fail you."

The federal government will "match remembrance with responsibility," Prime Minister Mark Carney promised on Tuesday, as he addressed the crowd assembled on Parliament Hill to mark the fifth annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. www.thecanadianpressnews.ca/national/car...

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— timethiefmedia Canadian forever🍁🦫conservative never (@timethiefmedia.bsky.social) September 30, 2025 at 6:23 PM

I thought this is a good example of Carney's commitment:

Many appointees come from a business background but one council member in particular — Treaty 8 First Nations Grand Chief Trevor Mercredi — was a vocal critic of Carney’s major projects legislation.

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— Canada's National Observer (@nationalobserver.com) September 25, 2025 at 10:13 AM

Today's News: Keeping those Elbows Up!

So during the spring we all went a little crazy for "Elbows Up" and Canadian patriotism and all that, and then Carney was elected and for a while there is really seemed like everyone was onside with rapid economic development, accepting Carney's challenge to pull together and carve a new path for the country.
But we were told that it wasn't going to be easy, and turns out that is true, its all challenging and difficult and expensive and unknown.
Easier, really, to just retreat and regroup, just go back to our old ways - inter-provincial fisticuffs and endless development consultations and hold-ups, and everybody hating Ottawa but wanting more money from them. 

So I'm afraid our old patterns and annoyances are reasserting themselves.
Carney's first budget is going to be a test case, not just for him but also for us -- can we actually try to envisage a larger picture, to see what future the Carney Liberals are trying to achieve, and to decide from that whether we can get behind it or not? Or are we going to just nitpick the Liberals to death, along with their budget -- "what about MY program? How dare you give more money to THOSE GUYS instead of to ME? And if THEY got some then I have to get some too because otherwise its UNFAIR!" And "How can we trust them when somebody somewhere might take advantage of us?"

Sunday Funday: Cheering for the Jays, some odd stuff and funny stuff, plus TrumpWatch and Animal Crackers

Cheering for the Jays!

Sunday is the Jay's next test - if they win, then they get first in the AL East. If they lose, and if the Yankees win, then the Jays would have to win the wildcard to advance. 

Not a bad day for chaos watchers tomorrow. Yankees and Blue Jays tied for AL East. Guardians and Tigers tied for AL Central. One postseason spot open for either Mets or Reds.

— kat, ghost of helenruthsghost (@chaoskat.bsky.social) September 27, 2025 at 8:26 PM

Keep your fingers crossed!

Here is a beautiful logo - I wish it was official:  

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Today's News: Return of the Disruptor-in-Chief

Remember during the spring and summer, when everyone was talking about how federal and provincial politicians were all getting along so well.

Too good to last. Now that Poilievre is back, the debate in the House is deteriorating again.
He just has nothing to say, but he says it at the top of his lungs.

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Today's News: Some scary stuff about Russia & NATO & the US military command & Alligator Auschwitz & Canadian mining. With a laugh at Hoekstra

I know there's weeks to go until Halloween, but I saw some "scary stuff" in the news: 

First, Russia seems to want to provoke NATO now:

⚡️Europe, NATO ready to shoot down Russian jets, Bloomberg reports. European diplomats told Russian officials this week that NATO is prepared to respond in force to further airspace violations, including by shooting down Russian planes, Bloomberg reported Sept. 25.

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— The Kyiv Independent (@kyivindependent.com) September 25, 2025 at 2:36 PM

President Trump told reporters that he was fine with NATO aircraft shooting down Russian aircraft should they enter NATO territory again. Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister responded to that with “Roger that.”

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— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yasharali.bsky.social) September 23, 2025 at 6:03 PM

Today's News: Carney says "there's a crack in everything, but that's where the light gets in"

(Lawren Harris Mountain Sketch)

Every time I hear Prime Minister Carney talk, I come away feeling smarter. Here is he talking to reporters at the UN: 

 

And after seeing Trump's ridiculous UN appearance, it is always reassuring that Canada has a grown-up in charge:

If Carney went to the United Nations to show the world that Canada and the U.S. have become sharply different countries, he can probably declare it mission accomplished. There's plenty of vivid examples of the two countries on diverging paths. #Opinion

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— Toronto Star (@thestar.com) September 24, 2025 at 3:00 PM

Today's News: Jimmy Kimmel socks it to Trump

In case your ABC station didn't carry it, here is Jimmy Kimmel's monologue after his show returned on Tuesday night:

   

Trump pushed Kimmel into going full resistance lib for the biggest audience he will ever have. Another masterclass from the president.

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) September 23, 2025 at 9:54 PM

Tonight, the American people - in defense of free speech - returned a political satirist to the airwaves after a burgeoning fascist regime tried to silence him. It’s an historic night. I won’t forget it.

— Mueller, She Wrote (@muellershewrote.com) September 23, 2025 at 11:15 PM

Nothing like watching free speech give censorship the middle finger.

— Adam Parkhomenko (@adamparkhomenko.bsky.social) September 23, 2025 at 11:31 PM