In January, Alberta premier Danielle Smith issued an extraordinary threat. Unless Prime Minister Mark Carney gave Alberta more influence over judicial appointments, her government would withhold funding from the courts. In an open letter, Smith argued she wanted judges who reflected Alberta’s “distinct legal traditions”—though what those traditions are is unclear. Canada’s system is straightforward: provinces run the courts, Ottawa appoints the judges. This left many observers wondering, “Can she even do that?”

Smith is no stranger to that line of questioning nor to the idea that Alberta should play by different rules. Since becoming premier in 2022, Smith has made it her mission to carve out greater independence for the province, and her demands are only getting bolder. Her Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act, passed in December 2022, allows the province to refuse to enforce certain federal laws it considers harmful to Alberta. Critics have widely condemned the measure—unprecedented in Canadian politics—as unconstitutional.

On February 19, Smith unveiled a slate of referendum questions for an October vote aimed at expanding provincial autonomy. She proposes unilaterally tightening immigration and access to services in Alberta—restricting benefits for temporary residents and requiring proof of citizenship to vote. These powers aren’t exclusively within the purview of the province, but immigration lawyer Randy Hahn told the Globe and Mail Smith’s position should be understood as a “negotiating tactic.” She also proposes sweeping constitutional changes that would shift power from Parliament to the provinces, including scrapping the Senate, opting out of federal programs with funding intact, and giving provincial laws priority over federal ones. To be sure, these changes require consent from other provinces to implement and could very well set up a showdown with the federal government.

We are finally talking about this now eh? I lost a cousin over 12 years ago, vanished into thin air. Nobody cared. Especially the RCMP. Much like all these guys. A few posters and a lazy facebook post was all my beloved cousin ever got.

My favourite part of the article is this:

National statistics reflect a severe and often overlooked reality regarding violence against Indigenous men:

Between 1980 and 2012, Statistics Canada documented 1,750 Indigenous male homicide victims, compared to 745 Indigenous female homicide victims.

In this timeframe, 71% of all murdered and missing Indigenous people were men and boys.

According to 2020 Statistics Canada data, Indigenous men are seven times more likely to die by homicide than non-Indigenous people, and four times more likely than Indigenous women.

We hear so much about missing indigenous women. I had no idea the stat for men was 4 times higher. Why doesn't anyone care?

There is almost certainly an active serial killer operating on the mid island for years now, and I hear random people saying this more and more. Sadly we are on our own over here it seems.

A coalition of 31 local, regional and national media outlets from across Canada Unrigged.ca is a news platform that provides up-to-the-hour news from across the country.

Unrigged.ca offers Canadians a place to access the latest news, podcasts, features, op/eds.

A collaboration between non-profit outlets designed to benefit readers and promote news, the website continuously monitors sites and feeds of its members.

Bill C-3, which came into effect Dec. 15, removes the first-generation limit to citizenship

A new piece from CBC on the coming into force of the legislative changes to Canadian citizenship by descent.

A couple of interesting points from further down the article:

Vermette says many Franco-Americans have long felt invisible on both sides of the border.

He believes Bill C-3 presents Quebec with a unique opportunity to repatriate or reclaim those who feel a connection to the province’s culture and language, even amid heightened controversy surrounding immigration and pressures linked to cultural and linguistic preservation.

"The Franco-American population is an untapped natural resource for Quebec," he said. . .

In a statement to CBC, the IRCC said it does not have an exact estimate of how many people might be affected by Bill C-3, but says it expects tens of thousands of requests for Canadian citizenship certificates over time. 

According to the IRCC website, at the beginning of March, almost 48,000 people were waiting for a decision pertaining to their certificate application, with an estimated processing time of 11 months.

• The four most commonly diagnosed cancers (lung, breast, prostate and colorectal cancers) are expected to account for about 48% of all cancers diagnosed in 2025.

• It is estimated that 42% of people in Canada will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime

• Quebec is expected to have the highest cancer incidence rate. British Columbia is expected to have the lowest cancer incidence rate of all the provinces.

• In the early 1990s, five-year net survival for all cancers combined was only 55%, but estimates show that it has reached 64%.

https://cdn.cancer.ca/-/media/files/cancer-information/resources/publications/canadian-cancer-statistics-2025/2025_pdf_final_en.pdf

Prime Minister Mark Carney has called byelections in the Toronto ridings of University-Rosedale and Scarborough Southwest and the Quebec riding of Terrebonne — races the Liberals will want to win to secure a thin majority government.

The byelections will be held on April 13, according to a news release posted on the prime minister's website Sunday morning. 

This series of inked drawings went viral on Reddit and while the images are all viewable for free, it led me to compile them all into a book available on Amazon. It’s a love letter to the Toronto transit system and my years riding line 2.

https://www.amazon.ca/Transit-People-Jarrett-Young/dp/B0GKDQ9BQ9?

https://www.reddit.com/r/woahdude/comments/1rg41fz/transit_people_inked_drawings_of_toronto_commuters/

Note about what "First Person" columns are:

First Person columns are personal stories and experiences of Canadians, in their own words. This is intended to showcase a more intimate storytelling perspective, and allow people from across the country to share what they have lived through.

A good piece will spur conversation. It could be a slice of life or a transformative moment that changed your life. Perhaps your personal story will inform how the reader thinks about the world.

Intro:

I knew I was a goner as soon as the sheriff walked into the room. He looked like everyone’s genial Uncle Bob except for the police vest and the walkie-talkie that hung from his belt.

“Juror 322, gather your things. We have to go see the judge,” he said.

A young blond woman picked up her bag and followed Bob out the door.

I knew that exchange meant she wouldn’t be back. And, as the alternate juror for a 12-member jury, I would take her place.

I have never met anyone who wanted to be on a jury. I certainly didn’t.

However, over the course of a three-week trial, we evolved from a gaggle of annoyed people crabbing about how this was going to take time away from watching The Pitt or on the pickleball court to a group that worked hard to figure out whether the accused committed the crime.

In true Canadian fashion, there wasn’t one moment when the piano started playing O Canada or we recited Jeff Douglas’s "I Am Canadian" speech. Instead, it was a collective shoulder shrug that basically said, "We’re stuck here. We might as well figure out the correct answer."