Stewart Prest
@stewartprest.ca
Recalcitrant Canadian. Political scientist at UBC in Vancouver. I research, teach and talk international relations, BCpoli, comparative democratic institutions, and contentious politics. stewartprest.ca | https://stewartprest.substack.com
Pinned
It would happen no matter what. The US President is basically a Roomba. When he runs into opposition he turns and starts devouring in another direction. Sooner or later he always circles back, though.
I regret to inform you AI is not going to save the Canadian economy. www.ctvnews.ca/business/art...
Canada must ‘lean into’ economic disruption, BoC’s Macklem urges
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says businesses ought to “lean into” the forces disrupting the economy or risk failing to adapt.
www.ctvnews.ca
February 5, 2026 at 6:29 PM
I regret to inform you AI is not going to save the Canadian economy. www.ctvnews.ca/business/art...
Reposted by Stewart Prest
The long-winding saga for the Eglinton Crosstown LRT goes back further than you think...
Check out this super fun and interactive timeline made by McKenna Hart with words from me!
thestar.com/interactives... via
@thestar.com
Check out this super fun and interactive timeline made by McKenna Hart with words from me!
thestar.com/interactives... via
@thestar.com
Relive the twists and turns in the Eglinton LRT’s 50-year odyssey before Sunday’s launch — if you’re game
For more than five decades, rapid transit along Eglinton Avenue has been a must-have in any city plan. What took it so long?
thestar.com
February 5, 2026 at 3:29 PM
The long-winding saga for the Eglinton Crosstown LRT goes back further than you think...
Check out this super fun and interactive timeline made by McKenna Hart with words from me!
thestar.com/interactives... via
@thestar.com
Check out this super fun and interactive timeline made by McKenna Hart with words from me!
thestar.com/interactives... via
@thestar.com
Reposted by Stewart Prest
Set aside one's horror at the depravity evinced by the ICE officers here and consider coldly, logically, this question: would an agency that defies a court order so brazenly be restrained by any other regulation that Congress might pass?
‘One officer told me that I "had no chance of returning to Minnesota" and that "the best thing for (me] is self-deportation." …
She offered me $2600 to self-deport.
I refused.
I wanted to talk to my attorney.
They didn't tell me the judge had already ordered my release and return to Minnesota.’
She offered me $2600 to self-deport.
I refused.
I wanted to talk to my attorney.
They didn't tell me the judge had already ordered my release and return to Minnesota.’
February 5, 2026 at 2:54 PM
Set aside one's horror at the depravity evinced by the ICE officers here and consider coldly, logically, this question: would an agency that defies a court order so brazenly be restrained by any other regulation that Congress might pass?
Reposted by Stewart Prest
“U.S. employers announced 108,435 layoffs for the month, up 118% from the same period a year ago. The total marked the highest for any January since 2009, while the economy was in the final months of its steepest downturn since the Great Depression.”
Layoffs in January were the highest to start a year since 2009, Challenger says
With the recent narrative centering on a no-hire, no-fire labor market, the data suggests that the layoff part of the equation could be stepping up.
www.cnbc.com
February 5, 2026 at 3:01 PM
“U.S. employers announced 108,435 layoffs for the month, up 118% from the same period a year ago. The total marked the highest for any January since 2009, while the economy was in the final months of its steepest downturn since the Great Depression.”
Reposted by Stewart Prest
While we are reading the news about journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort being arrested, a reminder that a Canadian journalist was arrested while covering a protest action in Northern B.C. in 2021. thetyee.ca/News/2026/01...
The Narwhal Is Suing the RCMP. Stakes Are High for Journalism | The Tyee
The judge’s ruling could reinforce the right of journalists to report from inside police ‘exclusion zones.’
thetyee.ca
January 30, 2026 at 3:17 PM
While we are reading the news about journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort being arrested, a reminder that a Canadian journalist was arrested while covering a protest action in Northern B.C. in 2021. thetyee.ca/News/2026/01...
Reposted by Stewart Prest
Sir Ian McKellen performing a monologue from Shakespeare’s Sir Thomas More on the Stephen Colbert show. Never have I heard this monologue performed with such a keen sense of prescience. Nor have I ever been in this exact historical moment.TY Sir Ian, for reaching us once again.
#Pinks #ProudBlue
#Pinks #ProudBlue
February 5, 2026 at 11:50 AM
Sir Ian McKellen performing a monologue from Shakespeare’s Sir Thomas More on the Stephen Colbert show. Never have I heard this monologue performed with such a keen sense of prescience. Nor have I ever been in this exact historical moment.TY Sir Ian, for reaching us once again.
#Pinks #ProudBlue
#Pinks #ProudBlue
Reposted by Stewart Prest
Canada considers the US to be a safe country for asylum-seekers.
🚨HOLY CRAP. The Trump admin just took a SLEDGEHAMMER to due process, largely eliminating the Board of Immigration Appeals process and MANDATING DISMISSAL of ALL appeals (which cost $1,000 thanks to OBBBA) filed after tomorrow unless a majority of the BIA votes to hear the case.
February 5, 2026 at 2:41 PM
Canada considers the US to be a safe country for asylum-seekers.
Reposted by Stewart Prest
We are deciding right now whether we want to be a country with ethnic cleansing and concentration camps.
This is another effort that has taken a HUGE amount of local activism, led by community folks who care.
It CAN be done. Get involved where you live and push back.
www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/i...
It CAN be done. Get involved where you live and push back.
www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/i...
New Mexico Senate approves bill to ban ICE detention centers
The New Mexico Legislature approved the Immigration Safety Act. House bill 9 bars the state from allowing ICE detention centers.
www.elpasotimes.com
February 5, 2026 at 2:01 AM
We are deciding right now whether we want to be a country with ethnic cleansing and concentration camps.
Editors, any chance you can stop putting pictures of Epststein on every article about anything even vaguely Epstein related? Really don't need to see his face every time I venture online.
February 5, 2026 at 2:03 AM
Editors, any chance you can stop putting pictures of Epststein on every article about anything even vaguely Epstein related? Really don't need to see his face every time I venture online.
Reposted by Stewart Prest
This pup found a stick shaped like an old timey pipe earlier today and has already solved three mysteries. 13/10
February 4, 2026 at 9:59 PM
This pup found a stick shaped like an old timey pipe earlier today and has already solved three mysteries. 13/10
You know I'm starting to think creating a lavishly funded, poorly trained paramilitary force recruited on partisan lines and loyal to the administration rather than the flag was a bad idea.
🚨BREAKING: Steve Bannon said Tuesday that the federal government is planning to send Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to patrol polling stations during this year’s midterm elections. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
Steve Bannon says ICE will ‘surround the polls’ as Trump doubles down on taking over elections
Trump doubled down on his comments to nationalize voting Tuesday during an Oval Office press conference. “If you think about it, a state is an agent for the federal government in elections,” Trump sai...
www.democracydocket.com
February 4, 2026 at 7:32 PM
You know I'm starting to think creating a lavishly funded, poorly trained paramilitary force recruited on partisan lines and loyal to the administration rather than the flag was a bad idea.
Thanks for having me on! It was fun to be in living Vancolour this week.
This is VANCOLOUR
Thursday. 9pm.
@cheknews.ca 📺
👉 B.C. could owe you money and you might not know it! 🤑
(Sherry MacLennan, BC Unclaimed)
👉 Is another pipeline in B.C. just a pipe dream? 💭
(@stewartprest.ca)
👉 Can Canada deny Hasan Piker entry into the country? 🛑
(@kylalee.ca)
Thursday. 9pm.
@cheknews.ca 📺
👉 B.C. could owe you money and you might not know it! 🤑
(Sherry MacLennan, BC Unclaimed)
👉 Is another pipeline in B.C. just a pipe dream? 💭
(@stewartprest.ca)
👉 Can Canada deny Hasan Piker entry into the country? 🛑
(@kylalee.ca)
February 4, 2026 at 4:33 PM
Thanks for having me on! It was fun to be in living Vancolour this week.
Reposted by Stewart Prest
"In these perilous times both parties, whatever their other differences, must come together against external forces that threaten our independence and against domestic policies that threaten our unity."
www.cbc.ca/news/politic...
www.cbc.ca/news/politic...
Stephen Harper calls for Liberals, Conservatives to come together in the face of Trump, separatist threats | CBC News
Former prime minister Stephen Harper urged the Liberal and Conservative parties to take on the challenges of our time together as the country stares down potentially two existential threats to its sov...
www.cbc.ca
February 3, 2026 at 11:42 PM
"In these perilous times both parties, whatever their other differences, must come together against external forces that threaten our independence and against domestic policies that threaten our unity."
www.cbc.ca/news/politic...
www.cbc.ca/news/politic...
Reposted by Stewart Prest
A retiree wrote this email to a DHS attorney. Within five hours, DHS demanded Google turn over records for his account.
A Kafkaesque form of domestic surveillance, intimidating Americans for lawful speech.
New from us at the Post: www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio... @johnwoodrowcox.bsky.social
A Kafkaesque form of domestic surveillance, intimidating Americans for lawful speech.
New from us at the Post: www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio... @johnwoodrowcox.bsky.social
February 3, 2026 at 3:15 PM
A retiree wrote this email to a DHS attorney. Within five hours, DHS demanded Google turn over records for his account.
A Kafkaesque form of domestic surveillance, intimidating Americans for lawful speech.
New from us at the Post: www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio... @johnwoodrowcox.bsky.social
A Kafkaesque form of domestic surveillance, intimidating Americans for lawful speech.
New from us at the Post: www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio... @johnwoodrowcox.bsky.social
Reposted by Stewart Prest
I had the opportunity to speak to the House Foreign Affairs Committee about the illegal US intervention in Venezuela.
The UK must decide between "leading on international law" and "the special relationship", if the latter is a reflexive support of now legally unconstrained US Foreign Policy.
The UK must decide between "leading on international law" and "the special relationship", if the latter is a reflexive support of now legally unconstrained US Foreign Policy.
Professor @janinadill.bsky.social spoke on the Foreign Affairs Committee today about lessons from the Trump administration’s approach to Venezuela, emphasising the consequences when states do not stand up for international law. Listen from 11:37:41 👇
parliamentlive.tv/event/index/...
parliamentlive.tv/event/index/...
February 3, 2026 at 1:23 PM
I had the opportunity to speak to the House Foreign Affairs Committee about the illegal US intervention in Venezuela.
The UK must decide between "leading on international law" and "the special relationship", if the latter is a reflexive support of now legally unconstrained US Foreign Policy.
The UK must decide between "leading on international law" and "the special relationship", if the latter is a reflexive support of now legally unconstrained US Foreign Policy.
Reposted by Stewart Prest
Reposted by Stewart Prest
"If these folks really hate Canada and they really adore the United States and [President] Donald Trump, then there's a border crossing or two that they can take tomorrow," Kenney said.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Alberta UCP caucus has 'no business' signing separation vote petition: former premier | CBC News
Former Alberta premier Jason Kenney says the governing United Conservative Party caucus has "no business" signing a petition to force a vote on the province quitting Canada.
www.cbc.ca
February 3, 2026 at 12:27 PM
"If these folks really hate Canada and they really adore the United States and [President] Donald Trump, then there's a border crossing or two that they can take tomorrow," Kenney said.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Reposted by Stewart Prest
It's been jarring to see the complete lack of ICE mentions in the big travel publications.
Even if you somehow set aside the underlying moral and human concerns, this is a HUGE issue for international visitors, as well as tourism workers on visas, and American families traveling within the USA.
Even if you somehow set aside the underlying moral and human concerns, this is a HUGE issue for international visitors, as well as tourism workers on visas, and American families traveling within the USA.
February 2, 2026 at 4:38 PM
It's been jarring to see the complete lack of ICE mentions in the big travel publications.
Even if you somehow set aside the underlying moral and human concerns, this is a HUGE issue for international visitors, as well as tourism workers on visas, and American families traveling within the USA.
Even if you somehow set aside the underlying moral and human concerns, this is a HUGE issue for international visitors, as well as tourism workers on visas, and American families traveling within the USA.
Reposted by Stewart Prest
I wrote about how all big news events are now an excuse for AI slop. www.thestar.com/news/investi...
Warren Buffett didn’t make this video about Canada-U.S. tensions. It’s AI slop — and you’re going to see a lot more of it
New YouTube accounts are using AI fakes of famous Americans to stir geopolitical unrest in the pursuit of profits, experts say.
www.thestar.com
February 1, 2026 at 9:55 PM
I wrote about how all big news events are now an excuse for AI slop. www.thestar.com/news/investi...
Reposted by Stewart Prest
“The United States is responsible for about 95 percent of the money owed to the United Nations” really should have been the headline here
U.N. Says It’s in Danger of Financial Collapse Because of Unpaid Dues
www.nytimes.com
February 1, 2026 at 3:17 PM
“The United States is responsible for about 95 percent of the money owed to the United Nations” really should have been the headline here
Reposted by Stewart Prest
I see we are at the “Which fascist dictator best describes Trump” stage of America
There’s been a lot of comparisons of ICE tactics to Hitler. But a better historical comparison is the fascist dictatorship of Spain’s Franco, according to a scholar of Spanish culture. buff.ly/Jbo9lA4
What Franco’s fascist regime in Spain can teach us about today’s America
Comparisons of Trump to Hitler have become common. But some of Trump’s policies may more closely resemble those of Francisco Franco of Spain, says a Spanish scholar.
theconversation.com
February 1, 2026 at 5:19 PM
I see we are at the “Which fascist dictator best describes Trump” stage of America
Reposted by Stewart Prest
What a hero. A mom who lost her pension to do what’s right. 1 bajillion times more courageous and heroic than so many leaders in politics, law, universities, corporations, media, and journalism
IRS executive Kathleen Walters was asked to break the law by the Trump administration, and refused.
February 1, 2026 at 4:53 PM
What a hero. A mom who lost her pension to do what’s right. 1 bajillion times more courageous and heroic than so many leaders in politics, law, universities, corporations, media, and journalism
Reposted by Stewart Prest
In Springfield, Ohio, people are preparing in advance of a “large deportation” promised by the president. To all appearances, the city is 2 or 3 days from a federal ethnic cleansing, grounded in a hate campaign organized by the vice-president and American Nazis.
snyder.substack.com/p/ethnic-cle...
snyder.substack.com/p/ethnic-cle...
Ethnic Cleansing in Ohio?
Nazi Lies in Vance's America
snyder.substack.com
February 1, 2026 at 3:55 PM
In Springfield, Ohio, people are preparing in advance of a “large deportation” promised by the president. To all appearances, the city is 2 or 3 days from a federal ethnic cleansing, grounded in a hate campaign organized by the vice-president and American Nazis.
snyder.substack.com/p/ethnic-cle...
snyder.substack.com/p/ethnic-cle...
By my definitive Leadership Review Implications scale™, Pierre Poilievre managed to hit the sweet spot for a leadership review in terms of party solidarity behind him.
Here's the official scale, for future reference:
49% So close! But not really.
51% You won! But not really.
60% Probably toast, but exciting!
70% Worst case scenario. Enough to fight but not enough to win
80% Fine.
90% You're amazing!
95% Getting a little group thinky but ok!
100% Stalinesque.
49% So close! But not really.
51% You won! But not really.
60% Probably toast, but exciting!
70% Worst case scenario. Enough to fight but not enough to win
80% Fine.
90% You're amazing!
95% Getting a little group thinky but ok!
100% Stalinesque.
February 1, 2026 at 1:41 AM
By my definitive Leadership Review Implications scale™, Pierre Poilievre managed to hit the sweet spot for a leadership review in terms of party solidarity behind him.