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Max Fawcett

Max Fawcett

The Walrus

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Alberta’s separatist movement is no joke

Alberta’s separatist movement is no joke

For months now, Alberta’s premier has been catering to the separatists who dominate the membership of her United Conservative Party. Their appetite...

19.12.2025 10

National Observer

Max Fawcett

The immigration debate has only just begun 

Anti-immigration politics — and politicians — are riding high in most western democracies right now. Canada won't be safe from either for much longer.

17.12.2025 10

National Observer

Max Fawcett

Canada’s premiers need to stop attacking the courts

From Alberta and Ontario to Quebec and British Columbia, Canada's premiers have been ratcheting up their anti-judge rhetoric. It won't lead us...

16.12.2025 10

National Observer

Max Fawcett

Mark Carney's grand bargain is more popular than you think

Mark Carney's grand bargain is more popular than you think

So far, the deal with Alberta hasn't cost the Liberal Party of Canada much support in the polls. Has the prime minister actually read the public mood...

12.12.2025 10

National Observer

Max Fawcett

Climate abundance is the only way forward 

Climate abundance is the only way forward 

Retreats can precede, and even produce, great victories. When it comes to climate change, that means focusing far more on reducing costs than raising...

10.12.2025 10

National Observer

Max Fawcett

Canada needs its own transition commission

Canada needs its own transition commission

The federal government has done a poor job of preparing the public for the possibility of a post-oil economy. It's time for it to do something about...

08.12.2025 10

National Observer

Max Fawcett

Danielle Smith keeps stepping on her own rakes

Alberta's premier got booed by her own supporters for trying to do a deal with Ottawa. Who knew that constantly whipping people up into a frenzied...

04.12.2025 10

National Observer

Max Fawcett

Mark Carney’s grand bargain on climate shouldn’t be a surprise

The prime minister seems determined to pick better political battles on climate policy than his predecessor. Time will tell whether they produce...

03.12.2025 10

National Observer

Max Fawcett

The method to Mark Carney’s madness

The memorandum of understanding with Alberta might look like surrender. Look closer

28.11.2025 20

National Observer

Max Fawcett

We’re not ready for an aging population — and it's going to cost us

Canada's government budgets keep getting squeezed by our aging population. When are we going to do something about it?

26.11.2025 10

National Observer

Max Fawcett

The energy poverty trap

Will more oil and gas production in Canada help alleviate energy poverty in the developing world? Of course not — but that hasn't prevented...

25.11.2025 10

National Observer

Max Fawcett

What the IEA's latest report says about the energy transition — and what it doesn't

The International Energy Agency's latest landmark report looks like an act of surrender to the Trump administration's fossil fuel agenda. But when you...

21.11.2025 9

National Observer

Max Fawcett

The use of the Notwithstanding Clause is out of control. It’s up to voters to stop it

The architects of Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms thought the Notwithstanding Clause would only be used in exceptional circumstances....

20.11.2025 10

National Observer

Max Fawcett

Alberta’s pipeline math still doesn’t add up

The biggest obstacle standing between Alberta and its premier's repeated pledge to double oil production isn't the tanker ban, the emissions cap, or...

18.11.2025 10

National Observer

Max Fawcett

Danielle Smith is playing her separatist supporters for fools

Albertans who oppose the idea of separatism should be annoyed by the government's refusal to actually model its impacts. But those who support it...

13.11.2025 30

National Observer

Max Fawcett

In the age of selfishness, let’s rediscover our sense of shared sacrifice 

Remembrance Day is a reminder of what we were willing to fight for in the past — and how much it mattered that we fought together.

11.11.2025 3

National Observer

Max Fawcett

Donald Trump's immigration policy is a gift to Canada

Canada’s ability to integrate people from around the world has long been a source of comparative strength. It's all the more important right now.

10.11.2025 40

National Observer

Max Fawcett

Mark Carney wants results, not rhetoric 

What does his government's decision to eliminate a Trudeau-era luxury tax have to do with climate policy? More than you might think

06.11.2025 7

National Observer

Max Fawcett

The LNG bridge is starting to collapse

Global demand for LNG is supposed to be driven by its role as a so-called "bridge" between coal and renewables. What happens when the shores it's...

04.11.2025 10

National Observer

Max Fawcett

Bill Gates bends the knee on climate change

The Microsoft mega-billionaire's new letter on climate change claims to tell "tough truths". What it really does is display the same easy cowardice...

01.11.2025 7

National Observer

Max Fawcett

Mark Carney needs to come clean on climate 

The prime minister has been conspicuously quiet about an issue that seemed to define his politics before he entered the partisan arena. That needs to...

30.10.2025 10

National Observer

Max Fawcett

Alberta is the richest province in the country — except where it really counts

How does the province with the highest fiscal capacity in the country also have the lowest per-capita funding for students in its public schools?...

28.10.2025 2

National Observer

Max Fawcett

Danielle Smith’s pipeline still doesn’t have a business case

The biggest obstacle standing in the way of another pipeline to the West Coast isn't the tanker ban or federal climate policies. It's oil...

24.10.2025 10

National Observer

Max Fawcett

What is the Alberta NDP waiting for?

The UCP government continues to flirt with separatists, pander to conspiracy theories and get embroiled in ethical scandals. So why is it still on...

22.10.2025 10

National Observer

Max Fawcett

Pierre Poilievre channels his inner JD Vance

Owning the libs is no way to actually govern a country, as Americans keep finding out with each passing day. That's not about to stop Pierre...

21.10.2025 10

National Observer

Max Fawcett

Alberta is forgetting the hard-won lessons of Northern Gateway

If Danielle Smith wants to build another pipeline across British Columbia, she might want to spend some time actually trying to understand what makes...

16.10.2025 10

National Observer

Max Fawcett

Danielle Smith wants a fight with Canada, not a new pipeline

Alberta's premier has opened the door in her party and province to separatists. Now, she's claiming that other people are the ones...

09.10.2025 10

National Observer

Max Fawcett

How Alberta could actually get its pipeline

If Danielle Smith actually wants to advance the prospects of a new oil pipeline, she needs to do more than just rattle her well-worn sabre at Ottawa.

02.10.2025 10

National Observer

Max Fawcett

The political case for rooftop solar

If there’s one lesson progressive politicians should take to heart from the last decade, it’s that the durability of their climate policies is...

02.10.2025 10

National Observer

Max Fawcett

It’s time for Mark Carney to draw the line on climate policy

Canada's prime minister has sacrificed a host of climate policies in his pursuit of political power. Now it's time for him to fight for the...

24.09.2025 10

National Observer

Max Fawcett

Chrystia Freeland is the best prime minister we never had 

She gave Justin Trudeau's Liberal party its first star candidate and most important cabinet minister. Then, more than a decade later, she saved...

18.09.2025 20

National Observer

Max Fawcett

How Canada should respond to Charlie Kirk’s murder

Doing better here in Canada means refusing to import the worst elements of America’s ongoing culture war into our own politics.

16.09.2025 10

National Observer

Max Fawcett

Mark Carney's climate hinge point is at hand

Why the prime minister's promise of a "carbon competitiveness strategy" is about more than just reducing emissions — and why it might...

10.09.2025 50

National Observer

Max Fawcett

Pierre Poilievre hasn't learned a thing

The more things change, it seems, the more the leader of the official opposition stays the same. Will his party's members give him the chance to...

04.09.2025 10

National Observer

Max Fawcett

The ‘de-manning’ of Canada’s oilsands sector

Canada's oil and gas industry has been getting less labour-intensive for more than a decade now. When will our elected officials finally...

29.08.2025 10

National Observer

Max Fawcett

How Mark Carney and the baby boomers can save Canada

The prime minister ought to challenge the most self-interested generation in history to step up for their country — elbows and all — and make a...

18.08.2025 10

National Observer

Max Fawcett

Canada isn’t losing the trade war — yet

Mark Carney won the April election in large part because Canadians trusted him more to deal with Donald Trump. Now, almost four months on, is their...

13.08.2025 40

National Observer

Max Fawcett

Nova Scotia’s forest ban is a test — just not the one some people think

Tim Houston is trying to prevent the sort of wildfires that caused death and destruction in his province just two years ago. To some people, though,...

08.08.2025 10

National Observer

Max Fawcett

Nova Scotia’s forest ban is a test — just not the one some people think

Tim Houston is trying to prevent the sort of wildfires that caused death and destruction in his province just two years ago. To some people, though,...

08.08.2025 20

National Observer

Max Fawcett

Solar and wind are conservative punching bags. They're also winning the fight

Conservative politicians in North America love pretending that wind and solar can't possibly compete with fossil fuels. They might want to pay...

01.08.2025 10

National Observer

Max Fawcett

Canada’s Conservatives can’t quit their grocery price politicking

Climate change is obviously driving up the cost of food. Why can’t Canada’s Conservatives admit it?

29.07.2025 10

National Observer

Max Fawcett

Canada’s premiers should tread more carefully on climate policy

Canada's premiers are spoiling for a fight with Ottawa over climate policy. They just might get it.

24.07.2025 10

National Observer

Max Fawcett

Pierre Poilievre’s safe seat isn’t so safe after all

The Conservative leader clearly thinks the byelection in Battle River-Crowfoot is going to be a cakewalk. His opponents have other ideas.

17.07.2025 10

National Observer

Max Fawcett

Alberta will never double its oil production 

Both Danielle Smith and the separatists she keeps enabling want to see Alberta double its oil production. Spoiler: It won't be Mark Carney or the...

10.07.2025 6

National Observer

Max Fawcett

The Conservative war on EVs is bound to fail

It seems almost inevitable now that electric vehicles will become part of the Conservative Party of Canada's ongoing culture war.

04.07.2025 10

National Observer

Max Fawcett

Danielle Smith is putting out a fire with gasoline

Another day, another panel ostensibly aimed at addressing Alberta's grievances with Ottawa — and putting out the political flames the UCP...

26.06.2025 10

National Observer

Max Fawcett

Pierre Poilievre might be cooked

The Conservative Party of Canada will reportedly hold a leadership review next January. It's not at all clear that Pierre Poilievre will even...

19.06.2025 10

National Observer

Max Fawcett

Canada’s Conservatives still aren’t serious about housing

Housing affordability remains an existential issue for millions of Canadians. So why do Conservative MPs like Jacob Mantle seem so determined to...

12.06.2025 10

National Observer

Max Fawcett

Mark Carney’s grand climate bargain comes into view

Danielle Smith clearly wanted a fight with Mark Carney. So far, she’s getting her ass handed to her. 

05.06.2025 10

National Observer

Max Fawcett

Alberta’s grievances aren’t actually reasonable

The defenders of Canada all seem to agree that Alberta's grievances with the federal government are worth taking seriously. But what if they...

29.05.2025 20

National Observer

Max Fawcett