Colin Schultz

🍁 Attention freelance journalists 🍁 Canada's @nationalobserver.com is looking for your pitches. We have a healthy freelance budget (think potential travel), and are looking to fund interesting, ambitious reporting that dives deep into Canada's climate, energy, and politics.

The U.S. put surveillance drones in the Great Lakes, and this border town mayor isn't happy www.cbc.ca/radio/asitha...

Well that picked up fast! Olivia Chow is reelected as mayor of Toronto.

Olivia Chow has won the Toronto mayoral race.

👋 From Brad Bradford HQ waiting for Toronto’s election results to roll in! @nationalobserver.com

Hello Toronto!! Election night!! I am here at Olivia Chow HQ, results are starting to roll in.

Prime Minister Carney says it's time to move 'beyond' the Indian Act www.nationalobserver.com/2026/10/26/n...

Part of Antarctica has been named after former BBC science correspondent Jonathan Amos. www.bbc.com/news/article...

"when Brad talks about the road, he talks about the cost to traditions and a way of life, and a fear of his home becoming more like the south. In the south, paperwork stands between him and the land." www.nationalobserver.com/2026/10/19/n...

From housing to harm reduction, here are the issues on young Torontonians’ minds.

Today's mood: Kanine ft. T-Man - All Goes Wrong www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptkS...

"... this year, we’re seeing a lot fewer nonexistent campaigns and a lot more hyper-generic, AI-generated ones instead. It’s turned deciding who to vote for into picking a radio signal out of static—and voters today will have to work harder to tell the serious candidates from the others."

"The 2026 municipal election is the city’s first AI election ... The natural fear, in this technological paradigm, is of misinformation. And while that concern is more than fair, what I’ve observed instead is a more oblique threat: noise." thelocal.to/toronto-firs...

For my American friends, this is a bit like the Republicans taking Oregon

"David Eby says he has offered his resignation as the leader of British Columbia's NDP after his decision to call a snap provincial election backfired and the B.C. Conservatives led by Lorne Doerkson won a majority government." www.nationalobserver.com/2026/10/24/n...

huh www.nationalobserver.com/2026/10/25/n...

The Marineland belugas keep dying. Was it a mistake to move them? www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Calgary Zoo taking precautions amid avian flu case in southern Alberta calgaryherald.com/news/wilder-...

“Fire behaves differently now; we've had cruel and repeated reminders,” said @johnvaillant.bsky.social “If anyone should have their consciousness raised through brute force and really hard-won experience, it's Albertans.” www.nationalobserver.com/2026/10/23/n...

It's been so interesting watching @zoemas0n.bsky.social dive into the details of the deadly wildfire that killed four soldiers and injured dozens more at CFB Wainwright. What a time to shift to daily news www.nationalobserver.com/2026/10/23/n...

Mississauga’s election is now a three-horse race. The latest polls indicate it will be a toss up between the former mayor, incumbent mayor and a police-endorsed challenger. Really enjoyed profiling one of the province’s most exciting races for @nationalobserver.com:

Full unofficial tally shows Albertans rejected 4 of 9 referendum questions, plus separation www.nationalobserver.com/2026/10/23/n...

“In today’s pro-extraction, everything-else-be-damned climate, the only way to change course is for every member of the clean economy to make a more compelling economic argument to Ottawa than it hears from the oil barons,” Pitchford said. www.nationalobserver.com/2026/10/16/n...

"What looked like an opportunistic snap election aimed at taking advantage of chaos within the province’s Conservative parties has turned into a self-inflicted political wound of potentially historic proportions." www.nationalobserver.com/2026/10/21/o...

“A lot of people think that climate change is like a long, slow evolution of changes,” Vipond said. “However, we’re really seeing it from year to year at this point.” www.nationalobserver.com/2026/10/22/n...

Amelia Boultbee has a warning about BC's Conservatives www.nationalobserver.com/2026/10/21/n...

“Don't mess with our treaty,” he said. “This is what you get when you try to undermine our treaty.” www.nationalobserver.com/2026/10/21/n...

Polls located in Indigenous communities consistently posted results where the "remain" option won by over 90 per cent.

I'm not sure how this is possible when I already have a 32" 1440 panel and a 27" ultrawide, but I think I need a third monitor. Daily news man, it's a lot of tabs.

Around six weeks ago, I started a new position at the Alberta reporter for @nationalobserver.com. This week, Albertans voted on separation. I spent the past three days in Fort McMurray speaking to people who work in and around Alberta’s oil patch about the referendum.

The people of Fort McMurray tend to fall into two camps: people who want to separate, and people who understand why people would want to separate. Earlier this week, I wrote a story about their perspectives on the referendum. You can find that here:

Ontario’s struggling manufacturing and critical minerals sectors will get a $9-billion bump over the next five years, with billions earmarked to support steel companies as hundreds of workers face imminent layoffs.

Today's mood: Culture Shock - Deconstruct www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lRB...

CarbonRun calls the technology “river alkalinity enhancement” or “river liming.” While its competitors are seeking to increase ocean alkalinity to capture CO2, the Nova Scotia company is focusing on rivers, pursuing an approach that is unique in the world. www.nationalobserver.com/2026/10/20/n...

"The lawsuit, filed Tuesday by the non-profit Liberty Justice Center on behalf of Gellert Global Group in the New York-based court, argued Trump's use of a Depression-era trade statute exceeds his power as president." www.nationalobserver.com/2026/10/20/n...

My dispatch from last night's Alberta Prosperity Project referendum watch party, including files from @zoemas0n.bsky.social, who was in Fort Mac.

@zoemas0n.bsky.social toured the oilsands from the air on referendum day.

Alberta’s separatists aren’t done — but some are done with Danielle Smith By @readtheorchard.org www.nationalobserver.com/2026/10/20/n...

Albertan vote to stay gives 'national clarity' on Canada's energy superpower strategy, says Hodgson www.nationalobserver.com/2026/10/20/n...

Today's mood: Conflict of Interest - 156/Silence www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCgS...

As @jameswsthomson.com said the other day, RIP my inbox

In a deep, dark part of the Gulf of Mexico, the number of marine animals plummeted by about 60% in the years following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion, a new study found. www.nationalobserver.com/2026/10/20/n...