Editorials - March 27, 2026
The butterfly effect
As the monarch butterflies begin their annual migration north from Mexico, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is reporting some promising population improvements. Its annual survey found they were occupying 7.24 acres, compared to just 4.42 acres the previous winter, a 64 per cent increase in monarchs. A second report found that the critical winter habitat lost just 6.30 acres, almost three acres less than the previous year.
While these numbers are still a shadow of their previous population (just 30 years ago, monarchs occupied almost 45 acres each winter), it shows that conservation efforts may be starting to pay off. Conservationists say that 15 acres is the minimum required forest for the species to survive. In Mexico, lucrative avocado farming has brought the attention of the cartels, which have now infiltrated the trade and cleared vast swaths of forest illegally for production.
In addition to loss of winter habitat, much of the monarch’s decline can be attributed to pesticide and herbicide use that kills off the milkweed plants that the butterflies rely on as their sole source of food. The WWF is advocating the elimination of neonic pesticides and the restoration of formerly plowed grasslands back to pollinator habitat across the Great Plains. The Biden administration had proposed listing the monarch as threatened under the Endangered Species Act at the end of 2024, but Trump officials have since delayed the decision indefinitely. It is crucial that the U.S government recognizes the imminent threat.
The trilateral efforts between Mexico, the United States and Canada are starting to show results, but there is a long way to go to bring the monarch back from the brink of extinction. Continued co-operation is going to be crucial over the next few years. – DS
A changed man?
Federal Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre recently enlisted the help of Joe Rogan, the podcaster who averages over 11 million listeners per episode and boasts over 14 million Spotify subscribers and nearly 20 million on YouTube, to spread the good word of Canada, tariff-free trade and more on Rogan’s controversial podcast.
Poilievre was the featured guest on episode 2470 of the show last week and has earned widespread praise for his composure, civility and commitment to Canadian values. Poilievre on Rogan’s show would be the perfect opportunity to throw red meat to extreme right-wing listeners, leading them in chants of “Trump in the North!”
He didn’t do that. Poilievre showed respect for Prime Minister Mark Carney, stuck up for some Canadian policies that would be seen by Americans as left-leaning, such as MAID, and roundly rejected Donald Trump’s 51st state talk and touted Canadian pride. Is this a newer, softer, more reasonable Poilievre, or has he had George Costanza’s realization from the great Seinfeld episode “The Opposite” in which George realizes that all of his instincts have been wrong and he finds success in doing the exact opposite of what his brain tells him to?
This could be the beginning of a new era of Poilievre’s career in Canadian politics, or it could be a well-intentioned pivot from which he will just as quickly pivot if he doesn’t see results. Time will tell, but as the Liberals enjoy a double-digit lead over the Conservatives in the polls and Poilievre continues to lag in leadership potential, perhaps he knows what the rest of us have known for a while: something needs to change if he wants to be the next Prime Minister. – SL
Unthinkable tragedy
Two pilots on an Air Canada flight were killed in a crash at LaGuardia Airport and, for Canadians, the tragedy lands close to home. These were professionals operating within one of this country’s flagship carriers, arriving in one of the world’s busiest airspaces. The early picture, drawn from reports and air traffic recordings, points to a breakdown in co-ordination. Routine instructions gave way to urgency and then to consequences that could not be reversed.
The investigation will determine exactly what happened, still, context matters, particularly when a Canadian crew is operating within another country. The crash comes amid well-documented staffing pressures across parts of the United States’ aviation network, during a period of government funding uncertainty. On the same day, federal authorities moved to supplement certain airport roles with personnel from outside their usual mandates. None of this establishes cause. It does, however, describe an environment where margins may be thinner than they appear.
A recording from the tower captures the human dimension. There is a moment of recognition, and then an effort to reassure. “You did your best,” a voice says. For families in Canada now facing an unfillable loss, that reassurance will not travel far. This is a reminder that aviation safety is shared across borders and that pressures in one system can have consequences for all who move within it. Lives have been lost. The responsibility now is to understand whether the systems those pilots relied upon were asked to carry more than they should. – SBS