Donald Trump's slash-and-burn geopolitics stokes the sort of chaos that drives the defence spending he has called for.

By cutting government taxes on gasoline, Doug Ford is actually decreasing the envelope available for investment in public transit expansion across the province.

When the mayor of Canada’s capital city decides to boycott the American ambassador’s annual Fourth of July picnic, you know the jig is up with the Yanks.

The Quebec byelection in a bell weather riding that has voted for every party in the 93 years since it was created, should ring alarm bells for the federal Liberals.

Michael Wernick has also decided to engage in a high-risk, high return game of 'gotcha' with the country’s most powerful number-cruncher.

But once the writ was dropped, that door was closed. So given Wynne’s personal numbers, why was campaign messaging all about her?

Protests will mostly be far away from the summit, and headlines will focus on what the political leaders are up to, not the protestors.

Kathleen Wynne’s unpopularity is palpable, deserved or not. In reality, she's done a pretty decent job as a leader. But her enemies have been very successful in casting her as the source of all that is evil in Ontario.

The bizarre juxtaposition of death and celebration was no accident. Israeli Minister of Public Security, Strategic Affairs and Information Gilad Erdan defended the deaths, telling Ynet News: 'We need to go back to targeted killings, and they need to go back to hiding underground and fearing for their lives, not organizing the masses to carry out terror attacks.'

While Donald Trump is slagging the media and creating his alternate fact universe, journalists around the globe are risking life and limb in multiple hotspots to get the story out.

What actually happens in practice is another matter.

The only way to stop poison spewing from hate sites is to shut them down and deny the cover of anonymity to potential perpetrators. That would be a noble outcome of the horrific Toronto tragedy.

Political disputes between Alberta and British Columbia and the opening salvos of the Ontario election left most spectators wondering how low politics could go.

Reading post-convention tea leaves will be the job of bureaucrats, lobbyists, opposition parties and policy makers. The aftermath of the weekend will focus on which parts of the policy platform will make the election cut. A national pharmacare plan, supported by the caucus, and the Ontario and British Columbia wings of the party, will likely lead the pack.

Today’s Toronto Pride ban is damaging an inclusive celebration of diversity. Pride is repeating the very history that it claims to abhor.

What most voters do not realize, is that the real targeting work is done long before anyone ever knocks on your door. Data mining permits political campaigns to dig deeply and understand exactly what each individual voter wants.

Buyer beware, Facebook postings will be mined by less than honest marketers. And that includes politicians.

Ontarians want change but may fear the kind of change that Doug Ford would bring. Fear and loathing will be undeniable factors in the next election. But a campaign based on policy would favour the Kathleen Wynne.

So why does everyone know so much about Rosa Parks and so little about Viola Desmond?Could it be that the racism which was pervasive in Canada during Desmond’s life, was swept under the rug or minimized?

Political observers may downplay the importance of a women’s budget. But those of us who witnessed the equality stall under Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper aren’t likely to let it happen again.

In the world of Canadian realpolitik, Sikh organizers can mean the difference between winning and losing a leadership or an urban nomination battle.

It is incomprehensible how many women on Fox and CNN news networks appear to have breast enhancements, bottled hair and perfectly toned bare arms. Can you imagine Peter Mansbridge reading the news in a muscle shirt? The idea is laughable.

If the first instinct of our prime minister is to push the envelope for inclusive language change, I say go for it. No apology necessary.

Me-too mantra says all accusers must be believed. But when the facts are faceless or uncorroborated, what happens to fairness? The second element of confusion stems from the definition of sexual harassment.