Washington overtures – iPolitics

The Conservative MP tasked with leading his party’s efforts to convince Albertans to stay in Canada says he is concerned by reports of separatists going to Washington and offering up fresh water and oil in exchange for American support.

Dane Lloyd said no one has the right to promise away Albertan resources and he will not condone any of the province’s revenues going to a foreign government.

Speaking outside a House of Commons committee on Monday, Lloyd said he wouldn’t speculate on whether the reported activity amounted to foreign interference, or on how the matter should be investigated by Canadian officials.

“Absolutely nobody has a right to promise away Alberta’s birthright, which is our natural resources,” he said.

The Globe and Mail also reported over the weekend that Republican political operatives were in Alberta earlier this year to help the separatist cause.

The Canadian Press has more.

*Defence Minister David McGuinty speaks with reporters in Sydney, Australia, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)*

Defence Minister David McGuinty has a new chief of staff.

Dana O’Born is set to take over at the helm of the office tomorrow.

Several Liberal sources told iPolitics the news and soon after publication of our initial story, McGuinty’s confirmed O’Born would take over as chief of staff on Oct. 6.

O’Born has spent the past ten years at the Council of Canadian Innovators, a national group representing more than 175 technology-intensive companies.

As chief strategy officer, she led the CCI’s policy agenda, focusing on ensuring Canadian-headquartered innovators can compete globally.

One source, who asked not to be identified because they’re not authorized to speak publicly, called O’Born a terrific selection that would help McGuinty better understand medium-sized businesses in the defence procurement space.

Marco Vigliotti reports.

*Stephen Lecce is sworn in as the Minister of Energy and Mines during a cabinet swearing-in ceremony in Toronto on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette*

Ontario’s nuclear ambitions are getting bigger.

The Ford government envisions a province that not only relies on nuclear power for much of its own electricity, but exports Ontario-made nuclear technology across Canada and eventually around the world: from large-scale reactors and small modular reactors to tiny, transportable plants capable of powering mines and remote communities.

On Monday, Energy Minister Stephen Lecce said that vision is beginning to move from the drawing board to reality.

Ontario-based BWXT Canada has been selected to fabricate and deploy the reactor technology for a proposed 50-megawatt transportable nuclear power plant in Belledune, N.B., a project the province is billing as Canada’s first of its kind.

The Indigenous-led project is expected to provide enough electricity for as many as 40,000 homes and create more than 150 jobs during development and roughly 40 permanent positions once operational.

Barbara Patrocinio has more.

Internationally

Elsewhere, Flávio Bolsonaro is in pole position to win Brazil’s presidential election, after a far-right tsunami propelled him to a shock first-round victory over the incumbent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, leaving progressive voters reeling.

The 45-year-old rightwing candidate received 56.1m votes to Lula’s 53.8m – 47.03% to 45.16% – meaning the 80-year-old leftwinger has a mountain to climb if he is to bounce back in the second round on 25 October. Never, since the return of democracy to Brazil in 1985, has the first-round runner-up managed to turn the game around and win the second ballot.

“Miracles are possible in politics. But I don’t see that happening,” the political scientist Miguel Lago said of Lula’s chances of snapping back. “I don’t see Flávio losing this election now.”

Speaking outside the White House on Monday, Donald Trump told reporters: “Well, it’s a big victory: close but a very, very big victory. Amazing, actually.”

Trump, who is a longtime ally of the Bolsonaro family, predicted the runoff would be “a very close election”.

The Guardian has more.

Also, people are asking ChatGPT to help them decide how to vote in the midterms.

On a September evening, Adam Johnson, 40, settled on his porch chair in Morgantown, West Virginia, to go over his ballot for the upcoming midterm election.

Chatting through all the races and the different candidates, he worked to figure out who best represented his values. But rather than discussing it with a friend or family member, he held an hours-long discussion with ChatGPT — a chatbot powered by a large language model (LLM) owned by OpenAI, an AI research company.

A graphic designer studying to be an illustrator, Johnson said ChatGPT is a significant part of his life. He uses it for meal planning, assistance in job hunting and various other tasks around the house.