Celebrating Chinese-Canadians in Sports

Table tennis anyone? That's the question!

Last weekend we checked out the latest exhibition at the Chinese Canadian Museum in Chinatown that is coincidentally sort of tied to the World Cup in Vancouver.

Entitled Momentum: Power and Identity in Sports, the exhibition showcases Chinese-Canadian athletic talent in all kinds of disciplines, like ice hockey and basketball, Canadian football, figure skating, snowboarding and swimming.

Many cool items on display at the exhibition

It's a fantastic way to celebrate these people who have excelled in their sport at the highest level. There's Patrick Chan, who has medalled three times in the 2014 and 2018 Winter Olympics, Lori Fung, who won the first gold in rhythmic gymnastics in 1984, and Norman Kwong the first person of Chinese heritage who played football for the Calgary Stampeders and the Edmonton Eskimos, and was even the Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta.

On display are Chan's ice skates and one of his medals from Sochi that looks banged-up, Fung's gymnastic suit and ribbons, and a giant pair of sneakers that Zach Edey wore while playing for the Memphis Grizzlies in the NBA! Edey's mother is the daughter of Chinese immigrants in Toronto.

There's also some other Asian artists whose work are in the show. Visitors are first greeted by an indoor tennis table that has the words "Tomorrow Is The Question" in caps by Thai artist Rirkrit Tiravanija. I've seen his work over the years, with other tennis tables written with "Demain Est La Question".

Tiravanija's thought-provoking message

But most interesting are Tiravanija's works where he takes newspapers from a specific city and writes thought-provoking messages. 

The first and most memorable one I saw at Art Basel Hong Kong one year featured the message, "Freedom Cannot Be Simulated" written on the pages of the South China Morning Post newspaper.

There's also a funny animation called "Furry Ball" about what happens to a golf ball by Hong Kong artist Wong Ping, and photographs of young female field hockey players by Canadian-Malaysian artist Felicia Chang.

Momentum: Power and Identity in Sports is on until July 19, 2026.

Chinese Canadian Museum

51 East Pender Street

Vancouver

 

British Columbia Takes a Stand on Daylight Time

Kids jumping for joy at Eby's "Pacific time" announcement

Big news today for British Columbia -- this coming weekend we will change our clocks forward one hour permanently.

Premier David Eby announced the change, saying, "We are done waiting. British Columbia is going to change our clocks just one more time -- and then never again."

He is referring to the authorities on the west coast of the United States in Washington State, Oregon and California. Originally he had said he would wait for them to decide if they were going to stick with one or the other so that businesses would not be confused with times, but perhaps Eby was done waiting, or didn't hear back from them and decided BC was going its own way.

The new time zone will be called "Pacific time".

The entire province will be following Pacific time except for East Kootenay, which observes mountain time with Alberta.

Eby noted Yukon has already permanently changed to daylight time, and hopes the US will follow. Back in 2019 BC already passed legislation to make this possible, but just didn't have a specific timeline.

Interestingly American President Donald Trump had expressed interest in changing to daylight time after the 2024 election, Congress has not passed legislation for it.

So it will be interesting to see what happens in the next few months... there will surely be a lot of confusion on the west coast in terms of what time it is come November, but in the meantime many people are pleased that we'll have longer daylight hours and no more "jetlag" from springing ahead an hour after this weekend.

However, Eby's critics are crying foul because the announcement was suddenly made without much recent consultation; they believe it's a distraction from the horrible budget he delivered last week...

 

Poilievre to Return to House of Commons

Poilievre is projected to handily win the Alberta riding tonight

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre will be back in the House of Commons keeping Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in check.

In today's byelection held in the riding of Battle River-Crowfoot, in Alberta, Poilievre is leading with 80.1 percent of the vote, by far the most ballots compared to Independent candidate Bonnie Critchley (9.9 percent), and Liberal candidate Darcy Spady (4.4 percent).

Kurek gave up his seat for Poilievre to run

Poilievre was expected to win, as Battle River-Crowfoot is considered the most conservative riding in the country. MP Damien Kurek who had handily won the riding for the Conservatives during the general election in April, resigned so that Poilievre could run.

He had lost his seat of Carleton, in Ontario, that he had held for 20 years, which called into question Poilievre's leadership credibility.

But with this predicted decisive win, it signals there is no doubt the voters in Battle River-Crowfoot want him to be the official Leader of the Opposition.

The byelection was not without its controversies, the biggest being the ballot had a whopping 214 candidates on it. Elections Canada made the unprecedented move of getting voters to write down the name of the candidate they wanted to vote for instead of printing such long ballots.

Some critics were concerned that Poilievre was parachuting himself into the riding without even living there, while others were pleased to have the Conservative leader, as he could give the area more attention in the House of Commons.

The ballot with 214 candidates' names on it

"They're the kind of what you see is what you get, give you the shirt off their back, tell it like it is, common sense people," Poilievre said of the voters in Battle River-Crowfoot on Monday night.

"And they reinforced a lot of lessons that all of us in politics have to learn and relearn and relearn again. Humility and hard work. Loyalty and love."

The riding of Carleton bid Poilievre good riddance, while Battle River-Crowfoot has welcomed him with open arms.

Poilievre Frustrated by Long Ballot in By-Election

Poilievre is running in a by-election next month to win a seat

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre is gearing up for the upcoming by-election in Battle River-Crowfoot Alberta on August 18, hoping to win the seat to get back into the House of Commons after losing his seat in Carleton, Ontario in the April federal election.

Even though the riding is expected to be a solidly Conservative one, Poilievre may not have it so easy.

An electoral reform advocacy group called the Longest Ballot Committee, has plans to run a whopping 200 candidates in Battle River-Crowfoot -- more than double the 91 who ran in Carleton. It's known as a long ballot protest that causes delays in voting and confounds voters.

There might be some 200 names on the ballot

Poilievre doesn't want these long ballots in the upcoming by-election.

"We have to take action because this is a scam. It is unfair, it is unjust and it must stop," he said recently at a town hall in the riding where he is running.

He suggested that nominees require 1,000 signatures to run to prevent such protests. 

"That would make it impossible for 200 people to go out and have their names piled onto the [candidate] list," Poilievre told the town hall.

"There are a number of other things that you could do that would make it so that only real candidates who are truly running to put their name forward in our democracy that are on that list."

Currently candidates only need 100 signatures to secure a nomination and electors are not prevented from signing multiple forms.

Race for Battle River-Crowfoot got interesting!

The Longest Ballot Committee rejected Poilievre's suggestions, saying needing such a large number of signatures would have a "negative impact on Canadian democracy."

"This ill-conceived and self-serving electoral reform proposal by [Poilievre] is downright dangerous, and reinforces our conviction that politicians are not well-suited to decide the rules of their own elections," the group said in a statement.

It added it would continue to use the long ballot as a form of protest as "long as we are legally permitted to do so."

So the by-election on August 18 has become much more interesting! We can't wait to see the names of the candidates on the ballot!

Chretien's Words of Advice Dealing with Trump

Chretien says world leaders should ignore Trump's "crazy"

The G7 Summit will be held from June 15-17 in Kananaskis, Alberta, and a convicted felon by the name of US President Donald Trump will be attending.

Former Canadian prime minister Jean Chretien has some words of advice for not only current PM Mark Carney, but also other world leaders attending -- don't engage with the "crazy" from Trump.

Speaking at a conference in Calgary on Thursday, Chretien said leaders can't predict what the American president will do. Chretien said Trump can be a bully and it would be best if the other G7 leaders ignored his outbursts.

Carney had a relatively smooth visit with Trump

"If he has decided to make a show to be in the news, he will do something crazy," Chretien warned.

"Let him do it, and keep talking normally."

He cited the example of how Carney handled Trump during his visit to the White House last month.

"When Trump talked about Canada to be part of the United States, [Carney] just said, 'Canada is not for sale, the White House is not for sale, Buckingham Palace is not for sale," Chretien said.

"Trump said, 'Never say never,' [but Carney] didn't even reply. He just moved on with the discussion. It's the way to handle that."

On Sunday, leaders from France, Germany, Japan the United Kingdom, Italy and the European Union will be attending, as well as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

Carney Gets Down to Business

Carney to visit Trump next week, and King Charles is coming

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney addressed the media this morning, his first press conference following the federal election.

He made several announcements, including that he will make a trip to Washington on Tuesday to see US President Donald Trump to reset Canada-US relations, which have soured significantly since Trump took office in January.

"Our old relationship, based on steadily increasing integration, is over," Carney said. "The questions now are how our nations will cooperate in the future and where we, in Canada, will move on."

King to read throne speech

Apparently Carney's team is trying to prepare for every possibility during talks with Trump, as he can be unpredictable. But it seems Carney is intent on setting the ground rules when it comes to dealing with Canada as a sovereign nation -- not the 51st state.

"It will be a complex negotiation," Carney said. "I'm not pretending those discussions will be easy. They won't proceed in a straight line. There will be zigs and zags, ups and downs."

Also on Carney's to-do list is to choose his cabinet ministers and write the throne speech -- that King Charles III will read on May 27, when parliament opens a new session. Queen Camilla will also come for the occasion.

"This is a historic honour which matches the weight of our times," Carney said. The last time a monarch gave the address was back in 1977 by Queen Elizabeth II.

Meanwhile Elections Canada has done a recount and the Liberals are back to 169 seats, as the party's candidate in the riding of Milton East-Halton Hills South beat the Conservatives by just 29 seats.

Earlier the Liberals had lost a seat to the Bloc Quebecois in another recount.

As for Pierre Poilievre, who lost his seat in the Ottawa riding of Carleton, one MP has offered to give up his seat in Alberta. Damien Kurek had handily won the riding of Battle River-Crowfoot easily with 82 percent of the vote.

Poilievre to run for seat in Alberta by-election

Carney was gracious enough to say that he will call a by-election as soon as possible so that Poilievre can return to the House as leader.

"I've already indicated to Mr Poilievre that... I will ensure that it happens as soon as possible. No games, nothing," Carney said in the press conference.

As prime minister, Carney could have made his opponent wait a maximum of six months before calling a by-election. But he is extending a peace branch, perhaps in a bid to get things done in parliament. 

Meanwhile Poilievre posted a statement on X saying: "It is with humility and appreciation that I have accepted Damien Kurek's offer to resign his seat in Battle River-Crowfoot so that I can work to earn the support of citizens there to serve them in Parliament."

We will be watching this by-election closely...!

Petition Calls for Musk's Canadian Citizenship to be Revoked

Over 317,000 people want Musk's Canadian citizenship revoked

There's an online petition going around calling for the Canadian government to strip Elon Musk of his Canadian citizenship.

It has garnered over 317,000 signatures, making the petition the most popular in the history of the House of Commons.

British Columbia author Qualia Reed launched the petition last week, calling on the Canadian government to revoke Musk's citizenship and Canadian passport because of the role he is playing in US President Donald Trump's government.

MP Angus sponsored the petition

"Elon Musk has engaged in activities that go against the national interest of Canada. He has used his wealth and power to influence our elections; he has now become a member of a foreign government that is attempting to erase Canadian sovereignty; and the attempts of Elon Musk to attack Canadian sovereignty must be addressed," reads the petition that was sponsored by New Democrat MP Charlie Angus.

Musk saw the petition and his response? "Canada is not a real country," he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

He was born in South Africa, though his mother Maye Musk was born in Regina, Alberta, which is how he got his Canadian citizenship.

"I left South Africa by myself when I was 17 and just a backpack & suitcase of books," he posted on December 28, 2019. "I worked on my Mom's cousin's farm in Saskatchewan & a lumber mill in Vancouver. Went to Queens Univ with scholarship & debt, then same to UPenn/Wharton & Stanford."

Musk met his first wife, Canadian author Justine Wilson, at Queen's University.

But while many are signing the petition to revoke Musk's Canadian citizenship, in reality it's not possible.

Musk's flippant response to the petition

Immigration lawyer Gabriela Ramo said under Canadian law, someone's citizenship can only be revoked if it can be proven they committed fraud or misrepresentation to obtain it.

"Before they could move to do this, they would need to introduce legislation, there would have to be amendments to the current Citizenship Act," said Ramo. "There's no provision that would allow them to pursue revocation of citizenship of a Canadian birth, by virtue of his birth to a Canadian mother."

As a result, it's fairly rare for Canadian citizenship to be revoked.

Angus admitted the petition is more symbolic, but has touched a nerve with a lot of people across the country.

"I wasn't expecting that it would explode the way it did," he said. "to me it was really instructive because it shows just how angry Canadians are about what's happening in Washington and how angry people are at the actions of Elon Musk. To me this is a real symbol of this moment."

Canada on Edge as Trump Becomes President

The cold weather forced the inauguration to move inside

In less than 12 hours, Donald Trump will be sworn in as the President of the United States in the Rotunda in Capitol Hill, and across the border Canadians are on edge, wondering if he will go ahead with his threat of imposing a 25 percent tariff on all goods coming into the US.

It doesn't help when the Canadian Prime Minister has resigned, leaving the Liberal Party in disarray. There are a few people who have thrown their hats into the ring -- former Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney and former deputy PM Chrystia Freeland are the front runners, and tagging far behind is Government House Leader Karina Gold.

Trump is threatening tariffs on Canadian goods

Who is the best person to first of all, stand up to Trump, and then second, win the next federal election?

Meanwhile the premiers of Canada's provinces and territories are scrambling for a united response. They gathered in Ottawa to discuss this with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, but Alberta's Premier Danielle Smith refused to sign the joint statement on a plan to respond to Trump's tariff threats.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford was disappointed Smith was not taking the "Team Canada" approach of having a united response, and instead only concerned about her province.

"That is her choice. But I have a little different theory that when protecting jurisdiction, the country comes first. Canada is the priority... When the tariffs come, it's going to affect Albertans, it's going to affect people from BC, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario, all the way down the road. No one's exempt from that," said Ford.

"[Donald Trump] is sitting there with a big smile on his face thinking, 'Wow, I'm going to divide and conquer.' Remember one thing: united we stand, divided we fall."

Indeed he is right. Trump probably is grinning and rubbing his hands together, pleased at how he has made his northern neighbour terrified and scrambling to come up with a plan, but not everyone is on board. He loves making people squirm.

We can only wait in the next few hours to see what Trump says in his inauguration speech. 

Brace yourselves for a wild four years with a convicted felon in the White House.

Picture of the Day: Hail in August

Golfball-sized hail in Calgary today -- in August!

When I saw pictures of snow in Calgary on Twitter, I didn't believe it at first -- until I heard the news report on the radio saying there were reports of hail -- in August -- and rainfall in southern Alberta tonight.

One thunderstorm produced hail the size of golfballs that cause severe damage to car windshields. 

"This is a dangerous and potentially life-threatening situation," a post read on Environment Canada's website.

"Extremely large hail can smash windows, destroy property and vehicles and cause life-threatening injury. Strong wind gusts can toss loose objects, damage weak buildings, break branches off trees and overturn large vehicles."

The hail and heavy rainfall were so bad that they caused damage in the domestic terminal building of YYC Calgary International Airport. 

"We are prioritising the safety of all guests and staff and clearing the impacted area. We are currently assessing the damage and its impact to operations," read a statement, adding that no injuries have been reported at this time.

The damage, which included ceiling panels falling down, has resulted in delays and cancellations in flights. 

Another sign that climate change is definitely here? How much longer can Alberta Premier Danielle Smith deny it? Devastating wildfires in Jasper and now golfball-sized hail in August?

Wildfires Raging in Jasper

Wildfires have entered the town of Jasper and the national park

It is absolutely tragic to see what is happening in Jasper, the town and the national park are on fire. The place is renowned for its picturesque landscape and a must-see place for visitors, but now the smoke has made the skies dark while the burning inferno is ravaging the forest and creeping into the town.

The situation is so dangerous that some crews fighting the fires have been ordered to evacuate.

"[The] air quality had deteriorated to the point that wildland firefighters and others without self-contained breathing apparatuses needed to evacuate to Hinton," Parks Canada said in a statement.

"Structural firefighters remain in town and are working to save as many structures as possible and to protect critical infrastructure, including the wastewater treatment plant, communications facilities, the Trans Mountain Pipeline and others."

There are fears some buildings have gone up in flames and worries that the fire has reached the Fairmont Jasper Lodge. 

Yesterday people living or visiting Jasper told harrowing stories of having only a few hours to evacuate, packing whatever they could and driving out towards British Columbia. Some 5,000 residents have evacuated along with 20,000 visitors, some of whom were hikers in Jasper National Park. 

Meanwhile Premier Danielle Smith sent out a tweet on X saying she is "heartbroken to see reports that the wildfire has entered the townsite of Jasper."

This coming from Smith who has little regard for climate change. Last June when wildfires erupted, she claimed they were ignited by arsonists, whereas experts said climate change has led to the susceptibility to wildfires happening earlier in the season.

Wang Xianli, a fire research scientist with the Canadian Forest Service, said at the time climate change is a major factor.

"It creates longer drought spells in the fire season, and also fire season is going to start early and end late," he said. "It creates more opportunity for fire to ignite."

Today firefighters were unable to bring the fires under control, as their various strategies failed, from water buckets from helicopters, fireguards couldn't be completed, water bombers couldn't fly because of the dangerous flying conditions, and controlled burns didn't work.

Smith says her government will have more to say tomorrow... wonder what the excuse will be this time...

Canada's North is Burning

Wildfires may reach Yellowknife by this weekend

At dinnertime this evening, we watched the TV as government officials in the Northwest Territories tell residents of the capital city Yellowknife that the wildfires that have been burning are fast approaching and that they need to leave the city by Friday.

"The fire now represents a real threat to the city," said Environment Minister Shane Thompson, adding the wildfire could reach the outskirts of the city by the weekend. He said it was currently 17km away.

Mayor Alty telling people to leave by car or plane

The unprecedented evacuation affects 22,000 residents, while Yellowknife Mayor Rebecca Alty, said there would be planes arranged to take people out while the only road out was open -- but warned people needed to have a full tank of gas to drive out. Most people are driving to Edmonton.

"The window of opportunity right now is going to allow us to evacuate everybody safely," Thompson said, adding, "we need you to do it now," because the fire threatens both air and road access.

Residents were also told not to leave by boat or shelter in a cabin or island on Great Slave Lake, as officials explained the air quality would not be good. In other words, everyone had to leave.

NWT Premier Caroline Cochrane called the situation unprecedented. "There's no other way to describe it," she said.

People driving out of Yellowknife to Alberta

Never in my lifetime did I ever think Canada's north would be on fire and tens of thousands of people would have to evacuate.

But after seeing the devastation in Lahaina in Maui, and the wildfires in Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia, it seems we were warned about climate change but nothing substantial was done to mitigate it.

Will the planet spare us or will we see more death and destruction soon? 

Asian Supermarket Chain Goes South

T&T is opening its first store near Seattle next summer

People in Bellevue, Washington State who like to eat Asian food are excited to hear that T&T Supermarket will be opening its first American outlet next summer. 

The Vancouver-based supermarket was started by Taiwanese businesswoman Cindy Lee in 1993 -- 30 years ago -- and it's the largest Asian supermarket chain in Canada with locations in British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec and Ontario.

Now it's opening its first store near Seattle.

Lots of fresh produce at good prices at T&T

"It feels like a big step because it's a new country," said Lee's daughter Tina, who is the CEO. She added they have noticed a significant number of shoppers from the US at their Richmond stores, particularly during American long weekends.

What's not to like about T&T? It stocks fresh vegetables and fruits at lower prices compared to other supermarkets, and has every kind of Asian chips, candies, drinks and other snacks you can think of, as well as fresh meats and seafood, cooked food, household items and even skincare products.

Experts say bringing T&T across the border near Seattle is a good strategic move to see if it can expand even further.

"They are moving into a new market. However, Seattle is fairly low risk for them, the cultures are fairly similar to Vancouver and the demographic makeup is fairly similar," said Jarrett Vaughan, adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia's Sauder School of Business.

CEO Lee, daughter of the founder

"What they've done really well is they've understood their customers extremely well," he said. "They know who their target customer is and they've been able to cater to them really well."

The company is also setting up a regional office in the greater Los Angeles area, home to the biggest port in the United States, as CEO Lee says there are plans to open more stores south of the border.

Ever wondered what T&T stands for? Tina and Tiffany, Cindy Lee's two daughters, and the initials of two early investors.