Arno Kopecky
@arnokopecky.bsky.social
Environmental journalist and author.
I cover 🇨🇦 affairs for @nationalobserver.com.
Contributing writer @thewalrus.ca.
I cover 🇨🇦 affairs for @nationalobserver.com.
Contributing writer @thewalrus.ca.
If anyone knows a homeowner in Richmond BC who's concerned (or not concerned!) about the Cowichan decision, let me know?
I'm writing a feature about this and looking for people who live/work in the affected area (#6 Road, Richmond) to speak with, on or off the record.
🙏
I'm writing a feature about this and looking for people who live/work in the affected area (#6 Road, Richmond) to speak with, on or off the record.
🙏
February 12, 2026 at 11:46 PM
If anyone knows a homeowner in Richmond BC who's concerned (or not concerned!) about the Cowichan decision, let me know?
I'm writing a feature about this and looking for people who live/work in the affected area (#6 Road, Richmond) to speak with, on or off the record.
🙏
I'm writing a feature about this and looking for people who live/work in the affected area (#6 Road, Richmond) to speak with, on or off the record.
🙏
Reposted by Arno Kopecky
"Well they can drill or they can mine,
On my smouldering bones,
This my prairie,
And this is my home."
How the guy who wrote that line presents a different vision of Albertans to a world that more often sees a caricature.
On my smouldering bones,
This my prairie,
And this is my home."
How the guy who wrote that line presents a different vision of Albertans to a world that more often sees a caricature.
Corb Lund wants to 'save the soul' of Alberta from coal
On Tuesday, Elections Alberta approved a citizen's initiative petition spearheaded by Albertan country singer Corb Lund that would force the provincial government to ban coal in the Eastern Rockies.
www.nationalobserver.com
February 12, 2026 at 4:34 PM
"Well they can drill or they can mine,
On my smouldering bones,
This my prairie,
And this is my home."
How the guy who wrote that line presents a different vision of Albertans to a world that more often sees a caricature.
On my smouldering bones,
This my prairie,
And this is my home."
How the guy who wrote that line presents a different vision of Albertans to a world that more often sees a caricature.
Reposted by Arno Kopecky
Everything is local, and context is crucial.
Journalism’s great contribution to liberal democracy is story for the purpose understanding: through facts, history and relationships.
During a time of tragedy and grief, facts and history can help anchor us to our shared humanity.
Journalism’s great contribution to liberal democracy is story for the purpose understanding: through facts, history and relationships.
During a time of tragedy and grief, facts and history can help anchor us to our shared humanity.
Tumbler Ridge is a small planned resource community, a winding 90 minute drive from the nearest city of at least 10,000 people.
A massive number of people are going to descend there tomorrow.
May those that arrive have respect and grace for the unimaginable grief.
A massive number of people are going to descend there tomorrow.
May those that arrive have respect and grace for the unimaginable grief.
February 11, 2026 at 4:24 PM
Everything is local, and context is crucial.
Journalism’s great contribution to liberal democracy is story for the purpose understanding: through facts, history and relationships.
During a time of tragedy and grief, facts and history can help anchor us to our shared humanity.
Journalism’s great contribution to liberal democracy is story for the purpose understanding: through facts, history and relationships.
During a time of tragedy and grief, facts and history can help anchor us to our shared humanity.
Reposted by Arno Kopecky
A staggering report from @amandafollett.bsky.social on Rustad's town hall on Indigenous rights and DRIPA in Smithers (Wet’suwet’en territory) last weekend:
‘First Nations Would Not Exist Without Canada,’ Rustad Tells Crowd | The Tyee
Conservative MLAs held a town hall to criticize DRIPA. Community members and Indigenous leaders pushed back.
thetyee.ca
February 10, 2026 at 3:38 PM
A staggering report from @amandafollett.bsky.social on Rustad's town hall on Indigenous rights and DRIPA in Smithers (Wet’suwet’en territory) last weekend:
Carney Stakes Canada’s Auto Future on E.V.s as It Pulls Away From the U.S.
www.nytimes.com
February 5, 2026 at 7:39 PM
as relevant to Canada as every other American trend
“Where the GOP learned to lie as a matter of course is an interesting question, and I’m afraid I’ve had a front row seat. I think it’s the climate fight, more than anything else, that taught them to regard reality as optional.”
Read @billmckibben.bsky.social on how we reached this moment
Read @billmckibben.bsky.social on how we reached this moment
Thinking about lying
Climate denial taught our leaders shamelessness
open.substack.com
February 5, 2026 at 5:31 AM
as relevant to Canada as every other American trend
Reposted by Arno Kopecky
that stage of society when school children share the bond of having endured the camps together
The two children who returned to MN today say they saw one of their Valley View schoolmates at a detention center in TX. This is a child whose family was last in contact with the school on January 9. No one has known where they were until now.
February 5, 2026 at 2:12 AM
that stage of society when school children share the bond of having endured the camps together
"For every dollar of direct investment, the protected area has generated $5.61 in revenue in sectors like eco-tourism, fisheries and manufacturing."
We don't hear enough about the economic benefits of conservation & respect for Indigenous rights & title.
@michellecyca.com makes the case.
We don't hear enough about the economic benefits of conservation & respect for Indigenous rights & title.
@michellecyca.com makes the case.
"The Great Bear Rainforest has been supporting 373 full-time jobs for 17 years, with no end in sight, while also protecting the environment."
Early investments in First Nations' economic development have netted $1.77 billion in gross economic output since 2008.
thenarwhal.ca/environment-...
Early investments in First Nations' economic development have netted $1.77 billion in gross economic output since 2008.
thenarwhal.ca/environment-...
Protecting the environment is good for B.C.’s economy | The Narwhal
Job creation, tax revenue, small business support: why don’t B.C. politicians value the economic benefits of environmental protection?
thenarwhal.ca
February 4, 2026 at 5:56 PM
"For every dollar of direct investment, the protected area has generated $5.61 in revenue in sectors like eco-tourism, fisheries and manufacturing."
We don't hear enough about the economic benefits of conservation & respect for Indigenous rights & title.
@michellecyca.com makes the case.
We don't hear enough about the economic benefits of conservation & respect for Indigenous rights & title.
@michellecyca.com makes the case.
Listen to @noorazrieh.bsky.social condense 72+ hours of insanity into 30 minutes of gold.
Masterful distillation. Sometimes you just gotta hear it.
www.canadaland.com/podcast/167-...
Masterful distillation. Sometimes you just gotta hear it.
www.canadaland.com/podcast/167-...
#167 I Recorded a Right-Wing Influencer Party at Poilievre's Convention
Pierre Poilievre just cruised through his leadership review, but is the party really buying what he’s selling?
www.canadaland.com
February 4, 2026 at 3:27 AM
Listen to @noorazrieh.bsky.social condense 72+ hours of insanity into 30 minutes of gold.
Masterful distillation. Sometimes you just gotta hear it.
www.canadaland.com/podcast/167-...
Masterful distillation. Sometimes you just gotta hear it.
www.canadaland.com/podcast/167-...
Reposted by Arno Kopecky
Fascinating story by Marco Oved for theToronto Star on real live job transitions happening as fossil fuel jobs continue to disappear. This one-time oil driller now drills for geothermal, and life is better. Cites our research on employment trends. www.thestar.com/news/gta/fro...
From Alberta’s oilfields to geothermal drilling in Scarborough: How the changing energy sector is fuelling a better life for workers
At a time when employment in the oilpatch is declining, building housing with renewable energy is a natural pivot for the Canadian economy and those who earn their livelihood from
www.thestar.com
February 3, 2026 at 10:30 PM
Fascinating story by Marco Oved for theToronto Star on real live job transitions happening as fossil fuel jobs continue to disappear. This one-time oil driller now drills for geothermal, and life is better. Cites our research on employment trends. www.thestar.com/news/gta/fro...
It's easy to present modern Conservatives as a caricature of Maple MAGA — so many of them wear it proudly. You can't *not* notice it.
But I think it's also important to see what else lurks behind the curtain. Better angels do exist. If only they were allowed on stage.
But I think it's also important to see what else lurks behind the curtain. Better angels do exist. If only they were allowed on stage.
In @arnokopecky.bsky.social's final dispatch from the Conservative convention, he looks forward at what the party's wholehearted embrace means for its future, and that of our democracy.
Where do the Conservatives go from here?
It’s a problem for Canadians that the Conservatives are going all-in on a candidate with no appeal to a majority of the country, writes Arno Kopecky — one-party rule is anathema to democracy, and not ...
www.nationalobserver.com
February 3, 2026 at 7:43 PM
It's easy to present modern Conservatives as a caricature of Maple MAGA — so many of them wear it proudly. You can't *not* notice it.
But I think it's also important to see what else lurks behind the curtain. Better angels do exist. If only they were allowed on stage.
But I think it's also important to see what else lurks behind the curtain. Better angels do exist. If only they were allowed on stage.
good times chatting about the newsfluencification of modern Conservatives with @youcaughtscott.com.
…bonus rabbit hole into what’s the diff between YouTube stars and journalists, anyway?
…bonus rabbit hole into what’s the diff between YouTube stars and journalists, anyway?
This week on The North State. @arnokopecky.bsky.social of @nationalobserver.com went to the federal Conservative convention to report. Why he wasn’t approved for a press pass? He was told “I don’t know.” We discuss the right-wing freezing out of journalists and the role of social media influencers.
Barred from the Conservative Convention ft. Arno Kopecky
Content creators get preference over critical coverage
readthecatch.ca
February 3, 2026 at 4:03 PM
good times chatting about the newsfluencification of modern Conservatives with @youcaughtscott.com.
…bonus rabbit hole into what’s the diff between YouTube stars and journalists, anyway?
…bonus rabbit hole into what’s the diff between YouTube stars and journalists, anyway?
Reposted by Arno Kopecky
CHRÉTIEN: We burned the White House, but we would not repeat it.
HARPER: Part of it's been torn down by the current incumbent.
HARPER: Part of it's been torn down by the current incumbent.
February 2, 2026 at 10:03 PM
CHRÉTIEN: We burned the White House, but we would not repeat it.
HARPER: Part of it's been torn down by the current incumbent.
HARPER: Part of it's been torn down by the current incumbent.
Reposted by Arno Kopecky
So, now they're asking . . .
February 1, 2026 at 6:30 AM
So, now they're asking . . .
"Ignore the voices who keep telling us to abandon our conservative principles," Poilievre said last night.
Never mind that many of those voices have actually been begging him to *return* to conservative principles. He ain't sorry, and he ain't changing.
www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/31/o...
Never mind that many of those voices have actually been begging him to *return* to conservative principles. He ain't sorry, and he ain't changing.
www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/31/o...
Meet the new Pierre Poilievre, just like the old Pierre Poilievre
In a speech that marked the start of Pierre Poilievre 2.0, the Conservative leader promised not to change.
www.nationalobserver.com
January 31, 2026 at 8:10 PM
"Ignore the voices who keep telling us to abandon our conservative principles," Poilievre said last night.
Never mind that many of those voices have actually been begging him to *return* to conservative principles. He ain't sorry, and he ain't changing.
www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/31/o...
Never mind that many of those voices have actually been begging him to *return* to conservative principles. He ain't sorry, and he ain't changing.
www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/31/o...
core takeaway from Poilievre's speech:
I ain't changin'
I ain't changin'
January 31, 2026 at 3:03 AM
core takeaway from Poilievre's speech:
I ain't changin'
I ain't changin'
Reposted by Arno Kopecky
Heads up, #Canada! If you don't think this case is important, just look at what's happening to journalists and media south of the border. #journalismisnotacrime
Carol Linnitt, co-founder and editor-in-chief, provides an update on The Narwhal’s court case against the RCMP. Amber Bracken finished cross-examination late Jan. 28. It took more than 12 hours.
To learn more about the trial visit www.thenarwhal.ca/press-freedom
To learn more about the trial visit www.thenarwhal.ca/press-freedom
January 30, 2026 at 5:15 PM
Heads up, #Canada! If you don't think this case is important, just look at what's happening to journalists and media south of the border. #journalismisnotacrime
The crazy thing about the crazy things I‘m hearing, is that it isn’t rando rally-goers from the party’s base saying them.
It’s delegates, the party brass and membership. These are folks who run the party.
www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/30/o...
It’s delegates, the party brass and membership. These are folks who run the party.
www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/30/o...
The sad predictability of the CPC Convention
None of what Arno Kopecky saw from Conservatives speaking on the first night of the party's Calgary convention was any more surprising than the strange disconnect from reality he encountered among att...
www.nationalobserver.com
January 30, 2026 at 10:09 PM
The crazy thing about the crazy things I‘m hearing, is that it isn’t rando rally-goers from the party’s base saying them.
It’s delegates, the party brass and membership. These are folks who run the party.
www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/30/o...
It’s delegates, the party brass and membership. These are folks who run the party.
www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/30/o...
Reposted by Arno Kopecky
“The United Nations has been anything but a friend to the Caucasian world. I mean, you're seeing disruptions in Europe, UK, Canada, New Zealand, Australia. Very little anywhere else. New World Order is after white Christianity by the looks of it, it seems to me. They're trying to replace us.”
This is who the separatists are. Huge thanks to my colleague @arnokopecky.bsky.social for getting that on the record. #abpoli
www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/29/n...
www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/29/n...
'They're trying to replace us': the conspiracy theories driving the man behind Alberta separatism
Mitch Sylvestre says the Canadian government is criminal, he has fears of a communist takeover and he's 'cured of federalism.' Arno Kopecky spoke with him about the allegations of coordination with US...
www.nationalobserver.com
January 30, 2026 at 12:56 AM
“The United Nations has been anything but a friend to the Caucasian world. I mean, you're seeing disruptions in Europe, UK, Canada, New Zealand, Australia. Very little anywhere else. New World Order is after white Christianity by the looks of it, it seems to me. They're trying to replace us.”
One of the more surreal conversations I’ve ever had.
"Pick three random people from your hometown. And imagine them — like the Beverly Hillbillies going to the US, and talking to these guys, as if there could be any consequence come out of that. It makes me laugh. It literally makes me laugh." @arnokopecky.bsky.social speaks with Mitch Sylvestre.
The world according to the man behind Alberta's separatism petition
Mitch Sylvestre says the Canadian government is criminal, he has fears of a communist takeover and he's 'cured of federalism.' Arno Kopecky spoke with him about the allegations of coordination with US...
www.nationalobserver.com
January 29, 2026 at 9:53 PM
One of the more surreal conversations I’ve ever had.
Reposted by Arno Kopecky
"This is a preschool you stupid motherfuckers" should be the Democrats' 2026 slogan
Video from this morning shows ICE agents deploying tear gas outside a Minneapolis preschool as parents shout, “This is a preschool! There’s kids here!”
January 27, 2026 at 9:38 PM
"This is a preschool you stupid motherfuckers" should be the Democrats' 2026 slogan
Wild to hear Yuri Fulmer, a contender for BC Conservative leadership, dismiss Coastal First Nations as:
"Just an advocacy group...
branding like coke or Nike...
professional protesters."
x.com/yuri_fulmer/...
CFN is a formal alliance of 9 nations who have lived here since the last ice age.
1/
"Just an advocacy group...
branding like coke or Nike...
professional protesters."
x.com/yuri_fulmer/...
CFN is a formal alliance of 9 nations who have lived here since the last ice age.
1/
x.com
January 27, 2026 at 1:37 AM
Wild to hear Yuri Fulmer, a contender for BC Conservative leadership, dismiss Coastal First Nations as:
"Just an advocacy group...
branding like coke or Nike...
professional protesters."
x.com/yuri_fulmer/...
CFN is a formal alliance of 9 nations who have lived here since the last ice age.
1/
"Just an advocacy group...
branding like coke or Nike...
professional protesters."
x.com/yuri_fulmer/...
CFN is a formal alliance of 9 nations who have lived here since the last ice age.
1/
Reposted by Arno Kopecky
The inclusion of Kyle Rittenhouse in this @deadder.bsky.social cartoon really brings home the deep hypocrisy
January 25, 2026 at 8:15 PM
The inclusion of Kyle Rittenhouse in this @deadder.bsky.social cartoon really brings home the deep hypocrisy
Reposted by Arno Kopecky
The advent of a “content creator” pass for next week’s convention marks a new chapter in the Conservative party’s embrace of the influencer movement — and rhymes perfectly with Trump's White House and Pentagon media strategy. Reporting by @arnokopecky.bsky.social in @nationalobserver.com
Federal Conservatives trade journalists for partisan cheerleaders
When Conservatives gather in Calgary at their convention next weekend, right-wing “content creators” will be welcomed as journalists. This publication, not so much.
www.nationalobserver.com
January 24, 2026 at 10:05 PM
The advent of a “content creator” pass for next week’s convention marks a new chapter in the Conservative party’s embrace of the influencer movement — and rhymes perfectly with Trump's White House and Pentagon media strategy. Reporting by @arnokopecky.bsky.social in @nationalobserver.com