Jimmy Thomson
@jameswsthomson.com
Environment and climate journalist | Editor in Chief at @nationalobserver.com | Work in The Globe and Mail, The Narwhal, The Guardian | www.jameswsthomson.com
Vancouver had 117 people die during the 2021 heat dome climate disaster.
NEW: Councillors and sources inside the City of Vancouver say the city's mayor, Ken Sim, will put forth a budget Wednesday that will eliminate the city's celebrated climate and sustainability department.
Vancouver mayor plans to eliminate city's climate and sustainability department
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim is planning to eliminate the city's sustainability and climate department under the guise of a push to prevent increases to property taxes. Canada's National Observer learned a...
www.nationalobserver.com
November 11, 2025 at 1:49 AM
Vancouver had 117 people die during the 2021 heat dome climate disaster.
This is why parents shouldn't be allowed on Bluesky. They correct you in front of all your internet friends.
Not the Lawrence Harris you’re thinking of: his son Lawrence P. Harris during WW2. Varley and Jackson were Group of Seven members and official war artists during WW1.
November 11, 2025 at 1:15 AM
This is why parents shouldn't be allowed on Bluesky. They correct you in front of all your internet friends.
A nice Remembrance Day read from @maxfawcett.bsky.social
In the age of selfishness, let’s rediscover our sense of shared sacrifice
Remembrance Day is a reminder of what we were willing to fight for in the past — and how much it mattered that we fought together.
www.nationalobserver.com
November 10, 2025 at 11:44 PM
A nice Remembrance Day read from @maxfawcett.bsky.social
Lawren Harris, acting in his capacity as an official war artist during WW2, and one of his pieces. I had no idea! (Both photos courtesy Library and Archives Canada.)
November 10, 2025 at 11:27 PM
Lawren Harris, acting in his capacity as an official war artist during WW2, and one of his pieces. I had no idea! (Both photos courtesy Library and Archives Canada.)
Cartoon presidency
November 10, 2025 at 5:52 PM
Cartoon presidency
Reposted by Jimmy Thomson
Talked about the prospect of another pipeline and Carney's recent comments on my Monday political panel.
As I said, the biggest impediment isn't regulations or even Indigenous opposition but the lack of a viable business case.
www.nationalobserver.com/2025/10/23/o...
As I said, the biggest impediment isn't regulations or even Indigenous opposition but the lack of a viable business case.
www.nationalobserver.com/2025/10/23/o...
Danielle Smith’s pipeline still doesn’t have a business case
The biggest obstacle standing in the way of another pipeline to the West Coast isn't the tanker ban or federal climate policies. It's oil prices and the nature of the businesses that rely on them for ...
www.nationalobserver.com
November 10, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Talked about the prospect of another pipeline and Carney's recent comments on my Monday political panel.
As I said, the biggest impediment isn't regulations or even Indigenous opposition but the lack of a viable business case.
www.nationalobserver.com/2025/10/23/o...
As I said, the biggest impediment isn't regulations or even Indigenous opposition but the lack of a viable business case.
www.nationalobserver.com/2025/10/23/o...
love that Supercop #3 expects us to believe he had reason to believe a sitting MLA was engaged in flagrant corruption, conducted an illegal search — and then got distracted so never completed his investigation. Adorable.
November 10, 2025 at 5:08 PM
love that Supercop #3 expects us to believe he had reason to believe a sitting MLA was engaged in flagrant corruption, conducted an illegal search — and then got distracted so never completed his investigation. Adorable.
The tragedy of Elon is he wants so badly to be a Bond villain but will always be a Batman villain. From the comic books.
November 8, 2025 at 5:16 PM
The tragedy of Elon is he wants so badly to be a Bond villain but will always be a Batman villain. From the comic books.
Reposted by Jimmy Thomson
I made a “how do you do, fellow kids?” joke to someone in their mid 20s who, it turns out, was too young to have heard of that meme.
So “how do you do, fellow kids?” is now an example of “how do you do, fellow kids?”
So “how do you do, fellow kids?” is now an example of “how do you do, fellow kids?”
November 7, 2025 at 5:28 PM
I made a “how do you do, fellow kids?” joke to someone in their mid 20s who, it turns out, was too young to have heard of that meme.
So “how do you do, fellow kids?” is now an example of “how do you do, fellow kids?”
So “how do you do, fellow kids?” is now an example of “how do you do, fellow kids?”
Reposted by Jimmy Thomson
Great first-hand account of the ostrich cull and its implications for public trust in Canadian institutions. www.nationalobserver.com/2025/11/07/a...
The ostriches are dead. What about public trust?
The government-ordered ostrich cull has revealed how social media can help a family transform their tragedy into spectacle. And their story has offered a window into the ways trust breaks down between...
www.nationalobserver.com
November 8, 2025 at 2:44 AM
Great first-hand account of the ostrich cull and its implications for public trust in Canadian institutions. www.nationalobserver.com/2025/11/07/a...
Reposted by Jimmy Thomson
Hi Bluesky 👋
Small life update: I’m at the centre of a multimillion dollar lawsuit in Alberta launched by a failed candidate for Jason Kenney’s UCP
It may be the longest and most expensive media trial in Canadian history
I’m ready to go public about it and I want to share more details with you 🧵
Small life update: I’m at the centre of a multimillion dollar lawsuit in Alberta launched by a failed candidate for Jason Kenney’s UCP
It may be the longest and most expensive media trial in Canadian history
I’m ready to go public about it and I want to share more details with you 🧵
November 7, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Hi Bluesky 👋
Small life update: I’m at the centre of a multimillion dollar lawsuit in Alberta launched by a failed candidate for Jason Kenney’s UCP
It may be the longest and most expensive media trial in Canadian history
I’m ready to go public about it and I want to share more details with you 🧵
Small life update: I’m at the centre of a multimillion dollar lawsuit in Alberta launched by a failed candidate for Jason Kenney’s UCP
It may be the longest and most expensive media trial in Canadian history
I’m ready to go public about it and I want to share more details with you 🧵
BC's anti-SLAPP legislation was critical to keeping a meritless lawsuit @torimarlan.bsky.social and I faced to the "affordable" sum of ~$50k in legal fees. Journalists like Luke not protected by these laws have much higher exposure — even when, like us, they did nothing wrong.
In other provinces, journalists can use anti-SLAPP legislation to challenge lawsuits when they believe they are groundless or undermine the public interest
Alberta has no such laws, leaving journalists vulnerable to long and expensive legal battles
I believe that is fundamentally bad for democracy
Alberta has no such laws, leaving journalists vulnerable to long and expensive legal battles
I believe that is fundamentally bad for democracy
November 7, 2025 at 4:04 PM
BC's anti-SLAPP legislation was critical to keeping a meritless lawsuit @torimarlan.bsky.social and I faced to the "affordable" sum of ~$50k in legal fees. Journalists like Luke not protected by these laws have much higher exposure — even when, like us, they did nothing wrong.
*with unlimited oil wealth and no human rights laws
November 6, 2025 at 6:26 PM
*with unlimited oil wealth and no human rights laws
Can't wait to see Sarah Nurse lead @pwhl--vancouver.bsky.social's signature flying V formation for the first time
November 6, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Can't wait to see Sarah Nurse lead @pwhl--vancouver.bsky.social's signature flying V formation for the first time
The City of Victoria might slash grants and programs across the board to make up for one single line item that's roughly equivalent to everything being cut. Can anyone guess what that single budget item is, which apparently isn't even up for debate? One guess.
November 6, 2025 at 4:51 PM
The City of Victoria might slash grants and programs across the board to make up for one single line item that's roughly equivalent to everything being cut. Can anyone guess what that single budget item is, which apparently isn't even up for debate? One guess.
Reposted by Jimmy Thomson
And this, friends, is why you read Paul Wells' Substack. paulwells.substack.com/p/the-2025-b...
November 5, 2025 at 5:11 PM
And this, friends, is why you read Paul Wells' Substack. paulwells.substack.com/p/the-2025-b...
Reposted by Jimmy Thomson
"Ostriches, especially males during mating season, are extremely dangerous. … Consider sedating birds prior to euthanasia for large, uncontrollable, or dangerous birds such as ostriches or emus," states a government manual released under Freedom of Information legislation.
Documents detail how to cull ostriches as court decision looms
For weeks, a team of Canadian Food Inspection Agency employees caring for a herd of ostriches in BC have faced considerable threats: Doxxing. Harassment. Violence. Contracting a dangerous strain of av...
www.nationalobserver.com
November 5, 2025 at 2:00 AM
"Ostriches, especially males during mating season, are extremely dangerous. … Consider sedating birds prior to euthanasia for large, uncontrollable, or dangerous birds such as ostriches or emus," states a government manual released under Freedom of Information legislation.
Another clue: the vancouverspirit.com web domain was registered exactly two weeks before the PWHL team was announced.
November 4, 2025 at 11:09 PM
Another clue: the vancouverspirit.com web domain was registered exactly two weeks before the PWHL team was announced.
Little things become symbols. And symbols are what stick with people.
This budget is full of very very dumb symbols.
This budget is full of very very dumb symbols.
Out of budget lockup. I recently wrote: "Ottawa imposes a 10 percent luxury tax on yachts... yet a family buying a semi in Scarborough pays the equivalent of 15 percent in [DCs] and land transfer taxes."
Today the gov't addressed this by eliminating the luxury tax on yachts.
Today the gov't addressed this by eliminating the luxury tax on yachts.
November 4, 2025 at 10:50 PM
Little things become symbols. And symbols are what stick with people.
This budget is full of very very dumb symbols.
This budget is full of very very dumb symbols.
I guess you can't really support Pathways without also making greenwashing legal at the same time
November 4, 2025 at 9:16 PM
I guess you can't really support Pathways without also making greenwashing legal at the same time
uh oh. Once you've lost Barstool Sports, you've lost, uh... you've lost... um, well, you've lost Barstool Sports, I guess?
now that's what I call a Mamdani endorsement. Don't threaten New Yorkers with a good time, Dave. www.yahoo.com/news/article...
Dave Portnoy Threatens To Move Barstool Sports Out of New York City If Zohran Mamdani Becomes Mayor: ‘I Hate This Guy So Much’
Portnoy, 48, admitted that he has already asked his "finance guy" to begin looking at potential office spaces outside of the city.
www.yahoo.com
November 4, 2025 at 8:55 PM
uh oh. Once you've lost Barstool Sports, you've lost, uh... you've lost... um, well, you've lost Barstool Sports, I guess?
Reposted by Jimmy Thomson
From my time in Paris, I know that in France people would have burned a lot of stuff by now.
April 3, 2025 at 11:44 PM
From my time in Paris, I know that in France people would have burned a lot of stuff by now.
Reposted by Jimmy Thomson
Also, I found @nationalobserver.com's Civic Searchlight tour quite helpful for this story. Beyond everything else, it's a quick and easy way to get to the right spot in a council video.
civicsearchlight.nationalobserver.com
civicsearchlight.nationalobserver.com
November 4, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Also, I found @nationalobserver.com's Civic Searchlight tour quite helpful for this story. Beyond everything else, it's a quick and easy way to get to the right spot in a council video.
civicsearchlight.nationalobserver.com
civicsearchlight.nationalobserver.com
what the actual fuck. Publication that beat the odds to deliver some of the best politics reporting in the US
I was laid off from Teen Vogue today along with multiple other staffers, and today is my last day.
certainly more to come from me when the dust has settled more, but to my knowledge, after today, there will be no politics staffers at Teen Vogue.
certainly more to come from me when the dust has settled more, but to my knowledge, after today, there will be no politics staffers at Teen Vogue.
November 4, 2025 at 12:54 AM
what the actual fuck. Publication that beat the odds to deliver some of the best politics reporting in the US
the Venn diagram overlap of Nigeria and Venezuela is extremely narrow and consists of one specific resource that happens to have captured the entire Trump administration
November 4, 2025 at 12:51 AM
the Venn diagram overlap of Nigeria and Venezuela is extremely narrow and consists of one specific resource that happens to have captured the entire Trump administration