Bill Comeau 🇨🇦
@bill-comeau.bsky.social
Canadian. Statistician. Math. Show me the evidence. I've been known to dwell on little things like pandemics, population health, preventable deaths, disinformation, authoritarians, kleptocracies, annexation, and protecting democracies. Also, Leafs & Jays.
Convince me I'm wrong: Food price levels in Canada and the US are primarily the result of pandemic disruptions and the food supply chain greedily avoiding cuts in inflated prices once the pandemic subsided. Anti-government populist politicians prefer to blame the government.
November 15, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Convince me I'm wrong: Food price levels in Canada and the US are primarily the result of pandemic disruptions and the food supply chain greedily avoiding cuts in inflated prices once the pandemic subsided. Anti-government populist politicians prefer to blame the government.
An extraordinary 40% of women aged 15-44 say they'd like to leave the U.S. permanently, double the 19% reported for men (Gallup). This represents a dramatic rise, only 10% of women wanted to leave in 2014. Their preferred destination is Canada.
www.axios.com/2025/11/13/t...
www.axios.com/2025/11/13/t...
November 15, 2025 at 3:16 PM
An extraordinary 40% of women aged 15-44 say they'd like to leave the U.S. permanently, double the 19% reported for men (Gallup). This represents a dramatic rise, only 10% of women wanted to leave in 2014. Their preferred destination is Canada.
www.axios.com/2025/11/13/t...
www.axios.com/2025/11/13/t...
More on how Reputation Lab arrives at rankings.
corporatereputationlab.com/en/repcore-m...
corporatereputationlab.com/en/repcore-m...
November 2, 2025 at 2:50 PM
More on how Reputation Lab arrives at rankings.
corporatereputationlab.com/en/repcore-m...
corporatereputationlab.com/en/repcore-m...
Fact for today: Canada has climbed from 4th to 2nd in the latest international reputation rankings. The US has dropped dramatically, from 30th to 48th among the 60 top economies. Switzerland ranks first, Russia last. The rankings are often a factor in country investment decisions.
November 2, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Fact for today: Canada has climbed from 4th to 2nd in the latest international reputation rankings. The US has dropped dramatically, from 30th to 48th among the 60 top economies. Switzerland ranks first, Russia last. The rankings are often a factor in country investment decisions.
I have for years been concerned about Doug Ford's desire to limit and deke around the democratic protections in Ontario. Here he is again chipping away at our foundation, in a way that looks a lot like the Trumpian/MAGA efforts to tilt elections and stay in power. #ontario #onpoli
October 29, 2025 at 3:38 AM
Amazing. The whole stadium sung O Canada. We are proud to be Canadian. #Canada 🇨🇦
x.com/BenVerlander...
x.com/BenVerlander...
October 25, 2025 at 11:38 AM
Amazing. The whole stadium sung O Canada. We are proud to be Canadian. #Canada 🇨🇦
x.com/BenVerlander...
x.com/BenVerlander...
How about those Blue Jays? Not bad for "David vs Goliath".
October 25, 2025 at 3:49 AM
How about those Blue Jays? Not bad for "David vs Goliath".
Trivia: Right whales remain endangered. But their name tells you why they almost disappeared. Whalers named them the "right whales" to hunt because they were slow, docile, swam near the coast, and importantly, their increased blubber meant they floated after being killed so they could be harvested.
October 21, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Trivia: Right whales remain endangered. But their name tells you why they almost disappeared. Whalers named them the "right whales" to hunt because they were slow, docile, swam near the coast, and importantly, their increased blubber meant they floated after being killed so they could be harvested.
While we need to keep a weather eye focused on international trends, Ontario Canada's current covid risk level remains low. But the smart move remains the same too, get vaccinated for covid (and flu/RSV), the shots work to reduce illness severity.
Graphic from PHO:
Graphic from PHO:
October 11, 2025 at 1:19 PM
While we need to keep a weather eye focused on international trends, Ontario Canada's current covid risk level remains low. But the smart move remains the same too, get vaccinated for covid (and flu/RSV), the shots work to reduce illness severity.
Graphic from PHO:
Graphic from PHO:
10/ XFG is the dominant variant in Ontario in terms of share of total variants. That does not mean it is dominant as far as being a "game changer". It's impact has been relatively benign compared to other major variants of the past. I do not see anything replacing XFG right now.
(chart PHO)
(chart PHO)
September 27, 2025 at 8:42 PM
10/ XFG is the dominant variant in Ontario in terms of share of total variants. That does not mean it is dominant as far as being a "game changer". It's impact has been relatively benign compared to other major variants of the past. I do not see anything replacing XFG right now.
(chart PHO)
(chart PHO)
9/ Ontario covid hospital burden, each year is a different colour and is plotted against surveillance week. The last 12 months have been below previous years.
(chart PHO)
www.publichealthontario.ca/en/Data-and-...
(chart PHO)
www.publichealthontario.ca/en/Data-and-...
September 27, 2025 at 8:40 PM
9/ Ontario covid hospital burden, each year is a different colour and is plotted against surveillance week. The last 12 months have been below previous years.
(chart PHO)
www.publichealthontario.ca/en/Data-and-...
(chart PHO)
www.publichealthontario.ca/en/Data-and-...
8/ Ontario covid test positivity trend for those who qualify as higher risk. It's rising into the moderate (10%+) range.
(chart PHO)
(chart PHO)
September 27, 2025 at 8:38 PM
8/ Ontario covid test positivity trend for those who qualify as higher risk. It's rising into the moderate (10%+) range.
(chart PHO)
(chart PHO)
10/ XFG is the dominant variant in Ontario in terms of share of total variants. That does not mean it is dominant as far as being a "game changer". It's impact has been relatively benign compared to other major variants of the past. I do not see anything replacing XFG right now.
September 27, 2025 at 7:30 PM
10/ XFG is the dominant variant in Ontario in terms of share of total variants. That does not mean it is dominant as far as being a "game changer". It's impact has been relatively benign compared to other major variants of the past. I do not see anything replacing XFG right now.
9/ Each year is a different colour, with covid hospital burden plotted by surveillance week. This allows a comparison of years and you can see the latest year has been below previous years. (chart PHO)
September 27, 2025 at 7:30 PM
9/ Each year is a different colour, with covid hospital burden plotted by surveillance week. This allows a comparison of years and you can see the latest year has been below previous years. (chart PHO)
9/ This chart shows covid hospital burden but with each year in a separate colour, mapped against surveillance week. You can see how the past 12 months have been lower than prior years.
September 27, 2025 at 7:16 PM
9/ This chart shows covid hospital burden but with each year in a separate colour, mapped against surveillance week. You can see how the past 12 months have been lower than prior years.
It's a complex topic. To investigate something like this, it's important to control for confounding factors that might influence autism rates. Once a carefully controlled study was designed, it found no autism effect associated with tylenol use during pregnancy.
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
September 22, 2025 at 10:50 PM
It's a complex topic. To investigate something like this, it's important to control for confounding factors that might influence autism rates. Once a carefully controlled study was designed, it found no autism effect associated with tylenol use during pregnancy.
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Something I have tried to warn Canadians about for a long time. Disinformation works for the far-right.
The greater the level of disinformation, the greater the support for Trump. (EKOS poll of Canadians, Sept 5-12, 2025). #cdnpoli
The greater the level of disinformation, the greater the support for Trump. (EKOS poll of Canadians, Sept 5-12, 2025). #cdnpoli
September 19, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Something I have tried to warn Canadians about for a long time. Disinformation works for the far-right.
The greater the level of disinformation, the greater the support for Trump. (EKOS poll of Canadians, Sept 5-12, 2025). #cdnpoli
The greater the level of disinformation, the greater the support for Trump. (EKOS poll of Canadians, Sept 5-12, 2025). #cdnpoli
45% of Conservatives approve of the way Trump is handling his job compared to 1% of Liberals. New EKOS poll of Canadians, Sept 5-12, 2025. #cdnpoli
September 19, 2025 at 12:37 PM
45% of Conservatives approve of the way Trump is handling his job compared to 1% of Liberals. New EKOS poll of Canadians, Sept 5-12, 2025. #cdnpoli
Given the warming trends and recent wildfire growth, high quality N95 masks and indoor air filters are good investments to help protect the health of your family. Avoid excessive exposure wherever possible.
www.epa.gov/wildfire-smo...
www.epa.gov/wildfire-smo...
September 18, 2025 at 8:09 PM
Given the warming trends and recent wildfire growth, high quality N95 masks and indoor air filters are good investments to help protect the health of your family. Avoid excessive exposure wherever possible.
www.epa.gov/wildfire-smo...
www.epa.gov/wildfire-smo...
A Conservative MP says Liberal members of the Justice committee are missing in action.
Fact check: ❌ FALSE. The first meeting of the committee does not take place until tomorrow. (Proof in reply.)
#cdnpoli
Fact check: ❌ FALSE. The first meeting of the committee does not take place until tomorrow. (Proof in reply.)
#cdnpoli
September 17, 2025 at 1:05 PM
A Conservative MP says Liberal members of the Justice committee are missing in action.
Fact check: ❌ FALSE. The first meeting of the committee does not take place until tomorrow. (Proof in reply.)
#cdnpoli
Fact check: ❌ FALSE. The first meeting of the committee does not take place until tomorrow. (Proof in reply.)
#cdnpoli
Be careful kids when you see someone posting a chart comparing Canada vs the US on any sort of economic data. This food inflation chart is misleading because it attempts to compare Canada and the US but uses different units and different currencies for each trend line.
September 16, 2025 at 6:05 PM
Be careful kids when you see someone posting a chart comparing Canada vs the US on any sort of economic data. This food inflation chart is misleading because it attempts to compare Canada and the US but uses different units and different currencies for each trend line.
Claims are being made (including from the President's son) that political violence is only from the Left.
Fact check: ❌ FALSE
www.economist.com/graphic-deta...
Fact check: ❌ FALSE
www.economist.com/graphic-deta...
September 12, 2025 at 9:44 PM
Claims are being made (including from the President's son) that political violence is only from the Left.
Fact check: ❌ FALSE
www.economist.com/graphic-deta...
Fact check: ❌ FALSE
www.economist.com/graphic-deta...
We should anticipate disinformation and rage-baiting messages to spike when shock and emotions are high and media platforms reward engagement of lies and hate.
September 11, 2025 at 8:10 PM
We should anticipate disinformation and rage-baiting messages to spike when shock and emotions are high and media platforms reward engagement of lies and hate.
Fact: RFK Jr told a congressional committee he doesn't know how many Americans died from covid. Official confirmed US deaths total 1.2 million to date. 7.1 million deaths have been reported around the world. Many experts believe the true number is several times higher.
data.who.int/dashboards/c...
data.who.int/dashboards/c...
September 6, 2025 at 10:16 PM
Fact: RFK Jr told a congressional committee he doesn't know how many Americans died from covid. Official confirmed US deaths total 1.2 million to date. 7.1 million deaths have been reported around the world. Many experts believe the true number is several times higher.
data.who.int/dashboards/c...
data.who.int/dashboards/c...
🧵 Fact: #mRNA is a normal part of cells, it acts like an instruction manual to build proteins. mRNA covid #vaccines send cells instructions to build a specific part of the virus. This spike protein can't cause covid but will warn our immune system. mRNA and the protein break down quickly into waste.
September 6, 2025 at 5:34 PM
🧵 Fact: #mRNA is a normal part of cells, it acts like an instruction manual to build proteins. mRNA covid #vaccines send cells instructions to build a specific part of the virus. This spike protein can't cause covid but will warn our immune system. mRNA and the protein break down quickly into waste.