First Reading is a Canadian politics newsletter curated by the National Post’s own Tristin Hopper. To get an early version sent directly to your inbox, sign up here. Read More

A stupid habit that much of the western news media has adopted in reporting on the Trump administration’s various intrigues and contrivances related to Vladimir Putin’s savage war on Ukraine is the extravagant employment of the term “peace plan.” Read More

Canada now stands at a strategic crossroads. The war in Ukraine, once framed as a defining test of Western resolve, is entering what appears to be its final and least favourable phase. Ukraine’s battlefield position has weakened. Territorial losses in the east and south are mounting. American officials now concede privately that Kyiv’s position is unlikely to improve. As Washington signals that a negotiated settlement is necessary, the war’s outcome will be shaped chiefly by the United States and Russia. Canada and Europe will have little influence over the final terms. Read More

On Friday, the Costco Wholesale Corp. filed a lawsuit with the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) seeking an immediate refund of the Trump administration’s unconstitutional tariffs on imports imposed officially in August under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). It’s an interesting political wrinkle in the historic tale of the tariffs. The president’s contrived, random claim of multiple “emergencies” that allow him to rewrite the American tariff schedule according to whim went before the U.S. Supreme Court a month ago. Read More

An encrypted chat allegedly between Balkan drug traffickers shows them bragging about having exclusive rights to smuggle cocaine alongside bananas in shipping containers exported by the Ecuadorian president’s family firm. Read More

To secure Bloc Québécois support for its censorious Bill C-9, the Liberals have reportedly agreed to a troubling trade: removing the long-standing religious defence from Canada’s hate-speech laws. This would be a mistake. Read More

If there is one takeaway from the recent memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the federal and Alberta governments on a potential new oil pipeline to the West Coast, it's that Canada needs to abandon the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and return to our own framework for reconciliation: Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982. Read More

A traditional Chinese medicine expert who helped trick a retired Calgary couple into investing $77,400 into a "sham" company has been sentenced to house arrest. Read More

When two operators of Vancouver's Drug User Liberation Front (DULF) were found guilty of possession for the purpose of trafficking last month, no one should have been surprised. Read More

OTTAWA — In 2017, Quebec politicians of all stripes marched in unison in Lévis to demonstrate their support to Davie shipyard workers and blast Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government for failing to provide enough contracts to avoid hundreds of more job losses. Read More

A family of four can expect to pay nearly $1,000 more on food in the coming year than it did in 2025, according to Canada’s Food Price Report 2026. Overall, food prices could rise by as much as six per cent next year, with meat expected to see the largest increases at five to seven per cent. Read More

The Pentagon watchdog concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth risked endangering American troops and the U.S. mission against Houthi rebels in Yemen when he shared attack plans on the Signal messaging app, a person familiar with the matter said. Read More

Mike Lindell, the businessman who founded My Pillow Inc. before becoming an outspoken ally of President Donald Trump, filed paperwork on Wednesday to run for governor of Minnesota in next year’s election. Read More

Jared Isaacman, U.S. President Donald Trump's two-time appointee to lead NASA, said it was his goal that the United States beat rival China in the race to return humans to the moon, during a Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday. Read More

OTTAWA — The thorny question of whether federally-appointed judges should get a $28,000 to $38,000 raise from Ottawa will now be decided by the Federal Court. Read More

At time of writing early Wednesday afternoon, somewhat to my amazement, newly minted Heritage Minister Marc Miller has not (yet?) apologized for declaring himself “fed up” with the conversation about the state of the French language in Quebec. Read More

Israel dispatched an official to talks in Lebanon as “a first attempt to create a basis for economic relations and cooperation” between the two countries, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office announced on Wednesday. Read More

OTTAWA — A group of advocates representing voices across civil society and faith communities came together on Wednesday to decry what they called the "ever-expanding" scope of the Liberals' legislation aimed at tackling hate. Read More

As Canadians gear up for the holiday season, many will be taking trips to the United States. Canadian travellers are at the discretion of American border officers, who may ask questions about relationship status, work history and living situation. Read More

Ultimately, officials at the passport office relented when she pushed back. And in a Nov. 29 Instagram post, she said she received her passport with Israel identified as her birth country. Read More

John Irving marches to his own drummer. Hence his methodology when creating a work of fiction. Read More

Newly released pictures and video from Jeffrey Epstein's private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands show what looks to be a dentist's office, several bedrooms and bathrooms, and a partially redacted view of a phone and a blackboard. Read More

A Virginia state-run liquor store was ransacked by a masked bandit on Friday evening, authorities said, leaving a trail of broken spirit bottles strewn across the shop floor. Read More

Three years ago, the legislative assembly of Alberta passed the Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act. The aim was to solidify the general constitutional principle that provinces are not required to enforce federal law and create a framework for pushing back against federal laws or policies it deems unconstitutional or harmful on the basis that they interfere with provincial jurisdiction or the rights and freedoms of Albertans. Read More