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Hard Numbers: Albertan separatists want out, irregular migration drops, canines in the ring in Toronto, Snoop Dogg + First Nations, Stanley Cup drought
Canadian and Alberta flags in Edmonton.
Artur Widak via Reuters Connect
51: A right-wing separatist group in Alberta is urging the province to secede from the “dictatorship” of Justin Trudeau’s Canada and become the 51st state of the US. The Alberta 51 Project, which got a huge boost on Fox News this week, sees creeping authoritarianism in Trudeau’s pandemic policies and progressive politics and views the US republican system of government as freer than Canada’s constitutional monarchy. Could be — but Alberta 51 does realize that the US is currently run by a “socialist,” right?
546: New figures show that since the US and Canada tightened the requirements for undocumented asylum-seekers arriving from the US in Canada, the number of irregular arrivals in Canada has plummeted. Between March 25, when the new rules began, and May 11, authorities detained just 546 undocumented arrivals, a precipitous drop from the nearly 5,000 monthly detentions in January and February.
102: Woof! 102 candidates have entered the race for mayor of Toronto, including a seven-year-old rescue dog from Russia named Molly whose platform focuses on reducing winter road salts. The race to replace former Mayor John Tory, who resigned in February over an extramarital affair, will be decided in a vote at the end of June. The current front-runner is former NDP MP Olivia Chow.
800 million: In other canine-related news, Snoop Dogg confirmed in a video message this week that First Nations would be given an equity stake in the Ottawa Senators NHL team if the rapper’s joint bid to purchase the team wins. Snoop has teamed up with LA-based tech entrepreneur Neko Sparks to buy the franchise, which is valued at $800 million. “We all together we try to make it better,” Snoop raps in the video, “We just need y’all to hit the lever and give us control.”
30: One way for Snoop and Sparks to make it better would be to do something about this: With the Oilers knocked out of the NHL playoffs, it’s now been 30 years since a Canadian team last raised the Cup. That’s despite Canada being home to more than a fifth of the NHL’s teams and the largest number of active NHL players of any country (sorry Sweden).Should governments ban young people from social media? Paul Ash of the Christchurch Call Foundation says he has real reservations about age bans but understands why governments are turning to them.
Last month, Microsoft and Cyberlite launched their expanded AI Classroom Toolkit for educators. The toolkit focuses on the critical thinking skills needed to navigate an increasingly AI-powered world, with classroom-ready scenarios that help students learn how to evaluate AI-generated content, verify information, trace claims to reliable sources, and make informed decisions about what to trust online. The initiative is part of Microsoft’s broader work to help young people use AI safely and responsibly, while strengthening the judgment they need to participate confidently in an evolving digital environment. Read more here.
In this Quick Take, Ian Bremmer breaks down the New York Times investigation into Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's relationship with a Chinese tech executive that the US government believes was a spy for China.
Of the 193 UN member states, only 86 have had a female head of state or government since 1946, according to the Council on Foreign Relations’ Women’s Power Index.