Helen Kirkup Lawson

Canadian half of Canadian/American marriage. Author, The Kirkups: Pioneers & Travellers. Also Kirkup Places.

[Helen Kirkup Lawson @hklawson]

@helen_warlow England has so many scenes like these. Put me in mind of one's I have taken from Bradfield looking down the valley. Lovely.

[John Ivison @IvisonJ]

A B.C. winery says it can still sell its wine cheaper in the U.S. - ever after 50 percent tariffs - than it can in Ontario and Quebec, thanks to massive provincial markups.

[Helen Kirkup Lawson @hklawson]

@GWmag That at some point, someone will give you an invasive, root-running plant, disguised as a groundcover, and it will invade all of your lovingly tended gardens, making them a chore rather than a joy.

[Rabbi Poupko @RabbiPoupko]

PLEASE HELP MAKE THIS YOUNG MAN FAMOUS

Yotam Budnik is a 12th-grade student from Rehovot 🇮🇱 just won a gold medal at the International Olympiad in Informatics in Uzbekistan but was not allowed to compete under the Israeli flag.

When Yotam was awarded his medal 🏅 stepped onto the podium, pulled an Israeli flag out of his pocket and wore it in defiance of the Anti-Semitic discrimination.

While the medal 🏅 was revoked from him for his courage, he has no regrets

"The law that prevents me from waving the flag is based only on politics, and I thought there was no place for that in a scientific competition", he said.

The organizers demanded that he return his medal.

Yotam said no.

Organizers took away his certificate and removed his ranking from the website.

Please help make sure the world knows the name Yotam Budnik and that he is not only a world class computer science genius, but also a man of courage and pride of the Jewish people 💙

[Helen Kirkup Lawson @hklawson]

@JamesMelville Absolutely! My aunt is 99 and has to have friends & neighbours access services for her. Makes her more dependant and she loses her privacy.

[Hen Mazzig @HenMazzig]

These countries attacked the Jewish state the moment it was founded in 1948:

🇪🇬 Egypt
🇯🇴 Jordan
🇸🇾 Syria
🇮🇶 Iraq
🇱🇧 Lebanon
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia
🇾🇪 Yemen

At the time, Israel's Jewish population was a combination of Jews who lived there because their families never left, and refugees from pogroms and the Nazi Holocaust.

Why is this context always left out by Free Palestine activists when they talk about 1948?

[Helen Kirkup Lawson @hklawson]

@bruceanderson The water is especially good. I have trouble with that. Very nice.

[Marc Nixon @MarcNixon24]

WAIT… SO IT’S ACTUALLY 7–7? 🚨

Shaun Chen is resigning.

That would bring Liberal departures since the election to 7 if Steven Guilbeault is included once his departure is effective.

Conservative departures: 7.

🔴 LIBERALS: 7
🔵 CONSERVATIVES: 7

Yet somehow the political narrative has been:

“CONSERVATIVES IN CHAOS!”

Funny how much the story changes when you show BOTH sides of the scoreboard.

7–7. TIED.

Why haven’t Canadians been hearing that?

[Helen Kirkup Lawson @hklawson]

@CheriDiNovo Jeezus, the man put forward an idea that a)sucks and b) you disagree with. This alone is enough for you to call him a Nazi? The idea is bad. Call it so. The man is not bad for sharing it.

[Itt speaks @JennRooney1]

@MichaelCooperMP https://t.co/SljETcZi7d

[Helen Kirkup Lawson @hklawson]

@sarahdiaryz Never noticed the Dambusters sequence before 😀

[Ryan Gerritsen🇨🇦🇳🇱 @ryangerritsen]

$2 billion dollars to an American owned defense contractor.
A small detail Carney conveniently left out.

[Vote Canada @VoteCanadaCom]

Maia Johnson is an American political operative whose appointment by Prime Minister Mark Carney as the first chief operating officer in the Prime Minister’s Office represents a troubling elevation of foreign influence into the heart of Canadian government operations. This newly created corporate-style position gives her direct oversight of day-to-day machinery in the PMO while she simultaneously retains her role as senior adviser on Canada-United States relations, a dual responsibility that raises serious questions about divided loyalties at a time of heightened trade tensions with the Trump administration. Johnson surfaced in Canadian politics only last year, arriving from New York City to volunteer on Carney’s Liberal leadership campaign before quickly embedding herself inside the PMO earlier in 2026, where her rapid ascent has left even Ottawa insiders unable to fully explain her path or qualifications for such sensitive power.

Her background is steeped in failed Democratic Party ventures in the United States, including work on Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign in areas of strategy, logistics, and scheduling that contributed to one of the most disappointing losses in modern political history marked by email scandals, misjudged voter outreach, and alienating rhetoric that divided the electorate. Johnson maintained a presence in the orbit of Michael Bloomberg’s political machine through the now-defunct Hawkfish LLC, a data and technology firm Bloomberg bankrolled to push his own short-lived 2020 presidential ambitions that collapsed after burning through hundreds of millions of dollars with little to show beyond early primary flops. Hawkfish itself drew sharp criticism for misleading potential recruits by falsely claiming it would serve as the Democratic National Committee’s primary tech platform, a deception that highlighted the firm’s questionable ethics and aggressive pursuit of control over party infrastructure, all while operating with heavy subsidies from Bloomberg’s vast wealth that allowed it to undercut competitors and centralize voter data in ways that progressives themselves rejected as billionaire overreach. The firm ultimately shut down in 2021 after the Biden campaign wisely distanced itself amid backlash, leaving behind a trail of unfulfilled promises and perceptions of secretive, top-down maneuvering that prioritized elite access over transparent democratic processes.

Compounding these associations is Johnson’s documented involvement with the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, or GFANZ, the controversial climate finance initiative that Carney himself launched during his United Nations tenure and co-chaired with Bloomberg. Carney publicly credited Johnson for research assistance on his 2022 lectures tied to GFANZ, which promoted expansive ideas around global environmental governance that critics have long viewed as undermining national sovereignty in favor of unaccountable international alliances and financial mandates pushed by billionaires. This connection funneled her directly into Carney’s inner circle, bypassing more traditional Canadian political routes and illustrating a pattern of importing external networks steeped in climate activism and Democratic operative tactics that prioritize globalist agendas over domestic priorities. Her low public profile only deepens the unease, as searches yield virtually no clear photographs, social media presence, or detailed biographical information, making it difficult for Canadians to assess her background or potential conflicts in a role that demands utmost transparency and accountability.

The ethical red flags surrounding Johnson are equally concerning and cannot be overlooked. In June 2026, Canada’s Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner hit her with a 200 dollar administrative monetary penalty for violating the Conflict of Interest Act by failing to provide all required information for her confidential report within the mandatory 60 days of appointment as a public office holder. That filing remains listed as in progress even after the fine was paid, signaling ongoing compliance shortcomings that are especially alarming for someone now tasked with running the operational core of the Prime Minister’s Office. Such a lapse, however minor in dollar terms, points to carelessness or resistance to basic oversight rules that elected officials and their staff are expected to follow without exception, particularly when handling Canada-United States files during a period of economic vulnerability and national unity strains.

Taken together, Carney’s decision to hand Johnson this unprecedented level of day-to-day control, amid a broader PMO shuffle that also elevated other insiders while sidelining others, exposes a troubling reliance on American Democratic networks, Bloomberg-linked climate finance circles, and unvetted rapid promotions that prioritize personal connections over proven loyalty to Canadian interests. This move risks embedding foreign-influenced operatives deeper into government functions at the worst possible moment, when trade deals, economic stability, and sovereignty are under pressure, and it underscores a pattern of elite insulation that leaves ordinary Canadians questioning whose agenda is truly being advanced inside the Prime Minister’s Office. The full web of her associations, from Clinton’s losing campaign to Hawkfish’s deceptions and GFANZ’s globalist push, paints a picture of someone whose behaviors and choices have consistently aligned with circles known for opacity, high-profile failures, and top-down control rather than open, accountable public service.

[Helen Kirkup Lawson @hklawson]

@sunlorrie @atRachelGilmore Good night!

[Helen Kirkup Lawson @hklawson]

@citynewscalgary @swatsonparcels A body of water? Neither the headline nor the story names it. Could you not do just that tiny bit of research to name the unidentified body of water? Ok fine. I will do it myself. Please explain, then, why you are needed.

[Toronto Crime Watch @CrimewatchTO]

12 people were shot in 48 hours in Toronto this weekend and we get a influencer style tiktok from the Prime Minister.

How about explaining how one of the shooting suspects was charged with an armed home invasion in 2024 and with smuggling 100 firearms into Canada in 2025, yet was somehow released back into society shooting people in 2026.

[Helen Kirkup Lawson @hklawson]

@JonahDispatch @MichaelRWarren I think he'd like that.

[G.M. Forbes @gmforbes35]

Hat tip to @EvelynSmit95492.

The new head of Air Canada was in charge of airline SAS.

In May, SAS wrote a report imploring European airlines to switch to "green" aviation fuel.

Guess what company has major investments in "green" jet fuels?

Yep, Brookfield.

[Jon Fraser @JonFraserTF]

Jean-Luc once again proves that he rode the short bus to school and licked the windows.

Canadian grocery stores average between 2-4% net profits. It is far from the highest in the world.

He also needs to look up the word monopoly. It means one.

[Helen Kirkup Lawson @hklawson]

@DarrenChen528