John Ibbitson

Writer & journalist. Senior Fellow, Munk Centre. Author: Breaking Point, Empty Planet & Big Shift (with Darrell Bricker); The Duel, Stephen Harper, The Landing.

[John Ibbitson @JohnIbbitson]

A journalism student recently asked by email: How do you become a columnist? Do you have any advice? Here is the answer: 1/n

[John Ibbitson @JohnIbbitson]

This is a serious mistake. It stokes fears that the Conservative Party is becoming increasingly intolerant. Mr. Jivani: Why do you think your party has fallen so far behind Mark Carney’s Liberals in popular support?

[Jamil Jivani @jamiljivani]

Why is Carney taking pictures with half-naked dudes in pervert costumes while kids are around?

He should explain himself. Sign here if you agree: https://t.co/qFwX8q2mc7

[John Ibbitson @JohnIbbitson]

@Labvocate Much thanks.

[John Ibbitson @JohnIbbitson]

All of this is true, especially the loss of book reviews. But the appetite for serious, well-researched nonfiction is still there. Word of mouth remains the most powerful tool. The Duel, my book on Diefenbaker & Pearson, is still selling well almost three years after publication

[Canadian Affairs @CDNAffairs]

The 'dad book' isn't dead. But the book industry has lost the 'infrastructure' that used to sell books.

Read more:
https://t.co/tXygDxiMY5

[John Ibbitson @JohnIbbitson]

@Labvocate I mourn them also. Thanks.

[John Ibbitson @JohnIbbitson]

@JosephEdmundKe1 I hope you enjoy it.

[John Ibbitson @JohnIbbitson]

@SchweitzerMan Good of you. Thanks.

[John Ibbitson @JohnIbbitson]

Acknowledging that every Canadian has both the Old and New Canada in them is the real insight here. As a two-time Washington correspondent for the Globe, I advocated for ever-closer ties. Now I embrace diversification. Everyone with good will is struggling to understand.

[Stephen Marche @StephenMarche]

Wrote this piece, based on the first episode of Season 2 of Gloves Off, for @globeandmail: There is a new Canada, and there is an old Canada, and the country is divided between them. https://t.co/Ht68AldNNK

[John Ibbitson @JohnIbbitson]

Nine-across on the Thursday NYT Mini strikes me as rather odd.

[John Ibbitson @JohnIbbitson]

No they aren’t. You shouldn’t say such a thing. It’s not true and it reflects on you, not them.

[Gad Saad @GadSaad]

People are astoundingly stupid. My comments about the departure tax is not that I should be treated differently from anyone else. I am making a point about the extent to which taxes are confiscatory. As I have previously explained, there was a time when ZERO cents of income tax were levied in Canada and the US. Then bit by bit, that "temporary" measure, to be applied to only a few, and at a very low percentage rate of your income, becomes a mammoth monster that takes more than 50% of your earnings. It can occur because there are no repercussions if governments do not balance their budgets (other than voting them out). Hence, what starts off as a small temporary tax on a few becomes an existential theft that is orders of magnitude larger than the so-called illegal extortion tax of the Mafia. It can exist only because the great majority of people BENEFIT from this form of parasitic taxation. But someone has to pay for everyone else, and when you are that someone, you are not necessarily pleased to be funding the ultimate Ponzi scheme. I'm making a moral, philosophical, and ethical argument. It's not just about me.

[John Ibbitson @JohnIbbitson]

CBC political panel up after the noon news.

[John Ibbitson @JohnIbbitson]

Now that we have the complete text of the MOU, we can state with certainty this is the worst disaster of the Trump presidency. A war of opportunity ends in utter defeat.
A Look at the Text of the Agreement Between the United States and Iran https://t.co/Ri0Dgp25Hb via @NYTimes

[Stuart Benson @LeftHandStu]

It has been said, that when a government reaches the end of its lifecycle, “Bob Fife eats it.” And when his career nears its end, Fife eats cake at The Met with hundreds of his friends, colleagues, a handful of diplomats and a few very special guests.
https://t.co/e6dOvb211k

[John Ibbitson @JohnIbbitson]

On CBC panel shortly

[cbcwatcher @cbcwatcher]

John Ibbitson on AI "We must not be Luddites" @JohnIbbitson

[Scott Robertson @sarobertson_]

Ibbitson: There are people who believe that we should declare that the ambassador is persona non grata and send him back to Washington, and that would be deeply satisfying. He is in some ways a very apt ambassador. He is belligerent and rude, and he represents a belligerent and rude administration.

[John Ibbitson @JohnIbbitson]

On The Big Story Podcast, I talk about the future of the Liberal Party at the provincial level.
https://t.co/A8wR0FgKG1

[Darrell Bricker @darrellbricker]

Tomorrow night, June 4th, The Royal Canadian Military Institute in Toronto will be hosting a book discussion event for Breaking Point, the new book by @JohnIbbitson and me about Canada's future. Here are the details. Hope to see you there! About The Museum - The Royal Canadian Military Institute

[Robin MacNab @RobinMacNab]

From @JohnIbbitson: central Canadian pundits and politicians who complain that Alberta is fomenting division, putting the future of the country at risk must grasp the essential truth: that they contributed to the circumstances that created this situation https://t.co/iTtWWlCote

[Hon. Rona Ambrose Veitch @RonaAmbrose]

Central Canadians need to pay attention and come up with solutions that work for Albertans, instead of pointing fingers and calling them and their Premier traitors to Canada. This is the first article that acknowledges how past attitudes and policies in Central Canada have led us to where we are today.

[Darrell Bricker @darrellbricker]

@johnibbitson expanding on the argument we make about the sources of western alienation in Breaking Point. Central Canadian elites are as much to blame for Alberta’s separatist movement as anyone else https://t.co/WdSey4SqBH