Happy Friday and welcome back to my weekly missive from Canada. It’s been a week of spectacle and strategic pivots, with King Charles III opening this session of Canada’s Parliament, President Donald Trump’s tariffs briefly disappearing before roaring back, and Canadian oil quietly shifting east to China. But hey, at least a few celebs think we’re the greatest thing since sliced bread. Let’s jump right in.
The King’s Land Acknowledgment
Canadians have a fondness for land acknowledgments, which have now become common at police press conferences, on Air Canada fights, at hockey games, and even at a Taylor Swift concert.
But nothing has caused more commotion than the spectacle of King Charles III opening the 45th legislative session of Parliament on May 27 with a land acknowledgment, when he declared from his throne: “I would like to acknowledge that we are gathered on the unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe people. This land acknowledgment is a recognition of shared history as a nation.”