Christopher M. Michaud

Christopher M. Michaud This is the public page for Christopher M. Michaud, bringing together my work across writing, media, politics, and civic life.

I share updates from my work with the United Canadian Centrists Party, podcasts, and reporting via The Canadianist News

The Canadianist is taking a look at mayoral races in communities across Ontario as we head toward the 2026 municipal ele...
08/28/2026

The Canadianist is taking a look at mayoral races in communities across Ontario as we head toward the 2026 municipal election.

Barrie is one of them, and there’s a lot happening beneath what might otherwise look like a straightforward mayoral contest. Alex Nuttall is seeking a second term, Tanya Saari is challenging him, and voters are heading to the polls under newly redrawn ward boundaries and Ontario’s Strong Mayor framework.

This is part of our broader series looking at local races around the province, the people running and the issues shaping their communities.

Read our look at the Barrie mayoral race:
https://thecanadianist.news/barries-mayoral-race-is-on-as-nomination-deadline-approaches/

America is pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into artificial intelligence, but AI has one very old-fashioned probl...
08/28/2026

America is pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into artificial intelligence, but AI has one very old-fashioned problem: it needs enormous amounts of electricity.

The U.S. grid is already struggling to keep up, and the demand from new data centres is only accelerating.

Canada happens to have something the AI economy desperately needs: vast supplies of reliable electricity, including hydroelectric and nuclear power, sitting right next door to the largest technology market in the world.

We spend a lot of time talking about Canada’s economic weaknesses. This is one of the places where we should be talking about our leverage.

The AI race may ultimately depend as much on megawatts as microchips.

Read the story:
https://thecanadianist.news/americas-ai-boom-has-a-power-problem-canada-may-be-sitting-on-part-of-the-answer/

Good morning. Grab a coffee and spend a little time with The Canadianist.There are a few very different stories worth re...
08/27/2026

Good morning. Grab a coffee and spend a little time with The Canadianist.
There are a few very different stories worth reading this morning.
🇨🇦 Canadian hydro may be becoming a lot more valuable to the United States. America is building enormous new data centres and putting increasing pressure on its power grid. Canada already sends electricity south, and the question is becoming harder to ignore: as American demand grows, how important could Canadian hydro become?
🗳️ Three federal ridings vote on August 31, and one seat could determine whether Mark Carney keeps his majority.** It’s an unusual moment when a relatively small number of voters could have an enormous effect on the balance of power in Ottawa.
🇨🇦 How much political choice do Canadians really have? We tend to think of Canadian politics as offering a broad range of options, but our electoral system keeps pushing millions of different political views into a much narrower set of viable choices. It’s worth asking whether Canadians are really as divided as our politics makes us look.
❤️ And something completely different from The Canadianist Exclusive | Journeys: meet Gay. Her name is Gay, and something as ordinary as introducing herself has taken on a completely different meaning since she came to Canada. It’s a small, funny and very human story about language, culture and the unexpected adjustments that come with making a new country home.
And now you can listen too.
📻 The Canadianist Radio is on the air, with programming running throughout the week as we continue building out the schedule.
Then on September 8, The Canadianist and Coffee begins weekday mornings from **7 to 10 a.m.**
Read. Listen. Spend the morning with us.
The Canadianist
https://thecanadianist.news/
https://radio.thecanadianist.news

08/27/2026

I have a bit of a personal connection to Wasaga Beach.

I had a business up there for a couple of years, spent a lot of time in the community, and I still consider Wasaga my happy place.

So I’ve been following what’s happening with the beachfront redevelopment pretty closely.

Anyone who knows the history knows how long this has been going on. Since the 2007 fire, there have been multiple plans, developers, announcements and false starts. This time, though, things actually moved. Buildings came down. Beach Drive was torn up and rebuilt. A major Marriott project was announced. Sunray became central to the next phase of the beachfront.

Now there are questions about timelines, costs and whether the project is moving forward exactly as planned.

I’ve gone through the public record and written a piece on where things stand, what’s confirmed, what isn’t, and why the next few days could be important.

If you follow Wasaga Beach, live there, own property there, visit regularly, or just care about what happens to one of Ontario’s most recognizable waterfronts, you might find this one interesting.

https://thecanadianist.news/category/north-of-the-city/

The Amber Hours are on now on The Canadianist Radio Network.This is the part of the night where everything slows down a ...
08/27/2026

The Amber Hours are on now on The Canadianist Radio Network.

This is the part of the night where everything slows down a little. Jazz, soul, smooth R&B and music made for dim lights, a quiet room, a late drink, or that last hour before bed.

If you’re winding down tonight, this is what you want on in the background.

Tune in now: https://radio.thecanadianist.news/?proradio-popup=1

Donald Trump screams. Canada panics. Social media explodes. Half the country starts demanding surrender before anyone’s ...
08/26/2026

Donald Trump screams. Canada panics. Social media explodes. Half the country starts demanding surrender before anyone’s even finished their coffee.

Maybe we’ve been handling America’s crazy uncle all wrong.

You don’t overturn the dinner table every time he starts yelling. You don’t hand him the house because he threatens to ruin dessert.

You let him rant.

Then you pass the potatoes.

Read the piece and tell me I’m wrong:

https://thecanadianist.news/americas-crazy-uncle-is-screaming-again-pass-the-potatoes/

08/26/2026

I’d like to personally invite you to join me for the first Canadianist Virtual Town Hall on Wednesday, September 16th, from 7 to 9 p.m.

Our first question: What does it mean to be Canadian today?

Canada has changed enormously, and Canadians now come from more backgrounds, cultures and experiences than ever before. So what holds us together? What do we share? How do we build the Canada we want rather than allowing politics, social media and algorithms to decide the conversations we have with one another?

This isn’t a partisan rally. It’s a conversation.

Up to 100 people can participate directly, first come, first served. Join us on camera, participate through the chat, send in a question, or simply listen and watch.

🎙 LISTEN / WATCH:
https://radio.thecanadianist.news

🇨🇦 JOIN THE FACEBOOK EVENT:
https://www.facebook.com/share/1DEA65Sh3A/

Wednesday, September 16th | 7–9 p.m. ET

Come be part of the conversation.

08/25/2026

Donald Trump keeps telling Americans they don’t need Canada.

Then why won’t he leave us alone?

The stated grievance keeps changing. Fentanyl. The border. Dairy. Autos. Steel. Aluminum. Trade deficits. National security. The pressure, however, continues.

Now look at what Canada has: oil, uranium, potash, critical minerals, hydroelectricity, lumber, deeply integrated industrial supply chains and strategic access to the Arctic.

Countries don’t usually spend this much time trying to control things they don’t need.

For most of this trade confrontation, Canadians have focused on our dependence on the American market. That dependence is real, and the United States can inflict enormous economic damage on Canada.

But dependence doesn’t run entirely south.

America’s size gives it enormous leverage over Canada, but Canada’s resources give us leverage over America. We need to remember that.

In my latest podcast editorial, I look at Trump’s relentless pressure on Canada from the opposite direction: not simply what America can take away from us, but what Washington’s behaviour may reveal about how badly it wants what we have.

Maybe Canada is holding a much bigger stick than we realize.

🎙️ **Hiding in Plain Sight: Trump Says America Doesn’t Need Canada. So Why Won’t He Leave Us Alone?**

Full episode below.

🇨🇦 CANADA–U.S. TRADE WAR: WE’RE TRACKING IT ALLTariffs. Negotiations. Autos. Steel. Aluminum. Energy. Political fallout....
08/25/2026

🇨🇦 CANADA–U.S. TRADE WAR: WE’RE TRACKING IT ALL

Tariffs. Negotiations. Autos. Steel. Aluminum. Energy. Political fallout. And an increasingly unpredictable relationship with our largest trading partner.

The Canada–U.S. trade confrontation is moving quickly, and individual headlines only tell part of the story.

That’s why The Canadianistist now has a dedicated Trade War section bringing all of our reporting, analysis and commentary together in one place.

We’ll follow what Ottawa says.

We’ll follow what Washington says.

We’ll separate confirmed facts from political spin, look at what the decisions actually mean for Canada, and hold our own leaders accountable without forgetting where this confrontation began.

Because Canadians can disagree about how we should respond while still agreeing about what matters: protecting our economy, our sovereignty and our ability to determine our own future.

Bookmark it. Share it. And check back as this story develops.

Canada first. Facts first.

🇨🇦 Follow all of our Canada–U.S. Trade War coverage:

https://thecanadianist.news/category/trade-war/

Canadians are spending a lot of time arguing with each other over who blew up the trade deal.Maybe we should listen to w...
08/25/2026

Canadians are spending a lot of time arguing with each other over who blew up the trade deal.
Maybe we should listen to what Americans are saying.
Former Trump White House insider Anthony Scaramucci has offered a fascinating account of what happened behind the scenes, including the role he says Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick played as the negotiations fell apart.
What he describes sounds remarkably similar to what Mark Carney has been telling Canadians.
That doesn’t mean Carney gets a free pass. It does mean we should be careful about blaming Canada before we understand what actually happened.
There’s something else worth remembering: Donald Trump is the president of the United States. He isn’t the United States.
A lot of Americans don’t want this fight either.
A Former Trump Insider Just Told Canada What Really Happened
Read it on The Canadianist.
https://thecanadianist.news/a-former-trump-insider-just.../

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