Canadian Crossing

Canadian presence on 2022 U.S. TV upfronts

We keep hearing about the relevance of broadcast TV in the United States. The 2022 upfronts, where the networks announce their schedules, were somewhat back to normal yet missing a lot of information.

Shows are introduced without a cast. We only know the fall schedule and even that is a maybe.

Herding cats is easier than tracking down Canadians on U.S. television, even if you limit yourself to broadcast TV. This is a futile exercise on many levels but some information is better than zero.

This compilation does not include Canadian TV shows airing in the United States, such as Transplant on NBC. We should note that the CW network, which cancelled a lot of shows, has a Sunday night lineup of Canadian dramas: Family Law at 8 pm Eastern followed by Season 4 of Coroner at 9 pm Eastern.

Then again, several reports have Season 4 of Coroner debut on the U.S. network on June 2. Even if Family Law is part of the fall lineup, that show could start in what we would consider the summer.

Family Law airs on Global and Coroner on CBC.

To no one's shock or surprise, Fox had no news on Diggstown, the CBC show that Fox acquired in late January 2021. There are 20 episodes in the 3 seasons on CBC.

Canadian presence on 2021 U.S. TV upfronts

Let's start with what we do know on the over-the-air broadcast front.

Actor	Show	Network	Fate
Nathan Fillion	The Rookie	ABC	Season 5
Grace Park	A Million Little Things	ABC	Season 5
Bruce Greenwood	The Resident	Fox	Season 6
Emily VanCamp	The Resident	Fox	Left after Season 4
Colin Mochrie	Whose Line Is It Anyway	CW	Season 18/Season 10 for CW
Dwayne Johnson	Young Rock	NBC	Season 3
Tyler Labine	New Amsterdam	NBC	Season 5; final season
Kevin O'Leary	Shark Tank	ABC	Season 14
Thomas Middleditch	B Positive	CBS	Cancelled; 2 seasons
Wendy Crewson	Good Sam	CBS	Cancelled; 1 season
Megan Follows	The Republic of Sarah	CW	Cancelled; 1 season

 

Will Arnett serves as host and executive producer of Lego Masters on Fox. Season 3 will likely air this fall though no timetable is set.

Athena Karkanis is on Manifest, now on Netflix with Season 4 to come. Annie Murphy stars in Kevin Can F**k Himself where Season 2 will arrive but that will be the final season on AMC.

We noted earlier that SurrealEstate will be back for Season 2 on Syfy and the CTV Sci-Fi Channel. The program has been cancelled and then un-cancelled. Tim Rozon and Sarah Levy (Schitt's Creek) star in the show that will be back in 2023.

Mark O'Brien (Republic of Doyle) is a part of 61st Street on AMC. The Season 1 debut was April 10. There will be a Season 2.

Sarah Chalke stars with Katherine Heigl on Firefly Lane on Netflix with a Season 2 to come.

Amybeth McNulty (Anne with an E) is a recurring actor on Season 4 of Stranger Things on Netflix. Season 5 will be the final season.

Jill Hennessy and Mark O'Brien are on City on a Hill on Showtime. Season 3 is scheduled to premiere on July 31.

Rutherford Falls a first for Indigenous people on U.S. television

Rutherford Falls returns with Season 2 on Peacock on June 16. Michael Greyeyes is the most prominent Canadian on this show.

Season 2 of Reservation Dogs with several Canadian actors, including Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs, is scheduled to premiere in 2022 on FX on Hulu.

Canadian presence on 2020 U.S. TV upfronts

Canadian presence on 2019 U.S. TV upfronts

Full Frontal with Samantha Bee on TBS features the aforementioned Samantha Bee. Her husband Jason Jones is behind the scenes. Allana Harkin serves as a producer and correspondent on the show. The program is in Season 7 now airing Thursday nights at 10 pm Eastern.

Maitreyi Ramakrishnan is the lead in the Netflix teen comedy series Never Have I Ever from co-creator Mindy Kaling. Season 3 is scheduled for August 12. Season 4, the final season, is scheduled for 2023.

Season 6 of The Expanse is out on Amazon Prime Video with a lot of Canadians in the cast. That was the final season.

Jennifer Robertson, Sara Waisglass, and Raymond Ablack are part of the main cast of Ginny & Georgia on Netflix. There are several Canadian actors in the recurring list. Season 1 is available and Season 2 will happen soon.

Noah Reid and Tamara Podemski are part of the cast of Outer Range on Amazon Prime Video. The show debuted Season 1 on April 15.

Emily Hampshire is linked to The Rig on Amazon Prime Video (sometime in 2022), the Epix horror series Chapelwaite (out now), Slip for the Roku Channel (still to come), and a reboot of Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman with her Montréal buddy Jacob Tierney for TBS.

CanadianCrossing.com television coverage

Almost everything is subject to change. Let us know in the comments section if we missed any Canadians on U.S. TV shows.

photo credit: The Rookie/ABC

2022 Victoria Day notebook: Alberta in the spotlight

Welcome to Victoria Day 2022, the unofficial start of summer in Canada. We gathered a few recent items of note and reflect on where Canada is at the moment. You don't have to be at the cabin or cottage to enjoy this notebook. If you do need help to get started, Simu Liu has a few tips from the opening monologue from hosting the 2022 Junos.

Jason Kenney to step down as UCP leader and Alberta premier

Just before the hockey version of the Battle of Alberta, the United Conservative Party had their own battle within Alberta leadership. Jason Kenney did get a 51.4% approval mark from voting party members but a bare margin wasn't enough.

Brian Jean, Danielle Smith, and a few from Kenney's cabinet could be in line to be the new Alberta premier.

Canadian film review: C.R.A.Z.Y.

Celebrating National Canadian Film Day 2022

Telefilm Canada brings back more Canadian films for rent

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

"Hey, it's summer. We don't want to sit inside and watch your stupid Canadian films. Give us a break."

The 99¢ rental through the Apple TV app is still going. Maybe you need a break. Maybe you want to get away from your loved ones. Maybe you have no loved ones.

The current title for rent is Akilla's Escape, which we recently reviewed. We were pleasantly surprised about that film. Tomorrow's film for the week is C.R.A.Z.Y., which we reviewed last week, truly one of the best Canadian films you can see. Every Jean-Marc Vallée fan should see this film.

Toronto Blue Jays should get creative in broadcast booth with Buck Martinez's cancer diagnosis

We saw Joe Siddall fill in for Pat Tabler. Ben Wagner did a series where the Toronto Blue Jays did a TV/radio simulcast. Matt Devlin did a solid job filling in for Dan Shulman in the broadcast booth.

On the field, the Toronto Blue Jays have hit a few road bumps and injuries. The Blue Jays are normally at home on Victoria Day with an afternoon game. This year, the Blue Jays start a road trip tonight in St. Louis.

The Blue Jays are 22-19. The team just wrapped up a 4-2 homestand, losing the series finale to both Seattle and Cincinnati. Toronto hasn't swept a series in 2022.

“I watched Jays baseball every single day. It was part of my daily routine."

Joey Votto returns home to Toronto tonight to face the #BlueJays, the team who made him fall in love with baseball. From @GregorChisholm:https://t.co/FD5KpPeSWN

— Toronto Star Sports (@StarSports) May 20, 2022

Joey Votto, the best current Canadian MLB player, plays for the Reds and doesn't get back too often during the season. Votto is from Etobicoke, part of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Votto just came off the COVID-19 list in time for the games in Toronto.

Votto was the Cincinnati hero on Sunday with a solo home run to give the Reds a 3-2 win. That was Votto's first HR of the season.

In what might be Votto's last games on Canadian soil, Votto went 3-for-11 with 2 doubles and that home run. Votto has played 12 games in Toronto, going 11 for 44 plate appearances with 4 homers.

Speaking of Canadians and MLB, the Chicago Cubs just unveiled a statue to honour Fergie Jenkins. The Canadian hurler was a star for the Cubs among several teams. Jenkins was the first Canadian player to make the Hall of Fame.

2022 CFL preseason schedule

The 2022 CFL strike didn't last long and the Alberta teams didn't miss a day of practice. There was a lot of anxiety over how negotiations were handled: too much, too close to training camp.

The settlement was the third most important story in Alberta on Wednesday behind Jason Kenney and the wildest NHL Stanley Cup playoff game in recent memory.

There was supposed to be a CFL preseason game from Mosaic Stadium tonight but that game got moved back to next week. The preseason now starts on Friday. The regular season is scheduled to start on time on June 9.

2022 NHL Stanley Cup notebook: Battle of Alberta is back after 31 years

The only 2 Canadian teams left in the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs are from Alberta: Calgary Flames and the Edmonton Oilers. Evander Kane had a natural hat trick last night as the Oilers won 4-1 to take a 2-1 lead in the series.

Game 1 was a classic even for the Battle of Alberta: the 9-6 Flames win was not a typical playoff hockey game. Game 4 will be tomorrow at 9:30 pm Eastern on CBC in Canada and ESPN in the United States.

Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig finally on their way home

China really wanted Canada to use Huawei for its 5G technology. Canada wouldn't commit either way long after its allies had decided against 5G. 

China kidnapped Canadian citizens Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, holding them in horrific conditions for 1,020 days. This was in retaliation for the detention of Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou at the request of the United States.

Odd that Canada would hold some leverage yet that didn't seem to matter to the fate of the 2 Canadians. 8 months after the release of the Canadians, the Trudeau Government finally decided to exclude Huawei from Canada's 5G technology.

Smart decision. The timing is bizarre. Why now?

Norm Macdonald was a truly funny comedian not just because he was Canadian

Norm Macdonald passed on last September. The comedic legend was 61 years old. Turns out Macdonald taped a comedy special before he died.

Netflix will release Norm Macdonald: Nothing Special on May 30. We presume that will also be Netflix in Canada.

As sad as his passing was, there was joy in seeing how much of an impact he made on comedians and those who love comedy.

Where to visit Canada in 2022

CanadianCrossing.com travel coverage

This is a different kind of Canadian travel story.

Pope Francis will be in Canada July 24-29 visiting Edmonton, Quebec City and Iqaluit. The latter is the capital of Nunavut, the eastern most territory in Canada, as we learned years ago from Samantha Bee.

The focus on the trip will be the Catholic Church's impact on residential schools and an expected apology from the pope.

We don't know what kind of public events the pope will have on Canadian soil if you want to follow him during his Canadian stops.

CanadianCrossing.com Prince Edward Island coverage

An American friend from the Detroit area asked me if I knew about this walking route in Prince Edward Island. This was news to me.

The route covers 435 miles (707 km) with lots of pleasant distractions. You don't have to walk the entire distance.

We know PEI gets the short end of the stick tourism wise in that part of Canada. Such a beautiful area and the food is really good.

CanadianCrossing.com television coverage

The U.S. game show channel Buzzr was running promos for a game show called Talk About. The footage looked a bit dated (turns out to be 1988-1990).

Talk About ran on CBC and was taped in Vancouver. There is plenty of information here about the show. Back then, CBC had more money and could produce more shows.

The episodes debut on Buzzr on May 30 at 8 pm Eastern.

CUSMA/USMCA punishes Canada for wanting to export baby formula

Would Americans get an abortion in Canada?

Simu Liu mentioned in the video from the Junos that women have the right to choose in Canada. This is true. Access is a different story. If you have been following what is happening in the United States, this can be a good time to read what access is like in Canada. Better but could also be even better.

Adding baby formula to the proverbial list of what you can get in Canada but having difficulty finding in the United States.

Canadian TV notebook: Shoresy and Kids in the Hall debut on May 13

We noted for our U.S. readers that NBC took Transplant off the schedule for the May sweeps. Episode 7 ran on April 24 on the U.S. network. Episode 8 will run Saturday, May 28 at 8 pm Eastern. The season finale is scheduled for June 19. NBC picked up Season 2 in March and gave it a poor timeslot Sundays at 10 pm Eastern.

Canadians can stream episodes through CTV.ca.

Shoresy has aired 4 episodes so far in Canada with the bulk of the show coming to Hulu in the United States on Friday. Your humble narrator has seen the first 2 episodes. Jared Keeso had a difficult challenge taking an unseen character and developing stories in an arc. If you really like the hockey mentality in Canada, Keeso hits this target spot on. The scenes where he refs high school hockey to supplement his income feel like he hid a tape recorder somewhere to get the proper feel.

Not sure I could stream all 6 episodes in a row. A slower pace might be smart.

As for Kids in the Hall, we abhor remakes in general. The tarte sketch in the opening episode is absolute KITH genius. The return of Kathie and Cathy was excellent. If you are a KITH fan, watch this. If you are too young, start out with the originals and then work your way here.

Our Doug Ford Ontario coverage since 2018

2022 Ontario election preview

2022 Canadian politics preview

Canadian politics coverage on CanadianCrossing.com

CanadianCrossing.com Ontario coverage

Our hope was to do Sunday notebooks on the Ontario election leading up to the June 2 election. That failed for a host of reasons and we feel bad we don't have more resources to do a lot more on this election.

Our current plan is to do a couple of weekday notebooks on the 2022 Ontario election. This promise we hope to keep.

video credit: YouTube/CBC Music
photo credit: C.R.A.Z.Y. film
Twitter capture: @StarSports

2022 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs scoreboard

Western Conference

(1) Calgary vs. (2) Edmonton Edmonton leads series 2-1
Date	Matchup	Time	U.S. TV	Cdn TV
May 18	Calgary 9, Edmonton 6	9:30p	ESPN	CBC
May 20	Edmonton 5, Calgary 3	10:30p	ESPN	CBC
May 22	Edmonton 4, Calgary 1	8p	ESPN2	CBC
May 24	Calgary @ Edmonton	9:30p	ESPN	CBC
May 26	Edmonton @ Calgary	9:30p	ESPN	CBC
May 28	Calgary @ Edmonton+	TBD	TBD	CBC
May 30	Edmonton @ Calgary+	TBD	TBD	CBC

 

 

(1) Calgary vs. (WC) Dallas Calgary wins series 4-3
Date	Matchup	Time	U.S. TV	Cdn TV
May 3	Calgary 1, Dallas 0	10p	ESPN2	CBC
May 5	Dallas 2, Calgary 0	10p	TBS	CBC
May 7	Dallas 4, Calgary 2	9:30p	TNT	CBC
May 9	Calgary 4, Dallas 1	9:30p	TBS	CBC
May 11	Calgary 3, Dallas 1	9:30p	ESPN	CBC
May 13	Dallas 4, Calgary 2	9:30p	TNT	CBC
May 15	Calgary 3, Dallas 2 (OT)	9:30p	ESPN2	SN

 

2022 NHL Stanley Cup notebook: How ESPN and TNT are covering Canadian teams

2022 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs preview for Canadian teams

NHL Network, TNT, and ESPN/ESPN+ games in 2022 season analysis

 

(2) Edmonton vs. (3) Los Angeles Edmonton wins series 4-3
Date	Matchup	Time	U.S. TV	Cdn TV
May 2	Los Angeles 4, Edmonton 3	10p	ESPN2	CBC
May 4	Edmonton 6, Los Angeles 0	10p	ESPN2	CBC
May 6	Edmonton 8, Los Angeles 2	10p	TBS	CBC
May 8	Los Angeles 4, Edmonton 0	10p	TBS	CBC
May 10	Los Angeles 5, Edmonton 4 (OT)	10p	ESPN2	CBC
May 12	Edmonton 4, Los Angeles 2	10p	TBS	CBC
May 14	Edmonton 2, Los Angeles 0	10p	ESPN	CBC

 

Where the NHL Canadian teams stand in the Stanley Cup playoffs chase

NHL the month in preview April 2022

Tracking the NHL 2021 media changes

Our guide to the NHL Canadian teams coverage

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

Eastern Conference

(2) Toronto vs. (3) Tampa Bay Tampa Bay wins series 4-3
Date	Matchup	Time	U.S. TV	Cdn TV
May 2	Toronto 5, Tampa Bay 0	7:30p	ESPN2	CBC
May 4	Tampa Bay 5, Toronto 3	7:30p	ESPN2	CBC
May 6	Toronto 5, Tampa Bay 2	7:30p	TBS	CBC
May 8	Tampa Bay 7, Toronto 3	7p	TBS	CBC
May 10	Toronto 4, Tampa Bay 3	7:30p	ESPN2	CBC
May 12	Tampa Bay 4, Toronto 3 (OT)	7:30p	TBS	CBC
May 14	Tampa Bay 2, Toronto 1	7p	TNT	CBC

 

+ if necessary // All times Eastern Daylight.

photo credit: NHL

2022 CFL preseason schedule

Date	Game	Time
May 27	Toronto @ Ottawa*	7:30p
May 27	Edmonton @ Winnipeg	8:30p
May 28	BC @ Calgary	4p
May 28	Montréal @ Hamilton	7p
May 31	Winnipeg @ Saskatchewan*	8:30p
June 3	Ottawa @ Montréal*	7p
June 3	Hamilton @ Toronto	7:30p
June 3	Calgary @ Edmonton	9p
June 3	Saskatchewan @ BC*	10p
All times Eastern. * TSN broadcasts should be available on ESPN+.

The 2022 CFL preseason was supposed to be a return to normal. There was no 2020 season. The 2021 season started late without a preseason. The play on the field suffered as a result.

The brief strike, the first for the league since 1974, made fans feel uncomfortable about talking about football until a settlement was reached with the CFL and CFLPA.

We have a relatively normal 2022 CFL preseason, though the Winnipeg vs. Saskatchewan game, set up for the end of the long weekend, gets pushed back a week to a Tuesday night.

We almost feel like we have to explain the CFL version of a preseason schedule. The league hasn't had preseason games since 2019. So long ago.

Each team plays 2 preseason games: home and road. Games reside within the division so no crossovers.

This should come as a shock: not every preseason game is televised. The CFL approach feels very different if you are used to the NFL approach.

The recent pattern has been to give all the TSN crews a chance to do a single game. The TSN games should be on ESPN+ in the States. The Winnipeg-Saskatchewan game was scheduled to be televised.

The CFL contract with TSN and RDS likely doesn't allow for local channels to produce the other preseason games.

For the first time in awhile, the Toronto Argonauts home preseason game is at night. The Argos are training at the University of Guelph and will play the Tiger-Cats in Guelph. You might recall that Hamilton played its home games in Guelph in 2013 while Tim Hortons Field was under construction.

The Argos had played recent home preseason games at Varsity Stadium at the University of Toronto in the daytime at 11 am. Varsity Stadium has hosted more Grey Cup games than any other structure in Canada.

If I lived in Toronto, I would have found a way to sit at Varsity Stadium and watch a 11 am Toronto Argonauts preseason game. The Boston Red Sox play a 11 am baseball game on Patriots Day. That would be so cool.

The CFL should make a Victoria Day game part of the preseason in future years. The prairie teams were scheduled for Victoria Day, which is Monday. Quite a few people who bought tickets for that game will need their money back, given the rescheduling..

2019 CFL preseason schedule

CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage

If you checked the CFL preseason schedule some time ago, there are changes from last month.

The regular season is scheduled to start June 9. Let's hope for a relatively uneventful CFL season where the excitement is only on the field.

logo credit: TSN/CFL

Canadian film review: C.R.A.Z.Y.

Christian. Raymond. Antoine. Zac. Yvan.

These 5 brothers form the title C.R.A.Z.Y. but the film is really about Zac, the fourth of the 5 brothers. Zac (Marc-André Grondin) comes into this world on Christmas Day in 1959.

Zac and his father Gervais (Michel Côté) have a good relationship. Something a young boy strives to have with his father. Zac is worried understandably that his father won't accept him for being gay.

Zac tries to hide this with a "relationship" with his friend Michelle (Natasha Thompson), who is into Zac. Gervais catches Zac and sends him to a therapist to "cure" him of being a homosexual.

Laurianne (Danielle Proulx) as the mother of the 5 boys, appreciates that Zac is different in a good way.

Heralded Canadian filmmaker Jean-Marc Vallée passes away at the age of 58

TIFF ranks top Canadian films (2015)

C.R.A.Z.Y. can certainly be labeled as a coming of age film dealing with father-son issues. The film feels like so much more.

Jean-Marc Vallée directed the film and co-wrote the film with François Boulay. We talk often about how Bruce McDonald uses music in his Canadian films. Vallée makes the music as a co-star in the film, putting you in the middle of this time of change in a society reluctant to make those changes.

Shine On You Crazy Diamond and The Great Gig in the Sky from Pink Floyd; Space Oddity from David Bowie; Sympathy for the Devil from the Rolling Stones; and White Rabbit from Jefferson Airplane. Gervais is a big fan of Patsy Cline's Crazy, which also ties into the Pink Floyd song and the film's title.

The film's budget devoted nearly 10% to clearing the rights to music, reportedly $600,000.

The soundtrack also features a couple of Charles Aznavour songs Emmenez-moi and Hier Encore.

Vallée creates a film stronger than the sum of its parts. Love takes on many meanings in a family dynamic; family members who love each other but find unusual ways to show that love.

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

The 2005 film was submitted as the Canada entry for Best Foreign Language Film for the Academy Awards but was not nominated. The film won Best Canadian Film at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

C.R.A.Z.Y. made the TIFF Top Ten at number 8 for best Canadian films of all time on the 2015 list.

The film won 13 Jutra Awards (Quebec films) and 11 Genie Awards in the spring of 2006. The film won the Golden Reel Award, given to the Canadian film that made the most money. C.R.A.Z.Y. was an artistic and commercial success.

Telefilm Canada brings back more Canadian films for rent

The film is available as part of Telefilm Canada's 99¢ Canadian film of the week, starting May 24.

Despite how amazing the film is, there was never a theatrical release in the United States, due to licensing issues with the music. Americans will have a difficult time finding this film. Bonne chance (good luck) in finding the film. You deserve to know the film exists in case you can find a way to see the film.

Unlike Jean-Marc Vallée's U.S. projects, Vallée had a writing hand in this film. His sense of music in the storytelling is a part of why he was so loved as a filmmaker.

photo credit: C.R.A.Z.Y. film
video credit: YouTube/Museum of Modern Art

Jason Kenney to step down as UCP leader and Alberta premier

Just before the Battle of Alberta got underway on the ice, there was another Battle of Alberta as Jason Kenney's leadership of the United Conservative Party was under review.

"Do you approve of the current leader?" Kenney got 51.4% of the vote: 17,638 said yes and 16,660 said no. The party received 34,298 ballots by the May 11 deadline.

While Kenney had said he would accept a 50%+1 total, which is not how leadership reviews are usually accepted, Kenney announced his resignation as party leader with the result.

"The result is not what I hoped for or frankly what I expected," Kenney told a gathering of supporters and volunteers.

I want to thank Jason Kenney for his public service.

There are obviously many things about which we don’t agree, but that doesn’t negate the time and sacrifice that goes into taking on the role of Premier.#ableg #yyc #yeg #abpoli

— Rachel Notley (@RachelNotley) May 19, 2022

Kenney remains as party leader and premier until either an interim leader is picked for both or the party has an election to elect a new leader, who would then become premier. The next Alberta election isn't scheduled until 2023.

Brian Jean, the last leader of the Wildrose Party (2015-2017) (the UCP is the combination of the Progressive Conservatives and the farther-right Wildrose Party), would be in the catbird seat. Freshly back in the Alberta legislature in the Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche riding since March 16. Jean ran for the UCP leadership race in 2017. That leadership race featured Jeff Callaway, a candidate that seemed to be connected to the Kenney campaign, presumably running just to attack Jean.

Danielle Smith, a former Wildrose leader who is not in the Alberta legislature, will hold a news conference Thursday to discuss her plans. This is how some remember Smith and her old party.

Alberta notebook: The legacy of outgoing Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi

Alberta dials back COVID-19 tracking to dangerous levels

The rhetoric of division in Canada reveals a lack of understanding

Jason Kenney, Alberta United Conservative Party launch Canadian Energy Centre propaganda site

No matter what your Alberta government does or does not do- you can still protect yourself by using your head. Wear a mask- social distancing- being sensible- washing your hands. We’ve come this far without any leadership- and we will continue on. #electioncannotcometoosoon

— jann arden (@jannarden) July 29, 2021

Depending on where you stand on the political landscape, there is an argument that Kenney was defeated by being "too tough" on COVID-19 restrictions. Most of the world would see Kenney's actions as being far too lenient.

Unlike Scott Moe and the Saskatchewan Party geographically off to the east, Kenney ran in skirmishes such as party gatherings when those gatherings were otherwise outlawed and taking taxpayer money to produce propaganda against potential attacks on Alberta oil.

Jason Kenney's political future on the line (Front Burner from CBC Radio)

Alberta goes back to its conservative ways by electing the UCP

CanadianCrossing.com Alberta coverage

Even from an objective standpoint, there was an arrogance from Jason Kenney even before he became the United Conservative Party leader. His followers might think that was hubris.

Rachel Notley's NDP took advantage of the frustration with provincial leadership to win the 2015 election. The merger of the right-wing parties was designed to thwart the NDP in the province. There was a path to set everything up well but that path was ignored due to arrogance or hubris. Now we'll see what path the party and new provincial leader will follow.

photo credits: Global News; CBC News
Twitter captures: @RachelNotley; @jannarden

CUSMA/USMCA punishes Canada for wanting to export baby formula

That media talks about baby formula shortage w/o knowing whats going on is amazing. Trump's USMCA restricted imports of formula from Canada, so we imported no formula from Canada in 2021, leaving us vulnerable to domestic shock. The shock hit when Abbott plant was contaminated.

— Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) May 14, 2022

The United States has baby formula shortages. Canada makes baby formula and would want to increase its exports to the United States and please a top trading partner.

Too bad the dreaded, horrible, terrible USMCA (CUSMA) made this impossible.

From Fortune magazine:

"As part of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), negotiated by President Donald Trump to replace the North America Free Trade Agreement in July 2020, Canada agreed to impose an additional surcharge of $3/kg if the total volume of its global formula exports—not just exports to the U.S.—broke a certain threshold. That threshold is currently set at 40,480 metric tons for the current "dairy year" of August 1 2021 to July 31 2022.

"The new duties seemingly closed off Canada as a source of infant formula. The U.S. imported a grand total of zero tons of baby formula from its nothern (sic) neighbor in 2021, yet has shipped tons of domestic formula into Canada. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S.-manufactured infant formula made up the largest component of U.S. dairy exports to Canada in 2021, accounting for 22% of all northbound dairy trade."

The crybaby toddler who somehow had a lot of power was rather vindictive toward Canada on multiple fronts. We didn't factor in baby formula.

Abbott accounts for nearly half of the domestic production of the U.S. baby formula market. The U.S. makes 98% of its formula domestically.

That is a problem with a February recall of Abbott Nutrition formula contaminated with bacteria from its Sturgis, MI factory. 4 infants became sick with bacterial infections; 2 of them died.

The irony is that United States standards are much more lax than Europe or Canada in terms of the quality of the formula. This isn't a matter of Canada or Europe formula meeting those standards because their formula exceeds the U.S. standards.

Podcast: Sarah Palin, Michelle Obama, and the politics of breastfeeding (BalanceofFood.com)

The United States lags behind the Western World on maternal elements, such as leave. Improved standards for women might encourage more breastfeeding. As much as we (and our sibling blog, BalanceofFood.com) endorse breastfeeding, there is a reality for baby formula that needs to be addressed.

Cheap pizza comes to Canada but at what cost

Canada milk producers threatened with invasion of cheaper American milk

Canadian milk holds a higher standard on milk, not allowing recombinant bovine somatotropin (rBST), an artificial growth hormone allowed in American milk. The anger by the crybaby toddler is over this difference in milk. If this were a baby formula shortage in Canada, importing formula from the United States would be a concern over bringing rBST into Canada.

Canada secretly passes heavily flawed CUSMA during the COVID-19 corornavirus pandemic

NAFTA 2.0, er, USMCA is a nightmarish trade deal for Canada

The party of the crybaby toddler is the party that is trying to take advantage of the political ramifications of the baby formula shortages. As little as we think of Canadian journalism, U.S. journalism is the grand leader of cluelessness. Kurt Eichenwald being a grand exception as noted in the top of the column.

Balanceoffood.com Canada food policy coverage

Trade deals can be tricky when all involved parties are acting in free will. The CUSMA/USMCA trade talks were a shambles and the complete opposite of an ethical trade deal process. Innocent people get hurt when a trade deal goes this poorly.

Would Americans get an abortion in Canada?

We noted that Americans might drive to Canada to get an abortion. We can't condone, under any circumstances, the illegal importation of any product from Canada into the United States. We can point out that they sell baby formula in Canada.

American mothers who rely on baby formula should be able to access quality products without a monopoly and heavy-handed political tactics.

Twitter capture: @kurteichenwald
photo credit: Dairy Farmers of Canada

Canadian film review: Dance Me Outside

Dance Me Outside is a film co-written by Bruce McDonald and Don McKellar and directed by Bruce McDonald. A film about Indigenous characters written by white people adapted from a book written by a white person.

This would be difficult to juggle in 2022, but the film came out in 1994.

Silas Crow (Ryan Black) and Frank Fencepost (Adam Beach) are best friends and our protagonists. They talk of becoming mechanics but have hit a plateau where they don't quite know where they are going. Silas also want to be a writer but doesn't realize the potential of the stories in front of them.

They have girlfriends: Silas is with Sadie (Jennifer Podemski) while Frank is with Poppy (Sandrine Holt). Sadie wants more from Silas.

The reserve community is upset over the death of an Indigenous woman and the light sentence given to Clarence Gaskill (Hugh Dillon).

The other major development is Frank's sister Illianna (Lisa Lacroix), who comes back to the community with a white lawyer husband (Kevin Hicks). They can't get pregnant so she gets help from her former lover Gooch (Michael Greyeyes), who just got out of prison.

The early part of the film is a bit slow, more of a slice of life from the characters. The second half is the plan to get revenge on Clarence.

If you are on the fence about this film, Dance Me Outside marks the full-length feature film debut for Podemski and Greyeyes. The film marks the acting debut for Dillon, who ended up in a few Bruce McDonald films, such as Hard Core Logo. Dillon, who started out as a musician, contributes to the soundtrack.

While Dillon doesn't have much screen time, Podemski and Greyeyes show the potential of what we have seen from them since this film was made. In a start of a tradition of sorts, Podemski's sister Tamara has a small role in the film, her screen debut.

The Rez was the follow-up TV series that ran 19 episodes on CBC between 1996-1998. The show featured Black, Beach (as a different character) as well as Jennifer Podemski and Tamara Podemski. McDonald and Norman Jewison, the latter a producer on Dance Me Outside, were executive producers of the TV show.

As long as we are going down this road, John Frizzell, co-writer of Dance Me Outside, also wrote for Twitch City, which McDonald directed and produced and McKellar wrote and acted.

This is a typical Bruce McDonald film in that the soundtrack is a key part of the film. The rock band Leslie Spit Treeo are the house band of the reserve's community hall. We noted music from Dillon's band The Headstones. The soundtrack includes the Indigenous band Redbone and the punk sounds of The Ramones.

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Dance Me Outside is a part of the timeline of the telling of Indigenous culture, even from white people. The film is interesting enough. There are a few "before they were famous" performances. The film can be found here.

video credit: YouTube/Video Detective
photo credit: Dance Me Outside film

2022 NHL Stanley Cup notebook: Battle of Alberta is back after 31 years

Gary Bettman wasn't even the NHL commissioner when the Battle of Alberta last met in the NHL playoffs. The Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers met 5 times in 9 years from 1983-1991.

Edmonton won 4 of the 5 battles with 1986 the exception, where Calgary won 4-3. The Oilers beat Calgary in 1984 and 1988 on their way to winning the Stanley Cup.

Here are the 5 times where the Alberta teams met in the NHL playoffs. All of them were for the Smythe Division final.

• 1983 Edmonton 4–1
• 1984 Edmonton 4–3
• 1986 Calgary 4–3
• 1988 Edmonton 4–0
• 1991 Edmonton 4–3

Bettman can't be happy, a good thing for us. The playoffs showcase the one building standing that hasn't be replaced under his thumb: Scotiabank Saddledome. The Battle of Alberta in itself. Also, a Canadian team will play in the western final.

Calgary needed overtime and a brilliant Johnny Gaudreau winning goal to advance past Dallas. Edmonton was down 3-2 to Los Angeles before posting key victories in Game 6 and Game 7.

It’s the Connor McDavid show in Game 7 😳pic.twitter.com/ZX2hfKEMSt

— Hockey Night in Canada (@hockeynight) May 15, 2022

Connor McDavid had a goal and an assist in Game 7. McDavid got a point in 5 of the 6 goals from the final 2 games. The Oilers also needed swagger like when Evander Kane flashed 7 fingers near end of Game 6.

CATCHING FIRE! 🔥

Who else but Johnny Gaudreau to score the @SUBWAYCanada OT winner for the @NHLFlames! 💥 pic.twitter.com/kuzBVODl5L

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 16, 2022

The Calgary Flames had trouble with Dallas through the series but rose to the occasion in overtime. The Flames won their only overtime game while Edmonton is 0-1 in overtime this spring.

2022 NHL Stanley Cup notebook: How ESPN and TNT are covering Canadian teams

Sometimes, a playoff series comes down to how well some teams match up with others. The players should decide the series, not the referees. In the law of averages, one team shouldn't get as many breaks as the refs gave to the team playing Toronto. The officiating became selective on fake penalties in the 3rd period of Game 6 and the magical call of a player hitting the ice and being called for a penalty in Game 7, nullifying a key goal.

The NHL loves Auston Matthews but hates the Toronto Maple Leafs. They don't have the guts to admit that reality.

Everyone had poked fun over the Toronto Maple Leafs streak of not getting past the first round since 2004. The Maple Leafs had the second longest streak in the NHL behind Florida, which hadn't advanced past the first round since 1996. That was the team Toronto would have faced in the second round this season.

2022 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs preview for Canadian teams

With the exception of the 2021 season, U.S. television refused to show the Battle of Alberta. One of the greatest rivalries in sports and U.S. television turned its back. Now U.S. television has to show the Battle of Alberta 4-7 times in a 2 week period. Hope the ESPN announcers really appreciate this rivalry.

Here are the 2021 telecasts in the United States. All of the HNIC games were on the NHL Network. The NBCSN game was the lone exception:

February 6 Edmonton @ Calgary, 10p (HNIC)
February 20 Calgary @ Edmonton, 10p (HNIC)
March 6 Calgary @ Edmonton, 10p (HNIC)
March 17 Edmonton @ Calgary, 10p (NBCSN)
April 10 Edmonton @ Calgary, 10p (HNIC)
May 1 Edmonton @ Calgary, 10p (HNIC)

2022 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs scoreboard

CBC will have the Battle of Alberta. The public broadcaster will feature the St. Louis-Colorado series and the all-Florida series (minus Game 3). Those watching CBC channels in Alberta will get that game from the start regardless of the other game that night.

Chris Cuthbert and Craig Simpson with Scott Oake will work the Battle of Alberta series. John Bartlett and Greg Millen with Kyle Bukauskas can work on their tans in Florida. Harnarayan Singh and Louie DeBrusk with Dan Murphy will handle the Blues and Avalanche.

We will update this story for all the second round telecasts.

Game 7 of the Calgary series in the opening round aired on Rogers Sportsnet because of the 2022 Junos.

May 17 Tampa Bay @ Florida, 7p
May 17 St. Louis @ Colorado, 9:30p
May 18 Edmonton @ Calgary, 9:30p
May 19 Tampa Bay @ Florida, 7p
May 19 St. Louis @ Colorado, 9:30p
May 20 Edmonton @ Calgary, 10:30p
May 21 Colorado @ St. Louis, 8p
May 22 Calgary @ Edmonton, 8p
May 23 Florida @ Tampa Bay, 7p
May 23 Colorado @ St. Louis, 9:30p
May 24 Calgary @ Edmonton, 9:30p
May 25 St. Louis @ Colorado, 8p

The ESPN family is working the Battle of Alberta.

May 18 Edmonton @ Calgary, 9:30p John Buccigross/Brian Boucher/Leah Hextall ESPN
May 20 Edmonton @ Calgary, 10:30p John Buccigross/Brian Boucher/Leah Hextall ESPN
May 22 Calgary @ Edmonton, 8p Bob Wischusen/Brian Boucher/Leah Hextall ESPN2
May 24 Calgary @ Edmonton, 9:30p Bob Wischusen/Brian Boucher/Leah Hextall ESPN
May 26 Edmonton @ Calgary, 9:30p [announcers to come]
May 28 Calgary @ Edmonton+, TBD [announcers to come]
May 30 Edmonton @ Calgary+, TBD [announcers to come]

The nice part is that U.S. viewers will get the same (or similar) crew. We will update this when we get the ESPN announcers press release.

NHL Network, TNT, and ESPN/ESPN+ games in 2022 season analysis

ESPN gave us Gord Miller and Cassie Campbell-Pascall for Games 1-2 in Edmonton. We knew the clock would strike midnight for Miller since the World Championships were coming up in Finland. Campbell-Pascall didn't get assigned to another series and wasn't on the docket for Game 5 in Edmonton.

Dominic Moore, who teamed up with Miller for Game 1 in Calgary, worked with Leah Hextall in Edmonton and then Calgary for Game 5 in both series.

ESPN expressed a preference over Rogers Sportsnet to use Campbell-Pascall. There may be unforeseen circumstances. Just us in observation mode.

NHL notebook: Wrapping up the end of the 2022 regular season

We are ready to bring back the NHL Network to start games. Turner is like a bad driver at the wheel that suddenly moves across 4 lanes to reach an exit.

There was a game where Tru TV was showing the start of the late game. 2 seconds later, the channel pulls out of coverage and the viewer is left lost as to what happened. Seems like at least 70% of Tru TV prime time programming is reruns of the not very funny practical jokers show. Someone (not us) said Turner was trying to act like NBC. Even NBC was never that bad.

If you want your channels to fill the gaps, have a tiny bit of respect for the NHL audience.

Rogers Sportsnet and CBC (mostly) don't have these issues. The NHL could help but starting late games on time on another channel so there wouldn't be a 8:50 start in Dallas.

Where the NHL Canadian teams stand in the Stanley Cup playoffs chase

Haven't caught much of Ray Ferraro on ESPN in the playoffs but what little we heard was par excellence. He is the best. Ferraro didn't cover any Canadian teams in the first round. He is considered one of the ESPN top analysts.

Gord Miller and Ray Ferraro are the best because of what they share and how much fun they have together. Separately, they are rather strong.

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You tiptoe. You avoid saying his name near a mirror. Yet ESPN brought in Brian Boucher for Game 7 of the Edmonton series.

Boucher didn't do a lot of the first round games, a good decision for hockey fans. Often, U.S. networks bring in a new crew for a Game 7 that has no clue about the teams and the dynamic of the series.

Bob Wischusen is fine. Leah Hextall called Game 5 and was the ice-level reporter for Game 7. The same crew called Game 7 in Calgary.

Cassie Campbell-Pascall was a more logical choice, having called Games 1-2 with Gord Miller. Kevin Weekes would have been a better call. The other ESPN Game 7 crew: Steve Levy, Ray Ferraro, and Emily Kaplan. That would have been great.

photo credit: @sportsnet
Twitter captures: @hockeynight; @sportsnet

Canadian film review: Pour la suite du monde

We are intrigued by portrayals of Quebec life before the Quiet Revolution, where the Catholic Church was dominant, especially in the rural areas. Pour la suite du monde is a textbook on what life was like back in the 1960s.

Ile-aux-Coudres, a small island in the St. Lawrence River, had a tradition of trapping beluga whales. The documentary filmmakers wanted the residents to bring back the practice.

They are whales but are referred to (in the English subtitles) are porpoises.

While Catholic is the background, the belief is also superstitious. They speak of Easter water. There is also talk about maybe humans won't land on the moon, perhaps not a surprise given the 1963 film.

Men and boys are the focal points; Females are in the background, at best. The locals speak derogatory of the Indigenous population as being lazy and disorganized. We don't see them on screen. While this is sadly prevalent for the time, we miss so much by not hearing from those groups of people.

It's funny to think of how old people are when they're old. The older people in this documentary were born around the turn of the 20th century in a very rural place.

English-language titles for Pour la suite du monde are For Those Who Will Follow and Of Whales, the Moon and Men.

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Michel Brault wears 3 hats as director, cinematographer, and writer. Pierre Perrault is a writer and director while Marcel Carrière is one of the directors. There is a cinéma vérité feel to the proceedings. They talk as if the camera isn't there.

Brault is famous for a lot of work, writer and director of Les ordres (1974) and cinematographer on Mon Oncle Antoine (1971) and Good Riddance | Les Bons débarras (1980)

The content of the film is about 60 years old but could easily be 100 years old. You do have to appreciate documentaries to get this film. If you do, chances are you will appreciate the technique and look into a community rarely captured on film.

There is a 105-minute version and an 84-minute version. We viewed the former so we don't know what was cut in the shorter version. The longer version is available via the National Film Board of Canada.

Pour la suite du monde won Film of the Year at the 1964 Canadian Film Awards. The Toronto International Film Festival ranked Pour la suite du monde at number 8 on the Top 10 Canadian Films of All Time.

photo credit: Pour la suite du monde film