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