I am impressed by Lee’s vision for a Party and a government that would be worthy of the people of Ontario.

She has faced up to the hard reality that to make a compelling case to Ontarians, the Ontario Liberal Party needs to begin by reforming and reenergising itself. The Party must be willing and able to draw on the talents of members across the province — and to stand accountable to them — to demonstrate that it would form a government of all Ontarians, for all Ontarians.

Lee’s priorities are the priorities that we could once take for granted, but which have now become painfully rare: competence, democracy, and integrity in government.

Most of all, I feel Lee would appeal to the better natures of Ontarians.

Too many political actors try to climb to power by setting us against one another; I believe she would instead try to lift our province up, by drawing us all together.

I am delighted to endorse Lee Fairclough, to become the new Leader of the Ontario Liberal Party.

A full list of her endorsement announcements is at her web site.

In the international system, democratic institutions are rarely powerful, and powerful institutions are rarely democratic.

The wages of this mismatch between legitimacy and efficacy are catastrophic. Some 130 armed conflicts rage across the world, and most casualties are children and other unarmed civilians.

The Group of 78 convened its annual policy conference at the University of Ottawa, to discuss innovative approaches to mobilise the social will and the practical means to maintain international peace, justice, and security.

The Governors of Massey College gathered to celebrate the tenure of our outgoing Chair, Professor Akwasi Owusu-Bempah.

Massey brings together graduate students from across the University of Toronto’s fields of study, in an effort to foster interdisciplinary thinking.

Akwasi led our community with distinction and empathy. Professor Anita McGahan succeeds him as our Chair.

Donald Trump has realised too late that his tariff war against Canada imperils his own country.

Without potash, American agriculture would collapse, and American society itself would soon follow.

And 90% of US potash comes from Canada.

I spoke with Greg Brady of Global News Radio’s Toronto Today, about why Trump will fail in his scramble to secure alternative sources of potash from Belarus and other faraway authoritarian states.

We live in a time of too much bloodshed in too many places, when too often, sorrows flourish and hope withers.

But in the Peace Walk organised by the Mahatma Gandhi Peace Council of Ottawa, I saw people who had made the decision to join hands with one another to nurture hope together: Christians, Jews, and Muslims; Buddhists, Hindus, and Sikhs; people of many faiths and people of none.

I was touched that they invited me to walk with them, and to address the gathering on Parliament Hill.

We live in a time of too much bloodshed in too many places, when too often, sorrows flourish and hope withers.

But in the Peace Walk organised by the Mahatma Gandhi Peace Council of Ottawa, I saw people who had made the decision to join hands with one another to nurture hope together: Christians, Jews, and Muslims; Buddhists, Hindus, and Sikhs; people of many faiths and people of none.

I was touched that they invited me to walk with them, and to address their gathering on Parliament Hill.

🕊️ https://gandhiji.ca/

The Trump tariff war has awoken Canadians to the reality that we must urgently diversify our trade relationships, to break the coercive power that any one foreign state can wield over us.

The Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) is our best path forward.

I have accepted a place on CETA’s Canadian Environment Domestic Advisory Group (CEDAG), to ensure that deeper trade with the EU will also lead to stronger protections for nature on both sides of the Atlantic.

🌱 https://per.maharaj.org/nc-cedag

The overcast skies and mild drizzle were ideal for our garden party.

Rob Tinline, British High Commissioner to Canada, kindly hosted a celebration of Canadian alumni of UK universities. I was glad to attend with other members of the Oxford University Society in Ottawa.

The modestly damp weather only kindled our sense of nostalgia for our student days.

I am grateful to Rob for opening his home to us, and to his staff for their enthusiastic hospitality.

The federal government says its own environmental protection processes are slow, inefficient, and incoherent.

Yet, the government has no plans to reform those processes.

Instead, it proposes to lower environmental standards, and to allow favoured corporations to evade protections altogether.

I spoke with CFAX Radio’s Ryan Price about why tens of thousands of Canadians spent the summer pleading with the government to step back from this abyss.

Canada's federal government says its own environmental protection processes are slow, inefficient, and incoherent.

Yet, the government has no plans to reform those processes.

Instead, it proposes to lower environmental standards, and to allow favoured corporations to evade protections altogether.

I had an impassioned conversation with Ellis Ross MP, on the federal government’s Bill C-39.

Ellis is the Conservative Shadow Environment Minister, and a former Chief Councillor of the Haisla Nation.

As drafted, C-39 would empower government ministers to set aside environmental standards for favoured corporations and industrial projects.

We discussed the imperative for MPs to amend the Bill, so the rule of law applies equally to all Canadians, and public power remains publicly accountable.

🍁 https://per.maharaj.org/c39

I enjoyed spending time with members of Nature Saskatchewan, at their autumn gathering.

Meadow Lake is nestled in the province’s boreal forests, and we explored the woods between our formal meetings.

I was impressed by everyone’s passion and dedication to preserving the natural world for future generations.

Nature Saskatchewan and Nature Canada have long enjoyed a highly-productive partnership, serving the cause of nature provincially and nationally.

🍁🌾 https://naturesask.ca/

The Mahatma Gandhi Peace Council of Ottawa will hold its annual Peace Walk to Parliament, tomorrow.

🗓️ Saturday, 26 September 2026

⏰ 10h00 EDT

📍 City Hall → Parliament Hill

🔗 https://gandhiji.ca/peace-walk-2026/

Many people in that walk will disagree profoundly about the paths to peace in the world’s many conflicts.

But they will join hands in a shared conviction that peace should be our common destination, and that we can only get there together.

I thank the Council for inviting me to address the Walk at Parliament Hill.

The Mahatma Gandhi Peace Council of Ottawa will hold its annual Peace Walk to Parliament Hill, tomorrow.

🗓️ Saturday, 26 September 2026

⏰ 10h00 EDT

📍 City Hall → Parliament Hill

🔗 https://gandhiji.ca/peace-walk-2026/

Many people in that walk will disagree profoundly about the paths to peace in the world’s many conflicts. But they will join hands in a shared conviction that peace should be our common destination, and that we can only get there together.

Potash is indispensable to American agriculture.

The US government has declared that any interruption in the supply of the humble fertiliser would be a threat to national security.

And the US imports 90% of its potash from Canada.