Newsletter - Trump, Carney, NDP leadership, and more!
Dear friend,
This post is an adaptation of the current issue of my newsletter. If you want to receive it directly in your inbox, please contact me
In case you haven't heard
In early January the USA abducted the President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro. I wrote some notes on my blog here: On Venezuela, Greenland, and Canada.
Since this newsletter is coming out after January 20th, I felt the need to also add: Carney's Davos speech: problems and opportunities for workers.
In the meantime, the Federal government seems to have been moving forward in trade agreements with China: 'Positive day' for Canadian agriculture: Sask. welcomes new canola deal with China | CBC News. Hopefully this won't simply mean becoming dependent on a different giant economy, but time will tell. At the very least, I hope Canada will learn from China a thing or two about reducing emissions.
On the NDP front, the leadership race is approaching two important deadlines:
- January 28th: last day to become a member and be eligible to vote for the new leader.
- January 30th: candidates have to pay the last installment of the $100,000 to participate in the election. As a reminder, you can find the list of contestants here: Leadership Contestants | Canada's NDP. I know that many of you have their own preferences, and so do I. I must say that despite some of them being bigger names and having more resources at their disposal (McPhearson, Lewis, and Rob), I have been happy to discover and hear from the two rural candidates (McQuail and Johnston) who have been active politically for years and are showing not only great competence, but also solidarity and humbleness.
They both carry forward progressive, practical ideas with a base of grassroots support that is very much needed in the NDP. Both of them are struggling to meet the last installment, so if you can spare something, I hope that you'll consider making a donation to either (or both!) of them to help them get to the election in March:
- Tony McQuail:
- Tanille Johnston
NDP leadership events
The five contestants are going around a lot and there's plenty of events, both in-person and virtual, to get to know them. Please check their websites for complete lists. Here, I just want to share a couple of them that I came across in the last few days:
- Tony McQuail is hosting a 12-hour live fundraiser on Saturday, January 24th live on his YouTube channel: Tony McQuail's 12-Hour Community Marathon - YouTube. I recommend watching it. They are fun and very informative, with many different guests - this time including all the other candidates as well! Hearing from Tony is always a pleasure and very often eye-opening.
- Avi Lewis is inviting everyone to watch on of his documentaries: The Take on Saturday, January 24th either live in Saskatoon LFL Saskatchewan Movie Night! - Lewis for Leader or from the comfort of your home LFL Saskatchewan Movie Night! Virtual! - Lewis for Leader
Call to action
I created a page on my website to collect petitions and letters that I am signing. Please consider adding your names for these good causes: Petitions | Mauro Meden
Monthly picks
This month I want to share with you a Canadian podcast that I have been following for a while: Tech Won't Save Us and in particular the latest episode: Reimagining Our Relationship with Digital Tech w/ Paris Marx - Episodes - Tech Won’t Save Us The reason why I want to recommend this to anyone is because it is not simply about technology, but also politics and society, with a progressive perspective. If you can find 50 minutes, please listen to the linked episode to learn about how modern technology is intertwined with international politics and the current relations between the United States and their former allies, as well as suggestions on what all of us can do about it.
Stay safe on(and off)line!
As you might know, I'm a nerd: I work as a software developer, I like technology, and I like to stay informed on new trends, tools, gadgets, etc. Most importantly, though, I care about privacy and human rights. Privacy and security online are not less important than they are offline, as those are not two separate worlds - despite many counterposing the online world with real life. Make no mistake: your online life is part of your real life and must be treated as such.
The first and easiest thing you can do to get started, is re-evaluating which software you use to browse the web. For a list of secure browsers, check this review from PCMag: The Best Private Browsers We've Tested for 2026 | PCMag and if you're feeling nerdy and want to know more details, check out PrivacyTest: What are the best private browsers in 2025?
Previous issues
You can find older issues of this newsletter at Blog - Newsletter | Mauro Meden Anything else?
If you know of anything else that is related to the NDP, or progressive politics in general, that you think I might need to know and share with others, please let me know by going to my contact page.
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