Globe and Mail Columnist since 2002. Author of 10 books (above). Was Washington and Moscow correspondent. McMaster, Harvard but mainly student of golf.
Ottawa, Ontario
- Tweets 8,800
- Following 702
- Followers 6,639
- Likes 1,485
Re. my column about Canada at long last becoming a significant player on the world stage, I'm reminded that Paul Martin deserved a mention since he was the driving force behind the creation of the G20 which is still going strong. @TheHerleBurly
7
19
119
2,126
You may have noticed that post the Carney Davos speech Canada is credited with leading the resistance of middle powers against megapower hegemony. European and other nations looking to Canada to show the way. When has that ever happened before?
We were powerful after WW11 because we were one of the only countries left standing. The others were decimated by the war. I referenced our importance at Suez. But when the other countries rebuilt we were back to having small to middling influence.
17
8
45
1,886
We were powerful after WW11 because we were one of the only countries left standing. The others were decimated by the war. I referenced our importance at Suez. But when the other countries rebuilt we were back to having small to middling influence.
This is delusional. Attention isn't power. You are telling me that Canada today is more powerful than it was at the end of WW2, when it had one of the largest navies in the world and helped build the UN and NATO? Under what metric is that being judged? Speech writing?
4
1
10
5,365
Re. The NY Times story today about a Canadian contingency plan for a U.S. invasion, The Globe and Mail wrote about it 8 months ago. theglobeandmail.com/politics…
56
128
327
35,298
Lawrence Martin retweeted
We were aware that CAF had 'modelled' an invasion theglobeandmail.com/politics…
* We asked PM Carney if he'd ever considered there was a chance of US military action against Canada. After a long pause, told us he'd considered this an "extreme tail risk." "That's risk management. That's not a base case, but it would be irresponsible not to," he said.
19
16
97
10,149
Attention is power. One reason that, as I write today, Canada is a bigger player on the international stage than ever is the extraordinary increase in foreign media coverage. At a rough guess it's about three times what it used to be.
37
24
70
8,391
Some good news. Progress on U.S.-China detente. Trump not acting like such a mad king.
nytimes.com/2026/09/23/opini…
1
308
Lawrence Martin retweeted
Barack Obama at his last press briefing with reporters, 2017:
"I have enjoyed working with all of you. That does not, of course, mean that I've enjoyed every story that you have filed, but that's the point of this relationship. You're not supposed to be sycophants. You're supposed to be skeptics. You're supposed to ask me tough questions. You're not supposed to be complimentary, but you're supposed to cast a critical eye on folks who hold enormous power."
1,115
24,663
124,505
5,664,465
New low.
thehill.com/homenews/adminis…
1
1
9
1,028
Pierre would be right if Carney was saying "replace" the U.S.. He isn't saying that. He's saying reduce the degree of dependence on the U.S.
Pierre Poilievre: "The idea that we can replace our number one customer and closest neighbour with a strategic partnership for a new world order with the dictatorship in Beijing is just plain wrong. And Conservatives will not support that either."
30
29
149
5,469
Ezra Klein on slowing down AI not being very helpful: "Walking quickly off a cliff is only marginally better than sprinting off one." nytimes.com/2026/09/20/opini…
1
3
468
Another stark warning about AI. Canadians understandably transfixed by the Trump threat. But there is no story bigger than the AI threat.
"Godfather of AI" Professor Yoshua Bengio says recursive self-improvement — when AI will be able to create new models without human input — should be illegal. "We shouldn't even engage in this," he says.
4
3
13
2,156
An AI kill switch.
washingtonpost.com/politics/…
3
558
Lawrence Martin retweeted
Mark Carney just made fun of Donald Trump’s accordion hands multiple times, to the laughter of the Media in Canada.
I hope Trump doesn’t bomb Canada now.
Scott Robertson
557
2,199
14,175
730,168
Thanks. Can’t estimate a pub date. Depends how quickly progress is made on interviews and other research.
2
1
2
740
Thanks Annie. I have so much interviewing to do. He spent 13 years at Goldman Sachs that we know so very little about.
Hi Lawrence, this is is most potent asset. When he came into the race, my mother asked me what made him a good candidate. And his network made during his years in finance-especially those in London- were the first thing I mentioned to her. So your book is right on, and will be most fascinating to read! Bonne écriture!
2
2
24
4,168