Matt writes
Today is July 16, 2026. I’m writing this at 7:45am from the 11th storey of a high rise down near the forks of the Thames. As I look south, I can barely see the Normal School Tower over in Wortley Village - which, as the crow flies, is just under a kilometre away. Smoke from wild fires raging in Quebec and Northern Ontario has drifted south and has blanketed London, much of Southwestern Ontario and beyond.
At just over a half a century years old, this is something I can’t recall seeing in past decades, not at least to this scale or with this kind of regularity. Maybe you can, but this feels different to me.
As London and all municipalities approach the 2026 municipal election scheduled for this fall, I wonder if climate change will enter the debates in ward races and the city wide race too. I also wonder how this event is affecting the election on the ground. Are candidates going door to door? If they are, will residents be willing to open their doors and step outside to chat in this smoke?
Of course municipalities can’t address big issues like this on their own, but they do have a role to play. What do you think? Thanks for listening, and be safe, London.
Last August, Dr. Carol Dyck joined me on, another project I’m working on called The Matt Brown Podcast to talk about climate change and what London City Council is (or isn’t) doing about it. (Side note: we get to refer to Carol as Dr. these days because she earned that distinction this spring - congratulations Dr. Dyck!). The information she shared on that episode, just under a year ago today, is just as relevant today as it was in 2025, perhaps more so.
(This in an Encore Presentation of an Episode The Matt Brown Podcast originally published on August 15th, 2025.)
All outdoor City of London, Canada programming was cancelled yesterday and Rock the Park shut down around 9pm last night, too.
Editor’s Note: At the time of this recording, August 2025, London City Council 4 year property tax increase was projected to be approximately 30%. The final 4 year increase sits at 23.5%.
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