Patrick Brown’s sense of snark is personified by “Chef Sousa.” The Ontario PC reaction to the provincial budget involved planting a nickname on the finance minister, for the purpose of accusing him of “cooking the books.” Not to be outdone by Sousa, who retorted that he has a "recipe for success," Brown busted out the bobblehead:

Buffalo, Ontario. Economic growth is now happening around Lake Erie and Lake Ontario—but mostly on this side of the border. Bloomberg View columnist Justin Fox floats the notion that those left behind should hook up with Canada. (A decade ago, Richard Florida touted a mega-region called “Tor-Buff-Chester,” though it never caught on.)

Donald Trump attests to the persuasive power of Justin Trudeau. The president, who thought his job would be easier, credits the prime minister with convincing him not to leave NAFTA. But the PM's domestic problems with press freedom garnered a headline in Vanity Fair, just as Trudeau finally made it to America's Finest News Source:

#CraneGirl is now free to do anything except prowl construction sites, climb on rooftops, or leave the country. Marisa Lazo’s court appearance on six mischief charges culminated in her posting $500 bail and reporters finding her Instagram. The online evidence more or less disproves the notion that her Wednesday morning stunt reflected a state of mental distress—meaning it's finally safe to write fan fiction about her. (Also, yesterday’s 12:36 incorrectly credited firefighting saviour Rob Wonfor with using a “Perry Como” voice to calm Lazo during the rescue. Actually, Wonfor was describing the voice of an ETF officer on the scene, or just making a reference to SCTV.)

The seven-year itch of Blockbuster Video nostalgia. While the rental chain started fading away in 2010, a pair of recent stories suggest that people are starting to miss it. A dad in Texas got wide attention for re-creating the store at home, to the delight of his autistic son, and the Washington Post probed the reason seven of the 10 remaining U.S. locations can be found in Alaska. There was also a local remnant of Blockbuster until just this month. Vive Fitness, at 2873 Lake Shore West, looked like it might be retaining the trademarked Quick Drop, but now it has turned into a ghost:

Anne of Green Gables looks more intense on Netflix. The reboot, called Anne, got its share of publicity from CBC. But promotion for the U.S. release tones down her freckles, tans up her face and emphasizes themes of “identity, feminism, bullying and prejudice," while stressing showrunner Moira Walley-Beckett’s history with Breaking Bad. Further contributing to the psychodramatic intrigue is the show's American title: Anne with an E.

Norm Macdonald seems genuinely annoyed by Margaret Atwood. Some tweeting about how The Handmaid’s Tale is “a sub-par piece of science-fi trash," that he was forced to “suffer through...as a young person” might’ve seemed like a performative bit of contrarian politics from the comic. But no, Macdonald doubled down on his dislike the next day, refusing any bait to debate Atwood about it.