Would an extra 16 million doses have helped? Did someone forward you this newsletter? Sign up here to get it delivered weekday mornings. Vaccinations against COVID-19 have been picking up speed but are still moving slowly, with roughly 320,000 doses administered to date. (That's close to 60 per cent of our national stockpile so far—up from 48 per cent on Thursday evening.) Procurement Minister Anita Anand told CBC's Rosemary Barton on Sunday that the country is on track to vaccinate every willing Canadian by September without securing any new vaccines beyond the ones by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech. However, CBC learned late Sunday night that Ottawa has chosen not to buy 16 million more doses of the Moderna vaccine when presented with the opportunity. The feds originally had the chance to secure 56 million doses, but they ended up buying only 40 million. As Anand confirmed, those 40 doses of Moderna's vaccine—plus 20 million of the Pfizer vaccine—add up to 60 million total, which is enough for 30 million Canadians to receive two injections apiece. Meanwhile, other politicians, such as Ontario Premier Doug Ford, have been pushing for Health Canada to approve new vaccines, specifically the one by Oxford-AstraZeneca. Reinforcing the calming-of-nerves message this weekend was Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc, who took to Global's The West Block to call provincial warnings of shortages "simplistic". His words come in direct response to a warning by Premier Ford, who announced Friday that Ontario would run out of the Pfizer vaccine within a week. As LeBlanc pointed out, Ontario is set to receive 80,000 more Pfizer vaccines this coming week, plus 53,000 more of Moderna's. Even more unprecedented news. Yes, it's cliche to call anything "unprecedented" anymore. But unprecedented news is still happening. This weekend was Quebec's turn, as Premier Francois Legault announced a provincial curfew that will keep residents at home between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. every day until Feb. 8. The curfew took effect on Saturday, the same day Quebec broke 3,000 cases in a single day—a new record that puts them in league with Ontario. Predictably, small protests against the curfew broke out province-wide, resulting in about 200 fines. It's unclear how strictly police will enforce the curfew moving forward, but sources tell Global News that Ontario is considering a similar measure. Out of favour. A new public-opinion poll in Alberta, commissioned by the Western Standard and conducted by Mainstreet, shows huge gains made by the provincial NDP and Wildrose Independence Party at the expense of Premier Jason Kenney's UCP. If an election were held today, Rachel Notley would swing back into office with 41 per cent of the vote, leaving Kenney with just 26 per cent and 9 per cent for Wildrose. For some historical context, Kenney is currently less popular than former premier Jim Prentice was in 2015, before his downfall to Notley and the province's first non-conservative government in 44 years. Parliamentarian of the Year. For 12 years, Maclean’s has asked MPs in Ottawa to take a few minutes to recognize the extraordinary work of their colleagues in every corner of the chamber. This year, the non-partisan process has churned out some high-profile contenders for the big titles: Who's the most collegial? Who's the hardest working? Who's the most promising rising star? Check out our full shortlist to find out. Trumpism in Canada. Is Canada immune to the extreme populism and unfounded declarations of Donald Trump? Not quite. According to polls by Leger and Angus Reid, 16 per cent of Canadians would have voted for Trump over Biden—and 18 per cent even believe there was, despite no evidence, election fraud. As Philippe J. Fournier writes in his latest 338Canada column: Obviously, this is a wide-ranging and highly complex topic, which requires careful analysis by political scientists (and much needed nuance by all). Nonetheless, if Trumpism as an ideology is slowly creeping north of the border, we could wonder: How long before Trump-loving Canadians claim that Canadian elections are “rigged” should they not like the results? Only nine more days of talking this much about Trump. U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi confirmed yesterday that Congress would move to impeach the 45th president—yes, for a second time—if Vice-President Mike Pence doesn't enact the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office during his final week as president. It's unlikely Pence would make such a bold move, but insider sources claim he hasn't ruled it out , as the two haven't spoken since Wednesday, when Trump incited a mob to storm the Capitol and five people died as a result. Even if the Democrat-controlled Congress does impeach Trump for a second time, the Republican-controlled Senate wouldn't rush their own proceedings to do so before Jan. 20. Reflecting on the chaos in the U.S. this week, Andrew MacDougall writes in Maclean's that the only way to fix Western democracy is to silence those who spread conspiracy theories and distrust in public institutions. We need less fearmongering, less journalism designed for angry clicks, and more of a focus on public policy. As a conservative, I’m loath to have any government intrude on the private sector to police speech, but given the enormous power of these platforms, the lightning speed at which they allow the spread of hate and falsehood, and the glaring lack of concern for the problem they’ve created, I’m not sure there is any other choice. Right now their business models are geared to growth and virality, not accuracy, and that’s got to become a deal-breaker in the public’s mind. From the Canadian perspective, the furor down south has persuaded the Canadian government to look at designating extremist groups like the Proud Boys as terrorist organizations, according to Public Safety Minister Bill Blair. Blair explicitly called out the Proud Boys and similar groups as "white supremacists, anti-Semitics, Islamophobic, misogynist groups. They're all hateful, they're all dangerous." Renters' woes. One lesser-noticed result of the pandemic has been the rise of tenant unions that push for better property upkeep, renters' rights and rent control. As Claire Brownell writes in the latest issue of Maclean's, tenant activism has become a popular way for lower-income tenants to protect their housing situations in a market constantly on the rise. Montreal renters organized a “white sheet campaign,” with tenants who supported a rent strike hanging bed linens from their doors and balconies. In Toronto, activists have physically blocked rental enforcement officers from conducting evictions, presented a list of demands to one wealthy landlord at his home and organized neighbours to attend eviction hearings as a group. —Michael Fraiman | 
