Did you catch any of the intriguing weekend snapshots from Mar-a-Lago featuring Alberta Premier Danielle Smith cozied up next to none other than Donald Trump. Talk about a strategic move! With Trump’s 25% tariffs looming over Alberta’s oil sector, it’s no surprise that Smith is making waves to protect her province’s interests.

But the unexpected highlight? Kevin O’Leary crashing the scene in an all-white disco suit that looked like it was plucked straight from the ’70s. Seriously, he drew comparisons to Boss Hogg from *The Dukes of Hazzard* and Mr. Roarke from *Fantasy Island*. O’Leary, who made his mark as the tough-guy investor on *Dragon’s Den*—shaming entrepreneurs with a flair for the dramatic—seems to have found a new playground among the rich and famous, trying to charm his way into Trump’s inner circle.

With Justin Trudeau's government floundering and every Premier acting in their own provincial interests, this meeting underscores how urgent it is for Canada to have a unified national response. As provincial leaders like Smith navigate international waters, it’s a reminder that the stakes are high for our economic future.

And let’s not forget O’Leary’s ambitions—rumblings about him looking to align with the likes of Elon Musk and even his pursuit of TikTok could lead to more of this spectacle in the future. It feels like a weird reality show where everyone’s trying to catch the king’s eye. Something tells me he might be in our faces more over the next few years…

Enjoy the January 14, 2025 making-of animated editorial cartoon below. Please subscribe to my Substack newsletter, if you haven’t already. Posts come out every Friday or Saturday as I summarize the week that was in my editorial cartoons. What you’re reading now is regarded as a “note”, which is used to help compose my weekly posts and showcase the animated versions of my daily editorial cartoons.