Robson Fletcher

@robsonfletcher.com

15161 Followers 3640 Following

Data & Storytelling Strategist. Views my own and subject to change, especially in light of new evidence. 🌐 robsonfletcher.com

A pair of colouring books titled "It's Garbage Truck Day"
Total number of valid signatures counted (as described in Citizen Initiative Act s.6(4)) 196,088 Total number of verified signatures after random statistical sampling method applied with a 95% confidence level (Citizen Initiative Act s.6(5)) 172,088
Line chart showing litres of pure alcohol sold annually, per person aged 15 and over: 2005 to 2025, in each Canadian province. Volumes represent pure alcohol content of drinks. (For example, a 750-mL bottle of 40% ABV vodka counts as 300 mL, a 750-mL bottle of 10% ABV wine counts as 75 mL, etc.) Dates represent fiscal years ending March 31. Source: Statistics Canada Table 10-10-0010-01 Created with Datawrapper
Google AI: "If it is 1:09 p.m. on June 1 in Calgary, it is 3:09 p.m. in Regina. During the summer, Calgary is on Mountain Daylight Time (MDT, UTC-6), while Regina observes Central Standard Time (CST) year-round without Daylight Saving Time. This means Regina is 2 hours ahead of Calgary during the summer months."
Comprehensive claims can be primarily broken down into theft and weather-related claims. In previous sections, we’ve talked about comprehensive as a whole, but it is important to dive deeper into the two types of comprehensive claims. In general, weather is always the biggest contributor to loss costs for comprehensive, at about 127.0% of the losses of theft claims. Depending on the number of weather events, this can range from as low as 36.7% in 2017 when theft was particularly high and weather was particularly low, to as high as 335.7%, when theft decreased in 2024, and we had the significant hailstorm in Calgary, as we’ve mentioned multiple times throughout this report. Overall, as climate change continues to accelerate, we believe catastrophic weather events and general weather-related claims will continue to grow. We foresee availability concerns for some regions in Northeast Calgary who are regularly hit by these hailstorms. There is a real possibility these regions cannot be sustainably insured for weather-related claims when considering affordability for those drivers. We will be monitoring availability metrics such as deductible amounts, and the uptake of specified perils, which could be used to cover your vehicle for theft while excluding certain weather coverages like hail.
Home insurance prices in Alberta have far outpaced every other province Consumer price index for homeowners' and mortgage insurance: January 2002 to May 2026 An index value of 100 is equal to the average price for insurance in Canada over all 12 months of 2002. Alberta is at 650 in May 2026. Next closest province is Saskatchewan at about 520. Canada is at 370. Quebec is at 245. The lowest is PEI at 225. Source: Statistics Canada Table 18-10-0004-01 Created with Datawrapper
Car insurance prices in Alberta have far outpaced every other province Alberta is now at an index value of more than 400. No other province is above 250. An index value of 100 is equal to the average price for insurance in Canada over all 12 months of 2002. Source: Statistics Canada Table 18-10-0004-01
Google saying the threshold is based on "combining the gross income of you and your spouse ... rather than individual net income"
Latest federal vote intent results in Manitoba, from a Probe Research survey in June (versus similar survey in March): 🔴 Liberal: 47% (+1) 🔵 Conservative: 35% (-4) 🟠 NDP: 14% (+6)
Line chart showing that Among major Canadian cities, Calgary residents still earn more than everyone else, but are well below where they were in 2014, in real-dollar terms Figures show Average market income (employment, investments, etc.) reported in constant 2024 dollars Calgarians' real earnings nearly doubled from 1993 to 2014, then plummeted amid the 2014-2016 oil price crash and remain well below their 2014 peak
CBC will no longer show NHL games as sublicense with rights-holder Rogers Sportsnet ends CBC Sports will launch new Saturday night prime time show focused on Olympic-oriented competition CBC Sports · CBC Sports · Posted: Jun 16, 2026 10:07 AM MDT | Last Updated: 3 minutes ago
Kayakers paddle down the Bow River with the Rocky Mountains in the background.
Line chart showing Smith's approval rating in the mid-40s range from March 2023 through to a high of 51% in June 2025 then down to a low of 39% in June 2026. June 2026 also had Smith's "strongly disapprove" at 46%, which is higher than premiers in any other province. (Ontario's Doug Ford was at 45% "strongly disapprove", BC's David Eby at 37%.)
What to Know About Public Opinion Polls (From two former journalists who now work in the field) A free 60-minute Lunch & Learn Session with Robson Fletcher, Data & Storytelling Strategist and Curtis Brown, Partner, Probe Research Topics will include: How polling methods have evolved — and how to make sense of them Why the wording of questions makes such a big difference The role public opinion research plays in today’s turbulent world Audience questions and participation are encouraged! 📅 Tuesday, June 16 ⏰ 12:00 p.m. to 1 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time 💻 Via Google Meet (pre-register below)
Chart showing 68% (42% strongly, 26% somewhat) agree independent commissioners should redraw electoral maps, not elected officials. 11% (4% strongly, 7% somewhat) disagree 21% unsure
64% (35% strongly, 29% somewhat) agree urban constitutencies should not be blended with rural areas 14% (4% strongly, 10% somewhat) disagree 22% unsure
62% (38% strongly, 24% somewhat) agree the UCP wants to redraw the electoral map to improve its chances at winning the next election. 16% (7% strongly, 9% somewhat) disagree 22% unsure.
Chart showing 36% of Albertans "definitely" have heard, 29% "might have heard something", 36% have not heard about the provincial boundary changes.
Newspaper article from Monday, May 19, 1902: "Yesterday's storm was one of the worst in the history of the West..."
Screenshot of me talking to Sean Amato of CityNews about the survey results.
Chart showing 46% of decided and leaning voters would vote for the UCP, compared to 39% for the NDP, 6% for the Tory Party and 6% for the Alberta Liberal Party. 19% undecided.
Chart showing 61% of Albertans feel the province is moving in the wrong direction, 52% feel Canada is moving in the wrong direction and 85% feel the world is moving in the wrong direction.
Chart showing 64% agreement with the statement "I am worried about other countries interfering in the debate about Alberta separation." Among NDP supporters, 72% agree. Among UCP supporters, 59%.
Chart showing 77% disagree (68% *strongly* disagree + 9% somewhat disagree) with the statement "If Alberta separates from Canada, it should join the United States". That compares to 16% who agree (7% strongly, 9% somewhat) and 8% who are unsure. Among UCP supporters, 27% agreed. Among NDP supporters, 8%.
Chart showing: 74% strongly or somewhat agree with the statment "The discussion about Alberta separation is a distraction from other important issues facing the province." 66% strongly or somewhat agree "This discussion about Alberta separating is hurting the province's economy." 39% strongly or somewhat agree "This discussion about Alberta separating is useful when it comes to negotiating with the federal government."
Bar charts showing the top words among decided NDP voters: waste/wasteful, unnecessary/unneeded, stupid/dumb/idiotic, angry/anger, frustrated/frustration, and ridiculous. Among decided UCP voters the top words were: good/great, democracy/democratic, excited/exciting, needed/necessary, hope/hopeful and waste/wasteful.
Donut chart showing 51% of Albertans used negative words when asked: "A word cloud visualization of the resposnes to a question in a recent Probe Research survey of Albertans that asked: “Premier Danielle Smith has announced Albertans will vote on nine referendum questions in October 2026. Most of the questions are about immigration and the Canadian constitution. When you think of this entire referendum process, what single word best describes how you feel about it?” That compares to 27% who used positive words and 21% who used uncertain or neutral words.
Me, as a baby, having no idea what's going on as my mom poses for a photo with a "Count yourself in" census poster and enumerator pamphlets.
Globe and Mail headline: 'Elections Alberta says provincial law change slowed probe into alleged personal data breach'
Chart showing fuel oil (aka diesel) and gasoline prices with numerous monthly price swings of 20% or more. Natural gas with occasional swings of 10% to 20%. And then electricity, which is much more cost stable relative to the fossil fuels.
Image of healthcare workers pushing (or just aggressively standing over) a stretcher in a hallway of a hospital (I think?) and an Alberta border with a maple leaf overlaid around them
Chart showing 55% of respondents supporting an LNG Terminal on B.C.'s coast, 50% supporting a carbon capture/storage project in Alberta, 52% supporting the Port of Churchill Plus project, 48% supporting a modular nuclear reactor project in Ontario, 61% supporting the high-speed rail project between Ontario and Quebec, and 61% supproting the Wind West project on the Atlantic coast. Results include people who said they were unsure about what they thought of a given project.
Calgary and Edmonton drove the the 'No' vote in Alberta's 2021 referendum on permanent daylight savings The question — Do you want Alberta to adopt year-round Daylight Saving Time, which is summer hours, eliminating the need to change our clocks twice a year? — was narrowly defeated by a vote of 50.2% to 49.8% provincewide. But the vote breakdown varied by geography. Source: Elections Alberta Chart: Robson Fletcher, Data & Storytelling Strategist
Screenshot of broken DMs as Bluesky continues to experience technical difficulties.
The oil-price spike came too late to trigger Alberta's fuel-tax relief Price per barrel (in USD) of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil, by trading day, in 2026 The average over this period is what matters for any potential fuel-tax reductions on April 1. It needs to be at least $80 for partial relief. It came out to $75.23 Under the Government of Alberta's Fuel Tax Relief Program, provincial taxes on gasoline and diesel are adjusted quarterly (Jan. 1, April 1, July 1, Oct. 1) based on the average price West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil. The average is based on the 20 trading days of WTI price data leading up to the 16th of the month preceding the start of the next quarter. Source: U.S. EIA Cushing, OK WTI Spot Price FOBCreated with Datawrapper Chart by Robson Fletcher, Data & Storytelling Strategist
Table showing: The top 100 snowiest days on record in Calgary occurred in every calendar month except July & August ❄️ April was the most common month for heavy snowfalls to occur ❄️ May had the heaviest snowfalls, on average ❄️ The two June days in the top 100 both occured in the same year: June 5 & June 6, 1951 ❄️ The earliest day in the top 100 was March 16, 1885, when 15.2 cms fell ❄️ The most recent day in the top 100 was March 25, 2026, when 17.8 cms fell
Location Population Ridings Average population per riding Variance from provincial average population Calgary 1578616 28 56379 2.6% Edmonton 1218856 21 58041 5.7% Rest of Alberta 2091251 40 52281 -4.8% Total 4888723 89 54929 0.0%
Table showing top 10 snowiest March days on record in Calgary. March 13, 1889 holds the record with 24.1 cms.
Traffic camera image of snow covered roads in NW Calgary
Column chart showing Alberta with a net gain of 3684 residents in Q4 2024 due to interprovincial migration. BC had the next largest gain with +1227, then Nova Scotia with +826. All other provinces and territories saw net losses.
Photo of me behind my laptop, which is sitting atop a stack of vinyl records. A microphone is in front of me and in one hand I hold my computer mouse, in the other a copy of Tim Harford's excellent book on thinking about data, 'How To Make The World Add Up.'
An easier to read line chart of only the ranking of David as a boy's name from 1980 through to 2025.
Statistics Canada's Baby Names Observatory showing 5 or 6 babies named "Robson" in 2010, 2012, 2015, 2016 and 2017" and zero Robsons in any other year (when I know for a fact there were some!)
A screenshot of the albertababynames.com chart for Elizabeth that doesn't have a wonky entry in the year 2018 anymore (after a bug fix)
Line chart showing number of babies named "Vance" born in Alberta from 1980 to 2025. For boys, it falls by 80% from 2024 to 2025.
Slide depicting two tweets from former Alberta government officials. On the left, a misleading chart from former premier Jason Kenney is annotated. On the right, is another chart from a former issues manager on the same topic. Can you spot all of its misleading elements? We'll go over this during the session!