The Canadian Dissident

If there's one thing that defines Canadian culture, it's that we always define and evaluate ourselves in contrast to the United States. This has been a constant theme throughout Canadian history. Rejection of the United States was even one of the biggest reasons for the creation of Canada in 1867. The United States is not a great benchmark, given the country's long history of imperialism, militarism, racism, extreme inequality, and violence that continues to this day. Compared to the rest of the world, the U.S.  is an outlier in many ways. For example, the U.S. has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world and spends far more on the military than any other country (more than China, India, and Russia combined).  An unfortunate result of our fixation on the United States is we have become adept at ignoring our own country's problems. “At least we're not as bad as the States,” we tell ourselves.  We rightfully condemn Trump’s violent crackdown on immigration....

2025 was a major turning point in American and Canadian politics. Trump's second presidency has already made a huge impact on the world, as he launched trade wars against many countries including Canada. In March, Mark Carney took over as Canada's Prime Minister and steered the Liberal Party to the right . He adopted much of the Conservative Party's platform and won another minority government in April. The Liberal government's new restrictions on immigration led to a record decline of Canada's population. This sudden population drop is bad news for Canada's economy, which is struggling to maintain any growth. Add in the uncertainty caused by Trump's on-again, off-again trade war, and there is a strong possibility of a recession in the new year. Here is a look back at some of the year's best journalism and analysis. Israel-Palestine war How Israel’s West Bank strategy aims to bury Palestinian statehood  - Reuters As Israeli settlements continue to expan...

Political polarization can pose a big problem to democratic countries, but sometimes the opposite can also become a problem.  Canadian politics is dominated by the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party. It's not quite a two-party system, but no other party has ever formed government at the federal level.  Under former leader Justin Trudeau, the Liberal Party was center-left or simply centrist, depending on who you ask.  Faced with plummeting polls and the prospect of a Conservative majority government, new Liberal leader  Mark Carney decided to push his party to the right. He started by adopting Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre's signature policy: axing the carbon tax. Carney then copied much of the Conservative Party's platform for the April federal election. He promised to tighten border security, cut immigration, "crack down" on drugs, and increase military spending. Much like Poilievre, Carney also leaned into Canadian nationalist sentiment and promis...

During this year's federal election campaign, Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet sparked outrage by suggesting that Canada is “an artificial country with very little meaning.”  Despite the media and political backlash, Blanchet is right. Every country in the world is an artificial, man-made construct. However, Canada is especially artificial.  Canadians are not united by geography, climate, politics, values, religion, or language. This has always been true, since 1867 when Québec, Ontario, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick were united into one country. The original four provinces had different histories, different ethnicities, and different political aspirations. Canada has always existed as a pragmatic compromise.  The only thing that Canadians from coast to coast to coast have in common is that we are all living on land taken by force from Indigenous nations. The Indigenous nations of the land are diverse and not confined to the arbitrary borders of Canada. Desp...

The dust has settled from the federal election, and unfortunately Canadians voted for more of the same. More inflation, more deficits, more debt, more unaffordable housing, more centralized government. Canada needs significant change to empower communities, small businesses, and low-income families. Our current economic system rewards capital more than work. Our current government enriches politicians, bureaucrats, government contractors, and multinational corporations at the expense of everyone else.  Canada is also running the risk of devolving into a two-party system.  85% of the vote went to the Liberal and Conservative parties. A two-party system will not serve working class Canadians and will not enact meaningful change.  With the rising cost of living, many Canadians are being left behind. Low-income workers should be the government's top priority. Too many Canadians work full-time but still struggle to pay the bills. Here are 6 policies that would make life signif...

All the major parties, with the exception of the Bloc Québécois, are now promising to cut federal income taxes for low-income Canadians, by varying amounts. The Liberals have proposed a very small cut for the lowest income tax bracket, while the Greens want to eliminate income tax for Canadians earning up to $40,000 a year. You can compare all the party positions here:  Conservative Party: Reduce the tax rate on the lowest income bracket (up to $57,375) from 15% to 12.75%.  Source: party website   Liberal Party: Reduce the tax rate on the lowest income bracket (up to $57,375) from 15% to 14%. Source: Financial Post NDP: Raise the basic personal amount (tax-free income) to $19,500.  Source: party website   Green Party: Raise the basic personal amount (tax-free income) to $40,000.  Source: party website People's Party: “Cut personal income taxes… after the deficit has been eliminated, over the course of several budgets, as the fiscal room is found to allow it...

Due to the Trudeau government's misguided attempts at internet regulation, Canadians can no longer share links to news articles on Facebook and Instagram. Google has announced they will follow suit in blocking news for Canadian users. Michael Geist, an expert in internet law, wrote , "It is difficult to overstate the harm that Bill C-18 will create for the media sector in Canada, with enormous losses that will run into the hundreds of millions of dollars." Who knew that government regulation of the internet could backfire? (Almost everyone) It is bizarre that Canadian users now have to find ways around government restrictions in order to share news, but here we are. Here are 5 ways it is still possible to share news stories on Facebook. 1. Share a screenshot This is not ideal, because few people will take the time to find the article and read it. However, if the headline is accurate and you're in a hurry, this does work. 2. Link via the Internet Archive   The Internet...

Front page of the New York Times on March 20, 2003 In March 2003, the United States invaded Iraq based on a web of lies spun by President George W. Bush. Americans expected to find weapons of mass destruction, including chemical and biological weapons, as well as a program to develop nuclear weapons. After years of searching, inspectors determined that Iraq in fact did not have any weapons of mass destruction and no concrete plans to develop them. The Costs of War Project at Brown University recently estimated 550,000 to 580,000 people have been killed  by the war in Iraq and Syria since 2003, and "several times as many may have died due to indirect causes such as preventable diseases." There are also approximately 15 million Iraqis and Syrians currently displaced by the war. The US and Canada still have troops stationed in Iraq.  Yesterday the Canadian government extended its military mission in Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon for another 2 years. Canadian troops wi...

Exhibit at the University of Alberta Rutherford Library, March 3, 2023 The University of Alberta is hosting a small exhibit honouring students who were killed in Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Called " Unissued Diplomas ," the exhibit is also on display at the University of Toronto and Saint Mary's University in Halifax. The display includes pictures and short biographies of dozens of university and college students killed in Ukraine since February 2022. Some students enrolled in the military after Russia's invasion and were killed in action. Some were civilians killed in their homes by artillery strikes. Some were trapped under buildings or struck by shrapnel. Most of the students pictured were in their early 20s, but some were as young as 17 when they were killed. The exhibit is co-organized by the Ukrainian Canadian Students’ Union.  It is on display at the University of Alberta Rutherford Library until March 10. 

Everyone who takes public transit in Edmonton is used to seeing homeless people sleeping on the bus, camping out in train stations, smoking, injecting drugs, yelling incoherently, and asking passengers for money. The same scenes play out in every major city across Canada, from Vancouver to Halifax. In Edmonton, the number of  homeless people doubled during the pandemic. The number of amputations for frostbite also doubled. People obviously don't live in train stations for fun. They have nowhere else to go. The days of blaming people for their own lack of housing are over.  Between high housing prices, inflation, years of covid restrictions, and unemployment, it's no wonder so many Canadians have become homeless. The City of Edmonton tolerates (and sometimes endorses) the use of downtown stations as informal homeless shelters. City councilors and politicians of all stripes are okay with people living, sleeping, and freezing in transit facilities. Why? Because politicians don...

2022 was a momentous year for Canada, with political turmoil, provincial elections in Ontario and Quebec, new premiers in BC and Alberta, and the lifting of covid-19 restrictions that had been in effect across the country for over two years. In January the Truckers for Freedom Convoy headed for Ottawa, and by February it was no longer possible to deny that millions of Canadians were fed up with the government's long-standing covid-19 restrictions. Vaccine mandates and other restrictions were gradually lifted  province by province , with the federal government eventually following the provinces' lead at long last. The return to normal life is arguably the biggest story of the year, but it was quickly overshadowed by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in late February. Millions of Ukrainians fled the country, including over 100,000 who arrived in Canada this year. The Canadian government has pledged  over $1 billion of military aid to Ukraine. The war has also highlig...

Hidden in the basement of the Earth Sciences Building at the University of Alberta are an array of dinosaurs: Gorgosaurus, Stegoceras, and Pachycephalosaurus, to name just a few. The University of Alberta's museums are free and open to all, but due to nonexistent advertising and limited hours, they sit empty and silent most days. The Earth Sciences Building is home to two small but impressive museums. The Paleontology Museum showcases a variety of fossils, including dinosaurs, trilobites (cute little sea bugs that went extinct 251 million years ago), and the huge sea monster Dunkleosteus (pictured below).  If you've ever wanted to touch dinosaur bones, this is your chance! There's a table of fossils you can touch, including a dinosaur leg bone. Just down the hall is the Mineralogy and Petrology Museum , home to a large collection of rocks and minerals. Over 1000 specimens are on display, from diamonds to meteorites. The dinosaurs are probably the most popular exhibit at th...

Today marks the 1st anniversary of the Canadian Dissident! I wrote 20 articles over the past year on a variety of topics relevant to ongoing events in Canada, from healthcare to warfare. Here's a quick look at some of the most popular articles from this successful first year: Hospital Capacity is Not a New Problem This was the year's most popular article, with over 700 views. I outlined the long-term capacity crisis in Canadian hospitals, especially in Ontario and Manitoba, from 2011 to 2020. We're Not "All in This Together" While Canadians endured lockdowns and restrictions, politicians partied, profited, and played by a different set of rules. Why Canada Needs Decentralization Giving more power to the provinces and municipalities would strengthen Canadian democracy.  Canadian Muslims Under Attack Muslims and mosques have been violently targeted in recent years. Only education can prevent the violence from escalating. Trudeau Campaigning on Authoritarian New Laws...

Since Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the possibility of war spreading to other Eastern European countries has become a very real danger. Multiple NATO countries are at risk of Russian invasion, including Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. If any NATO country is attacked, Canada is obligated by Article 5 of NATO's founding treaty to come to their aid. This may include " the use of armed force " if deemed necessary. However, sending troops is not required by the treaty. The reality is Canada has nothing to gain from joining a war in Europe, and everything to lose. Canada is currently burdened by record-high debt, and any military action would be very costly. For example,  the  Afghanistan War  cost Canadians an estimated $18 billion. The human cost was also high. 165 Canadians were killed and over 2000 Canadian soldiers were injured. Thousands more were diagnosed with PTSD after deployment. A war against Russia, which has one of the world's larg...

A protest against covid-19 restrictions outside the Alberta Legislature, February 22, 2022. Every province in Canada, except for British Columbia, has announced a plan to drop vaccine passports. As of today, 7 provinces have already ended vaccine passport requirements. Alberta, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and PEI dropped vaccine passports in February. Today Ontario and Manitoba followed suit. Quebec and Newfoundland both plan to end their vaccine passport programs by March 14. This leaves British Columbia as the last province holding on to vaccine passports. Despite declining covid-19 hospitalizations and a high vaccination rate, the province has yet to announce any end to their vaccine passport program. However, the province's health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry has suggested some restrictions may lift by spring. "Looking ahead, as we expect transmission to continue to decrease and the weather gets warmer… we will likely no longer need those extra layers of protecti...