The Canadian Dissident

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...

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...

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...

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...

Supporters cheer on the arrival of the Truckers Convoy in Ottawa ( @steveglwalsh / Steve Walsh Photography) The ongoing "Truckers for Freedom" convoy is an example of a real populist protest and a genuine grassroots movement. It wasn't started by politicians or celebrities. It was started by truckers and other working class Canadians - insignificant "nobodies." It's not funded by big businesses or political parties, but $7 million (and counting) has been donated by thousands of individual Canadians. Politicians like Jason Kenney and Erin O'Toole only voiced their support after the convoy started and it became apparent that hundreds of thousands of Canadians were cheering the truckers on. But n o major politicians were involved in starting or organizing the convoy. Contrast the MAGA (Make America Great Again) "movement" in the United States, which was founded and funded by billionaire-politician Donald Trump. MAGA was never a genuine grassroots...

Last weekend a Muslim family was deliberately run over on the sidewalk by a pickup truck in London, Ontario. Four family members were killed. A 74 year-old woman died at the scene, a 44 year-old woman, a 46 year-old man, and a 15 year-old girl died at the hospital, and a 9 year-old boy was seriously injured. Police said, “There is evidence that this was a planned, premeditated act motivated by hate. It is believed that these victims were targeted because they were Muslim." I wish I could say this was an isolated incident in an otherwise peaceful country, but that would be a lie.  Violent attacks on Muslims are far too common in Canada.  In 2015 a mosque in Peterborough, Ontario was set on fire, causing extensive damage.  In 2017, six Muslims were shot and killed in an attack on a mosque in Quebec City.  In 2018 another mosque was set on fire in Edson, Alberta. Last year a volunteer caretaker was stabbed to death at a mosque in Toronto. While the vast majority of Can...

On  social media yesterday, Jason Kenney proudly announced that 12 people would be in the crowd for the Edmonton Oilers' first playoff game of the year. These 12 people were employees of Alberta Health Services. Rogers Place has a capacity of 18,641 fans for hockey games, meaning the building was at 0.06% capacity. Many NHL teams have hosted thousands of fans for months, but Kenney somehow thinks it's a win for the Oilers to have a grand total of 12 fans in the building. In January, the Arizona Coyotes hosted over 3000 fans for their season opener. In  February, the New York Rangers started playing in front of a 10% capacity crowd. In March, the New Jersey Devils, Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers, Vegas Golden Knights, Carolina Hurricanes, Dallas Stars, Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, and others welcomed back fans by the thousands. With the majority of adult Albertans vaccinated and covid case numbers declining, Jason Kenney's snail's pace reopening of ...

The  majority of Canadians over the age of 16 have now received at least one dose of a covid-19 vaccine. This includes the majority of adults in Ontario, Quebec, BC, Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland, NWT, Yukon, and Nunavut. Though most Canadians are still waiting for their second dose, even just one dose provides a significant amount of protection. A recent CDC study found that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are over 80% effective after just one dose. Thanks to the massive vaccination effort, new covid-19 cases are now declining across Canada.

Alberta is now the biggest covid-19 hotspot in North America. Canadian media continues to trumpet large numbers of cases every day, but one simple fact has been mostly ignored: the death rate has plummeted. Despite having 24,497 active cases, Alberta reported zero deaths related to covid-19 yesterday. The  rate of deaths in the last 14 days related to covid-19 in Alberta is only 1 per 100,000 population. At it's peak earlier this year the covid-19 death rate was 8 times higher than now. Why do we have so many cases but so few deaths? Because almost everyone vulnerable to covid-19 has already been vaccinated. The average age of death  related to covid-19 in Alberta is 81, and the majority of Albertans over the age of 55 are now vaccinated. Most importantly, over 80% of Albertans over the age of 75 are vaccinated. We are now dealing with a disease that is spreading widely but doing very little damage. Most cases are not severe, most do not end up in hospital, and many are asym...