The Other Carney You Should Know

Monday, September 22, 2025

This week from The Walrus:

Diana Fox Carney Is Trying Hard Not to Be Noticed

Months after the federal election, Canada’s unofficial “first lady” remains an enigma

BY WENDY KAUR

Holographic image of Diana Fox Carney and Mark Carney.

The role of first lady can be daunting. You’re very visible, often politicized, and bound by expectations of grace and restraint while under constant scrutiny. Most wives have time to ease into it, adjusting gradually as their spouses build campaign teams and gear up for a run. That wasn’t the case for Diana Fox Carney. Former PM Justin Trudeau didn’t leave office in disgrace, but the circumstances leading up to his resignation came about abruptly. Last December, few could have predicted that Fox Carney’s husband would be his successor come March and then take the election a month later. She was thrust into the spotlight almost overnight.

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US Air Force F-35 fighter jet performs during the 2024 Airpower international air show.

Buying the F‐35 Could Be Canada’s Biggest Strategic Mistake

With its tech largely under Pentagon control, the fighter jet would leave us at America’s mercy

BY PETER JONES

A photo of a man's hands on steering wheel with a view of the highway ahead and setting sun through the window.

Canada Is Wasting the Talent of Immigrants It Invites Here—Just Ask Your Uber Driver

Skilled professionals are being forced into the gig economy while their fields face shortages

BY ANAM ZAKARIA, HAROON KHALID

School photos of Lilly and Jack Sullivan.

Four Months, No Answers: How Rumours Took Over a Missing Children’s Case in Nova Scotia

Since Lilly and Jack Sullivan’s disappearance in May, online sleuths have unleashed a storm of unwanted attention on their families

BY TREVOR CORKUM

Today’s Quiz Question

Canada actively seeks out skilled immigrants to support its labour force, but those it recruits remain undervalued and underpaid. According to a 2019 report by RBC Economics, by how much more could Canada grow its annual gross domestic product if it brought immigrants up to the wage and employment levels of people born in Canada?

Yes, I Know the Answer

The flags of Palestine and other Arab states are waved in front of a blue sky and the House of Commons in Ottawa.

What Can Canada’s Recognition of Palestinian Statehood Achieve?

The announcement has fuelled polarized reactions. But it should be viewed as a shared call to justice

BY RAJA G. KHOURI, JEFFREY J. WILKINSON

A closeup photo of author Marsha Lederman in a black attire standing against and blue background.

The Difficulties of Writing about October 7

I’m the daughter of Holocaust survivors and believe in the two‐state solution. Yet it’s hard not to anger people

BY MARSHA LEDERMAN

An illustration of a blonde woman's face up close, overlaid with Instagram-like square grid.

How Instagram Upended the Art World

Sex, blood, and perfectly lit fruit

BY TATUM DOOLEY

Image shows a hooded figure with their back to the camera turning around, holding a weapon in one hand and on their back.

When Did Video Games Become So Boring and Joyless?

Bloated worlds and endless repetition prove that the industry has been captured by the same logic as every other digital platform

BY LUKE SAVAGE

An illustration of a man, glasses perched on his nose, holding a book while he sits on a bicyle, his leg up on one of the handlebars. His shadow repeats behind him.

The Best Books of Fall 2025

The ten titles that The Walrus can’t stop thinking about

BY THE WALRUS STAFF

TOMORROW! When animals thrive, we all do. Join us at The Walrus Talks The Power of Animals for an insightful evening exploring the ethical, environmental, and scientific impacts of animal welfare in Canada and worldwide.

Don’t miss this opportunity to engage with innovative thinkers and connect with a community that cares about creating a more compassionate world for all living beings.

Join Us

A MESSAGE FROM THE WALRUS LAB IN PARTNERSHIP WITH MOUNT PLEASANT GROUP

What Does a Good Death Look Like?

The first episode of Sorry for Your Loss looks at the quiet, often unseen work of end‐of‐life doulas—companions who guide individuals and families through life’s most difficult transitions. From providing comfort and presence in a person’s final days to helping loved ones navigate grief, they play a vital role in shaping how we understand death and what it means to say goodbye.

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In this episode of What Happened Next, host Nathan Whitlock is joined by Rachel Giese, author and the deputy national editor at the Globe and Mail. Her book Boys: What It Means to Become a Man, published in 2018 by HarperCollins Canada, was a bestseller, won the Writers’ Trust of Canada Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing, and was named one of the Globe and Mail’s 100 Favourite Books of the year. Rachel and Nathan talk about publishing a somewhat hopeful book about men and masculinity during Donald Trump’s first presidency, about her related wish that she could publish an updated version of Boys every year, and about how her conception of good writing relates to her favourite kind of vintage alarm clock.