National Pride Will Only Get Us So Far

Monday, April 21, 2025

This week from The Walrus:

Canadian Nationalism Is Back. Now What?

Trump has us thinking like a country again. It’s on us to make it mean something

BY LUKE SAVAGE

In a photo illustration, Donald Trump sits with his hands folded. A Canadian flag covers his face.

We should be looking beyond retaliatory tariffs and consumer boycotts to more ambitious industrial policies that create good jobs and high‐quality manufacturing. Instead of building pipelines and financing privately owned infrastructure, we should be exploring green options like the creation of an east‐west electricity grid and fully national, fully public high‐speed rail that will both fight climate change and consolidate our energy independence around clean and renewable resources.

Beyond those things, however, Canadians should be looking at the current trade war as an opportunity to think more profoundly about the nature of our institutions and the structure of our society.

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Photo illustration of Mark Carney and Justin Trudeau with a red background.

Canada’s Sovereignty Crisis Feels All Too Familiar to First Nations

Indigenous voters matter. Does Mark Carney care?

BY MICHELLE CYCA

A photo shows Prime Minister Mark Carney walking towards two rows of people comprising some of the ministers in his cabinet after he was sworn in as prime minister.

Who Needs a Gender Equality Minister? Apparently, Not Carney

His decision to cut the ministry could become permanent if he wins the election—a significant setback for women

BY WENDY KAUR

A photo illustration of a map of North America; there are stone walls along the provincial boarders but nothing along the boarder with the US.

Canadians Want to Buy Local. Their Provinces Make It Hard

The country has promised to boost internal trade before. Could it happen this time?

BY HAILEY CHOI

Photo shows a person, their face unseen, standing at a lectern with their their index fingers raised.

The Leaders’ Debates Are Just Bad Theatre

We keep hoping for substance. We should know better

BY DAVID MOSCROP

In an illustration, a large hand hold a gavel that is bearing down on several racialized people.

UBC Law School Faces Fresh Allegations of Discrimination

Five months after an investigation by The Walrus, students and faculty continue to speak out

BY JULIE SOBOWALE

Photo shows a crowd of people with their backs to the camera. Two people are highlighted in red, representing the state's surveillance of some people in the community.

What Turns a Canadian into a Terrorist? Sometimes, Canada Itself

The country insisted Muslim citizens weren’t to blame for 9/11‐then handed its spy agency free rein to monitor them anyway

BY YOUCEF SOUFI

Neon magenta and orange posterized images of babies, suitcases, and fertility treatments like needles and pills against a light blue background.

Faced with Sky‐High IVF Costs, Couples Look Abroad to Start Families

The growing business of “eggs‐pat” tourism

BY ASHLEY PERL

A black-and-white photo of Jeff Goldblum with David Cronenberg, who is gesturing with this hands.

Canada Tried to Shut Him Down. Now Cronenberg Is Its Grand Old Man of Cinema

Hounded by film censors, decried in the local press, the director stuck to his vision

BY VIOLET LUCCA

An illustration featuring a window above a subway seat with a plant and a small cafe table next to it.

My Guilty Pleasure: The Peace of a Long Commute

There are no dishes to put away, no tiny toddler socks to match, and no family calendar to organize

BY CARINE ABOUSEIF

What connects a “Large wooden barrel” and a “Clamato with a vodka drink invented in Calgary”?

____ in the Hall
The twenty‐fourth prime minister
Recently renamed hot water and espresso drinks
Activist and businesswoman Desmond who is seen on the $10 bill

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As international trade dynamics shift daily and the race to decarbonize intensifies, Canada’s energy economy stands at a pivotal crossroads. The Walrus Talks Power Economy brings together seven leading voices to explore how Canada’s path to a sustainable future is increasingly tied to electrification and reindustrialization.

Join us in Toronto or online as we bridge the gap between research, policy, and the practical solutions that will define the future of energy and the Canadian economy.

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This week on What Happened Next, host Nathan Whitlock is joined by award‐winning author Kyo Maclear. Her books have been translated into eighteen languages and published in over twenty‐five countries and have garnered nominations from the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction, the Governor General’s Literary Awards, and the Amazon First Novel Award, among others. Her most recent book is Unearthing: A Story of Tangled Love and Family Secrets, published by Knopf Canada in 2023. Kyo and Nathan talk about her tendency, as a writer and as a person, to seek out beauty and optimism, about starting to write a memoir even as the events it depicts are still happening, and about how the publication of Unearthing has allowed her to stop seeking to resolve some of the family secrets it explores.

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THE WALRUS THANKS ALL OUR ADVERTISERS. BECOME ONE.

As tensions in Canada‐US relations continue, we are facing big questions about sovereignty and how our identity and values can best meet this moment.

It’s moments like this that reaffirm the mission of The Walrus. We take pride in continuing to provide independent journalism you can trust. We pledge to keep delivering the full story: the research, context, and analysis needed to make sense of such a hurried and momentous news cycle.

With our paywall‐free election coverage, we will continue to look to the future of Canada—a nation that practises integrity through trust and honesty, compassion through diplomacy and allyship, partnership through peacekeeping, and strength through diversity.

If you’ve enjoyed these stories, please consider making a donation today to help us continue this national self‐examination. By doing so, you will help provide everyone with paywall‐free, fact‐based reporting on the critical issues that stand to define our generation.

Thank you for your support.

Jennifer Hollett
Executive Director, The Walrus

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