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...

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...