The Outsize Political Power of Canada’s Western Separatists
Only about a quarter of Albertans support independence. But the threat of rupture nevertheless has pushed Canada’s political class toward accommodation with petro-state grievance politics.
35 Article(s) by: Jeremy Appel
Jeremy Appel is an Edmonton-based independent journalist and author of the Orchard newsletter on Substack. He is the author of Kenneyism: Jason Kenney’s Pursuit of Power (2024).
Flight Attendants Won’t Let Air Canada Profit From Unpaid Labor
Air Canada’s flight attendants have defied Ottawa’s back-to-work order, striking for pay they’ve never received for pre- and post-flight duties, from safety checks to restocking. The action exposes decades of unpaid work baked into airline operations.
With Justin Trudeau Out, the Liberal Lame Duck Race Begins
After nine years in power, Canada’s Justin Trudeau leaves a faltering party to neoliberal entrenchment and surging Conservative polls. His resignation marks the growing crisis of centrist parties unable to adapt to mounting social and political pressures.
Scurvy in the Age of Billionaires
Once banished to history books, scurvy is making a comeback in wealthy countries thanks to soaring economic inequality. While the rich swim in spirulina kombucha and kale smoothies, the poor are skipping out on oranges and broccoli.
McKinsey Pulls the Strings Behind Justin Trudeau’s Curtain
A new report reveals how Canada’s Trudeau Liberals have repeatedly rewarded contracts to McKinsey & Company, flouting procurement rules along the way. The report sparks serious concerns about cronyism and government outsourcing practices.
Loblaw’s Great Canadian Grocery Gouge
Loblaw’s shareholders are laughing all the way to the bank while Canadians struggle to put food on the table. A recent consumer boycott of the grocery giant has sparked a national debate on food affordability and corporate profits.
Canada’s Carbon Emissions Cover-Up
Canada’s carbon footprint is not just a step but a giant leap beyond what’s been claimed. A six-year study pulls back the curtain on the environmental debacle, revealing emissions rates that dwarf industry figures.
Canada’s New Just Transition Bill Can Support Green Jobs or Greenwash — It Can’t Do Both
Justin Trudeau’s Sustainable Jobs Act, hailed by unions, is a good step toward a just transition. But if the Liberals cave to Conservative opposition, it will be yet another party policy failure and will achieve nothing but greenwashing for the oil sector.
The World Will Have to Pry Oil Production From Alberta’s Cold, Dead Hands
Danielle Smith, the premier of Alberta — home to Canada’s tar sands — is fiercely contesting the world’s shift to cleaner energy sources. The fossil fuel industry reigns supreme in the province, and Smith is doing her best to prevent a just transition.
A Pension Plan Proposal Is Sparking Separatism in Canada
Alberta's premier, Danielle Smith, has launched a $5 million taxpayer-funded campaign to encourage residents to bet their life savings on a new pension plan. It’s a move to provoke a showdown with Ottawa and to fuel separatist sentiments for political gain.
Canada’s Assisted Suicide Program Has Become a Nightmare
A medical assistance in dying program seemed like a step forward for choice and dignity. But it is beginning to look like a dystopian end run around the cost of providing long-term care.
The Coincidences Behind Canada’s Nazi-Honoring Debacle Are Deeply Unsettling
The grandfather of Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s deputy prime minister, worked for a Nazi newspaper that recruited for the Galicia Division of the Waffen-SS — the same division as Yaroslav Hunka, the Nazi who was recently honored by Canada’s Parliament.
Canada’s Public Health Care System Faces Encroachment by Privatizing Profiteers
Subscription fees for medical services are part of a growing erosion of Canada’s public health care by the private sector.
The Oil Industry Makes Its Own Rules in Canada’s Tar Sands
An oil refinery processing tar sands crude without permits for over two decades showcases Alberta’s need for regulation. But with the Trudeau Liberals’ history of giving Big Oil no-strings-attached cash, it’s doubtful that the cavalry is coming anytime soon.
A Canadian Lesson in How Not to Politick in a Right-Wing Stronghold
Alberta, Canada’s most conservative province, recently went to the polls. The purportedly left-wing New Democratic Party, in its attempt to court conservative voters, provided the Left with an abject lesson in acquiescence — a road map of exactly what not to do.
Meet the Radical Right-Wing Group Seizing Power in Canada’s Conservative Heartland
Populist grievances are pushing Alberta, Canada’s most conservative province, further to the right. The activist group Take Back Alberta is working to escalate this trend.
Canada’s Largest-Ever Strike Against a Sole Employer Is Underway
Setting up 250 picket lines across the country, 155,000 members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada have gone on strike. The walkout, the country’s largest strike ever against a sole employer, is a fight against inflation eroding wages into a pay cut.
Canada’s New Budget Is a Typical Liberal Road Map for Failing the Working Class
Despite the silver lining of green energy initiatives, Canada’s most recent federal budget does little for the country’s working people. In this, it stays consistent with the Liberal Party’s determination to throw its working-class constituents overboard.
Canada Loves to Shower Fossil Fuel Companies With Public Money
Between 2018 and 2020, Canada ranked as the world’s top subsidizer of the fossil fuel industry. Now the province of Alberta is trying to outdo the nation by paying oil and gas producers to fulfill their legal obligation to clean up their own mess.
The Problems With Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying Policy
Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying program seemed like a step forward for choice and dignity. But it is beginning to look like a dystopian end run around the cost of providing social welfare that can beat back the deprivations that make life unbearable.