The Wilderness Years
Splitters from Labour want to create a new centrist force in British politics. The Social Democratic Party of the 1980s offers plenty of reason to hope they’ll fail.
259 Search Results for: Trudeau
Happy May Day! Workers of the World Are Uniting
Here’s something to celebrate this May Day: History may well look back at our era as the moment the working class finally got back on its feet.
The Right Has Power in Latin America, but No Plan
Across Latin America, the Right has swept to power. But its achievements pale in comparison to the Pink Tide — and it has no compelling vision for how to address the region’s challenges.
What Is Democracy?
Filmmaker Astra Taylor on her latest documentary, the relationship between democracy and freedom, and why the latest round of books on the erosion of norms are "just not very good."
Why the Left Loses Elections
The uneven geography of economic development and a “winner-take-all” system make our electoral system stacked against left-wing parties. But that doesn’t mean leftists living under that system can’t still win.
The Oil Industry Is Dying Right Now. Don’t Resuscitate It.
The massive oil price crash we've seen this week is an opportunity for governments to do what we have long needed to do: keep the remaining fossil fuels in the ground and invest in a Green New Deal to save the planet and stimulate the economy.
For the Owners of Loblaws, Ripping Off Canadian Workers Is a Family Business
The Westons, owners of Canadian retail giant Loblaws, are leading the fight against decent pay in Canada. Having profited during the pandemic while working people faced hunger and eviction, the family is now fighting tooth and nail to deny labor any share of the gains.
Canada’s Only Social-Democratic Government Has Been Decisively Reelected in British Columbia
British Columbia has historically been dominated by right-wing governments, so last weekend’s overwhelming New Democratic Party win is a significant moment. John Horgan, the first two-term NDP premier in the province's history, needs to set out a more ambitious agenda in his second term.
By Voting Against a Wealth Tax, Canada’s Politicians Have Shown Who They Really Work For
The vast majority of Canadians support a wealth tax, but 90 percent of the country’s MPs recently voted against a proposal to establish one. When push comes to shove, Canadian politicians are just as much in thrall to the rich as their US counterparts.
The Canadian Government Talks About Peace — But It’s Investing in War
Canada likes to see itself as a benign global actor, but its extensive history of military intervention tells a different story. A $70 billion upgrade of the Canadian navy now carried out by Justin Trudeau will strengthen its capacity for military action as a US sidekick in world affairs.
In the 1970s, Social Democracy Was in Retreat. British Columbia’s NDP Fought for It, Anyway.
Dave Barrett’s NDP government in British Columbia was one of the most impressive examples of social democracy in action during the twilight of the Keynesian era. But the BC NDP lacked a proper strategy to deal with the power of capital, which eventually forced it into retreat.
The Pension-Fund Profiteers Are Making a Killing From Long-Term Care
Canada’s pension funds are profiting from financialized long-term care while widespread negligence is killing residents. It’s time to take the company that is behind this rapacious profiteering into public ownership and fully socialize Canada’s health care system.
Alberta’s Jason Kenney Bet the Political Farm on Keystone XL — and Lost
Jason Kenney’s government seems increasingly desperate, conjuring up dark conspiracies to explain its own failures. Beneath the lurid rhetoric, there’s a last-ditch effort to keep the fossil-fuel industry profitable and prop up a conservative “success story” that couldn’t endure.
Trade Agreements Like NAFTA Are a Menace to Democracy
Free-trade agreements enable companies to sue governments if they interfere with profit-making activities, no matter how destructive. The Biden administration now faces a legal threat for halting the Keystone XL project. These trade deals put us in an antidemocratic straitjacket — it's time we got rid of them.
AMLO Is Fighting to Make Mexico’s Energy a Public Resource
Over the last thirty years, resource-rich Mexico has had its energy grid handed over to corporations and foreign multinationals — when it should be in the hands of the Mexican people. Andrés Manuel López Obrador is trying to reverse that trend by bringing back the nation’s long-debilitated public energy sector.
Twilight of the Boarding School Boys
East Coast boarding schools once prepared “ordinary” boys from the elite for national leadership — helping them forge friendships, networks, and marriages to rule the country.
Canada’s Housing Market Is Out of Control
House prices and rents in Canada are skyrocketing. There’s only one solution to the social crisis this has caused: a massive expansion of public housing, releasing people from dependence on a rigged market.
Climate Change Disaster Isn’t a Future Threat — It’s Already Here
From the historic heat wave tearing through the Pacific Northwest to temperatures "too hot for humanity" in Pakistan, the consequences of climate change are no longer a far-off threat — they're here right now.
A People’s History of the Hoser, Canada’s Blue-Collar Icon
From Bob and Doug McKenzie to the Trailer Park Boys, the Canadian hoser is an integral part of the country’s cultural landscape. The hoser is also a working-class emblem, whose uncertain fortune in the face of economic downturns reflects the wider experience of Canadian workers.
Capitalists Can’t Become Nicer
Mark Carney, ex-governor of the central banks in Canada and Britain, has written a much-hyped book about the problems with modern capitalism. But this consummate insider can’t trace the roots of those problems back to their fundamental sources.