Insight

The 2018 Quebec provincial election was notable not only because it brought to power a new political party – the Coalition avenir Québec – but because it was a historic defeat for the sovereigntist Parti Québécois, reduced at that time to only 10 seats in the National Assembly. | By Charles Breton & Andrew Parkin

At a time of rapid change in the workplace, access to skills training is key to workers’ success. Workers cannot expect that the knowledge and know-how they learned during their years in formal education will see them through their entire careers. | By Andrew Parkin

Since Brian Mulroney’s death last month, pundits and the public alike have reflected on his political acumen and accomplishments. The negotiation of the free-trade deal with the United States tops everyone’s list of his achievements as prime minister. | By Michael Adams & Andrew Parkin

As we move past the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a tension between the desire to go back to the way things were in the workplace before, and an interest in finding new and better ways to work. | By Andrew Parkin, Pedro Barata & Wendy Cukier 

It was quite a year in Canada. Satisfaction with the federal government and the Prime Minister nosedived. The governing party was eclipsed in the polls by the Official Opposition. Public anxiety about the economy grew, and as it did, support for immigration weakened. Despite a global summit on the environment, the issue of climate change struggled to make it to the top of the political agenda.

The COVID-19 pandemic was a challenging time. It threatened our lives and our health, upset our jobs and our livelihoods, and distanced us from friends and family.

Canada by global standards has had a successful history of immigration. The country has been fortunate in having a large land mass, oceans to provide for effective control over migrant flows, and a stable political ally along the undefended southern border.

Canada has long been an immigrant nation, starting more than four centuries ago when the first European settlers arrived on what many Indigenous Peoples call Turtle Island. Today, Canada stands out as having one of the most ethnically diverse populations on the planet.

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a sudden disruption of everyday life. While many things are back to the way they were before, one change has proven harder to reverse: working from home.

A lighthearted stereotype of Canadians holds that we’re prone to apologizing, and under an absurdly broad array of circumstances. When someone steps on the toes of a Canadian, the joke goes, it’s the Canadian who will say sorry.