Will 2025 be remembered as the year Canadians re-embraced nationalism?
Nationalism has many different forms, from benign feelings of pride to aggressive chauvinism. Some speak idealistically of civic nationalism, quizzically of economic nationalism, or suspiciously of ethnic nationalism. | By Michael Adams & Andrew Parkin
Writing a new immigration story for Canada
For most of the past few decades our country has been welcoming large numbers of immigrants – both permanent and temporary – with the support of most Canadians. | By Michael Adams, Wendy Cukier & Keith Neuman
Our elbows may be up, but have Canadians really changed?
If ever there was a year when Canadians needed a national day off, it’s 2025. Certainly, politicians and journalists could use a break after months of campaigning, but ordinary citizens are also worn out: from tracking which tariffs are on or off, digesting the U.S. President’s latest threats to our independence, and searching for the “product of Canada” labels at the grocery store while trying to understand what they even mean. | By Michael Adams & Andrew Parkin
A social values journey down memory lane
On May 9, 2025, Michael Adams is being inducted into Canada’s Marketing Hall of Legends. The award recognizes Michael's decades of helping people understand one another. Long-time friend and colleague Barry Watson has written a reflection on his influence on research, marketing, and society. | By Barry Watson
Now is not the time for Canada to walk away from diversity, equity and inclusion
Canada is a much different place than it was three years ago. In 2021, the topic of racial justice was front and centre in the public discourse in response to George Floyd’s tragic murder, the Black Lives Matter movement, anti-Asian harassment, and uneven progress toward reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. | By Michael Adams, Marva Bailey-Wisdom & Keith Neuman
Are Canada and the United States now back on a path towards political and cultural convergence?
Holiday dinners are sometimes about making the best of an awkward situation, forcing smiles and exchanging pleasantries with people you’d rather not be sitting next to for very long. That’s just what Justin Trudeau did at the end of November, when he flew to Florida to dine with the incoming president of the United States. | By Michael Adams & Andrew Parkin
Why is the Trump campaign getting involved in the gender wars? They’re reading the room
Joe Biden’s frailty was an easy target for Donald Trump and the Republicans, but Kamala Harris’s presumptive presidential nomination at the upcoming Democratic Party convention in Chicago means they must change tack. | By Michael Adams & David Jamieson
Canadians don’t need to worry about identity politics
Should Canadians be worried about identity politics? Some commentators lament the current obsession with identity, which they say focuses on what makes us different from one another rather than on what we have in common; that identity politics only serve to divide society into resentful silos. | By Michael Adams & Andrew Parkin
Free trade wasn’t just Mulroney’s key achievement – it is one of the most dramatic public opinion turnarounds in Canada’s history
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
The mood was bleak in 2023, but fret not – we’ve been here before
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.