social values

Justin Trudeau has declared his candidacy for the leadership of a party has been desperately seeking a saviour for years. As one leader after another has failed to connect with Canadian voters, many Liberals have longed for "a new Trudeau."

Anniversaries such as Canada Day are a good time to take stock of long-term changes in the lifestyles, attitudes and values that characterize our society. Incremental changes can seem matter of fact as they unfold in daily life, but their cumulative effects can be remarkable.

In this 1997 bestseller, Michael Adams describes the trajectory of social change in Canada, illuminating the society's movement over the latter half of the 20th century from values of religiosity and deference to authority to those of secularism and autonomy.

As Canadians lick their wounds over our national election result – a minority that carries with it the likelihood of another round soon – we should be thankful for our limited campaigns compared to the endless electioneering in the United States.

In this 2003 bestseller, Michael Adams offers the surprising argument that the values of Canadians and Americans are diverging in important ways.

Better Happy Than Rich links Canadians' social values to their attitudes and behaviours surrounding that most ubiquitous preoccupation: money.