Edmonton demonstrators gather to protest against COVID-19 measures and support the ‘freedom convoy’ in February 2022. Research suggests Alberta separatist sentiments have as much to do with antipathy about the federal government and Justin Trudeau as actually leaving Confederation.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
Even though they lack the profile of Québec sovereigntists, Alberta separatists are positioned to exert significant political influence on intergovernmental relations in the years to come.
Activists hold slogans as they protest against Chinese aggression in the South China Sea outside the Chinese consulate in Makati, Philippines in November 2021.
(AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Srdjan Vucetic, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa
Canada’s F-35 flip-flop amid the Ukraine war underscores the need for a far-reaching, comprehensive review of the defence, security, diplomatic and development issues facing the country.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with Pope Francis for a private audience at the Vatican in May 2017.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
It is worth considering whether efforts to enlist the church in reconciliation have been helped or hindered by how settlers think about early written records.
People and vehicles fill Wellington Street near Parliament Hill at the beginning of the so-called freedom convoy occupation of Ottawa in late January, 2022.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Long-term assessments of the trucker convoy will depend less on questionable interpretations of individual freedom and more on whether the state’s fundamental obligations were seriously threatened.
A train with refugees fleeing Ukraine crosses the border in Medyka, Poland, on March 7, 2022.
(AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)
Canada’s temporary protection measures to Ukrainians fleeing the war ensure they’re brought to safety faster. But will this kind of response become the preferred method for all future refugees?
There are indications that more and more Canadians feel the federal government doesn’t represent their views.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
The wave of protests across Canada against vaccine mandates are signs of growing tensions that the federal government doesn’t represent the views of many people. It’s time for election reform.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau walks across an empty Wellington St. to a news conference on Feb. 22.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
The Emergencies Act could have been in place for 30 days or more. But 10 days after it was invoked, the government is now confident it can keep Canadians safe with existing laws.
Debris lies on the ground in front of Parliament Hill’s gates after police took action to clear Ottawa streets of trucks and protesters opposed to vaccine mandates.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
There have been bigger protests in other Canadian cities, but the so-called freedom convoy against vaccine mandates could be a sign of a rise in right-wing and libertarian sentiments.
A person holds a copy of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms during the so-called freedom convoy protest on Parliament Hill.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
The Canadian Constitution compels a proportionate weighing of all Charter rights against the threat of COVID-19, meaning that individual freedom is not absolute.
Protesters from across Canada came to the nation’s capital in Ottawa to demonstrate against vaccine mandates and other measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Canada’s international reputation as a relatively peaceful country is at odds with the noisy protests by people opposed to measures aimed at preventing COVID-19.
Conservative Party interim leader Candice Bergen smiles as she rises for the first time since assuming the position during Question Period in the House of Commons.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Democracy benefits from the electoral viability of an alternative party on the centre-right. An unelectable, far-right Conservative Party will solidify the Liberal Party’s dominance.
Movements like the ‘freedom convoy’ in Canada use similar language and sentiments as those expressed by followers of former U.S. President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, shown here in 2020 in New Delhi.
AP Photo/Manish Swarup
A study of global far-right movements and their hashtags on Twitter have revealed similarities that display a reliance on long-held myths, including the idea of a “golden age of freedom.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, surrounded by key members of his cabinet, announces his government will invoke the Emergencies Act.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has invoked the Emergencies Act for the first time in Canadian history. His father had invoked its predecessor, the War Measures Act, more than half a century earlier.
Tibetans use the Olympic Rings as a prop as they hold a street protest against the 2022 Winter Olympics in Dharmsala, India on Feb. 3, 2021.
(AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia)
The truckers’ convoy has travelled from out west to Parliament Hill and Toronto. Along the way, the responses of law enforcement agencies are affected by both internal and external politics.
People hold signs during a singing of O Canada during a rally against COVID-19 restrictions on Parliament Hill.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
When the ‘freedom convoy’ heads home, governments will be keen to avoid similar events. Angry protest movements are volatile and have lasting consequences, as the rise of Trumpism shows.
People gather to protest COVID-19 vaccine mandates and masking measures during a rally in Kingston, Ont., in November 2021. Ottawa’s proposals to bypass publishing vaccine mandate guidelines goes against the principles of good governance.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Lars Hagberg
In a time-honoured tradition of Canadian democracy, government regulations become public when they appear in the Canada Gazette. That’s why Ottawa’s proposal to bypass that step is so troublesome.
People wait in line — some for over two hours — at a PCR COVID-19 test site in Toronto.
(THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young)