Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow greets council, July 12, 2023. Photo from Twitter. The election of Olivia Chow as mayor of Toronto has captured attention across Canada. The largest city in the country will now have a long-time NDP politician in the top position of political leadership. This is a highly
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Canadian Dimension: What was the Freedom Convoy?
Trucks in downtown Ottawa during the Freedom Convoy protest. Photo by Maksim Sokolov/Wikimedia Commons. It’s been a dizzying few weeks in Canadian politics. As the Emergencies Act is revoked, the trucks roll out of Ottawa, and provincial governments across Canada capitulate to the demands of the Freedom Convoy, dropping mask
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: What will it take to transform Canada’s foreign policy for the better?
With Canada suffering two consecutive defeats in its effort to gain a UN Security Council seat, the time has come to fundamentally reassess Canadian foreign policy, writes Bianca Mugyenyi .Photo by Rebecca Schley/Flickr. This Thursday will mark one year since Canada was defeated in its bid for a seat on
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: ‘Defund the police’ means re-fund the community
A ‘Defund the Police’ sticker seen on a light pole in Toronto. Photo by Michael Swan/Flickr. “Defund the police! Re-fund the community!” This was a slogan chanted by thousands in the streets of Winnipeg during the summer of 2020, in the largest mass mobilization this city has seen since the
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Banning the Proud Boys—be careful what you ask for
Members of the Proud Boys rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, November 28, 2020. Photo by Anthony Crider/Flickr. The federal NDP has called for the far-right Proud Boys to be banned in Canada and declared a terrorist group. The party is now widely circulating a petition to that effect. Obviously, the
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Let’s put democracy back in the NDP
We call on the New Democratic Party, in the year of its 60th anniversary, to live up to its name. The upcoming virtual convention in April 2021 provides us with an opportunity to expand the NDP’s internal democracy and affirm the active voice that members have in steering the party.
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Winning social justice victories means bringing power to the table
Activists mobilize to prohibit nuclear weapons, October 22, 2020. Photo by Aude Catimel/ICAN. “Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.” ―Frederick Douglass To win any social justice victory of import you will invariably ruffle some feathers. The individuals who dominate Canada’s main nuclear disarmament
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Why is Jagmeet Singh ignoring progressive voices on Palestine?
Photo by Jagmeet Singh/Facebook It’s no secret that many members of the NDP think that Canada’s historically progressive party needs a makeover in its relationship to Israel and Palestine. Nowhere was this clearer than at the party’s 2018 policy convention in Ottawa where the leadership blocked a massively supported resolution
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Time to Revitalize the Anti-War Movement
“War 2” by Carlos Latuff. Justin Trudeau certainly did not run on a military-strength platform. Nowhere on the campaign trail did Liberals talk about increasing military spending or using “hard power” abroad. The recent speech by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chrystia Freeland, alongside the announced 70% increase in military spending
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: The Leap Manifesto and the NDP
LeapManifesto.org
The New Democratic Party and its predecessor, the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation, have always had manifestos and other defining documents. From the Calgary Program to the Regina Manifesto…
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: The Leap Manifesto
Photo by Jared Grove We start from the premise that Canada is facing the deepest crisis in recent memory. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission has acknowledged shocking details about the violence of Canada’s near past. Deepening poverty and inequality are a scar on the country’s present. And Canada’s record on
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