The global economy is overly dependent on U.S. tech giants for digital infrastructure, data, and artificial intelligence. U.S. laws and corporate dominance threaten external control over digital systems, putting sovereignty, privacy, and democracy at risk.

Meanwhile, AI as a tool for the profit of Big Tech companies is threatening jobs, undermining public education, healthcare, and public services, and eroding public trust.

But Canada can’t simply avoid technological development and be left behind, dominated by these powers. How should a progressive government approach building digital sovereignty and democratic AI?

Aisén Amelia Etcheverry Escudero, recently Chile’s Minister of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation under the Broad Front Party government of President Gabriel Boric, spoke to editor Clement Nocos on the Perspectives Journal Podcast to share her perspective on progressive digital governance and what nation-building for digital sovereignty can look like.

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This conversation was recorded on July 8, 2026 as a part of a 2026 Panamerican Congress workshop held in Toronto on AI, Digital Sovereignty and Democracy.

In case you missed it: you can now watch the full panel discussion we held on July 9th with former Chilean Innovation Minister Aisén Etcheverry, NDP Leader Avi Lewis, Costa Rican Deputy Sigrid Segura, and Centre for International Policy (US) President Nancy Okail on taking on Big Tech across borders, controlling AI, and defending digital sovereignty.

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On this episode of Class & Climate: Perspectives on a Green Economy, Matt Huber, author of Climate Change as Class War, challenges commonly-held assumptions about responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions, debunking the myth of "degrowth" as the sole solution to our planetary climate crisis.

Class & Climate is a podcast series from Perspectives Journal and the Green Economy Network that maps how climate action can deliver jobs and long-term affordability for workers — while debunking myths that these goals are a zero-sum trade-off with a clean environment.

Support the show

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Social Democrats of the North: Canadian Visions for Justice & Equality from Confederation to the Quiet Revolution is a new podcast series from Perspectives Journal by Broadbent Research Fellow and Editorial Committee Member Dave McGrane.

Dave McGrane, Professor of Political Science at St. Thomas More College at the University of Saskatchewan, explores the life, times, and ideas of Canada’s most influential social democrats. From Confederation at 1867, to the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s, discover the people who shaped social democracy in Canada, the movements that fought for the working-class, and the legacies they’ve left for the wellbeing of all Canadians. There are lessons for activists, and forgotten struggles that apply to today’s wins. After all, the best teacher for a better world tomorrow, is the past.

Social Democrats of the North is a Perspectives Journal Podcast Series, published by the Broadbent Institute.

Host & Episode Research – Dave McGrane
Producer – Clement Nocos
Production Assistant – Jack McClelland

Theme music note

The tune of US folk song “John Brown’s Body” is used extensively for militant labour movements and group marching, referencing US abolitionist John Brown. The tune has evolved into a number of variations, including ‘The March of the Workers’ in the Labor Reform Songster (1892) by Ontario labour leader Phillips Thompson (Social Democrats of the North Episode 2).

Battle Hymn of the Republic medley by Marisa Anderson is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Support the show

When the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation burst onto the Canadian political scene as a new socialist political party in the 1930s, there was no guarantee it would survive. Building the CCF during the Great Depression required dedicated organizers and leaders willing to fight for the working class. M.J. Coldwell took on leadership of the CCF, and made it into a well-entrenched and long-lasting force in Canadian politics.

As a Saskatchewan MP and CCF Leader, he fought in the House of Commons to establish unemployment insurance, old age pensions, and public health care, helping lay the foundation for Canada's modern social safety net.

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Social Democrats of the North: Canadian Visions for Justice & Equality from Confederation to the Quiet Revolution is a new podcast series from Perspectives Journal by Broadbent Research Fellow and Editorial Committee Member Dave McGrane.

Dave McGrane, Professor of Political Science at St. Thomas More College at the University of Saskatchewan, explores the life, times, and ideas of Canada’s most influential social democrats. From Confederation at 1867, to the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s, discover the people who shaped social democracy in Canada, the movements that fought for the working-class, and the legacies they’ve left for the wellbeing of all Canadians. There are lessons for activists, and forgotten struggles that apply to today’s wins. After all, the best teacher for a better world tomorrow, is the past.

Social Democrats of the North is a Perspectives Journal Podcast Series, published by the Broadbent Institute.

Host & Episode Research – Dave McGrane
Producer – Clement Nocos
Production Assistant – Jack McClelland

Theme music note

The tune of US folk song “John Brown’s Body” is used extensively for militant labour movements and group marching, referencing US abolitionist John Brown. The tune has evolved into a number of variations, including ‘The March of the Workers’ in the Labor Reform Songster (1892) by Ontario labour leader Phillips Thompson (Social Democrats of the North Episode 2).

Battle Hymn of the Republic medley by Marisa Anderson is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Support the show

On May Day 2026, the Green Economy Network's Em Thompson brought together union health and safety experts for a public conversation on workers’ safety in the climate crisis. How is the labour union movement protecting workers from rising temperatures, increasing disasters, and weakening environmental regulations? Panelists include:

• Alex Callahan, National Director of Health, Safety and Environment with the Canadian Labour Congress.
• Anne Tennier, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety 
• Roger Duffy, Health & Safety Representative Canadian Union of Public Employees

Class & Climate is a podcast series from Perspectives Journal and the Green Economy Network that maps how climate action can deliver jobs and long-term affordability for workers — while debunking myths that these goals are a zero-sum trade-off with a clean environment.

Support the show

Listen to and read Bhaskar Sunkara’s full 2026 Ellen Meiksins Wood Lecture, ‘Market Socialism Against Capitalism,’ in Perspectives Journal.

Buy Seeking Social Democracy, Ed Broadbent’s book co-authored by Luke Savage, Frances Abele, and Jonathan Sas, and subscribe to Luke Savage’s Substack.

Support the show

Moses Coady was a Catholic priest, a scholar at St. Francis Xavier University and, most importantly, he was an organizer who was best known for leading the Antigonish Movement: a co-operative movement focused on adult education, microfinance, and rural development.

The Antigonish Movement, based at St. FX, sparked a co-operative movement wave across the Maritimes, establishing credit unions, schools, and co-ops throughout the region during the early 20th century. The co-operative and collectivist institutions he developed helped to blunt the impacts of the Great Depression on the working class. Coady's collectivist ideals and co-operative organizing through the Antigonish Movement challenged the conservative political culture of Nova Scotia and laid the foundations for the CCF's and NDP's later influence in Atlantic Canada.

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Social Democrats of the North: Canadian Visions for Justice & Equality from Confederation to the Quiet Revolution is a new podcast series from Perspectives Journal by Broadbent Research Fellow and Editorial Committee Member Dave McGrane.

Dave McGrane, Professor of Political Science at St. Thomas More College at the University of Saskatchewan, explores the life, times, and ideas of Canada’s most influential social democrats. From Confederation at 1867, to the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s, discover the people who shaped social democracy in Canada, the movements that fought for the working-class, and the legacies they’ve left for the wellbeing of all Canadians. There are lessons for activists, and forgotten struggles that apply to today’s wins. After all, the best teacher for a better world tomorrow, is the past.

Social Democrats of the North is a Perspectives Journal Podcast Series, published by the Broadbent Institute.

Host & Episode Research – Dave McGrane
Producer – Clement Nocos
Production Assistant – Jack McClelland

--

Theme music note

The tune of US folk song “John Brown’s Body” is used extensively for militant labour movements and group marching, referencing US abolitionist John Brown. The tune has evolved into a number of variations, including ‘The March of the Workers’ in the Labor Reform Songster (1892) by Ontario labour leader Phillips Thompson (Social Democrats of the North Episode 2).

Battle Hymn of the Republic medley by Marisa Anderson is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Support the show

As Trump-era trade and economic policies reshape decisions about jobs, industry, and investment, workers and communities in Canada are feeling the effects. From manufacturing to public services to war-shock inflation, economic choices are being made that will reshape the future of work on both sides of the border, often without workers at the table. Panelists include:

• Bea Bruske, Canadian Labour Congress, President
• Magali Picard, Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec (FTQ), Présidente
• Barry Sawyer, UFCW Canada, National President

The panel discussion was moderated by Jen Hassum, Executive Director of the Broadbent Institute.

Support the show

Stephen Thomas is a climate campaigner, policy analyst, and engineer working on the front lines of Canada’s transition to a 100% zero-emissions electricity grid as the Clean Energy Manager for the David Suzuki Foundation.

For Class & Climate: Perspectives on a Green Economy, Green Economy Network National Convenor Em Thompson sits down with Stephen to discuss the politics of electrification and the challenges, and the opportunities for building a fully-connected, east-west electricity grid.

Class & Climate is a podcast series from Perspectives Journal and the Green Economy Network that maps how climate action can deliver jobs and long-term affordability for workers — while debunking myths that these goals are a zero-sum trade-off with a clean environment.

Support the show

At the 2026 Progress Summit, David Adler highlighted the organized right-wing network of actors and institutions — what he calls the 'Reactionary International.'

Adler is the Co-General Coordinator of the Progressive International, an group that unites, organizes and mobilizes the world’s progressive forces to fight for democracy.

On March 5, 2026, he delivered a keynote on the theme of the 2026 Progress Summit: Defending Democracy Across Borders, and moderated a panel discussion featuring:

• Frederike Boll, Social Democratic Party of Germany, Director of Strategic Planning
• José Luis Granados Ceja, Drop Site News, Head of Latin America Desk
• Jennifer Pedersen, Canada's NDP, Foreign Policy and Legislative Advisor

Related Links

• The Reactionary International Research Consortium
• The Progressive International
• The Panama Papers
• Drop Site News

Support the show

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Social Democrats of the North: Canadian Visions for Justice & Equality from Confederation to the Quiet Revolution is a new podcast series from Perspectives Journal by Broadbent Research Fellow and Editorial Committee Member Dave McGrane.

Dave McGrane, Professor of Political Science at St. Thomas More College at the University of Saskatchewan, explores the life, times, and ideas of Canada’s most influential social democrats. From Confederation at 1867, to the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s, discover the people who shaped social democracy in Canada, the movements that fought for the working-class, and the legacies they’ve left for the wellbeing of all Canadians. There are lessons for activists, and forgotten struggles that apply to today’s wins. After all, the best teacher for a better world tomorrow, is the past.

Social Democrats of the North is a Perspectives Journal Podcast Series, published by the Broadbent Institute.

Host & Episode Research – Dave McGrane

Producer – Clement Nocos

Production Assistant – Jack McClelland

--

Theme music note

The tune of US folk song “John Brown’s Body” is used extensively for militant labour movements and group marching, referencing US abolitionist John Brown. The tune has evolved into a number of variations, including ‘The March of the Workers’ in the Labor Reform Songster (1892) by Ontario labour leader Phillips Thompson (Social Democrats of the North Episode 2).

Battle Hymn of the Republic medley by Marisa Anderson is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Support the show

Martin Empson is a climate activist from the UK and the editor and a contributor to System Change not Climate Change, a book of essays from socialists around the world on the nature of capitalism's ecological crisis and the radical response that is needed.

On this eighth episode of Class & Climate: Perspectives on a Green Economy, the Green Economy Network's national convenor Em Thompson sits down with Martin Empson to reveal how COPs (Conferences of Parties) have bureaucratized climate organizing.

Class & Climate is a podcast series from Perspectives Journal and the Green Economy Network that maps how climate action can deliver jobs and long-term affordability for workers—while debunking myths that these goals are a zero-sum trade-off with a clean environment.

Support the show

While Quebec's social democratic tradition is often traced back to the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s, the province's left-wing roots are planted deeper than that. This episode examines the Catholic roots of social democracy surrounding L’École Sociale Populaire. This socially-driven organization of Jesuit priests had a dramatic effect on Quebec politics during the 1930s, revealing Quebec social democracy to be a genuinely homegrown phenomenon, unique from its left-wing counterparts in English Canada.

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Social Democrats of the North: Canadian Visions for Justice & Equality from Confederation to the Quiet Revolution is a new podcast series from Perspectives Journal by Broadbent Research Fellow and Editorial Committee Member Dave McGrane.

Dave McGrane, Professor of Political Science at St. Thomas More College at the University of Saskatchewan, explores the life, times, and ideas of Canada’s most influential social democrats. From Confederation at 1867, to the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s, discover the people who shaped social democracy in Canada, the movements that fought for the working-class, and the legacies they’ve left for the wellbeing of all Canadians. There are lessons for activists, and forgotten struggles that apply to today’s wins. After all, the best teacher for a better world tomorrow, is the past.

Social Democrats of the North is a Perspectives Journal Podcast Series, published by the Broadbent Institute.

Host & Episode Research – Dave McGrane

Producer – Clement Nocos

Production Assistant – Jack McClelland

--

Theme music note

The tune of US folk song “John Brown’s Body” is used extensively for militant labour movements and group marching, referencing US abolitionist John Brown. The tune has evolved into a number of variations, including ‘The March of the Workers’ in the Labor Reform Songster (1892) by Ontario labour leader Phillips Thompson (Social Democrats of the North Episode 2).

Battle Hymn of the Republic medley by Marisa Anderson is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Support the show

--

Social Democrats of the North: Canadian Visions for Justice & Equality from Confederation to the Quiet Revolution is a new podcast series from Perspectives Journal by Broadbent Research Fellow and Editorial Committee Member Dave McGrane.

Dave McGrane, Professor of Political Science at St. Thomas More College at the University of Saskatchewan, explores the life, times, and ideas of Canada’s most influential social democrats. From Confederation at 1867, to the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s, discover the people who shaped social democracy in Canada, the movements that fought for the working-class, and the legacies they’ve left for the wellbeing of all Canadians. There are lessons for activists, and forgotten struggles that apply to today’s wins. After all, the best teacher for a better world tomorrow, is the past.

Social Democrats of the North is a Perspectives Journal Podcast Series, published by the Broadbent Institute.

Host & Episode Research – Dave McGrane

Producer – Clement Nocos

Production Assistant – Jack McClelland

--

Theme music note

The tune of US folk song “John Brown’s Body” is used extensively for militant labour movements and group marching, referencing US abolitionist John Brown. The tune has evolved into a number of variations, including ‘The March of the Workers’ in the Labor Reform Songster (1892) by Ontario labour leader Phillips Thompson (Social Democrats of the North Episode 2).

Battle Hymn of the Republic medley by Marisa Anderson is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Support the show

Through the crisis of the Great Depression, Canadian socialist intellectuals came together as 'The League for Social Reconstruction' to lay out the political and economic ideas that would become the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and the 1933 Regina Manifesto; the party's policy program. The LSR was described as the CCF's "brain trust" and can be seen as a prototype of the modern "think tank." It was instrumental in developing Canadian social democracy into a mass, cross-country political project throughout the 1930s.

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Social Democrats of the North: Canadian Visions for Justice & Equality from Confederation to the Quiet Revolution is a new podcast series from Perspectives Journal by Broadbent Research Fellow and Editorial Committee Member Dave McGrane.

Dave McGrane, Professor of Political Science at St. Thomas More College at the University of Saskatchewan, explores the life, times, and ideas of Canada’s most influential social democrats. From Confederation at 1867, to the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s, discover the people who shaped social democracy in Canada, the movements that fought for the working-class, and the legacies they’ve left for the wellbeing of all Canadians. There are lessons for activists, and forgotten struggles that apply to today’s wins. After all, the best teacher for a better world tomorrow, is the past.

Social Democrats of the North is a Perspectives Journal Podcast Series, published by the Broadbent Institute.

Host & Episode Research – Dave McGrane

Producer – Clement Nocos

Production Assistant – Jack McClelland

--

Theme music note

The tune of US folk song “John Brown’s Body” is used extensively for militant labour movements and group marching, referencing US abolitionist John Brown. The tune has evolved into a number of variations, including ‘The March of the Workers’ in the Labor Reform Songster (1892) by Ontario labour leader Phillips Thompson (Social Democrats of the North Episode 2).

Battle Hymn of the Republic medley by Marisa Anderson is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Support the show

SUBSCRIBE to the Perspectives Journal Podcast and Activists Make History for previous interviews with the 2026 NDP leadership race candidates.

Rob Ashton is a trade unionist, longshoreman, and candidate running to be the next leader of the federal NDP. He has spent more than three decades working on Canada’s docks and in the labour movement, rising through the ranks of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union. He’s been a dock worker, business agent, vice-president, and since 2016, president of ILWU Canada, representing thousands of workers across British Columbia and Saskatchewan.

On this episode of Activists Make History, host Peggy Nash talks to Ashton about his vision for Canada's NDP as the party of workers and everyday people.

Support the show

SUBSCRIBE to the Perspectives Journal Podcast and Activists Make History for previous and upcoming interviews with the 2026 NDP leadership race candidates.

Tanille Johnston is a social worker, city councilor, and candidate running to be the next leader of the federal NDP. A member of the We Wai Kai First Nation, she has led an impactful career in Indigenous health and social work before joining the NDP leadership race with a broad policy platform focused on equity, affordable housing, accessible healthcare and childcare, climate action, and stronger Indigenous representation in decision-making.

On this episode of Activists Make History, host Peggy Nash talks to Johnston about her roots in student organizing and ambitions for Canada’s NDP.

Support the show

A committed social democrat, Agnes Macphail was Canada’s first woman elected to Parliament and a leader whose politics were shaped by a lifelong opposition to patriarchy and sexism. Over two decades in the House of Commons, she used her parliamentary career to champion causes including peace, prison reform, progressive taxation, and strong social programs. Rather than treating feminism and social democracy as separate projects, Macphail understood both as essential to building a more democratic and equal society.

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Social Democrats of the North: Canadian Visions for Justice & Equality from Confederation to the Quiet Revolution is a new podcast series from Perspectives Journal by Broadbent Research Fellow and Editorial Committee Member Dave McGrane.

Dave McGrane, Professor of Political Science at St. Thomas More College at the University of Saskatchewan, explores the life, times, and ideas of Canada’s most influential social democrats. From Confederation at 1867, to the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s, discover the people who shaped social democracy in Canada, the movements that fought for the working-class, and the legacies they’ve left for the wellbeing of all Canadians. There are lessons for activists, and forgotten struggles that apply to today’s wins. After all, the best teacher for a better world tomorrow, is the past.

Social Democrats of the North is a Perspectives Journal Podcast Series, published by the Broadbent Institute.

Host & Episode Research – Dave McGrane

Producer – Clement Nocos

Production Assistant – Jack McClelland

--

Theme music note

The tune of US folk song “John Brown’s Body” is used extensively for militant labour movements and group marching, referencing US abolitionist John Brown. The tune has evolved into a number of variations, including ‘The March of the Workers’ in the Labor Reform Songster (1892) by Ontario labour leader Phillips Thompson (Social Democrats of the North Episode 2).

Battle Hymn of the Republic medley by Marisa Anderson is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Support the show

These are two competing visions for tackling wealth inequality and democratic deficits, but the world’s wealthiest would actually agree with one you would least expect. But why do we need a wealth tax, and what should Canada do about wealth inequality?

The Perspectives Journal Podcast speaks with Dylan Dusseault, Executive Director of Patriotic Millionaires Canada, about the need to tackle extreme wealth inequality to save democracy, and his organization’s survey of G20 Millionaires.

Notes:

• Nearly 80 percent of millionaires think super rich buy political influence, Patriotic Millionaires
• Canada’s Tax Haven Dilemma with Jared Walker, Perspectives Journal Podcast
• What’s missing from the Davos agenda: taxing the rich, Dylan Dusseault, The Monitor, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
• Avi Lewis asks bankers on Bay Street if it’s time for a wealth tax, Avi Lewis NDP Leadership Campaign

Support the show

SUBSCRIBE to the Perspectives Journal Podcast and Activists Make History for previous and upcoming interviews with the 2026 NDP leadership race candidates.

Since 2019, Heather McPherson has been Member of Parliament for Edmonton Strathcona, securing a once-contentious parliamentary seat through three federal elections. Raised in a working-class home in Edmonton, she spent more than 15 years working with Canada World Youth and the Alberta Council for Global Cooperation before entering politics.

On this episode of Activists Make History, host Peggy Nash talks to McPherson about her values-driven campaign and "big tent" vision for Canada's NDP.

Support the show

Stay tuned for future episodes with other candidates in the 2026 NDP leadership race.

Tony McQuail is an organic farmer and candidate running to be the next leader of the federal NDP. A lifelong activist, he has run for office multiple times, served on the Huron County Board of Education, and spent decades organizing around sustainable farming, rural issues, and green progressive politics.

On this episode of Activists Make History, host Peggy Nash talks to McQuail about how he is channeling grassroots activism for green progressive campaign.

Support the show

Avi Lewis is a journalist, documentary filmmaker, and candidate running to be the next leader of the federal NDP. Born in Toronto, he built a career telling stories about movements for economic and social justice, from worker-run enterprises to global climate campaigns.

On this episode of Activists Make History, host Peggy Nash talks to Lewis about his efforts connecting social movements for a common political front.

Stay tuned for future episodes with other candidates in the 2026 NDP leadership race.

Support the show

William Irvine’s life and career reflects the power of persistence in struggles. Born to a working-class familyin the Shetland Islands, Irvine immigrated to Canada to lead a Unitarian church congregation in Alberta. After arriving in Calgary in 1916, he was swept up by the social gospel movement of the time. He ran for political office with the Labour Party in Alberta, and then as a candidate for the United Farmers of Alberta, before being elected as an MP in 1921 and helping to found the CCF by 1932. He also worked to establish progressive newspapers in Calgary and became an social democratic leader in Parliament.

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Social Democrats of the North: Canadian Visions for Justice & Equality from Confederation to the Quiet Revolution is a new podcast series from Perspectives Journal by Broadbent Research Fellow and Editorial Committee Member Dave McGrane.

Dave McGrane, Professor of Political Science at St. Thomas More College at the University of Saskatchewan, explores the life, times, and ideas of Canada’s most influential social democrats. From Confederation at 1867, to the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s, discover the people who shaped social democracy in Canada, the movements that fought for the working-class, and the legacies they’ve left for the wellbeing of all Canadians. There are lessons for activists, and forgotten struggles that apply to today’s wins. After all, the best teacher for a better world tomorrow, is the past.

Social Democrats of the North is a Perspectives Journal Podcast Series, published by the Broadbent Institute.

Host & Episode Research – Dave McGrane

Producer – Clement Nocos

Production Assistant – Jack McClelland

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Theme music note

The tune of US folk song “John Brown’s Body” is used extensively for militant labour movements and group marching, referencing US abolitionist John Brown. The tune has evolved into a number of variations, including ‘The March of the Workers’ in the Labor Reform Songster (1892) by Ontario labour leader Phillips Thompson (Social Democrats of the North Episode 2).

Battle Hymn of the Republic medley by Marisa Anderson is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Support the show

--

Social Democrats of the North: Canadian Visions for Justice & Equality from Confederation to the Quiet Revolution is a new podcast series from Perspectives Journal by Broadbent Research Fellow and Editorial Committee Member Dave McGrane.

Dave McGrane, Professor of Political Science at St. Thomas More College at the University of Saskatchewan, explores the life, times, and ideas of Canada’s most influential social democrats. From Confederation at 1867, to the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s, discover the people who shaped social democracy in Canada, the movements that fought for the working-class, and the legacies they’ve left for the wellbeing of all Canadians. There are lessons for activists, and forgotten struggles that apply to today’s wins. After all, the best teacher for a better world tomorrow, is the past.

Social Democrats of the North is a Perspectives Journal Podcast Series, published by the Broadbent Institute.

Host & Episode Research – Dave McGrane

Producer – Clement Nocos

Production Assistant – Jack McClelland

--

Theme music note

The tune of US folk song “John Brown’s Body” is used extensively for militant labour movements and group marching, referencing US abolitionist John Brown. The tune has evolved into a number of variations, including ‘The March of the Workers’ in the Labor Reform Songster (1892) by Ontario labour leader Phillips Thompson (Social Democrats of the North Episode 2).

Battle Hymn of the Republic medley by Marisa Anderson is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Support the show

--

Social Democrats of the North: Canadian Visions for Justice & Equality from Confederation to the Quiet Revolution is a new podcast series from Perspectives Journal by Broadbent Research Fellow and Editorial Committee Member Dave McGrane.

Dave McGrane, Professor of Political Science at St. Thomas More College at the University of Saskatchewan, explores the life, times, and ideas of Canada’s most influential social democrats. From Confederation at 1867, to the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s, discover the people who shaped social democracy in Canada, the movements that fought for the working-class, and the legacies they’ve left for the wellbeing of all Canadians. There are lessons for activists, and forgotten struggles that apply to today’s wins. After all, the best teacher for a better world tomorrow, is the past.

Social Democrats of the North is a Perspectives Journal Podcast Series, published by the Broadbent Institute.

Host & Episode Research – Dave McGrane

Producer – Clement Nocos

Production Assistant – Jack McClelland

--

Theme music note

The tune of US folk song “John Brown’s Body” is used extensively for militant labour movements and group marching, referencing US abolitionist John Brown. The tune has evolved into a number of variations, including ‘The March of the Workers’ in the Labor Reform Songster (1892) by Ontario labour leader Phillips Thompson (Social Democrats of the North Episode 2).

Battle Hymn of the Republic medley by Marisa Anderson is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Support the show

In November 2025, Between the Lines books published Women United: Stories of Women’s Struggles for Equality in the Canadian Auto Workers Union by Peggy Nash and Julie White. The co-authors were interviewed by Tricia Wilson, Director of Equity and Racial Justice at Unifor, at their November 13 book launch in Toronto.

About Women United:

Based on the firsthand stories of dozens of women leaders in the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW), Women United examines what workplaces were like for women, how they became involved in the union, and the challenges women faced, sometimes at great personal cost. From struggles for representation in their union to their fight for affirmative action and childcare, and work against gender-based violence and harassment, Peggy Nash and Julie White make an important contribution to feminist, labour, and social history.

Order your copy from Between the Lines books.

Support the show

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Social Democrats of the North: Canadian Visions for Justice & Equality from Confederation to the Quiet Revolution is a new podcast series from Perspectives Journal by Broadbent Research Fellow and Editorial Committee Member Dave McGrane.

Dave McGrane, Professor of Political Science at St. Thomas More College at the University of Saskatchewan, explores the life, times, and ideas of Canada’s most influential social democrats. From Confederation at 1867, to the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s, discover the people who shaped social democracy in Canada, the movements that fought for the working-class, and the legacies they’ve left for the wellbeing of all Canadians. There are lessons for activists, and forgotten struggles that apply to today’s wins. After all, the best teacher for a better world tomorrow, is the past.

Social Democrats of the North is a Perspectives Journal Podcast Series, published by the Broadbent Institute.

Host & Episode Research – Dave McGrane

Producer – Clement Nocos

Production Assistant – Jack McClelland

--

Theme music note

The tune of US folk song “John Brown’s Body” is used extensively for militant labour movements and group marching, referencing US abolitionist John Brown. The tune has evolved into a number of variations, including ‘The March of the Workers’ in the Labor Reform Songster (1892) by Ontario labour leader Phillips Thompson (Social Democrats of the North Episode 2).

Battle Hymn of the Republic medley by Marisa Anderson is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Support the show

--

Social Democrats of the North: Canadian Visions for Justice & Equality from Confederation to the Quiet Revolution is a new podcast series from Perspectives Journal by Broadbent Research Fellow and Editorial Committee Member Dave McGrane.

Dave McGrane, Professor of Political Science at St. Thomas More College at the University of Saskatchewan, explores the life, times, and ideas of Canada’s most influential social democrats. From Confederation at 1867, to the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s, discover the people who shaped social democracy in Canada, the movements that fought for the working-class, and the legacies they’ve left for the wellbeing of all Canadians. There are lessons for activists, and forgotten struggles that apply to today’s wins. After all, the best teacher for a better world tomorrow, is the past.

Social Democrats of the North is a Perspectives Journal Podcast Series, published by the Broadbent Institute.

Host & Episode Research – Dave McGrane

Producer – Clement Nocos

Production Assistant – Jack McClelland

--

Theme music note

The tune of US folk song “John Brown’s Body” is used extensively for militant labour movements and group marching, referencing US abolitionist John Brown. The tune has evolved into a number of variations, including ‘The March of the Workers’ in the Labor Reform Songster (1892) by Ontario labour leader Phillips Thompson (Social Democrats of the North Episode 2).

Battle Hymn of the Republic medley by Marisa Anderson is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Support the show

Support the show

On September 20, 2025, thousands of Canadians took to the streets uniting climate justice, migrant justice, economic justice, Indigenous rights, and anti-war movements, calling for government action. Helping coordinate the more than 70 community demonstrations across Canada was Atiya Jaffar, National Campaigns Manager at 350 Canada. Activists from interconnected movements refused to stand by and accept the status quo.

On this episode of Activists Make History, host Peggy Nash talks to Jaffar about building cross-movement solidarity to strengthen the fight for a green future.

Tune into Activists Make History to hear how bold, community-rooted activism can make a real difference. This series has been made possible with the generous support of Unifor, Canada’s largest private sector union.

Photo credits: Sarah Hassanein and Anna Kuelken

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Shortly after Confederation, Canadian cities were teeming with impoverished workers and rapid industrialization. While socialist movements were taking shape across Europe, Phillips Thompson became a leading voice for Canadian labour in Southwestern Ontario. Writing sharp political satire under the pen name “Jimuel Briggs,” Thompson gained recognition as one of Canada’s earliest labour journalists, and a spokesperson for the Knights of Labor, North America’s largest labour organization of the late 19th century. 

His 1887 book The Politics of Labor was one of the first to critique the development of Canada’s political economy, and he used his sartorial skills to write The Labor Reform Songster; a collection of working-class marching songs for the militant movement. For the Social Democrats of the North theme music, the tune of US folk song “John Brown’s Body” is used in variation as the tune to the Phillips Thompson’s Labor Reform Songster melody “The March of the Workers.” 

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Social Democrats of the North: Canadian Visions for Justice & Equality from Confederation to the Quiet Revolution is a new podcast series from Perspectives Journal by Broadbent Research Fellow and Editorial Committee Member Dave McGrane.

Dave McGrane, Professor of Political Science at St. Thomas More College at the University of Saskatchewan, explores the life, times, and ideas of Canada’s most influential social democrats. From Confederation at 1867, to the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s, discover the people who shaped social democracy in Canada, the movements that fought for the working-class, and the legacies they’ve left for the wellbeing of all Canadians. There are lessons for activists, and forgotten struggles that apply to today’s wins. After all, the best teacher for a better world tomorrow, is the past.

Social Democrats of the North is a Perspectives Journal Podcast Series, published by the Broadbent Institute.

Host & Episode Research – Dave McGrane

Producer – Clement Nocos

Production Assistant – Jack McClelland

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Theme music note

The tune of US folk song “John Brown’s Body” is used extensively for militant labour movements and group marching, referencing US abolitionist John Brown. The tune has evolved into a number of variations, including ‘The March of the Workers’ in the Labor Reform Songster (1892) by Ontario labour leader Phillips Thompson (Social Democrats of the North Episode 2).

Battle Hymn of the Republic medley by Marisa Anderson is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

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In the declarative agreement behind the establishment of the new Red Internacional de Pensamiento Democratico or International Network of Democratic Thought, progressive civil society groups acknowledged that although the new radical right is heterogeneous and shifting at the local level, it is rapidly expanding its ideas elsewhere, undermining the institutional foundations of representative democracy.

While viewing the democratic regime as an obstacle to progress, the far-right promotes climate and pandemic denialism, delegitimizes the struggle for women’s equality, fosters rejection of and hatred for immigration and asylum seekers, and upholds economic nationalism as a supreme value.

This far-right surge has politically taken the form of fascism: an authoritarian and nationalist political ideology that has undermined democracy around the world.

But what is fascism exactly?

Here’s Broadbent Research Fellow and Labour Historian, Jon Weier, of George Brown College, to help us define fascist ideology and what this means for Canada .

Notes

• Joining Progressive Think Tanks and Governments in Defense of Democracy, Broadbent Institute, September 25, 2025.
• Genuine Democracy in an Age of Hyper-Individualism  – 2025 Ellen Meiksins Wood Lecture, by Grace Blakeley.
• 'Canada goose-stepping: When the ‘Canadian Führer’ brought his blueshirts to Toronto,' by Jamie Bradburn, TVO, March 2, 2022.

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About Social Democrats of the North: Canadian Visions for Justice & Equality from Confederation to the Quiet Revolution

Dave McGrane, Professor of Political Science at St. Thomas More College at the University of Saskatchewan, explores the life, times, and ideas of Canada’s most influential social democrats. From Confederation at 1867, to the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s, discover the people who shaped social democracy in Canada, the movements that fought for the working-class, and the legacies they've left for the wellbeing of all Canadians. There are lessons for activists, and forgotten struggles that apply to today's wins. After all, the best teacher for a better world tomorrow, is the past.

Social Democrats of the North is a Perspectives Journal Podcast Series, published by the Broadbent Institute.

Host & Episode Research - Dave McGrane
Producer - Clement Nocos
Production Assistant - Jack McClelland

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Theme music note

The tune of US folk song "John Brown's Body" is used extensively for militant labour movements and group marching, referencing US abolitionist John Brown. The tune has evolved into a number of variations, including 'The March of the Workers' in the Labor Reform Songster (1892) by Ontario labour leader Phillips Thompson (Social Democrats of the North Episode 2).

Battle Hymn of the Republic medley by Marisa Anderson is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Support the show

Carney, a lifelong banker (in the financial investment sector, then the monetary central banking sector), thus stands quite appropriately as an heir to North American neoliberalism. But to secure his troubled inheritance with impressive stealth, he has become the new political face of an ideological orientation that shares his western-Canadian background, but none of his partisan identifications.

Strange and contradictory as it seems, Carney arguably represents the “common-sensification” of a conservative tradition identified with the Calgary School, a now multi-generational group of conservative intellectuals of which none would appreciate the association with a Liberal government. We chat with Mack Penner to better understand this connection between Carney and the Calgary School.

Notes and further reading:

• Mack Penner, ‘Carney and the Calgary School: or, Passive Revolution and Canada’s Social State in the Neoliberal Era,’ in Perspectives Journal, no. 4, Summer 2025.
• ActiveHistory.ca
• mackpenner.com
• Quinn Slobodian, Crack-Up Capitalism: Market Radicals and the Dream of a World Without Democracy, Macmillan, 2023.
• Quinn Slobodian, Hayek's Bastards: Race, Gold, IQ, and the Capitalism of the Far Right, Princeton University Press, 2025.

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In August 2025, Air Canada flight attendants made headlines for striking when the employer left the bargaining table and for refusing to follow back-to-work orders issued by the Carney government at the behest of business. Leading the charge was Wesley Lesosky, a steadfast union leader and president of the CUPE Air Canada component. From his start among the rank-and-file to leading the rally for unanimous support among workers for action, Lesosky’s story inspires history making leadership against the odds.

On this episode of Activists Make History, host Peggy Nash talks to Lesosky about the momentous labour action and ongoing struggle against unpaid work. 

Tune into Activists Make History to hear how bold, community-rooted activism can make a real difference. This series has been made possible with the generous support of Unifor, Canada’s largest private sector union.

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Since then, Canada, a G20 country, has not moved to act on the recommendations to cooperate and coordinate with other countries on taxes, spearheaded by the Brazilian government. In fact, the federal government has reduced the workforce at the Canada Revenue Agency, the government agency responsible for taxing billionaires, by 10 percent since May 2024.

According to a new report from Canadians for Tax Fairness by economists Silas Xuereb and Fernando Garci-Crespo Stantalo, “Canadians had at least $682 billion stashed in tax havens in 2024.” Furthermore, “the cost of tax havens to the public purse is difficult to estimate, but it is likely at least $15 billion annually.”

All the meanwhile, Prime Minister Mark Carney has threatened cuts to public spending that amount to $21 billion annually, without even trying to make up the difference by closing Canadian tax havens that billionaires use to stash their cash. Canada has a tax haven dilemma, and Canadians for Tax Fairness Executive Director Jared Walker joins the Perspectives Journal Podcast to explain why the federal government lags behind this problem.

Notes

• ‘The rise and rise of tax havens: How the ultra-rich and mega-corporations hide wealth and cost us billions,’ by Silas Xuereb & Fernando Garci-Crespo Santaló, Canadians for Tax Fairness, 16 July 2025.
• The Rio De Janeiro G20 Ministerial Declaration on International Tax Cooperation, G20 Brasil 2024, 27 July 2024.
• ‘A blueprint for a coordinated minimum effective taxation standard for ultra-high-net-worth individuals,’ by Gabriel Zucman, Commissioned by the Brazilian G20 Presidency, 25 June 2024.
• ‘CRA call centre employees vulnerable to job cuts under Carney’s cost-savings plan, union says,’ by Vanmala Subramaniam, The Globe and Mail, 16 July 2025.
• ‘Leading economists call for a wealth tax in the UK,’ Tax Justice UK, 28 July 2025.
• Crack-Up Capitalism: Market Radicals and the Dream of a World Without Democracy, by Quinn Slobodian, Macmillan, 2023.

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Mark Carney’s new liberal government is making it loud and clear that they’re switching things up on economic policy. Following record high public service growth under his predecessor, Carney’s recent call for massive cuts to public services have sounded the alarm for Canadians concerned about a worsening trade war with the Trump administration.

A year after dispelling the myth of Canada’s so-called “productivity crisis,” Angella MacEwen joins the Perspectives Journal podcast to explain the threats behind Carney’s chosen economic course of “cuts, cuts, and more cuts.”

Notes and further reading:

• "Cuts, Cuts, and more cuts" by Angella MacEwen, Jul. 11, 2025
• "Federal government’s public service cuts will hurt families across Canada" Public Service Alliance of Canada, Dec. 23, 2024
• "CAPE opposes any government budget measures that target workforce adjustment" Canadian Association of Professional Employees, Nov. 8, 2024
• "Carney ministers told to cut billions from federal spending" Toronto Star, Jul. 7, 2025
• "Income inequality reached a new high. Here’s why Ottawa’s DOGE-style cuts will only make it worse" Toronto Star, Jul. 20, 2025
• "Death, Taxes, and Building Canada’s Social Infrastructure" by Danyaal Raza, Perspectives Journal, Jul. 11, 2025
• Video: A Progressive Solution to Canada’s “Productivity” Crisis with Angella MacEwen 

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In this episode of Activists Make History, Peggy Nash sits down with Sandy Hudson—organizer, author, and co-founder of Black Lives Matter – Toronto. Reflecting on the movement’s grassroots foundations, Hudson shows the value of Canadian organizing  for racial justice and shares insights from her new book Defund: Black Lives, Policing, and Safety for All. 

From challenging the status quo to creating safer communities through collective action, their conversation shows what it takes to create lasting change, offering a powerful reminder that leadership isn’t about having all the answers, but about showing up, standing together, and refusing to accept injustice as inevitable.

Tune into Activists Make History to hear how bold, community-rooted activism can make a real difference. This series has been made possible with the generous support of Unifor, Canada’s largest private sector union.

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Lala Peñaranda of Trade Unions for Energy Democracy Matt Kirkegaard of Progressive International present the Colombian Oilworkers' Plan — a bold strategy for a worker-led public pathway to transition off fossil fuels, with vital lessons for the Canadian labour and climate movements. 

Colombian oil workers are at the forefront of this strategy. Peñaranda and Kirkegaard explain why workers, not corporations or the profit motive, are leading substantive climate action in Colombia and what that means for Canadian workers.

This is the seventh episode of Class & Climate: Perspectives on a Green Economy, a short series from Perspectives Journal and the Green Economy Network mapping how climate action can deliver jobs and long-term affordability for workers—while debunking myths that these goals are a zero-sum trade-off with a clean environment. In this episode, Peñaranda and Kirkegaard survey the history and class interests surrounding Colombia's worker-led climate strategy.

Notes and further reading:

• PI Briefing | No. 17 | The Oilworkers’ Plan
• Petro-Politics | Interview with César Loza, President of la Unión Sindical Obrera (USO)
• Colombia Wants to Phase Out Fossil Fuels

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Alex Connolly, a renewable energy worker in Nova Scotia, compares the workplace conditions from his time in the oil sands to his current work putting up wind turbines. He shares how quality wages and work closer to home aren’t at odds with lower emissions. 

But the fight for better workplace conditions doesn’t stop at renewable energy. Workers in renewable energy need union representation, collective bargaining and a voice in their workplace for the energy transition to benefit all Canadians.

This is the sixth episode of Class & Climate: Perspectives on a Green Economy, a short series from the Perspectives Journal and the Green Economy Network mapping how climate action can deliver jobs and long-term affordability for workers—while debunking myths that these goals are a zero-sum trade-off with a clean environment. In this episode, Connolly answers what it’s like working in the oilsands and discusses the opportunities for workers in renewable energy.

Notes and further reading:

• ‘Fly-in, fly-out’ oilsands workers face significant mental health challenges, report suggests
• Heads in the sands: Understanding the social and economic risks of declining global demand for Alberta oil
• How Canada can equip workers for a low-carbon future

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Buy Grace Blakeley's latest book Vulture Capitalism: Corporate Crimes, Backdoor Bailouts, and the Death of Freedom and subscribe to her Substack for more writing and ideas.

Buy Seeking Social Democracy, Ed Broadbent's book co-authored by Luke Savage, Frances Abele, and Jonathan Sas, and subscribe to Luke Savage's Substack.

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Aaron Vansintjan and Vijay Kolinjivadi are the authors of The Sustainability Class, published by The New Press. Their book is a sharp—and often funny—takedown of lifestyle environmentalism among the middle and upper-middle classes, which goes to absurd lengths to consume its way out of the climate crisis. But the authors don’t just critique—they point toward something better. They argue that the genuine concern motivating the sustainability class can be transformed into collective action, especially by working with unions and community groups to improve public health, affordability, and quality of life.

This is the fifth episode of Class & Climate: Perspectives on a Green Economy, a short series from the Perspectives Journal and the Green Economy Network mapping how climate action can deliver jobs and long-term affordability for workers—while debunking myths that these goals are a zero-sum trade-off with a clean environment. In this episode, Sebileau makes the case for connecting the cost of living crisis with sustainable transportation. 

Show notes and further reading:

• The Trouble With the Ultra-Rich’s Environmentalism
• How One of Montréal’s Poorest Neighborhoods Became Ripe for Green Gentrification
• End of the Line? Saudi Arabia ‘forced to scale back’ plans for desert megacity

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The 2025 Ellen Meiksins Wood Lecture was held on Tuesday, May 20th in partnership with Toronto Metropolitan University’s Faculty of Arts. A special thanks to TMU Interim Dean of Arts Amy Peng for hosting this Broadbent Institute event.

Ellen Meiksins Wood was one of the left’s foremost theorists on democracy and history, and often promoted the idea that democracy always has to be fought for and secured from below, never benevolently conferred from above. The Institute founded the annual Ellen Meiksins Wood Prize & Lecture to honour Professor Wood’s legacy as an internationally renowned scholar and to bring her work to new generations of Canadians.

The Ellen Meiksins Wood Prize is given annually to an academic, labour activist or writer and recognizes outstanding contributions in political theory, social or economic history, human rights, or sociology.

Each year’s recipient also delivers the Ellen Meiksins Wood Lecture.

The 2025 Ellen Meiksins Wood Lecture was delivered by economics and politics commentator Grace Blakeley. She is awarded the 2025 Prize in recognition of her critical analysis of economic systems and neoliberal capitalism that helps movements take back democratic power for the working-class.

Listen to the full lecture, and learn more about the Ellen Meiksins Wood Lecture.

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Canada’s public education system is in crisis mode. From chronic underfunding and privatization to attacks on teachers and burnout—these aren’t isolated issues. Across the globe, right-wing movements are attacking public education, banning books, rewriting history and pitting parents, teachers, and students against each other. That same rhetoric is taking hold here in Canada, as we saw in the 2025 federal election.

In this episode of the Perspectives Journal podcast, we bring you a live recording from the Broadbent Institute’s 2025 Progress Summit, a conversation on Public Education at the Tipping Point. Moderated by Heidi Yetman, President of the Canadian Teachers’ Federation, the panel shows how the erosion of public education threatens democratic values—and what teachers from across Canada and the world are doing to stop it.

Panelists include:

• Heidi Yetman – President, Canadian Teachers’ Federation (Moderator)
• Haldis Holst – Deputy Secretary General, Education International
• Carol Sarich – President, Canadian Association of Principals
• Ken Montgomery – Chair, Ontario Association of Deans of Education

Listen to this urgent discussion from the 2025 Progress Summit to learn what’s causing the current crisis, why it matters for Canadian democracy, and how we can organize for public education that’s well-funded, equitable, and inclusive.

Notes:

• Why the Program Cuts at York University Are Bad for Democracy by Honor Brabazon, Perspectives Journal Mar. 14, 2025
• 2025 Progress Summit: Daring to Take on Today’s Crises (highlights)
• Why Ontario Schools Are in Crisis Under Doug Ford ‘Sources’ podcast episode, PressProgress Feb. 21, 2025

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Canada is falling behind its G7 peers. Our public transit systems need major investments to serve ordinary Canadians — by cutting costs associated with personal vehicles — and by limiting a major source of emissions. Revamped transit systems between and within Canadian cities can make it easier, cheaper and cleaner for Canadians to get around. Blandine Sebileau, Analyst, Sustainable Mobility at the Quebec environmental organization Equiterre joins the show to argue that clean mobility can help working class Canadians save money while making our communities cleaner and healthier.

This is the fourth episode of Class & Climate: Perspectives on a Green Economy, a short series from the Perspectives Journal and the Green Economy Network mapping how climate action can deliver jobs and long-term affordability for workers — while debunking myths that these goals are a zero-sum trade-off with a clean environment. In this episode, Sebileau makes the case for connecting the cost of living crisis with sustainable transportation. 

Notes and further reading:

• Green Economy Network Common Platform: Public Transit, Good Jobs
• Putting Wheels on the Bus: Unlocking the Potential of Public Transit to Cut Carbon Emissions in Canada, by Environmental Defence Canada & Équiterre, February 2024.
• Public transit is the climate solution we need

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Brandon Dyck, government affairs coordinator at IBEW, joins the show to discuss how rank and file IBEW members experience climate change firsthand and stand to benefit from the energy transition. 

IBEW members will be crucial to achieving the energy transition — from the thousands of kilometres of transmission lines needed for an east-west grid to rapidly expanding green energy. Dyck makes the case for putting workers in the driver's seat, backed by committed public investment to create the infrastructure and jobs that will guarantee a just and fair transition. 

This is the third episode of Class & Climate: Perspectives on a Green Economy, a short series from the Perspectives Journal and the Green Economy Network mapping how climate action can deliver jobs and long-term affordability for workers and communities — while debunking myths that these goals are a zero-sum trade-off with a clean environment.

Notes and further reading:

• Statement from IBEW Canada on the Federal Election 2025
• The Green Transition Must Be Union-Powered
• Green Economy Network Common Platform: Renewable Energy, Good Jobs

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What does a just transition look like on the ground—for workers, apprentices, and communities? In the second episode of Class & Climate, Lindsay Amundsen, Director of Workforce Development at Canada’s Building Trades Unions (CBTU), shares how the labour movement is shaping climate solutions by investing in people.

From empowering underrepresented workers in the trades, to building clean energy infrastructure with union labour, CBTU’s approach to workforce development is grounded in equity and long-term economic resilience. Amundsen makes the case for public investments in training, and for putting workers—especially those in carbon-intensive industries—at the centre of climate planning.

This is the second episode of Class & Climate: Perspectives on a Green Economy, a short series from the Perspectives Journal and the Green Economy Network mapping how climate action can deliver jobs and long-term affordability for workers — while debunking myths that these goals are a zero-sum trade-off with a clean environment.

Notes:

• Building it Green – Canadian Building Trades Unions

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This is the first episode of Class & Climate: Perspectives on a Green Economy, a short series from the Perspectives Journal and the Green Economy Network mapping how climate action can deliver jobs and long-term affordability for workers — while debunking myths that these goals are a zero-sum trade-off with a clean environment. In this episode, Mertins-Kirkwood and Stanford define what green industrial policy is and explain why it’s having a renaissance in the middle of the Trump trade war.

Notes

• The Green Economy Network, "Our Common Platform", n.d., https://greeneconomynet.ca/common-platform/.
• Jim Stanford, "Canada Needs a New National Policy", Centre for Future Work, Feb. 23, 2025. https://centreforfuturework.ca/2025/02/03/canada-needs-a-new-national-policy/
• Jim Standford, "New Report Shows Speculative Oil Markets Drove Inflation Crisis — And It’s Poised to Happen Again", Centre for Future Work, March 19, 2025.
• Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood and Marc Lee, "A dozen radical responses to Trump’s economic warfare that go beyond Canadian counter-tariffs", CCPA, Feb. 3, 2025. https://www.policyalternatives.ca/news-research/a-dozen-radical-responses-to-trumps-economic-warfare-that-go-beyond-canadian-counter-tariffs/
• Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood, "Ten Trump-proof nation-building projects for a strong, independent Canada", CCPA, Feb. 25, 2025. https://www.policyalternatives.ca/news-research/ten-trump-proof-nation-building-projects-for-a-strong-independent-canada/

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In this episode of Activists Make History, Peggy Nash sits down with Josel Angelica Gerardo to explore her journey as a community organizer and advocate for Filipino-Canadian political engagement. From growing up in the Philippines while her mother worked in Canada to navigating life as a newcomer, Josel shares how these experiences shaped her commitment to grassroots activism.

As a leader in the Filipino-Canadian Civic Action Network and as chair of Pinoys on Parliament, Josel works to ensure Filipino voices are heard in the Canadian halls of power—whether by supporting first-time voters, mobilizing community networks, or breaking down barriers to political participation. She and her team are tackling the unique challenges their community faces, from balancing demanding jobs and family responsibilities to increasing Filipino representation in government.

Peggy and Josel also discuss the power of collective organizing, the importance of seeing oneself reflected in politics, and how everyday advocacy can lead to lasting change.

Tune in to Activists Make History to hear how grassroots leadership is shaping democracy in action. This series has been made possible with the generous support of Unifor, Canada’s largest private sector union.

Notes: 

• The Filipino-Canadian Civic Action Network
• Pinoys on Parliament
• The National forum on Anti-Asian Racism at Toronto Metropolitan University, held November 2021
• From Marketing to Movement-Building: Ground Game and Community Organizing in Party Politics by Bruce McKenna and Jill O’Reilly, Perspectives Journal Jan. 14, 2025

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Even Canadian businesses know that low wages and the high cost of housing are two big factors in the cost-of-living crisis, and are hurting customers and business itself. Liliana Camacho, economist at the Better Way Alliance, argues that while rising costs are squeezing businesses, increasing wages and capping rent are not the problem—they’re an investment in better and sustainable business.

Raising wages has a cascade effect, strengthening the economy and benefiting both workers and businesses alike. Housing affordability is not just a crisis for renters—it’s a crisis for businesses too. With rents outpacing wages, and customers being limited in their spending with wages failing to meet the cost-of-living, how are businesses navigating the squeeze? What policies and structural changes could ease the burden? Camacho explores these pressing questions and offers insight into the road ahead for Canadian businesses. Rather than cutting wages to survive, Camacho talks about alternative approaches to adapt to the current economic climate.

Listen to our conversation with Liliana Camacho on how businesses can adjust to rising costs and why fair wage growth is key to long-term resilience.

Notes

• Spillover Effects: Making Minimum Wage Increases a Popular Policy Choice by Garrett Evans, Perspectives Journal no. 2, Nov. 7, 2024.
• Food bank usage in Toronto is higher than its ever been, says new report by Joanne Lavoie CTV News, Nov. 12, 2024.
• Wage Increase in 2018 wasn't a job killer by Clarrie Feinstein, The Toronto Star, April 5, 2022.
• Winning Renters’ Rights with Chiara Padovani Activists Make History, a Perspectives Journal podcast, Nov. 26 2024
• Corporate Tax Breaks, Housing Heartbreaks with Silas Xuereb, Perspectives Journal podcast. Oct. 7 2024

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In this episode of Activists Make History, Peggy Nash sits down with Alexa Gilmour, Ontario NDP candidate for Parkdale–High Park, to learn about her journey as a first-time candidate in the 2025 Ontario election. Alexa shares what inspired her to run, the challenges of stepping into electoral politics, and the lessons she’s learned on the campaign trail.

From mobilizing grassroots initiatives to advocating for progressive policies, Alexa’s background as a faith leader and social justice advocate informs her team-driven campaign. Peggy and Alexa chat further on the realities of Canadian electoral campaigns such as door-knocking through snow storms, engaging voters with the issues that matter to them, and the importance of building movements beyond election cycles.

Tune into Activists Make History to learn how progressive campaigning can be the antidote for despair. This series has been made possible with the generous support of Unifor, Canada’s largest private sector union.

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The Canadian Labour Congress’s senior economist points to the shortcomings of Canada’s carbon tax and tells us what the future of the Canadian economy could look like as Donald Trump takes office in the US, answering the ultimate question: how can we ensure our markets are healthy and benefit all Canadians?

Notes:

• The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time, by Karl Polanyi, 1944.
• Mission Economy: A Moonshot Guide to Changing Capitalism, by Mariana Mazzucato, 2021.
• The Fur Trade in Canada by Harold Innis, 1927.
• Setting the record straight on Canada’s ‘productivity crisis' by DT Crochane, Canadian Dimension, Dec. 19, 2024
• Neoliberalism’s Undead with Alex Himelfarb, Perspectives Journal, Nov. 29, 2024
• Is Market-based Climate Action Working for Canadians? with Brendan Haley Perspectives Journal podcast, September 17, 2024.
• Is Canada Falling Behind on Green Industrial Policy? with Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood Perspectives Journal Podcast, May 13, 2024.

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In this episode of Activists Make History, a new podcast series from Perspectives Journal, we sit down with Lana Payne, president of Unifor and a trailblazer in Canada’s labour movement. Payne shares her remarkable journey from union halls in Newfoundland to leading Canada’s largest private-sector union, fighting for workers every step of the way.

“It’s a whole new ballgame,” Payne says as she talks about the challenges workers face today. 

From the fight for fair wages and safer workplaces to responding to Donald Trump’s tariff threats, Payne explains what’s at stake for Canadian workers and how unions are adapting to meet these challenges.

Tune into Activists Make History to hear Lana Payne’s reflections on a life dedicated to empowering workers, the power of solidarity, and building a more just future. This series could not have been made possible without the generous support of Unifor, Canada’s largest private sector union.

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This has become a huge problem in the province as Albertans, despite living in a so-called energy powerhouse, find their household affordability taking a major hit while the electricity grid has become prone to reliability issues and failure, especially during cold snaps. Not to mention the other infrastructure issues that plague Alberta’s cities, but the report details how, despite consuming 2% of all electricity demand between the interconnected grids of Canada and the United States, the province accounts for 35% of emergency alerts when blackouts are imminent or in progress.

Unique to Alberta, and the cause pointed to behind the lack of grid security, is deregulation and privatization have led to high costs and poor service. Where have we heard that one before?

Edgardo Sepulveda, a regulatory economist and consultant, is the author of this report from the AFL, spoke on the Perspectives Journal Podcast about what it will take to bring power back into the public interest in Alberta.

Notes:

• Power in the Public Interest Re-regulation and increased public ownership in Alberta’s electricity sector, Alberta Federation of Labour, by Edgardo Sepulveda, October 2024.
• Profits, Inflation and Survival in an Age of Emergencies: Why We Need a New Paradigm, 2024 Ellen Meiksins Wood Lecture, by Isabella Weber, May 2024.

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Have you ever tried riding a train or bus lately?

In Canada, If you are so lucky to have a train or bus near where you are, to get you where you’re going, service has not been great, and many have noticed that it’s getting worse.

While the news media focuses on traffic jams involving cars and trucks on highways, less attention is paid to the fact that transit ridership across the country has not recovered to pre-pandemic levels in most cities.

This can’t all be attributed to more people working from home when we’re all still stuck in traffic.

Investment in public transit has weakened, ridership has stalled as commuters are forced to drive, and the economy loses billions in lost productivity because of how much we all lose in time.

So we ask an expert, “where’s my bus?”

Nate Wallace, Program Manager for Clean Transportation at Environmental Defence Canada, and organizer of the Transit for Tomorrow Summit joins us for this conversation on the Perspectives Journal Podcast.

Notes:

• Putting Wheels on the Bus: Unlocking the Potential of Public Transit to Cut Carbon Emissions in Canada, by Environmental Defence Canada & Équiterre, February 2024.
• Joint Statement: Public transit in Canada’s largest cities requires sustainable, long term funding, starting with acceleration of the “Canada Public Transit Fund,” October 28, 2024.
• "Cities issue united call for 'new deal' on public transit funding," By Elyse Skura, CBC News, October 29, 2024.

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Neoliberalism is not dead, according to former Clerk of the Privy Council and Broadbent Institute research fellow Alex Himelfarb. The ideology that pervades government and society in Canada and around the world is also facing a severe crisis and backlash – one that could give way to far-right fascist forces if progressives cannot build an alternative.

From explaining inequality, to the reckoning of the left with the Third Way, to the re-election of Donald Trump, Himelfarb’s new book takes readers on a historical tour of neoliberalism as an ideology, then as a political force. How has neoliberalism transformed society, and how do we exorcize these ghosts that continue to haunt progressive, social democratic movements?

Notes: 

• Breaking Free of Neoliberalism: Canada’s Challenge. By Alex Himelfarb, Lorimer Books, Sept. 2024.
• Editorial – Autumn 2024. By Clement Nocos, Perspectives Journal, Nov. 7, 2024. 
• Pharmacare and Access to Medicines in Canada: Is Bill C-64 a Step in the Right Direction? By Marc-André Gagnon, Perspectives Journal, Nov. 7, 2024.
• U.S. election mayhem was fuelled by Musk, money and misinformation. By Linda McQuaig, Toronto Star, Nov. 14 2024. 
• Crack-Up Capitalism: Market Radicals and the Dream of a World Without Democracy. By Quinn Slobodian, Macmillan Publishers, Apr. 2023.
• Just Institutions Matter: The Moral and Political Logic of the Universal Welfare State. By Bo Rothstein, Cambridge University Press, Feb 1998.
• Episode feature image by See-ming Lee on flickr.

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Toronto, like other cities across Canada, has been coping with the rising housing affordability crisis as inflated rents, increased evictions, and massive real estate investment firms have become more commonplace. For Chiara Padovani, a social worker, organizer for the York South-Weston Tenant Union, and former Toronto City Council Candidate, when governments do nothing and take the side of corporations, tenants have to step in and resist together. 

At the heart of Padovani’s political advocacy is ordinary citizens. On our second episode of Activists Make History, a new podcast series from Perspectives Journal, Padovani talks about the journey and success of mobilizing renters to collectively fight against corporations looking to turn housing from a social good into a commodity. 

Tune into Activists Make History to learn more about the story of resilient tenants fighting for affordable housing and reasonable rents. This series could not have been made possible without the generous support of Unifor, Canada’s largest private sector union.

Notes:

• Ford's PCs rolled back rent control to spur new rental construction. Here's what happened next. By Lucas Powers, CBC, Sept. 25, 2023.
• Frances Nunziata campaign ‘cheated,’ says election rival in the wake of ethics report. By Ben Cohen, The Toronto Star, July 23, 2024. 
• How a group of Toronto tenants turned to a risky last resort and got a ‘huge victory’. By Sharif Hassan, The Canadian Press, Sept. 20, 2024. 
• Canadian mega landlord using AI ‘pricing scheme’ as it massively hikes rents. By The Breach, Sept. 4, 2024
• York South Weston Tenant Union

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Dylana Thompson, principal researcher on the New Democratic Party’s White Paper on the Status of Trans and Gender Diverse People,  joins the Perspectives Journal podcast to highlight the importance of systemic data collection on trans deaths. This essential information is needed to identify important trends in trans deaths and create policies that make these deaths preventable. Put simply, data is the first step in saving trans lives. 

Listen to the full Perspectives Journal Podcast episode to learn how lawmakers can improve data collection and what coroners need to be trained on to properly document trans deaths. Dylana Thompson’s article titled “Counting the Dead: The Urgent Need for Coroners’ Data on Trans Deaths in Canada” was published in Perspectives Journal no.2 and is available online here.

Notes:

• Counting the Dead: The Urgent Need for Coroners’ Data on Trans Deaths in Canada
• White Paper on the Status of Trans and Gender Diverse People
• Society for Advocacy for Gender-affirming Healthcare

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However, Marc-André Gagnon, Associate Professor at the School of Public Policy and Administration of Carleton University, argues that Bill C-64 has glaring flaws that allow it to fall short of providing pharmacare for all. While the legislation outlines an ideal narrative for phasing in universal pharmacare, the bill also relies on vague and ambivalent language that sets the stage for implementation favouring drug companies. If public drug coverage is not rolled out correctly, according to Gagnon, we could be left with an inefficient system that relies on the private sector, instead of true, public pharmacare for all.  

Listen to the full episode to hear how the battle continues for universal pharmacare in Canada. Marc-André Gagnon’s article “Pharmacare and Access to Medicines in Canada: Is Bill C-64 a Step in the Right Direction?” is also published in Perspectives Journal no.2 and is available online here.

Notes:

Pharmacare and Access to Medicines in Canada: Is Bill C-64 a Step in the Right Direction?

REPORT - A Prescription For Canada: Achieving Pharmacare For All (The Hoskins Report)

Ghost Management Research Group

REPORT - Understanding the Gap 2.0 – The Conference Board of Canada

CARP criticizes Bill C-64's limited coverage for seniors – Benefits and Pensions Monitor

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In our first episode of Activists Make History, a new podcast series from Perspectives Journal, Kimelman shares the concerns of the warehouse workers and the dangerous conditions they faced. The Mississauga warehouse union drive has shown to be a catalyst for labour organizing in warehouses across the country, with momentum swinging towards the working-class.

Tune in to Activists Make History to hear the incredible story of how history was made by ordinary Canadians in unionizing workers against the odds. This series could not have been made possible without the generous support of Unifor, Canada’s largest private sector union.

Notes:

• How Walmart Persuades Its Workers Not to Unionize. By Steven Greenhouse, The Atlantic, June 8, 2015. 
• Unionization Efforts Approach Cornwall Walmart Logistics Warehouse Workers. By Julia Lucio, The Cornwall Seeker, Sept. 18 2024. 
• Walmart Canada announces additional $92M wage investment for frontline associates. Walmart Canada, Sept. 25, 2024. 
• Canadian Workers Win First Walmart Warehouse Union North of Mexico. By Kari Thompson, LaborNotes, Oct. 18, 2024. 
• Unifor alleges Amazon ramped up hiring at B.C. warehouse ahead of union vote. By The Canadian Press and Charles Brockman, City News Vancouver, May 31, 2024. 
• Warehouse Workers Unite 

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The CFNU report offers clear recommendations to help mitigate this growing cost, and encroaching privatization, in the healthcare sector. For instance, to help address staffing irregularities, especially in rural and remote communities, provincial governments could create public nursing agencies that help to fill in these faps, instead of relying on private nursing agencies. Professor Almost points to Manitoba and British Columbia, where provincial governments have created similar agencies to ease off their reliance on private nursing agencies. These private agencies have also lacked transparency, leading to Professor Almost’s challenges in compiling the data for this report. Ensuring immediate oversight and regulation of these agencies will be critical to prevent them from ballooning costs on our public health care systems.

Professor Almost offers a guide to fixing the nursing problem on this episode of the Perspectives Journal Podcast.

Notes:

• REPORT – Opening the black box: Unpacking the use of nursing agencies in Canada, by Dr. Joan Almost, Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions, September 2024.
• REPORT – Nursing Retention Toolkit: Improving the Working Lives of Nurses in Canada Health Canada, March 2024.
• “Public system spent at least $1.5-billion on private nurses last year, study finds” by Kelly Grant, The Globe and Mail, 23 September 2024.
• NOVA SCOTIA – “Province, union working toward travel nurse program” by Michael Gorman, CBC, 1 October 2024.

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Financialization refers to the process by which a commodity, like housing, becomes a financial tool for investment rather than remaining as social or human good. Xuereb points to Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) as the main driver of this transformative shift in the real estate market. What makes REITs so popular and effective is the tax system in Canada, which gives real estate investors tax breaks on housing investments as an apparent incentive to increase supply. However, despite a 700 percent increase in real corporate capital gains since 2002, these entities have pocketed most of the profits while prices go up and supply remains insufficient.

Closing the tax loophole is an important step in fighting rising costs, as a part of a comprehensive policy set that includes investment in non-market housing and caps on single-entity ownership of multiple dwellings.

Listen to our interview with Silas Xuereb on how the current Canadian tax system favours corporate landlords and what we need to do to fix financialization driving the housing crisis.

Notes:

• REPORT - How tax breaks are worsening Canada’s housing affordability crisis, by Silas Xuereb, Canadians for Tax Fairness, September 2024.
• REPORT - The Financialization of Housing in Canada, by Martine Auguste, Canadian Human Rights Commission, June 2022.
• "Addressing the Rise of Investor Ownership of Housing, Part 1: Assessing the Scale and Impacts across Canada" by Jeremy Withers, Perspectives Journal no. 1, April 2024.
• REPORT - Dreams and Realities on the Home Front: Canadians’ Call for Government Action on Housing Affordability, Broadbent Institute & Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, March 2024.
• Alternative Federal Budget 2025, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, September 17, 2024.

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Werner and Hurl offer a detailed account of how many Western governments, including Canada, became so reliant on consulting firms. The rise of neoliberalism and the influence of “Transnational Professional Service Firms,” not only led to further privatization of public services, but also led to small government mandates that worsened services and deskilled the public sector. 

In the end, this systemic issue has come at a cost for ordinary Canadians. Hurl and Werner break down some of the major issues facing countries trapped in what they call “the consulting trap,” including the huge and disproportionate costs to taxpayers. Despite the bleak landscape of TPSFs embedded administrations across Canada's democratic institutions, the authors also highlight forms of resistance that have spawned in response to the rise of TPSFs and clear areas for reform. 

Listen Chris Hurl and Leah Werner’s interview to learn more about the origins, the problems, and the solutions to “the consulting trap” at the highest level of democratic governments on the Perspectives Journal Podcast.

Notes:

• The Consulting Trap: How Professional Service Firms Hook Governments and Undermine Democracy, by Chris Hurl and Leah B. Werner, Fernwood Publishing, May 2024.
• REVIEW - "Escaping the Consulting Trap," by Jack McClelland, Perspectives Journal, 20 September 2024.
• The Big Con, by Mariana Mazzucato and Rosie Collington, Penguin Press, March 2023.
• “Shadow Government: The Consulting Firms Telling Ottawa What to Do,” by Justin Link, The Walrus, 31 July 2024.
• “McKinsey Charged in South African Corruption Case,” by Michael Forsythe and Walt Bogdanich, The New York Times, 30 September 2022.
• Open Canada Government Procurement Database - search federal government contracts over $10,000.

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For the centrist regimes that pushed for this market-mechanism as their main climate policy plank, they’ve been put on the back foot.

In Europe, for instance, Green and Liberal parties have suffered major setbacks in the recent waves of EU, national, and subnational elections where a so-called “Greenlash” against climate policies were blamed for contributing to these electoral defeats

In Canada, recent headlines have sparked debate, and confusion, as to what climate action policy ought to be. Retrenchment of Canada’s carbon pricing system, implemented by the Trudeau Liberal government through its 2017 Pan-Canadian Framework, has been put on the table and has worried climate action groups.

On the other hand, justification for this approach has argued that the burden on the working-class has been too much—that the real culprits for carbon emissions, the industries and corporate profiteers, ought to instead be paying their fair share. Canadians have been expressing their frustrations against the carbon pricing scheme, believing it to be ineffective at reducing emissions while also believing climate change is a threat that must be addressed.

To cut through this confusion, Brendan Haley joins this episode of the Perspectives Journal podcast. As a climate expert, Broadbent Institute policy fellow, and editorial committee member of Perspectives, we discuss from a social democratic point-of-view as to whether the market-based approach to climate action is working for Canadians.

Notes

• REPORT - A Green Entrepreneurial State as Solution to Climate Federalism, by Brendan Haley, Broadbent Institute, 2015.
• "Europe is in the middle of a ‘greenlash.’ If Canada doesn’t put workers first in its green transition, we could be next," The Hill Times, by Luke Lebrun, June 19, 2024.
• REPORT - Our Common Platform: A Path to a Green Economy in Canada, prepared by the Green Economy Network (GEN), published September 2023.
• The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time, by Karl Polanyi, 1944.
• Mission Economy: A Moonshot Guide to Changing Capitalism, by Mariana Mazzucato, 2021.
• SURVEY - Extreme Weather Events, Leger, released September 13, 2023.
• SURVEY - Raise, pause, abolish? Centre-left voters rally around carbon tax, but majority would still reduce or eliminate it, Angus Reid Institute, released March 25, 2024.
• REVIEW - Profit, not price, is why we keep burning fossil fuels, review of The Price is Wrong: Why Capitalism Won'

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While the mainstream media casts blame on governments, there isn’t much direct criticism for the companies and industries actually exploiting these migrant workers. Also absent from the mainstream narratives on immigration are the voices of labour unions, and migrant workers themselves.

The Perspectives Journal Podcast spoke with Pablo Godoy, Regional Director, Western Provinces and Emerging Sectors for the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Canada (UFCW Canada) on how the temporary foreign workers program has come to be so problematic, what needs to be done to fix Canada’s immigration system, and what labour is doing to act now while the federal government and industries sit on their hands, and let anti-immigrant sentiment ferment.

See also:

• Broadbent Fellow Ethel Tungohan's work on 'Care Activism' that shows how migrant care workers are organizing for a better care economy, featured in Perspectives Journal.
• The latest story from PressProgress' Labour Reporting Intern, Nadia Khan, on how Wage Inequality for Racialized Workers in Canada Reflects Lower Union Representation.
• Remarks by Simran Dhunna, an organizer from the Naujawan Support Network, speaking at the Broadbent Institute's 2024 Progress Summit on how migrant workers are organizing against wage theft and exploitation.

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash.

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Ellen Meiksins Wood was one of the left’s foremost theorists on democracy and history, and often promoted the idea that democracy always has to be fought for and secured from below, never benevolently conferred from above. The Institute founded the annual Ellen Meiksins Wood Prize & Lecture to honour Professor Wood’s legacy as an internationally renowned scholar and to bring her work to new generations of Canadians.

The Ellen Meiksins Wood Prize is given annually to an academic, labour activist or writer and recognizes outstanding contributions in political theory, social or economic history, human rights, or sociology.

Each year’s recipient also delivers the Ellen Meiksins Wood Lecture.

The 2024 Ellen Meiksins Wood Lecture was delivered by economist Professor Isabella Weber. She is awarded the 2024 Ellen Meiksins Wood Prize in recognition of outstanding contributions to political economy research that helps to defend the working-class in a time of economic crisis.

Her lecture, entitled Profits, Inflation and Survival in an Age of Emergencies: Why We Need a New Paradigm, demonstrates how prices on essentials have risen, while corporate profits have grown, due to economic shocks induced by pandemics, climate change, and other global events. The lecture helps to equip progressive movements with the information and analysis needed to push back against austerity, and helps to demonstrate why public policies such as public investment, wage gains, and price controls complement a policy toolkit to help ordinary Canadians out of today's affordability crisis.

You can also read the lecture and watch the full lecture with Q&A at perspectivesjournal.ca

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According to the data, more and more new housing is being purchased without the intention of being the home that they buyer lives in. This trend has increased over time, all across Canada, and investors have become a very big proportion of home owners. It isn't just new condos that investors are buying—single-family homes are increasingly owned by families that don't live in them.

To understand more about what's behind these trends, Clement Nocos spoke with Jeremy Withers, a housing policy researcher and PhD Candidate at the University of Toronto’s Department of Geography & Planning

Withers' article Addressing the Rise of Investor Ownership of Housing, Part 1: Assessing the Scale and Impacts across Canada was published in the inaugural issue Perspectives Journal, where he analyzes these stark realities and trends for home ownership in Canada.

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The 2024 Ellen Meiksins Wood Prize is awarded to economist Dr. Isabella Weber for critical research on economic shocks and inflation that equip Canadian progressives with alternatives that push back against anti-democratic policy choices and help to empower workers.

Each year’s prize recipient also delivers the Ellen Meiksins Wood Lecture. We invite you to join us on Thursday, May 30 for the 2024 Ellen Meiksins Wood Lecture at Toronto Metropolitan University, at the Sears Atrium (3rd Floor, George Vari Engineering and Computing Centre), starting at 7pm EDT, followed by a reception with light refreshments.

Professor Isabella Weber is an economist and a leading voice against corporate profiteering, identifying economic shocks as the cover that the rich and powerful use to raise prices and put the working-class through an affordability crisis.

Her analysis has come to accurately illustrate the forces behind today’s price inflation, and why governments have not effectively addressed the affordability crisis.

Weber has advised policy makers in the United States and Germany on questions of price stabilization, and is now a regular feature in the business papers. For her work on “Sellers’ Inflation,” she has been profiled in the New Yorker, Jacobin Magazine, and recognized as one of TIME100 Next by US Senator Elizabeth Warren.

Tickets to the 2024 Ellen Meiksins Wood Lecture are now available: 2024-ellen-meiksins-wood-lecture.eventbrite.ca

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Today, comprehensive policy plans in the United States, Europe and China have taken the form of industrial strategy to guide their economic transformation and development in the face of economic and climate crises. Canada, on the other hand, seems to have lagged behind on this front, despite Ed Broadbent’s urging to develop industrial strategy from decades ago. While Canada’s political discourse becomes embroiled in revisiting industrial-scale carbon pricing, the USA has unleashed the Inflation Reduction Act, and China has become a world-leading producer of electrified products such as electric vehicles and photovoltaic cells.

Why is Canada lagging behind the rest of the world when it comes to industrial policy, and how can industrial strategy help Canada take serious climate action? 

Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood, senior researcher at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives focusing on international trade and climate change policy in Canada, sat down with the Perspectives Journal Podcast at the 2024 Progress Summit in April to discuss Canada’s industrial policy vision.

Subscribe to Shift Storm: Transforming Work in a Changing Climate—a newsletter on work and climate change by the CCPA’s Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood. In this newsletter, he breaks down all the latest research and news related to green jobs, a just transition and industrial policy from Canada and around the world.

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The 2024 Ellen Meiksins Wood Prize is awarded to economist Dr. Isabella Weber for critical research on economic shocks and inflation that equip Canadian progressives with alternatives that push back against anti-democratic policy choices and help to empower workers.

Each year’s prize recipient also delivers the Ellen Meiksins Wood Lecture. We invite you to join us on Thursday, May 30 for the 2024 Ellen Meiksins Wood Lecture at Toronto Metropolitan University, at the Sears Atrium (3rd Floor, George Vari Engineering and Computing Centre), starting at 7pm EDT, followed by a reception with light refreshments.

Professor Isabella Weber is an economist and a leading voice against corporate profiteering, identifying economic shocks as the cover that the rich and powerful use to raise prices and put the working-class through an affordability crisis.

Her analysis has come to accurately illustrate the forces behind today’s price inflation, and why governments have not effectively addressed the affordability crisis

Weber has advised policy makers in the United States and Germany on questions of price stabilization, and is now a regular feature in the business papers. For her work on “Sellers’ Inflation,” she has been profiled in the New Yorker, Jacobin Magazine, and recognized as one of TIME100 Next by US Senator Elizabeth Warren.

Tickets to the 2024 Ellen Meiksins Wood Lecture are now available: 2024-ellen-meiksins-wood-lecture.eventbrite.ca

Support the show

Each year’s prize recipient also delivers the Ellen Meiksins Wood Lecture.

We are thrilled to recognize Isabella Weber as our recipient this year. Professor Isabella Weber is an economist and a leading voice against corporate profiteering, identifying economic shocks as the cover that the rich and powerful use to raise prices and put the working-class through an affordability crisis.

Her analysis has come to accurately illustrate the forces behind today’s price inflation, and why governments have not effectively addressed the affordability crisis.

Weber has advised policy makers in the United States and Germany on questions of price stabilization, and is now a regular feature in the business papers. For her work on “Sellers’ Inflation,” she has been profiled in the New Yorker, Jacobin Magazine, recognized as one of TIME100 Next, Bloomberg's 50 Ones to Watch, Germany's 100 women of 2022 and Capital 40 under 40

We invite you to join us on Thursday, May 30, 2024 for the Ellen Meiksins Wood Lecture at Toronto Metropolitan University, at the Sears Atrium (3rd Floor, George Vari Engineering and Computing Centre), starting at 7pm EDT, followed by a reception with light refreshments.

Get your tickets now: 2024-ellen-meiksins-wood-lecture.eventbrite.ca

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Fraser has argued that much scholarship in political science and democratic theory on these issues is hampered by “politicism”: an inclination to view the political in separation from other social spheres, which fails to appreciate the structural nature of contemporary crises. Fraser argues that the political arena is important because it is here that collective regulatory powers are exercised, however it needs to be situated within a broader understanding of the social totality to understand how it is affected by crisis dynamics in other spheres and how it might contribute to attenuating, or resolving, these.

The conversation begins by exploring these arguments in relation to Fraser's recent work on the critique of capitalism, and then traces how this relates to her work on the public sphere, participatory parity, and utopian thought.

Works Cited

• Brown, Wendy. 2019. In the Ruins of Neoliberalism: The Rise of Antidemocratic Politics in the West. Columbia University Press.
• Crouch, Colin. 2017. Can Neoliberalism be Saved from Itself? Social Europe Edition
• Fraser, Nancy. 1995. “Recognition or redistribution? A critical reading of Iris Young’s justice and the politics of difference.” Journal of Political Philosophy 3 (2): 166-180
• Fraser, Nancy. 1997. “A Rejoinder to Iris Young.” New Left Review 1, 223, May-June
• Fraser, Nancy. 1997. Justice Interruptus: Critical Reflections on the Post-Socialist Condition. Abingdon: Routledge
• Fraser, Nancy. 2012. “On Justice: lessons from Plato, Rawls and Ishiguro.” New Left Review 74.
• Fraser, Nancy. 2014. “Behind Marx’s Hidden Abode.” New Left Review 86, March-April.
• Fraser, N. 2022. Cannibal Capitalism: How our System is Devouring Democracy, Care and The Planet. Verso
• Polanyi, Karl. 1944. The Great Transformation. Farrar & Reinhardt.
• Streeck, Wolfgang. 2014. “How Will Capitalism End?” New Left Review, 87, May-June.
• Streeck, Wolfgang. 2016. How will Capitalism End? London: Verso.
• Streeck, Wolfgang. 2017. Buying Time: The Delayed Crisis of Democratic Capitalism. Verso.
• Young, Iris Marion. 1997. “Unruly Categories: A Critique of Nancy Fraser’s Dual Systems Theory.” New Left Review 1, 223, March-April.

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The federal NDP doesn't think this bill has gone far enough and have requested a number of amendments to the first draft to include more non-market housing and removing political influence on the Competition Bureau, among a list of other measures, in order to pass the House. 

What will this amended piece of legislation do for ordinary, working-class Canadians to make groceries affordable again, and does it go far enough? How has market concentration contributed to higher grocery receipts? Why should incentives for building more co-op housing be included in the final version of the bill?

Social democratic commentator and columnist Tom Parkin spoke to Daniel Blaikie, Member of Parliament for Elmwood—Transcona and NDP finance critic, about Bill C-56, grocery competition, and building non-market housing.

Show Note Links

• Bill C-56, Affordable Housing and Groceries Act (Government House Bill)
• Bill C-352, Lowering Prices for Canadians Act (Private Member's Bill introduced by MP Jagmeet Singh)
• Beyond Simply Building More: Policy Options for Combatting the Financialization of Housing in Ontario, (March 2023) - Broadbent Institute analysis on the contributing factors behind the housing affordability crisis, by Tsahai Carter.
• Canadian Grocery Profitability: Inflation, Wages and Financialization, (September 2023) - Broadbent Institute analysis of the Canadian grocery retail industry in the context of the "seller's inflation" economic phenomena, by Alex Purdye.
•  'Growing Grocery Profits, Shrinking Pay Cheques', Opinion by Clement Nocos in Perspectives Journal from October 12, 2023. 

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• Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood, Senior Research at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
• Angella MacEwen, Senior Economist for the National Canadian Union of Public Employees, and Broadbent Institute Policy Fellow
• And John Cartwright, Chairperson of the Council of Canadians

 This panel has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Show Notes

Read the three pillars of the updated Common Platform

• Renewable Energy, Good Jobs: A National Green Energy Strategy for Canada
• Green Transit, Good Jobs: A National Public Transportation Strategy for Canada
• Green Buildings, Good Jobs: A National Green Homes & Buildings Strategy for Canada

Read analysis from Broadbent Policy Fellow Brendan Haley that asks, "Will the Response to the US Inflation Reduction Act Reveal Canada’s Lack of Green Industrial Policy?"

Subscribe to ShiftStorm, the CCPA's newsletter on work and climate change by panelist Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood.

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Part memoir, part history, part political manifesto, Seeking Social Democracy offers the first full-length treatment of Ed Broadbent’s ideas and remarkable seven decade engagement in public life.

In dialogue with three collaborators from different generations, Ed Broadbent leads readers through a life spent fighting for equality in Parliament and beyond: exploring the formation of his social democratic ideals, his engagement on the international stage, and his relationships with historical figures from Pierre Trudeau and Fidel Castro to Tommy Douglas, René Lévesque, and Willy Brandt.

From the formative minority Parliament of 1972-1974, to the contentious national debate over Canada’s constitution, to the free trade election of 1988, the book chronicles the life and thought of one of Canada’s most respected political leaders and public intellectuals from his childhood in 1930s Oshawa to the present day.

Ed Broadbent’s analysis also points toward the future, offering lessons to a new generation on how principles can inform action, and how social democracy can look beyond neoliberalism.

The result is an engaging, timely, and sweeping analysis of Canadian politics, philosophy, and the nature of democratic leadership.

You can order your copy today at seekingsocialdemocracy.ca

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The discussion, entitled Progressive Governance in Unprecedented Times, centered on how Canada’s largest NDP government has stepped up to meet these challenges, moderated by former MP for Halifax and Federal Deputy NDP Leader Megan Leslie. 

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Ellen Meiksins Wood was one of the left's foremost theorists on democracy and history, and often promoted the idea that democracy always has to be fought for and secured from below, never benevolently conferred from above. The Institute founded the annual Ellen Meiksins Wood Prize & Lecture to honour Professor Wood’s legacy as an internationally renowned scholar and to bring her work to new generations of Canadians.

The Ellen Meiksins Wood Prize is given annually to an academic, labour activist or writer and recognizes outstanding contributions in political theory, social or economic history, human rights, or sociology.

Each year’s recipient also delivers the Ellen Meiksins Wood Lecture.

The 2023 Ellen Meiksins Wood Lecture was delivered by economist Armine Yalnizyan—a leading voice on Canada’s economic scene.

Her lecture, entitled Progress vs. 2023: A Guide to the Fight Ahead, presented her sweeping vision of what it means to be a progressive in 2023, taking us on a tour of the evolution of progressive ideas, and its constancy. She showed how context has shaped strategy, and lay out the push and the pull of the moment: the challenges facing the progressive agenda and the momentum building for it.

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Smalls has been profiled by media outlets worldwide, including The New York Times, USA Today, The Guardian, and spoke with federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh at the Broadbent Institute's 2023 Progress Summit about how we can empower workers to fight for better working conditions, better wages, and a better world.

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