The Walrus Magazine

2 days ago | thewalrus.ca | Chantal Braganza

For some Canadian parents of young children, there’s only one issue that matters this election: the future of the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) plan, a policy that reduces daycare fees in some provinces to as little as $10 a day. In one of his last executive moves, former prime minister Justin Trudeau announced a five-year extension of the program, which was first launched in 2021 with the support of Jagmeet Singh’s New Democratic Party.

6 days ago | thewalrus.ca | Carine Abouseif

The moment I step onto the platform, I take the deepest breath I’ve taken all morning. My more-than-an-hour-long commute involves a fifteen-minute walk to the subway station. Still ahead of me: one eastbound train, one southbound, a streetcar, and a seven-minute trudge through rain or snow. Once I step on board the subway, I’m ready to settle in. At parties and dinners, I complain to anyone who will listen about this injustice (“more than an hour!”).

1 week ago | thewalrus.ca | David Moscrop

W e’re over halfway through the election campaign, and you may have spent part of the past few days reading about the Liberals circulating fake campaign buttons—a depressing, if not uncommon, story of dirty campaigning. If you’re extra lucky, maybe you’ve read about the upcoming leaders’ debates. The debates promise to be little more than the usual—a series of press conferences clipped for social media masquerading as an exchange of different views.

1 week ago | thewalrus.ca | Wendy Kaur

When Prime Minister Mark Carney cut the position of cabinet minister of women and gender equality and youth, or WAGE, on March 14, Debbie Owusu-Akyeeah was in New York—ironically to attend the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. The symbolism wasn’t lost on her, and neither was the sting. Owusu-Akyeeah, who is co-director of policy and advocacy at Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights, shared the information in a group chat with colleagues.

1 week ago | thewalrus.ca | Michelle Cyca

Even before he took office, United States president Donald Trump was talking about annexing Canada, posting on Truth Social in mid-December, “I think it’s a great idea. 51st state!!!” Trump is funny, but only unintentionally, and as his statements have grown more threatening and frequent, even the most optimistic pundits have stopped dismissing them as jokes. The issue of sovereignty has become a unifying cause for Canadians—and the most urgent existential issue of the election.