Politics – Views & Research

A screengrab from a video shows an aerial shot of an explosion. The word Unclassified is spelled in green at the top of the shot.

Trump’s aggression in the Caribbean could violate a Victorian-era court ruling on cannibalism at sea

Martin Danahay, Brock University

A blue and white sign reads International Criminal Court in English and French in front of a building.

How Canada and the European Union could ensure the survival of the International Criminal Court

Laszlo Sarkany, Western University

Should Canadian politicians be allowed to block their constituents on social media?

Victoria (Vicky) McArthur, Carleton University

Child-care affordability is coming at the expense of equity — and it’s time governments acted

Kerry McCuaig, University of Toronto; Michal Perlman, University of Toronto; Nina Howe, Concordia University, and Petr Varmuza, University of Toronto

Children with toys on a carpet while adlts are nearby.

Team work and power plays: What Alberta’s Bill 2 says about Canadian democracy

Jared Wesley, University of Alberta; Alex Marland, Acadia University, and Mireille Lalancette, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR)

A man with dark hair speaks to a crowd of people, some carrying signs that read General Strike.

Zohran Mamdani’s win shows how multilingualism bridges divides in diverse democracies

Kashif Raza, University of British Columbia

A dark-haired man with a beard smiles broadly as people record him on their phones in the foreground.

How the Canadian Armed Forces could help solve the youth employment crisis

Ilona Dougherty, University of Waterloo

Snowy fabric poppies below a Canadian flag on a pole

A man with short grey hair looks stern; a computer display is in the foreground.

Federal budget 2025: Is Canada Strong actually weak on AI?

Nicolas Chartier-Edwards, Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) and François-Olivier Picard, Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS)

Why the 2025 federal budget won’t really make Canada strong

Robert Chernomas, University of Manitoba

A middle-aged white man holds up a pamphlet that says 'Canada Strong Budget 2025' on it

Federal budget: Mr. Prime Minister, child care is infrastructure too

Gordon Cleveland, University of Toronto

A man in suit and tie holding up a report that says 'Canada Fort.'

The federal government tables bail reform bill: 5 ways to strengthen Canada’s bail system

Carolyn Yule, University of Guelph; Laura MacDiarmid, University of Guelph-Humber, and Troy Riddell, University of Guelph

Two people walk up the steps of a courthouse with large stone pillars on either side of a stone staircase.

I’m a criminologist and grieving aunt. Here’s why Ottawa’s bail reform won’t make Canada safer

Amy Fitzgerald, University of Windsor

A tall man with dark hair and beard speaks from behind a lectern that says stricter bail, tougher sentences in English and French.

The Māori ward vote in New Zealand contains important lessons for Canada

Karen Bird, McMaster University

Crowds of people at a protest waving red, white and black flags.

Canadian immigration policy has become a moving target

Omid Asayesh, University of Calgary

An elderly man wearing glasses and a dark suit sitting in front of a microphone

Why Bill Gates’ climate memo is being celebrated by skeptics while frustrating scientists

Ryan M. Katz-Rosene, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa

How Zohran Mamdani’s ‘talent for listening’ spurred him to victory in the New York mayoral election

Daniel Hutton Ferris, Newcastle University

The new mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, waves to a crowd alongside his mother.

U.S. election results suggest Trump’s coalition of voters is collapsing

Andrew Gawthorpe, Leiden University

Supporters of Zohran Mamdani watch as the results of the New York City mayoral election are called.

Trump and Putin didn’t hold new peace talks after all — but that was likely Putin’s plan all along

Oleksa Drachewych, Western University

A large man with fluffy blond hair in a blue suit and red tie shakes the hand of a smaller, balding man who is smirking.

Carney’s apology to Trump: Far from ‘elbows up,’ it seems Canada has no elbows at all

Stewart Prest, University of British Columbia

A man with fluffy yellow-ish white hair raises his champagne glass at another man whose back is to the camera.

Lawns signs representing three political parties along a Toronto residential street.

Canada isn’t deeply polarized — yet. What new research reveals about partisan animosity

Emily Huddart, University of British Columbia and Tony Silva, University of British Columbia

Why some populist supporters want a strong-arm leader and others just want change

Dr. Andrea Wagner, MacEwan University and Anna Brigevich, Norwegian University of Science and Technology

A short stout man in a suit shakes hands with a taller rotund man with whiteish-blond hair.

From warning to reality: Canada’s escalating hate crisis demands action

Frederick John Packer, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa and Davut Akca, Lakehead University

A dark-haired man with a beard speaks with spotlight to his right.

Why DEI needs depth, not death

Marycarmen Lara Villanueva, University of Toronto

Two smiling men, one bald and one with dark hair, walk into the House of Commons as people behind them applaud.

Two young women are having a tense conversation and seem to disagree.

Agree to disagree: Why we fear conflict and what to do about it

Leda Stawnychko, Mount Royal University and Maryam Ashraf, University of Calgary

11 years after the Parliament Hill shooting, is Canada doing enough to tackle political violence?

Kevin Budning, Carleton University

A father and son stand looking at an illuminated war memorial at dusk.

‘Trump said what?!’ — How satire helps us navigate disorienting politics

Pascal Michelberger, Western University

A man in a suit and red tie with a twinkle in his eye looks like he's ready to laugh against a blue background.

The H-1B visa fee hike in the United States opens a policy window for Canada

Richa Shivakoti, Toronto Metropolitan University and Anna Triandafyllidou, Toronto Metropolitan University

A woman seen from the waist down pulling a yellow carry-on bag into an airport.

Is the end looming for Canada’s border pre-clearance program with the United States?

Emily Gilbert, University of Toronto

Two baseball players celebrate. One is on his knees.

Toronto Blue Jays: Amid Canada-U.S. tensions, ‘Canada’s team’ is excelling at America’s pastime

Noah Eliot Vanderhoeven, Western University

How anti-vaccine sentiment helped raise funds and saved the lives of some B.C. ostriches

Jeremy Snyder, Simon Fraser University and Claire Wilson, Simon Fraser University

people take photos of an ostrich behind a fence

Canada’s rising poverty and food insecurity have deep structural origins

Tracy Smith-Carrier, Royal Roads University

An old and empty Starbucks coffee cup lays on the floor with a few coins in it.

Mark Carney’s climate inaction is at odds with his awareness of climate change’s existential threat

Bruce Campbell, Toronto Metropolitan University; York University, Canada

The evidence is clear: National pharmacare for contraception can’t wait

Elizabeth Nethery, University of British Columbia; Amanda Black, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa; Amanda K Downey, McMaster University; Laura Schummers, University of British Columbia, and Wendy V. Norman, University of British Columbia

People at a demonstration holding a sign reading Pharmacare is nation building

An airport screen shows a long list of diverted flights.

Why Russia’s provocations in Europe actually signal a weakened strategic position

James Horncastle, Simon Fraser University

A group of protesters carry a banner and wave Palestinian flags.

Anti-Palestinian and anti-Arab racism is on the rise in Canada

Nadia Hasan, York University, Canada and Sarah Abou-Bakr, Concordia University

Why is Canada quiet on the International Criminal Court while recognizing Palestine?

Laszlo Sarkany, Western University

A woman with dark hair and glasses speaks behind her hand to a man with short grey hair wearing a navy suit.

October 7 two years on: Israelis and Palestinians caught between two conflicting ideas of peace

Yuval Katz, Loughborough University

A composite picture of an Israeli flag and a Palestinian flag with barbed wire in the foreground.

People seen holding protest signs in front of a white dome building, one says 'believe women.'

Epstein’s ‘birthday book’ transforms private notes into a legacy record

Jason Wang, Toronto Metropolitan University

Why annexing Canada would destroy the United States

Aisha Ahmad, University of Toronto

A Canadian flag flies over an American one amid a brilliant blue sky.

‘We want to be offensive too’ — Trump’s Department of War move shows his flimsy grasp of history

Ronald W. Pruessen, University of Toronto

A sign on a door reads Pete Hegseth, Secretary of War.

Not enemies, but people: Why the world needs to rethink the language of war

Martin Danahay, Brock University

An aerial image shows two vessels at sea on fire.

Two police cruisers sit at the end of a driveway of a rural home.

Sex-motivated violence should be treated as a hate crime

Debra M Haak, Queen's University, Ontario and Myrna Dawson, University of Guelph

The American TikTok deal doesn’t address the platform’s potential for manipulation, only who profits

Andrew Buzzell, Western University

A man holds up a signed document, another man in a suit looks on, and there's an American flag in the background

Charlie Kirk’s legacy is the beneficiary of empathy, but he couldn’t stand the term

Jane Barter, University of Winnipeg

a man's face is projected on a screen behind a seated stadium crowd of hundreds

Empathy is under attack — but it remains vital for leadership and connection

Leda Stawnychko, Mount Royal University and Kris Hans, University of Calgary; Mount Royal University

A man rests his hand on another man's shoulder

Why the politics of cancellation never works

Robert Danisch, University of Waterloo

A demonstrator holds a sign that reads Free Speech.

Donald Trump’s penchant for bullshit explains MAGA anger about the Epstein files

Tim Kenyon, Brock University

‘Your countries are going to hell’: Trump’s UN speech explained by an expert

David Curran, Coventry University

DOnald Trump stands at a podoim at the UN making a speech.

How Charlie Kirk became a pioneering MAGA political organizer on campuses

Dax D'Orazio, University of Guelph; Queen's University, Ontario

Trump renews push to end quarterly reporting — here’s what that would mean

Douglas A. Stuart, University of Victoria

An older white man with white hair in a navy suit speaks while seated at a desk

An elderly man with a mobile phone to his ear and wearing red Make America Great Again ballcap waves from the back of a limousine.

Donald Trump’s policies are more than dumb — they’re stupid, according to stupidity researchers

Jerry Paul Sheppard, Simon Fraser University

A man with white-ish blond hair is blurred speaking at a podium and in focus on a screen behind him.

Why Donald Trump is such a relentless bullshitter

Tim Kenyon, Brock University

A sign saying science helps you held up by a protestor.

Three scientists speak about what it’s like to have research funding cut by the Trump administration

Gemma Ware, The Conversation

How Donald Trump’s assault on universities echoes earlier American conservative ideas

Michael Williams, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa and Rita Abrahamsen, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa

A man speaks into a microphone with a portrait of a man behind him.

Juggling dynamite? At 100 days in office, Donald Trump is no Franklin D. Roosevelt

Ronald W. Pruessen, University of Toronto

A rotund man in a white ball cap is surrounded by microphones and reporters on an airport tarmac.

DOGE’s AI surveillance risks silencing whistleblowers and weakening democracy

Thomas Stuart, University of Victoria

A white man speaks on a stage to a crowd of people in front of a giant projection of an American flag

Stuck in the past: Trump tariffs and other policies are dragging the U.S. back to the 19th century

Eric Strikwerda, Athabasca University

An old man with orange-tinged skin and orange-ish white hair holds up a document that says 'Foreign Trade Barriers' as he stands in front of a giant American flag and behind a presidential lectern.

The Handmaid’s Tale reflects Margaret Atwood’s eerie talent for reading the palm of power

Sharon Engbrecht, University of British Columbia

People in fancy clothes on a red carpet.

The American mass exodus to Canada amid Trump 2.0 has yet to materialize

Lori Wilkinson, University of Manitoba

A proteser carries a sign listing grievances against Donald Trump with the Trump Tower in the background.

With Trump in power, the world must fight the new culture of intimidation

Alain-G. Gagnon, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)

Two sit in an an ornate office with media around them.

A woman with a red scarf smiles at the camera.

In the Middle East, women journalists and activists have been driving crucial change

Farinaz Basmechi, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa

People walk along a road through a city that has been largely destroyed and left in rubble

Lasting peace and recovery in Gaza depends on local participation, not just ceasefires

Mahmood Fayazi, Royal Roads University

children's outreached hands carrying pots for food

Imagine a world without genocide

David Welch, University of Waterloo

The world on the brink: Why governments must invest in peace, not just arms

Jenna Sapiano, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa

People walk though a dusty street of rubble.

What NATO could learn from Ukraine as it navigates Russian threats to European security

James Horncastle, Simon Fraser University and Samuel Zilincik, Royal Danish Defence College

Firefighters on a destroyed roof of a house.

A smiling man wearing glasses with short grey hair holds a microphone and waves.

Can a pro-federation win in Northern Cyprus revive the island’s stalled reunification?

Spyros A. Sofos, Simon Fraser University

Falling back into the shadows? How to keep internal displacement on the humanitarian agenda

Megan Bradley, McGill University and Jennifer Welsh, McGill University

A child picks up a toddler over his head.

Gen Z protests brought about change in Nepal via the powers — and perils — of social media

Luna KC, University of Northern British Columbia

Three bare-chested young men on top of a building with their fists raised as smoke billows behind them.

Borders and orders: How settler-government occupations violate Kashmiri sovereignty

Binish Ahmed, Toronto Metropolitan University

a woman in a yellow sari stands wth her baby looking through a large whole in her brick house

The Mediterranean: Both a graveyard and a bottomless money pit due to EU border policies

Luna Vives, Université de Montréal

A pro-democracy Venezuelan politician wins this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. Is it a rebuke to Trump?