This Magazine

Progressive politics, ideas & culture

Menu
May-June 2011

This45: Arif Noorani on Canadian Journalists for Free Expression

Arif Noorani

I’m sitting in a room surrounded by hundreds of people, kindred spirits, a number of whom would normally not cross paths. Chiselled-faced anchors sit side by side with journalists who have been exiled from their homes around the world. Then a series of startling images jolt me up in my seat. Footage of riot police […] More »
March-April 2011

This45: Gerald Hannon on trans rights activist Syrus Marcus Ware

Gerald Hannon

For the last two years, anyone weary of the increasingly commercialized and blissfully apoliticized nature of Pride in Toronto has made a beeline for the back-to-the-future experience that is the Trans March. It’s small, friendly, community-based, unendorsed by any corporate interest. It’s also politicized, giddy, and endearingly disorganized, the way many of us remember Prides […] More »
May-June 2011

This45: Jessica Leigh Johnston on feminist teen magazine Shameless

Jessica Leigh JohnstonWebsite

Flip through the pages of Shameless, a feminist magazine for teen girls, and you’ll find a debate about the value of corporate social responsibility titled “When Oppressive Corporations Do Progressive Things” alongside a first-person call for self-acceptance, “Shame, Beauty and Women of Colour.” It’s not exactly Seventeen, and that’s the whole point — or at […] More »
May-June 2011

This45: Clive Thompson on zero-growth economist Peter Victor

Clive ThompsonWebsite

Could you live on $14,000 a year? Could everyone in Canada? And could we live on $14,000 a year for the rest of history? That’s the sort of uncomfortable, prickly question Peter Victor likes to ask. And the way you answer might say a lot about the future of the planet. That’s because Victor is […] More »

Announcing This Magazine's 45th anniversary special issue

Graham F. Scott

Today we’re very proud to be launching a special issue of This Magazine to mark our 45th anniversary. This Magazine is About Schools published its first issue (seen at right) in April 1966, and quickly established itself as a vital part of the country’s social, political, and cultural landscape. The This that splashed down in the […] More »
May-June 2011

This45: Linda McQuaig on the United Nations Emergency Peace Service

Linda McQuaig with Katie Addleman

In the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide, the Canadian government commissioned the departments of Foreign Affairs and National Defence to investigate the feasibility of a United Nations rapid-response service. The research was co-directed by Peter Langille, an academic and defence analyst known as a critic of NATO’s military doctrine, a key figure in the development […] More »
May-June 2011

This45: Mason Wright on Susanna Haas Lyons

Mason WrightWebsite

They’re called social media for a reason, but for activists like Susanna Haas Lyons, tools such as Facebook and Twitter have much more to offer than funny cat videos and photos of your baby niece. “People spend an average of 14 minutes a day on Facebook,” says Vancouver-based Haas Lyons, a 33-year-old public engagement consultant […] More »
May-June 2011

This45: Nicholas Hune-Brown on Bruce Peninsula

Nicholas Hune-Brown

The Journal of Behavioral Medicine tells us what humans have always known—singing in groups is good for you. Sing and immune-boosting proteins come flooding through your bloodstream. Psychophysiological changes take hold. Your mood is elevated. Bruce Peninsula knows this intuitively. The band, which can swell to more than a dozen, mixes gospel, folk, and prog […] More »
May-June 2011

This45: Alex Roslin on the Canadian Centre for Investigative Reporting

Alex RoslinWebsite

Three years ago, when Hamilton reporter Bilbo Poynter first mentioned his idea of starting a centre to support investigative journalism, I thought, Yes! Just what we need at a time when newsrooms are pole-axing in-depth reporting budgets and trying to outdo each other with reality-show guano. Now, don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed watching Josh […] More »
May-June 2011

This45: Graham F. Scott on NDP health critic Megan Leslie

Graham F. ScottWebsite

For this special anniversary issue, we asked 45 alumni of This Magazine to tell us about the individuals and organizations who are doing the most exciting, creative, and important work in politics, activism, art, and more. Many chose young up-and-comers; others chose seasoned vets who never lost their passion for new ideas and approaches. But […] More »

5 things that changed in Canadian politics last night, and 2 that didn't

Graham F. Scott

Last night’s election was extraordinary in more ways than we would have thought possible a few weeks ago. Canadian politics has been shaken up in a serious, permanent way, and this election will be studied for years to come. As we start to digest the result and its consequences, there are some clearly identifiable changes […] More »