This Magazine

Progressive politics, ideas & culture

Menu

Race

January-February 2019

We need to stop pretending there’s no Islamophobia crisis in Canada

How do Canadians view themselves through the lens of national massacres?

Brigitte Pawliw-Fry

  ON A COLD NIGHT IN DECEMBER 1989, Rachel, a first-year student at McGill University, was sitting in the emergency room with a friend suffering from a migraine. About an hour after they first arrived, paramedics began rushing women on stretchers through the ER. Rachel’s first response was confusion: She couldn’t understand why so many […] More »
January-February 2019

We’re here. We’re queer. Now what?

For LGBTQ refugees, Canada is no land of unicorns and rainbows

Amy van den Berg@vandenba

Driving back and forth along Wellesley Street in Toronto, Iris looks for a sign that she belongs. It’s late at night and raining, and she’s been blown off by a date. The woman she met on the dating website Plenty of Fish lives in Niagara Falls, and Iris rented a car for the weekend to […] More »
May-June 2018

When They Call You a Terrorist

Excerpted from new book by Patrisse Khan-Cullors and Asha Bandele

Patrissa Khan-Cullors and Asha Bandele

The next morning, which is really just hours later, we arrive at Monte’s county hospital room which is located in the prison wing. He is being guarded by two members of the Los Angeles Police Department. Before we enter the room they nonchalantly tell me pieces of my brother’s story: We thought he was on […] More »
November-December 2017

Forgetting Charles Lawrence

The racist Nova Scotian tried to destroy my family’s Acadian culture. I’m refusing to let his legacy live on

Tyler LeBlanc

I went to church in August. I hadn’t been in 20 years. It was Monday and St. Paul’s Anglican in downtown Halifax was dead quiet. A young woman in burgundy sat at a table near the door. I looped around the pews before asking the question I had come here to ask: “Charles Lawrence is […] More »
November-December 2017

No, Canada isn’t the beacon of racial tolerance that it’s made out to be

As Robyn Maynard writes in her new book, Policing Black Lives, invisibility has not protected Black communities in Canada

Robyn Maynard

Canada, in the eyes of many of its citizens, as well as those living elsewhere, is imagined as a beacon of tolerance and diversity. Seen as an exemplar of human rights, Canada’s national and international reputation rests, in part, on its historical role as the safe haven for the enslaved Black Americans who had fled […] More »

Hey, Margaret Wente: Racism is still a serious problem in Canada

The national columnist's recent column suggests racism is no longer a defining feature of our society

Amy Oldfield

Margaret Wente is confused about racism. That is the most generous interpretation I can offer for her recent Globe and Mail article, “The good news about racism,” in which she argues that racism is vanishing from society. It is declining at such a rate, in fact, that the recent resurgence of white supremacy is a […] More »
July-August 2017

Half a century after the destruction of Africville, Nova Scotia still has a race problem

For many, the reparations do not sufficiently address the devastating effect the loss of Africville has had on Nova Scotia’s Black community

Madi Haslam@madihaslam

This year, Canada celebrates its 150th birthday. Ours is a country of rich history—but not all Canadian stories are told equally. In this special report, This tackles 13 issues—one per province and territory—that have yet to be addressed and resolved by our country in a century and a half Fifty years ago, the city of Halifax destroyed […] More »
July-August 2017

Quebec media has perpetuated stereotypes about Muslim Canadians

It's time for change, writes Amira Elghawaby

Amira Elghawaby@AmiraElghawaby

This year, Canada celebrates its 150th birthday. Ours is a country of rich history—but not all Canadian stories are told equally. In this special report, This tackles 13 issues—one per province and territory—that have yet to be addressed and resolved by our country in a century and a half  I hadn’t been this excited about a stamp […] More »
July-August 2017

Why are Ontarians still battling anti-Black police violence?

The deaths of Black Ontarians at the hands of police cannot be overlooked or forgotten

Rodney Diverlus@rodneydiverlus

This year, Canada celebrates its 150th birthday. Ours is a country of rich history—but not all Canadian stories are told equally. In this special report, This tackles 13 issues—one per province and territory—that have yet to be addressed and resolved by our country in a century and a half Last year, Black Lives Matter Toronto concluded #BLMTOtentcity, […] More »

Canada 150: Resistance, empowerment, calls for change

A special feature by Indigenous writers and writers of colour

This Magazine

This year, Canada celebrates 150 years since Confederation. It’s a milestone that’s been marketed since the clock struck midnight on January 1: There are parties to go to, maple leaf-encrusted foods to buy, special landmarks to take selfies with. Celebrating Canada’s birthday this year should be, according to many, a fun time. But it’s hard […] More »

COMIC: And the Appropriation Prize goes to…

A white person!

Hana Shafi@hanashafi