The Canadianist

The other day I received a comment on one of my posts that made me stop and think. I may have been wrong about Canadianism. I spent some time with the argument. And the further I followed it, the more I realized the conversation hadn’t undermined Canadianism at all. It may have made the case for it stronger.

Something has shifted in Canada. You can feel it in the conversations we’re having, the pressures we’re carrying and the lives we’re trying to build. The middle is sick of being quiet. Meet the Radical Centre. Join us and be heard. #SomethingShifted #RadicalCentre #Canadianism #UCCParty #cdnpoli

Canada has changed. The Canadianist Manifesto is a new weekly series examining whether the country’s institutions and systems have kept pace with the Canada that exists today. In short, focused episodes, Christopher M. Michaud breaks the manifesto down section by section, exploring modernization, democratic institutions, Canadian identity, representation and the values the country carries forward....

Ontario Votes 2026 is The Canadianist News election series looking at municipal races and the people seeking to lead communities across the province. Christopher M. Michaud sits down with Wasaga Beach mayoral candidate Leslie Farkas for a long-form conversation about who he is, the community beyond the beach, beachfront redevelopment, growth and infrastructure, municipal spending, transparency and...

In this episode of The New Canadiana , a ride through Vaughan turns into a conversation about Wonderland, raising twins, family life, working as a PSW, and some of the funny little things that come up when two people just start talking.

Something changed in Canada. Not all at once. Not with one election, one government, or one crisis. It happened gradually. The middle started getting harder to hold onto. The ordinary life many Canadians expected to be able to build became less certain, while the political space between the loudest sides seemed to narrow at the same time. This video is about that realization. About paying attentio...

In September 2019, Andy Baquero came to Toronto as a member of Cuba’s national football team to play Canada at BMO Field. He never went home. After the game, Andy and teammate Alejandro made their way through their hotel, avoiding Cuban security and looking for a way out. They reached an emergency exit, discovered they didn’t know how to open it, and eventually ran for a waiting car. But getting o...

I’ve said for some time that what I was building would eventually reveal itself. That day is now. The centre has arrived. The United Canadian Centrist Party is building toward 2029 with a different proposition for the country: not to split the difference, but to rethink the frame. This is the beginning. Join us and be heard. UCC Party | Canada, as we are. Centristes Unis | Le Canada, à notre image...

Andy Baquero came to Toronto in September 2019 as a member of Cuba's national football team. He never went home. What followed was a remarkable journey from Havana to a new life in Canada, from working construction through his first Canadian winter to returning to professional football and eventually bringing his mother here to join him. In this preview of Journeys, Christopher M. Michaud introduc...

Canada is being pressured economically while American officials openly talk about our country as though our sovereignty is negotiable. That pressure doesn’t happen in a vacuum. When Canadian politicians spend their time telling Canadians that our economy is broken, our institutions have failed and the country is falling apart, they may think they’re only attacking the government of the day. But th...

A pound of ordinary coffee. A piece of feta cheese. 500 mL of cream. $34. We're being told Canada can only control what Canada can control as the trade war continues. Fair enough. So what are we controlling? In this Canadianist editorial, Christopher M. Michaud looks at the affordability crisis through something much bigger than grocery prices: the Canadian Covenant, the unwritten deal between thi...

Canada has spent generations building an economy that looks south. But what if one of our biggest economic opportunities has been sitting inside our own borders all along? In this episode, Christopher M. Michaud looks at Canada’s interprovincial trade barriers, why removing them is far more complicated than it sounds, and an IMF estimate suggesting freer internal trade could eventually add nearly...

Canadians are frustrated and uncertain about where our relationship with the United States is headed. We want answers, and we have every right to expect accountability from the people negotiating on our behalf. But how much of a negotiation are we actually supposed to see while it’s happening? In this Canadianist Video Editorial, Christopher M. Michaud looks at the value of quiet diplomacy, why ne...

Why does the United Canadian Centrists Party exist? Because millions of Canadians feel politically homeless. That's Why. In this episode, Christopher M. Michaud explains why so many Canadians no longer see themselves reflected in the political choices in front of them, why the problem runs deeper than any one party, and why the UCC Party believes Canada needs a national modernization initiative bu...

Donald Trump keeps telling Americans they don’t need Canada. So why won’t he leave us alone? In this editorial, Christopher Michaud looks beyond the rotating grievances — fentanyl, the border, dairy, autos, steel, aluminum and national security — and asks what the relentless economic pressure reveals about America’s dependence on Canadian energy, uranium, potash, critical minerals, hydroelectricit...

The Book Hour is a Sunday-night presentation from The Canadianist Radio Network , bringing books to life in the tradition of classic radio. Each edition premieres on the radio, complete with narration, original music, sound design and the atmosphere of settling in with a good book for the evening. Episodes posted here are previous broadcasts of The Book Hour . New editions premiere first on The Ca...

Canada and the United States are back in a full-blown trade war, and Canadians are already turning on each other over who’s to blame. Mark Carney must be held accountable for how his government handles the negotiations, and Pierre Poilievre has an important role to play in providing serious, constructive opposition. But before we decide that Canada somehow failed because there’s no deal, we need t...

Yesterday I found myself sitting on the beach in Wasaga, one of my happy places, and figured I’d turn on the camera and say hello. Nothing formal. No script. Just me, the beach, and a few minutes to talk about everything that’s happening. The Canadianist Radio Network is growing, The Book Hour launches Sunday night with Canadianism: A Calm Alternative for a Fractured Country , the live morning sho...

I’ve always thought there was still a place on radio for this. An hour. A good book. No shouting, no scrolling, no panel of six people talking over each other. This Sunday night at 8, The Canadianist Radio Network launches The Book Hour, a weekly hour devoted to books, ideas and long-form storytelling. We’re starting with one of mine. The first book is Canadianism: A Calm Alternative for a Fractur...

Quebec’s approaching provincial election offers one of the clearest demonstrations of what’s wrong with Canada’s voting system. In 2022, the Parti Québécois received more votes than the Quebec Liberals but elected only three members to the Liberals’ 21. More than half a million Conservative voters elected nobody. Christopher M. Michaud examines how geography turns similar levels of public support...

The Gordie Howe International Bridge is open, but questions remain about the agreement Canada made with the United States to get it operating. When opposition MPs tried to launch a committee review, Liberal MPs blocked it. In this episode, I look at what Canada gave up, what we gained, and why a deal can be practical while still deserving parliamentary scrutiny. The bridge may prove to be a tremen...

Another day, another round of tariff headlines out of the United States. The tariffs matter. The uncertainty they create is real. But they also remind us how much of Canada's political conversation begins somewhere else. In today's vlog, I connect the latest trade news to two ideas I've been working on recently: Access and Allies , my latest column and companion podcast episode, and imported noise...

The program you are about to hear is a work of speculative fiction. Although the events depicted are fictional, the institutions, laws, treaties, capabilities, and public officials referenced throughout this presentation are real. This simulation is based on publicly available information and explores one possible chain of events that could emerge if long-standing assumptions were to fail. It is n...

This one's a little different. I wanted to record this earlier today, but life had other plans. September is coming up fast, and between writing, planning a GTA book tour, organizing keynote talks, and building everything that's coming next, the days have been moving pretty quickly. So I thought I'd turn on the camera and let you in on what I've been working on. This isn't a polished podcast episo...

Canada feels different. Most of us can sense it, even if we struggle to explain exactly why. Politics have become louder, trust has become harder to find, and more Canadians than ever seem to feel like they don't quite fit anywhere. In this episode, Christopher M. Michaud explores what's changed, why so many Canadians feel politically homeless, and why he believes our biggest challenges can't be s...