The Walrus Magazine

On September 11, 2001, coordinated terrorist attacks in the United States killed nearly 3,000 people and brought North American air travel to a halt. Hundreds of planes bound for the U.S. were suddenly redirected to Canada. Twenty five years later, Season 5 of Canadian Time Machine begins with Kathy Fox, who was helping oversee Canada’s air traffic system as those aircraft were brought safely to the ground.

Le 11 septembre 2001, des attentats terroristes coordonnés aux États-Unis font près de 3 000 morts et paralysent le transport aérien en Amérique du Nord. Des centaines d’avions à destination des États-Unis sont alors déroutés vers le Canada. La saison 5 de Canadian Time Machine s’ouvre avec Kathy Fox, qui supervisait le système de contrôle de la circulation aérienne au Canada au moment où ces appareils devaient être ramenés au sol en toute sécurité.

For generations, Canada built its prosperity on economic integration with the United States, only to find itself hostage to its nearest neighbour. Join us for the second of three 2026 McGill Max Bell Lectures with authors Ricardo Hausmann and Eric Protzer.

The Walrus is located within the bounds of Treaty 13 signed with the Mississaugas of the Credit. This land is also the traditional territory of the Anishnabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat peoples. © 2026 The Walrus. All Rights Reserved. Charitable Registration Number: No. 861851624-RR0001

There are times in politics and government when leaders are faced with a fundamental, even primordial, choice. Either protect your partisan political interests or put them at risk for what can be argued is a greater public good. It’s called a test of leadership. At this moment, with Canada under direct economic assault by the United States, Saskatchewan premier Scott Moe is at that crossroads. How he acts will cement his political legacy.

American farmers need it. Let’s use that dependence to fight back

The collapse of Canada’s trade negotiations with the United States has pushed Quebec into what Premier Christine Fréchette and the Quebec Federation of Chambers of Commerce have called a “worst-case scenario” for local businesses. On August 22, the Donald Trump administration imposed a 50 percent tariff on roughly $28 billion in Canadian exports. Canada is fighting back dollar for dollar, announcing tariffs of between 15 and 50 percent on roughly $28 billion in US imports, effective September 8.

Canada is an Arctic country. The region accounts for 40 percent of its landmass and 70 percent of its coastline. Its northern archipelago alone beggars the imagination, encompassing some 1.4 million square kilometres, scattered across thousands of islands. But is Canada an Arctic power? Does it have the capacity to secure and defend such a vast territory?

“Do you have any interest in graduating?” It was the spring of 2013, the last semester of high school, and I was sitting in my guidance counsellor’s office. A usually kindly older woman, she gripped a sheaf of papers like a pissed-off lawyer. My attendance record, printed. The usual twinkle in her eye had been replaced with something harder. The question sent a familiar heat to my face. It was not my first time in her office.

“The number of targeted AI ads I get as a student is really insane,” Eden Daniel told me over coffee. Every time she opened YouTube, she was hit with a barrage of offers to take shortcuts on her schoolwork, especially during midterms. Daniel has a visceral aversion to the technology, framing it as plague on society that enriches tech billionaires and destroys the environment.