Janice Kennedy

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Janice Kennedy

Tribalism has been around for as long as humanity — but I can remember a time when there was room for more tribes

Women defiantly brandished their signs, totems of outraged identity: “Justice for survivors,” read one. “We believe E.M.” Outside the London courthouse after the Hockey Canada trial, which ended on July 24 with across-the-board acquittals for the five male defendants, all self-respecting feminists knew exactly what side they were supposed to support — even if some secretly harboured suspicions that not...

Janice Kennedy

With Ottawa blighted by inaction, our nation’s capital just isn’t what it used to be

Planning a visit to Ottawa this summer? Don’t expect the full National Capital experience. Oh, you’ll have a good time. Ottawa is a picturesque city filled with historical charm, interesting shops, fine restaurants and great museums and galleries.

Janice Kennedy

The King’s throne speech is supposed to reinforce Canadian sovereignty. What it will actually do is quite different

Nothing says “strong sovereign nation” like a foreign figurehead presiding over a government’s launch party. But there it is. Prime Minister Mark Carney has invited King Charles III to deliver the new Parliament’s throne speech. Apparently, the honour of the monarch’s attendance sends a message about Canadian sovereignty.

Janice Kennedy

I was a longtime Liberal who swore off Trudeau. This is what changed for voters like me

It was a more innocent time, kinder and gentler. Life in Canada last September was simple and the politics predictable. Jagmeet Singh was ripping up his deal with the Liberals, Pierre Poilievre was still axing the tax, and Justin Trudeau was pondering which pair of socks to wear. Just another day in Ottawa.

Janice Kennedy

I’ve voted Liberal my entire life. Trudeau has made that impossible now.

The Liberal party and I have always been close. Inseparable, really. At age 21 in 1968, and freshly eligible to vote, I cast my first ballot for one Pierre Elliott Trudeau, new Liberal leader and MP for Mount Royal. It was immensely satisfying. The night before, I’d been on Sherbrooke Street as the Jean-Baptiste parade grew violent and Trudeau, who...

Janice Kennedy

Forgive Kamala Harris for downplaying the formative years she spent in Montreal. She has an election to win

Smart kids are like sponges. Even as teenagers in worlds both insular and impenetrable, smart kids soak up everything around them. So, when Kamala Harris, United States presidential candidate and historic smart kid, brushes off the five years she lived in Canada as little more than a time of lonely yearning for home, it’s difficult to believe.

Janice Kennedy

We’re losing our ability to hate the sin and love the sinner

On a sultry spring day in Key West some years ago, I interviewed an old fellow named Shine who had boxed in his youth with Ernest Hemingway. The writer, who lived in that seedy beach town and wore machismo like a badge, loved boasting about fighting real boxers. Shine, a lightweight half Hemingway’s size, laughed as he recalled what a...