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The Walrus
@thewalrus.ca
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Canada's Conversation. Award-winning independent journalism, fact checking, and national ideas-focused events. Stay connected: http://thewalrus.ca/newsletters
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The Russo-Ukrainian war isn’t only about land—it’s about erasing a people. From Joseph Stalin’s famine to Vladimir Putin’s missiles, Ukraine faces a century-long campaign against its language, culture, and right to exist. Writer Ira Wells explores: thewalrus.ca/ukraines-war-is-...
On the left: a photograph of a pile of rusty and burned cars with sunflowers painted on them. On the right: text that reads “Ukraine’s war is producing a new politics of memory. Amid the destruction, Ukrainians are rapidly converting sites of violence into lasting national markers"
December 26, 2025 at 9:00 PM
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“A bureaucracy of evil.”

Like the Nazis, Bashar al-Assad’s regime meticulously documented its own crimes. Those records could bring war criminals to court—or be lost forever. Writer Adnan R. Khan asks: Will Syrians ever get justice? thewalrus.ca/syria-justice/
On the left: A photo of a window in a stone wall that shows several people in a room. On the right: text that reads “How a trove of smuggled records could help Syrians get justice for war crimes. The al-Assad regime might be undone by its own bureaucracy, which rivalled that of the Nazis"
December 26, 2025 at 5:00 PM
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Joy takes many forms. Here are the big wins and simple pleasures that made 2025 just a little bit brighter for The Walrus staff: thewalrus.ca/what-brought-us-...
On the left: a brightly coloured illustration of a winter scene featuring people walking in the snow and gathering inside. On the right: text that reads “What brought us joy in 2025. Finding moments of pleasure, peace, and fun in a dizzying year.”
December 26, 2025 at 3:00 PM
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When it comes to the labour market, the kids are not alright. Our editors pick their favourite stories this year about money: thewalrus.ca/2025-best-busine...
On the left: a photo illustration of a wallet with money against an orange background. On the right: text that reads “2025: The year in money (but mostly not having money). Tales of big business, HR bots, and how all those condos ended up on the market”
December 26, 2025 at 1:00 PM
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Contrary to what the Hallmark Channel might make you think, holiday movies haven’t always been so whitewashed, writes Soraya Roberts. In this 2017 story, she traces the political underpinnings of Hallmark’s homogenized brand of “good, clean fun”: thewalrus.ca/the-unwatchable-...
The Unwatchable Whiteness of Holiday Movies | The Walrus
Hallmark's brand of wholesomeness reinforces racist stereotypes of who deserves happy endings
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December 25, 2025 at 11:00 PM
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“Everything looked the same as the year before—the rows of brick, a tree with lights, an inflatable Santa. Nothing was.”

Revisit Claire Cameron’s short story “Jude the Brave”: thewalrus.ca/jude-the-brave/
Jude the Brave | The Walrus
Everything looked the same as the year before—the rows of brick, a tree with lights, an inflatable Santa. Nothing was
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December 25, 2025 at 9:00 PM
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Handpicked by our editors, here are nine stories to read over the holiday break that tell you what you didn’t know you needed to know—including the secret of bioluminescence, what’s happening in the world of alternative burials, and more: thewalrus.ca/2025-surprising-...
On the left: a photo illustration of a man reading a newspaper against a yellow background. On the right: text that reads “2025: The stories that surprised us. These are the articles that our editors can’t stop thinking about”
December 25, 2025 at 5:00 PM
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Kevin O’Leary doesn’t disappear into Josh Safdie’s Marty Supreme. His politics, scandals, and bluster come with him. That tension—between character and public persona—is the point, and the movie knows it. thewalrus.ca/what-the-hell-is...
On the left: Timothée Chalamet as Marty Mauser points a ping pong at Kevin O'Leary as Milton Rockwell in the film "Marty Supreme." On the right: text that reads “What the hell is Kevin O'Leary doing in Marty Supreme. Safdie films are known for crazy casting decisions. This might be the biggest swing yet.”
December 25, 2025 at 3:00 PM
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The Walrus closes out the year by compiling a list of things that brings our team joy. Check out our team’s top moments of 2025: thewalrus.ca/what-brought-us-...
On the left: a brightly coloured illustration of a winter scene featuring people walking in the snow and gathering inside. On the right: text that reads “What brought us joy in 2025. Finding moments of pleasure, peace, and fun in a dizzying year.”
December 25, 2025 at 1:00 PM
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Online retailers have made gift shopping feel efficient and effortless, but also impersonal, something that makes writer Jane Macdougall long for her university retail job. “I miss deducing the perfect present based on a series of skillful questions.” thewalrus.ca/why-i-miss-my-ho...
Why I Miss My Holiday Retail Job | The Walrus
You can buy anything you want online. But the internet can’t capture the magic of the Eaton’s perfume counter at Christmas
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December 24, 2025 at 11:00 PM
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Could climate change kill the Christmas tree?

Back in 2022, The Walrus spoke with arborist Kellen Wood to find out what the future of the festive staple might look like in an era of increasingly unpredictable weather: thewalrus.ca/christmas-tree-s...
Could Climate Change Kill the Christmas Tree? | The Walrus
To find out what the future of the Christmas tree industry might look like, we spoke with an arborist who works as the grounds supervisor at the University of Guelph’s arboretum
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December 24, 2025 at 9:00 PM
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When Alberta ordered schools to remove books with “explicit sexual content” from their libraries this past summer, educators responded in kind, flagging over 200 titles. Premier Danielle Smith later declared this a form of “vicious compliance.” thewalrus.ca/malicious-compli...
On the left: A photo of Alberta's premier Danielle Smith grimacing. On the right: text that reads “Albertans are driving their government crazy by following new laws too much. Turns out, nothing is quite as irritating as enthusiastically and maliciously embracing legislation.”
December 24, 2025 at 5:00 PM
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Writer Laakkuluk Williamson does enjoy going to a traditional spa, but for her, nothing compares to the raw energy, raucousness, and ultimate calmness of hitting the cycles of thermal hot and cold in an environment of your own making. Enter: cold-plunging. thewalrus.ca/swimming-arctic/
On the left: an illustration, largely in blue, featuring the outline of a person with waves and lines across them in blue. On the right: text that reads: “Better than the spa: why I dive into Iqaluit’s icy waters. At high tide, a group of women plunge into the ocean to find calm in the extremes”
December 24, 2025 at 3:00 PM
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From the publishing industry’s gambling problem to the World Sauna Championships, here are nine stories from 2025 that our editors can’t stop thinking about: thewalrus.ca/2025-surprising-...
On the left: a photo illustration of a man reading a newspaper against a yellow background. On the right: text that reads “2025: The stories that surprised us. These are the articles that our editors can’t stop thinking about”
December 24, 2025 at 1:00 PM
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After Canada imposed import duties on Chinese electric vehicles, steel, and aluminum in 2024, Beijing hit back by introducing tariffs on Canadian canola. Former Canadian diplomat @kovrig.bsky.social says this isn’t just a trade spat—it’s a pointed strategy. thewalrus.ca/chinas-trade-ult...
On the left: an illustration of Chinese president Xi Jinping playing chess with pieces topped with symbols of various resource industries. On the right: text that reads “China’s trade ultimatum to Canada: comply or suffer. Former diplomat Michael Kovrig explains the deeper logic behind Beijing’s economic coercion.”
December 23, 2025 at 11:00 PM
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Green Party leader Elizabeth May reluctantly backed the Liberals’ budget after Mark Carney vowed to uphold Canada’s climate commitments. Then came a cannonball fired into the body of climate science: Ottawa’s memorandum of understanding with Alberta. thewalrus.ca/no-matter-which-...
On the left: an illustration by John Konrad of Canadian prime minister Mark Carney depicted in a Rorschach test. On the right: text that reads “No matter which way you look at it, Carney has abandoned climate. It’s one thing to make compromises in times of national crisis. It’s another to twist the math on emissions.”
December 23, 2025 at 9:00 PM
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A typographical mystery involving Parliament, Russian spies, and an Italian automotive engineer. Historian Taylor Noakes interviews the man behind the bombshell findings: thewalrus.ca/alleged-kgb-inte...
On the left: A photo illustration featuring a red-tinted photo of a man, leaning on his hand, with black lines running across it. On the right: text that reads “The automotive engineer who took apart a bogus KGB intelligence dossier. Giuseppe Bianchin explains how he came to investigate one of Canada’s strangest security controversies”
December 23, 2025 at 5:00 PM
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In Iqaluit, a group of women are reclaiming the Arctic tide.

From its razor-sharp ice to its array of kelp and seaweed, writer Laakkuluk Williamson and her friends are finding moments of serenity in one of the world’s most unique environments. thewalrus.ca/swimming-arctic/
On the left: an illustration, largely in blue, featuring the outline of a person with waves and lines across them in blue. On the right: text that reads: “Better than the spa: why I dive into Iqaluit’s icy waters. At high tide, a group of women plunge into the ocean to find calm in the extremes”
December 23, 2025 at 3:00 PM
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Writer-director Josh Safdie has always cast close to the bone, but Kevin O’Leary’s turn as the fabulously wealthy and ethically bankrupt Milton Rockwell in Marty Supreme may be his boldest—and smartest—gamble yet. Film critic @brofromanother.bsky.social explores: thewalrus.ca/what-the-hell-is...
On the left: Timothée Chalamet as Marty Mauser points a ping pong at Kevin O'Leary as Milton Rockwell in the film "Marty Supreme." On the right: text that reads “What the hell is Kevin O'Leary doing in Marty Supreme. Safdie films are known for crazy casting decisions. This might be the biggest swing yet.”
December 23, 2025 at 1:00 PM
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Steven Guilbeault’s resignation from Mark Carney's cabinet revealed how deeply emotional the climate and energy file has become. As Paul Wells notes, there are still facts, and they still matter, but feelings are driving the national conversation. thewalrus.ca/carneys-pipeline...
On the left: A photo illustration featuring a red background behind Pierre Poilievre. On the right: text that reads “The numbers behind Poilievre’s leadership dilemma. Polls show half the country wants him gone, even as Conservative voters overwhelmingly want him to stay.”
December 22, 2025 at 11:00 PM
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In @jidesalawu.bsky.social's poetry collection, Contraband Bodies, migration is mediated by technology. Implicit in the references to electronic communication is the possibility of return, a prospect—not necessarily happy or uncomplicated—that haunts the book. thewalrus.ca/canadian-literat...
On the left: an illustration of two people riding on the backs of Canadian geese in flight. On the right: text that reads “Canadian literature needs to stop talking only to itself. Jide Salawu’s bracing poetry debut challenges the idea that national writing can exist in isolation.”
December 22, 2025 at 9:00 PM
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Sugaring was once a bucolic springtime activity. But as the maple syrup industry evolved, it crashed into the industrial realities of the twentieth century. It's here, writes Peter Kuitenbrouwer, that the story veers pell-mell into the world of big business. thewalrus.ca/how-quebec-farme...
On the left: an illustration of two men in a snowy forest with a horse-drawn sled, collecting maple sap. On the right: "How Quebec farmers took on Vermont’s maple syrup king—and won. The David-and-Goliath fight with an American tycoon who had cornered the market.”
December 22, 2025 at 5:00 PM
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Something funny is happening in Alberta. Albertans are following the law—and it’s driving the government bonkers. People using new referendum and recall laws exactly as written are triggering chaos the province didn't anticipate. @cfrangou.bsky.social explores: thewalrus.ca/malicious-compli...
On the left: A photo of Alberta's premier Danielle Smith grimacing. On the right: text that reads “Albertans are driving their government crazy by following new laws too much. Turns out, nothing is quite as irritating as enthusiastically and maliciously embracing legislation.”
December 22, 2025 at 3:00 PM
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Mark Carney has long been promising to make Canada an energy superpower. But what happens when “clean” energy growth is pursued alongside fossil fuel expansion? @arnokopecky.bsky.social reports on how the country’s climate ambitions have given way to politics: thewalrus.ca/no-matter-which-...
On the left: an illustration by John Konrad of Canadian prime minister Mark Carney depicted in a Rorschach test. On the right: text that reads “No matter which way you look at it, Carney has abandoned climate. It’s one thing to make compromises in times of national crisis. It’s another to twist the math on emissions.”
December 22, 2025 at 1:00 PM
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If writing is about pattern-matching, what separates the language produced by humans from that of machines? Author and editor André Forget argues the difference comes down not to brilliance but biology. thewalrus.ca/if-chatbots-can-...
On the left: Image of a silhouetted human head in profile with the top cut off; colourful letters are coming out of the top. On the right: text that reads “If chatbots can replace writers, it’s because we made writing replaceable. A good deal of what gets published already reads like a photocopy of a photocopy.”
December 20, 2025 at 11:00 PM