Dónal Gill

Why Canada needs better data on strikes, unions and other labour issues Canada does a poor job of gathering labour relations information. In a period of rising inequality and renewed workplace conflict, stakeholders need better data.

At a time when official statistics are under political pressure elsewhere, Canada has an opportunity & a responsibility to strengthen its own commitment to open, reliable labour relations data. Adam King & I explain why:

theconversation.com/why-canada-n...

#cdnpoli #canlab

This increasingly incoherent rhetoric is going to collapse in onto itself before much longer…
#Cdnpoli

Narrativizing Confidence and Supply: NDP Political Communications during the Supply-and-Confidence Agreement | Perspectives Journal By continuously framing legislation secured through the SACA within a narrative of dysfunction, opposition, and obstruction, the NDP struggled to present itself as a constructive force in Parliament.

Very happy to share a new article I co-authored in Perspectives - A Canadian Journal of Political Economy and Social Democracy published by @broadbent.bsky.social

The new @ndp.ca leader will need to make sense of the strategy employed during the SACA
#cdnpoli
perspectivesjournal.ca/confidence-s...

A Christmas Childhood by Patrick Kavanagh

"My father played the melodion
Outside at our gate;
There were stars in the morning east
And they danced to his music."

An elderly man with white hair smiles in a gym, holding a 22 kg (50 lbs) Weider weight plate. He wears a white shirt, tie, and striped pants. The background shows exercise equipment, mirrors, and bookshelves.

On this day in 1919, Joe Weider was born in Montreal. Inspired by French-Canadian strongman Louis Cyr, he and his brother Ben created the International Federation of Bodybuilders. He and his brother brought Arnold Schwarzenegger to California in 1968.

How I Learned to Love the Notwithstanding Clause - Macleans.ca It's the most loathed part of Canada's constitution. It's also a powerful tool for democratic expression.

New article from me in @macleans.bsky.social - it’s a heterodox moderate defence (two cheers, at best) of the notwithstanding clause from a leftist perspective in the aftermath of Alberta’s Bill 2 invoking it to end the teachers’ strike (boo!)

macleans.ca/politics/how...

Quebecers are losing trust in their institutions and each other: poll Quebecers are having trust issues: they trust the media, the government and even each other less than they did 10 years ago, a new survey shows.

I spoke with @ctvnewsmontreal.bsky.social about new polling data showing a further decline in public in institutions. A few hot takes in here 😬

www.ctvnews.ca/montreal/art...

A good analysis and warning by @donalgill.bsky.social: mainstream politicians take note, we *really* do not want to be going down the UK’s path.

Critical State: US-Canadian Trade Under the Boot of Nationalism If you read just one thing this week … read about the future of US-Canadian relations in an age of tariffs.

Suggested reading in this week's Critical State:

- @donalgill.bsky.social on US-Canada ties @thedialmag.bsky.social

- @nickturse.bsky.social on Trump's deadly Yemen strikes @theintercept.com

- @hrw.org on excessive force in Chicago

- @hurwitz.bsky.social on the Boeing strike

- And more:

On the Trail | Isaac Peltz | Substack Isaac Peltz' (and often Gabrielle Brassard-Lecours) trying to do journalism. Click to read On the Trail, a Substack publication with thousands of subscribers.

Check out Isaac’s work here - www.isaacpeltz.ca - he’s reaching growing numbers of younger people with engaging and factual reporting

With Isaac Peltz, I wrote about how persistent and pervasive democratic deficit in Canada is setting the table for an insurgent reactionary populism to rise. The UK provides a cautionary example!

Canada’s democratic deficit can no longer be ignored It is difficult to imagine Carney’s Liberals collapsing as dramatically as the rudderless Starmer-led UK Labour government. That said, the rise of hard-edged, anti-system populism in Canada will be di...

The rise of reactionary anti-system populism in Canada will be difficult to prevent unless the centre and left actively confront the deepening gaps in our democratic system before further economic turbulence intensifies the crisis.

Haven’t gotten around to it yet… Ken Whyte’s savaging of it (on good cultural nationalist grounds!) on his Substack gave me some pause,I must admit.

I will add, also, that I have enormous affection for the cottage industry of Canadian cultural and national navel gazing!

Agreed, that identity is messy, over-determined, and all nationalisms are persuasive fictions on their best day. And yet… we desperately crave belonging to something larger than ourselves. Closer snd tighter sources of local identity are the tonic for many present maladies, I think.

Thank you!

It was a great pleasure to work with this great team at @thedialmag.bsky.social on this piece, something of a love letter to Canadian cultural nationalism interspersed with political and economic history. It all reverberates in Canada’s terrible position vis-a-vis the Trump admin. today 🇨🇦🍁

The left should defend democracy, not Ottawa’s bid to curb the notwithstanding clause Ottawa wants the Supreme Court to curb provincial use of the notwithstanding clause, but progressives shouldn’t cheer. Limiting Section 33 risks eroding democratic accountability and inflaming nationa...

Ottawa’s bid to restrict the notwithstanding clause is framed as rights protection, but it risks undermining democracy.

The left should defend parliamentary sovereignty, not judicial supremacy, argues @donalgill.bsky.social.

Thanks Patrick!

Opposition to AI is a key path to renewal for the NDP In charting its path forward, the NDP should place a bold opposition to AI at the heart of its political agenda. This stance must go beyond tepid calls for regulation or ethical oversight. It should r...

New piece from me in @canadiandimension.bsky.social, something that’s deliberately polemical and provocative.

A major backlash to the harms caused by AI is undoubtedly coming. This is a political opportunity - no other party has it on their agenda.

tinyurl.com/mvryfjuj

#CdnPoli #NDP #AI

Opposition to AI is a key path to renewal for the NDP In charting its path forward, the NDP should place a bold opposition to AI at the heart of its political agenda. This stance must go beyond tepid calls for regulation or ethical oversight. It should r...

The NDP doesn’t need to chase tech boosterism to stay relevant. It needs to take a principled stand against the unchecked rise of AI—and in doing so, reclaim its purpose as a voice for human dignity and democratic control, says @donalgill.bsky.social.

New episode of my Canadian politics podcast @gristle-and-bone.bsky.social is out now!

🇨🇦🍁🎙️🇨🇦🍁
We talk the throne speech, Carney vs Trudeau on Canadian identity, and the LPC not adopting the Reform Act.

Feedback welcomed!
Listen here: linktr.ee/gristleandbo...
#Cdnpoli #CanadianPolitics

The image is a black-and-white historical illustration depicting a battle scene. A group of soldiers, dressed in 19th-century military uniforms with hats and carrying rifles, is engaged in combat. Some soldiers are firing their weapons, while others appear to be advancing or taking cover. They are facing an enemy force positioned behind a wooden barricade, with smoke indicating gunfire. The setting is rural, featuring a small house with a pitched roof on the left, scattered trees, and a cloudy sky above. The scene captures the intensity of a skirmish, likely from a historical conflict such as the American Civil War.

May 25, 1870:
The Battle of Eccles Hill was fought near Frelighsburg and Saint-Armand, Quebec. Part of the Fenian Raids, the Fenians crossed the border into Canada and were met by the Canadian home guard and armed citizens. It was a victory of the Fenians that left two dead.

The Architect of Canada’s Anti-Americanism - Macleans.ca Canada’s fiercest founding father made sure that anti-Americanism was part of the country’s DNA right from the beginning

New article from me in @macleans.bsky.social

The “Poet of Confederation” Thomas D’Arcy McGee helps us understand why not being American IS at the heart of being Canadian.

I’m very proud of this. Please share if you enjoy!

#CdnPoli #Election2025 #polQc

macleans.ca/politics/the...

Fianna Fáil, The Beast That Won't Die! Never underestimate the power of resilience in politics.

There’s an old Chinese proverb: If you sit by the river for long enough, you will see the body of your enemy float by. You’d be sitting and waiting by Liffey or Lee for a long time, waiting for Fianna Fáil to float by. #GE24

www.irishpoliticsnewsletter.ie/p/fianna-fail

Fianna Fáil, The Beast That Won't Die! Never underestimate the power of resilience in politics.

Fianna Fáil are poised yet again to take the reins of government. Their longevity is remarkable.

#GE24 #Ireland #FiannaFail

open.substack.com/pub/tull/p/f...

#GE24 polling day is today! Could be a hugely consequential election for Ireland. History doesn’t repeat but it rhymes. Will this election rhyme with 1977 or 2007, I wonder 🤔 Lots to dig into and consider as we start to step back from an unusual campaign.

Meet your ex Fine Gael Candidate! The best of frenemies

Read my latest.
I am running as an “Independent candidate,” they declare, and it's not just a statement — it's a detonation. Or so they think it is. They all believe that.

www.irishpoliticsnewsletter.ie/p/meet-your-...

#GE24