The Iranian regime’s very present threat in Canada
The Islamic Republic of Iran’s global image is in further disarray after Israeli and American bombings, and the spectre of regime change looms once again. Will the Iranian regime finally fall? Iranian nuclear sites may well have been destroyed and high-profile scientists and military leaders assassinated, but the regime stands. The Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, […]
Justice or ideology?
Alberta court’s ‘gender’ ruling ignores evidence and common sense. Last November, the Alberta Medical Association (AMA) released a statement taking aim at the Smith government for its new legislation banning puberty blockers and hormone therapy for trans-identifying youth. The AMA stated, among other things: “There is no place for the government in the medical decisions […]
Memo to tourists: Dachau is not Disneyland
Within Dachau’s walls, the crowds are frenetic, loud, and only generally aware that something significant surrounds them. How did it come to this? In an age of ubiquitous technology and look-at-me social media, where “selfies” have replaced a focus on others while travelling—remember when people once took pictures of their friends and family, with their […]
Why the West’s separatists could be just as big a threat as Quebec’s
It is a mistake to dismiss the movement as too small In light of the poor showing by separatist candidates in recent Alberta byelections, pundits and politicians will be tempted to again dismiss threats of western separatism as over-hyped, and too tiny to be taken seriously, just as they did before and after the April 28 […]
Marriage and our social health
A Review of I … Do? Why Marriage Still Matters by Andrea Mrozek and Peter Jon Mitchell, Cascade Books, 2024. “Marriage is a public good, and now more than ever North Americans need to reimagine what a healthy marriage culture could look like in a pluralistic society” write Andrea Mrozek and Peter Jon Mitchell, as […]
Separatist Sentiment: Polling comparisons in the West and Quebec
Introduction: Underestimating Western frustrations would be a mistake In the recent federal election, a plethora of commentary arose vis-à-vis the possibility of Western separation should the federal Liberal party re-enter Parliament with a fourth term. In early April, Preston Manning, founder of the Reform Party, wrote a partisan column asserting that the re-election of a […]
EMPLOYMENT OPENING: Media and Marketing Coordinator
The Aristotle Foundation for Public Policy is an educational and public policy think tank based in Canada that champions reason, democracy, and civilization. We seek to anchor Canadian public life in reality via facts and informed history. We are hiring a Media and Marketing Coordinator to proactively share our research, videos, columns, and more through […]
Apologizing for slavery would be a distortion of history
Canada was a world leader in the abolition of slavery. So why does an NDP MP want the government to issue an apology? One of the first petitions to Canada’s new Parliament has landed, and the topic is slavery. Endorsed by Gord Johns, an MP from British Columbia who managed to survive the recent NDP […]
The Canadian Medical Association’s inexplicable stance on pediatric gender medicine
Physicians have a duty to put forward the best possible evidence, not ideology, based treatments Late last month, the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) announced that it, along with three Alberta doctors, had filed a constitutional challenge to Alberta’s Bill 26 “to protect the relationship between patients, their families and doctors when it comes to making treatment decisions.” […]
John A. Macdonald’s return to Queen’s Park an opportunity for historical literacy
The reappearance of his statue at the Ontario legislature is not the end of the conversation. It should be the beginning This summer, the Ontario government will remove the box that has, for several years, concealed the statue of Sir John A. Macdonald at Queen’s Park. It was in 2020 — after several statues across […]
We need an immigration policy that will serve all Canadians
A new ministry should be held responsible for ensuring we’re letting in people who will further our economic interests, and that infrastructure can keep up Canadians deserve an immigration system that serves the national interest. This is exactly what we once had when most Canadians agreed with the economic and cultural arguments in favour of […]
Repairing the fray: Improving immigration and citizenship policy in Canada
Executive summary The Canadian public deserves a trustworthy immigration system that serves the national interest. Until recently, most Canadians were proud to support a generous immigration system; the bipartisan consensus was that a reasonable level of young, high-skill immigration attracts capital, improves productivity, and sustains population levels—benefiting not only the immigrant but also Canadian society. […]
Exposing the true nature of ‘campus investigations’
Review of Professors Speak Out: The Truth About Campus Investigations by Nicholas Wolfinger. Washington DC: Academica Press, 2025. Once upon a time, when I was an undergraduate, academic life was populated by persons, mostly men, who were very smart, slightly eccentric and would sometimes say abrupt, even rude, things. Some were amazing teachers, some amazing […]
The University of Saskatchewan is on an ideological mission
It needs to end I must disclose my background here; I was employed by the University of Saskatchewan for 40 years including 13 years as president. The institution’s distinctive origins combined the development of liberal education with a responsibility to build the province’s agricultural industry, and it did the latter with world-class agricultural programs and […]
Western Canada’s creation myth
Why Laurentian Canada’s survival narrative doesn’t resonate in the West Note to readers: We are posting Aristotle Foundation president Mark Milke’s 2010 National Post column on Western Canada as it contains timeless observations about differences in the development of Canada’s regions, i.e., the settling of what is now eastern and central Canada vis-à-vis western Canada. […]
Is It 1938 Out There?
Today’s Hamas sympathizers echo the 1930s ‘Bund’ movement in North America. Since the Hamas invasion of Israel to massacre Jews on Oct. 7, 2023, there has been an eruption of public Jew-hatred in Canada. The most recent example occurred this past weekend, at the start of Passover, when “pro-Palestinian” demonstrations took place on Parliament Hill […]
A primer on why DEI is a mistake
Why is DEI so flawed and illiberal? One reason we set up the Aristotle Foundation for Public Policy is to give Canadians the data, history, and tools to inform themselves and others. Think of us as the “wholesaler.” It’s our goal to provide research you can then “retail” to students, parents, teachers, politicians, the media—anyone […]
Book excerpt: No Avro Arrow conspiracy
Contrary to the myths, Diefenbaker’s decision ultimately came down to dollars and cents The Avro Arrow has taken on myths of epic proportions since the Diefenbaker government scrapped its development in 1959. According to such folklore, the cancellation was the result of a deep conspiracy that scuttled superior Canadian technology at the behest of a […]
Mark Milke discusses housing and immigration on The Cārvāka Podcast
The Aristotle Foundation recently published a study on housing and immigration. Podcasters Kushal Mehra and Daniel Bordman interviewed Mark Milke on the “demand” side of this topic. Watch the interview on YouTube:
Shawn Whatley interviews Bob Plamondon about Freedom Fighter
Bob Plamondon, author of our newest book, Freedom Fighter: John Diefenbaker’s Battle for Canadian Liberties and Independence, was recently interviewed on the Shawn Whatley podcast: PLAMONDON: “[John Diefenbaker] used to say ‘I have no choice but to stand up for the ordinary Canadian because I’m one of them.’” Check out the comprehensive interview for Bob’s insights […]
Why Canada’s housing crunch isn’t going away
Immigration levels, with the exception of skilled workers and trades, must come down quickly before Canada can meet housing demand In the past year, multiple federal and provincial politicians finally recognized one important reason why Canada’s housing shortage in the last decade became severe, rents soared, and home prices stayed at nosebleed levels: unsustainably high […]
Book excerpt: The populist vs. the banker
The Coyne-Diefenbaker dispute was no mere quibble over economic policy The following excerpt is from Freedom Fighter: John Diefenbaker’s Battle for Canadian Liberties and Independence by Bob Plamondon, published by the Aristotle Foundation for Public Policy. Foreword by Jean Chrétien. John Diefenbaker was a man of modest means with an aversion to debt. As a child, he witnessed […]
BOOK EXCERPT: It’s Complicated: The USA, JFK, and John Diefenbaker
How JFK and John Diefenbaker both interfered in each other’s election The following excerpt is from Freedom Fighter: John Diefenbaker’s Battle for Canadian Liberties and Independence by Bob Plamondon, published by the Aristotle Foundation for Public Policy. Foreword by Jean Chrétien. Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts visited Canada in October 1957, four months after John Diefenbaker had […]
Donald Trump’s continual, fake cries of victimhood
The president’s frequent cries about ‘unfairness’ are anchored in narcissism, irrationality and political scheming It would be remiss to survey grievance narratives without reference to Donald Trump precisely because his grand claims of victimhood are fanciful: a Manhattan developer/self-proclaimed billionaire who made it to the White House (twice) enduring the slings and fibs every candidate […]
Yasser Arafat — The Peter Pan Revolutionary of International Politics
The grievance narrative fed and nourished over the decades by Yasser Arafat has had murderous consequences The following excerpt is from The Victim Cult: How the Grievance Culture is Wrecking Civilization, by Mark Milke, published by the Aristotle Foundation for Public Policy. “He had a permanent chip on his shoulder, an angry undertone that seemed to insist: […]
Chronic Canadian apologies
Canadian politicians agree on virtually nothing except that apologies are owed The culture of political apologies Have we reached the ultimate stage of absurdity where some people are held responsible for things that happened before they were born, while other people are not held responsible for what they themselves are doing today? — Thomas Sowell […]
Too much of a good thing? Immigration trends and Canada’s housing shortage
Executive summary Migration is a fact of human history, and migration to and from Canada is no exception. This report focuses on one aspect of immigration and Canada: its impact on the demand for housing. In summary: As it applies to the demand for housing and the resulting adverse consequences, including rising rental costs and […]
Gender affirming hormone therapy doesn’t work
Unicorns don’t exist. More accurately, there’s no evidence that they exist, which isn’t quite the same thing. As astronomer Carl Sagan famously articulated, “Absence of evidence isn’t evidence of absence.” Yet Sagan has also popularized the idea that “extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence,” which is also true, and a reprise of a similar axiom articulated […]
Demystifying Israel: Revisiting Noa Tishby’s witty and informative guide
Review of Israel: A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth The Israeli parliament, the Knesset, voted on the Gaza disengagement plan 20 years ago this month. Initially intended to improve Israel’s security and reduce terrorism, the plan ultimately proved disastrous. Instead of fostering peace, it inadvertently allowed Hamas to consolidate power and […]
Land acknowledgements often ignore history
We should avoid creating mythology and special recognition that may have no basis in fact I remember the first time I heard a statement at a public event along the lines of, “This building is located on traditional unceded Aboriginal land.” It was in Australia, and it struck me as disingenuous, simplistic and patronizing. If […]
The shifting sands of liberalism: A review of MacKinnon’s ‘Confronting Illiberalism’
Peter MacKinnon is a lawyer, former law professor, a former Dean of Law at the University of Saskatchewan, and a senior fellow at the Aristotle Foundation among other accomplishments. He served as president of the University of Saskatchewan, and interim president at both Athabasca University and Dalhousie, resigning this last position in January 2020. In […]
Why I’m thankful for pharmaceuticals
Almost 10 years ago, at the tender age of 90, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter was diagnosed with advanced metastatic melanoma, with lesions studding his liver and his brain. Historically, that diagnosis was a death sentence, with scant months between diagnosis and demise. But Carter’s diagnosis came shortly after the dawn of a new approach […]
The DEI nightmare must be dismantled
The full extent of it in Canadian universities is now emerging Shortly after his inauguration, United States President Trump issued an executive order that ordered the dismantling of “radical and wasteful government DEI programs and preferencing.” This order terminated federal diversity, equity and inclusion-related “mandates, policies, programs, preferences and activities.” Within days, a wave, indeed more like […]
Canada must prepare for a future without the United States
Over 150 years of economic integration may soon be coming to an end There is an old saying in American politics: “If you want a friend in Washington, get yourself a dog.” Canada’s problem with U.S. President Donald Trump is clear: there isn’t a Canadian breed that would stay with him. No one knows at […]
Taking stock of discriminatory hiring practices at Canadian universities
DEI isn’t just widespread, it’s practically ubiquitous, encompassing 98% of all academic job postings. Since the first European university was founded in Bologna, Italy, in 1088, the goal of higher education was supposed to be a search for truth. Alas, too many modern ivory towers in the West, including those in Canada in recent decades, […]
Book Review: Educational Pluralism and Democracy: How to Handle Indoctrination, Promote Exposure, and Rebuild America’s Schools
A Review of Ashley Berger’s Educational Pluralism and Democracy: How to Handle Indoctrination, Promote Exposure, and Rebuild America’s Schools 225 pages, $35.00 CAD Declining outcomes. Civil discord. Cultural illiteracy. Functional illiteracy. The list goes on. K-12 education is struggling to deliver on the promise of not only universal education but also civic formation. It is […]
A mind that matters: Why everyone should know Thomas Sowell
Thomas Sowell’s searing critique of bureaucracy—“It’s hard to imagine a more stupid or dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong”—is more relevant today than ever. This legendary economist, born to North Carolina sharecroppers in 1930, overcame adversity to become one […]
DEI and academic hiring in public universities: An index of university discrimination in Canada
Executive summary This study conducts a preliminary assessment of academic job postings at public universities across Canada to gauge the extent of discriminatory hiring and threats to academic freedom from diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Typically, DEI strategies rely on equity-based moral justifications or productivity-based rationalizations for diversity and inclusion. Both approaches are increasingly coming […]
We’ve known it for years: Diversity, equity, and inclusion programs don’t work
Corporate America needn’t have waited for Trump or the Supreme Court: The business case for ditching DEI has been sitting in plain sight for years. In January, the world’s second-largest restaurant chain, McDonald’s, and Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, both joined the long list of multinational corporations that have announced they are discontinuing their […]
The Aristotle Foundation and Dr. Peter MacKinnon in Calgary on February 3rd
Thanks to generous sponsorship from Mr. Art Korpach, Mr. Marvin Romanow, and Day One Media, The Aristotle Foundation was pleased to host former president of the University of Saskatchewan and Order of Canada recipient Peter MacKinnon at the Petroleum Club in February of 2025. Peter gave a fascinating talk on his newest book, Confronting Illiberalism: […]
Book Review: ‘In Defence of Canada’ outlines country’s current malaise and how to fix it
A Review of Michel Maisonneuve’s In Defence of Canada: Reflections Of A Patriot 174 pages, $32.95 CAD Lt.-Gen. J.O. Michel Maisonneuve (retired) is a true Canadian patriot. But while he wore the uniform of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and led Canada’s French-language military university, he kept his mouth shut regarding what he was witnessing—not […]
As DEI dies, companies would be wise to abandon it sooner rather than later
Last week, the world’s largest restaurant chain, McDonald’s, followed by Meta—the technology conglomerate that runs Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp—dumped DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion). In doing so, they join Toyota, Tractor Supply, Lowe’s, Ford, Boeing, Harley-Davidson, John Deere, and Molson Coors in discontinuing or reducing DEI efforts. Even Walmart, previously one of the greatest corporate […]
Canada’s progressive antisemitism problem
A review of Selena Robinson’s Truth Be Told 278 pages, $30.00 CAD According to former British Columbia cabinet minister Selina Robinson, Canada’s Left has an antisemitism problem. Robinson should know. Until 2023, she was the only Jewish member of the leftist BC government’s provincial cabinet. That ended abruptly when she was fired on trumped-up allegations […]
Book Review: ‘After the Pogrom’ is a sobering assessment of our cultural moment
A Review of Brendan O’Neill’s After the Pogrom: 7 October, Israel and the Crisis of Civilisation 172 pages, $21.54 CAD I have long wondered why terrorism draws worldwide condemnation, unless the target is Israel. It’s commonly seen that the condemnation of Hamas is “qualified,” tentative, and reluctant. Why is this? I finally got the answer […]
New ‘Calgary Plan’ puts ideology above the needs of residents
The City of Calgary’s recently released Calgary Plan is meant to detail the next three decades of municipal development. Instead, the 156-page document devotes a lot of attention to the idea that Calgary is a systemically racist city. To wit, the word “equity” appears in the plan more than 50 times, while “affordability” surfaces a mere four […]
RFK Jr.’s false ideas about vaccines pose huge risk to public health
The incoming health secretary wants to ‘Make America Healthy Again,’ but without vaccines, his slogan might as well be, ‘Make America Infected Again’ Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination as America’s new secretary of health and human services has left much of the medical community muttering: “What the heck?” Kennedy’s stated mission is to “Make America […]
Education, not racism, drives the difference in earnings between races
New study fails to prove differences in earnings are due to systemic racism Significant federal program spending is premised on the idea that visible minorities in Canada are systemically disadvantaged. Take the latest: Earlier this fall, the federal government released a 45-page anti-racism strategy for 2024-2028, which “aims to tackle systemic racism and make our communities more inclusive and […]
Why Canada MUST support Israel
Some Canadians are wrongly critical of Israel in its war with Hamas and Hezbollah. Since the October 7th, 2023 massacre when 6,000 terrorists invaded Israel and murdered over 1,200 people, some have called for an end to the “genocide.” Except these people aren’t referring to the victims of the October 7th massacre. They’re accusing Israel […]
Toronto should celebrate Henry Dundas as an abolitionist, not continue to cancel him
Unless one has been absent from Canada for years, it’s no secret that many academics and politicians appear to be in a race to cancel historical figures. Toronto has been ground zero for this behaviour which could be taken directly from George Orwell’s famous dystopian novel 1984. That book describes a future in which the […]
Toronto cancels history, again: The irony and injustice of renaming Yonge-Dundas Square to Sankofa Square
Introduction In 2022, Torontonians renamed Ryerson University to Toronto Metropolitan University, “to address the legacy of Egerton Ryerson.”1 Rather than remember him as the founder of Ontario’s system of “free” public schools and libraries, Ryerson was “cancelled” for his suggestions regarding the curriculum for the Indian residential schools that were then being proposed. However, the […]
