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Wednesday, December 17, 2025

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Christopher Dornan

Christopher Dornan taught for 33 years in the School of Journalism and Communication at Carleton University. He is the co-editor, with Jon Pammett, of The Canadian Federal Election of 2021, to be published this month by McGill-Queen's University Press.

Extremities of anger

  • Marsha Lederman’s October 7th is a book that comes out of the Hamas attacks on Israel and Israel’s military response, but it’s not an account of
Feature | BY CHRISTOPHER DORNAN | December 8, 2025
Marsha Lederman is a columnist and arts correspondent for The Globe and Mail, and also author of Kiss the Red Stairs, a memoir of the Holocaust and her grandparents. She abhors what Hamas planned and executed on Oct. 7, 2023, unforgivable act of butchery. She also detests the politics of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, writes Christopher Dornan. Photograph courtesy of Penguin Random House Canada

Extremities of anger

Feature | BY CHRISTOPHER DORNAN | December 8, 2025
  • Marsha Lederman’s October 7th is a book that comes out of the Hamas attacks on Israel and Israel’s military response, but it’s not an account of

Extremities of anger

Feature | BY CHRISTOPHER DORNAN | December 8, 2025
  • Marsha Lederman’s October 7th is a book that comes out of the Hamas attacks on Israel and Israel’s military response, but it’s not an account of
Marsha Lederman is a columnist and arts correspondent for The Globe and Mail, and also author of Kiss the Red Stairs, a memoir of the Holocaust and her grandparents. She abhors what Hamas planned and executed on Oct. 7, 2023, unforgivable act of butchery. She also detests the politics of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, writes Christopher Dornan. Photograph courtesy of Penguin Random House Canada

Andrew Coyne fears and foretells the fall of Canada

  • Andrew Coyne is right to raise his voice about the crisis of Canada. But the extinction-level political disaster he’s so worried about hasn’t happened
Opinion | BY CHRISTOPHER DORNAN | December 8, 2025
In The Crisis of Canadian Democracy, Andrew Coyne fears and foretells the fall of Canada, not through annexation by some demented megalomaniac, but because of our self-worsening, writes Christopher Dornan. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Andrew Coyne fears and foretells the fall of Canada

Opinion | BY CHRISTOPHER DORNAN | December 8, 2025
  • Andrew Coyne is right to raise his voice about the crisis of Canada. But the extinction-level political disaster he’s so worried about hasn’t happened

Andrew Coyne fears and foretells the fall of Canada

Opinion | BY CHRISTOPHER DORNAN | December 8, 2025
  • Andrew Coyne is right to raise his voice about the crisis of Canada. But the extinction-level political disaster he’s so worried about hasn’t happened
In The Crisis of Canadian Democracy, Andrew Coyne fears and foretells the fall of Canada, not through annexation by some demented megalomaniac, but because of our self-worsening, writes Christopher Dornan. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Imagining Canada into being

  • The narratives of nation building have always been aspirational, and for a country that holds itself to be just and tolerant, Canada’s past and
Feature | BY CHRISTOPHER DORNAN | December 4, 2025
The prime ministers: From top left, to right, row by row: Carney, Justin Trudeau, Harper, Martin, Chrétien, Campbell; Mulroney, Turner, Clark, Pierre Trudeau, Pearson, Diefenbaker; St-Laurent, Bennett, Mackenzie King, Meighen, Borden, Laurier; Tupper, Bowell, Thompson, Abbott, Mackenzie, and Macdonald. Photographs courtesy of Commons Wikimedia

Imagining Canada into being

Feature | BY CHRISTOPHER DORNAN | December 4, 2025
  • The narratives of nation building have always been aspirational, and for a country that holds itself to be just and tolerant, Canada’s past and

Imagining Canada into being

Feature | BY CHRISTOPHER DORNAN | December 4, 2025
  • The narratives of nation building have always been aspirational, and for a country that holds itself to be just and tolerant, Canada’s past and
The prime ministers: From top left, to right, row by row: Carney, Justin Trudeau, Harper, Martin, Chrétien, Campbell; Mulroney, Turner, Clark, Pierre Trudeau, Pearson, Diefenbaker; St-Laurent, Bennett, Mackenzie King, Meighen, Borden, Laurier; Tupper, Bowell, Thompson, Abbott, Mackenzie, and Macdonald. Photographs courtesy of Commons Wikimedia

Are we fascist yet?

  • Ken McGoogan’s Shadows of Tyranny is a calm work born of panic, written before Trump was re-elected. If you’ve ever wondered how you would have behaved
Feature | BY CHRISTOPHER DORNAN | January 9, 2025
In his new book, Shadows of Tyranny, left, Ken McGoogan argues we're at a historical juncture, where an ascendant right—personified by U.S. president-elect Donald Trump, right—is fed up with this system of laws, regulations, and institutions and means to rewrite them, writes Christopher Dornan. Book cover courtesy of Douglas & McIntyre and Trump photo courtesy of Commons Wikimedia

Are we fascist yet?

Feature | BY CHRISTOPHER DORNAN | January 9, 2025
  • Ken McGoogan’s Shadows of Tyranny is a calm work born of panic, written before Trump was re-elected. If you’ve ever wondered how you would have behaved

Are we fascist yet?

Feature | BY CHRISTOPHER DORNAN | January 9, 2025
  • Ken McGoogan’s Shadows of Tyranny is a calm work born of panic, written before Trump was re-elected. If you’ve ever wondered how you would have behaved
In his new book, Shadows of Tyranny, left, Ken McGoogan argues we're at a historical juncture, where an ascendant right—personified by U.S. president-elect Donald Trump, right—is fed up with this system of laws, regulations, and institutions and means to rewrite them, writes Christopher Dornan. Book cover courtesy of Douglas & McIntyre and Trump photo courtesy of Commons Wikimedia

What’s so wrong with Canada that we best snap out of our complacency?

  • Through nine persuasive yet demoralizing chapters, Jonathan Manthorpe leads us through his rational report card on our nation’s prospects. If we don't attend to
Feature | BY CHRISTOPHER DORNAN | October 30, 2024
Justin Trudeau, left, Pierre Poilievre, and Jagmeet Singh. Author Jonathan Manthorpe insists our representative democracy is crucially misrepresentative. The first-past-the-post electoral system skews the outcome, so the governments we get are a triple distortion of voters’ political will, writes Chris Dornan. The Hill Times photographs by Sam Garcia and Andrew Meade

What’s so wrong with Canada that we best snap out of our complacency?

Feature | BY CHRISTOPHER DORNAN | October 30, 2024
  • Through nine persuasive yet demoralizing chapters, Jonathan Manthorpe leads us through his rational report card on our nation’s prospects. If we don't attend to

What’s so wrong with Canada that we best snap out of our complacency?

Feature | BY CHRISTOPHER DORNAN | October 30, 2024
  • Through nine persuasive yet demoralizing chapters, Jonathan Manthorpe leads us through his rational report card on our nation’s prospects. If we don't attend to
Justin Trudeau, left, Pierre Poilievre, and Jagmeet Singh. Author Jonathan Manthorpe insists our representative democracy is crucially misrepresentative. The first-past-the-post electoral system skews the outcome, so the governments we get are a triple distortion of voters’ political will, writes Chris Dornan. The Hill Times photographs by Sam Garcia and Andrew Meade

Almost everyone wants to dial down the political rhetoric, here’s why no one knows how to

  • There are so many worked-up people on social media who have no interest in being less angry. Quite the pickle we’ve gotten ourselves into, eh?
Opinion | BY CHRISTOPHER DORNAN | July 25, 2024
Donald Trump, Justin Trudeau, and Pierre Poilievre. We all know that the engine of democratic politics is overheating, but we don’t know how to cool it down. We can’t legislate our way out of this. You can’t order people to relax. And we can’t talk ourselves into it, writes Chris Dornan. The Hill Times photographs by Andrew Meade, and courtesy of Flickr/Gage Skidmore, and illustration by Neena Singhal

Almost everyone wants to dial down the political rhetoric, here’s why no one knows how to

Opinion | BY CHRISTOPHER DORNAN | July 25, 2024
  • There are so many worked-up people on social media who have no interest in being less angry. Quite the pickle we’ve gotten ourselves into, eh?

Almost everyone wants to dial down the political rhetoric, here’s why no one knows how to

Opinion | BY CHRISTOPHER DORNAN | July 25, 2024
  • There are so many worked-up people on social media who have no interest in being less angry. Quite the pickle we’ve gotten ourselves into, eh?
Donald Trump, Justin Trudeau, and Pierre Poilievre. We all know that the engine of democratic politics is overheating, but we don’t know how to cool it down. We can’t legislate our way out of this. You can’t order people to relax. And we can’t talk ourselves into it, writes Chris Dornan. The Hill Times photographs by Andrew Meade, and courtesy of Flickr/Gage Skidmore, and illustration by Neena Singhal

Trudeau: he eludes us still

  • Stephen Maher and Paul Wells both offer insights into who Justin Trudeau is and what makes him tick. But one wonders if we’ll ever
Feature | BY CHRISTOPHER DORNAN | June 10, 2024
Hot tickets: Stephen Maher's The Prince: The Turbulent Reign of Justin Trudeau, and Paul Wells' Justin Trudeau on the Ropes are must-reads this spring. Images courtesy of Simon & Schuster, Sutherland House, and The Hill Times photographs by Jake Wright

Trudeau: he eludes us still

Feature | BY CHRISTOPHER DORNAN | June 10, 2024
  • Stephen Maher and Paul Wells both offer insights into who Justin Trudeau is and what makes him tick. But one wonders if we’ll ever

Trudeau: he eludes us still

Feature | BY CHRISTOPHER DORNAN | June 10, 2024
  • Stephen Maher and Paul Wells both offer insights into who Justin Trudeau is and what makes him tick. But one wonders if we’ll ever
Hot tickets: Stephen Maher's The Prince: The Turbulent Reign of Justin Trudeau, and Paul Wells' Justin Trudeau on the Ropes are must-reads this spring. Images courtesy of Simon & Schuster, Sutherland House, and The Hill Times photographs by Jake Wright

What makes Canada the country that it is, what should we work to preserve, and what should we try to change?

  • Rob Goodman and Daniel J. Savoie tackle the same questions but in completely different ways. Thoughtful and compellingly argued, both books have been deservedly
Feature | BY CHRISTOPHER DORNAN | May 6, 2024
Not Here: Why American Democracy is Eroding and How Canada Can Protect Itself, by Rob Goodman, and Canada: Beyond Grudges, Grievances, and Disunity, by Donald J. Savoie, McGill-Queen’s University Press. Book covers courtesy Simon & Schuster Canada and McGill-Queen's University Press

What makes Canada the country that it is, what should we work to preserve, and what should we try to change?

Feature | BY CHRISTOPHER DORNAN | May 6, 2024
  • Rob Goodman and Daniel J. Savoie tackle the same questions but in completely different ways. Thoughtful and compellingly argued, both books have been deservedly

What makes Canada the country that it is, what should we work to preserve, and what should we try to change?

Feature | BY CHRISTOPHER DORNAN | May 6, 2024
  • Rob Goodman and Daniel J. Savoie tackle the same questions but in completely different ways. Thoughtful and compellingly argued, both books have been deservedly
Not Here: Why American Democracy is Eroding and How Canada Can Protect Itself, by Rob Goodman, and Canada: Beyond Grudges, Grievances, and Disunity, by Donald J. Savoie, McGill-Queen’s University Press. Book covers courtesy Simon & Schuster Canada and McGill-Queen's University Press

Martin Baron digs into The Washington Post

  • As the senior news executive at The Washington Post, Martin Baron was a key member of that establishment press. His newsroom was a thorn in
Feature | BY CHRISTOPHER DORNAN | March 11, 2024
Martin Baron, former editor of The Washington Post, and author of Collision of Power: Trump, Bezos, and The Washington Post. Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Martin Baron digs into The Washington Post

Feature | BY CHRISTOPHER DORNAN | March 11, 2024
  • As the senior news executive at The Washington Post, Martin Baron was a key member of that establishment press. His newsroom was a thorn in

Martin Baron digs into The Washington Post

Feature | BY CHRISTOPHER DORNAN | March 11, 2024
  • As the senior news executive at The Washington Post, Martin Baron was a key member of that establishment press. His newsroom was a thorn in
Martin Baron, former editor of The Washington Post, and author of Collision of Power: Trump, Bezos, and The Washington Post. Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

For an entire generation of Canadians, a future without the legacy news industry is already here

  • The current government has been grappling with how to assist the responsible news industry as it adjusts to a transformed economy. But the legacy
Opinion | BY CHRISTOPHER DORNAN | December 11, 2023
Justice Minister Arif Virani speaks with reporters after the Liberal cabinet meeting in West Block on Sept. 19, 2023. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

For an entire generation of Canadians, a future without the legacy news industry is already here

Opinion | BY CHRISTOPHER DORNAN | December 11, 2023
  • The current government has been grappling with how to assist the responsible news industry as it adjusts to a transformed economy. But the legacy

For an entire generation of Canadians, a future without the legacy news industry is already here

Opinion | BY CHRISTOPHER DORNAN | December 11, 2023
  • The current government has been grappling with how to assist the responsible news industry as it adjusts to a transformed economy. But the legacy
Justice Minister Arif Virani speaks with reporters after the Liberal cabinet meeting in West Block on Sept. 19, 2023. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

It’s Pierre Poilievre versus the media

  • We know that he wants to defund the CBC once he's prime minister, but he's also just as unhappy with The Canadian Press and
Opinion | BY CHRISTOPHER DORNAN | July 12, 2023
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, pictured in a Hill scrum, insists that his contempt for the CBC ensnares the broadcaster in a conflict of interest. It should recuse itself from the national conversation. He de-authorizes it, writes Chris Dornan. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

It’s Pierre Poilievre versus the media

Opinion | BY CHRISTOPHER DORNAN | July 12, 2023
  • We know that he wants to defund the CBC once he's prime minister, but he's also just as unhappy with The Canadian Press and

It’s Pierre Poilievre versus the media

Opinion | BY CHRISTOPHER DORNAN | July 12, 2023
  • We know that he wants to defund the CBC once he's prime minister, but he's also just as unhappy with The Canadian Press and
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, pictured in a Hill scrum, insists that his contempt for the CBC ensnares the broadcaster in a conflict of interest. It should recuse itself from the national conversation. He de-authorizes it, writes Chris Dornan. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Bill Fox digs into how social media, online journalism have completely transformed the way we do politics

  • Trump, Trudeau, Tweets, Truth is an extended meditation on what has become of political discourse in the 21st century, when the news media of old—beggared
Feature | BY CHRISTOPHER DORNAN | December 19, 2022
Then-U.S. president Donald Trump and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, pictured June 8, 2018, at the G7 meeting in Quebec. Twitter has assumed a centrality of place in the political theatre, becoming over the span of a few short years, the main stage on which the cut and thrust of partisan duelling plays out. Photograph courtesy of Global Affairs Canada

Bill Fox digs into how social media, online journalism have completely transformed the way we do politics

Feature | BY CHRISTOPHER DORNAN | December 19, 2022
  • Trump, Trudeau, Tweets, Truth is an extended meditation on what has become of political discourse in the 21st century, when the news media of old—beggared

Bill Fox digs into how social media, online journalism have completely transformed the way we do politics

Feature | BY CHRISTOPHER DORNAN | December 19, 2022
  • Trump, Trudeau, Tweets, Truth is an extended meditation on what has become of political discourse in the 21st century, when the news media of old—beggared
Then-U.S. president Donald Trump and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, pictured June 8, 2018, at the G7 meeting in Quebec. Twitter has assumed a centrality of place in the political theatre, becoming over the span of a few short years, the main stage on which the cut and thrust of partisan duelling plays out. Photograph courtesy of Global Affairs Canada

Savoie sets out to detail how government pesters itself

  • Donald Savoie, one of the country’s most respected scholars, argues with conviction and exasperation that 'government' doesn’t work anymore, and things are getting worse.
Feature | BY CHRISTOPHER DORNAN | December 19, 2022
The Prime Minister's Office, in Ottawa. Donald Savoie argues that the modern-day government bureaucracy and line departments have made nobodies of MPs and flunkies of cabinet ministers, which only exacerbates public disenchantment with democracy. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Savoie sets out to detail how government pesters itself

Feature | BY CHRISTOPHER DORNAN | December 19, 2022
  • Donald Savoie, one of the country’s most respected scholars, argues with conviction and exasperation that 'government' doesn’t work anymore, and things are getting worse.

Savoie sets out to detail how government pesters itself

Feature | BY CHRISTOPHER DORNAN | December 19, 2022
  • Donald Savoie, one of the country’s most respected scholars, argues with conviction and exasperation that 'government' doesn’t work anymore, and things are getting worse.
The Prime Minister's Office, in Ottawa. Donald Savoie argues that the modern-day government bureaucracy and line departments have made nobodies of MPs and flunkies of cabinet ministers, which only exacerbates public disenchantment with democracy. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Eisler offers sharp look into Saskatchewan politics in new book, From Left to Right

  • The howl of extremism intensifies, rattling windowpanes from the Privy Council Office to Bay Street, and the elites who occupy these high offices don’t
Feature | BY CHRISTOPHER DORNAN | September 7, 2022
Dale Eisler is a wise mind. In the first part of his career, he was an influential and widely respected journalist on the Prairies. In the second, he was an influential and widely respected public servant in the nation's capital. Images courtesy of Facebook and the University of Regina Press

Eisler offers sharp look into Saskatchewan politics in new book, From Left to Right

Feature | BY CHRISTOPHER DORNAN | September 7, 2022
  • The howl of extremism intensifies, rattling windowpanes from the Privy Council Office to Bay Street, and the elites who occupy these high offices don’t

Eisler offers sharp look into Saskatchewan politics in new book, From Left to Right

Feature | BY CHRISTOPHER DORNAN | September 7, 2022
  • The howl of extremism intensifies, rattling windowpanes from the Privy Council Office to Bay Street, and the elites who occupy these high offices don’t
Dale Eisler is a wise mind. In the first part of his career, he was an influential and widely respected journalist on the Prairies. In the second, he was an influential and widely respected public servant in the nation's capital. Images courtesy of Facebook and the University of Regina Press
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