From the Editor / L. Ian MacDonald

Welcome to the onset of spring, which we mark with a cover package  on the important and timely theme of Leadership and Turmoil. 

From the occupation of Ottawa by a disruptive horde of blockaders to the invasion of Ukraine by a Russian tyrant, unwelcome and dangerous events have posed unprecedented challenges to democracy and prosperity for Canadian and international leaders. 

Tom Axworthy begins by making a case that Canada’s role as a leading middle power on the world stage has diminished in the 21st century. 

Jeremy Kinsman, a former ambassador to both Russia and to the European Union, brings a deeply informed perspective that the Putin Problem dates from the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet empire three decades ago. Mikhail Gorbachev won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1990 for his historic role in ending the Cold War, but the 21st-century ascension of the former KGB operative has reversed that progress.

Yaroslav Baran, a prominent member of Canada’s Ukrainian diaspora, takes us through the historical context of Ukrainian-Russian relations down to the present-day crisis precipitated by the current occupant of the Kremlin.

Our associate editor, Lisa Van Dusen, from her years in and writing about Washington, brings exceptional insights to the pressures on President Joe Biden as leader of the Western world, particularly following the disastrous presidency of his predecessor.

At home, it took the Emergencies Act, never invoked since its passage in 1988, to end the illegal shutdown of a G7 capital for three weeks. Now, as Dalhousie’s Lori Turnbull writes: “We have a huge task ahead of us as a democracy: we need to understand what happened and why.”

The implications of these disruptive events, home and away, are something to be considered in a minority Parliament, where leadership and government are on the line every day in the House. John Delacourt offers his assessment of the politics of the Emergencies Act, while Don Newman weighs in with his column.

In our look ahead to Budget 2022, Kevin Page and student co-authors Sahib Dhaliwal and Megan Frendo write that traditional budgetary benchmarks have been overtaken by new expectations for post-pandemic recovery. 

Kevin Lynch and Paul Deegan note that inflation, a supply management crisis and labour shortages have also confounded the conventional world of budget forecasting. From the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, CEO Perrin Beatty and Senior VP Mark Agnew say business wants Ottawa to look past crisis management of the pandemic to encouraging new growth of the economy. In terms of delivering on commitments to clean energy on climate change, RBC’s Cynthia Leach considers post-pandemic fiscal realities, as well as inflation and commitments to social programs. And In the wake of the disruptive invasion of Ukraine, RBC Senior VP John Stackhouse suggests “the  emerging energy crisis of 2022 could become a climate opportunity for 2023 and beyond.”

In our Canada section, we are delighted to offer two remarkable long-form articles. Robin Sears offers a tribute to former NDP Leader Ed Broadbent, retiring in March as founding chair of his important public policy institute on its 10th anniversary, which also marks his 86th birthday. Robin has known Ed since the 1970s, and served as national director of the NDP during Broadbent’s years as party leader.

And in a moving recollection of her father and his generation’s wartime service to Canada and freedom, Elizabeth Moody McIninch writes how they suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, before it was known as PTSD. Their plight was ignored by Ottawa, as has been the case for succeeding generations of Canadian service men and women, a scandalous situation to this day.

Finally, in Books: Spring List, we’re delighted to lead off with Anthony Wilson-Smith’s strong review of Bill Fox’s Trump, Trudeau, Tweets, Truth: A Conversation, an important work on media from a highly reliable source. 

Lisa Van Dusen weighs in with her review of Carl Bernstein’s Chasing History: A Kid in the Newsroom, about how the Watergate legend fell in love with the business at 16 as a copy boy, and who he was before he became half of history’s most indelible byline.

James Munson offers his assessment of Cobalt, the new bestseller from NDP MP Charlie Angus on the northern Ontario mining town and its role in developing Canada’s resource-based economy. And, as the 50th anniversary of the epic Canada-Russia hockey series approaches in September, Paul Deegan looks at Ice War Diplomat, by Gary J. Smith, then a young officer in the foreign service, which played a role in making it happen.

Enjoy.