IDEAS asks Canadians: How can we revitalize democracy and inspire national change?
Our cross-country series highlights local solutions to national problems
How can Canadians build a stronger, healthier democracy? It's a big question that feels especially urgent now. IDEAS host Nahlah Ayed travelled across the country searching for local ideas that could inspire national change.
The series of public talks, titled IDEAS for a Better Canada, was recorded at public libraries in Prince Edward Island, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. People who attended the events were engaged and eager to talk.
IDEAS for a Better Canada is a partnership with the Samara Centre for Democracy, a non-partisan charity dedicated to building a resilient democracy with engaged citizens and responsive institutions.
Download the IDEAS podcast to listen to this series or click on the players below.
Edmonton
Why can't we be friends?
The growing fear of political and ideological polarization is palpable, both globally and in our own country.
According to a recent study by the Public Policy Forum, 70 per cent of people between the ages of 18 and 35 believe that Canada is moderately to severely polarized, and nearly half of them expect it to get worse.
These sentiments are not surprising, given the void left by the collapse of local newspapers and radio stations, and the unregulated ascent of social media — places where so many go for their news and connection to community. Those same places are also where algorithms reward outrage. Influential billionaires control swaths of the online landscape.
At a time when political polarization is a top concern for those interested in the long-term health of our democracy, IDEAS headed to Edmonton where we met residents working hard to help understand divides and how to bridge them.
From fostering deep empathy to role-playing games to re-defining community, this city works hard to develop a healthier democracy by encouraging conversation.
Guests in this episode:
- Jared Wesley is a University of Alberta political science professor.
- Cheryl Whiskeyjack is the executive director of Bent Arrow Traditional Healing Centre.
- Kwame Owuso-Ofori came to Canada as a teenager from Ghana. For the past decade, he's been working with the Edmonton Newcomers Centre, helping support immigrants and refugees. He's now a co-manager of their employment services.
- Puneeta McBryan is the executive director of the Downtown Business Association of Edmonton, a position she's held since 2020.
- Melanie Hoffman is the associate director of Alberta Talks, a branch of an environmental organization that deploys a technique called deep canvasing to help bridge ideological divides.
WATCH | This episode was recorded at the Edmonton Public Library
Nanaimo, B.C.
Do I count? A Canada that leaves no one behind
Housing affordability is reaching a crisis point across Canada. The affordability crisis brings debate to local communities, stokes conflict between generations, and contributes to a crisis of homelessness.
More than 100,000 people call the city of Nanaimo home, and it's one of the fastest-growing cities in Canada.
But growth brings challenges. Like many cities in Canada, Nanaimo has a housing crisis. According to the city's official homelessness count, 515 people are unhoused at any given time. That is a higher homelessness rate by population than the City of Vancouver.
Nanaimo is not alone in these challenges, but it is at the forefront.
Ayed spoke with guests who each had a unique perspective on the divides, challenges and opportunities for cities like Nanaimo. They all addressed how the housing crisis affects the health of our democracy.
Guests in this episode:
- Gregor Craigie is host of the CBC Radio morning show On the Island. He is also the author of the book Our Crumbling Foundation: How We Solve Canada's Housing Crisis.
- Michael MacKenzie is chair in trust and political leadership at Vancouver Island University. He studies trust in the democratic process, ethics in governance and leadership, and political decision making.
- Joan Brown is the chief administrative officer of the Snuneymuxw First Nation. It is one of the largest First Nations in B.C. by population, with roughly 2,000 members.
- Louis James is a refugee resettlement worker helping refugees start a new life in Canada, and a writer for Strong Towns Nanaimo, a local urbanism and density advocacy group. He is American, working in Canada and hoping to stay.
- Kix Citton is from the Nanaimo Brain Injury Society.
- Leonard Krog is the mayor of Nanaimo, and was first elected in 2018. He has a long political connection to Nanaimo. For over a decade, he was the NDP MLA for the riding.
WATCH | This episode was recorded at the Nanaimo Harbourfront Public Library
Charlottetown
Where Confederation began, and where democracy could go
The fathers of Confederation began in earnest to map out the early terrain for our Canadian democracy in Charlottetown in 1864.
By July 1, 1867, Canada as a country was born. P.E.I. held off joining for a few years — having its own ideas for the future that it wanted — but became part of the Confederation in 1873.
As residents of Confederation's birthplace, Prince Edward Islanders have thought hard about the democratic exercise and what can be done to reinvigorate our democracy.
Critics of Canada's first-past-the-post electoral system have long decried what they say is unfair representation in our halls of power and, for that and other reasons, voters are increasingly disengaged.
Guests in this episode:
- Kerry Campbell is CBC Charlottetown's legislative reporter. He's originally from Manitoba and has been following P.E.I. politics closely for nearly two decades.
- Ed MacDonald is professor emeritus in the history department at the University of Prince Edward Island, specializing in the province's political and social history.
- Sarah Outram is executive director of the P.E.I. Coalition for Women's Leadership.
- Sadie MacNeil is a fourth-year political science student at the University of Prince Edward Island. In 2023, she revived the UPEI Political Science Society.
- Chris Ortenberger is with Islanders for Proportional Representation.
WATCH | This episode was recorded Charlottetown Library Learning Centre
Burlington
Your library is open (and believes in democracy)
Public libraries across Canada are a forum dedicated to intellectual freedom and democracy. Yet they have become a target in the culture wars of the United States — and in Canada, too.
No matter where one sits on the political spectrum, it's an urgent conversation to have. Libraries exist to give everyone access to a wide variety of content: even when those books, events and materials may offend others.
At the Burlington, Ont., central public library, a recent memoir by infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci, who promoted public health efforts and vaccinations in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic, is available. The library also carries a recent book by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. which argues that questions the efficacy of vaccines, and that Anthony Fauci was part of a global conspiracy.
Librarians themselves are increasingly having to persuade a growing number of skeptics that all ideas belong on their shelves.
IDEAS heard from experts and the audience alike about the role of libraries as upholders of intellectual freedom, and challenges to our freedom to read — and what can be done to "future-proof" it.
Guests in this episode:
- Lita Barrie is the chief executive officer of the Burlington Public Library.
- Meg Uttangi Matsos is the director of service design and innovation at Burlington Public Library.
- Ira Wells is a journalist and academic, and the author of On Book Banning: Or, How the New Censorship Consensus Trivializes Art and Undermines Democracy.
WATCH | This episode was recorded at the Burlington Public Library
*Special thanks to the CBC Collab Library fund for making this series happen. This series was produced by Nahlah Ayed, Nicola Luksic, Lisa Godfrey and Matthew Lazin-Ryder.
What ideas do you have to build a stronger democracy? Write us: [email protected]
WATCH | Nahlah Ayed shares three ideas for a better Canada
