Commentary

Some of the most influential ideas in modern society don’t spread because they’re true or effective, but because they signal status. Rob Henderson has captured this dynamic with his concept of luxury beliefs: ideas that confer prestige on those who espouse them while imposing punishing costs on the less privileged. You see it across debates on family, education, crime, and social policy, where…

Carney seems content to read the room, build political capital and realize his agenda over time. July 13, 2026 in Domestic Policy, Columns, Latest News, In the Media, Political Tradition, Peter Copeland Reading Time: 3 mins read Photo by Daniel Pereira, via pm.gc.ca This article originally appeared in the National Post. By Peter Copeland, July 13, 2026 Canadian conservatives have been…

Canada’s affordability crisis has become entrenched. Despite years of concern, the cost of living keeps rising, revealing a deeper structural problem: affordability is not just a symptom to be managed with subsidies and short-term spending, but a predictable result of a persistently underperforming economy. Philip Cross and I examine the policy choices behind decades of weakening productivity…

Artificial intelligence is already reshaping how we work, learn, govern, and care for one another. There is pressure to use it with great enthusiasm for its many promises, and as much angst and a willingness to attempt to resist it. For the latest episode of Inside Policy Talks, I spoke with Technology Economics Professor Joel Blit from University of Waterloo about the fourth Industrial…

Amending the Protecting Victims Act: Peter Copeland testifies at the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs June 22, 2026 in Domestic Policy, Latest News, Justice, Peter Copeland The bill could be amended to provide a clear list of grounds – either inclusions or exclusions – pertaining to the exception to the minimum, and for specific offences. These remarks were…

My colleagues and I were in Washington last month to discuss the North American relationship, spanning trade, security, and broader cultural and strategic alignment. We, at MLI, are all for the view that America is our closest ally, necessary and irreplaceable partner on trade, defence, security, and much more. But that is not to say that taking a wider lens on history, there is not a good deal…

Liberalism is clearly on the ropes. To many, the threats come from outside and are to be found in populism, authoritarianism, misinformation, polarization. But Michael suggests that the wounds are self-inflicted.  Liberal societies have promised freedom, equality, openness, choice, and individual autonomy. Many now look around and see loneliness, social decay, family breakdown, institutional…

A conservatism that speaks only of markets, efficiency, and consumer choice, while ignoring the rapid encroachment of technology into our social fabric, does not deserve its name. Without Diminishment Editor and Peter Copeland Jun 08, 2026 Paid Culture is where we live, breathe, and have our being. It is the sum total of the norms, artefacts, institutions, beliefs, and patterns of life that…

The legislation is sorely needed, but it must not be allowed to weaken privacy protections and cybersecurity. June 2, 2026 in Domestic Policy, Digital Policy & Connectivity, AI, Technology and Innovation, Latest News, Columns, In the Media, Jamie Tronnes, Peter Copeland Reading Time: 8 mins read A A Image via Canva. This article originally appeared in the National Post. By Peter Copeland…

Bill C-9’s proponents are hoping it will be a silver bullet that ends hate crimes in Canada. Unfortunately, this flawed law may end up inflaming tensions across the country. May 28, 2026 in Back Issues, Domestic Policy, Inside Policy, Latest News, Justice, Peter Copeland Reading Time: 6 mins read A A Image via Canva. By Peter Copeland, May 28, 2026 The federal government’s newly…

In this week’s episode of Inside policy, we’re taking a look at institutional trust and legitimacy in Canada through a case study on the courts.A healthy organism is one that is resilient. You don’t stay healthy by staying perpetually indoors, or obsessively washing your hands – avoiding germs and stresses at all costs. Robust health is a function of both healthy practices, and of resiliency,…

Unseating Responsible Government. This major paper from Geoffrey Sigalet, Kerry Sun, and Yuan Yi Zhu charts the development of constitutional law in Canada following the patriation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. They find that things have played out as many predicted: across every domain of Charter jurisprudence, we have seen a lack of restraint on the part of the judiciary, undermining…

“Bill C-14 is therefore best understood as a constructive but partial response. The test will be whether it reduces violent crime and other visible forms of crime without worsening pressures in provincial remand facilities, and whether Parliament follows them with deeper reforms… pic.twitter.com/Cz0gTYFOcV— Macdonald-Laurier Institute (@MLInstitute) April 30, 2026 Testimony at Senate committee…

On this episode of Inside Policy Talks, I speak with Erica Komisar LCSW about what children actually need in the earliest years of life, as it is often the subjective preferences of adults that are deemed more important in our culture of seemingly unconstrained rights-based entitlement. We discuss the importance of maternal presence and stable family life in early childhood, the effects of…