Baseball springs eternal
Expos’ fanbase remains loyal 20 years after team’s demise April 8, 1969, was a day to remember. As writer Mordecai Richler put it in his report from New York, where the new Montreal Expos played their first-ever game: “The Expos trotted out onto the field for their first major-league game, out of town. They opened…
Population goes … boom!
Cities reach for the sky as our population has grown since the 1960s . New demographic tides mean change for Canada, Quebec and for anglos At elementary school in the mid-1960s, I used to love browsing through the Canadian Oxford School Atlas: its colour-coded maps highlighted details of our geography and economy, with lots of…
The ‘underrated’ Peter Mahovlich: his legacy with Habs
The Canadiens needed more offence. This guy promised that in the 1970s What player is being described here? “With a long-legged, deceptively quick stride and superior puck-handling skills, he had no difficulty proving his rightful place on the big stage. [His scoring and physical approach] were indicative of his versatility. [He] could be a smooth…
Student dreams and money woes
A three-month crisis ends after a failed attempt at wedge politics MONTREAL (Dec. 24) – In French, it’s called a “psychodrame” – an emotional crisis with a quick rise and fall. That was the university tuition-fees crisis in Quebec, fall of 2023. Launched in early October by a reckless Premier after a stunning defeat for…
Football scores big in Quebec
A traditionally anglo sport has exploded among francophone athletes There’s been a Quiet Revolution in Quebec team sports in recent decades – francophones have started playing football in large numbers. “Canada is hockey”, it is often said, but English Canada has long supported other team sports, too. Every high school across the rest of Canada…
Premiers face headaches in 2nd terms
Legault’s CAQ asked voters to look at its “record” in 2022. That may become more decisive in second term. Ford’s Conservatives face similar challenges. In autumn, there’s a back-to-school season and a new political year. Both are known in French as “la rentrée”. The Canadian politics rentrée in 2023-24 will feature several leaders whose report…
Zelensky appeals for Canada support
President skilfully flatters hosts, touches emotional bases with diaspora by David Winch, Kyiv Post MONTREAL – President Volodymyr Zelensky captured headlines across Canada on Friday September 22, with a carefully choreographed visit to capital Ottawa and a speech to Parliament broadcast live on national TV that pressed all the right emotional buttons. The visit followed…
Expos roll through the Townships
Fans cheer old faves in charity road trip Baseball was back – for one evening. The fans wanted to see their Montreal Expos stars again, and they loved it. At this seven-inning charity softball game in Sherbrooke on Wednesday evening, the crowd rang through “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” during the fifth-inning stretch,…
Last Call in Canada?
New limits for alcohol ignore benefits Journalists love “headline numbers”, big round figures, especially millions and billions. They catch readers’ attention and seem impressive. But in January 2023 the lowly figure two (2) caught everyone’s attention; as in, two drinks a week. A health advisory board proposed that as a national guideline. “Two? per week!?”…
The burning question
Photo credit: Landon Parenteau Are wildfires more frequent than in the past? An explosion of northern wildfires in June and July kindled great anxiety. Clouds of smoke blew over major U.S. cities in the Northeast and Midwest, and both Toronto and Montreal were smothered for several days. The sun sometimes appeared red when it wasn’t…