Every year, the third Monday in January is supposed to be the ‘saddest day of the year.’ With the doldrums of winter in full swing, and no holidays in sight, Blue Monday can be a day of deep isolation—at least, that is what we are told. But the Blue Monday[Read More…]
Articles by Noah Bornstein
Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada is not serious about fighting homelessness
This past week, Montreal’s new mayor, Soraya Martinez Ferrada, announced her first budget, in which she plans to triple spending on homelessness initiatives. Her new Tactical Intervention Group on Homelessness (GITI) commits $29.9 million CAD to policing infrastructure, surveillance in public places, and social workers. Despite the increase in allocated[Read More…]
A local grocer staves off the predatory Loblaws monopoly
In the Mile End, on av. du Parc just south of av St.-Viateur, lies Lipa’s Kosher Market. Lipa’s, established over 70 years ago, belongs to a dying breed of local grocers geared to the needs of their community: In Lipa’s case, the Montreal Hasidic Jewish community. However, this past August,[Read More…]
A clerical error calls Election Canada’s dedication to democracy into question
In the 2025 Canadian federal election, the Liberal Party won the riding of Terrebonne by a single vote, with Bloc Québécois as the runner-up. However, a clerical error returned a mail-in ballot to a Bloc Québecois voter. This administrative fault, framed by judicial bodies as a mere unintentional mistake, has[Read More…]
Nobody is running for mayor! The death of municipal democracy in Quebec
On Nov. 2, Quebec will hold municipal elections—though in 87 cities throughout the province, the results of these elections are already decided. In the 2025 Quebec municipal election cycle, over 4,500 municipal candidates ran unopposed. In a process known as acclamation, candidates who are running unopposed bypass the election cycle[Read More…]