Maclean's Noember 2024

This past summer, the residents of Banff voted to remove their seasonal pedestrian-only zone, created during COVID to allow for social distancing. It had become unpopular. The town is so busy in the summer that the crowds can feel oppressive—like a giant street festival, every day of the week. Residents complained that car congestion spilled into side streets. Then, after the horrific fire in Jasper, the human bottleneck started to look like a safety issue, too. How do you evacuate a throng in a hurry? I’ve been visiting the Canadian Rockies for roughly 20 years, and I’ve sworn off the town of Banff. It’s a jam-packed zoo. I stay with family in nearby Canmore and hike in less-popular areas further south. Over the past decade, the number of people visiting…

CHEAP SHOT Our September cover story showcased 10 relatively affordable cities where it’s possible to buy a house for under the national average of $700,000. Many readers took issue with the word “affordable.” Less than $700k is called affordable???!!! Only in Canada! Equal_Ordinary_7473, Reddit You’d still need a household income of $200 to $233k to reasonably afford these places and also raise a family and save for retirement. Very, very few families in Canada are making $200k, and the percentage of families in the 10 cities listed here making that kind of income is piti-fully small. This isn’t sustainable. DonkaySlam, Reddit Delete this, dawg. We don’t need more Ontarians moving to the Maritimes to mess up our housing markets. M0bin16, Reddit Obviously, “affordable” is subjective. I agree that the market…

Understanding Indigenous History: A Path Forward is hosted by award-winning Canadian broadcast journalist Lisa LaFlamme and features interviews with prominent First Nations leader Phil Fontaine, who is a former National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, and internationally recognized human rights expert Kathleen Mahoney, as well as other special guests. The independently produced six-part series encourages Canadians to step out of their comfort zones, engage deeply with Indigenous history through compelling personal narratives, and actively participate in the truth and reconciliation process. “This is a history lesson that won’t feel like a lesson at all,” says LaFlamme. “It’s a conversation that we all need to engage in and I’m so grateful to Phil and Kathleen for leading the way.” Exploring Indigenous origins The series explores the oral history of…

It’s not just about coursework or future job prospects—affordability, or a lack thereof, is becoming a key consideration when it comes to making decisions about post-secondary education. In fact, high costs can be enough to deter students from pursuing their chosen path, according to new data by TD.1 Fifty-four per cent of post-secondary students who took part in a new survey by TD say that even if they were accepted into their desired program, they would not consider it if the costs were too high. But a little planning can go a long way, helping students and their families determine what they need and connecting them with the right financial tools that can assist in preparing them for success. Here are the answers to some top student budgeting questions. Why…

THIS YEAR, ELITE WOMEN’S sports will cross the billion-dollar mark, a 300 per cent revenue jump from 2021. Whether you call it a golden age or a moment of glory, there’s no denying that, in Canada, female athletes are finally getting their due. They have more funding, rabid fans and, at long last, pro leagues of their own—in hockey, soccer and, oh so soon, basketball. This past May, Larry Tanenbaum, billionaire MLSE chairman and owner of the investment firm Kilmer Sports Ventures, announced his intent to bank-roll the WNBA’s Toronto franchise, the W’s first expansion team outside the U.S. He then put in the call of a lifetime to Teresa Resch, a former Division II volleyball player from Minnesota who held positions at Disney, Life Time Fitness and the NBA…

WHEN I STARTED MY CHEMISTRY CAREER in the ’70s, I studied organic synthesis, the science of producing molecules (like vitamins) for the purpose of drug discovery. I worked with Raymond Lemieux—a University of Alberta professor and the first person ever to synthesize sucrose—and was part of a team that developed tests for blood groups. Then, in 1978, I got a research associate job at the National Research Council’s Prairie Regional Laboratory, which focused on agriculture. A seed was planted, so to speak, when I met Barry Milborrow, an Australian scientist who spent his time studying abscisic acid, or ABA. In every plant on earth, ABA functions like a hormonal traffic signal, controlling the opening and closing of stomata (or pores), which take in carbon dioxide. During drought conditions, ABA shuts the…