In introducing the Summer/Fall issue of Inroads, I noted the rapid changes that accompanied the accession of Mark Carney and Donald Trump to the leadership of their respective countries. The changes have continued. As I write, it is less than a year since Justin Trudeau was Prime Minister of Canada and Joe Biden was President of the United States, and yet their time in office seems like a bygone era. In that light, political events in North America remain the major focus of our coverage.

In Canada, Reg Whitaker describes Carney’s efforts to rebuild the political centre, resisting the forces that have led to its disintegration in most Western countries (The Carney government: Something old, something new …). Mark Crawford looks at Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and the challenge her populist radicalism – along with the prospect of Alberta separatism – poses to the federal government (Danielle Smith rides Alberta’s separatist tiger). Philip Resnick points out that the populism expressed by Smith and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe does not represent western Canada as a whole (Canada’s two wests). And from Quebec, Michel Venne sees Premier Legault’s constitution bill as containing little of substance to protect Quebec’s autonomy (Quebec’s proposed constitution: A sword turned inward).

In his editorial (Manchild in the White House), Henry Milner notes the extent to which President Trump’s policies have made him unpopular with American voters – and, even more so, with Canadians. Steven Hill puts the murder of the influential right-wing organizer Charlie Kirk in the context of rising political violence in the United States (The grim aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s murder). I explore an important component of Trump’s base – evangelical Christians – and look at what’s behind their affinity for a president whose behaviour represents the antithesis of Christian values (For God and country). Betty and Frances Boylston report from a deep red area of southeast Georgia on the grassroots resistance to Trump’s trampling on American democracy (Resisting the assault on American values).

Our focus on North America doesn’t mean we’ve neglected the rest of the world. Eric Shaw examines the collapse in support for Keir Starmer’s Labour government in the United Kingdom, mostly to the benefit of Nigel Farage’s far-right, anti-immigration Reform Party (Keir Starmer’s predicament: The challenge of the Radical Right). Two small western European countries held elections this fall: John Erik Fossum analyzes the results in Norway (Polarization, Norwegian style) while Bjarn Eck reports that The centre holds in the Netherlands. In both cases, centrist or centre-left parties emerged as the winners despite a strong showing by the far right.

In Japan, Mark Crawford describes the assertive nationalist stance of the new Prime Minister, Takaichi Sanae (Takaichi Sanae’s delicate balancing act). And in South Africa, Robert Cohen traces Helen Zille’s path from courageous journalist and anti-apartheid activist to candidate for mayor of Johannesburg (Helen Zille’s toughest challenge).

Also in this issue:

• John Richards applies concepts such as externalities, earmarked taxes and especially cognitive dissonance to climate change issues from pipelines to the cost of forest fires  (Climate change and cognitive dissonance).
• Anne Michèle Meggs reviews a new book by Globe and Mail editorialist Tony Keller on how Canada got immigration right, how it all went wrong, and how to fix it  (Immigration success, immigration breakdown).
• Reg Whitaker reads The Iliad and The Odyssey and finds insights into the limitations of AI in Homer’s portrayal of the Olympian gods  (What Homer taught me about Artificial Intelligence).
• Reading a book about the Łódź ghetto during World War II, Henry Milner reflects on how Jewishness has had different meanings for his parents and for his own generation (From generation to generation).
• Philip Resnick’s poems (Plus ça change) take us from Plato’s Academy in Athens to Donald Trump’s meeting with the Saudi Prince.