Far and Widening: The Rise of Polarization in Canada

How deepening division has taken root in Canada, and why it’s not too late to fix it.

The intense polarization that has afflicted the politics of the Western world has arrived in Canada. We can feel it. Most Canadians expect things to get worse before they get better. Political disagreements are spilling over into real interpersonal conflict. Younger Canadians, in particular, despair at the state of our politics: their faith in our democracy is suffering as a result.

This state of polarization is more than just cyclical upheaval or a storm blown across the border. Our political institutions, mass media and leadership class are not only failing to mediate our growing differences; in many cases they are making things worse.

This report, which takes stock of the state of polarization in Canada and examines its main drivers, is an extension of a multi-year PPF examination of democracy in digital-age Canada. It involved more than 1,600 young adults, 10 researchers and writers, six community organizations, two think tanks and one investigative journalist.

Far and Widening: The Rise of Polarization in Canada

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About the Author

Justin Ling

Justin Ling is a freelance investigative journalist. His work has appeared in The Globe and Mail, The Guardian, Foreign Policy, WIRED, and on CBC’s The National. He is the author of Missing From the Village, and host of CBC podcasts The Village and The Flamethrowers. He writes a subscription newsletter about the age of conspiracy theories and misinformation.