This issue is the first in many years that does not have Mark Reid's name topping the masthead as Editor-in-Chief and Director of Content and Communications. No successor is named. There is nothing in the magazine from the magazine about Mark Reid's departure or about plans to name another editor.
His departure leaves the magazine's readers and writers wondering about changes inside the magazine's Winnipeg headquarters and what they might mean for the magazine's future. To my knowledge Canadian media have so far not noticed a story here.
As the editor of Canada's History since 2007, Reid led its transformation from "The Beaver," drove its very successful entry into online communication, produced several successful spin-off bestsellers, upgraded design layout and use of colour, and generally made the magazine more professional and more successful than ever. During his tenure the magazine earned a substantial number of National Magazine awards and nominations (a few of them for contribution of mine, I'm happy to say).
In the Truth and Reconciliation era, Reid also oversaw a remarkable flowering of contributions by indigenous and minority writers and a great diversification of the range of topics the magazine has taken up.
Otherwise, inside the magazine this month there is a long article, very much spearheaded by Mark but written by me, reflecting on East-West tensions in Canada and whether historical perspectives can help us understand them. It draws on lengthy interviews with writer Mary Janigan, economist Trevor Tombe, politician Michael Chong, and others. It's meaty fare for Canada's History, but Mark Reid and I thought it was important. From the opening lines:
EASTERN ENVIRONMENTALISTS CHANT, “END FOSSIL FUELS!” and provide the votes for carbon taxes. Albertans, aware of what fuels their prosperity — and the East’s industries, too — respond with: “Build that pipeline!”
Ottawa leads a national response to a global pandemic — and a convoy organized by leaders from the West invades Ottawa as if it were the capital of a foreign enemy.Housing, health care, inflation, the environment, reconciliation — each issue seems to have Ottawa and the premiers caught up in wedge issues and mutual accusations. Politicians face hate slogans and threats every time they speak in public. National mandates, provincial sovereignty, firewalls: In Canada these days, division seems to make good politics. Is the country falling apart? Can’t anyone do anything without a fight?As a student of Canadian history and a writer for Canada’s History, I have devoted a couple of books, a lot of writing, and a citizen’s concern to the political and constitutional history of Canada and its regions. Can constitutional and political history contribute anything helpful in these unsettled times? To say simply that times like these have been experienced before — well, isn’t that all one expects from a historian? But it is true: Canada has a long history of falling apart.
....
Also:
- Mohawk writer Kelly Boutsalis on the founding of the Haudenosaunee confederacy;
- journalist Christopher Guly on the purging of gays from the Canadian armed forces;
- and a lively words and images exploration of Canadian monsters and legends by Amir Aziz and illustrator Axana Zasorina;
- reviews, commentary, letters, etc;
- and the Holiday Book and Gift Feature
Also the annual, indispensable Holiday Book and Gift Guide
