Eric Wilkinson
@ericrwilkinson.bsky.social
Postdoctoral Research Fellow at UBC. Mostly posting about philosophy and Canadian politics.
Since the U.S. is threatening to leave the CUSMA trade deal, it's worth reconsidering whether Canada even needs a deal with the U.S., before we give up more to secure one. #cdnpoli #Canada #CUSMA #USMCA
Forget free trade
When compared to price that Canada is already being asked to pay, the cost of walking away from a trade agreement with the US is not so high. Free trade with the US was always a mixed bag. The origina...
canadiandimension.com
December 4, 2025 at 8:00 PM
There's considerable irony in a Premier calling bog standard federal legislation unconstitutional when they're mostly known for passing unconstitutional legislation. #canada #alberta #cdnpoli
Alberta unveils plan to resist enforcement of Ottawa's firearm buyback program | CBC News
The provincial government has detailed its plan to fight Ottawa’s gun buyback program, describing the federal plan as an unconstitutional attack on the rights of Albertans.
www.cbc.ca
December 2, 2025 at 5:16 PM
I'm reading letters from 1943-1946 between Z.M. Hamilton (journalist and historian) and W.W. Gibson (pioneering aviator), who grew up in 19th-century Saskatchewan. It's refreshing how critical they were of the government's policies toward Indigenous people. #Canada #history #Indigenous #cdnpoli
November 29, 2025 at 5:19 PM
I'm reading letters from 1943-1946 between Z.M. Hamilton (journalist and historian) and W.W. Gibson (pioneering aviator), who grew up in 19th-century Saskatchewan. It's refreshing how critical they were of the government's policies toward Indigenous people. #Canada #history #Indigenous #cdnpoli
I'm always looking for old, rare works of Canadian philosophy. At Vancouver's MacLeod's Books, I found John Clark Murray's "Introduction to Ethics" (1891). He was an early ethics professor at
McGill University and fought to have McGill admit women.
#McGill #philosophy #Montreal
McGill University and fought to have McGill admit women.
#McGill #philosophy #Montreal
November 28, 2025 at 4:18 PM
I'm always looking for old, rare works of Canadian philosophy. At Vancouver's MacLeod's Books, I found John Clark Murray's "Introduction to Ethics" (1891). He was an early ethics professor at
McGill University and fought to have McGill admit women.
#McGill #philosophy #Montreal
McGill University and fought to have McGill admit women.
#McGill #philosophy #Montreal
A government should only restrict our liberties when it promotes some good or prevents a serious harm. It's never been clear who is harmed by having to occasionally see a cross or a hijab. But attacking religious minorities is easier than governing. #cdnpoli #quebec #laicity #secularism
Quebec to table new secularism bill today banning prayer rooms in universities, CEGEPs | CBC News
The bill is expected to include a ban on prayer rooms in universities and CEGEPs, along with an expansion on a face-covering ban to educators in the province’s public and subsidized daycares.
www.cbc.ca
November 27, 2025 at 3:18 PM
A government should only restrict our liberties when it promotes some good or prevents a serious harm. It's never been clear who is harmed by having to occasionally see a cross or a hijab. But attacking religious minorities is easier than governing. #cdnpoli #quebec #laicity #secularism
Philosophy - as an academic discipline - is increasingly captured by AI hucksters. Chasing an influx of cash and new jobs, philosophers relitigate stale AI debates, beating dead horses because tech bros and credulous governments pay them to. It damages our credibility. #philSky #philosophy #AI
The Threat of Legitimizing the AI Narrative
In June 2024, the Canadian Philosophical Association (CPA) held its annual conference in Montreal.
apablog.substack.com
November 26, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Philosophy - as an academic discipline - is increasingly captured by AI hucksters. Chasing an influx of cash and new jobs, philosophers relitigate stale AI debates, beating dead horses because tech bros and credulous governments pay them to. It damages our credibility. #philSky #philosophy #AI
Canada needs national pharmacare. Our patchwork of means-tested provincial plans is failing the people who most need coverage and does not benefit from the same economics of scale. #canada #cdnpoli
Family distraught as Manitoba maintains it won't pay for treatment for 30-year-old with degenerative disease | CBC News
Tears gathered in Jeremy Bray’s eyes as he absorbed the news that his pleas for Manitoba’s government to cover his life-sustaining treatment hadn’t changed the health minister’s mind.
www.cbc.ca
November 25, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Reposted by Eric Wilkinson
My new book launches today!
November 25, 2025 at 12:32 PM
My new book launches today!
Reposted by Eric Wilkinson
My tribute to the life of long time OCAP member, Nick Kakeeway. The basic element of #Indigenousresistance is the struggle to survive that is taken up by people like my friend Nick. Thanks to @canadiandimension.bsky.social for publishing this.
canadiandimension.com/articles/vie...
canadiandimension.com/articles/vie...
Nick Kakeeway: a story of Indigenous survival
Nick Kakeeway was a fine human being with a great deal to offer a society that was too racist and unjust to do anything other than lock him away and try to crush him. There will be no official tribute...
canadiandimension.com
November 19, 2025 at 10:53 AM
My tribute to the life of long time OCAP member, Nick Kakeeway. The basic element of #Indigenousresistance is the struggle to survive that is taken up by people like my friend Nick. Thanks to @canadiandimension.bsky.social for publishing this.
canadiandimension.com/articles/vie...
canadiandimension.com/articles/vie...
Spoke today at the biennial conference of the Association for Canadian Studies in the United States (ACSUS) in Seattle! Fantastic Canadian philosophy panel with Joseph McGinn. #philosophy #canada
@acsus.bsky.social
@acsus.bsky.social
November 15, 2025 at 8:45 AM
Spoke today at the biennial conference of the Association for Canadian Studies in the United States (ACSUS) in Seattle! Fantastic Canadian philosophy panel with Joseph McGinn. #philosophy #canada
@acsus.bsky.social
@acsus.bsky.social
For @briarpatchmag.bsky.social recent Labour Issue, I wrote on the challenges facing rural unions in Canada. Organizing workers can be that much harder in a smaller, geographically isolated workplace. #cdnpoli #unions #writing #canada
briarpatchmagazine.com/articles/vie...
briarpatchmagazine.com/articles/vie...
Building rural unions
Reductions in unionized jobs and the specific nature of rural life require new methods of organizing.
briarpatchmagazine.com
November 12, 2025 at 5:13 PM
For @briarpatchmag.bsky.social recent Labour Issue, I wrote on the challenges facing rural unions in Canada. Organizing workers can be that much harder in a smaller, geographically isolated workplace. #cdnpoli #unions #writing #canada
briarpatchmagazine.com/articles/vie...
briarpatchmagazine.com/articles/vie...
Lest we forget. Verse from Robert Stead's, "He Sleeps in Flanders" (1923):
He saw not where his path should lead,
Nor sought a path to suit his will;
He saw a nation in her need;
He heard the cause of Honor plead;
He heard the call, he gave it heed,
And now he sleeps in Flanders.
#RemembranceDay
He saw not where his path should lead,
Nor sought a path to suit his will;
He saw a nation in her need;
He heard the cause of Honor plead;
He heard the call, he gave it heed,
And now he sleeps in Flanders.
#RemembranceDay
November 11, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Lest we forget. Verse from Robert Stead's, "He Sleeps in Flanders" (1923):
He saw not where his path should lead,
Nor sought a path to suit his will;
He saw a nation in her need;
He heard the cause of Honor plead;
He heard the call, he gave it heed,
And now he sleeps in Flanders.
#RemembranceDay
He saw not where his path should lead,
Nor sought a path to suit his will;
He saw a nation in her need;
He heard the cause of Honor plead;
He heard the call, he gave it heed,
And now he sleeps in Flanders.
#RemembranceDay
Something I wrote for First-Gen Philosophers. Having one foot in the academy and the outside world can keep you grounded, but you have to be careful not to fall through the gulf inbetween. #philsky #philosophy
www.firstgenphilosophers.com/contribution...
www.firstgenphilosophers.com/contribution...
Staying Grounded — First-Gen Philosophers
www.firstgenphilosophers.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:23 PM
Something I wrote for First-Gen Philosophers. Having one foot in the academy and the outside world can keep you grounded, but you have to be careful not to fall through the gulf inbetween. #philsky #philosophy
www.firstgenphilosophers.com/contribution...
www.firstgenphilosophers.com/contribution...
My latest for @canadiandimension.bsky.social on how scapegoating immigrants for Canada's problems prevents us from finding real solutions to them. #cdnpoli #canada
canadiandimension.com/articles/vie...
canadiandimension.com/articles/vie...
The myth of the immigrant threat
Anti-immigrant sentiment is surging in Canada, with politicians and far-right pundits blaming newcomers for crises in housing, health care, and unemployment. But these problems stem from policy failur...
canadiandimension.com
November 10, 2025 at 7:08 AM
My latest for @canadiandimension.bsky.social on how scapegoating immigrants for Canada's problems prevents us from finding real solutions to them. #cdnpoli #canada
canadiandimension.com/articles/vie...
canadiandimension.com/articles/vie...
Reposted by Eric Wilkinson
📢 Our labour issue is out now and ready to order!
Featuring: pushing against harmful drug policy, rural unionism, garment worker wins, a reading list, and more
Cover art by Amanda Priebe
Featuring: pushing against harmful drug policy, rural unionism, garment worker wins, a reading list, and more
Cover art by Amanda Priebe
November/December 2025: The labour issue
Workplace drug policy is hurting workers and unions can do more. Plus: lessons from a harm reduction union, solidarity with incarcerated workers, sewing solidarity in Winnipeg, rural unionism, and more. Cover art by Amanda Priebe.
briarpatchmagazine.com
November 5, 2025 at 3:01 PM
📢 Our labour issue is out now and ready to order!
Featuring: pushing against harmful drug policy, rural unionism, garment worker wins, a reading list, and more
Cover art by Amanda Priebe
Featuring: pushing against harmful drug policy, rural unionism, garment worker wins, a reading list, and more
Cover art by Amanda Priebe
Reposted by Eric Wilkinson
We can have a sober national conversation about how much immigration is suitable to meet our social and economic goals. But scapegoating immigrants for the state of housing and health care obscures the real causes of these crises and stokes resentment against vulnerable members of our communities.
The myth of the immigrant threat
Anti-immigrant sentiment is surging in Canada, with politicians and pundits blaming newcomers for crises like housing, health care, and unemployment. But these problems stem from policy failure and in...
canadiandimension.com
November 7, 2025 at 3:51 PM
We can have a sober national conversation about how much immigration is suitable to meet our social and economic goals. But scapegoating immigrants for the state of housing and health care obscures the real causes of these crises and stokes resentment against vulnerable members of our communities.
Reposted by Eric Wilkinson
NEW POST!
"Staying Grounded"
By @ericrwilkinson.bsky.social
firstgenphilosophers.squarespace.com/contribution...
"Staying Grounded"
By @ericrwilkinson.bsky.social
firstgenphilosophers.squarespace.com/contribution...
November 4, 2025 at 11:03 AM
NEW POST!
"Staying Grounded"
By @ericrwilkinson.bsky.social
firstgenphilosophers.squarespace.com/contribution...
"Staying Grounded"
By @ericrwilkinson.bsky.social
firstgenphilosophers.squarespace.com/contribution...
My latest for Peace Magazine: the debate in Armenia over how to move forward and pursue peace. www.peacemagazine.org/archive/?id=...
Peace Magazine: Armenia on a Precipice
Peace Magazine publishes a range of articles on peace issues -- technically accurate, yet intelligible to any reader with a general education and some interest in international affairs and global secu...
www.peacemagazine.org
October 9, 2025 at 3:54 PM
My latest for Peace Magazine: the debate in Armenia over how to move forward and pursue peace. www.peacemagazine.org/archive/?id=...
It took decades of labour militancy to have the right to strike recognized in Canadian law. It's no surprise that ignoring those hard-won rights led us back to this.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Air Canada cancels plans to resume operations as flight attendants defy back-to-work order | CBC News
Air Canada says it has suspended plans to resume limited operations after the union representing the airline's flight attendants said Sunday it will defy a federal back-to-work order for binding arbit...
www.cbc.ca
August 18, 2025 at 5:18 AM
It took decades of labour militancy to have the right to strike recognized in Canadian law. It's no surprise that ignoring those hard-won rights led us back to this.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
My latest for Canadian Dimension: decades of governments undermining collective bargaining rights in Canada has led to companies like @aircanada.bsky.social running straight to them to end strikes instead of bargaining in good faith.
canadiandimension.com/articles/vie...
canadiandimension.com/articles/vie...
Air Canada and the erosion of collective bargaining
The Air Canada strike has has exposed how corporations manipulate government intervention to sidestep fair bargaining. With flight attendants underpaid, passengers stranded, and Ottawa stepping in, th...
canadiandimension.com
August 17, 2025 at 8:58 AM
My latest for Canadian Dimension: decades of governments undermining collective bargaining rights in Canada has led to companies like @aircanada.bsky.social running straight to them to end strikes instead of bargaining in good faith.
canadiandimension.com/articles/vie...
canadiandimension.com/articles/vie...
Reposted by Eric Wilkinson
Canada has bent over backwards to meet Trump's demands—on defence spending, border security, taxation, and foreign policy—yet the tariffs keep coming.
If free trade means surrendering sovereignty with no return, maybe it's time to walk away.
If free trade means surrendering sovereignty with no return, maybe it's time to walk away.
Forget free trade
When compared to price that Canada is already being asked to pay, the cost of walking away from a trade agreement with the US is not so high. Free trade with the US was always a mixed bag. The origina...
canadiandimension.com
August 7, 2025 at 10:49 AM
Canada has bent over backwards to meet Trump's demands—on defence spending, border security, taxation, and foreign policy—yet the tariffs keep coming.
If free trade means surrendering sovereignty with no return, maybe it's time to walk away.
If free trade means surrendering sovereignty with no return, maybe it's time to walk away.
My latest for Canadian Dimension: why we should give up on free trade with the US if it's going to mean selling out our political independence.
canadiandimension.com/articles/vie...
canadiandimension.com/articles/vie...
Forget free trade
When compared to price that Canada is already being asked to pay, the cost of walking away from a trade agreement with the US is not so high. Free trade with the US was always a mixed bag. The origina...
canadiandimension.com
August 6, 2025 at 11:55 AM
My latest for Canadian Dimension: why we should give up on free trade with the US if it's going to mean selling out our political independence.
canadiandimension.com/articles/vie...
canadiandimension.com/articles/vie...
Reposted by Eric Wilkinson
NEW: While Ottawa considers spending 5% of GDP on defence, it should ask itself why we spend only 0.2% of GDP on our universities.
This isn’t just budget math, it’s a statement of values and priorities, writes @ericrwilkinson.bsky.social.
This isn’t just budget math, it’s a statement of values and priorities, writes @ericrwilkinson.bsky.social.
Rebuilding Canadian post-secondary education
Canada could be an educational superpower. Taking advantage of the brain-drain from the US, we could recruit the best and brightest to fill our labs, faculty lounges, and classrooms. By leading the wo...
canadiandimension.com
July 7, 2025 at 9:03 AM
NEW: While Ottawa considers spending 5% of GDP on defence, it should ask itself why we spend only 0.2% of GDP on our universities.
This isn’t just budget math, it’s a statement of values and priorities, writes @ericrwilkinson.bsky.social.
This isn’t just budget math, it’s a statement of values and priorities, writes @ericrwilkinson.bsky.social.
My latest for Canadian Dimension on how Canada could rebuild its colleges and universities. canadiandimension.com/articles/vie...
Rebuilding Canadian post-secondary education
Canada could be an educational superpower. Taking advantage of the brain-drain from the US, we could recruit the best and brightest to fill our labs, faculty lounges, and classrooms. By leading the wo...
canadiandimension.com
July 7, 2025 at 3:04 AM
My latest for Canadian Dimension on how Canada could rebuild its colleges and universities. canadiandimension.com/articles/vie...
Happy Canada Day! Here's something I wrote for The Conversation about the evolution of Canada's national identity. theconversation.com/canada-day-h...
Canada Day: How Canadian nationalism is evolving with the times — and will continue to do so
Canada has proven more resilient than even some of its founders might have anticipated, but not for lack of effort. There will always remain the work of building a better nation.
theconversation.com
July 1, 2025 at 8:39 PM
Happy Canada Day! Here's something I wrote for The Conversation about the evolution of Canada's national identity. theconversation.com/canada-day-h...