Shannon Proudfoot

Shannon Proudfoot is an Ottawa-based writer covering politics and public policy for Maclean's. She loves writing people-focused narratives and bringing academic research into real life. She believes The Golden Girls is the greatest television show ever made.

I’ve sold every handgun in stock since Canada’s proposed gun freeze was announced

“Targeting and attacking businesses like ours, and our customers, is not going to do anything to lessen crime in our streets,” says gun store owner Ryan Simper

Defence Minister Anita Anand, a relative newcomer to federal politics, has already handled two of the Trudeau cabinet’s toughest assignments.(Photography by Gary Ogle)

How Anita Anand became the Trudeau government’s all-round fixer

Sexual misconduct in the military. A war in Ukraine. Canada’s global reputation at stake. It’s a good thing Anand knows how to solve problems.

(Illustration by Selman Hoşgör)

After an Alzheimer’s diagnosis, these sisters became Tiktok stars

Two women in B.C. show that you can own your dementia—one irreverent TikTok at a time

Conservative Member of Parliament Pierre Poilievre in Ottawa February 16, 2022. (Photograph by Blair Gable)

Pierre Poilievre on his combative style of politics and his plans for Canada

In a rare in-depth interview the Conservative leadership frontrunner talks to Shannon Proudfoot about his politics, parenting, and making Canada ‘the freest place in the world’

Canadian parliamentarians and guests give Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a standing ovation as he addresses Parliament on March 15, 2022 (Adrian Wyld/CP)

‘Justin, can you imagine?’: Zelensky’s virtual trip to Ottawa

Shannon Proudfoot: The Ukrainian leader and global folk hero addressed Parliament, asking for the world to do the one thing it refuses to do

Why is Pierre Poilievre so angry?

He’s smart, savvy and he’s steering a new brand of Canadian conservatism. How Pierre Poilievre became the champion of the anti-Trudeau mob.

(Illustration by LeeAndra Cianci)

This Canadian teenager wrote your favourite Frida Kahlo quote

The web has wrongly credited the brooding meditations of a Canadian teen to the artist Frida Kahlo. Is that necessarily a bad thing?

The story behind Marc-André Fleury’s Indigenous-designed helmet

The Chicago Blackhawks wanted to honour their Indigenous namesakes. Toronto-based Ojibwe artist Patrick Hunter explains the thinking behind the new helmet.

Trudeau leaves a news conference after announcing the Emergencies Act will be invoked, on Feb. 14, 2022 (Adrian Wyld/CP)

What is the Emergencies Act and what Ottawa can—and can’t—do with it

Shannon Proudfoot talks to author and expert Nomi Claire Lazar about the unprecedented powers of the Emergencies Act and the risks of using them

Courtesy of Leah Hennel/AHS; Steve Russell; Darren Calabrese; Sarah Dea; Yasmin Yassin; (Steve Russell/Toronto Star/Getty Images; Christie Vuong; Cynthia Edorh; Blair Gable)

Their children’s lives have gone interrupted for years. Parents are fighting for a return to normalcy.

Hapless political leaders are experiencing the Old Testament wrath of moms and dads. Here’s why fed-up parents are on the Maclean’s Power List this year.

An empty schoolyard in Kingston, Ont., on Jan. 4, 2022 (Lars Hagberg/CP)

The cruel, ridiculous reality of ‘virtual learning’

Shannon Proudfoot: What does online school actually look like? It’s an impossible balancing act that’s ruining kids and parents alike. And it’s not okay.

Lynch in his basement Blockbuster Video store in St. John's, Nfld.(Photograph by Alex Stead)

How one Newfoundlander revived Blockbuster in his basement

There’s a house in St. John’s where the video era lives on in all its grainy glory

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